A New Year crisis!

Hi everyone. :)
.

Well i hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and you are ready for a great New Year, i was looking forward to getting stuck back into my crafting, but i seem to have something going on in my craft room....

.

.

"Rotty what on earth is going on?!!! I was just about to do some crafting, how am i supposed to get started when you are in the way of it?"

.

.

"I'm protesting if you must know Boss, against unfair treatment!"

.

"How do you come to that conclusion Rotty? Have you not had a good Christmas?"

.

"This has nothing to do with Christmas Boss, i've been freezing my hairy little butt off because SOMEBODY" didn't finish my house!"

.

"Aww now come on Rotty, i have had a fair bit on you know, plus it's no easy feat building a house."

.

"Yeah well you would have been done by now if you hadn't banned me from the building site, so i'm taking drastic action! If you remember, Calvin is now living in luxury in his chateau!!!"

.

.
"Ok, so how is writing nasty signs about Calvin Mouse taking drastic action?"

.

"Just stating a well known fact Boss, just stating a fact....that night we had a sleepover, he never cleaned his teeth you know, he told Maddy he did but i know he didn't, he just wet his toothbrush!"

.

"Fair enough Rotty, can't argue with that."

.

"So what's your big plan then, how do you think this will solve anything and when can i have my craft room back?"

.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY STASH?!!!

.

.

"Well it is pretty obvious that you are not taking the situation seriously, you have a comfy house and i still have to live in amongst your stash....so if i have to go without a house, you can go without your stash!!!"

.

.

"ROTTY YOU LITTLE NUMPTY!!! PUT THAT FIRE OUT THIS INSTANT!!!"

.

"Not a chance Boss, every protest camp has a fire going, and lets face it, theres plenty of junk around here to get it going.....mmmmm nice and toasty!"

.

"Ok then Rotty, i'll tell Maddy you started a fire in the craft room, you know what she's like with her health and safety.....she's killed for less than what you've just done!!!"

.

"Uh Oh.....don't tell Maddy Boss, i mean she's nice and all that, but i've seen what she can do with a pair of scissors!"

.

.

"Rotty it's no good trying to look cute, the hippy protests went out in the 60's and 70's, get that ribbon off your head you daft thing!"

.

"Ok then Boss, no more fires, but i'm having a discreet protest until i get a house ok?"

.

"Fair enough Rotty.....now go to bed, otherwise you'll catch a cold."

.

"Nah, i think i'll be alright Boss".......:)

.

.

Warning!!! To any children out there, please do not attempt to ever light a fire in your mum or dad's craft room, Rotty knows full well this is very dangerous and he will be getting a slap very soon! As most likely will i next time i see Maddy, she always tells me off for doing dangerous things! :)

Hi all....long time no see.

Hi everyone :)

I thought it was about time i popped my head in to say hi. Apologies to anyone who has come to the blog recently and found it inactive, i've had a break for a while due to lots going on. Much needed, and much enjoyed.
.
Plus i have no craft room at the moment!!! Shock horror at the thought of it!!! Actualy it's not so bad, i've had a move around in my house, giving my girls my double bedroom and i've taken their little room. Unfortunately the double bedroom doubled as a craft room, so i have to relocate my crafty things somewhat. It gives me an excuse to get rid of a lot of craft clutter though so it's not a bad thing.
.
So over the past few months i've done very little craftywise. The only thing i've made for the girls...and half their school friends it seems, is these paracord bracelets.
.

.
Very simple to make, they are made from paracord, a cord very popular with the military for all kinds of uses. It's amazingly strong, and when knotted into bracelets like this they are a handy way of having a spare few feet of cord on you. They are used for fashion, but also more practicaly by the military and survival types for emergency cord carrying. Soldiers sometimes make them for their mates as a bit of a tradition kind of thing before going on a tour.
.
Attatched to a curved plastic buckle, they are great for kids and adults alike., especially the adventures or cub scouts out there. There are tutorials online all over the place, but the best one i've come across is thie guy....Stormdrane's Blog He makes some amazing stuff from paracord, well worth a look.
.
The tutorial for this bracelet is also from Stormdranes Blog, but is here on Instructables too.
.

.
Not the most crafty thing to show, but like i said, thats all i've done craftywise for a while.

I'll get back into the blogging soon, i just wanted to pop my head in to say hello. I hope everyone is keeping well and crafting hard, and i look forward to catching up with you all soon.
.
Maddy says hi and sends her love too, she is not on the internet at present and is dealing with family stuff too, so hasn't been around either. Don't worry though, we have great plans for the future and they look like they could be happening sooner than expected. :)
.
Take care all,
.
Calv.

Veg i inked today!!!

We I call them a vegetable. :)
.

Good evening once again my good friends, how are we all this fine Thursday evening? Tonight i have tried inking something that although technically is not a real vegetable, i like to think of it as the veg of the forest.

.
I'll give you a couple of clues....we usually see them, but can't always touch them. If you didn't get that then theres something seriously wrong! Then again, if you're waiting with baited breath for a vegetable that's been inked....theres also something not quite right don't you agree?

.
Tonight i inked....some FUNGI!!!

.

.

Pretty funky eh?

.

Some bits inked better than others, most of the fungi reacted to the ink like mushrooms, they just soaked it up like a thirsty.....thirsty thing.

.

Yet close up they didn't look so bad. It did take a little while to ink the individual stems, but art does not happen in a second does it?

.

.
I tried using Pearl mixative on the heads, but it didn't like the texture, so i got a kind of furry funky thing going on...
.

.
So there you have it....my first attempt at fungi. It came from the grocers and is edible, so don't worry about any side effects. As for the veginkability rating for the fungi....i would say a comfortable 7 for this colourful bunch!

.
*Important: Especially as kids come on the site, but for the grown ups too.....don't attempt to pick fungi if you don't know what you are picking. Accidents are my department, not you lovely people!!! :)

.

Sorry i haven't blogged much lately, my mojo is wayward at the mo.....personally i think that thieving little toerag Calvin Mouse has stolen it!

.

Talking of which, a funny pic to leave you with tonight.....we had a lovely craft day at Rachel's house the other day, a fun day with crafting, demos and i met some new friends to.....and we had some lovely cakes. Two little men were there too......so Rotty let Calvin have the last bit of shortbread....

.

.

Awww....wasn't that sweet? ;)

..

Take care all....

Veg i inked today!!!

Good evening good people of blogland! Another Thursday evening is upon us, it's almost the weekend so what better to get you through that final couple of days that reading about the biggest waste of alcohol ink you'll ever see? :)
.

I've been struggling recently with which beg to ink, i am quickly running out of options and i even thought i might have to resort to real crafting!!! So off to the grocers i went today, scouring the shelves for something that might make nice viewing. Tucked away at the back was a veg which i personaly feel should be banished from the world, a veg that tastes so horrendous that it makes me icky just thinking about it....but as i was going to ink it and not eat it, i took the plunge and went with.....the COURGETTE!!!

.

.

As expected, it inked like it tastes.....not good! It held it's colour ok, but the green skin of the courgette made for a nasty background.
.

.

I have to say though, the new Raspberry alcohol ink looks gorgeous in the flesh, all the new colours are nice but the raspberry is so vibrant, you just can;t help but add it to whatever you are inking.

.

I used a little Pearl mixtative too, it gave the inks a shimmer (hasn't come out too well inj the pics though) it left the blue with lovely pearlescent swirls in it.

.

.

So there you go, one altered courgette to satisfy your need for inky edibles! Now then, time for the veginkability rating. Not a great veg to ink, but i'd be happy to give this weeks veg a 6
.

.

Thanks for tuning in again this week everyone, you may sit there wondering why you do this every week, but just think.....one day you'll be explaining to your kids why it's good to eat veg, and you'll say...."Did you know....i knew a man once who inked veg to make them look nice!"

.

Till next time, take care all. :)

Back with a card!

Hi all :)

.

I've had a bit of a break recently, had a few things to sort out and wanted some quality time with the girls, but i have returned with a card and a matching box.

.

.

I figured it was high time i did some crafting, so i made Maddy a card,

.

.

then made a little box to go with it. I'm sure i can fit some choccy in it. :)

.

.

I used an Crafty Individuals inchy thingy, edged it with Vintage Photo distress ink and covered it with Crackle Accents. The glaze brought the distress ink colour out nicely.
.

.

I made an embellishment using my seal and wax....

.

.

I also used a paper doille for part of the card. I bought a pack of 75 assorted sizes from Poundland, they are great as they already have that delicate lace effect. So i coloured it with Broken China to break up the vintage browns.
.

.

.

So there you have it, one card and a mini matchbox.

.

Hope you like. :)

.

Ooh before i forget, i had some lovely news yesterday, Fabrizio, another male crafter (fantastic crafter and real nice guy) emailed me to say that my blog had been mentioned in issue 24 of "Lets Make Cards"! :) I was well chuffed as i've never been in a magazine for anything crafty before. Fabrizio was featured in the mag, and i think they mentioned a couple of other male crafters...including me!

.

So a big thank you to Fab for the info, i've yet to see the magazine, but i will get one for a momento to tell my grandkids about! :)

Someone is going to be in BIG trouble i think!

Hi all, looks like Rotty is all dressed up for a fun night out...."Hi Rotty, that's a cool looking mask you have on there, are you off anywhere fun?"



"Hi boss.....umm......well yes in fact i am.....it's a fancy dress party, yep that's what it is, fancy dress!"
.
"Wow that sounds like fun Rotty, is that your costume then.....just a mask?"
.
"Yes boss, but that's all i need, I'm going as a "rat burglar"....get it?....Instead of "cat burglar? I borrowed a bit of your ribbon, hope you don't mind?"
.
"Oh very cunning Rotty, you sure were first in the que when they were giving out bright ideas weren't you?"
.
"Sure was boss hehe....now i have to go....can't stop ok.....don't wait up!"
.
Oh well bloggers, there he goes, off on his big night out.....bless him.....
.
*A few hours later in Leeds, something is going on at Calvin Mouse's house......
.

.
"Why on earth did Maddy make Calvin's roof so steep? It's pretty inconsiderate you know, theres me awaiting a new house, and i have to furnish it. How on earth am i supposed to pinch Calvin Mouse's furniture and get it back to mine when the roof is so steep?!!!"
.
"Good job i did all that rock climbing training a while back in my boss's garden, this is hard work. I think I'll be safest going through the skylight"......
.

.
"Ok, almost there......just a few more steps......now then, time to secretly negotiate Calvin's window......."
.

.
Uh oh! I think Rotty has some explaining to do when he gets home don't you folks?, we all know how much of a little grass Calvin Mouse is, Maddy is sure to find out soon enough!
.
Stay tuned for Rotty's roasting of a lifetime! :)

A challenge card and a birthday surprise!

Hi all, :)
.

.
Today i am officially a big boy! Yes it's my birthday today, 37 years young, feeling like i'm 87, i blame the company i keep! ;)

.

Firstly i wanted to show you a card i made last night for this weeks Copics Colour Challenge. Maddy set the sketch this week, and i thought i'd try a male card for a change. The plan was to try my hand at the "Extreme Punching to Distress" technique, used to great effect by the very talented Irene Tan on her blog. I think i over did it though and it needs some work before it looks like Irene's ever does lol...

.

.
It was fun making a different effect with the Crop-a-dile though, and a bit of embossing powder splashed here and there gave it a hint of metal effect.
.

The sketch this week was this....
.

.

The image was the fantastic Mikey, and the round bit's on the sketch were just screaming out for a pair of music speakers...the card didn't turn out quite how i wanted, but i learnt a lot from my mistakes during it...
.

.

So thanks for the challenge this week Maddy and the rest of the ladies at Copic's Colour Challenge.

.
Oh look who it is....."Hi Rotty.....did you know it's a special day today?"

.

.

"Excellent! You've finished my house then yeah?"

.
"Umm not quite Rotty, it's my birthday....or had you forgotten?"

.
"Your birthday?!!! Me? Forget your birthday? Thats funny.....be right back!!!"

.

"Aww bless him, must be getting me my prezzy".
.

.

"Right then, quick....what rubbish can i wrap up for the clumsy one? Ah i think that will do!"

.
"Here you go boss......a little something for you...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

.

.
"Aww cheers Rotty, what a little star you are! Tell you what, i'll let you unwrap it."

.
"Oh joy....thanks boss.!..here we go then......DADAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

.

"Wow Rotty, a new inkpad!!! Hmmm....looks very much like my inkpad that should be sat in Inky Cottage?"

.
"Well i don't know about that boss".

.

"Hmmm well i do Rotty, i think you forgot about my birthday didn't you?"

.
"Well maybe, possibly.....actualy completely. Sorry boss, but Calvin Mouse said he'd remind me, so it's his fault if you think about it. Tell you what boss, you sit back and i'll show you a crafty technique you can use."

.

"Are you kidding me Rotty? YOU......a craft technique?"

.

"Yep, we used to do it when we raided peoples bathrooms, sometimes after taking a wrong turn up a toilet u-bend, we got into bother with some of the cupboard contents, and learnt a few things along the way......so watch this...."

.

"First get your shaving cream, doesn't matter if it's shaving foam or gel, now spray a pile on some card."
.

.
"I'm not so sure about this Rotty...."

.

"Oh stop worrying boss, whats the worst that can happen? Now give it a stir until it's creamy like ice-cream"...
.

.

"Now get some of your alcohol inks, and sprinkle a few drops of different colours in the cream..."

.

.

"Then give it all a stir....."

.

.

"Now take a tag or whatever you want to make a mess of, and place it on top of the cream, pushing it around so the card is covered in cream one side.....like this....."

.

.

"You should now be left with this mess....."

.

.

"Rotty is this actualy leading anywhere? Our readers are busy people you know."

.

"Calm down boss....now get a spare bit of card and scrape the cream off.....you'll be left with the swirly ink prints on the card.....DADAAAAAAAAA!!!"

.

.

"Wow thats fantastic Rotty, it looks like a marbling effect in sweets doesn't it!"

.

"Sure does boss, now do your stuff with those ink pads and other rubbish you have in here, and do something with it!"

.

"Sure thing Rotty...here goes, a bit of distress ink, embossing powder, a few stamp images, some UTEE.......what do you think?"

.

.

"Thanks ever so much Rotty, that actualy turned out to be a great birthday prezzy my little creamy mate!! Does that mean you'll be joining Calvin Mouse for craft sessions now?"

.

"Boss.....know this one thing......you will see me wearing a dress before i have cosy craft sessions with that mouse!!! Happy Birthday!!!"

.

Well bloggers, hows that for a suprise, a crafty tip that despite being the messiest i've ever seen, could be of use one day.

.

Have a great day all, i'm off to prepare a party tea for me and my girls, then it's a dvd and popcorn tonight.....YAYYYYY!!! :)

Veg i inked today!!!

Thursday night again folks, time to get yourself a cuppa, take the weight off of your feet and spend a few minutes of your week in the capable hands of a guy they said would never escape! :)

.

This week has been a bit of a difficult one for me as far as the veg inking is concerned. Believe it or not i am running low on veg that is good to ink. There are some veg that i could ink, but know from practise runs that they are rubbish, and not even worthy to be seen here.

.
So today i just hoped for the best during my visit to the grocers and something little. So give a warm welcome to......the SUGAR SNAP PEA!!!

.

.

The pictures just don't do these peas justice! They did dry out quite fast which always leads to dulling, but they did well to retain at least some colour.

.

.

Maybe not the best place to try out my new Brights alcohol inks, you can't see how totally cool these new inks are on a pea....but i cannot recommend them enough for those of you who don't have them already.
.

.

The most common question i get from bloggers is simply "Why?". Well i like the fact that you can take something that we don't usually look twice at, and turn it into something that is worth a second look.

.

This one below reminds me of a big fish for some reason. :)
.

.

Veginkability for the sugar snap peas? Well they didn't ink as well as expected. but then again I'm definitely seeing a pattern in what makes a veg good to ink. The shiny skin. This just doesn't fit the bill.....then again it did result in at least some colour.....so i think I'm going to go with a 4 this week.

.

I am a bit disappointed that the Brights didn't reveal themselves as well as i would have hoped, they really are the most gorgeous of colours. Next week i will endeavour to give you something much brighter to view!

.

Thanks for looking everyone, I'd better go and check on what Rotty is up to, you just never know with him these days!

.

Night all. :)

What next?

I give up! Guess which little man has gone and got himself a blog?



He's just posted his first post, and found himself a bit out of his depth amongst fellow creatures by the sounds of it.....i'll let you read it yourselves here!

I need to lie down, i thought it was hard enough looking after two kids.....let alone a third!!!

First morning on the "building site"!

"Hi Rotty, you are up bright and breezy!"
.

.
"Certainly am boss, this is a major project you know, something as important as my house cannot be taken too lightly!"
.
"If you say so Rotty....so whats the latest on the build?"
.

.
"Well boss, word on the site is that you're a totally clutz and have messed up the measurements! I've gone over the drawings and it appears as usual this gossip is right, so I've amended them...otherwise i would have been living in something the size of a matchbox!!!"
.
"Oh, sorry about that Rotty, but lets face it, you are only little after all."
.

.
"Hmmm, that may well be boss, but i have big plans, and with that comes a big house! How am i to achieve world domination with a tiny house eh? EH?!!!"
.
"Ok calm down my ickle Dr Evil, I'll see what we can do. How far have you got so far?"
.
"Well you cut the sides of the ground floor yesterday and primed them, cheers for that, i am going to be focusing on the oak beams today"
.

.
"Oak beams Rotty! My that sounds expensive....we may have to settle for some oak effect wood stain."
.
"Ah come on boss....don't be a cheapskate, all the famous rats had oak in their houses!"
.
"No they didn't Rotty, most of you came from the sewers so don't try pulling that one!"
.
"So is there anything i can do today?"
.
"Well boss, we do seem to be missing one of the most important things on a building site, it's from the "1875 Rat building regulations, section 2, paragraph 3b".
.
"Oh my Rotty, that sounds important...whats that?"
.
"Well you may have heard of it....what comes after the letter "S" in the alphabet?"
.
"T" Rotty?
.
"Oooh go on then boss....mines milk and two sugars.....thought you'd never ask hehehe!!!"
.

.
"Oh very funny....here you go, one cuppa for an attempt at humour! Now on you go with your work matey!"
.
Well folks, thats him quiet for the day....i hope! Stay tuned for regular updates of how his "house/lair for world domination" is going....heaven knows what he'll get up to next!!!

.

Meanwhile, i think i'd better go and put my legendary toddler-like Fimo skills to use and make another Rotty, this one is looking a little battered!