Two for……Phoebe!

This week I have had a couple of projects to get done.  Katie’s friend Phoebe is moving into a new house this week. (plus Happy Birthday Phoebe)
Less is More has a paper piecing challenge….fab ….despite not being a fan of cutting out (very “scissorly” challenged) I actually love the look of paper pieced images and its a perfect technique for cardmaking, without proper cardmaking equipment…just  scissors, scraps of paper, printer and of course trusty glue stick.

The brilliant image was free from The Graphic fairy. I love retro images like this and they lend themselves to quirky quotes…..this was perfect to make a quote for Phoebe who …..a) is a bit of a domestic goddess and b) likes a cocktail ….or two…...or ????

Originally I was going to piece more of the elements but these images always look great in their original black and white form so I just highlighted a couple of elements, which I think stand out better than with lots of other detail……oh and dont look to closely at her sleeve under the book….the original piece went missing, I suspect its in the bin, I had to improvise with another scrap but the pattern isn't quite right!?!  …….. (note to self….DONT TIDY MID PROJECT!!!….goodness knows why I decided to tidy as I went along….I normally always work in total chaos).

The second project was a bit of a warm up and trial piece. Katie and I worked on this together and I kindly let her do all the donkey work as the old wooden picture/tray I found in the charity shop (£3.50) had been decoupaged then varnished….and OH BOY! had it been varnished…. so it needed a lot of stripping and sanding.
Sadly we didn't think to photograph it first but this is Kate mid project….
We were using the image transfer technique I have been playing with lately. The text was complimented with another great image from The Graphic Fairy and its not only thanks to The Graphic Fairy for the image but also all the great inspiration I have found from people who contribute to the site, particularly the link party on Mondays.

It was  a great learning curve……the image needs more burnishing when applying on wood (back of a spoon works fine) and the tricky part was sealing the ink (inkjet printed image), Although we didn't do it on the tray, I have found that heat sealing it (iron over with a protective layer of kitchen roll) helps set the ink. We found spray varnishes work best but acrylic varnish worked well too

 ….if anyone has any other suggestions I would love to know.

We finished the back with a “pseudo” makers label” with a personal message .

Now onwards and upwards with some much bigger projects for Katie & James’ Cottage…… it will soon be ready to move in!!!