Also in my goodie package this month from Creative Expressions were two new Singles stamps, Ivy Corner and Botanical Spray. Each features a leafy sprig, along with a cute insect. I decided to get my Distress Markers, Vintage Mist and pearl PVA out to use with them…
I’m a bit behind on my posts this week… This is a pair of topiary trees that I made especially for the Craftwork Cards Candi Week, and they’re a giveaway prize over at their blog (still chance to enter if you’re really quick!). To see more on how I made them, go to this post. The planters are made from sheet greyboard, covered with titan buff acrylic and weathered with dry brushed Vintage Photo Distress Paint and Distress Ink. The balls are 8mm beads skewered onto cocktail sticks. The trunks of the trees are wound paper, and I rumpled tissue paper round it to add a bark effect.
This is the last of my posts using this month’s featured stamps. I’m back to the Creative Expressions Singles ‘Scentiments’ and taken the image from the thank you stamp to paint with Distress Reinkers. Quite a quick make in a clean and simple style.
Just before the shopping list, don’t forget the BSSBS on 12th-13th April at Ally Pally, early; bird discount of £1 off for tickets booked before 8th April. See you there! Click for details:
I fell in love with the ‘Time Flies Collection’ from Craftwork Cards at a recent Woodware Retailers’ Day. I got hold of the 8×8″ paper pack and the elements pack and set to work to create as many individual cards as I could using the elements and as little additional kit as I could. Using mainly Pumice Stone Distress Ink and double sided tape or glue, I made 30 cards and decorated a left-over chocolate box to make a gift box. Additional materials include foam pads; Onyx, Majestic Purple and Pewter Liquid Pearls and a bit of ribbon. A really fun project for the bits in between all the Christmas festivities, and a super collection of papers and die cuts. Several of the cog background cards are suitable for the ever elusive ‘man card’ as well. Clickable gallery follows…
UPDATE 02-JAN-14: Anyone attending CHA 2014 may just see some of these 🙂
The longer-term followers of this ‘ere blog will probably vaguely remember that I did Tim Holtz’s Creative Chemistry 101 online class last year. He’s only gone and started CC102 today – there’s thirty more techniques he’s sharing – and of course I had to sign up. So here’s Day 1: six things to do with Distress Paints. I’m not allowed to share the techniques, but you won’t need to look far elsewhere on my blog to see where I have used them with conventional acrylics. That is, all but the first – the marbling effect is unique to Distress Paints because of their make up.
I’ve got into the studio at last to do my own thing in between some craft room reconfiguration and college work! I’ve chosen to do some quick mixed media tags using mainly Ranger/Tim Holtz products:
I’ve taken a bit of time out from designing for my college course to make this canvas featuring a paper craft vase and paper craft, die cut, hand coloured and constructed flowers. I’ll be entering it into Tim Holtz’s Tattered Floral Challenge as it is his Tattered Floral die that I used to cut the flowers from 160gsm thin card. The vase is made from the same card to my own design – SVG file available if anyone would like it…
Each flower layer was wrinkle free distressed in first a layer of Fired Brick and Festive Berries both sides, dried and then wrinkle free distressed in a layer of Fired Brick with Ripe Persimmon. They were then dried before being spritzed and flicked with water and left to dry naturally. The centres were punched and then sprayed with Dylusions Granite spray. The flowers were assembled onto florists wire and stuck together with matt multi medium and left to dry over night before being glued into the vase and onto the canvas background.
Here’s the inspiration pic, a vase of flowers in our lounge:
I’ve been asked to do a guest slot on the Less is More blog today 🙂
This week’s theme is Kraft & Kreme, and as always, a clean and simple design is required. Ok, my design might not be so simple to make, but it’s clean and simple under the definition of lots of white space (i.e. unfilled – kraft card isn’t exactly white!).
I cut a 15cm sq kraft card to shape, keeping the oval offcut from the front. I made a mix of 50:50 WOW! Primary Bark with WOW! Vanilla and triple embossed onto the oval offcut, then whilst still hot swirled it with a metal tool. I used the same mixture to emboss the sentiments (from WOW! Merry & Bright Christmas and WOW! Everyday Sentiments) and hearts (from WOW! Gratitude) – I flexed the clear stamps on the acrylic plate to follow the curve of the card. I outlined with Vintage Photo Distress Marker and shaded with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I’m happy to create a template if anyone requires one 🙂
Hi – this morning has been spent on a commission. I have been asked to wear something I have made using WOW! Embossing Powder when I’m demonstrating at the NEC next week [Hobbycrafts Exhibition, stand M12-15]. Though I didn’t immediately dismiss necklace or earrings, I didn’t think I’d enjoy the ear lobe crushing of a clip on, and necklaces just dangle in the melt pot… So I came up with two ‘man bracelets’:
Both bracelets are made from grungepaper coloured with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain distress inks, embossed using Tim Holtz texture fades embossing folders, stuck down with Studio matte multi medium. Sewing reinforces the whole thing and the fastening is a Tim Holtz copper hitch. Bracelet 1 features the new WOW! Special Edition Embossing Glitters (Caribbean Jewels) due to be launched at the NEC. Bracelet 2 (The Other Wrist) features the WOW! metallic embossing powders. Grungeboard would work as well, but I didn’t have a size that wrapped round my wrist!
The design challenge over at WOW! Embossing Powder blog this month is ‘monochromatic’ and featuring their fabulous pearlescent powders. This is what I came up with, and if you’d like to find out how I made the pearlescent background card/gift box lid pop over and read my post.
perfectly4med: Artist at work 