More Faded Botanicals

Hello crafters,

I have more makes with the newly released papers from STAMPLorations... starting with a tag:

I had to test how the paper would behave when wet... 

I stuck a piece of Faded Botanicals paper to cardstock to make a tag and sprayed it with Prima Blooms in orange, green and  silver. I inked the edges with Distress Walnut Stain.

I backed up the photo with a die-cut mandala (saved from an earlier project), a piece of Vintage lace and lengths of thread. 

A few gems give the final touch. 

The paper curls quickly when touched with a glue stick, but once glued down onto the card the sprays didn't make it cockle, fade or disintegrate so this experiment is successful!

My next endeavour was creating several items to be used in a Junk journal:

Using one piece of the paper I made this enveloppe to hold ephemera: 

First I changed the colour of the paper using Distress crayons, this worked really well as long as the crayons are not too dry! 

The Faded Botanicals have a lot of  neutral colours so it is easy to customise to your project's colours.

To make the envelope shape I folded the paper horizontally, then vertically so the sides would overlap a little (1/4") and cut all 4 rectangles in the corners, saving 2 to create the side pockets, whilst  the other 2 were made into tabs to attach on journal pages. 

I applied Distress Oxide Inks in 2 shades of pink and stamped several leaf motifs from the Wooded stamp set.

I added a closure with a brad and baker's twine. 

Last year Hidden Paper clips were all the rage and I made this pocket borrowing on this concept, except my paper clip is visible from the back (easier to move from one page to another if required).

To make it score a piece of paper in 3 equal parts on the long side to equal the short side (mine is 2.5") to get a finished pocket 2.5" by 2.5".  

With the inside facing up fold the rightmost panel over the paper clip attached to the middle panel and stick down with a lot of glue around the paper clip'

Punch a slot on the first panel, fold over to the middle  and glue in place to form the pocket.

As finishing touch a ribbon is threaded through the paperclip. 

The Mini envelopes are folded with just notches at the corners, tabs were the saved rectangles from the large pocket which I backed with cardstock for strength.

The "washi" tape are also left over and rather than applying double sided tape immediately I will use glue stick do that I can tear easily the tape before applying if desired.

I also used the Tag O'Coffee die set to create 3 tags, all backed up with cardstock.

Finally, to give you an idea of how I used these elements I put together a double journal page and added a decorated envelope to hold photos or memorabilia:

 

 

The papers are all gorgeous, each in their own style and there is something for everyone. Collage refers to the imagery contained in the papers and the weight is 70lbs/105 gsm, so not a thin rice paper or decoupage napkin type. The size of the paper is 5.75" x 8",  which is virtually our European A5.

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The full collection will is available here , including the Faded Botanicals I used for these projects

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Tag-Along (and ATCs) with my first project, 

                                                         and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenges

Tower card and door sign with Faded Botanicals

Hello crafters, 

I am so pleased to introduce you to the latest addition to the STAMPlorations line-up: The Artistic Crafter's Collage Paper Anthology, vol. 1, a collection of 9 collage paper packs each with a different theme. I have been playing with the Faded Botanicals featuring Soft Victorian florals, which you can get at a 30% discount within the Botanical maker's trio until the official release on the 15th of March.

 

First up is a tower card:

I sized my card so I could use dies to cut the panels. It is simple to make with 1 piece of cardstock 6"1/2 wide by 5"1/4, score at 1", 2", 3" and 4" to make the tower shape. 

3 panels from cardstock cut with the widest of the rectangles in the Basic A2 Panels Nesting Dies set, using the size down to cut the paper.

For the small side of the tower I used the narrow rectangle die to cut the paper. 

One of the panel is reserved for the message, which I stamped with the Happy birthday from the A Snarky Birthday To You set, chosen for its small size.

I added a rose stamped in colour from the Wooded stamp set. 

The card folds flat at 5"1/2 wide by 5"1/4 tall which doesn't fit a standard envelope but I don't mind  making a custom envelope. 

For a quick video of all sides of the card visit my Instagram. 

My second project is a door sign, since I thought this paper would lend itself to image transfer. I wasn't disappointed!

To make this I applied gel medium to my wooden substrate and placed the paper face down on it smoothing it as much as I could to ensure best adhesion. 

When dry the white paper layer is removed by wetting and rubbing. Fingers are best in the latter stages to avoid rubbing the design as well as the white! I had to retouch the centre of my flower after too vigorous rubbing... but it all adds to the Vintage/distressed look.

I couldn't bring myself to cover the background and added only a quote from the Art Is stamp set mounted on foam pads over a piece of lace.

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Love these new collage papers from @stamplorations? 🎨 The Anthology is now available in Project Trios so you can grab the vibe that fits your style for just $21!
✨ THE ART JOURNALER: Love grit & type? Get the Essentials Trio.
✨ THE STORYTELLER: Love vintage & travel? Get the Heritage Trio.
✨ THE BOTANICAL MAKER: Love florals & patterns? Get the Botanical Trio.
Everything is IN STOCK and shipping now! No more pre-orders. Grab yours at stamplorations.com 📦

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   

Use your stash idea

Happy Sunday crafters! 

I have a weakness for beautiful papers and often grab a pad or a rice paper just because I like the look of it, not knowing how I will use it. Then it lays undisturbed in my stash because I cannot bear to cut into that beautiful paper! Sounds familiar?

The A4 Stamperia rice paper below (Blue Dream from the Colorful Life collection DFSA4746) is one of these that I didn't know what to do with, until I had the idea of using it on a mouse mat. 

My old mouse mat was deteriorating and the top layer was lifting up at the corners. 

I realised that if the top layer was plasticised, underneath was a white paper layer that could accept glue. And the size was a little shorter than A4 but I could still fit sky and sea from the rice paper!

To provide the necessary glide for the mouse and protect the top layer, the rice paper had to be treated in some way. Instead of gel medium, varnish or similar, I thought laminating would be the best idea. Of course since I needed to glue the image to the paper layer of the mat I couldn't laminate as normal, that is to say both sides. So I sandwiched my rice paper between one layer of laminating and a page of copy paper both slightly bigger than my rice paper.

Then it's a matter of cutting out the margins to take out the copy paper and applying a good amount of glue or gel medium to the mat and smoothing the laminated rice paper on top. For this project I used matt laminating pouches rather than glossy.

And here's the result:

I have been using my mat for a while now and enjoy looking at that view everyday as well as having something that is unique and made by my fair hands. Really pleased with the result so much so  I upgraded another mat in the same way!!!

Thanks for coming by,
 Craftyfield   

Mad as a box of frogs

Hello crafters!
Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook group. This month the theme is "The Great Outdoors " hosted by Jane.
For my first inspiration post I upcycled a box.

I started by painting the sky with Paper Artsy Fresco paints, chosen for their matt aspect. I faded out the sky to the green of the box which I left unpainted so I could stamp on it. I added clouds and painted the pond again with Frescos.

The Bulrushes is a Lavinia stamp (LAV003) and although I originally used the Forest Moss set, also from Lavinia (LAV857), to stamp the rocks, I ended up painting them with acrylic paints as they didn't look right.




The focal point is of course the frog, sat on a mossy "bench" resting on rocks. All of these and the flowers on the right are rub-ons from Stamperia's Hidden Grove collection. 

Until now I hadn't used rub-ons in creative ways and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the design and how easy they are to blend into one's creation. [New ones have been added to my wish list...]

To finish I applied DecoArt Raw Umber paint with a sponge to create a border. 

How cute is that frog!!!

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To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a a fabulous Paper Artsy floral stamp set designed by Alison Bomber.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield),       I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday, 

                                                              We Love To Create, Creative Artiste, Polkadoodles, 

                                                              We Love Stamping, Stamping Sensations challenges

Mr O'Neil

Hello crafters!
Today I am showing a second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge on the theme "Aged, weathered, distressed or timeworn " hosted by Brenda.

For this tag I chose Paper Artsy Infusions to create the aged/distressed look in the background.

The base of my tag is thin wood cut with the AALL & Create Die set Tag It Yourself #27 and gessoed. I then sprinkled Infusions in Rusty Car, Walnut and A Bit Jaded onto the sprayed tag.

I added some stencilling with white acrylic with the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil #43. 

Bits of washi tape (AALL & Create #107), clip die-cut (AALL & Create #30 Taggletastic) embossed with a mix of Wow Embossing powders, with a note attached (stamp by Andy Skinner), Cello Sticker Tape  (TH94386) and finally paper doll (the imaginary Mr O'Neil now cast as an industry magnate!).

 

The cogs are cut from masterboards created with acrylic paints in black, and Distress Oxides sprays in Salty Ocean, Fossilized Amber and Tea Dye. Then they were die-cut with the Sizzix Bigz L Cogs .

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To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. ">There will be a fabulous prize from the Country View Craft shop, something from a latest release...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the challenge Tag-Along (and ATCs) and 

                                                          Creative Artist.

Masculine card with stencils

Hello crafters, 
This fortnight, the Allsorts challenge optional theme, chosen by Val, is "Stencils/Masks". As usual, you can also enter with an "anything goes" theme.

In other news there is a new monthly challenge for tags and ATCs lovers Tag-Along (and ATCs), first challege starts 1st of May.

My stencil inspiration:

The background is a Gelli print I made with a DIY stencil by die-cutting numbers into a piece of card with the ALL & Create die set #33 Numberama (in black) and bits from the #39 Infinarty set. I also used the Ledger (TCW267) from The Crafters Workshop (in white) and Imagination Crafts (MA241) stencils.

I used Paper Artsy for the paints and with the stencils, Prima Heavy gesso (white) and DecoArt Media black gesso.

 

The focal image is AALL & Create Car from the #77 Climbing Wood die set, which I die-cut in pearlescent green (I was going for a metallic paint finish). I added some silverware with foil to the bumper and other accessories.

I cut the Gelli print and a mat with the set #33 Splodazzlers.

Finally I added a clip and a label, both die-cut with the #30 Taggletastic set, also ALL & Create. [Yes I'm a bit obsessed with their dies...] 

Hop on over to the Allsorts challenge blog to see all the DT inspiration and upload your projects. There is a prize from  From Lisa Horton Crafts, Pansy Corner layering stencils with coordinating die and embossing folder as well as a prize of two AALL and Create stencils.... for 2 lucky winners!

 

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Addicted to Stamps & More and Creative Artist challenge

Snowy window

Hello crafters, 

Another Christmas themed make today. Last month I was excited to find out I could make a realistic looking window with the help of dies and I thought it would be great to make ones with snow...

I first applied a specialty paper top left with gold. 

On the right hand side I stuck down a paper with vegetal inclusions which I had stamped on with 'Vintage Ads Background (CI-461).

On the bottom left I stamped the 'Just the Ticket Border' (CI-498) 

Behind the window are paper dolls and the Crafty Individuals 'Large Christmas Tree' (CI-462).

All stamps are Crafty Individuals.

The window have has "snow" applied, a mix of thick gel medium and flocking powder,

Finally I added collaged elements, a stamp from Graphic 45 and ephemera from Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Ephemera Pack (TH94396).

Apologies for the reflection in the window! A closer look at what is happening inside...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the We Love To Create, Creative Artiste,

                                                      Stamping Sensations and We Love Stamping  challenges

Halloween Door Sign

Hello crafters!
Today I have a second make on the Halloween theme for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. Still inspired by Tim Holtz and his latest release, I made a Halloween plaque to hang on a door.

The base is a recycled piece of light wood (ready meal container). I first tore a large piece of Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Halloween 2024 Collage Paper (TH94393) and glued it in place with Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte, adding smaller pieces on top (insects).

Then I used Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray  (now stocked at Country View Crafts... yeah!!!).

 
When dry I added Distress Crayons (Halloween  Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Pearl Crayons 2022 - Halloween Set #4)
I added Ranger - Tim Holtz® - Distress® - Texture Paste - Translucent  and sprinkled several colours of Wow Embossing powders (Violine, Grape, Chai Latte, Olive).

I added ephemera  (Tim Holtz® Idea-ology™ Halloween 2024 Ephemera Pack TH94396), a paper doll (Tim Holtz® Ideaology™ TH93555), a sticker (TH94263) a die cut number (AALL & Create #32 - Die-cutting set - Numberama)  and a hand drawn pumpkin. 

The book is made of 2 pieces of  ephemera folded and glued together, a book of magic spells maybe... 

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the Halloween Whatnots stamp set from Tim Holtzs' latest release!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the We Love to Create, Allsorts, Creative Artist, 

                                                           Simon Says Stamp Wednesday,  challenges 

All About the Gold

Hello crafters!
Today I am showing more Stencil Magic inspiration for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This time I have used stencils with foils... 

I applied DecoArt Black Gesso as the base for my page. When dry I collaged a printed image (freebie) to this background with DecoArt Decoupage medium.

I then used several stencils (Mini Stencils sets 28,35 and 39 all from Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz with Cosmic shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue. This medium allows foils, metallic flakes or glitter to be applied on top, any time after drying, so there is no need to hurry up. Washing the stencils immediately though is strongly recommended....

I used 2 types of foil, Stix2 foils which work with adhesives and Go Press foils which are designed to work with heat (think Hot Foil Plates) but also work with the glue. I used both types because I wanted to have the 2 shades of gold.

I added colour around the gold stencilled areas and to darken or lighten certain "lost" areas of the image, such as the eyes with pencils, water based pens and gel pen (I tried different medias with varying degree of success).

With the foil reflecting light and surrounding colours getting a picture that gives a good idea of what the page looks like in real life has been difficult so here are 2 other photos in different lighting, the first taken with the sun on the page and the second in artificial light at night, 

In hindsight I should have painted the back of the image behind the woman with white paint or gesso to get the areas to shine through, whereas with the black Gesso she looks a bit too dark and that's without considering her decidedly morose outlook... 
Still, the end result gives a good impression of a centuries old painting, which I'm not unhappy with and I certainly had fun making this project.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the FULL set of newly released Ranger/Tim Holtz® Distress Spritz 😲, yes you hear that right the FULL set... so what are you waiting for!!!

Thanks for coming by,
 Craftyfield   I am entering the Creative Artist, We Love To Create, 

                                                           SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday and Allsorts challenges

Stencil technique with gel medium

Hello crafters!
Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Stencil Magic".
With different techniques and mediums, the possibilities are endless...
My tag uses medium with a stencil to preserve a colourful background: 

For the background I used my most colourful Distress Oxide  Inks. 

I then applied gel medium through one of the Tim Holtz Mini stencil set 10 (THMST010).

 

 

When dry I added water splatters, and Distress Oxide spray in Tea dye, wiping the inks off the gel medium. 

The focal image is a Paper Doll accompanied by several Field Notes Snippets, a doily die-cut and a butterfly die-cut from an inking session leftover piece of card. I also gave my lady a bit of tissue tape (old Ideology/Tim Holtz) to stand on, coloured with inks.

I added some liquid glass beads which came out yellow as they picked up the underlying tea dye pigment rather than stay clear...

Not for the faint hearted but instead of a light coloured spray you can use a dark ink instead for maximum contrast.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the FULL set of newly released Ranger/Tim Holtz® Distress Spritz 😲, yes you hear that right the FULL set... so what are you waiting for!!!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Allsorts and We Love To Create challenges

Seaside panel

Hello crafters!

Only a week left to enter our "Seaside" challenge at Country View Challenges held in the Facebook  group and I have some more inspiration for you. 
This is a plaque that will be hanging from a door.

The base for my plaque is recycled wood from food container (unused).

The other elements are from a pack of Stamperia Decorative Chips - Sea Dream Sea Shore (SCB53), they are, like my base, made from wood. Now this is an old collection, but I tend to grab the Stamperia items that I like even if I don't have a project in mind, because they tend to go quicky.

If you wanted to do a project like this one, they are plenty of alternative packs of chips on various  themes such as dance, couture etc...

I first painted the background on the wood panel making sure I had the right colours where the chips had opened areas. I also painted the lighthouse chip, first with gesso then colours using DecoArts Mixed Media Fluid acrylic paints.

The words chips were embossed with white followed by Wow! Blue Pearl embossing powders.

This is a really easy way to make a "painting" without any actual drawing skills and I have enjoyed making the process and am quite pleased with the result.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a seaside inspired bundle by Art by Marlene.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and Monday                                                                       challenges, and the Allsorts challenge