Here is my first Christmas make of 2015! I was going to make a card but as the design progressed I decided to make a wall hanging. This was great fun to make, and I used several different techniques and textures. The stamps and dies are from Sheena Douglass' Festive Fancies Perfect Partners range. I used Aqua Tint Inks to colour, gilding wax, Sheena Douglass embossing folders and stencil,black Versafine ink, black embossing powder, heat resistant acetate, metallic gold acrylic paint, Distress Inks Mowed Lawn and Vintage Photo. I began by sponging the Aqua Tints all over a piece of white card. When dry I used brown ink through the stencil, then embossed the panel through a machine. I added gilding wax to the raised pattern and around the edges of the panel, then matted it onto black card with foam pads for extra height and layered it onto cream linen textured card. Next I took 4 layers of copy paper and die cut the trailing ivy leaves. I painted them with Aqua Tints and stamped the ivy leaves onto the die cuts. I then embossed a piece of pearlescent green card in a holly leaf folder. I cut out a couple of the sprigs, added gilding wax and painted the berries. Taking a piece of cardboard I tore the top layer off around the edges to give a distressed look. I then painted it gold. When dry I attached the decorated panel to the gold board. I added the holly and ivy leaves with dimensional glue around the edges of the panel. I stamped the corner images and a sentiment onto acetate in black ink and heat embossed with black powder, then turned the images over and coloured the leaves with Pro markers. I then painted over the coloured leaves with white Gesso to make the colours stand out more. When dry I cut the images out and attached the corners to the gold panel, and the sentiment to the centre of the focal panel. I then put two holes and eyelets at the top of the gold panel and threaded some Bakers Twine through. I think this design works well as a home decor project, or scaled down as a card.
This piece of artwork is another in my series of homages to Tolkein's Middle Earth. In this piece I wanted to create a dark, sinister woodland to represent Mirkwood with a lone hobbit or elven child walking through it. I'm really pleased with the result; although the stamp used for focal character was not necessarily designed to be a hobbit, I think it works really well in this piece. I have used stamps by Sheena Douglass and Creative Expressions; a couple of Sheena Douglass stencils; some dies by Tattered Lace and Spellbinders, Aqua Tints, Distress Inks, Lumier Silks, and gold gilding wax. The main panel started as a piece of white card. I stamped the 'Little Red' image in the centre using black Versafine ink, then heat embossed with clear powder. I then painted the image with Pebeo Drawing Gum to mask it. I stamped some branches up one side and across the top of the panel, heat embossed them then painted them with the gum. Next I covered the whole panel with Aqua Tints from the 'Beautifully Grunge' set, blending each colour into the next. I added a path for my hobbit to walk along. Using a stencil of sunrays I sponged water through it and dried with kitchen paper to create faux bleached rays of light emanating from the lantern. Using Vintage Photo DI I stencilled the forest across the top two thirds of the panel. I then stamped images of branches around the the edges of the panel in black ink and heat embossed them. In the bottom two corners I stamped images of brambles in the same way. I coloured the flowers and leaves of the brambles with Silk paints in dark rich shades. Using the sunrays stencil again I placed it over the faux bleached rays, then slightly offset it and sponged gold Aqua Tint through it. I rubbed the drawing gum off the branches and painted them with Silk paint. Finally it was time to reveal my focal character by removing the drawing gum. I wanted a very muted green for the cloak so I added some black. Using a fine black liner pen I turned 'Little Red's' skirt into breeches and coloured the gap as part of the path. I used Pro-marker pens for the skin, adding grey to give a muted, shaded effect. When all the colouring was finished I added Black Soot DI around the outer edges of the panel to make it even darker and draw the eye in. Using die cuts and black card I cut two leafy corners, several different leaves and pine cones. I added gilding wax to the die cuts and assembled them on to the panel to frame the artwork. I really love this piece of artwork as it enables me to pay my own tribute to my favourite literary classic.
This is a lovely piece of artwork that I made a few months ago in spring colours. I had some new stamps and paints to try out - and this is the result! The stamps are by Crafters Companion from their Textures range, and the paints are Pebeo Dyna paints. I have also used Blue Lagoon and SepiaVersafine ink; clear embossing powder; gold gilding wax and Holly stickles. I started with a thick piece of board and gave it a coat of white Gesso. Then using a sponge I applied the paints, one at a time, randomly over the board. The sponging effect added texture. I used the same technique on four stampboard squares. Next I stamped some tissue paper with one of the corner stamps and some script by Sheena Douglass and left it to dry. I then took a hessian texture stamp and stamped it around the edges of the background board, and heat embossed with clear powder. This is to add more texture. I placed the stampboard pieces together in a square and stamped them with a couple of the images from the stamp sets, then heat embossed them. I added a little gilding wax in places to highlight, and some stickles. I attached torn pieces of the stamped tissue paper on two corners of the background board and across the centre using Decopatch glue varnish. This adheres and seals the tissue, making it translucent so that the colours of the paints underneath can be seen . I then attached the stampboard tiles in the centre of the background panel, equally spaced apart, with strong glue. I then took some buttons and wooden embellishments. I coloured the birds with watered down Dyna paints and edged them with gilding wax. I coloured the watering can and cage with gilding waxes and stickles. Two of the buttons were already patterned, I added blue gilding wax to a textured button, and covered another with tissue( for texture) and added gilding wax. I then attached the buttons down one side of the board and added stickles to the centres. I threaded some bakers twine through the top of the cage and the key, then attached the remaining embellishments to the artwork. I created this piece just for fun but I think it would make a lovely wall hanging.
Here is a project I've just finished using some new goodies I got at a local craft show. As you may know I am a big fan of Steampunk, and I have a lot of stamps, dies and embellishments to prove it! The basis of this piece of artwork is an MDF tag from Inkydoodles, so I decided to create a project made entirely from my collection of Inkydoodle products. The stamps used are from the 'Time Flies' 'Hexley Transport', 'Checkered Background' and 'Rough Stuff'' sets, and I've also used a selection of wooden cogs and a key. To colour the artwork I have used Pebeo Iridescent Dyna acrylics - blue green, green blue and green gold. I have also used Copper acrylic paint, Versafine inks- Black and Blue Lagoon ,a Clockface stencil and Glossy Accents.
I started by putting a coat of white gesso on the tag. When dry I sponged the Dyna paints randomly over the tag. When these were dry I put the stencil onto the tag and spritzed some Peacock Green glimmer mist over it and the artwork, then left it to dry. Next I started stamping the texture image and some cogs in Blue Lagoon ink. I let these dry then stamped the Checkered background using the Copper acrylic. The results were patchy but I didn't mind that, it added to the distressed look. I then stamped the fobwatch image a couple of times, when dry I painted the case of the watches with Copper. Next I stamped a couple of sentiments randomly over the tag in Black ink. I then glazed the face of one of the watches and left it to dry. I painted several sizes of cogs, the key and the little stand for the tag. I stamped a dragonfly image onto white card in black ink, then heat embossed with black powder. I painted it with the Dyna paints then cut it out. I also stamped a key image onto the wooden key. I attached the cogs and key with PVA glue, and the dragonfly with dimensional glue after shaping it. To complete the project I stuck three pieces of ribbon together using red double sided tape and attached it to the top of the tag. I created this artwork purely for fun, but I think a piece of home decor like this would make a lovely present for any occasion as it can be decorated with different themes and colours.
I really enjoyed making this card for my daughter's birthday recently, using new goodies and old, some favourite techniques and some I've wanted to try for ages. I love Peacocks and have several different stamps of them to choose from, but this is my favourite. I have also used a couple of my favourite floral stamps too, they represent the lovely Cherry Blossom tree which is in full bloom in our garden at the moment!
For this design I have used stamps from Chocolate Baroque's 'Peacock Parade' set and from Sheena Douglass's Sakura set, the sentiment is from a CB set. To colour I have used Aqua Tint ink, Distress ink, Brushos, and Pebeo Dyna acrylic paints.
The base card is a white scalloped edged card. I stamped Peacock feathers, using DI of the same name, along the sides to create a border then blended the ink around the edges of the card. The background panel is a piece of white card that I stamped the Peacock onto with black Versafine ink and heat embossed it with black powder. I masked the image with drawing gum and let it dry. Next I stamped and embossed one of the blossom branches across the the Peacock, and masked it as before. This will give the impression of the bird sitting on the branch. I then painted over the whole panel with Aqua Tint ink. While the ink was still wet I spritzed it with a little water then sprinkled Turquoise Brusho over it. and left it to dry. I love the random effect you get with this technique. On a separate piece of white card I stamped and embossed the Cherry blossom images in black, then painted them with Dyna acrylic 'Iridescent Violet Blue', a lovely colour that changes as the light catches it from deep pink to purple then blue. I cut the images out and set them aside. I rubbed the drawing gum off the branch and painted it with H2o and Dyna paints. I then removed the gum from the Peacock and painted the image with Dyna paints 'Iridescent Gold, Blue Green and Green Blue'. I matted the panel onto black card then layered it onto the base card. I attached the other blossom branches and the sentiment panel with dimensional glue to complete the card. I really love this design, I think it could be used for various occasions even a wedding card. It would also make a beautiful piece of wall art or home decor...........watch this space!
This is a card that I made for my daughter to receive on Mother's Day. I wanted to create something bright and cheerful, and my latest CB stamps were perfect. I used Chocolate Baroque 'Fluttering Hearts' stamp set; Distress Inks Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, and Spiced Marmalade. I also used a couple of dies and some alphabet stamps. The base card is a white shaped card. I used two of the stamps from the set to create a border around the edges of the card with DI's. I also blended some inks around the edges to soften them. I took a piece of white card and blended the three DI's onto it. I then stamped the large heart all over the panel using second generation ink, turning the image for each stamping. Next I die cut the panel and embossed it, then edged it with ink. I die cut a piece of dark card slightly larger than the panel, embossed it, matted the panel onto it and layered it onto the card. On another piece of white card I stamped the focal image in black Versafine ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. I painted the image with H2O paints then cut it out. I added some dots of Liquid Pearls around the flower centres then glazed them. I die cut some flowers and foliage out of the same card as the background panel, and edged them all with ink. I stamped a sentiment onto the background panel with the alphabet stamps, then attached the focal image and all the embellishments with dimensional glue. I really like this cheerful design, I think it's a good worker card that could be used for lots of occasions.
This is my hubby's birthday card for 2015 and it was inspired by a design by Sheena Douglass, and uses her stamps. I also used some stamps from Crafters Companions Textures range and one of their embossing folders, plus a few embellishments. It was a chance to play with my new Aqua Tints 'Beautifully Grunge' set too! As soon as I got these stamps I wanted to create something with a 'Frankenstein' steampunk vibe, combining the Castle Ruins and High Voltage sets. I used an 8"x 8" plain white card as the base. I painted the edges of the card in purple, then used an embossing folder to create texture. I added some gold gilding wax to highlight the embossed pattern and give a distressed look. The focal panel is a piece of white stamping card cut to size. I stamped the ruins in black Versafine, and then masked the images with drawing gum. I painted the panel using several bright colours from the set of Aqua Tints, painting straight over the stamped images. I stamped a corner collage image in two corners of the panel in black ink, and some Gothic style script. I used a stencil by Sheena to create storm clouds in the sky above the ruins by faux bleaching through the stencil. I added highlights with Lumiere pearl paint, then stamped lightening streaks in white acrylic paint. I rubbed the drawing gum off the ruins and painted them, then highlighted them with pearl paint. The panel was then matted onto black card and layered onto the base card. Taking another piece of white stamping card I stamped a dial image in black and heat embossed it with black powder. I also stamped and embossed the sentiment in the same way. I painted over the stamped images, cut out the dial with scissors and the sentiment with a label die. I stamped two more images onto acetate in black ink and heat embossed them with black powder. Next I turned the images over and painted them on the reverse with Lumiere pearlescent paint in copper and silver. When dry I overpainted them with white gesso to make the colours pop. I then cut the images out, and attached all the embellishments with dimensional glue. I used a mini vintage lightbulb to mirror the stamped one. I really enjoyed making this card, it turned out exactly as I envisaged the design in my head. This design is bright, cheerful and fun! I think it could be a good 'worker' card, suitable for lots of occasions, any age any gender.
