Textured dolls

A new Country View Challenge is kicking off today and the theme, chosen by the lovely Miriam, is Textures. The world is your oyster... so many ways of creating textures and so much fun to be had!

Today I used stencils to create the main textures, first with texture paste and the chicken wire stencil and then for added dimension, I added embossing powder on top of the texture paste through the Prima doily stencil.

But going back to the beginning... I created the background on a heavy cardstock panel which I gessoed and stuck a piece of fabric like material on the right.

I painted a large portion of the panel with Prima Texture Paste Clear crackle for fine texture.

The stencilling came next and when dry I used the heat gun on the embossing powder (Seth Apter, Emerald Creek Baked Texture in Vintage Beeswax.

I then applied Paper Artsy Frescos paints all over the panel which revealed the crackles.

A bit of stamping with archival inks finished off the background.

The focal point is a cluster around a Tim Holtz Paper doll, one of the largest in the set. Behind is a doily, aged with Distress inks and a Vintage ad from a Prima Ephemera pack. Under the dolls' feet are 2 die-cuts. I created a cluster with a piece of muslin, 3 flowers made with the Prima Fairy Garden Mould and sprayed with shimmer sprays and some micro beads, the whole held in place with acrylic gel medium.

Once again this project didn't turn out the way I had envisioned but I had a lot of fun making it and so will you when you join us in the Country View Challenge! Plus there's a £20 voucher for grabs, just saying...

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the We Love To Create, SanDee & amelie's Steampunk, SSS Wednesday and Bleeding Art challenges.

Vintage mail

I love making my own backgrounds (saves me actually using up those lovely papers in my stash!) and I wanted to try Distress Oxides with Tim Holtz resist spray so I created a masterboard.

First I applied Distress Oxides with a brayer on a piece of white paper.

Then I sprayed some of the resist on top and let that to dry before applying more  Distress Oxides.

Another spray of resist….

And a final layer of Distress Oxides to finish, this time adding some of the darker Walnut ink.

The resist spray creates lots of dots in varying sizes which resist water based inks and dry to a shiny finish . The shine is not apparent in the enclosed photo but trust me it is glossy.
[Warning: the Resist spray is extremely sticky, it cannot be removed not even from your craft mat, so spray in a cardboard box or protect your work area with newspaper]

For today's card I die-cut a piece from this master board with the Julie Hickey Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set and 2 other mats from cardstock with the same die set.

My focal point is the postcard image from the Woodware set I had already stamped (see my previous project here) and some die-cut flowers from a Tim Holtz set.

I used Nuvo Drops to colour the flowers and add a little something to the sentiment banner.

Supplies:

Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set - Rectangle
Julie Hickey Designs I Need It Stamp Set - Everyday Sentiments
Woodware Clear Stamp Set - Old Postcard
Tonic Studios Nuvo Vintage Drops - Bonnie Blue and Chocolate Chip
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops Gloss - Dandelion Yellow and Woodland Green
Tim Holtz Alterations Thinlits Die Set - Wildflower Stems #2
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad – Antique Linen
VersaFine Onyx Black
WOW! Embossing Powder - Seafoam White

Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select  'Design Team'  in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!

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The resist technique I used for the background is fun and easy and I'm convinced it would look fabulous as a night sky or aurora borealis! Perfect for Christmas... no it's not too early for use crafters!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the challenges.

Words cannot say

A very short post today to show this CAS card.

The flower bouquet (Fancy Frangipanis) is stamped with Memento fog grey for a (nearly) no line colouring, which I did with watercolours.
The sentiment, from the Fond expressions 2 stamp set, is stamped in Memento Black.
Both stamp sets are by STAMPlorations.

I added some DecoArt Glass paint for dew drops as the finishing touch.

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the CAS Watercolour, Craft Stamper TIMI, Penny Black and more,  Stamping Sensations (Sir Stampalot),  STAMplorations, and Unikostudio challenges.

Metal Leaf

I saw the Vintage Journey challenge and the DT's beautiful makes and had to join in... at last some inspiration to get me back in the (crafting) groove!

I threw quite a lot of metallic looking mediums on this piece, the front cover of a book, usage yet to be determined.

I didn't take any in progress picture though, until I got to that stage.

The cover of my book was first gessoed, then I glued down a few (real) leaves, a die-cut (Tim Holtz Mixed Media die) and some corners (die-cut waste).

I used 3 colours of acrylic paints to create a "rusty" impression, adding silver to the high points with a soft cloth.

I created a cluster with a piece of designer corrugated cardboard which I tore.

A closer look at the metal shine....

I used foil on this die-cut    label

The "metallic" glint here is    from mica flakes sitting    on top of metal thread.

And the completed cover:

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Creative Artiste, Vintage Journey,  Bleeding Art challenges.

You are strong

I have a "quick" CAS card to show you today as I have been inspired to enter a few challenges to kick start my mojo back into action.

The first prompt is from CAS stencil who suggested we used Alcohol ink lifting technique.


Of course I wanted to use it with a stencil and chose one from the Tim Holtz Layering Mini Stencil Set #35.

While pouncing the smoothie to lift the alcohol ink I also applied it where there was no ink, resulting in a positive-negative view of the design.



My focal image is the Flora woman stamp from Cherry Pie and the sentiment is a sticker from the Shine Bright set by STAMPlorations.

Quite a fabulous product this Lift-ink...

Thanks for coming by,
I am also entering the Artistic Stamper,  Addicted to stamps, Allsorts, Craft Stamper  and CAS Mix up challenges.

Framework

Today is my turn to show you what I made with some of the new products arriving at Crafts U Love. One of them keeps going out of stock so I was excited to finally lay my hands on it... the Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set!

Why so excited you ask?

1. The mix of rectangular dies allow for 4 different sizes mats and 2 thin frames. By mixing those together on different colours of cardstock the possibilities are endless  (well not in a mathematical sense but...)
2. The smaller dies can be used for sentiments and 3 of them are perfect for thin sentiments which is something that was missing from my arsenal. Of course, they also match well with Julie Hickey Designs Everyday Sentiments
3. And finally, above all, the one feature that I have been waiting for since I started die-cutting... the dies sizes are proportional to our A6 cards (14.8 by 10.5cms) rather than the US standard card size (5"1/2 by 4"1/4 ). So now I can matt and layer using any standard paper and card...

Nuff said let's get on with the today's tutorial:

1. Using the largest (scalloped) die I first die-cut a panel and using the 3rd die down in size cut the middle out, creating a frame.
2. To make it easy for myself I then embossed it from the back with the second size down die (the largest of the thin frames).
3. I used the same die to cut out a frame with another colour of cardstock.

4. I finished my frame by sticking the thin frame in the channel I created in step 2.
With the left overs I also got a second frame thrown in!


For the background behind the frame, I made my own patterned paper using stamps and 2 colours of Nuvo Drops as paint.
Slightly unorthodox I know,  but I wanted to see if it worked and also making sure that colours matched...
To do this I spread a bit of product in a thin layer on my craft mat with a silicone tool then tapped the stamp lightly on the paint.

The Nuvo Drops I used are from the Vintage range and have a matt finish to them after drying. The stamp set is one of the many Vintage motifs sets released th year by Woodware and you know I like my Vintage...

Using the same stamp set I stamped the postcard and butterfly several times (I only needed one of each for this project but this will save me time in the long run)

I chose vellum for the butterfly which can be coloured both from the front and the back for a deeper colour.

Putting it all together on a blue card base with a banner die-cut, stamped and embossed with a sentiment and finished with Bonnie Blue Nuvo Drops at the corners of the frame and on the small heart of the banner. I did consider adding a dot to each pierced hole of the scalloped frame but I didn't fancy my chances of getting them all the same size and in the right place too!

Supplies:

Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set - Rectangle
Julie Hickey Designs I Need It Stamp Set - Everyday Sentiments
Tonic Studios Nuvo Vintage Drops - Bonnie Blue and Chocolate Chip
Woodware Clear Stamp Set - Old Postcard
Vicki Boutin Kaleidoscope Silicon Art Wedge
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad – Antique Linen
Brilliance inkpad
Creative Expressions White A4 Vellum
WOW! Embossing Powder - Seafoam White

Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select  'Design Team'  in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!

Come by at the end of the month for another inspiration post for Crafts U Love.
In the meantime... keep cool and carry on crafting!

Catching-up

This month's Country View Challenge theme has given me the opportunity to finally complete a Paper Artsy project I started in February... Corrie's theme of Blues and greens matches the colours Leandra had picked for the workshop and everything falls into place!

The background has been built up with layers of Paper Artsy Fresco paints, stencilling (PS126) and stamping (HP1901).

The focal point from  HP1902 has been stamped and embossed twice and coloured with Paper Artsy Infusions. One of the image had the inside of the window/door cut out and was popped up on foam pads before placing over the other copy.
The paper doll... well you all know where that comes from, don't you!

And now I have sort of caught up with the previous release of Paper Artsy stamps I can cast a serious look to the latest one and those yummy sets that are/have been coming up this month...

But I digress... I hope I have inspired you to enter our Country View Challenge, remember there is a £20 voucher to be won, just saying…

Thanks for coming by,

Cultivating my own garden

A new Country View Challenge is starting and the theme, chosen by the lovely Corrie, is Blues and Greens, a perfect combination for a seascape in summer. But not what I decided to make in the end, as I stayed closer to home and tried to reproduced the luxuriance of my Hydrangeas blooms.

OK my flowers are actually pink and the stamp I used is in fact a Dahlia set by Papertrey Ink (old and retired I believe) but hey ho it's an artist's impression...  Each image is stamped in 3 steps to give a 3D look, and the effect IS gorgeous, but aligning the stamps does take a lot of time and effort!

I stamped the small and large dahlias from the set with 3 shades of blue Memento inks and die-cut them with the matching dies. I did the same with the leaves, large and small.

Once I had settled for a composition on my base card (a lot of paper pushing involved in that step) I took a photo to help me stick the die-cuts in the right order and with the right thickness of foam pads to give the look I had in mind.

The sentiment is pre-printed on the card base.

Now it's your turn to create something with Blues and Greens, to be in with a chance to win a £20 voucher to the Country View Craft shop. Go on what are you waiting for...

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenge.

Butterfly eyes

Today is for my second Country View Challenge inspiration post, and let me tell you it did not turn out how I had envisioned at all... I was thinking Vintage, shabby chic etc... but once I had started my background I loved the bright colours and wanted to keep with it.

Our challenge theme this month, chosen by the lovely Jane, is "It's a bug's life" so, of course I have a few insects on the tag, but the star of the show is a rather fantasy butterfly... gifted to me by a crafter friend.

 

I used 3 colours of Paper Artsy Fresco paints and their brayer to colour my tag. Here's the first layer on the right.

My next move was to add dark touches with Blueberry Fresco, especially around the tag. I then knocked it back with the Blue Oyster as it was a bit fierce.

All in all it probably took 10 minutes and the paints dry very quickly!

My focal image is one by Carabelle Studio,  Sweet Butterfly Eyes, it is stamped in black and embossed, then coloured with watercolour pencils.

 I popped it up on foam pads and placed on a die-cut (Crafters Companion - Create a Flower Metal Die - What A Mesh!) which loosely reminds me of the broken surface of a lake.


For embellishments I played with lots of embossing, first with the Adelaide stem (Memory box) die-cut which I embossed with Ultra thick Tropic red powder for the blooms  and Moss green EP for the stem.
The small wooden bee has been embossed in yellow for the body, Chai Latte for the wings and black for the head (since you ask, yes it is fiddly work!)

The wooden dragonfly has been embossed with a mix of Vintage peacock and Seaglass.

All powders are from Wow embossing, apart from the Ultra Thick Embossing crystals in tropic red (Cosmic Shimmer )

I hope that I did justice to that beautiful butterfly image and that I have inspired you to join our Country View challenge. Don't forget a random player will scoop up a £20 voucher to spend on crafting goodies...

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the  We Love To Create, Craft Stamper TIMI, Penny Black and more, Stamping Sensations challenges.

For our elders...

Did you know STAMPlorations are celebrating their 6th Birthday  this month?

 

To coincide with the event our Theme & Sketch challenge is about Birthdays too and I have a second inspiration make today.

 

The theme and sketch are:

I used both Theme and Sketch for this birthday card and pulled out my A Snarky Birthday to You stamp set again.

This time I went for a Vintage vibe with old newsprint paper and doilies for the background.
My focal point is the sentiment, which I masked before stamping the balloons from the same set.
To give this waxy, aged look, I used Seth Apter's Vintage Beeswax embossing powder in a thick layer all over the panel.

The final touch is the stamped and embossed "Happy Birthday" , sarcastically placed after the put down! I can see a lot of siblings liking this one....

Check out further inspiration from my teamies for all the challenges here. 

 

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If you feel like shopping, check out the Birthday Summer sale
 



 And don't forget, whenever  you shop for STAMPlorations products you can get 20% off with my code: STAMPGIRLCRAFTY

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Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Addicted to stamps  challenges.