Palace of the Sea Dragon

I'm sooo excited!  I have been invited to join Chocolate Baroque's Guest Design Team!!  This is such an honour, I'm absolutely thrilled!   As those of you who have visited my blog before know, I've been a fan of CB stamps for years and I have quite a collection ;)    My first design project  for them is a piece of home decor, a wall plaque, featuring stamps from CB's Sea Dragon and Underwater Kingdom sets.  I have used the large plaque from Tando Creative as the base; Versafine Ink - Onyx Black and Blue Lagoon; Brushos; masking fluid and some acrylic paints from my stash. 

I started by giving the plaque a coat of white Gesso to prepare the surface for painting.  I then used acrylic paints in blues and greens (some pearlescent) to create an underwater background, blending bands of colour.  

When the background was dry I stamped and heat embossed the palace image in black, then I masked it.  I stamped some sea weed and mermaids in blue using second generation ink, as I wanted them to appear further away than the palace.  I wanted the palace to be a muted image as it is in the depths of the ocean, which is why I stamped on top of the background.  

I wanted to add some 'watery' texture to the background, so I got my brayer out.  Using the blue ink I loaded the brayer, scrumpled a piece of copier paper up and opened it back out, then rolled the brayer ONCE over the paper.  This transfers the texture of the paper onto the brayer.

I then rolled the brayer in one direction once over the background.  I repeated the whole process until the background panel was covered.  It really gives the effect of ripples and waves underwater.

I love using Brushos in my work, they're so versatile.  I sprinkled a few grains of each colour into different sections of a palette dish and added a little water.  I turned the Brushos into pearlescent paints by adding some silver acrylic to them, and after removing the mask I painted the palace.  I kept the colours muted to add more perspective.  I had previously painted the seaweed in the same way.  When the colours were dry I gave the whole thing a coat of clear varnish to protect it.

While that was drying I stamped and heat embossed the Sea Dragon and other images onto another piece of white card and cut them out.  

I painted each image, some with ordinary Brusho paints and some with pearlescent Brushos.  I added some glossy accents onto the bubbles and jewels to make them pop.  When they were dry I also gave them a coat of varnish to protect them.  I punched a couple of holes in the top of the plaque and threaded some ribbon through to hang the plaque with.  I  attached the painted images onto the plaque with dimensional glue for a 3D effect.

I love making home decor  and mixed media pieces, and I think this is a lovely example of combining the two.  Great for the home and it would make a lovely present!
Thank you for popping by my blog today, I hope you enjoyed it and will come back soon!  :) 

Indian Spiced Blooms

Hello there and thank you for popping over to my blog  :)  This is my Inspiration post for Sheena's Ink-ettes.  I took my inspiration from watching old t.v shows of Sheena's, when she launched her Indian range of stamps.  I loved the mix of bright colours and I thought 'Oooh - I wonder if they would work with other Sheena stamps?'  So here is my little 'experiment'! :)  The stamps I have used are all from the 'Little Bit Sketchy' range, Blooming Beautiful, A New Leaf, and Simply Scriptly.

I used Aqua tints and SN alchohol pens to colour, Versafine Ink and drawing gum.

I started by stamping foliage onto the a piece of card and masking with drawing gum.  I then painted a wash of pinks and oranges over the whole panel.  

While that was drying I stamped the flowers onto acetate and heat embossed in black, then over stamped with the script using black Stazon.

I stamped a small flower and leaf in co-ordinating DI's randomly all over the background. 

I took a piece of Kraft card and embosse it in a folder.

 

I added gold gilding wax around the edges.  This makes a pretty border for the background panel.

I cut the flowers out and added gold Pebeo marker.

I attached the background panel to the Kraft card border and then to the basecard.  I then attached the flowers with dimensional glue to the back ground

 

I added Stickles to the centres of the flowers, and to the corners of the card

I think this is a lovely card for several occassions, male or female, of any age.

Autumn Inspiration

Hello, long time no see!  I've had a busy couple of months on the DT team, but I've taken a few hours out to play along with Chocolate Baroques Colour Challenge #26.  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  I've really missed doing these challenges, and I've had a brilliant time making this card.



I have used a selection of stamps from these sets.

I used these Brusho colours.

The Pine cone stencil, Claret embossing powder and Sepia Versafine ink.

I started with a piece of white card and using the 'dry to wet' technique I made the background.  This means that I sprinkled Brushos over the card then spritzed it with water, allowing the colour crystals to randomly spread over the card.  I then left it to dry naturally.  The picture below has different colours on to the ones used for this artwork, but it shows how the technique works.

Next I stamped and heat embossed all the images that I wanted to use from the stamp sets, then painted them with the Brusho's mixed with water and fussy cut them.   

Once the background was dry I stencilled the pine cones along the top of the panel in Fired Brick DI.  I then stamped several more images randomly all over the panel, using Mowed Lawn, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick DI's.  I painted the Honesty seeds in with DI to make them pop.  

I blended some DI around the edges of the panel, then matted it onto black card and layered it onto a base card.  I shaped and attached the images with 3D glue to the card. 

I stamped, heat embossed, coloured and cut out the apples, then attached them to the group stamping with 3D glue.

Finally I stamped, heat embossed, matted and layered the sentiment.  I chose this one because my inspiration for this piece was watching Lesley Wharton on tv using the Brushos, it rekindled my love of these little pots of loveliness!

Best Wishes Deer

This is something a bit different for you.  I have the pleasure of doing an Inspiration Post for Sheena's Ink-ttes facebook page this week, and I'm sharing it here with you as well.  I'm blogging this a little bit differently in that I'm showing step by step photo's as well as written instructions.  So let's get started.  I decided to make a quick and easy card  combining new and old Sheena products to shown how well they all work together.  For this card I have used a die, a stamp, a stencil, Aqua tints and Distress Inks.  I start by die cutting some Sheena stamping card with the Perfect Partners Christmas Deer die.

I then put a colour wash over another piece of card as a background, using several colours of Aquatints.  I used water to help blend the colours, I wanted an 'early morning' feel to the background.  

When the background was dry I placed the In the Forest stencil over it and applied Vintage Photo DI to create the effect of a forest.  I used a blending tool and sponge to apply the ink lightly through the stencil.  

I set the background aside so that I could work on the die cut card.  I used Vintage Sepia Versafine ink on the deer stamp from the Perfect Partners Wishes of the Season stamp set.  I then placed the deer die cut card over the stamp and pressed down, a small area at a time, onto the stamp.  This is the easiest and most effective way to get the stamped image onto the die cut card.  I then used Aquatint to colour the trees.  

Next I painted the stag with Aquatints, and edged it with Walnut Stain DI.  

I added the slightest hint of gold gilding wax to highlight the trees.  I attached the die cut card front to the background with dimensional glue, then matted the panel onto black card.

I took a white card blank (7"x 7") and edged it with Vintage Photo DI.  I then stamped a sentiment from the Christmas Notes stamp set at the bottom of the card using Versafine. 

  

Finally I layered the panel onto the base card.  I love the stag stamp and die, I think they can be used in various colour ways to suit a variety of occasions for male or female cards alike.  I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial  :)  

Christmas Canvas

                                                I have some exciting news!! 
I recently became a member of the design team for Sheena Douglass - I'm so thrilled and excited!  :)  This canvas is one of my samples for my first DT call out, and I was lucky enough to see Sheena show it live on television last week!  So now that I have calmed down a bit and the shows have aired I can share my creations with you  :)  So for this piece I have used Sheena Perfect Partner stamps and die - Holly Jolly Christmas and Holly Berries; Dyna paints; Aqua Tints; black Versafine; black EP; Gold Gilding wax; Icicle Stickles; black Gesso.  I took an 8"x 8" canvas and covered it with a coat of black Gesso.  When dry I sponged 3 colours of Dyna paints all over the surface.  These paints are duo chrome acrylics, which means that they change colour when the light hits them.  I wanted to still see the texture of the canvas, while also creating a lovely shimmering background.  Using a piece of white card I cut and dry embossed several branches of Holly, then painted them with Aqua Tint.  I also cut the same number of Holly branches from black card.  When the first leaves were dry I added gilding wax and polished.  I then stamped a corner swirl onto acetate in black ink, and heat embossed with black powder.  On the reverse side of the acetate I painted the tiny Holly leaves with acrylic, then cut the images out.  I attached the corner swirls to the canvas with strong glue.  I attached the green Holly to the black Holly, slightly offsetting it so that the black created a shadow.  I then arranged them along one edge of the canvas, having shaped them all to make them look realistic, and attached them with dimensional glue.  I added the berries and highlighted them with a gold pen.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto a piece of white card in black, then edged the panel with red Aqua Tint.  I matted it onto a piece of black card which was edged in gilding wax.  I wasn't really happy with it though as it looked a bit messy, so I painted the panel red and added Stickles  around the edges.  I then attached it to the canvas with dimensional glue.  I wanted to create some artwork for Christmas that would grace any home each year, and I'm so pleased with the result.  

Prairie Dawn

This is my entry for the Chocolate Baroque colour challenge # 24  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  I love this months colours, and the inspiration photo, shown in the second picture, was what I was aiming for.  I have used a mixture of CB stamps from several different sets, Distress Inks, black Versafine ink, and acrylic paints.  On a piece of white card I blended the DI's, then added more ink through a stencil to create the clouds.  At this point it could be either a sunrise or a sunset.   I then started to stamp various foliage images in black ink to create a 'Prairie Grasses' look, I used first and second generation stamping to give perspective, and I used black ink through a stencil to add grounding to the grasses.  I blended more black ink around the edges of the panel.  I then took a piece of black card, slightly larger than the panel and embossed it in a folder.  I added gold gilding wax,  attached the panel to it  then attached the whole thing to a card.  Next I stamped some butterfly images in black ink onto acetate and heat embossed them with black powder.  On the reverse side of the butterflies I painted them with acrylics, and when they were dry I added a coat of white acrylic to make the colours pop through.  I cut them out and attached them with dimensional glue.  I stamped the sentiment in black onto a spare piece of the background panel, heat embossed it and matted it onto black card, then attached it with dimensional glue.  I love this design, it's a great worker card, useful for male or female and a variety of occasions.