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.

How does your Garden Grow?

This is my first entry to the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #23 http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  We have some lovely colours to play with again, and I couldn't wait to get stuck in!  For this card I have used stamps from Punky Flowers, Punky Hearts and Steampunk Butterfly; Aqua Tints; Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink; pink acrylic paint.  I started with a piece of white card and stamped a lovely Deco style flower twice, then heat embossed the images in black.   As I wanted to make them the focal images I used drawing gum to mask the flowers and let it dry.  I used Aqua Tints to create a wash as a base for the background, then used a wet sponge randomly to remove some colour and add texture.   I then stamped a solid flower several times with DI.   On the top third of the panel I stamped a hearts background image, first in pink acrylic ( second generation) then in DI ( second and third generation).  Next I added some pink paint to the solid flowers as highlights, and stamped some Gothic style corners to the top of the card.  Having finished the background I rubbed the drawing gum off the first images ready to paint.  I used the tints and the acrylic paint to colour them.  I stamped a border from the Peacock Parade set onto some acetate and heat embossed it with Midnight Sapphire Obsidian powder.  Then I stamped a butterfly onto white card and heat embossed  with black powder.  I painted it with tints and cut it out.  I blended DI around the edges of the panel, stamped a sentiment, then attached the panel onto a black base card.  I attached the butterfly with dimensional glue to complete the design.  I really enjoyed creating this card, I love these colours and the stamps.  I think this lovely design will suit several occasions, and could be adapted for a male card too.

Fairies in Flight

This is a similar post to yesterdays in that I've created a wall plaque and matching card, but this time I have chosen a Fairy theme for Jessie.   I created the plaque first and then the card.  For this project I have used stamps from Sheena Douglass' 'A Little Bit Sketchy' collection and Crafter's Companion Textures collection; Lavinia Stamps fairy; acrylic paints; H2O's; Brilliance Inks; gold Aqua Tint; As before I up-cycled a Christmas heart by sanding it lightly, painting it in white Gesso then in pink acrylic.  I stamped several different sizes of fairies onto the plaque using Brilliance inks, and a couple of dandelion images.  On a piece of white card I stamped a fairy and toadstools, then heat embossed them.  I painted them with pearlescent acrylics and H2O's then cut them out.  Next I die cut a fairy from purple cardstock, painted her hair and parts of her wings and added glitter.  I added glitter to the other fairy, die cut some foliage from Kraft card and added glitter.   I used air drying clay and some moulds to make the letters and butterflies, painted them pink and gold and added glitter.  I then sprayed all the pieces with varnish before assembling the artwork, attaching the embellishments with dimensional glue.  For the card I used glitter card for the focal panel, stamping some fairies and dandelions in Brilliance inks onto it.  I die cut the fairy out of purple cardstock and added glitter.  I also die cut the sentiment and letters, then attached them all to the panel.  I matted the panel onto purple card, then layered it onto the base card which I had already stamped with a dandelion border.  These projects have been a delight to create, and they can be easily adapted for either boys or girls of any age.

Fit for a Princess

I have two great nieces with birthdays in May, so I wanted to create something special for them and to personalise them.  I decided on a wall plaque and matching card for each of them.  Sophia is really into Princess' at the moment, so the theme was easy.   I have used stamps from Sheena Douglass' 'A little Bit Magical' collection; acrylic paints; H20 paints; Distress Inks; Brilliance Inks; Gold Aqua Tint; Pro Markers; air drying lightweight clay and a mould and various dies.  To create the plaque I started with a wooden Christmas heart which was in my stash, and sanded it lightly to provide a key for the paint.  I gave it a coat of white Gesso on both sides, then two coats of pink acrylic.  When that was dry I sponged some pearlescent purple acrylic all over the front.  On a piece of white card I stamped several images in black Versafine ink  and heat embossed in black powder; a Princess, toadstools, brick walls and a butterfly.  I painted the Princess and the butterfly with H2O's and pearlescent acrylic paints, using Pro Markers on the face and hair.  The bricks were coloured with Pro Markers as well.  I painted the toadstools with acrylics, then stamped some Ivy leaves in green Distress Ink.  I then cut all the images out and added  glitter to some of them.  I used part of a border die to create a coronet for the Princess and attached it to her head.  I took some clay and pressed it into an alphabet mould then left it to dry, painting it with pink acrylic and gold Aqua Tint afterwards.  I added Crystal Lacquer to the leaves, painted a wooden floral embellishment and added glitter.  When  all the parts were dry I gave everything a coat of spray varnish to make it durable, and attached all the images to the plaque with dimensional glue.    I used several of the same images to create the card, adding some die cut letters, number and sentiment.   I think these stamps are perfect for creating Fairy tail themed projects - and the design works for both home décor and cards alike. 

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!