Sacred Secrets

I was incredibly fortunate to join a talented bunch of crafters at the recent Andy Skinner workshop at Country View Crafts. I have found that the best way to put into practice what you've learned is to do the techniques at home. So this project is the sum of what I learned!
The original kit I used was the Sacred Secrets kit. The picture on the front of the packaging shows what's in the kit but as there's no picture of it made up then you can really use your imagination! In writing this blogpost I've seen that there's a sample on the website so if you'd like more inspiration click on the link above.

I started by making pieces look rusty:

1. Use a watery wash of Paynes Grey
2. Add a coat of Quinacridone Gold
3. Use a very watery wash of white paint
4. Add another coat of Quinacridone Gold

Then for the background (and sunburst up to step 2)

1. Paint the background generously with Chocolate Pudding
2. Paint a thinner layer of Caribbean Sea. When dry, sand and add a very watery wash of white paint
3. Use a watery wash of Paynes Grey and allow some drips

To make the frame more interesting, glue the off cuts from the cogs to the frame. Make sure it's very dry before making it look rusty.

For the heart I used gold paint and some numbers left over from the workshop kit

The finished piece looks like this:

Thank you, as always for popping by and thanks for the tips Andy!

Misted Ink Background

There's something really satisfying about making different backgrounds for your projects. There's a quick and easy background that you can make as easy, or funky as you'd like!

Simply draw squares in your journal (I used the small Dylusions journal block as  I like the wavy lines). It should look like this - don't worry if, like me, you need to go over a few lines!

Add some stencilled shapes. I used circles with a stencil like this one.

Then the fun starts! Fill a water brush with Black Marble Dylusions Ink. Colour in the background on one square and the shapes on the next, making a chequerboard effect. It's very therapeutic!

This is the finished effect.

You could leave it just like this. But knowing the ink reacts beautifully with water then I just couldn't help misting the page until the ink started to run.

You can, of course, use any combination of colours you like to make the background. Also, don't just do squares, you can use stripes or any other shape you like!
To finish this off I used the new Darcy stamps for PaperArtsy. I added a few gold lines and white painty circles for added interest.

Thank you, as always, for popping by

ATC inspiration

I have blogged recently sharing my gel prints and I just can't stop using my plate! Today I thought I'd share three quick ATCs that you could easily turn into a card, journal page or a host of other ideas! If you would like a reminder on how to use your gel plate, please see this post: Flowers are smiles

Using my gel plate I printed this A4 card in the following order:

1. Print a layer of Caribbean Sea
2. Print a layer of Snowflake
3. Print a layer of Granny Smith
4. Print a layer of Snowflake
5. Add Banana using the Tracks stencil
6. Add Bougainvillea using the Gothic stencil

Cut three ATC sized pieces from the page (reserving the rest for a future project!) An ATC is 2.5" x 3.5"

Decorate! 

This little chap is from the fourth Zinski Art set. I stamped the chap on a piece of white card and the ATC so that you don't have to cut out his antenna!

This ATC was finished in the same way as the first. The quotations on all three are from Chatter Design Tape - I cut the phrase from the tape and adhered it to the ATC.

To tie the three together I used a black pen to frame each ATC, white pen for the highlights and the circle stamp.

Thank you, as always, for joining me!

Gabrielle x

Artist Trading Coin and more!

Hello! I'm sharing some more adventures with my Gel Plate today! An Artist Trading Card has been around for ages - the definition might be: a small piece of art (2.5" x 3.5") that can we swopped (traded) with others. An Artist Trading Coin is the same idea but is 2.5" wide and is the very latest thing!

I started by covering my gel pate with Caribbean Sea and printing on two ATCs. Then I added Snowflake (the picture shows the blue and then the blue with a white overprint).

Then add a layer of Granny Smith and a layer of Snowflake.

Follow that with a little Banana and Bougainvillea through a Splotches stencil. Finally add Slate through the Flames stencil.

I then sanded one ATC to reveal the colour beneath; die cut the other one into a circle 

and edge both with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. The coating on the ATC means you can achieve a really interesting finish when you sand it!

(Sorry about the odd colour of this photo!) Stamp the bottom of the circle with the line stamp (from Zinski 01) and line up the stamp so you can position.

Then I added a figure and a saying and my ATC/ATCoin combo is complete!

Of course I couldn't limit myself to just an ATC so I made a tag alongside the ATC using the same techniques.

Thank you, as always for popping by!

Gabrielle x

LIVE!

My latest addition is to my Gel Plate - there is an unlimited amount of fun to be had printing your own backgrounds and making a whole range of things! This month I have made two different backgrounds for my large Journal using the same equipment. The first journal page I made I shared last week.
Before I start, a couple of things to note: I made this on a really hot day so I wasn't able to photograph everything as the paint was drying so quickly! The second is that the sunshine created some shadows on my photos so please forgive these!

I brayered Bougainvillea paint and created my first print

The second print used Snowflake

Then a print using Banana

Then a print using Caribbean Sea in just part of the paper

Then I used Teresa Green - I didn't intend to over print the blue - doh! But the joy of this system is that you can just keep adding layers!

Another layer of white fixed that problem!

Then the first stencil - Tracks with Banana

I added two more stencils Gothic (using Slate) and Splotches using Bougainvillea. Then I sanded the page and trimmed it.

In completing my page I used off cuts from other projects using the same paint colours

The final piece included stamps from Everything Art and Emma Godfrey. The quotation (typed on my ancient typewriter!) says:

Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing. Oscar Wilde

Thank you, as always, for popping by - and do have a look at my first project here.

Gabrielle x

Flowers are smiles

My latest addition is to my Gel Plate - there is an unlimited amount of fun to be had printing your own backgrounds and making a whole range of things! This month I have made two different backgrounds for my large Journal using the same equipment.
Before I start, a couple of things to note: I made this on a really hot day so I wasn't able to photograph everything as the paint was drying so quickly! The second is that my plate had some pits on the surface after I'd washed it. These have since disappeared - so ignore the 'bubble' effect on the first few photos! You won't have this one your plate and I haven't experienced this since.

My first step was to brayer a layer of Caribbean Sea paint to the surface - you don't need a lot of paint as you can repeat any of the steps to cover your paper.

Lay your page on the paint and rub the back of the paper to transfer the paint to the paper. Then peel your paper off the plate.

This is my first print.

I then made a second print using Teresa Green.

Then I added a white (Snowflake) layer. I tend to add a layer of colour and then a layer of white. I like the layers of colours - think lots of layers of wallpaper in an old house!

You don't have to add paint to the whole of the surface of your plate, here I added Bougainvillea to a small areas on the plate. You can, of course, put paint on the plate and only put part of your paper on the plate; rotate the paper so you don't always use the same part of the plate on the same part of the paper and print as many layers as you like.

So, that's my base. Now to add some stencilling! On the plate, lay your stencil and brayer paint through.

This is what that stencil looks like.

This is Tracks in Banana

And this is Gothic in Slate

This is the finished page, trimmed and with Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges.

To finish the page off I used lots of Zinski Art stamps

Thank you for popping by - my second page using these paints and stencils will be here next week!

Gabrielle x