Monday, 31 October 2016

Tricks or Treats ?

Tonight's the night... the most spooky of nights is upon us and I am revealing my sorceries... mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha...

It is also the last day to enter our CountryView Spooky challenge hosted by my DT mate Corrie so get on your brooms pronto if you want to be in with a chance to win a £20 voucher to spend on crafting goodies!

Here's my 2nd DT make for the Spooky theme:



I started by preparing my tag with a layer of Gesso, applied lazily with a wipe. After drying I scribbled Gelatos in Orange, Red and Violet, blending with my fingers.
 
I then placed a stencil (Sunburst by DecoArt over the tag and sprayed water all over. Dabbing with a wipe I removed the colour, in places.


The stamps are 3 images from the Toxic set (Stampendous) inked with black dye ink and a freebie stamp from an old Craft Stamper magazine, a black cat.
Sometimes with clear stamps, especially the cheaper acrylic versions, it is difficult to get a good impression.

My first trick for you today is to sand lightly the stamp surface so that the ink has somewhere to grip onto without beading. This is especially essential when dealing with solid images such as this cat.


The second trick deals with slight defects on the back of the stamps (a bubble of air during manufacturing) preventing a good impression of a particular section.

Place a piece of paper to the rough shape of the defect underneath the stamp as shown in the photo. Here there is still plenty of surface for the stamp to adhere onto the acrylic block without problem.
Be sure to apply more pressure on top of the defective area.





Finally I stamped both texture images from the same Toxic stamp set using the method shown here:

There you have it, my best tricks...

They do work a treat and I hope they were a treat for you too!

Happy Halloween!





I am entering Nefertiti, That's Crafty, Stamplorations Mixed Media, Inkychicks, SSS Wednesday and Vintage Journey challenges.

15 comments:

  1. A always love the Halloween colours Christine and I am really drawn by the interesting designs that stencil creates, it's a really super piece.

    B x

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  2. Fabulous tag Christine, I love the way you have removed colour rather than adding it through your stencil xx

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  3. Terrific tag with great ideas for us to try

    Love Chrissie xx

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  4. Fantastic! Wonderful colour combo for Halloween. Loved all of the tricks. They were a treat! Great music to get into a spookylicious mood.
    Hugs Flo x

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  5. Oh, man! That soundclip scared the bejesus out of me!! Luckily, your gorgeous tag isn't too eerie ;) Love the effect by the Sunburst stencil. Awesome colours! x

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  6. Wonderful tag, Christine!Love the colors and the cat. And thank you for your hints for stamping!
    xxx Evelyn

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  7. Wow, this post really is spec-tag-cular! Not only I was scared by the sound (!!!), I also enjoyed the sight of your creation!! Love the clever use of stencil! So glad that you join the fun over Simon Says Stamp Wednesday” Anything Goes” Challenge! Awesome details and design! Super work!

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  8. Great colour combination and I love how the sunburst stencilling draws the eye in... Great tips too!

    Thanks so much for joining in our 'Make it Spooky' challenge at A Vintage Journey. Anne x

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  9. Merci pour cette nouvelle participation à mon challenge Halloween. Elle est colorée à souhait, comme j'aime!
    Je te souhaite une belle journée, a bientot, Bizzzzzzz Sylvie

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  10. Awesome!!! I love it. The colours are so wonderful. Thanks for joining us in the STAMPlorations Mixed Media Challenge. Hugs, Susanne.

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  11. love the vibrant background with the crackle effect - thanks for joining us at the STAMPlorations Mixed Media Challenge

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  12. Wonderful use of colours synonymous with Halloween. Great use of the Sunburst stencil and stamps too .
    Thanks for joining in our 'Make it Spooky' challenge at A Vintage Journey .

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  13. The vibrant colors are gorgeous and beautiful stenciling work. Glad you joined STAMPlorations October Mixed Media Challenge and see you again this month.
    Hugs and smiles,
    Asmah
    STAMPlorations Mixed Media Design Team
    Qinaahana Arts & Crafts {My Personal Blog}

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  14. Beautiful make Christine.

    Warm crafty hugs from Shirl x x x
    ShirlsCards.

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