In The Frame

Hi everyone!

 I am here today with...wait for it.....Another frame (what a shock!).....I love making them!

 I was inspired to do this after watching a video by Andy Skinner....I must admit I don't watch many instructional videos - mainly because they leave me wanting things that I can't afford!!!

 This one caught my eye and I thought I would give it a go.....

And of course, after watching the video I decided I really had to give this technique a try...but the only thing I had was the white antiquing cream - not much good on it's own.

I did have a Decoart Matt Varnish (not as good as the Ultra Matte - which is the BEST!) and I thought I can use approximately the same colours of other paints.....

...........but I really really really HAD to have the stamps - You see!....This is why I don't watch videos!!!....

So of course an order went out for the stamps...and when they arrived I got started...

I am not going to explain how I made the heart - I followed the video instructions and you should too! ;o)

I made a frame (of course) and painted it with Gold Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic and then covered it with crackle glaze. This was then covered with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream which was wiped away to reveal dark cracks

The background was embossed card that was dabbed with Evergreen Bough Distress Paint and then covered with Vintage Photo DI. It was then dry brushed with Raw Umber Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic paint and then rubbed with some Classic Gold Treasure gold.

A key and a cog were treated with some faux rust - first I dabbed on some Evergreen Bough DP then brushed on some Quinacridone Gold acrylic paint.
This was followed by some Picket Fence DP before applying a second coat of Quinacridone Gold.

 Then I added a very light sprinkle of Vintage Photo Distress Embossing powder.

I added some Artistic Outpost stamps to the heart and a quote as well...  

And here is the finished frame.....

Hope you like it! Thanks so much for being here!

Happy Crafting

Laura xxx

Pastel Shades

Hi everyone,

I would like to show you a photo collage I did...

 I have always loved these kind of creations, but lacked the confidence in doing them. One day I had some spare time, I had nothing planned to do and so I decided to sit and play. I had just printed out loads of vintage portraits and I loved this one in particular - I adored the very muted pastel shades and decided to let that lead the colour scheme

I began with two bottles of Distress stain.... Frayed Burlap and Weathered Wood. I pressed them onto the craft mat until there was a puddle of ink emerging. Then I slammed them down onto a piece of card to create a splatter effect. I dabbed the excess ink with a tissue as I wanted the ink splatter to be pale.

Then I began to arrange some tissue tape strips in horizontal and vertical lines. I knew where the picture would be placed so I just tried to place these around it. I then covered a doily with Iced Spruce and Frayed Burlap DI and stuck it onto the collage...

I dabbed some Iced Spruce and Vintage Photo DI's around the tape strips

I added some script and text stamps...dabbing them around the picture using Potting Soil Archival ink

Then I added together a collection of embellishments, roses, clock, metal filigree flower, buttons, a key, chit chat sticker, butterfly, lace and hemp string. I arranged them all beneath the photo

I decided to layer the picture. So I got some Frayed Burlap and Pumice Stone DI and wiped them onto the craft mat and spritzed with water. I swirled some card into the ink and left to dry. When dry I sanded the edges down to reveal the pale card underneath and add a distressed aged effect

This needs a frame!!! I did the usual thing - four pieces of balsa wood stuck onto card in the size frame I wanted. I painted it with French Roast Fresco paint and then covered it with Crackle glaze. I waited for this to dry then applied a thick layer of Nougat Fresco Paint.

After this had crackled I sanded the paint down to strip back some patches to look even more weather worn. I then added a layer of Raw Umber Antiquing cream which I wiped away with a damp cloth when dry.

The frame was finished off with a coat of Matt Varnish

 Brass Hinge Fasteners were used with hemp string as a hanger

And there is my Victorian Pastel collage.....it may not be a perfect example of this collage style but practice makes perfect..I had so much fun doing this I will definitely do more! ;o)

Happy Crafting!

Love from Laura xxx

Junk in your Trunk

Hi everyone

   Over at Our Creative Corner there is a new challenge - this time hosted by our wonderful Candice!

Junk in your trunk

Create something out of any kind of junk and re-fashion it either into something useful, functional or beautiful for the JUNK IN YOUR TRUNK challenge this month.

Candice is leaving the challenge open to your interpretation of what constitutes “Junk”

It may mean a set of hideously patterned china that you want to smash up and a make a mosaic...
It may mean reams of patterned paper you have lying around that you turn into a collage masterpiece...
It may mean doing something with skeins of wool that you intended to make a a sweater with...
It may mean doing something with rusty keys,nuts and bolts and random pieces of wire that you pick up off the street...

  You can create whatever you want to, however you want to and with whatever you want to.

The only rules are that your project MUST contain something that you consider Junk that you have reclaimed or recycled.

I used a spare lock ring - a while ago we needed to change our front door lock (long story - my fault!) and my husband went to buy a new lock. When he returned with it we decided we would keep the old lock surround which has a handle and throw away the one that came with the new lock.....

Hold on a moment.....throw it away???!!!! Noooo....I'll take that....it might come in handy (cue husband rolling his eyes....)

Anyway, I was proved right as Candice came up with this wonderful challenge and straight away I knew it was the right time to use this ring. Clocks was the first thing that came to mind....

   After going through many ideas I decided to make a hanging ATC.

I cut out some card and selected a piece of patterned paper - I have a HUGE collection of printed paper - and sadly it sits unused in a drawer. I am a little addicted to the gorgeous sets of paper -I mean, they are always so gorgeous (often too gorgeous to use) so I hoard them possessively. This time I decided I would use one.

I selected a gorgeous rose patterned ephemera based one and stuck it onto the ATC with some PVA glue.

All that was needed on this background was to distress the edges a little with some Walnut Stain DI

Then I began creating some clocks

The large center clock was made with the brass ring. I covered it in Gesso first then coated it with several coats of Antiqued Bronze Distress paint. when it was very nearly dry I would wipe the metal revealing white and brass patches. And coat it again and do the same again. This built up several layers of paint given a layered and uneven 'peeled paint' look. When I was done with layering the paint I added a layer of Decoart Patina Green Antiquing  cream. When dry I wiped it with a damp cloth leaving a rusty aged look.

I followed the same technique for the metal flower

The smaller clocks were made from Idea-ology custom fasteners. These come in two sizes of fasteners and they also have small picture stickers and resin stickers. Several of the clock faces got used for this creation. A little Antiqued Bronze DP was added to the silver metal effect frames.

Other clocks were stamped clock faces added to buttons with Glossy Accents glue applied to form the glass effect of the clock. Wooden buttons were rubbed with a little classic Treasure Gold.

 I added a stamped butterfly which came from some Mini Tim Holtz stamps. This was stamped with Potting Soil Archival ink and painted with Decoart Turquoise Interference paint - this gives it a gorgeous shimmer...Brown wire was curled into antenna for the butterfly

  I used a Tando Creative cog that had been painted with gold acrylic paint and then covered in crackle glaze. This was then covered with English Red Oxide and Patina Green Antiquing creams to add a rusted effect. I added a little brass key.

The quote "It's never too late to find out who you want to be" was stamped in Potting Soil Archival ink onto card which was then cut into strips and inked with Walnut Stain DI.

 Brown wire was used to create a hanger for the ATC

Lace was applied to the bottom of the ATC

 And there is the ATC....made with some junk....Hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to get creative with some 'junk' this month!

Why not hop over to Our Creative Corner and see what the rest of my wonderful team have made?

    

We would love to see your creations over there!

Our Sponsor this month is

Crafty Individuals 

 They are very generously providing a wonderful prize for the winner who will be selected by Random.org.

So get joining us in this wonderful challenge and you could be one of our randomly selected winners!

There is also the chance you could be picked as the winner and find yourself at OCC  in the Spotlight as our Top Talent.....

....you could also be one of our Top 3's and be featured in the OCC Pinterest Gallery!

Hope to see you soon!

Happy Crafting!

Laura

xxx

For the love of Flowers

Hello everyone!

      This has been such a busy month for me being Guest designer for the Artistic Stamper....but when I saw the new challenge over at Frilly and Funkie I knew I had to find the time to play along!

   The challenge is 'Bloomin' Marvellous' and the challenge is to use handmade flowers. And I had such fun making them. The roses on this hanger were VERY handmade because I had run out of the die cut flowers that I needed and I don't have a  die cutter...so I got the die cut remnants I had and using them as a template to draw the flowers and then cutting them out by hand....

        I decided to go for my favourite colours at the moment - brown and teal and devote the theme to being a very rusty patina look.

     The roses were so much fun to make. First the die cut flowers were covered dabbed with Antique Bronze DP and I just painted it on leaving streaks. When dry I dabbed them with Evergreen Bough DI and then sprinkled them with Tea Dye and Walnut Stain Distress embossing powder and then a little Verdigris and copper embossing powder.

The other flowers were scrunched after a spritz of water to add creases then when dry they were inked with Evergreen Bough DI and covered with Rock Candy Distress glitter. After the glitter was dry the edges were inked with Vintage Photo DI. Wooden buttons were painted with Evergreen Bough DP and wiped with a tissue to give a weathered look.

 White flowers were edged with Evergreen Bough DI and had bronze brads added to the centers.

A large flower was covered with Vintage Photo DI and then covered in crackle glaze and the cracks were highlighted with Walnut Stain DI. A vintage style button used for the center of the flower.

A leaf die cut was brushed with Vintage Photo DP and then covered with crackle glaze then Walnut Stain DI rubbed into the cracks to highlight them.

 A die cut flourish was covered with Walnut Stain DS

A piece of corrugated cardboard was torn to reveal the texture underneath and then covered with gesso followed by a coat of crackle glaze. Walnut Stain DI was then rubbed over the cracks.

Crochet lace was stuck onto embossed card that had been inked with Vintage Photo DI and then spritzed with Patina Cosmic Shimmer spray.

A doily die cut was covered with embossing ink and then sprinkled with Verdigris embossing powder.

 A brass key was added to the embellishments 

 ........along with a brass frame that had teal patterned paper added to it that had been inked with Walnut Stain Di and a white flower added to the center.

Rusty wire was added to form a hanger 

   Hope you like my handmade flowers! Thanks so much for being here!

I would like to enter this in the following challenge -

Frilly and Funkie - Handmade flowers