Punky Ocean Tag

I haven't done any tag art for a while, so I chose it to create my second entry to the Chocolate Baroque Colour challenge #22.  This is another Steampunk piece, but with an underwater twist.  I have used stamps from CB Steampunk Funky Fish and Steampunk Sea World sets; Distress Inks Twisted Citron, Fossilised Amber, Rusty Hinge, Squeezed Lemonade; Pebeo Iridescent Gold Dyna paint; Tando Creative tag, and Flourish stencil.  I started by painting the tag with a coat of white gesso.  I then blended the green and yellow DI's onto the tag and let them dry.  I stamped two seahorses in black ink and heat embossed them with black powder.  On a piece of white card I did the same with a galleon and a group of sand, rocks and seaweed images.  I then painted all the images with DI's, mixing in a little gold Dyna paint to add some shimmer in places.  I cut out the images from the card.  Next I stamped some bubbles onto the tag, and added ink through a stencil at the top to represent the wind.  I attached the two card images to the tag with dimensional glue.  I added some lovely fibres to complete the artwork.  I've doubled up the photos again to show the different looks with and without a flash.   I really enjoyed doing some tag art again, I shall definitely be doing more soon!   

Like a Punky Moth to a Flame

This is a lovely little canvass I've made for the Chocolate Baroque colour challenge #22  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  I love these colours and at first I was tempted to go down the Autumn route, but I thought I'd do something different this time.  As you may have guessed I'm a Steampunk fan and have quite a few stamps and dies in that genre.  For this artwork I have used stamps from the CB sets Punky Flowers and Steampunk Butterfly; various cog dies; DI's Twisted Citron, Fossilised Amber, and Rusty Hinge; acrylic paints in green, yellow ochre, lemon yellow; Dyna paint Iridescent gold; black Versafine ink; gilding waxes; sunburst stencil, Tando creative cogs stencil.  I started by giving the canvass a coat of white gesso, when dry I stamped the lamp flowers directly onto it in black ink and heat embossed with black powder.  I then painted the image with Pebeo Drawing Gum and let it dry, to mask the image.  I used the acrylic paints to create a background like glowing lamplight .  When that was dry I applied gold paint through the stencil, then when that was dry I added DI through the cog stencil.  I used a corner stamp at the top of the canvass and heat embossed as before.  I then stamped some cogs along the bottom and heat embossed them.  I painted them with  acrylics, mixing gold paint with a couple of the colours to create a metallic sheen on some of them.  While that was drying I took some white card, stamped the butterfly and heat embossed it as before.  I did the same with some flower images.  I then cut them all out and painted them with DI's, mixing some gold paint in as highlights.   I painted some more pieces of card with the DI's then die cut cogs in various sizes out of them.  I added gilding waxes to some of the cogs to give them a metallic look.   Next I rubbed off the drawing gum and painted the images with DI's, and added Glossy Accents to the lamps to make them look like bulbs.  I added the painted die cut cogs, flowers and butterfly with dimensional glue, and blended black DI around the edges of the canvass.  I'm really pleased with this artwork and I loved creating it.  I have doubled up on photos, with and without a flash, to emphasize the metallic sheen.

A Burst of Spring

Spring has finally sprung in our garden!  So I took inspiration from the fresh colours on display whilst gardening at the weekend.  I have used stamps, dies and stencils from Chocolate Baroque, Aqua Tints and Distress Inks to create  this card.  Starting with a piece of white card I dabbed the Aqua Tints (2 x green, yellow)  randomly all over the card, spritzed it with water to ensure it is all wet, and sprinkled salt over it.  On another piece of white card I stamped some images from the 'Fluttering Hearts' set in black ink and heat embossed them in black powder.  I then painted all the images with Aqua Tints and DI's (Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron  and Picked Rasberry).  I added some extra interest with a white pen and some glitter, then cut them all out.  The background panel was dry by now so I rubbed the salt off revealing beautiful random patterns that look like bursts of colour, resembling the way the garden is bursting into bloom.  I took a Tando Creative stencil - leaves - and applied two green DI's through it.  I noticed that all the ferns in our garden were unfurling their leaves so I wanted to re-create this with the stencil, placing them along the bottom of the panel.  Further up I used another Tando stencil (Flourish) and applied Fossilized Amber DI through it.  The sun was shining in our garden so I used another stencil ( sunburst) to bring that to the piece, using Iridescent Gold Dyna paint.   I painted some spare white card with each of the Aqua Tints, then die cut several sets of Crealies flower dies and some foliage out of the card.  I applied DI's to the edges of all the die cuts then layered the flowers up and added pearls to the flower centres.  I then took some Kraft card and put it through a basket weave embossing folder.  I added Picked Rasberry DI around the edges, and also around the edges of the background panel.  I matted the bp onto the Kraft card and layered them onto the base card.  I attached all the embellishments in 3D with dimensional glue to create my Spring design.  I am really pleased with this card, it encapsulates all the elements of our Spring garden in a contemporary design.

Tumbling Cogs

I love mixed media art and I love Steampunk too, so I decided to mix the two and create a canvass.  It also gave me an excuse to use some new stamps and some old favourites!  I decided to make this canvass to compliment another one that I made recently (Lady Steampunk) using similar products.
I have used a new Sheena Douglass stamp 'Cogs' from her Torn collection plus stamps from her 'High Voltage' set; Pebeo Dyna Paints; H2o paints; Versafine black onyx ink; gold and silver gilding wax; dies; MDF and metal embellishments; a light bulb and acetate.  The Dyna paints are iridescent, so I have included photos taken in different light settings to try and show this.   I took a square canvass and gave it a coat of black gesso.  When that was dry I sponged the Dyna paints randomly all over and set the canvass aside.   I painted some MDF cogs, then die cut some cogs in various sizes out of scrap card, painted some and gilded others with the waxes.  I added some gold, silver and copper paints to all the embellishments to give them a rusted distressed look.  I also die cut a Steampunk butterfly and added gold and silver waxes.  Next I stamped several images onto acetate in black ink and heat embossed them with black powder.  Then I cut them out and painted them on the reverse side, except for the torn cogs image which I left clear.  I painted the coil image with copper Dyna paint to resemble copper wire, and the anchor points at each end were coloured with gilding wax giving them a brassy look.  The stamped light bulbs were painted with a bright yellow and the bases with copper.  When the paint was all dry I painted over everything with white gesso to make the colours show through.  One of the cogs that I die cut has four holes in the middle, which meant that I had four embossed discs of card.  I added gilding wax  and used them as faux rivets at each corner of the canvass.  I also used a couple of washers 'borrowed' from Hubby's shed, adding paint as before.  Next I stamped the torn image again and a 'High Voltage' sign onto Kraft card in black ink and heat embossed with black powder.  I cut the sign out and painted it, then I cut just  the torn edges from the main image and painted them to match the background.  I then added silver and gold gilding wax to a small metal clock embellishment and attached it to one of the cogs.  Time to assemble all the pieces.  I put some crumpled tissue onto the canvass in the place I wanted the clear acetate cogs to go, and applied Decopatch to the canvass, attached the tissue and coated it on top with Decopatch again.  This will enable the colours of the canvass to show through the tissue in a diffused way, and to make the clear cogs pop.  I attached the acetate image with dimensional glue, then shaped the card torn edges and attached them over the acetate ones to create the effect of the actual canvass being torn.  Once that image was in place I could build the artwork around it.  I wanted it to look like the cogs were falling through the tear so I arranged them  starting with the smallest cogs first, using various sizes of die cut and MDF cogs to add interest and texture.  I love using 3D elements in my work, and different textures.  Once I had arranged and attached all the cogs I added the acetate coil, putting the anchor points a little closer together so that the coil is raised.  I attached the two stamped light bulbs either side of the coil to create the effect that they were lit up by the current  and placed the sign underneath the coil.  To complete the piece I attached the butterfly and a real light bulb.   I'm really pleased with the result, and it looks great with the 'Lady Steampunk' canvass.  

Birds of a Feather

This is a card I have made with my other new gorgeous Visible Image stamps, it is a birthday card for my youngest daughter this month!  The stamps are Behind Every Mask set , I have used Aqua Tints, Distress Inks and Gilding wax to colour, black and white card, die cuts and salt.  I took a piece of white card and painted three colours of Aqua Tints all over the card as a wash, graduating and blending the colours.  While the inks were still wet I sprinkled rock salt over them and spritzed a little water over the salt to make sure it would react with the wet inks.  I left the panel to dry naturally as that  gives the best results, then I rubbed all the salt off to reveal the beautiful patterns on the background panel.  I blended Black Soot DI around the edges of the panel then matted it onto black card.  I blended Wilted Violet around the edges of a white base card and layered the bp onto it.  I then stamped the images onto acetate using black Versafine and heat embossed them with black powder.   I cut the images out, and painted the whites of the eyes with white acrylic paint on the back of the acetate.   Next I die cut some feathers, two from the same card as the bp, two from black card, and gilded the edges with silver wax.  I then attached the stamped images and the feathers to the card with dimensional glue.  I really love this design - I love the vibrant colours, the salt patterns, the feathers and of course the beautiful stamps!  I think this is a brilliant worker card for many different occasions.  

Windy Springtime

This is the card I have made for my husband's birthday this year, it is also my first creation with my new GORGEOUS Visible Image stamps!  These are the first VI stamps  I have bought - but they definately won't be the last!  I also used a new stencil that called out to be partnered with these stamps.  I have used the 'Colours of the Wind' stamps by Visible Image; a couple of leaf stamps from my stash; Aqua Tints; Onyx Black Versafine Ink; Black Soot Distress Ink; Tando Creative mini stencil Flourish; acetate; salt.   To create the background I used yellow and green Aqua Tints as a wash over a piece of white card, blending them together with a wet brush.  While the inks were still wet I sprinkled rock salt all over them, spritzing water on any dry areas and leaving the panel to dry naturally.  I took a piece of heatproof acetate and stamped the leaves and sentiment in black Versafine ink then heat embossed the images with black powder.  I then cut all the images out, keeping very close to the outlines.  When the salt was dry I rubbed it all off the panel to reveal the lovely random patterns it had made in the inks.  I then applied the black DI through the stencil several times across the panel to represent the wind blowing the leaves around.  I blended the DI around the edges of the panel, then matted it onto black card.  On a white base card I sponged some yellow ink around the edges, and layered the panel onto it.  To complete the design I attached all the images that were stamped onto acetate with dimensional glue.  I am delighted with the way this design has turned out, the salt background is so effective, and the stamps give it a bold, dramatic feel.  I think this design is an excellent worker card, good for male and female cards and for many occasions.  

Vintage Travels

This is a card I made for my youngest daughter when she went travelling recently.  I  wanted to create a 'Good Luck on your Travels' card with a vintage theme so I mixed stamps from my stash, some I've had for years and some that  were bought more recently.  The newer additions to my stash are from Crafter's Companion and Sheena Douglass; Time Flies from the Times Gone By collection, and City in the Clouds from the A Little Bit Magical collection.  I used Distress Inks: Mustard Seed, Vintage Photo and Walnut stain, and Vintage Sepia Versafine ink.   To create the background panel I took a piece of white card and blended the DI's all over it.  I gave the panel a quick blast with a heat gun then used water to faux bleach it.  I then stamped the image of a map using the Vintage Sepia ink,  stamped several travel related words randomly over the panel and blended Walnut Stain DI around the edges.  I matted the panel onto dark card and attached it to the base card.  On another piece of white card I stamped several images in Versafine ink and heat embossed them in clear powder.  I used DI to colour the images before cutting them out, and added Glossy Accents to the compass and fobwatch to represent  the glass covers.  When dry I attached all the embellishments to the card with dimensional glue.  I then took a piece of acetate and stamped the word 'Journey' and heat embossed with gold powder before cutting it out and attaching to the card.   I really like this card, it has the vintage feel that I wanted and I like the 'old map' background panel.  

Peacock in the Moonlight

Today I have another entry to the CB colour challenge to share http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.   This is a design similar to one I have done before but using different stamps and colours, but I love the concept of a bird  with a big moon behind it and the garden bathed in moonlight.  I have used stamps from CB's Poppy Meadow, Tangled Peacock, and  Punky Flowers sets; Pebeo Dyna paints and H2o's; Majestic Blue Versafine ink; die cuts and an embossing folder.   I started with the background panel, and stamped the flowers across the bottom half of the panel in Vesafine ink then heat embossed them with clear powder.  Next I painted them with H2o's to give them a lustrous shimmer.  Then on a piece of black card I stamped and heat embossed the Peacock image as before.  I used Dyna  paints because they are iridescent and change colour depending on the light like real peacock feathers, and the colours I used work best on black card.  I have tried to show this by doubling up the photos using different lights. I then cut the peacock out, and repeated this process with the blossoms on the branch.   Next I took a piece of white Centura Pearl card  and die cut a circle, then I embossed it with clouds in a folder.  I sponged Dyna paints around the edges of the moon to emphasize the texture and add shadows.  I die cut some branches and a leafy swirl from black card, and painted the leaves.  I sponged the paint around the edges of the panel and matted it onto black card, then sponged paint around those edges.   On a piece of contrasting card I stamped an image of a peacock feather with Dyna paint around the edges to create a border then attached the background panel to it.  I then inked around the edges, and attached it to a base card.  Time to assemble the scene.  I attached the moon first, then the branches and Peacock, adding the extra blossoms to the branches.  I added the leafy swirl to one of the corners.   I love this card, and the way the paints seem to make the images 'glow'.  This is a lovely worker card suitable for lots of occasions.