Playtime Adventures

Hi everyone!

      This is a creation that started as just a playtime!

     I realised one day, while trying to organise more space in my art cupboard, that I haven't used my Distress stains very often...I have about 15 of them, but they just sit there....Time to change that.

I had no ideas at all when I sat down to make this....My only initial plan was to pick out some Distress Stain colours and began to play..

I chose Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint. I dabbed some on to a craft mat and flicked it onto white card using a paintbrush. I spritzed with water and then dried with a heat gun, lifting the card to move the diluted stain around. I didn't actually like it at this point...but I figured I may as well see where it goes - so I just began to have some fun, mainly looking to rust effects for inspiration...

I used a layering stencil to add a splatter effect with white acrylic paint.

I stenciled letters around the corners with Decoart Quinacridone Gold

I stamped several text and flourish stamps with Jet Black Archival ink

I stenciled some words using an Andy Skinner stencil....some were double

 stenciled to add a layered effect - I used Burnt Umber/Black and Black/Titan Buff

I dabbed around the edges of the card with Quinacridone Gold using a foam pad

I spritzed the card with Cosmic Shimmer Vintage mist in Ancient Copper - Really hard to capture in a photograph but the effect when looking at it in RL is amazing....just a beautiful splatter of rusty brown when viewed straight - but turn it to the side and there is the most gorgeous vintage copper explosion!

I then added bolts to the corners with Decoart Liquid Glass

 When dry I covered the bolts and the edges of the card with Decoart Texture Sand paste. I then brushed this with a wash of Decoart Media Paynes Grey acrylic paint. This was then covered with Quinacridone gold and I repeated the layers of grey and Gold until I got the rusted effect I was after...

When brushing the Quinacridone Gold over the rust I swiped some brush 

strokes down to add streaks of rust

I added Chit Chat stickers edged with Walnut Stain DI and some embellishments which included an photo-booth picture, salvage stickers number, a key, pen nib and button.

Hope you like it!

Thanks so much for being here

Happy Crafting

Laura 

xxx

Rust No.2

Hi everyone! 

Here is the second Rust post!

This was the frame I made....

It was made with embossed card and liquid glass to add rivets and beaded edge. After the Paynes Grey/white acrylic paint had dried I added a wash of diluted Decoart Media Titan Buff - painted quite roughly - I intended to leave some patches of grey showing. This was followed by dry brushed streaks of Quinacridone Gold and some shading with Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber....

....and here is what I made with it

 This was such an easy one to put together...I loved the original frame - the beading made using Decoart Liquid Glass was so effective and the Decoart Titian Buff wash really gave this a look of painted rusted metal. I wanted to focus on Autumn colours and I had just got the Sizzix Thinlits Fall Foliage die cut set - so it made sense to put those ideas together

I did some wrinkle free distress effect on card  using Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs DI for the brown leaves and Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon for the orange leaves. I then die cut the leaves and covered them with crackle glaze. When dry and cracked I rubbed some Burnt Umber Paint on to them before wiping away with a baby wipe

 Curled rusty wire was used in the leaf arrangements

I stuck tissue tape around the frame and used silver brads to attach the leaves to the tape

 I added a chit chat sticker to the tape

Inside the frame I used one of my favourite Found Relatives Photos

Hope you like it!

The next creation will be one made using this (and I think is my favourite!)

 Come back soon and see the finished result!

Happy Crafting

Laura xxxx

Rust No.1

Hi everyone! 

    

 Here is the first follow up post to Adventures in Rust....

In that post I featured five rust pieces that I was going to make into creations to feature here.

The first one was the Rust background....

....and here is what I made

I decided to concentrate on the yellow tones in the rust (even though they are eventually covered up)

I started by cutting a heart shape from card and covering it with Decoart Media Crackle Paste. When this was dry I covered it with a wash of Decoart Media Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide acrylic paint. This was then dry brushed with Quinacridone Gold and Burnt Umber. When the heart was dry it was rubbed with a sanding block.

 I used a Found Relatives Photo for the collage and cut the people out and stuck them onto the heart with a ruler from the Salvage stickers set.

 I added a brass flower with some die cut leaves that had been inked with Brushed Corduroy DI and stamped with Jet Black Archival ink using a script stamp

 

A calendar months was added along with a filigree brass decoration

A brass key was added to the collage

Several brass buttons were added

A brass hinge was used as decoration

I added more hinges to the top of the collage 

And there is my finished collage....

The next rust creation will be this one....hope you will come back to see what I made with it....

Thanks so much for being here!

Happy crafting!

Laura xxxx

The Window to the Soul

Hello everyone!

     It is a new challenge over at Our Creative Corner. I am the Challenge Host this month and my choice of challenge is 'Halloween'....but not just any Halloween creation....

Forget the cute cats and smiling pumpkins....

we want....

For this Halloween share with us some horror inspired

 creations that are sure to send shivers down our spines.

Bring out your most grotesque stamps and embellishments....

....or perhaps take on the challenge of finding a way to transform 

pretty stamps into something macabre.

Reach for the grungiest colours and textures....

Come over to the dark side of Halloween

Can you scare us?

Yes...I want darker creations....I want the horror of halloween....

What did I make?....To be honest I really didn't have a clue when I first set the challenge.

It wasn't until I was shopping in Czech Republic during the summer holiday that I found the perfect item. A vintage style hand held mirror for a dressing table. It was painted bright pink and was very cheap and 'plastic' looking...because it wasn't a gorgeous item to start off with I didn't feel too bad about covering it with layers and layers of paint!

Here is what I transformed it into...

My idea for this project came from the superstition 'Seven years bad luck when you break a mirror'....This superstition is perhaps one of the most believed (or feared). The origins of this superstition come from the belief, in many cultures, that the mirror reflected your soul - or it had the power to capture your soul...and a broken mirror would damage your soul. 

Did you know some of the 'remedies for a broken mirror? - Fascinating! 

• Spin around three times in a counter-clockwise direction -  said to confuse the spirits and reverses the bad luck
  
• Wash the pieces in a south flowing stream
• Collect the pieces and bury them in the moonlight
•  Pound the broken mirror into tiny pieces so that none of them can reflect anything ever again
• Leave the broken pieces where they fell for seven hours and then pick it up immediately after the hours are up
• Light seven white candles on the first night after breaking the mirror and blow them out at midnight in one breath
•  Touch a tombstone with a broken piece of the mirror 
•  Burn or blacken the mirror fragments and then bury them a year later
  
•  Make the sign of the cross with a five-dollar note

So there was my idea - I wanted the mirror to have a reflection of a soul...and a horror one....

I began with covering the frame with black Gesso and then dabbing it with sand texture paste. When dry I painted it with Decoart Media Paynes Grey mixed with white acrylic paint. This was left to dry then a watered down coat of Paynes Grey was applied. This was followed by several layers of Quinacridone Gold, Burnt Umber and Phthalo blue/green mixed with white as a patina effect.

I just kept reapplying the layers of paint until the frame had the right kind of decayed rust effect....

When all this painting was done the frame was covered with Decoart Ultra Matt Varnish

I then dry brushed the mirror with a very light coat of black gesso to make it look tarnished and when dry I painted it with Decoart Ultra Matt Varnish to seal it.

I cut out a person from the Found Relatives cards and stamped a skull onto ivory mulberry paper. I stuck these images onto the mirror. 

 

I then wrapped the frame in brown cheesecloth

I added the words 'beware of the haunted soul' in chit chat stickers that had been edged with Walnut Stain DI

And there is my haunted mirror....Scary enough?
I might just hang this on my front door on the 31st!!! ;o)

Come over to Our Creative Corner and see what everyone else has made

...Do you dare....?!

Join in the challenge this month and you could be the randomly selected winner of the $20 prize voucher that is being donated by our Sponsor this month

Nicecrane Designs 

 

You could be our winner and be invited to appear as our Top Talent. 

You could be one of our Top 3 and be pinned onto the OCC Pinterest board!

  
Remember you gotta be in it to win it!

So come on over and bring your scary creations to Our Creative Corner!

 Happy Crafting!

Laura

xxx