New stencils

I have finally laid my hands on Tim Holtz Mixed Media Thinlits! When I saw them early this year I knew they would be popular. True enough, as soon as they were in stock they disappeared and I missed out several times!
First, I wanted to create some stencils with those dies and test them out. Just as well, since the Paper Artsy challenge this fortnight is about stencils... I also decided to use different mediums through my stencils to compare how they react with subsequent layers of paint.

Top left texture paste through the Distressed Harlequin stencil, topped with a bit of Blue Gelato. Next to that Gelatos through the same stencil.
Top right matt varnish through the Hexagon stencil.
Bottom transparent texture paste through the Pebble stencil.

The Allsorts challenge chose the colour for me and I used Paper Artsy Fresco paint in Pacific Ocean and a bit of red oxide paint to balance the blue (OK that's just an excuse... truth is I wanted to test my newly bought "rust" colour).

The stamp is from a Lynn Perella set (LPC012).

I had intended to add sprays using the last stencil in the Mixed Media die set but I liked the image so far and I was too scared to mess it up!

Keep cool and carry on crafting,

Also entering the That's Crafty challenge.

Bow bag

You know how messy Gelli printing can be... Best approached in sessions to be productive.
So I spent an enjoyable moment printing, layer after layer, with stencils and other implements. True some pieces are going in the bin but there are some interesting results too. Included in the fun was this white bag (25x21cm approximately).

Front and back have different colours, there is no special reason apart from the logistics of mono-printing! The green side has at least 4 layers, the other has had many more as the early results were quite awful and I obliterated some of my attempts.



Stencils used : Reims (Artist Cellar), Dragonflies (That Special touch) and an old bow stencil.
I also used the top of a detergent bottle to make marks (dotted circles) on the plate for the left side and I stamped repeatedly sections of a Dragonflies stamp (Crafty Individuals) for the right side.

The paints I used are all Paper Artsy Frescos in Limelight, Pacific, Claret, Blueberry, Vanilla, Lilac and Lavender.

Thanks for coming by,

I am entering the Craft Barn,  We Love 2 Create, All Sorts and That Craft Place and Paper Artsy challenges.

Butterflies

Memory Box is having a challenge on their blog for the first time and I wanted to be part of this moment.
Sadly, unlike Memory Box dies, their stamps are not so easy to find on this side of the Atlantic,  so I didn't have any to use on my make. I used some home-grown talent instead and chose the biggest butterfly from a Crafty Individuals set as well as a greeting by The Artistic Stamper to go along with my Madera Corner die.

The butterfly image is made up of 2 stamping, one in black and one where I inked the stamp with coloured pens.
The Madera corner has been coloured with the same blue pen to match the butterflies.

Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Craft Barn, The Artistic Stamper, Stamping Sensations and  Inky Chicks challenges.

Beach layout

As our thoughts turn to the summer holidays, the Rubber Dance challenge us to use the colours of Sand and Sea.

I still have photos to scrapbook from previous holidays so it was time to tackle them. For my base I created a mono print using texturing tools and a Tim Holtz stencil.

I decided to add some texture paste, stamping into it a with a Netting stamp (Rubber Dance) and also using a stencil (bottom left, The Crafter's Workshop). The last area was going to be stamped with a fence stamp but the result was so awful I had to sand it down and stamped a seashell instead.

The photo is matted on a 6x6 paper (Crafty Individuals - The Seaside) and I added some stamping on the mat and around using images from Rubber Dance: Souvenir, a plant, Diamonds background and Netting.

I die-cut the letters for my title, arranging them Scrabble style.

I don't know about you but I can't wait to go to the beach!

Also entering the We Love 2 Create,  Tando Creative and Craft Stamper challenges.

Garden Shed

Today is another masculine card, Father's Day coming up soon...

It's been a while since I used papers rather than make my own background, so for a change, I pulled some HOTP freebies, cut a few pieces and distressed them with scissors before layering in a carefree fashion.

To give the card maximum texture, I started with a textured card base and to my papers I added some Kraft Core'dination cardstock embossed (Woodgrain) and sanded.
The freebie pack came with die-cuts sheet of flowers and labels so I used a flower on the front and a label for the inside, stamped with the sentiment.
The image is the Garden Shed by Impression Obsession and I coloured it with alcohol markers.

Less fun than messing with paints but packs of papers like these take all the guesswork out of picking the right colour scheme.

Thanks for coming by,

I am entering the Craft Stamper, Polka Doodles and the Live & Love Crafts challenges. 

Bokeh attempt

I finally tried this little scene stamping I had in mind. In truth I was aiming to use this in a layout, but the latest Katzelkraft challenge sounded a good time, especially as the Circle theme cried out to me Bokeh... a technique I hadn't tried yet and that would echo the circles of the cycle's wheels.

Cela faisait longtemps que je voulais créer cette scène avec des tampons, a priori pour un fond de page scrapbook, mais le dernier challenge Katzelkraft  me paraît une bonne occasion surtout que le thème Cercles me permet enfin d'essayer la technique du Bokeh.

I used the cyclist from the Katzelkraft Transport set as well as the wall texture stamp from the same set. Then I completed my wall design by adding the window from a Finnabair set and a Peeled Paint texture stamp (also Finnabair/Prima).
J'ai utilisé le tampon cycliste de la planche Transport de Katzelkraft ainsi que la texture "mur" de la même planche. J'ai ensuite fini mon impression murale en ajoutant la fenêtre d'un set Finnabair et un tampon texture "Peeled Paint" (également Finnabair/Prima).

One wall showing its age....
Un mur qui accuse son âge...

Now onto the Bokeh... After inking with Distress inks I used a stencil and water to create bleached out circles. That didn't work too well so I added white pigment ink through the stencil. Again the results were too subtle, so I added white pastel on top. Eventually I realised that the background was too subtle to start with to show up my white circles very much, whatever I used.

Since I wanted my wall to read as a credible wall I left it at that and, at a certain angle, you can catch sight at the Bokeh:

Passons à l'effet Bokeh... Après avoir appliqué de l'encre Distress j'ai décoloré avec de l'eau et un pochoir cercles. Comme le résultat était décevant j'ai ajouté de l'encre blanche toujours avec le pochoir. L'effet était encore trop discret alors j'ai rajouté du pastel sur mes cercles.

J'ai fini par comprendre que le problème venait des couleurs trop pâles du fond.

Sous un certain angle on peu voir l'effet Bokeh:

I haven't added anything to the scene and just mounted it on a card base, leaving the sentiment for the Inside.
Je n'ai rien ajouté à ma scène et le sentiment trouvera sa place à l'intérieur de la carte.

Don't hesitate to comment on my scene/ n'hésitez pas à commenter...

Also entering the Craft Barn and Sandy & Amelie Steampunk challenges.

Calendar page June

This month the Craft Barn calendar challenge prompts are Dragonflies and Lavender (the colour).

I chose to use a background stamp by Crafty Individuals (CI- 409) and used it to create both background and focal image by using soft lavender and dark black to stamp the dragonflies.
The colours have been applied with Gelatos, in Lavender, Violet, and a Blue.

I added some yellow Gelato around the dragonflies but kept everything quite subtle because I didn't want this page to interfere with what when on before....
[The May page is on acetate and June will show through in places].

Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Penny Black and more challenge.

Transport

Time for the Craft Barn challenge. This week the theme is Transport and I had plenty of choices in my stamp collection . With Father's Day looming I selected this Old Crock from a set by Butterfly Kisses which has a Father's day sentiment.

I stamped and embossed the Old crock on a white panel before colouring with alcohol markers.
I added a piece of patterned paper at the bottom and in the top right corner of the panel.

Before affixing to my blue card base I partially die-cut the panel with the Zipper border die (Papertrey Ink) and embossed a "secret" message on the card base.
When you pull the tab the message is revealed for a bit of an extra surprise.

Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the

Hot Sunny Colours

I am hoping from hot sunny weather to go with the colours of our Vintage Stamping Challenges this month, after the wash out that May was!

The first image that came to mind was a sunset, sunsets are so much more beautiful and "hot" in the summer. Then I went through my extensive collection of papers, aiming to use some of the neglected ones, and found this, one of a kind, hand made piece, perfect for the theme.
Put them together and voila...

I created the background with inks on white card and overstamped with the Girl Reading Book image (also available in a fantastic value full sheet of silhouettes) in Versafine Onyx Black.

With this riot of colours I needed some black for balance so I added a die cut frame and embossed my sentiment with Gold EP on black card.

I can just close my eyes and imagine myself reading outside in the setting sun....

What about you? What do you imagine when you think about Hot Sunny colours? Come and show us at Vintage Stamping Challenges and you could win a $20 voucher from our sponsor, Flonzcraft.
Your make doesn't need to be Vintage, but it must follow the theme and have some stamping.

Also entering the WOW Embossing powder challenge

Looking back

This is the final challenge at Artful Times and the chosen theme is Party.
So, whilst Neet and Wendy are looking back at 3 years' worth of posts, challenges, online friendship and general crafty activities, it's time to celebrate in style before looking forward to the next adventures.
A door closes...

I first stamped my ladies (a magazine freebie) with Versafine black and embossed with clear powder, to get a detailed impression and a waterproof finish.
Alas, most of the Versafine sank into that paper and worse bled! [I used one side of an Amazon Kraft package as my base]
So... patchy embossing and not the best details, plus, without embossing, I couldn't get my background wet anymore!

The door (Crafty Individuals) was stamped with Versamark and embossed with a left over mix which appears to have a rustic gold EP and gold glitter. Again not what I though it was! Serves me right, next time I'll label my leftovers...

I painted the ladies' dresses with Fresco paints in Blueberry and Claret, the door with Graphitint (Derwent) pencils in Cool Brown and Chestnut. I love the Chestnut to do brickwork but on this occasion it looks a lot redder and darker than anticipated, also the embossing is gritty and I couldn't move the pigment around as I wanted.

I used Gelatos around the ladies instead of the Neocolours II I had lined up because they can be blended dry. Although the left hand side looks a bit pink I used Lavender and over-layed  the darker violet.

Finally I used a gold oil pastel to highlight the frame.

Good luck to Neet and Wendy and also Sam, Von and Chrissie, previous members of the DT.

Also entering the A Sprinkle of Imagination and Polka Doodle challenges.

Home Decor

I once bought some fairly cheap placemats and within a few years the thin plastic coating came apart leaving a paper top coat. I immediately thought I can work with that...

Once Gessoed I needed some colour and, as I didn't have any acrylics then, I used Inktense hoping for a waterproof result. Of course I finished with a spray of varnish but as my can was running out the coating ended up patchy in places.

The finish has degraded to the point where wiping the mat also takes out the Inktense colour. Here's an opportunity to do something different and, hopefully, better!
The old mat:

I sanded the mat until I was certain the varnish had been removed and applied several layers of Gesso. Then I used Fresco paints in Limelight, Pacific Ocean and Blueberry to create my background.

I used stamps from 3 Katzelkraft sets (Collage BIGZ , Fruitful and Transport ) and the textures stamps I used to frame my scene are from the Grunge set by Stampendous.
I have decided to make the other 3 mats in the set different from each other although I will try and keep the colours similar so watch this space...

Voila, some useful home decor! I so wish I could find blank placemats, preferably ready to decorate, to make crafty gifts. I find these ideal because if people don't like the artwork they can still use them, unlike a canvas say.
Let me know what you think,

Entering the We love 2 create, Tando Creative (Week 4)  and That's crafty challenges.

Resist stamping

If my readers haven't worked it out yet, blue is my favourite colour, so it was no imposition to follow the colour scheme at Lavinia Stamps this month.

I had to crack open my new Bistre powders and they produce a bit of a dirtier pink and blue than the Brushos do but I love the look.

I keep up with crafting news and the latest Tim Holtz release didn't escape my attention. One of the "new" product he has introduced with Ranger is Microglaze. The reason I was so interested is that I have bought Microglaze a few years ago (it was previously sold by Judikins) and haven't really used it in creative ways.  - for those who are not familiar with it it looks and feels like a paraffine wax, just softer -

I hadn't even tried using it as a resist with stamps, which I have seen people do. It had to be done...
I applied some glaze on a plastic palette and "inked up" my Lavinia Dandelions before stamping.

Then I sprinkled Bistre powders with a small (dry) brush and sprayed water over it. I repeated the operation where I felt I needed more colour and let the piece dry before mounting on a card base.
For embellishments I followed Bunny Zoe's Crafts idea of bows and buttons using recycled buttons I embossed in WOW pomegranate powder.

The Microglaze doesn't give as neat a result as embossing resist but gives a nice distressed effect. I am curious to what other creative uses Tim Holtz will come up for Microglaze...
Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Allsorts and Ladybug Crafts challenges .