Mad as a Hatter

Hi everyone!

         It is a 'first' here at Laurart - decorating a hat! I had so much fun with this - though I had one of those weird things happen where it turned out completely different to the image I had in mind in the first place - still those crafty journeys can be fun...

     My wonderful OCC DT member Laurie invited me to join  her craft DT on her FB challenge site. It involved decorating a hat - and two other projects that will be revealed for April and May. This is what I came up with....

 First lets take a peek at all sides of this hat .....

The front

Left

Back

Right

      I wanted to get texture onto this hat so I embossed some card with damask style embossing folders. I cut the card into sections to cover the entire hat. Then I dabbed tiny amounts of texture paste around the joins to fill any gaps. As neat as you try to be, it is difficult when gluing embossed card to a surface to avoid having tiny little gaps. Dabbing a tiny amount of texture paste is a really effective way at hiding any gaps.

     I painted it with a mix of Sage and Vanilla Fresco paint. Then I covered it with Raw Umber Antiquing cream and when this was dry I wiped it away with a damp cloth. I then covered the hat with Matt varnish to seal the Raw Umber Antiquing Cream.

I then wanted to add a delicate dusty effect by covering it with White antiquing cream and then cleaning it away until really only minute bits are left in crevices.

Music serviettes were glued to card and then a bow shape was cut out and stuck onto the hat.

A button was painted with Raw Umber Decoart fluid acrylic paint and then a stamped clock image placed into the button and covered with Glossy Accents glue

Crystal beads were added to pearl topped pins and used as Hat Pins

Buttons, flowers, roses and hemp string were added to decorate the hat.....

Crochet lace was added...

Diecut ivy was painted with Antique Linen, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss DS. The crackle glaze was applied followed by white Antiquing cream before being wiped away to leave white crackles.

 Why not join in the hat decorating challenge! Follow this link to find out all about Laurie's challenge and future ones - make sure you don't miss out on all the fun!

Happy crafting!

Laura

 xxx

Into the Garden

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed working with the Peter Rabbit images from Nicecrane Designs last month so I thought I would do another creation  - a slightly different grungy antique style this time, which is quite a contrast to the simple nursery hanging I did before...

This time I used a image from this set...

Peter Rabbit Pack

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

I chose one of the images and decided to use a quote from the book as well....the warning not to go into Mr McGregors garden...

So, I began with my usual frame making fun....

Four pieces of balsa wood, stuck to embossed card to form the frame size I wanted. When dry the inside of the embossed card was cut away and the frame was painted with a mix of Sage and Toad Hall Fresco Paints. When dry it was coated with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream and this was wiped away with a damp cloth when dry leaving a tarnished effect.

I wanted to use a metal ornate corner as a decoration on the frame and it has a tarnished gold effect - so to match this I brushed some Classic Gold Treasure Gold all over the frame.

I made a background for the picture frame....using Bundled Sage and Frayed Burlap DI's and Picket Fence DP I applied them all to the craft mat, spritzed with water and then swirled the card in the inky paint puddle. Several swirls later and the card was a lovely antique effect.

I splashed it with some Picket Fence DP and added a spritz of White Linen Dylusions spray. Then I stamped using text and script stamps in Bundled Sage and Frayed Burlap DI's and Potting Soil Archival ink.

I made several of the paint/ink cards and so I used one of the 'rejects' as a mat for the image.

A frame die cut was painted with French Roast Fresco Paint and brushed with Classic Gold Treasure Gold. It had the quote attached and was attached to the frame with tiny metal screws.

I dabbed some die cut foliage with forest Moss and Peeled Paint DI's

A rose was dabbed with Forest Moss and Frayed Burlap DI and then spritzed with water. The rose was then spritzed with White Linen Dylusions spray.

The frame was finished with the ornate corner decoration which can possibly be used to hang up the frame

 Why not pop over to Nicecrane Designs and check out the images there...there are so many - Whatever your style of creating there will be something there you will LOVE! 

Happy Crafting!

Love from Laura xxx

Spring Colours

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to another challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges!

This time the subject is -

Springtime!

Come and join us with your spring creations - Anything that is fresh, sunny and colourful.

I chose two very spring colours - Tumbled Glass and Scattered Straw. 

I cut out a rectangle of card to make a small hanging. I dabbed some Picket Fence DP through a leaf stencil. When this was dry I blended Tumbled Glass and Scattered Straw DI over the card and then spritzed with water.

The card was stamped with some text from the Artistic Outpost Bluebird stamp set using Scattered Straw. I then stamped a music stamp with Tumbled Glass. Adding a darker script stamp brings depth to the background.

I added the words 'spring' and 'adventure' from chit chat stickers. They were dabbed with Scattered Straw DI and edged with Vintage Photo DI. They were then placed onto spare card that had been inked with Tumbled Glass and Scattered Straw DI and stamped with text and music stamps.

The main picture was stamped with the birds nest stamp from the same AO set. I used Coffee Archival ink for this stamp. I added a bird stamp to this image from another stamp set.

I added two cream eyelets tot he top of the hanging and threaded hemp string through the holes tying the ends in knots to secure them.

I added small flowers that were recycled from an old project. The flowers were tiny die cuts that were covered with Guacamole and Bora Bora Fresco paint and were dabbed with a little Quinacridone Gold Decoart Traditions paint. They were then covered in Decoart One Step crackle before being inked with Walnut Stain Distress ink to highlight the crackle.

I added a small bow made from hemp string to the group of flowers

The edges of the hanging were darkened with Vintage Photo DI 

A strip of lace was added to the bottom of the hanging with a strand of hemp string

So there is my Springtime picture! 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 Stamps! And of course you could be picked as one of our Catwalk Spotlights!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Crafting!

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