Gorjuss Alice

Back for my second inspiration piece for the Country View Challenge, hosted my teammate Corrie who chose the Blues and Greens theme.
If you missed my first post it's here.


I turned my attention to designer papers to find a blue and green background. And I found this beautiful foiled scrapbook paper (K & Co) that I haven't got around to use, either because it is a bit garish as a full page for a layout, or because it looked too precious to use but for "best".
I decreed it was time to cut into it and use it!

I chose the stamp because it's one of my never-been-inked stamps, my followers will know I have a few and I am trying to remedy that shameful situation...

I haven't got a step by step for this but most of it is self explanatory, at least for the crafters, so I will only give you this tip for the fussy cutting:

Cut the "inside" and delicate parts with a craft knife before cutting the outside,  otherwise you might rip apart those strands of hair!

And, where you can, use scissors as the finish is better.

Finally, touch up with pens the sides of the image as well as any small areas that you cannot cut.

The words are from the Adventure Words and Vacation words Thinlits Die Sets by Tim Holtz (Sizzix), die-cut from blue cardstock and sponged with metallic paint. The word Music has been stamped with Versamark and embossed in green (Cosmic Shimmer)


Another look from a different angle:

You still have 5 days to enter the CountryView Challenge so don't delay! Get crafting...

You could win £20 to spend at Country View, and us crafters know there's nothing better than shopping for stash!

Thanks for coming by,






I am entering the That's Crafty challenge.

SSSS

Summer, Sun, Sea and Sand are the inspiration for this scrapbook page.

You will forgive the beach photo's odd colours as my printer's ink cartridge ran out on me... and I will replace the photo, as soon as I get around to have a 2 year back log printed, professionally this time!

Do come and check the step by step on the Craft Barn blog.

Supplies:

Watercolour card
Distress Oxide in Faded Jeans and Fossilized amber
Brayer
Kaisercraft stamp:
Impression Obession stamp: Canvas Cover-A-Card
Kaisercraft wooden embellishments
Gel medium
Sand and seashells: the real thing... collected on an beach!

Layouts are for me a labour of love, they do take me a long time because I tend to dither on each addition and I am never sure when to stop! However the size of the canvas (12x12) allows to play with lots of mediums, stamps and stencils and isn't that a crafter's dream...

Do let me know what (if!) you like on this layout in your comments,
Thanks for coming by today,
I am entering the Creative Artiste, SSS Monday,  Lost Coast Designs, The Artistic Stamper,  We Love To Create, Craft Stamper TIMI, and Fashionable Stamping challenges.

Turning a corner

Time for another show and tell at the Craft Barn blog! This time there isn't much of a step by step, just because this is a CAS card and so easy to make you really don't need instructions!

Still, if you want all the inside story come and visit the Craft Barn blog, you may even leave a comment there to show your appreciation... no pressure!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Craft Stamper TIMI, Penny Black and more, Stamping Sensations, Stamplorations CAS and Casology challenges.

Dark to Light 2

With just a few hours left I thought I would have another go at this Gelli printing in layers, as shown by Barbara Gray. If you missed my first go at this technique it's here.

This is, of course, for the benefit of the Paper Artsy Dark to light challenge.

Supplies:

Cartridge paper
Paper Artsy Frescos
Stencils:
                 Gears: TCW
                 Reims (Cathedral series):  Paper Cellar
                 Fabric: Dutch Doobadoo
                 Drop screen: Imagination Crafts

This time I managed to go a bit lighter but I still need to work out the sequence of my colours so there is more light colours, especially to stamp on!

Do you see Denim fabric in this print? I quite like it and one of the accidental visual interest has been created by a crunched up paper, used to remove colour. You can see the "white" lines this has produced.

This week has been a bit of a record posting wise... 5 posts in a week! My faithful followers must be sick with the sight of my crafting, so you'll be pleased to know this is likely to be a one off!

Thanks for coming by,

Bloomtangled

Stamplorations are celebrating National Coloring day (2nd of August) and are giving a free sampler to colour on their blog.

I managed to find time to play with my pencils, it is such a relaxing past time...

Here's my finished piece:

I should say that pencils aren't the fastest medium to colour this type of large (5"x7") and detailed drawing but so much more controllable than pens, especially if you are trying to render shapes within the leaves and petals!

The sun is calling me outside but I might play with my Gelli plate later, if so, I'll be back!

In the meantime, have a great Sunday!

Also entering the That's Crafty challenge.

Dark to light Gellis

Paper Artsy are having a Dark to Light fortnight and I have chosen to try one of the techniques shown on the introduction post here. 

I have followed Barbara Gray's video step by step and it looked easy enough... however the choice and order of the colours is paramount and the infinity of permutations means it is actually a lot harder, unless you have a lot of practice. Which of course Barbara has and I ... haven't!

So here are 2 of the more decent Gelli prints I managed to make, we'll not talk about the disasters, except to say they were even darker than those!




Supplies:

Support: Thick cartridge pad
Paints: Fresco (Paper Artsy) and DecoArt Mixed Media
Stencils: Garden Gate (TCW), Shedded and Sunburst from DecoArt

What is on the left hand of the pics is acrylic paint applied with a brayer, the paper being longer than the Gelli plate.

I didn't have time to create a finished piece with my prints but they are already spoken for and you'll get to see them sometime in September.

I must add that, despite the hiccups,  I enjoyed the process and look forward to trying again, maybe even before the end of the week!



Thanks for coming by,
Also entering the That's Crafty challenge.

Inspired by Van gogh

This week we've all gone artistic at the Craft Barn and I took my cue from Van Gogh (loosely..).

In particular, I have taken inspiration from his Cottage paintings and the colours from his straw bale paintings... he liked his series!
Instead of drawing  I stamped my cottage, trust me it looks all the better for it, and I used crayons to "paint" the scene rather than oils.

Supplies:
Cottage stamp by Imagination Crafts
Linen cardtstock
Gelatos
Distress Crayons
Core'dination cardstock

A step by step awaits you on the Craft Barn blog where you can see how I have created the effect of a painting with none of the difficulties of the real thing.

Thanks for coming by,

Blues and Greens glasses case

How scary is this, we are already half way through the summer! The heat is making crafting difficult but I did manage to rustle up some enthusiasm for the August Country View Challenge, hosted by team mate Corrie. She wants to see Blues and Greens and this is an easy remit... plus I needed a personal gift for my OH who keep dropping his glasses cases and breaking them.

So here I go again, a 3rd incarnation for the cheap high street glasses case (Boots, if you must know).

Click here and here for previous versions of the makeovers.

This time I used a Gelli print and over-stamped motifs from sets designed by Andy Skinner with Archival ink. The paper I used is similar to tissue paper in thickness, and is actually what typists used to produce copies on typewriters.

I didn't take any pictures of the Gelli printing or how I applied the print to the case, as both of these things need to be done quickly to prevent any premature drying and I only have one pair of hands! [I'm going to have to look into a DIY contraption that would let me take pics hands free!]

Here's a picture of a similar case before I tampered with it:

Process:
1. Gesso the glasses case, apply 2 coats
2. Apply gel medium, one side at a time and place the tissue trying to smooth out the wrinkles as you go along.
3. Cut or tear the surplus paper, and take care of the corners by cutting out small triangles and folding the paper.
4. Repeat for the other side
5. Make sure, if there is a mechanism to open the case, that it is clear of paper and/or paint. Use a craft knife to tidy up.
6. Coat the finished article with as many layers of varnish as you can bear to do! It is an item that is handled a LOT! I did 4...

Supplies:
Gelli plate and paints
The Crafter's workshop Gears stencil
Stampendous Curiosity (ASCRS04), Shabby Chic (ASCRS05), Toxic ( ASCRS06)
Gel medium
DecoArt Soft Touch varnish.

Here's the front and back pictures of the finished piece:

If my hubby doesn't like it, I'll use it myself as I love how the print turned out.

I hope me and my teammates have inspired you to enter our challenge! You could win a £20 voucher to spend on crafty stash at Country View Crafts is all I'm saying...
 
Thanks for coming by,
 I am entering the We Love to Create and SanDee & amelie's Steampunk challenge.

Countdown

Eek!! Just in time for the Artistic Stamper Black & White challenge....

I saw this as the perfect opportunity to kill several birds with one stone, as a) 2 of the stamps from the Artistic Stamper Family Values set were as yet un-inked, b) I wanted to test my new stamping platform.

To make use of the Black & White, Yin and Yang concept I decide to create a flip card. I struggled so much that if I ever feel the need again I will get myself a die to do it for me!

Front and back when closed.

Front and back when opened.

I stamped the Numbers image with black dye ink on linen textured cardstock, and the stamping platform allowed me to go over several times for an acceptable print.
Equally difficult is getting a white enough white with inks, unless this is embossed, so my second test is with the Letters image stamped with white pigment ink, which I stamped many times (I lost count...).

Quite pleased with the result on both counts, so the platform gets my vote!

Thanks for coming by,
Also entering the Penny Black and more challenge.

Of Tagging and spray paints

Lucky me... I got to play with new stuff as well as use up some of the old stash!

As sprays goes I have quite a few different brands but, so far, the only ones that I haven't had a problem with (clogging and getting the paper too wet) are the Prima Blooms. Some new colours have arrived and I added a few more to my collection and got testing... Would the new bottles be as good as the old ones?

Come and read about my experiments on the Craft Barn blog where I have a step by step for this tag:

Supplies:
Rice papers, Starlight paints: Imagination Crafts
Pixelated stencil: DecoArt Mixed Media
Life's a beach Flourishes: Kaisercraft
Distress Oxides: Ranger
Prima Blooms sprays.

And look... not a hint of stamping!
Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the That's Crafty and SSS Wednesday challenges.

Make a wish

I am trying to catch-up and ink the stamps I bought (some over 6 months ago...) and haven't got around to use. I know, a nice problem to have!


This one is from Crafty Individuals and it's the last one I bought, from their latest release, and I thought it fitting to team it up with the first CI set I ever bought.


The background is easy to make with a brayer and a Kaleidacolor pad, here I used the Autumn Leaves but Desert Heat or even Tomato Vine would work for a hot sunset background.

I stamped the CI-471 Make a Wish image with dye ink and decided to add ribbon underneath as she looked odd cut in half against the sunset!
Below I stamped the Make a Wish sentiment from Rubber Dance (Affirmations set) .
The stamp is not a solid silhouette by the way, and what may look like a patchy impression is actually the very fine script on the little girl's image.

Finally, to give my tag an edge (pun intended), I added the Ferns & Grasses (CI-207 set) at the bottom.

There you have it, pure stamping pleasure!

Hope you'll like it too,
I am entering the Rubber Dance, Lost Coast and SSS Monday challenges.

Prepare to fly

Welcome to my second inspiration make for the July Stamplorations Theme & Sketch challenge, which brings my GDT stint to a close.

It can be difficult to create something with both constraints of Theme AND Sketch but I felt I was duty bound to show I could do it! [To enter the challenge,  you can do either ]

 Without further ado, my card:

I created a circle stencil and applied Distress inks through it, over-stamping the bird from the Trendy Birds 2 set with Versafine black ink. I added 3 of the sentiments below each bird, in a "Ready, steady, Go" type of concept.

I cut the card with one of the Stitched Snow Hills CUT-plorations and added a piece of patterned paper (from a very old, K & Co pad).

I layered the cardstock and paper on a blank card (5"x7").

For more inspiration from the team,  drop by the Stamplorations blog and do join the challenge here,  following the sketch, the theme or even both!

I take this opportunity to thank Shery for having me as GDT on the blog, it was such a pleasure and an honour to be part of the Stamplorations family and I wish her and the team continued success, they all deserve it!
I am entering the Craft Stamper TIMI challenge.