Blue Inspiration

This is my second entry to the Chocolate Baroque colour challenge #21  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  I find the colours of this challenge so inspiring and so many ideas for projects are running around in my head!  I decided to make a very large tag wall hanging for this entry, about A4 size.  I used the CB Poppy Meadow stamp set again; Distress inks - Wilted Violet, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean; H2o paints; Versafine Majestic Blue ink; stamps from CB Words of Inspiration and Butterfly Thistle; die cuts and an embossing folder.
Starting as usual with the background panel I blended the DI's onto white card.  I then used a small stamp to randomly faux bleach with water, then over stamped the image in blue ink.  Next I stamped another small image in the violet ink randomly over the panel, then blended the ink around the edges of the panel.  I matted the panel onto coordinating card, then edged that with blue ink.  On another piece of white card I stamped a large Poppy image twice in blue Versafine ink and heat embossed in clear powder.  Next I painted the images with the H2o paints, and cut them out when dry.  I stamped two words onto white card and heat embossed as before.  I painted over the words with Peacock Feathers DI and cut around them, then blended violet ink around the edges.  I painted a spare piece of white card with one of the H2o paints and die cut a butterfly from it.  Next I stamped a butterfly onto more white card and heat embossed as before, then painted it with DI's and water before cutting it out.  I then die cut some letters from the same card as the mat for the background panel and edged them with blue ink.  To create the tag I shaped the top of a piece of white card by drawing around a pot and cutting freehand.  I then embossed it in a folder and blended violet ink around the edges.  I attached the tag to some thick card to strengthen it  and shaped the top.   I punched two holes in the top of the tag and threaded some ribbon through.  I attached the panel to the tag with strong glue, then attached the Poppies, butterflies and words with dimensional glue.  I'm really pleased with this project, it's a really pretty piece of Home Decor that could be made to suit any colour scheme.   

Poppies in Salt

This is my first entry to Chocolate Baroque's colour challenge #21.  I absolutely LOVE this colour combo, and I had great fun creating this card.  I bought some new CB stamps with my winner's voucher and this was the perfect opportunity to try them out!  I have used one image from the Poppy Meadow stamp set as the main focus of the piece, and part of another for embellishments.  I also used Aqua Tints, glitters and salt, and a new Tando Creative stencil.  I also used Majestic Blue Versafine ink.  On a piece of white card I created a colour wash with the Aqua Tints, blending the colours into each other.  I then sprinkled salt all over the wet card spritzing with water any areas that seemed to have already dried.  I left the background panel to dry naturally.  When it was dry I rubbed the salt off the panel revealing the beautiful random patterns that had been created.  I then stamped the main focal image twice using the Versafine ink.  I stamped it two more times onto another piece of white card and heat embossed with clear powder.  Next I painted the Poppy seed pods and leaves, then fussy cut them without the fine grasses.  I added glitter (multi, green and purple) to highlight all the images, then attached the seed pod cut outs with dimensional glue as 3D images.  I matted the panel onto black card then layered it onto a white base card.  I stamped part of another image from the set onto white card 3 times and heat embossed as before, then painted, glittered and fussy cut the three small Poppy flowers.  I used two strips of the background panel that I had trimmed off earlier to create a band across the  card near the bottom, matting it onto black card.  I then attached the flowers to the band with dimensional glue.  I love these stamps, they're so delicate and detailed.  I love this card for the mix of the beautiful stamps and the gorgeous patterns from the salt.  This card is great for a special birthday, get well and a lot of other occasions too.

A Cottage Garden Bookcase

This is the largest project I have attempted so far.  I decided to 'upcycle' an old bookcase that originally belonged to my parents, so it's as old as I am!  I had some new Paint Fusion stamps that I had been waiting to play with, and I wanted to coordinate the bookcase with our newly decorated hall and stairs.  This is the second time that I've 'upcycled' this bookcase, and probably the last.  It took a whole weekend to do this project, mainly because there is a lot of drying time involved, and obviously a LOT of painting!  I have used stamps by Sheena Douglass from her Paint Fusion range; acrylic paints;  emulsion paint; PVA glue.  I mixed some green, yellow and white acrylic paints to match the colour used in our hall.  This was my undercoat and I painted the whole bookcase with it.  When that coat was dry, I covered it with PVA glue.  As it dries the glue starts to crack and split, like old painted wood.  When it was almost dry and had formed a 'skin', I painted over the glue with a cream emulsion paint.  The green undercoat shows through the cracks, giving a vintage, shabby-chic look to the piece.  Next I decorated the top of the bookcase using the Paint Fusion technique, a mixture of stamping and folk-art painting.  I stamped the Lilac flowers and leaves, grouping them at the corners, then stamped the Ivy along the edges.  I then painted all the stamped images with acrylic paints.  When everything was dry I gave the whole piece a coat of clear varnish to protect the artwork.  This was the first time I had used these stamps and I am really pleased with the result.  The bookcase looks exactly how I wanted it to, breathing new life into an old favourite. 

Meadow in the Sunset

This design is another entry to the latest Chocolate Baroque challenge   http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  As I've already said I absolutely LOVE these colours, and I loved creating this card!  I have used stamps from several CB sets; Nature's Table, Words of Inspiration, and Design a Tree.  I have used Distress Inks, Versafine Ink, Aqua Tints and gilding wax to colour this piece.  The focal panel is a piece of white card onto which I have painted bands of colour with the Aqua Tints, letting them bleed and blend into each other.  I stamped a bare tree slightly off centre in Sepia ink, then added the leaves.  I created a setting sun on the horizon using a paintbrush and water to faux bleach.  I added a little colour back with some distress ink.  With a stencil I added some hills to the lower third with some DI to add perspective and to ground the tree.  I then stamped several floral images with DI's to create a meadow in the foreground.   I stamped a sentiment at the top of the panel and blended ink around the edges.  I cut some dark card to create a frame around the focal panel and embossed it in a folder, adding highlights with gilding wax. I then attached the whole piece to a base card.   Next I took another piece of white card and painted it with Aqua Tints as before.  When dry I die cut some flowers and swirls, added ink to the edges then shaped with a ball tool.  I coloured a couple of small pearls with gilding wax and added them to the centres of the flowers.  I added the flowers, swirls and some skeleton leaves at opposite corners with dimensional glue.  This is a beautiful card that would be good for many occasions and male or female cards.   

Summer's Bounty

I was so pleased when Chocolate Baroque announced their new challenge this week - I just LOVE the colours!  This is my first entry to the CB Challenge #20  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  I have used CB stamp sets:- Mellow Fruitfulness, Tangled Peacock, Punky Hearts and Words of Inspiration.  I used Aqua tints and Distress Inks to colour, gold texture paste, an embossing folder and a stencil.  
On a piece of white card I blended three DI's - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Abandoned Coral.  When it was dry I used water on a peacock feather stamp to faux bleach the image randomly .  over the panel.  I then dried it with a heat gun, and over stamped the same image in Abandoned Coral ink.  I stamped a sentiment in second generation Vintage Photo DI randomly over the panel, and blended the ink around the edges.  Next I spread the gold texture paste through a stencil in a few places on the panel, and set aside to dry.   On a larger panel of Kraft card I stamped distressed hearts in Vintage Photo at the edges to create a border, blended the ink along the very edges, then embossed it in a folder through a machine to add texture.  I matted the background panel onto dark card with a narrow border, then layered onto the Kraft card.  I attached the whole thing onto a white base card.   
On another piece of white card I stamped several images of cherries hanging from a branch and artichokes, and heat embossed them with gold powder.  I painted the images with Aqua Tints then fussy cut them.  I attached them to the card with dimensional glue.  I stained two wooden bird embellishments with Vintage Photo and attached them in the same way.  I stamped the sentiment in sepia Versafine ink on a piece of card that I had painted with Aqua Tint, and heat embossed with clear powder.  I then fussy cut it and matted onto Kraft card then fussy cut again.  To finish the design I attached the sentiment panel with dimensional glue.  I had an absolute blast creating this card,  these gorgeous colours are so warm and vibrant they can't fail to cheer you on a cold, wet winter's day!  I think this is a good worker card for a multitude of occasions and either male or female recipients.  It would also make a lovely piece of wall art too.   

Lady Steampunk

This canvass is my second entry to Country View Challenges this month http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/.  I LOVE mixed media and Steampunk, and I've been meaning to create a canvass like this for a while.  My inspiration for this piece comes from Frank Skinner and Finnabair.  I used a mixture of stamps and media products, and dies.   Some stamps are from a set by Frank Skinner plus some others from Indigo blue, Inkydoodles, Papermania and my stash.  I have coloured this project with Dyna paints and a little gilding wax.   I started with an 8" x 8" canvass which I painted with black Gesso and let it dry.  I sponged Dyna paints all over it, sponging paint gives a lovely random texture.  Next I added clear moulding paste through a stencil in a couple of places for more texture, and let it dry.  I wanted to create a steampunk woman on acetate so I stamped and heat embossed a face in black, then added cogs in the same way for her hair.  I stamped several other images on acetate and heat embossed them in black.  I also stamped several clock faces, and cogs in black onto tissue paper.    Next I die cut cogs, feathers, clocks, a bird and a butterfly from black card, and sponged paint onto them.  I stamped some cogs with paint onto the bird.  I kept one of the clocks black, and a set of the hands.  Then I used a little gilding wax to highlight the moulding paste once dry.  I used decopatch glue to attach the tissue images to the canvass, and some plain tissue in places.  I cut out the acetate images and attached them to the canvass, some on top of the plain tissue to emphasize them and add texture behind them.  I then layered the two clocks together with the black one underneath, slightly offset.  this acts as a shadow and makes the painted clock pop.  I did the same with the clock hands.   I added a tiny cog to the bird as an eye, then arranged the embellishments and attached them to the canvass when I was happy.  I finished the piece by adding a small light bulb.  I had such a great time planning and creating this, I can't wait to get messy again and create another canvass! 

Spring Bling

This is a pretty design I have created for the latest Country View Challenges challenge http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ .  The theme is 'Make a Background' which is something I love doing anyway,  using several different techniques and products.  I have used one of my all time favourite stamps in this project, a script stamp by Hero Arts; and  floral stamps and matching dies from Sheena Douglass' 'Perfect Partners' range.  I have also used a butterfly die and some foliage dies.  I have coloured the background panel with yellow, green and brown  DI's, and used gold gilding wax on the base card.  To brighten things up and add some 'bling' I used gold glitter texture paste and some gems.  I also used three different stencils and an embossing folder.  On a piece of white card I blended the green and yellow inks, then faux bleached with water.  Next I stamped the script randomly over the panel in green, then inked through a stencil with brown ink to add distressed diamonds.  I used another stencil and green ink to add a Buddlea bush.  I used the stencil several times to make a larger bush.  I have several Buddlea's in my garden and I love using this stencil.  I then edged the panel with brown ink and dried it with a heat gun.  I spread glitter texture paste through  a leafy border stencil along the top of the panel to add dimension, texture and bling.  While that was drying I die cut some flowers, foliage and a butterfly.  I attached some old book pages to some card to cut the flowers out of.  I cut the foliage out of Kraft card and the butterfly out of black card.  I also embossed all the die cuts, and added colour to the flowers and butterfly while they were still in the dies.   I added colour to the foliage with some cut'n'dry foam.  I stamped the outline of the flowers onto the die cuts, and layered the dies to make three flowers.  I added a gem to the centres after colouring them with a Pro Marker.   I also added gems to the antenna on the butterfly.  The base card is black and I embossed it in a folder through a machine, then added gilding wax to highlight the pattern.  I attached the background panel to the base card, then attached all the die cut elements with dimensional glue.  I really enjoyed making this project and all the messy crafting it involved!  I think this is a lovely card for a special occasion, and it's good for men and women.