Welcome to my blog. I hope you'll find something here to inspire you.
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| I started first on the green layer and used white Stamping card by Sheena Douglass. I cut a cheap kitchen sponge into 8 pieces and cut small chunks from the bottom of two of the pieces to make texture. I took some Pebéo Deco Creme Paint in 29 Matt Bright Green, 31 Matt Tropical Green and 04 Matt Yellow and brayered the colours onto the card. Then I took some Pebéo Dyna Paints 359 Iridescent Green Yellow and 355 Iridescent Copper and dabbed these randomly on top of the other colours to create more texture. I use some Imagination Crafts Starlight Wax in black and smoothed it around the edges of the black matting layer and also onto the central black layer which had been texturised with an embossing folder by Crafter's Companion Textures - Artist Collection - Hessian. When it was dry I polished both pieces with a soft cloth to really make them shine. I ran another piece of black card through a different Embossing Folder by Crafter's Companion "Just For Men" collection - Pop Dotty and then rubbed over the surface with Pebéo Guilding wax in Antique Gold. I die-cut this piece of card with the Sheena Douglas "Going round in Spirals die twice and punched out letters to spell Happy Birthday with an old Martha Stewart Alphabet punch which I'm not sure if it's still available.. I then assembled the card as above and added some black bling from my stash to the corners of the central layer and a couple of Leaf sequins to the spirals. |
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I used the free stamp and die set which came with issue 159 of Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine. I cut an ATC from waste packaging using the Sizzix Bigz Die - Artist Trading Card. I textured the card with an Embossing Folder - Scattered Dots by Crafter's Companion Signature Collection - Birthday Party. I then painted the background with Pebéo Dyna Paints 356 Iridescent Violet Blue 357 Iridescent Blue Green 358 Iridescent Green Blue then toned the colours down a little with white Gesso by Daler Rowney. I water coloured the flowers with Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers and finished it off with a coat of Spectrum Noire Clear Sparkle Pen |
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I started the page by stamping my image then I covered it with Pebeo Drawing Gum. When completely dry I added an ombre wash using Spectrum Noire Aquatint 02 from the Perfectly Primary set.
I added the ink to the top of the page then blended it with clean water to the bottom of the page. I left this to air dry then rubbed off the drawing gum with a "Mask Away" rubber.
I coloured the flower image with Zig clean colour real brush water-colour marker pens. I then covered the image with a cloth and splattered the background with black gesso thinned with water using a fan brush.
Later I added Viva Decor Facetten-Lack Crackling Colour paste in white using the diamond stencil by Crafter's Workshop..
I stamped and doodled a border around the edge then stamped out the butterflies and bee stamp also included i the set and once again coloured them with the Zig markers. I adhered these to the page with Tacky Glue and then added a few words from the Tim Holtz Idea-Ology ChitChat stickers as my sentiment.
I outlined this with a Sketch & Wash charcoal pencil and activated it with water. I also used this pencil to shade under the leaves, flowers and the butterflies.
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The main image was added with Structure Paste by Imagination Crafts and then coloured with Zig Clean Color Brush pens and Starlight Paints also by Imagination Crafts.
The Background was coloured with Tumbled Glass distress ink using a blending tool and later I smooshed some ink onto my craft mat and used a brush and some water to colour the areas I could not reach with the tool.
I then stamped onto the background with Brilliance Ink in White Pearle and Pearlescent Blue.
I outlined the flower and created a sketchy border using a Faber Castell Black Pitt Pen and then added Glitz It glitter glue in gold into the centres of all of the flowers.
I added more shading to the leaves and behind the flowers with Specrtum Noire sparkle pens and then Matted the piece onto black cardstock.
I stamped and cut out the sentiment and adhered it to the bottom of the card.
You can watch my step-by-step YouTube video of its creation below. |
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I used Spectrum Aquatints in three shades for the background blended with water to give an ombre effect. Once dry I embossed the page with a Texture Embossing folder by Crafter's Companion called "Distress". I lightly sanded this with a sanding block and then carefully added Antique Linen Distress Ink just over the raised areas.
The stamp set is by Stampendous and called "Hummingbirds" I stamped the two birds and the flower spray onto card, coloured them with Spectrum Noire Sparkle Pens and the flowers with Pebeo Dyna Paint in 354 Irridescent Red Blue.
I cut a heart from a cereal box, painted it also with the Irridescent Red Blue and adhered a generic die-cut from my stash which I coloured gold using a Pentel Hybrid Dual Metallic Gel Pen.
I printed out the quote and coloured it with a yellow Faber Castel Big Brush Pitt Pen. Cut this into strips. Everything was adhered into place with Liquitex Matt Gel Medium then shaded with a grey IG4 Spectrum Noire Alcohol marker pen and highlighted with a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.
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| My vision for the Fantasy aspect was a woman closing her eyes on her troubles to dream that she is being carried away to another calmer land. I used Masking Fluid to create cloud areas and to act as a resist, then made a water colour wash to create the sky. There are touches of Picked Raspberry Distress ink watered down and blended in for a sky at sunset and I also used Distress Ink in Faded Jeans around the edges to simulate night drawing in. Once dried I rubbed off the Masking Fluid. I stamped and embossed my main images with Wow Black Twinkle Embossing powder. I used a tree stamp by Tattered Angels and the flock of birds was a stamp by Tim Holtz. I lightly coloured the trees with Spectrum Noir pencils. Printed my quote on my computer and adhered it with Matte Gel Medium. To finish I've matted and layered my piece first onto white card and then onto black. |
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| I made the first one using the Punky Flower stamp set by chocolate baroque. the background is acrylic paint stenciled over with Viva Decor pearl modeling paste through the Crafter's Workshop Mini Cell theory stencil. I used a silver paint pen on some of the larger spots in the design for a more metallic feel and added a rectangle of Dry Wall Tape mesh over the top. I stamped, painted and cut out the flower images and positioned them raised up with foam tape. i glossy accented the light bulbs and added small watch/clock parts to various parts of the flowers and for the filaments in the light bulbs. I also added metal rods over the stems and under my sentiment. The metal butterfly was originally bronze so I used Inka Gold in Silver to change it. I adhered blue rhinestones into the empty sections withing the metal piece. |
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| The second one is made using Duct Tape in two designs. A zippe die-cut by Mariane's Creatables and a few beads strung onto metal and made into a flower with some mesh bling. |
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| The third is using background paper from Marian Smith Designs, Pink lace, Pearl bead trim and a die-cut bird cage by Memory Box. I added a flower from my stash, Leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts and a bird that I'd purchased on ETSY quite a while ago. I printed the sentiment on my computer and added adhesive pearls to the top and bottom of the cage, As a finishing touch I rubbed glitter gel onto the petals of the flower and the wings and tail of the bird and aged the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.. |
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| For the fourth I made a tiny shadow box and backed it with a Parisian Advert. Inside I placed an Eiffel Tower metal charm and a small flower arrangement. The front was primed with Gesso then embossed with Viva Decor Pearl Modeling paste through the Tim Holtz Baroque stencil. I then sprayed it several times with Lindy's Stamp Gang spray in Pink Cotton candy. I added two carnations, some tiny rose buds and a couple of tiny rhinestones. |
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| I like to make a British themed ATC when I'm making them for overseas friends. This ATC was to celebrating the Ceramic Poppy Art display that was at the Tower of London this year to commemorate 100 years since the start of World War 1 and all of the British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives. I added my personal Remembrance poppy and an image of several London icons. On the back there is an envelope containing some photo's that i took of the ceramic poppies on a recent visit and a print out explaining the event which was extremely moving.. |
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| The last card was made using a stamp set by Docrafts and is a paper shirt, tie & jacket. I left the front edge of the jacket unglued so I could curl it back slightly to give some dimension and to make the jacket appear as if it was open. I really enjoyed participating in this swap and I hope Claudene likes the ATC's when they arrive. |
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| I painted the background with Black Gesso then used Imagination Craft's Sparkle Medium in Blue Sapphire and Old Rose through a home made flower stencil. I doodled the stems and leaves with a Gelly Roll Midnight pen in green and then added white Gelly Roll pen to highlight the leaves and to add dots around the stems. I also doodled a border and around the sentiment with a pink Gelly Roll Midnight pen. These pens stand out particularly well on a black background. I punched some small yellow flowers and adhered them into the centre of the large flowers and added a pink dot into their centres. Simple but effective and that Sparkle Gel is really so loaded with glitter it's amazing. and one of my favourite products. Below is a short video of it's creation. |
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| I was very happy with the outcome and below I explain more of the process and the supplies I've used. The box was originally brown kraft coloured so the first thing I did was painted it inside and out with white Gesso. Once dry, I stenciled on the lid with a baroque design using white modeling paste. On the sides of the box and the bottom I stenciled through the "Art Is" stencil by Crafters Workshop. This was left over night to dry out completely. For the colour, firstly I used Delphinium Turqoise Starburst Spray by Lindy's Stamp Gang but rather than spraying I applied it with a brush for more control. While still wet, I carefully sprinkled on a minute amount of Bister in Blue in various places and encouraged this to run around the stenciling with a brush. (Available from Art Journey.nl).This gave a fantastic effect with the shiny turquoise interleaved with the darker blue/black of the Bister. (Remember a tiny amount goes a very long way and the colour is very intense). I dried everything then used Inka Gold wax paste in Steel Blue and Silver to add areas of extra sheen and to highlight the stenciling. (You need to buff it with a dry cloth to really bring out the shine). I mixed some clear glass micro beads with some Gel Medium and some of the Lindy's stamp gang spray in a small pot and added it to the box lid in random places. This added extra texture and interest. For decoration I added Cheese Cloth, silver leaves and white flowers which I'd painted the centers blue to co-ordinate. The inside of the box was lined with a paper napkin which had a lovely sentiment. |
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| I first stamped and embossed the flowers with white embossing powder. I then coloured the right hand corner of the page with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink. I stamped and embossed over this with clear embossing powder and then blended over this again with Spiced Marmalade Distress ink and graduated this colour into the yellow ink previously applied. As you will see the embossed sun acted as a resist and the yellow still shows through from underneath. Next I added Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to the sky area and Mowed Lawn & Peeled Paint Distress Ink to the lower portion of the page. Using a cross hatch stamp by Jofy I added lightly stamped texture to the sky with colorbox inks in white and dark orange. To make the piece pop I over-stamped the flowers in Black Archival Ink by Ranger. To finish I found a quote about the sun on the internet which I though fitted my page well and printed it out. I cut the quote into strips, used Vintage Photo Distress ink around the edges and used Claudine Hellmuth Matt Medium to glue them into place. I used black alcohol marker pen to accentuate the edge of the page then matted and layered it onto blue and then black card ready to be adhered into my Art Journal.. |
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| The first one is a nice jokey card made using a Magazine Freebie Rubber Stamp by Acid Drops & What Nots. I stamped the design several times and then cut out several sections of each stamp to compose a decoupage of the bow on the swimming costume and the hat. The background was painted with acrylic paint over Gesso. I added glitter to the wet paint for the sand and a Tim Holtz stamp for the birds. To finish it off I added a bit of rhinestone bling with a dolphin and some starfish. I then edged the piece with gold paint pen. |
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| For my second piece I used Dreamweaver Crackle Paste through the Crafters Workshop Mini Cell Theory stencil. Once dry I dripped on Green, Blue, & Black Liquitex acrylic Ink and allowed it to flow into all of the cracks. On top of this I rubbed gold Inka Gold to pick out the high points and add some shine. The beetle is from a stamp set by Chocolate Baroque called Steampunkery. I painted it with alcohol markers and Lumiere paint in Halo Green Gold then added Ranger's Glossy Accents to the clock face and the beetles shell. I adhered this piece with foam tape for dimension and slightly curled up the edges of the wings. |
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| As I'm English I went patriotic for this card. I used the bus stamp from the DoCrafts Portabello Road set. I used a Union Jack flag napkin for the background and two ribbons from the set. I printed out a tiny London scene and fussy cut it around the edges. Because the design was too intricate to cut it all out, I coloured inside the design with alcohol marker pens to blend into the napkin design. I added flag design buttons for the headlights of the bus and Ranger's Glossy Accents to make the red paint shine. I then added a London Button to finish it off. |
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| This ATC was fun to make and to have a little messy play. I used the stamp set by the Dutch company Art Journey and fussy cut out all the pieces I wanted to use. For the paint colours I actually used melted wax crayon and allowed it to run down the card. I melted one colour at a time matching each line up with a stamped paintbrush. It's a very tactile card with a lovely feel to it.. |
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| For my last card I used the Punky Flowers stamp set by Chocolate Baroque onto a background of Acrylic Paint which was stamped with script and spattered with black Liquitex Ink. The poppies were stamped onto glossy card, coloured with alcohol ink markers and silver paint pen. I covered the light bulbs with Anita's 3-D Clear Gloss Finish and added my sentiment with Matt Medium. I drew a shadow around each poppy with a gray marker pen and added highlights to the bulbs with a white Faber Castelle PITT pen. I was really happy with how they all turned out and I hope Jane likes them too. |
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| I used two of the stamps from a set by Chocolate Baroque called Punky Flowers. I stamped onto light weight card several times and then coloured the flowers with Inktense Blocks used as water colours. Once dried, I fussy cut out each flower and covered the light bulbs with glossy accents to look like glass. I used a black Faber Castell Pitt pen to re-enhance all the stamp lines and a silver gel pen to colour the metal elements at the bottom of the light bulbs and the bottoms of each flower. The stems and leaves were painted with two different shades of green. The background was a piece of light weight chipboard which I first painted with white Gesso and then a coat of Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paint in Beach Hut. Using a script stamp and Aquamarine Archival Ink by Ranger I stamped across the entire image. On top of this I then used white colorbox ink and a cross hatch stamp by Jofy randomly to create visual texture. The flowers were glued into place using Claudene Helmuth Matt Medium. Some were cut apart and slotted behind other flowers to achieve the layout design I was looking for. I added some alcohol ink pen around the bulbs in yellow and then went over this again with a wash of yellowInktense block to add a glow. I added white highlights to each bulb then outlined each flower with a dark grey Spectrum Noir marker pen . The sentiment was typed and printed on my computer. Cut apart and adhered into place with Matt Medium. I then added the small white plaque to explain the meaning of the piece. I matted the page onto yellow, then black card. |
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| I love the organic looking background on this tag. (If you want to know how I created it look out for my next YouTube video where I show a step-by-step tutorial). I added seed beads and sequins for more texture and I really didn't want to cover any of it with Text fields. I deliberated for a long time for the best way to add the fields without ruining the effect of the background and then had had the idea of the pretty butterflies. I then punched a hole, added an eyelet and some of this lovely whispy trim. To finish I edged the tag with pink glitter glue. |
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| For this tag I used two different patterns of Duct tape. The zipper die-cut is by Marianne's Creatables and I used a small circle punch for the text fields which I shaded around the edges with Distress ink. I punched a hole then added an eyelet and fluffy trim. |
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| Again I've used Duct Tape for the background. I die-cut hearts from black card, Heat embossed the edges with silver embossing powder. I added silver glittery glue around the edge of the tag. An eyelet and black trim finished it off. |
