I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Saturday 21 September 2013

I am not who I was...

Hello all, and a warm welcome to Words and Pictures on this chilly September day.  A fairly quick post today - bet you thought I couldn't do that, eh?  Apart from sneak peeks of course...

And, in an even bigger shock to the system, it's a CAS make - clean and simple (though not that clean to be honest).  I'm sharing a bit of salvage stamping with you today - and I'm squeezing it in because it fits perfectly with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge of stamping on anything but plain paper.


I stamped on some pieces of slate - an old, broken roof tile which came to the surface as my brother and I cleared out the eaves of our old family home, ready for the big move.  I had to rescue the slates from the skip where he'd chucked them.

Crafting is really not a healthy hobby when you're trying to downsize: almost nothing makes it into the skip in the first place, and the broken roof tile is not the first thing I've hauled out again!

They were pretty mucky, so I gave them a quick clean-up with a baby wipe.  And I kept it simple with the stamping.  






On a couple of pieces I put a rough coat of Snowflake Fresco paint and then stamped in Jet Black Archival.













On a couple of others I stamped straight onto the slate using the white Prima Chalk Edger.
















The leaves are from Tim Holtz's Falling Leaves stamp set.













I'm pretty pleased with how much detail it was possible to get, despite the uneven surface of the slate.

(The little spots are raindrops - it started to spit as I was taking the photos...)









And the little quote is one of the Donna Downey Empowered Words quotes by Unity.













I thought the quote worked rather nicely - neither the skeleton leaves nor the slates themselves are 'who they were yesterday' - nor me...







The sharper-eyed amongst you may have noticed that the smaller two pieces of slate in the photos are in fact one and the same piece - stamped front and back - so there are, in fact, only three pieces in total.


Thanks for dropping in today.  I hope you're having a wonderful weekend, whatever you're been up to - especially those heading to Ally Pally.  I'm sad I couldn't get there - time off from house-sorting has to go on actual crafting in order to make my deadlines at the moment... I will manage it one day.  Happy Crafting, all!

I'd like to enter this in the Stamping On Anything But Plain Paper challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
John F Kennedy

I always shoot for the moon in my work, so that I'm happy when I land on the roof.
Darren Criss

The roof might fall in; anything could happen.
Dashiell Hammett

62 comments:

Kath Stewart said...

absolutely fabulous darling...love them..love them...love them...hugs kath xxx

sam21ski said...

WOW these look fab on the slate, esp the white painted black stamped ones - lurvley!!!

Sam xxx

Claudia N. said...

Soooo beautiful, Alison!

Two pieces of poetry! LOVE them!

Hugs,
Claudia x

Mary Elizabeth said...

You are right. These are perfect for the SSS Monday Challenge. I love this idea!! (Yes -- I too cannot seem to throw things away. I am a pack rat. No wonder the chipmunk wanted to live in my craftroom :) ). I love the simplicity of these tiles. The sentiment is really great for a fall inspired piece. I hope you find a wonderful place to display these in your new abode. You get to take a piece of your life in the old home place to your new home. Simply marvelous make!! - Mary Elizabeth

Amanda said...

Fabulous! What a fab idea executed brilliantly. I did have a little shudder at the thought of downsizing!!
Love
Amanda x

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Ohh! Its a fantastic idea to stamp on slate, Alison. Creative u :-)

Jenny Marples said...

These are beautiful and will make great home decor pieces when you finally get resettled. Thinking of you and all your upheaval. Hope it all gets easier at some point in the not too distant future. Hugs, Jenny x

Redanne said...

Alison, these are simply gorgeous! Hugs, Anne x

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

What a great CAS results on these roof tiles Alison! It rocks!

Candy C said...

Hey Alison. Your idea of stamping on slate is so way outside of the box that I am just scratching my head at your creativity! :) LOVE IT! This is definitely a unique idea for our stamping on something besides white cardstock challenge! haha You never cease to amaze me with your originality! Love this idea and the stamping you've done! Thanks for always being so willing to share ideas with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. <3 Candy

Marci said...

So lovely, and one for each of you from your home of 40+ years(I think you said). Although they make a nice group,also. I feel for you,,,having to leave. I know I hate to move. Have you thought of taking cuttings of your ivy to eventually plant at your new permanent location? Since you always take your photos in the ivy. Just a sentimental idea:-)

Yvonne Garner said...

You made my day! I thought the pieces were stamped front and back! Alison, you truly can turn anything into a work of art. From this point forward, will celebrate every slate tile that breaks lose from our roof and think of you! Hugs, Yvonne

Words and Pictures said...

Lovely idea about the ivy, Marci - but I'm happy to say there's plenty of it at the next house too!
Alison xx

Terry said...

I have painted rocks, so I see this surface as ideal for stamping! Beautiful Autumn stamping! Have a fabulous weekend, hugs!

cathylynn said...

I love this! It's so perfect and unique. What a wonderful keepsake with a heart catching sentiment! You always think outside the box and that's why I love your blog!
Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Deborah said...

Do you also pick 'useful' things out of the gutter like I do, Alison? The discarded slates look great, especially stamped with the leaves. They look quite fossil-like.

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Love the white on this shabby background!

froebelsternchen said...

great idea Alison! looks wonderful!

Dorthe said...

Such a beautiful way of bringing a little piece of your old home ,with you, to the next destination, Alison.
And the beautiful Tim Holz leafe stamps are gorgeous on the slates,-so wonderful in white against the drey!!
A fantastic idea, dear.
Hugs,Dorthe

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous find in the skip ! The stamping is fabulous, so much detail and so clear. Sue C x

Paper Profusion said...

Genius keepsakes from your home Alison - who would have thought to get such fab clean results too! Fingers and toes crossed for you that all goes smoothly and that you are more 'permanent' in the near future. Nicola x

maj. said...

Absolutely gorgeous pieces of art! Great idea, Alison!!!

Chrissy said...

How awesome are they Alison, they will look lovely poked into the garden, or somewhere like that..fabulous..and they stamped so well.

Luv CHRISSYxx

Helen said...

These look gorgeous!! It would have been great to see you at Ally Pally - I managed to buy one or two bits...

scrappymo! said...

So cool that you made these from the original family home slate tiles! I like the comfort factor of that.

Meggymay said...

Great makes, can imagine them among the plants.
Yvonne

Annie said...

Gorgeous Alison :-) wonderful make to place in your new home/garden.

Best wishes with the move to you and your family
Hugs Annie x

pearshapedcrafting said...

Fabulous in it's simplicity - what else could you have used? Well done for the rescue!! I do know what you are going through - we did take too much with us and it's eventually had to be sorted through again!! Wishing you luck with the parting! Chrisx

Kate Yetter said...

Very cool, Alison. I would have never thought to stamp on slate. I love the simple elegance in your style. So little is so beautiful!
Kate

Nan G said...

Love these! The white stamped one looks like a fossil. How cool!

Brenda Brown said...

Love the contrast of paint colours on the slate and tile. Been thinking of you doing the house clearing and hoping it's going ok. I popped up to ally pally yesterday but couldn't stay long. Take care.
hugs {brenda} x0x

chrissie said...

Terrific and unusual idea and a real treasure to find the old slate and for you to give it the future it deserves.
It is scary for a crafter to downsize for sure. I did it a while ago when we were having house improvements. It was so sad to see all my wonderful finds going to be recycled or to landfill.:(

Good Luck with the move when it happens.

Love Chrissie xx

Unknown said...

What a fabulous idea, they look wonderful.

Emma x

Astrid Maclean said...

Fab idea, who would have thought of that (but you ofcourse) they look great! I shall now have to investigate white chalk edger..... Good luck with the down sizing.....

Sandra said...

what a brilliant idea! Perfect as home decor. Thank you so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Hugs, Sandra

May said...

AMAZING idea...They look fantastic... Great work Alison...Hugs May x x x

Unknown said...

What a great way to capture autumn Alison. I love the leaf pattern on your CAS project and the sentiment is a terrific addition. :) Hope you are doing well and enjoying life, hugs. xx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

That's cool, great pieces.

Anonymous said...

These look great Alison! Might have to try this on some bits of slate I filched from a garden, on my paper round recently! Lol!
Alison xx

Cocofolies said...

I love the result and all your trials with these beautiful leaves I love too. Superbe !! Coco xxx

Princess Judy Palmer said...

I had a good chuckle over the crafting is not the hobby of choice if you want to downsize saying. No kidding. But I am getting better! Promise!

Love that you stamped on pieces of slate. Wow! What a canvas. You did it so expertly as well. You noted that it came out great for being such an uneven surface but I think some talent was involved there. Beautiful work! Oh and thanks for the glimpse at all those yummy lush green leaves as well.

Anonymous said...

Slate is a sublime stamping surface in fact you make me wish I had some kicking around as I adore your creations, they might be CAS but the exude so much.
Wishes
Lynne

Cathy L. Calamas said...

So lovely and the slate pieces are so perfect. I can't decide which I like better, the white ink leaves or the black ink ones. Would be such a great gift for someone who needs a lift.

Dianne said...

Excellent idea, brilliantly created, love the slate and what a lovely piece of memories for the new place, a little shellac, it will last forever, you can make anything beautiful, thanks for sharing all this creativity...

Sandy said...

How neat is this Alison - old slate. I like the ones you stamped on the plain slate the best. I hope you kept some more of that slate! Are you counting how many times I used the word slate!!
sandy

Hettie said...

These are great Alison. I have an old slate somewhere and you have given me a fabby idea. I kept it to make a sign but not got round to it yet! Great tips on the painting with fresco.
Hugs
xx

Margaret said...

What a fantastic idea and the end result is so wonderful!
We are attempting to 'clean out' our home, and I find myself wanting to hang onto quite a bit of 'junk' for future projects as well...

Inkypinkycraft said...

these are fab Alison! hugs x

Julia said...

These are great, you do CAS very well! Black and white on slate looks so good. Clever stuff Alison. x

Mona Pendleton said...

Wow Alison! What fabulous projects! I love how you stamped on the pieces of slate! My sister collects rocks in her rock garden ~ I'm going to have to make her a project on a rock! Thanks for the inspiration!

Netty said...

Am sure painting and stamping on these great pieces of slate gave you a lot of satisfaction Alison. Now you have some perfect additions for your new garden. Annette x

Lucy Edmondson said...

These are so beautiful, Alison! Lots of scope for plays on words with Slate. Hope you can find a place for them in the new home as a reminder of the old. Missed you yesterday but guess who I met??!!

Lucy x

Julie Lee said...

Ha ha!This is a terrific idea and it looks wonderful. The quote is perfect and I love the white contrasting with the slate. I would love to have met you on Sunday, but another time maybe? And guess who I met too!? Julie Ann xx

barbarayaya62 said...

Alison I'm here! I'm very late with comments on blogs that I follow by the beginning of the school year with two children ... However, i'm here, as always beautiful work, especially this I find it really great! BArbarayaya

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

Your creativity amazes me, Alison! So simple and ingenious!

Hugs,
Linda

Neet said...

Those are beautiful - and they take me back a long long time. I used to collect slate pieces and paint on them - not stamp. Didn't know about rubber stamping in those days. Gosh, used to sell them to raise money for my Ranger group. Thanks for the trip back down memory lane.
Hugs, neet xx

Lisa Minckler said...

Way, WAY groovy!!! These look amazing. :)

Sue said...

Love these Alison, what a fabulous idea xx

Kezzy said...

Wow Beautiful, love the idea and the quote is so true, gorgeous :-) Kezzy xxx

Shirley said...

Who would have thought that an old piece of roof slate could look so pretty and artistic ... Alison!!!!

Crafty hugs from Shirl x x

Kjersti said...

This is gorgeous Alison - you are so creative!
Hugs Kjersti:)

Anonymous said...

Such a great idea! Das werd ich mir mal für meinen Garten merken!