Colour between the lines

Hello everyone!

At Fashionable Stamping Challenges I chose the challenge this time and I suggested we -

Colour between the lines


Just stamp an image and colour it in - any way you like, however you like....

I decided to make an ATC...and it is inspired by one of my very favourite artists. When I first arrived in crafty blogland there were a handful of artists who I thought were absolutely awesome....I would look at their work and wish that I could do what they do....(...that still happens!)
Julia is one of those artists. I am in awe of her talent, I adore her work, she always does something so inspiring and I so wish my work was as good as hers....

So when I saw a recent ATC set of hers I desperately wanted to see if I could do something like it (and of course doubting that I would get anywhere close)...I then realised that it would fit in perfectly with my 'Colour between the lines' challenge..


First I stamped a stamp from the Artistic Outpost Generation Redux set onto acetate with Jet Black Archival ink

I then painted behind the image with various colours of Fresco Paint



I cut out an ATC sized piece of card and stuck a sheet of text paper over the top.





I then brushed Gesso over this to tone down the vividness of the text print

I sponged some Smoked Paprika and Pumpkin Soup Fresco Paint over the top. These colours are the lightest and brightest acrylic paints I own, and they are also translucent which meant I wasn't going to lose the text print

I then stenciled a letter stencil with Bora Bora Fresco paint

I then used an Artistic Stamper background stamp using Jet Black Archival ink in the top corners of the ATC

I then used my favourite script stamp and using Picket Fence DP I stamped around the edges of the ATC



I applied blobs of Liquid Glass to the corners.



When dry I painted them with Chocolate Pudding Fresco Paint and while wet I sprinkled them with Vintage Photo Distress Embossing powder. I then repeated that process several times but this time lightly dabbing the dots of liquid glass with Quinacridone Gold Decoart Paint and sprinkling with the embossing powder while wet.



Because this ATC was inspired by Julia I decided to mention inspiration on the ATC...so I used Chit Chat stickers edged in Black Soot DI - I chose the words "finding inspiration"



I dabbed around the edge of the ATC with Black Soot DI to add a grungy look



And that is my ATC inspired by one of my favorite artists - Hope you like it...

I would love it if you came over to see what the rest of the team have made to inspire you at Fashionable Stamping Challenges!

Remember we are a stamping challenge so please feature a stamped focal image on your creation.You could be the winner of $20 to spend at Flonzcraft

Happy Crafting!
Laura
xxx

Childhood Memories

Hi everyone!

    Today I wanted to show you some gorgeous images from Nicecrane Designs. Ignacio sells wonderful images that you can use in your craft work. Today I chose to use some of my favourite images from my childhood - Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter...

Peter Rabbit Cliparts - find it here 

Please note - Peter rabbit designs are not available on the UK due to Copyright Restrictions

  These images are such a classic children's image so I decided to make a neutral nursery decoration!

Aren't they gorgeous? Peter Rabbit images are perfect for a nursery and can be for a boy or girl..

   

I used a circle frame hanger set that I bought from the Range ages ago. I painted it with Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Lace and then painted the rim of the frame with Primitive

     When dry I applied a coat of One step crackle glaze and then when the crackles appeared I painted it with Decoart Media White Antiquing Cream.

I painted some die cut flowers with the Lace paint and then dabbed the flowers with Frayed Burlap DI and added a pearl bead to each

The pictures were glued inside the frames after being dabbed lightly with Frayed Burlap DI and a piece of crochet lace was stuck to the back of the frames to hang them together..

....the frames had a strip of script tissue tape stuck to the edges.

An ivory satin ribbon was attached to the top of each frame

A loop of hemp string was attached to the top frame under the ivory bow.

Hope you like my Peter Rabbit nursery decoration!

Happy Crafting!

Laura xxx

Hearts amour

Hi everyone - It is Sponsor Spotlight time again at Our Creative Corner. 

Our generous sponsor this month is Tando Creative.  Come and join in this months challenge over at Our Creative Corner to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous prize! 

And here for you is a sneak peek of today's spotlight....

If you are interested in finding out what I have made and how it was made then hop 

over to Our Creative Corner

Hope to see you over there!

 Happy Crafting 

Laura

 xxx

Steampunk Blueprint

Hello everyone!

Over at Sandee and amelie's steampunk challenge the challenge this month is -

Unfinished Steampunk

We would like to encourage you to leave some areas/parts of your creations unfinished or have them look unfinished!

 It should definitely not just look as if you had forgotten to finish your project off with some spots, but the unfinished (but maybe already primed or half treated) part should build a dynamic contrast or in any other way an important part of your project's composition or concept

And this is how I tackled this challenge -

 At the start I had no idea where to go with this...I wanted to make a tag but to leave part of it white seemed wrong somehow - for me anyway! I wanted the tag to have something on it but be unfinished....so I came up with the idea of a blueprint style tag...

So half this tag is the actual finished tag and half shows 'planning' behind it


I was going to do two halves stuck together, but I decided against that. For me this needed to be one tag.

So I covered half the tag with masking paper and just did the top part of the tag as if I were about to decorate the whole tag. I decided to go for a mechanical travel theme, sticking with blues and brown colours.

 First I stencilled some Picket Fence DP though a clockwork stencil. I LOVE using this as the base for my backgrounds at the moment! I love the pale barely there image it gives...

I blended some Stormy Sky and Gathered Twigs DI's over the tag

I then stamped the main focal image in Jet Black Archival ink using the stamp of three men on the Artistic Outpost stamp set 'French Flight'

I then used other stamps from this set - using Stormy Sky and Gathered Twigs DI. I also stamped some of the stamps with Watering Can and Cornflower Blue Archival ink to add depth as they are stronger colours than the DI's.

I added a bronze gear at the bottom of the tag and a bulldog clip that had been painted with dark brown acrylic paint and sprinkled with brown embossing powder.

Then I removed the mask and just randomly scribbled (hence the bad handwriting) all the details of the tag onto the blank side. Featuring arrows as direction, various prompts, ideas, colours and choices.

 This was a lot of fun! Why not make a Steampunk creation and see what you can do to make it look 'unfinished'! 

It would be lovely if you came over and see what the rest of the team have made to inspire you! Hope you will come along and join in the fun!

 Happy Crafting 

Laura

 xxx

I am entering this in the 'Show us your AO art' challenge

Forever and a day

Hi everyone!

 Valentines day is nearly here and I wanted to share a Valentine creation with you. Not your usual red and pink hearts and flowers. For this one I tried to focus on more masculine colours and less flower power....well, except for a very tiny bit... ;o)

I made the hearts by cutting them out of balsa wood. I used a heart template to ensure they were all identical. I sanded down the edges of the hearts and then painted them with French Roast Fresco paint.

I then applied some crackle glaze with a palette knife and when this was dry I painted it with Picket Fence Distress paint. Not my usual choice for crackle effects but it is a more translucent paint and that was the effect I wanted.

 When this was dry I stamped some swirls with Jet Black archival ink - I wanted the whole effect to be rustic and tarnished and so I didn't want a perfectly stamped image -  so I held the unmounted stamp in my hand and rolled and dabbed it across the hearts. Then I painted the hearts with three coats of Decoart varnish.

The frame was made by cutting out a background of cardboard and then cutting four frame pieces. I stuck them to the cardboard back and when dry I painted both the frame and the background with several coats of Decoart chalk paint in Lace.

Then I applied a thick layer of Decoart Crackle paint and when this was dry Raw Umber Antiquing cream was applied and then wiped away to reveal enhanced cracks

A strip of twine braid was glued to the middle of the frame background. The hearts were stuck onto the twine. The letters were grunge board letters covered with Mocha Mousse Fresco Paint and then covered with Crackle Glaze. When dry the glaze was painted with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream to highlight the crackle.

Chit chat stickers formed the sentence "Forever and a day" and I stuck them onto each heart after dabbing the edges with Pumice Stone DI.

A fabric blossom was painted with a Decoart Chalk paint in lace and a pearl bead added to the center

Silver screw brads were used to attach the cream string that was used to hang the picture.

And this is the Valentines Gift I will give my Husband on the 14th - Don't tell him!!! ;o)

Happy Crafting!

Love from Laura xxx

Splash of Red

Hello everyone!

 At Fashionable Stamping Challenges we are featuring as our challenge....

Black and white with a hint of Red

I loved this challenge more than I thought I would - basically because it was trickier for me than I anticipated (and I do LOVE a challenge!)

I decided it would be best to stick to a CAS creation (as best I could) because the stark shades of black, white and red don't really go with a vintage shabby chic style.

I thought it would be fun to make a frame (LOL!) and I decided to make the picture out of four images...each one with a hint of red in them.

I began with the face...

I stamped a music sheet background and it was then that the quote "If music be the food of love, play on" came into my head...being close to Valentines why not have the word 'love' featured!

So I made the words out of Label Letters and attached them to the piece of card...

The next one was...

I made the background by stamping a damask background stamp by Artistic Stamper in Black Soot DI. The black and white pattern was too stark...so when the stamped pattern was dry I blended more Black Soot DI over the card to create a grey background.

The heart was a Paperartsy die cut that was trimmed and then painted with Fresco Blood Orange paint. When this was dry I covered the heart with Decoart One step crackle and then when the crackle had formed I covered the heart with Decoart Antiquing cream in white. When wiped away it leaves gorgeous white crackle lines.
The continuing part of the quote was added made up with Label Letters


The next one was...

Again this background was done the same as the previous one. The heart was cut out free hand after being painted with Fresco Blood Orange paint and stamped with a music stamp using Jet Black Archival ink.

 The word 'love' was added from Chit Chat stickers and was edged with Black Soot DI and a red enamelled rose was added.

The last square was.......

 This background was a Paperartsy script stamp stamped with Jet Black Archival ink. I then cut a piece of card and painted it with Fresco Blood Orange paint. I stamped over this with Picket Fence DP using an Artistic Stamper background stamp.

    The words 'Play on' were stamped with an alphabet stamp using Jet black Archival ink on white card which was then cut out and stuck onto card that had been heavily inked with Black Soot DI..

    The edges of the red card were dabbed with some Black Soot DI

 I then had to construct the frame - done very basically (as my frames always are) I had plenty of cardboard left over from Christmas and so I cut a huge piece out as a back for the picture. After sticking the four pieces of card on and making sure they were straight and neat, I constructed the frame

The frame was made from balsa wood, four strips were cut and stuck together to form a rectangle. It was then painted with gesso and to stop it looking too plain (I am so not a CAS artist - sorry!) I added some lace. This was then also painted over with Gesso

I would love it if you came over to see what the rest of the team have made to inspire you at Fashionable Stamping Challenges!

Remember we are a stamping challenge so please feature a stamped focal image on your creation.

  

You could be the winner of $20 to spend at Flonzcraft Stamps! And of course you could be picked as one of our Catwalk Spotlights!

Hope to see you there!


Happy Crafting

Laura
xxx