Fragile Winter - Brenda

I'm sharing a project with you today both here and over on my blog at Bumblebees and Butterflies. It is a mixed media canvas with layered snowflakes that I created for the Craft Stamper magazine last year, the process steps for the canvas background can be found HERE  and the steps for making the snowflakes are below.

Step by Step

1.    Die cut all the snowflakes from good quality card and seal them with a coat of gesso. Emboss them all using the embossing folder that accompanies the layered snowflake die.  

2.    Take each snowflake one at a time, spritz with water and dab on chosen colour of paint, add a second colour whilst still wet and heat dry. 

3.    Turn your snowflake over, you will see the colours seeping underneath the edges and being soaked up by the non-sealed card. 

4.    Continue to add layers of water and colours (and mix colours to create various combinations), until you are happy with the results. 

5.    On some you could add more interest and lighten the snowflake by rubbing white paint over it using your finger and keeping very little paint on it. 

6.    On others try adding transparent crackle glaze or gloss varnish, then white or black antiquing cream and rub the excess off with a damp cloth and finish with some gems given a quick coat of gesso or paint.

To finish seal the snowflakes with a coat of ultra matte or gloss varnish, stack some of them together and perhaps adhere some glitter. Add them to your Fragile Winter mixed media canvas where the process steps can be found at Bumblebees and Butterflies.

Have fun with your Christmas crafting.

hugs Brenda xxx

Products

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Paints

DecoArt Mediums

Layered Snowflake die - Tim Holtz

Stacked Snowflakes - Tim Holtz

Dear Santa -

Hi it's Brenda back after a break and no this isn't my list for Santa but it is a stand up card created using DecoArt Chalky Finish paints.

I began by using a brayer and had some fun layering the colours thickly so that I achieved alot of texture. Of course all the colours are opaque so we have to be careful where we brayer the colours as each one blocks out the one below, but by being careful and using less of the colours as we go we can achieve texture and colour. I finished this one with some subtle stippling using a natural sponge and then lightly brayered some white over the top before stamping the background using the chalky finish paint.

I also stamped the foliage using the chalk paint and olive archival in before distressing the edges and adding a shabby bow and some berries.

This lovely Santa image is the St Nick die from Tim Holtz. I used the brayer again with the chalky finish paints to create a slightly textured piece for Santa's whitish beard and moustache. I also used some colored texture papers for the other pieces.

It all came together beautifully and I added a stand made from two pieces of card so he can stand on the mantelpiece with the rest of the Christmas decorations and cards.

I hope all your Christmas preparations are going well and if you'd like to see my other festive makes please pop over to Bumblebees and Butterflies between now and Christmas, I'd love to see you.

hugs Brenda xxx

Products used -

DecoArt Chalky Finish paints

St Nick Bigx die

Seam Binding

Guest Designer Project - Ros Jones

 

Today with have a project from Ros Jones who has created this beach hut made using the Sizzix Tim Holtz Tiny Houses die, PaperArtsy snowflake chalk paint, A Bit Jaded infusions and Prima Art Stones which are coloured up as the pebbles

 

 

Thank You for Sharing Ros it's lovely and a great use of the pebbles, I've always wondered what customers use them for

 

You can see more of Ros's projects on her blog

 

 

 



October Dyary Page

I am very much enjoying creating a weekly page in my Creative Dyary. I don't get as much time as I'd like to to be creative each week (working full time gets in the way!) however ensuring I do something creative at least once a week is very satisfying! The Dyary has a week planned out on the left page Monday to Sunday but there are no preset dates/months so you can start your Dyary at any time. I started mine in February and haven't missed a week! On the right side, some pages are preprinted with black and white drawings, some with coloured backgrounds. Here I've adapted one of the coloured backgrounds.
The backgrounds are pretty fabulous and really need very little work but of course I just can't help myself...! This was the background before I meddled!

Add Lemon Zest and Bubblegum paint to the page through a number stencil and then Squeezed Orange through a dots stencil.

Dylusions have bought out a fab set of background stamps where you get a stencil and a matching stamp. There are leaves, brickwork and cobwebs in either 9 or 12 inches to match your projects.The idea is to stencil the background and the stamp the detail in the foreground. Now, it's a terrific idea but don't feel limited to use these in one way - you can try this idea! Lay the 9" leaf stencil upside down and the wrong way round (so the word 'front' is showing like in the picture)

Use Fresh Lime paint through the stencil - try to have different lengths of leaves to create a bit of interest.

I drew round the leaves roughly in white ink, but of course you could use black!

Then, using the bottom portion of the leaf stamp, add some leaves in black ink.

Using Black Marble ink in a water brush, colour in the stamped leaves.

I added some stamped details from this fabulous Zinski Art set. I stamp the larger images because there are details that are hard to cut out! 

This is the finished page with a small sentiment from a terrific Emma Godfrey Halloween set.

Thank you, as always for joining me! If you'd like to see more of the Dyary pages I've created this year - please click here.

Gabrielle x

Be Original

Well Trace here today , with another distress oxide and paperdoll creation...full of inky yumminess! So here is the card and all the details follow below:

If you are not able to get the paperdolls , you could still create something similar using a found relatives image cut out or a stamped image in its place...but they are gorgeous things to play with!

I have used many collage items, some dyed seam binding, idea-ology and some of the new Tim Holtz tape...

To create the background I applied broken china, cracked pistachio and vintage photo distress oxide inks onto the craft sheet, I spritzed plenty of water and swiped the card through the inky droplets... heat dry and then re dip and continue to dip and dry until you are happy.

I then applied some distress oxide ink ( vintage photo ) through one of my favourite stencils lattice stencil 019 - in the corners of the card front.

I edged the card in vintage photo distress ink using a mini blending tool.

To create the layered collage piece I placed some of the new snippets together and glued them into place ...having scuffed and inked the edges.

to complete the overall look, I applied some broken china distress oxide ink onto a craft sheet, spritzed with water and then dabbed in the collage pieces to pick up some of the gorgeous blue ink.

below shows the details of the finished card and shows where the collaged pieces have picked up the blue ink..

doing this with the oxide inks helps to tie all those pieces together.. and the oxides have such a gorgeous finish ..

To complete the piece I added some flowers cut using the new thinlits dies - small tattered florals from Tim Holtz, and I cut these from a piece of card coloured using distress oxides ink..

I added some of the gorgeous film strip from idea-ology , adhering using mini attacher staples..I added a paper doll, sanded lightly and inked around the edges with vintage photo distress ink..I also added some rub ons to add more layers of detail

I added more of these tiny flowers and a quote chip- these are fab as they create such great dimension

To the side of the card I added some dyed seam binding, dyed using broken china distress ink..

To give the paper doll dimension I added some foam tape behind the girl and added here on using this 

So there you have my inky and idea-ology filled card...

hope you like it!

trace x

Create art every day

I wanted to decorate the cover of my small Creative Flip Journal and thought I'd share what I did!

I started by masking off the red binder with some washi tape and painting it three layers of Black Marble paint

I then added Snowflake (white) paint with an old gift card

Next came Calypso Teal paint

Now for the fun part! Add more white paint through a stencil with Cut-N-Dry foam - this is so the next colours zing! Then add Banana paint over the centre of the flowers

Reposition the stencil and add Bougainvillea to the tips - how cool is this?!

Add some dots from the stencil on to the flowers (clever how they fit together!) with black paint

To complete the background I dried the flowers and the sanded it down so it looked more shabby. I added some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges

A tag and some flowers from JOFY for PaperArtsy completed the cover.

Thank you, as always, for popping by

Gabrielle x

PaperArtsy Christmas ornaments

Hello Everybody,

it's Monika here after a long-long break :-)

So let me show you my vintage Christmas card that was made with a PaperArtsy Scrapcosy stamp set: ESC08

Here is my tutorial.

1. I stamped on thick watercolour paper with Antique Linen Distress ink and sprinkled it with Gold Tinsel embossing powder.

2. After melting the embossing powder I cut out the images.

3. I cut out a square from Kraft-Core paper and distress the edges with a sandpaper (you can make it with Tim's sanding grip as well).

4. I chose a Christmas embossing folder and since my card was bigger than the folder I embossed first the bigger part, then the rest. (My embossing folder was: Holly Swirls by Sizzix)

5. I sanded the embossed surface and with a knife, I distressed the edges and inked with Gathered Twigs.

6. With Ranger Distress inks (Barn Door, Scattered Straw) I coloured the ornaments.

7. I stamped with the tinsel stamp on the card and again I applied Gold Tinsel embossing powder (I wanted to hang my ornaments on the tinsel).

8. I put gold twine through the hole of the ornament and put double-sided glue tape on the back.

9. I adhered my ornaments on the card and I fixed the twines with double-sided glue tape 1/8".

10. I smeared Micro Glaze onto the inked surface of the ornaments for protection and for a little shine.

11. With the same stamping method I prepared the text, but here I used Gold embossing powder. I coloured it with Scattered Straw ink.

12. I cut out my card base from kraft paper and I put my card together.

13. I placed two golden yellow rhinestones to the corners.

I hope you like it! Happy crafting!