All Things Altered

Knightshayes

2011-10-19T19:12:00.000+01:00

We visited Knightshayes Court today. It was sunny but cold in the shade, the kitchen garden was full of quite bizarre scarecrows and these lovely fat pumpkins. I used Kim Klassen textures and some Katie Pertiet and lynn-parisiendates, lovely

Bath

2011-10-16T16:18:00.000+01:00

Some images of Bath altered using various apps mostly Camerabag and PhotoFX.

Good Food

2011-10-16T14:24:00.000+01:00

A trip to Exeter and we found a great place to eat and to shop.

All the food was locally sourced and organic yum.

Pillar Box Red

2011-10-11T10:29:00.000+01:00

Pillar box red an icon on every street a good subject for texture Tuesday.

Gratitude

2011-10-04T12:04:00.000+01:00

Texture Tuesday is gratitude and today I'm very grateful for friends and family. This little gesture of flowers in a bottle is simple but full of meaning. So thanks to friends and family I'm sending this little virtual bottle with flowers to you all.

Using Kim Klassen Aurora and The Ladder textures

Autumn

2011-09-16T17:09:00.000+01:00

A walk through Bath Place a little lane with a series of little cottages that have been converted into independent shops, with all sorts of delights.
Apparently this might have been the main route into Taunton during the Middle Ages. The buildings though date from the 1800's.
The Women's Institute have a shop that sells all sorts of handmade items from chocolate cake to organic veg to knitted socks.
This morning as usual there were bunches of flowers and these gorgeous orange lanterns just waiting to be photographed.

Texture Tuesday

2011-09-13T12:14:00.000+01:00

The theme this week is to include Autumn Burst, Kim's new texture, and also to include the verb 'do' . I have found this one really difficult so I have played around with two ideas both include Autumn Burst one very loosely fulfills 'do' but I've used 'done' instead.

New Techniques with Photoshop

2011-09-12T12:43:00.000+01:00

I'm currently taking an ecourse with Kim Klassen on Photoshop Essentials and it's been a fast learning curve but I'm really enjoying the challenge. So, this morning I took some photos with my Iphone and spent far too long on Photoshop playing using Kim's textures and tips.
I think it must be a good year for berries because our Holly bush is brimming with them so here is a photo the first of many no doubt.

Viv H's photostream

2011-09-10T18:52:00.001+01:00

Viv H's photostream on Flickr.

It's that time again

2011-09-06T10:09:00.000+01:00

Another Tuesday and another challenge from Kim. This week to use the fabulous Crackerjack texture.
Here goes.

More Textures

2011-09-01T12:53:00.000+01:00

I'm currently taking Kim Klassen's Photoshop The Essentials class and she has opened my eyes to so much that I can do in PS. Also it has encouraged me to see things a different way so thanks Kim.
I love Mexican daisies they are so sturdy and they pop up everywhere.

Texture Tuesday

2011-08-30T12:06:00.000+01:00

For the first time I'm dipping my toe in the water and submitting a piece to Kim's Texture Tuesday challenge. I used the wonderful Crackerjack and All That
great fun.

Family Heritage

2011-08-24T11:16:00.000+01:00

I love using original photos in my art. I'm very lucky because although I have very few

family photos Mark has plenty to share. We have photos dating back to the 1900's and I have given myself the task of scanning and naming them as best I can. But, many of them don't have names.

The boy/man in these two pieces is Will, my husband's Grandmother's brother who died in the 1914-18 war

Inspiration

2011-08-21T14:13:00.000+01:00

Lots of photos

2011-07-03T16:46:00.000+01:00

A recent trip to Edinburgh what a wonderful city.

Music

2011-01-06T10:38:00.000Z

What a melancholy morning. Grey skies, relentless rain a great day for staying in baking,listening to great music. I'm listening to a shuffled playlist of Levon Helm, Show of Hands and the wonderful Krista Detor    http://www.kristadetor.com/mudshow/ What an amazing singer/songwriter she is. I listened to her on an Amtrak travelling from Denver to San Francisco such great memories........

Baking

2011-01-02T17:36:00.000Z

I'm not a Yummy Mummy far from it.
I am a Mummy but as my children would tell you my middle name is slapdash. But I do like baking, quite often I make dreadful mistakes usually because I misread recipes or think I know better. I don't have a recipe book I always follow but, I do love Nigel Slater http://www.nigelslater.com/books.asp and Jamie Oliver http://www.jamieoliver.co/recipes
So here is a photo of my latest offering date and walnut muffins they are rather delicious.

Back to normal

2010-12-30T12:16:00.000Z

Well at least it's warmer but everything 

Looks so grubby. But we have had the

shortest day so bring on Spring.

Picked up some great altered art bits today

got some great ideas.

Thankful

2010-12-26T11:11:00.002Z

Well Christmas Day has been and gone and it was a great one. Lots of good books, magazines, Lush products and of course food. Most important though was being with family.so many people are estranged, lonely and far away from loved ones so I am thankful.

Of course there is time for some silliness

Ninja USB

Getting Ready for Christmas

2010-12-24T11:59:00.000Z

Back by popular demand, the Halliwell coffee and brandy

trifle. We only really like the gooey, brandy, coffee and cake bottom but

we can put up with the cream and custard !


You have to use Starbucks Christmas Blend

Cake and coffee and brandy.

Making Miscellaneous

2010-12-23T14:28:00.001Z

So love all the wonderful creations of

Becky Shander Making Miscellaneous check her out. She really inspires me

Christmas Ideas

2010-12-23T13:55:00.001Z

As Christmas approaches I still feel that I could have been more creative but here are a few creations.

More to come

Canvas Bag

2010-08-12T14:57:00.000+01:00

Using my own photos I printed out on special cotton paper and ironed to a calico bag.
Cool eh

IPhone photography

2010-08-12T13:07:00.001+01:00

I've discovered the fun of using an iPhone camera and all the amazing apps that can be used. I signed up for LK Ludwig's online course
http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/the_poetic_eye/class-descriptions/

It really has opened my eyes to everything around me and all the amazing applications that are either free or very reasonably priced.

So friends, family and total strangers find themselves being photographed ( plus beautiful scenery etc) and then almost completely distressed, grunged, and generally messed around with. For example

Amtrak using Iris photo editing suite

Playing with phone apps

2010-07-23T15:29:00.004+01:00

So love playing around with digital scrapbooking and phone apps on my IPhone. Thanks to LK Ludwig for her online class and all the great dig scrapbook designers on Scrapgirls.

The photo was taken at The Grand Canyon Desert View

And More

2010-03-09T12:39:00.002Z

More traditional using watercolour paper

Experiments with beeswax

2010-03-09T10:28:00.001Z

I'm experimenting with beeswax. Using old dictionary pages, tissue paper and Tim Holtz stamps. Quite pleased with result.

Scrap Book Pages

2009-11-01T16:42:00.003Z

I'm trying my hand at digital scrapbooking what do you think ?

All aboard the Amtrak Denver to San Francisco.

Los Angeles The Beverley Hills Hotel the original Hotel California.

What shall I Do

2009-10-21T14:03:00.004+01:00

I have been agonising over whether my work is good enough to sell. I'm afraid of rejection I suppose so I would love comments on the few pics I'm posting.

Small cigar box painted with old print page and butterfly stamp. handmade tag with Italian dictionary page distressed with a quote from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Angel Arnos Vale

2009-10-20T16:14:00.001+01:00

Angel Arnos Vale
Originally uploaded by Viv H

A photo trip to a cemetery in Bristol 'Arnos Vale'.I love visiting these places, All these graves have a story a social history, Where did they live, work did they love, hate ?

On the Way

2009-10-20T14:43:00.008+01:00

Our flight was due to take off at 10.30 and because I am a worrier we arrived early and checked in.

I love airports and can people watch all day so we settled down with a coffee and browsed in the book shop. Pretty soon we were called and started loading poor Mark was picked for a security check.

Seven hours and 2 films and a very mediocre meal later we landed at Newark. Immigration was civilised but security oh my....... I know it has to be done nuff said.

But all the world passes through security , tourists anxiously checking their documents, parents trying to calm their children, pretty young people talking on their phones the eccentric musician with a fiddle oh how I wish I could draw.

We only just caught the plane ......... Onto Denver, more mediocre food. I listened to my Ipod what did I do before them ? Oh yes read, now I listen to talking books.
Finally 4 hours later Denver and what a lovely airport bright,clean and full of helpful people.

An expensive taxi ride later we arrived at the Ramada which was ok nothing special.

We found a great bar called the Irish Snug near our hotel and it was great. We checked emails and ate good food and drank good beer a Fat Tire and 90 Shillings.

Weather was warm we were really here after all the planning this was IT.......

Road/Rail Trip Part One Continued

2009-10-02T13:51:00.005+01:00

So Insight Vacations became our choice. We had the Amtrak, the bus tour. We chose Trailfinders to book flights, Amtrak and Insight, all done.

I now just had to wait and as Mark will tell you I don't do wait, time passed very SLOWLY.......

Fast Forward 10 months we were flying from Bristol to Denver via Newark on 8th September. Staying in Denver overnight, then picking up the California Zephyr next day (9th) arriving in San Francisco on 10th September. We would have a day on our own before picking up our tour on the evening of 11th

.

Life

2009-09-30T17:05:00.001+01:00

Life
Originally uploaded by Viv H

Created on The California Zephyr for our friend Aki

Road/Rail Trip Part One

2009-09-30T09:00:00.019+01:00

This will be hopefully the first of many posts about the best holiday I have ever had. In fact I'm suffering from holiday withdrawal symptoms !
Mark and I had made a list of all the places in the US we wanted to visit. We realised that it was going to be a long trip and driving was not going to be relaxing and stress free enough.
So I did what I love to do best plan mode on the web yey........

I really wanted to experience a train ride across a small part of America so that was planned , the California Zephyr , but where to begin as the California Zephyr starts in Chicago and finishes in San Francisco ?

We live in the county town of Somerset (Taunton) and our nearest airport Bristol is 45 minutes away, we have a direct flight daily to Newark using Continental Airlines so that was settled, fly to Newark and transfer to a flight to......... that was left undecided.

I thought part of the trip should be a bus trip as that would be more relaxing for Mark and no navigating for me as that always is a source of friction......... There are many choices price, places visited, size of bus etc. We really didn't want to spend much time in Las Vegas and some of the definite places we REALLY wanted to see were :-

San Francisco

Monument Valley

Grand Canyon

Only one bus tour covered everything 'Insight Vacations

'
To be continued

Birthday Tag Book

2009-08-10T15:37:00.007+01:00

I have spent the last few weeks making a tag book for my great friend Cathy here are a few photos.

Sidmouth Folk Festival

2009-08-10T15:09:00.004+01:00

Every year for the past ........ years various members of the family have visited Sidmouth Folk Festival. It is a week long and is full of dance displays, concerts and shopping. Luckily on the days we visited the weather was great but boy did they have rain and wellington boots were the chosen footwear.
I thought I would post a few pictures of some of the great things we saw.

A Hurdy Gurdy player playing French dance tunes

Dancing on the sea front

Border Morris dancing
Here is a link explaining the history

Yum cream teas

Resting musicians

2009-06-21T14:42:00.004+01:00

So another workshop with Tania this time mixed media and what fun we had . I created 2 canvas' I haven't quite finished one but I will post pics of my completed one. I have called it Venetian glass. I used sari material , Stewart Gill paints (which were a revelation),beads, all heated, then Moulded Mesh and to finish Tyvek.

Princess and the Pea

2009-06-20T10:33:00.004+01:00

Just a short note I will add a bit more later.
I have been making a 'Storybox' for my niece Zoe's school. I attempted The Princess and the Pea it was much harder than I thought !

Bella

2009-05-19T10:02:00.007+01:00

I seem to be addicted at the moment with altering tins. Although Altoids were created by an English company called Callard and Bowser the tins are quite difficult to obtain and are quite expensive,so every time I'm lucky enough to visit the US my suitcase becomes full with all sorts of tins !
This little tin is for my daughter Jo for her birthday, after I made one for Tom she asked could she have one too ?
A little heart made with air dry clay stamped with texture and rubbed with gold and red metallic wax.

Anima

2009-05-11T14:53:00.002+01:00

I recently made a canvas for my niece called Anima I stamped an image on tissue and attached to a canvas already covered with a distressed piece of paper. I also altered a domino and attached using gold wire.

Wise Woman

2009-04-21T09:33:00.003+01:00

I recently attended a sculpture workshop in Broadwindsor with Tania of Rumplestiltskin .Using a medium called Paverpol I created this wise woman . Paverpol was a great medium to use and Tania was a great teacher.
I am so hooked I'm going to have another go.

Amazing

2009-04-16T15:48:00.003+01:00

A visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall in February .
This amazing exhibit focuses on technology and recycling I found it very thought provoking.

Tech behind bars

2009-04-16T15:47:00.002+01:00

Another photo from The Eden Project

Lost In Spain

2009-04-15T14:01:00.000+01:00

Actually I wasn't really lost I visited Murcia with my great friend Cathy . This is a photo of a deserted hacienda on the property.

Steampunk Front

2009-03-28T09:00:00.002Z

This is the front of Tom's tin. I kept it simple as it is designed to be left open

Steampunk !

2009-03-27T15:04:00.001Z

I created this for my son Tom's 20th birthday a first attempt at 'Steampunk'

2009-03-17T13:17:00.002Z

Well the sun is shining and the garden is calling but before I go here is a picture of my altered tin created for the Yahoo group Altered stArt. These can be addictive !

Homage

2009-02-20T14:38:00.002Z

I love the humour and talent of Cath Kidson and so I've created a canvas as a homage to her. I hope she wouldn't take offence.

A Walk into Taunton

2009-02-15T16:58:00.002Z

Before we had snow and just when we thought hey looks like Spring is early I walked from our village into Taunton

The Doubter

2009-02-14T15:56:00.002Z

The Doubter
Originally uploaded by Viv H

An ATC created for a swap using watch parts and scrapbook paper

Feeling sorry for myself

2009-02-14T10:58:00.004Z

Why do colds make you feel so sorry for yourself ? But then again maybe it's just me , they just make you feel so unattractive and grimy. so in between the nose blowing and sneezing I played on my trusty laptop and created this digital ATC whilst listening to The White Lioness by Henning Mankell a great author from Sweden, who writes a cracking, sparse but descriptive crime novel.
The story behind the photograph is that it was taken at a wedding in the 1920's, one of the natty gentlemen is my husband's late grandfather John and his brother Harry, they were always known as 'The Brother's Glue"

Altered Bamboo Tile

2009-02-11T20:33:00.001Z

My first attempt at a Bamboo Tile Necklace I really enjoyed making it .

Chapeau

2009-01-24T17:23:00.001Z

An ATC I recently made for a swap entitled Ladies in Big Hats.
I always am drawn to sepia tints and no matter how hard I try I always return.

The Day the World Stood and Watched

2009-01-22T12:04:00.003Z

January 20th was a momentous day and I do not have the talent or the words to describe how I felt sitting in my sitting room, watching Barack Obama, being sworn in as President of the United States on the other side of the world.

Suffice it to say that I had a lump in my throat as Simple Gifts was played by the magnificent YoYo Ma as this music and the words were played and spoken at my dear Mother in Law's funeral last January.

So. I created a digital ATC titled "The Day the World Stood and Watched". The text comes from the Guardian newspaper online.

Nuff said.........

Millinery

2009-01-17T15:34:00.003Z

I have just been given by my darling husband a new camera. It's a Panasonic Lumix TZ5
and it really is a most beautiful object. So now I am wrestling with all it's pesky quirks, I love technology in all shapes and forms and, my family will tell you with a long suffering sigh that I can become a bore extolling the virtues of this MP3 and that laptop, but I really love the fantastic things these wonders can do. Play music, show me what the weather is in Timbuktu and let me plan my next holiday looking at virtual maps. Also it can show me what is happening in the World, the pain and suffering and the joy and hope. So three cheers for technology ( well most technology)

As part of my Challenge to create everyday I've put up a ATC I'm not totally happy with it sometimes something is missing and you can't put your finger on it.

Creative Every Day 2009

2009-01-16T13:26:00.003Z

I've joined the Creative Every Day Challenge 2009

Here is my first attempt a papier mache pot collaged with dictionary pages, rubber stamping on tissue paper. This is such a good challenge no pressure just creating.

Waiting

2009-01-15T19:22:00.000Z

Another angel from my walk in Trull

Venetian

2009-01-15T12:16:00.001Z

On a more traditional note an ATC of my favourite place. An original photograph with type from a guidebook.

A walk

2009-01-15T11:54:00.004Z

A walk around the village trying out my new camera. On returning of course I had to play on Photoshop and this is what I did.

Angels

2009-01-11T12:26:00.003Z

I love Angels prefably Gothic angels in old derelict churchyards. Words like melancholy come to mind,haunted with memories, wistful remembrances and forgotten dreams .

This photo was taken at a amazing cemetery in Bristol

http://www.arnosvalefriends.org.uk/

Slough Of Despond

2009-01-10T11:59:00.005Z

OK so I'm sure we all get this, but today I feel mmmm... ugh ! So I created this digital ATC.

I'm off to read a Georgette Heyer and to give myself a kick up the .........

Sorry

Stitched scrapbook collage

2009-01-07T11:04:00.007Z

Stitched scrapbook collage

Using Josie Cirincione's book "Bent, Bound And Stitched " as inspiration I stepped out of my comfort zone of ephemera and tried something new.I have never used stitching before so I wiped the cobwebs off my trusty sewing machine and gave it a go and I loved it. I had a few books for Christmas and this one was one of them, I also got "Paper Transformed by Julia Andrus" and "Vintage Collage- Works" by MaryJo and Sunny Koch such great books and I shall spend hours poring over them.

I love books, all sorts of books, fat books, thin books, fiction, non fiction, old, new anything. I trawl through charity shops, the library, second hand shops. I stroke them, smell them, revere them. When I first encountered altered books I was appalled ! destroy, rip, stitch and glue how awful !!! But, after the first step I was hooked after all this is recycling at it's best.

Circus box 1

2009-01-05T14:49:00.004Z

Circus box

Here's a good thought.....

'Words are not just wind. Words have something to say'
Chuang Tzu

I was given some handmade boxes and didn't quite know what to do with them: this is my first attempt. Today I decided to really get down to some crafting and spent longer tidying up my room than actually doing anything !

Looking at a blank canvas/table/paper etc is very dispiriting. So I'm going to put on some loud music well loud for a 53 year old and I'm going to GET CREATING.

Just before I go I''ll post one more picture

A wooden box collaged with original photographs,dictionary pages and rubber stamps. Thanks for looking.

Can you see

2009-01-04T15:18:00.002Z

doodle doo-d(u)

An aimless drawing.

I wonder what a Photoshop equivalent is ?

So in the meantime this is a PS "doodle", Instead of going into my craft room I'm playing around on the laptop, I find it so much easier here, hey maybe I should design on the computer and then transfer onto paint and paper.
The face you can see behind the grill is my husband's late grandmother. We have inherited masses of photographs from 1900 - 1990s so I can scan to my heart's content. The grill is from another original photograph

Masquerade

2009-01-03T09:10:00.002Z

Masquerade
Originally uploaded by Viv H

Venice
My most favourite place in the world. The light, the water and the history.

We have visited twice and both times it has enchanted me.

Crafting possibilities

2009-01-02T14:27:00.003Z

Hello
My first attempt at a Blog . Christmas and New Year are over and the decorations are put away.

I feel a bit like Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail" I wish I looked like her but such is life !!
Throwing words out in the void, will people read my blog does it matter if they don't ?

So, my craft room awaits what shall I create first? ATC or a canvas. I have some birthday cards to make so after a break of a few months I will put a talking book on (I'm an avid crime listener) pull out some supplies and get going. I love collage and use as much ephemera as possible ,old dictionary pages and rubber stamping. I use Art e Zine as an inspiration and Claudine Hellmuth as a teacher from her book "Collage Discovery Workshop" Make Your Own Collage Creations Using Vintage Photos, Found Objects and Ephemera.

Here is an example of my work I hope you like.

Using image transfer and peeling paint technique.

It is an original photograph taken at Hestercome House near Taunton

http://www.hestercombe.com/