Funtastic Friday: Daisy Card

Hello, I hope you have had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend!

Today I have a floral card for you featuring one of my favourite flowers, the daisy.

I am entering this project into the following challenges...

* Tuesday Morning Sketches #349

* Die Cutting Diva's - April's Symbols (daisies &/or diamonds)

I started by creating my daisies.  Using Heartfelt Creations 'Delightful Daisies' stamp and die set I first stamped the daisies and leaves using Versafine.  I am trying to get into the habit of making extra to what I need so that I have a stash ready for other times...

Then I used the die to cut the stamped images out...

Once cut out I used memento inks and sponge daubers to colour the leaves and add a slight tint of colour to the flowers.  These were then shaped and stuck together and a dazzler added to the centre of each daisy.

Next I die cut some circles to create the sketch layout and attached these to some Heartfelt Creations paper from the Peacock Paisley pad...

The flowers were then added to the circles using glue gel and a sentiment stamped and cut out using the pierced flag dies from Sue Wilson.  Finally the whole piece was mounted onto white card using foam tape...

A very spring like card!

I will be back on Sunday with a special extra post!  Have a lovely weekend.

Jane x

Wonderful Wednesday: Pink and Girly!



Hello again!

If you have looked at many posts on my blog you may have realised by now that I do have quite wide and varied interests and styles when it comes to crafting!

Today I am going quite different again to the start of this week by getting all pink and girly with a card...

I am entering this project into the following challenges...

* Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog - Pink and Girly
* Fantasy Stampers Challenge Blog - #61 Monochrome

* That's Crafty Challenge Blog - About Face

I started by stamping out all the pieces that I wanted to use, including the fairy girl from Lily of the Valley, butterflies from Bev at Bee Crafty and the sentiment from a birthday greetings set by Kazzaz.
They were all heat embossed to make colouring easier.

I used 3 pink shades of distress ink to do all my colouring (tattered rose, worn lipstick & picked raspberry) along with a clear spectrum noir sparkle pen.

The fairy was coloured and then die cut using 2 circles from the Italian set by Sue Wilson, then matted onto a die cut scalloped circle.  The main focal point also had pink ink brushed over the edges to help frame the image...

The butterflies were coloured in the same way...

Using some of the new stamps from Leonie Pujol, I over stamped some flowers into 2 of the corners of a white piece of card using the same inks and then blended some worn lipstick around the card.

The same inks were blended over the sentiment...

The card was put together with a piece of pale pink organza ribbon along with a bow and pink dazzler.  Then it was all matted and layered together using a mixture of foam tape and glue gel for extra dimension...

A very pink and girly creation!

On Friday I will be posting another card, a bit less pink but still quite girly, hope to see you then :)

Jane x

Design Team Tuesday: A Little Bit Abstract!

Hello!

 

Before I start today I would just like to say thank you for the lovely comments that are left on my posts.  I don't tend to respond individually but I do read them all and appreciate every one! :)

 

I am back today with my design team hat on! 

 

If you saw Leonie on HOCHANDA last week launching her new range of masks and stamps I hope you liked what you have seen so far, she has also posted some tutorials of how to use the kits on her blog - http://leoniepujol.blogspot.co.uk/

 

I love little stamps as they are so versatile so today I am posting a new project that I made using the new stamps after being inspired by the TV shows and also by the other members of the design team!

 

Please do pop over to their blogs for lots of lovely crafting inspiration:

 

* Nick: http://nickinbarnsley.blogspot.co.uk/

* Katrina: http://cornishkat.blogspot.co.uk/
* Elaine: http://cakecoffeefcraft.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Both Katrina and Elaine have used the masks and stamps in very original ways that I hadn't thought of, and Nick has done some amazing pattern building.  It is the pattern building that I wanted to have a go at but I haven't got the patience for anything too complex so decided to use a coaster size piece of stampbord.  Here are the items that I used...

 

  

I started by using stampbord inks (yellow and pink) with a distress tool, adding colour where needed until it was blended to my liking...

 

 

As the colours were quite sunshiny I decided to start my abstract pattern with a bit of a sunburst feel, so chose some stamps that I thought would look good.  These were then stamped in a pattern using archival black ink.  Then I used one of my tools to scrape away parts of the ink to uncover some of the clay board underneath...

 

 

To some of the areas that were exposed I added more ink, then when I was happy with that stage I created white highlights using the scraper tool again...

 

 

I wanted to frame the piece so added another stamp around the edges, then scraped some parts back and added yellow ink.  I only wanted to ink certain areas so used the fine tip of one of my smoothies.  Once this was completed gold gilding pen was added around the edges...

 

 

To add another layer of texture and interest I used a stencil and some glassy gel medium, then covered the gel with extra fine iridescent gitter.  It looks a bit dramatic to start with, but the gel does go clear!!...

 

 

At this point I needed to decide if I wanted to add anything else.  I knew that I had to add words (as I usually do!) so chose a simple sentiment from Stampers Anonymous that I could cut up so that less of the pattern was covered up.  I also chose one with a font that I felt matched the style of the piece.  To match the main piece I coloured a piece of card using distress inks.  I started by using a smoothie but found this was too dark, so instead I used my blending brushes which gave a lighter tone...

 

 

Here is the final piece...

 

 

A bit out of my usual comfort zone, but I found building the pattern and scratching back the stampbord to be very relaxing.

 

I will be back tomorrow with another project, hopefully you will be able to pop by for a look,

 

Jane x

Mixed Media Monday: A Clockwork Owl

Hello again, and I hope you had a great weekend!

Today I am back with a mixed media piece to enter into some challenges:

* Mixed Media World - All Geared Up
* Stamplorations - Mixed Media/Stencil

* Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes
* Love to Create Challenge Blog - Challenge 9 Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes

I wanted to make this project as I enjoy using cogs ad gears. 
For some reason I really love the look and idea of the mechanical style, which is strange as I have no mechanical knowledge or interest in the 'real' world! 
What to use was slightly more tricky and then I found laying in my craft cupboard an MDF owl kit by Anna Marie design that I had bought a fair while ago.  It had been brought out of a box and put on the side a couple of months ago to alter but then I had forgotten about it. 
In the back of my mind I remembered something about a mechanical owl, eventually I realised it was in an old (probably 1960's??) version of the film 'Clash of The Titans' and I knew then what I wanted to create!

I started by painting all the MDF pieces with black gesso...

Then a selection of gear and cog stencils (Finnabair & TCW) were used to apply modelling paste to the biggest sections of MDF.  I used a different stencil for each piece and then also applied white crackle paste with a spatula to the branch...

I wanted the owl to have a metallic look, but also wanted each layer to stand out so used a mixture of metallic colours.  The main body of the owl was painted with Goldfinger paint (IndigoBlu) then extra depth added to the colour with distress stains and gold mica spray (wild honey & vintage photo).  To highlight the cog texture I then added some Pebeo gold gilding wax.  I find that some sprays can tend to leave stickiness on MDF projects, so I used a clear matt spray sealer which sorted that out.

The eyes, beak and branch were painted with Miss Moneypenny cottage paint (IndigoBlu) and the other parts with Vodka Martini cottage paint (IndigoBlu).  To add a slightly darker tone to the silver I also added some Warm Grey silks glaze.  All the parts had different colours of gilding wax added to highlight texture...

The tummy of the owl was the part where I wanted to add extra layers.  A selection of watch parts and metal cogs and gears were adhered to the MDF using glue gel, then all covered using black gesso...

This was then painted with more silver paint, warm grey silks glaze and gilding wax added.

Once thoroughly dry all the pieces were stuck together with glue gel and left to set properly.

I wanted to add a bit of extra interest to the branch and so decided to make some metal flowers.

A sheet of thin copper was cut using a sizzix bigz steel rule flower die and then the flowers embossed with a cogs and gears decoboss folder from the Vintaj range by Ranger. 

Using Vintaj paints and sanding block, I then painted and sanded the flowers before sealing them with glaze...



Finally I wanted to add some words to the project so looked through some of my favourite sets.  I chose one from Stampers Anonymous, stamped it with Archival black ink onto vintage gold cardstock, then cut the lines of text up and applied them to the owl. 
Here is the final piece...



When I originally bought this kit I never thought it would become a clockwork owl, but I like the mechanical feel and will be finding a spot for him in my craft area (also known as the dining table!!).

I will be back tomorrow with a creation using Leonie Pujol's new stamps, but in a bit of a different way!

Jane x

Funtastic Friday: Mixed Media Love Canvas

Hello once more!

Well this has been a busy posting week for me, I will be going back to my usual posting next week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but think I will add an extra day of blogging on Tuesday's and call it 'Design Team Tuesday' (I do like my alliteration!).  That way I can show you the other couple of projects I have already made plus create some other projects using the sets that Leonie brings out.

I thought I would round off my week of Leonie design team samples with my favourite type of project...mixed media :)

Here is what I used to create the canvas...

I really wanted to use a real mix of mediums for one of my design team projects and so decided to get out my gelli printing plate.  I applied red and gold acrylic paint to my gelli plate and then pulled off a print onto card.  Then I placed the different sized love masks on top of another layer of paint (remembering to put them upside down) and put the same card on top and pulled off a second print...



 

Once totally dry this was stuck firmly to a 6" square canvas board.

 

Using the stencil part of the love kit I then used sparkle texture paste onto the board for some added dimension.  Using one of the heart stamps, flitterglu was applied and then gilding flakes added... 

 



 

I then chose another heart stamp and stamped it using versamark and heat embossed using gold powder.  These were then coloured in using Pitt pen markers (Faber Castell) and cut out...

 



 

Some of the other hearts were also stamped directly onto the canvas board using versamark and heat embossed with gold powder too and then the cut out hearts added...

 

 

The main 'love' image was created by drawing around the mask onto a separate piece of card.  This was then cut out and versamark applied.  It was heat embossed twice with ultra thick embossing powder and finally with a layer of red powder.  Finally a hint of gold gilding wax was added to the word and parts of the canvas...

 

 

Here is how the canvas looked when put all together...

 

 

This was great fun to make as I got to use lots of my favourite products!

 

Hopefully this week I have shown you how the new masks and stamps from Leonie can be used in a real variety of ways. I will show my other samples on Tuesday's starting next week.

 

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you are doing, especially if it's crafty!

 

Jane x

 







Mask and Stamp sets: Joy Card

Hello once again!

I decided to sneek another post in as a little extra this week!

Another design team card for you today using the new masks and stamps from Leonie Pujol.

This time I used the 'Joy' mask set with some of the flower stamps as well as swirls, circles and bubbles...

This card was great fun to make as I used a couple of my favourite products and I love those fantasy style flowers!

I started by deciding on the card size (I think it was 7" square but may have been 8"!!) and cut my black mat and the white card to size.  The large 'Joy' mask was placed onto the card with repositionable spray glue and then I used a smoothie from Creative Expressions with their colour cloud blending inks (Lemon Meringue, Frosty Sky & Frosty Aqua) to create the background. 

I wanted the flowers to look as though they were growing out of the word and stamped them with grey Versafine so that they stood out but not too much as I wanted the word to be the main focal point of the card.  I then used some of the patterned stamps with coloured ink to create some more interest in the background and matched the colours to the same tones already used.

When the mask was removed I coloured the word using a black permanent marker then covered it with glossy accents.

Some different style flowers were stamped and cut out so that they could add extra dimension.  All the flowers were coloured using Pitt pen markers from Faber Castell and then the extra flowers added using glue gel.

I mounted the main piece onto black card to emphasise the main word and then added it to the card front.

I will be back tomorrow with another step by step project, but this time it is a mixed media canvas.

Hopefully I will see you then,

Jane x

Wonderful Wednesday: Home Plaque

Hello!

If you managed to tune in to HOCHANDA I hope you enjoyed the shows!

Today I am posting one of the projects that I made as part of Leonie's design team with a few extra photos to show the steps.

When I received the stamps and masks I wanted to make a range of items as my interest is in creating not just cards but also home décor, mixed media and altered art pieces.  When I saw the 'home' mask I knew straight away that I wanted to create a plaque with it and had the ideal piece of MDF in my box!!

Here are the products that I used...

 

The very first thing I had to do was drill holes in the plaque with my dremel tool, always a hairy moment!  But it went smoothly and was then ready to be painted with black gesso.

I chose one of the masks that fit perfectly onto the plaque and stuck it down with repositionable spray glue.  Using spray inks by Dylusions (white linen, fresh lime & calypso teal) plus some gold, I spritzed onto the plaque.  Once it had dried a bit the mask was removed, then the rest could be finished using a heat tool ...

 

Using one of the fine flourishes from the stamp sets, I stamped around the edges of the plaque and heat embossed with gold powder.  I decided that the focal word needed to be more prominent and so using a gold paint pen added dots around the letters.  Gold gilding wax by Pebeo was added around the edges and I then sprayed the plaque with clear varnish which actually caused the inks to gain a pitted texture which I quite liked!...

Using the same ink sprays I covered a piece of card in colour then using some of the flowers and leaves from the stamp sets stamped in versamark again and heat embossed in a matching gold powder.  Once these were cooled I cut them out...

I spent a bit of time playing around with where I wanted them to go, then when I was happy stuck them down using glue gel.  Finally I used some gold coloured wire to be able to hang it...

My very first project as part of the design team!!

I will be back on Friday to show you how I made a mixed media canvas using the 'love' mask, it was particularly good fun as I got out my gelli plate and lots of mediums!

Enjoy the next half of your week,

Jane x