I never promised you a rose garden

    Hello everyone! Welcome to Laurart! I hope you like what I have made today....

    First of all a mention about the title....this and my next post are titles of songs and I have looked to the genre of Country music which I adore. In England, sadly Country music doesn't fall into the 'cool' category. However I never have or will be a 'trendy' person - I like what I like and I was raised listening to the delights of Johnny Cash, Dolly and Porter, Tammy Wynette and all the greats and I listen to them to this day and smile. So this blog is a tribute to one of my favourite songs - In fact my little girl sang it for me at my birthday party in front of a huge audience because she knew I loved it so much.

      So onto the craft stuff - I had been a bit stuck recently - no ideas and the one project I started came to a halt rather rapidly - before it had even really begun. I had recently got my first pot of texture paste and of course impatient me couldn't wait to get stuck in. I grabbed a small canvas, a stencil of some ivy and began to apply the paste.

    I found it a bit tricky - as all new things are. I soon got the hang of it and suddenly after a few false starts I had three corners of the canvas decorated in gorgeous trailing ivy...I liked how it looked but then it dawned on me...I had NO idea what to do next! Do I paint? Ink? Collage?....Oh crikey!!!!

    So I did my usual panic thing of putting it away. Then I remembered that Gesso seems to be mentioned in work on canvas on other blogs I have read - so I slapped some Gesso on hoping that the action of painting would cause inspiration to come flying into the room. Sadly no, there was plenty of paint on the canvas but no ideas to be found anywhere.

    The canvas sat there for several days and I tried not to feel bad about it. I finished some other work and tried to ignore the canvas sitting there. Then I was looking on the internet, hopping around the blogs and I landed at Frilly and Funkie....And there was a new challenge - Layers! Well, I was really happy. The first word had ideas bouncing everywhere as I LOVE layering - Total comfort zone!

    and..."Focus on a single word" - I can do that!...So I glanced at the DT work - WOW! they were ALL amazing and as I scrolled down enjoying every single one I began to realise that I could complete that poor sad little canvas who was currently feeling abandoned....

    Now....I am not too used to doing canvas work. Or rather, I do use them very happily to paint still life with acrylic paints, but the whole collage, stains, inks, tissue, stamps, canvas thing is very new. Although my head was full of ideas I was really unsure how to put them onto the canvas.....

 First I needed to work on the background - I really wanted to use my New Tim Holtz 'Melange' Tissue. So I cut and tore out two pieces and stuck them to the board. After the glue had dried I realised the images were too dark and so I lightened them with a coat of Gesso.

     I desperately wanted to use Tattered Rose (I LOVE that colour!) - In the ideas that were floating around my mind I had visions of pale peachy-pink, beige and green, lace, script, flowers, torn edges, wire, vintage shabby chic. I recently got my first lot of Distress stains -

I am just learning how to get the best effects and I only had Tattered Rose in the stain version so I grabbed the Tattered Rose, Antique Linen and Bundled Sage stains - Deep breath....and here goes....

   I swiped them over the canvas - wasn't even sure if that was how you are meant to do it but I kept telling myself there isn't a wrong way! Tattered Rose in one corner, Bundled Sage in the opposite corner and Antique Linen over the rest. Blended it all together with a large soft brush...I liked that a lot so it was a good start. I put it aside to dry and then began to work on the layers.

•    Card covered in Tattered Rose stain and then stamped with script in Gathered Twigs

•    Card covered in Tim Holtz 'Melange' Tissue paper and covered with Antique Linen stain.

•    Card covered in Antique Linen stain and stamped in flourish stamp in Antique Linen

•    Card made using wrinkle free distress with Tarnished Brass/Bundled Sage/Antique Linen Stains and then cut into heart shape and stamped with script in Gathered Twigs

•    The word 'Promise' embossed on card and covered in several applications of Antique Linen stain, cut out and stuck onto card stained with Tarnished brass/Bundled Sage/Antique linen wrinkle free distress and edged with Gathered Twigs

There were other layers too...

    Layer of embossing paste
    Layer of Gesso
    Layer of tissue
    Another layer of Gesso
    Layer of Stains
    Layer of stencils using DI's
    Layer of script stamp

   

After constructing all the different card layers, the canvas was dry and I began to add some more canvas decoration. I stencilled some ivy using Bundled Sage DI. I then stamped some script across the canvas with Gathered Twigs DI. I then blended a little bit of Gathered Twigs across the embossing paste ivy leaves to emphasis the texture.

I began to arrange the layers....adding some crochet lace first around the centre of the board...It looked too bright and new next to the other colours so I dabbed on some Antique Linen stain to give it more of a vintage look and then applied it to the board.

The layers took shape and I began to add in some flowers. I decided to add some roses but these were too pale so I applied some Antique Linen stain to the craft mat, spritzed with water and dabbed the roses in the liquid. I also did some smaller roses at the same time. A twig heart and some rusty wire and I had done the canvas!

     I do hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by...I hope you are having a wonderful weekend whatever you have planned.

I am entering this into the following challenges -

Frilly and Funkie  - Layer it on and share a word
Anything challenge - Vintage shabby chic
The Artistic Stamper - Hearts and Flowers
Stampavie  - Lots of Layers
Tim Holtz  - Tattered floral challenge

Miniature Frame

    Hello everyone! Here with romantic lace and hearts (again!) Frilly and Funkie are having a lace and hearts Valentine challenge and well, I couldn't resist. Though I am not quite sure I I have got the Valentines theme right - It certainly has Hearts and Lace.

    I had seen on a blog a while ago a collage inside a miniature frame and I filed away that thought to use at some point. I have some dolls house frames that I don't need for my dolls house and this seemed like a good way to use them.

    They were from a cheap set so were very bright yellow gold. I covered them with matt white enamel paint and then rubbed some metallic rub-on to bring back the texture of the frame.

Earlier that day I had received a parcel in the post - had been doing some retail therapy and bought Old Paper, Tea Dye and Weathered Wood DI and my first ever stains! (Tattered Rose, Bundled Sage, Weathered wood, Antique Linen, Milled Lavender and Tarnished Brass).....My kids were thrilled that there was parcel to open and of course my daughter, who loves working with DI's, was overjoyed to see she now had stains to play with....

     Anyway....that delivery certainly led the way with the colour choices...after a bit of a play around with my new colours I got to work.

 

A background of Tattered Rose, dab of Antique Linen over ephemera to age them. Collecting bits and pieces from the art cupboard...Including my new twig style miniature hearts, buttons and beads. Also I had just bought some gorgeous crochet lace and rusty wire....I was so thrilled to get to use those straight away!

I sat and moved things around..added and taken away until I liked what I saw.

It was really difficult because I was working on a smaller surface than an ATC...(5.5cms x 4 cms).I had the freedom to take some of the decoration onto the frame but most had to be placed inside....It was tricky fiddly work but I have always loved working in miniature....I guess I like a challenge!

    Hope you like it!

   I would like to enter this for the following challenge -

Frilly and Funkie -Lacy Heartsy Valentine
Anything but a card  - Share the love
Anything challenge - Vintage Shabby Chic

Mardi Gras

Hello everyone and welcome to my new followers - I am so glad you have joined my craft journey!


       I currently am not really doing any craft work - I am busy planning a project that you will see in a few weeks time and I wanted to devote my time to that rather than try and cram lots of things in.

       A picture on 'Our Creative Corner' caught my eye though and I decided to make a tag. I didn't really have a plan at all about what to do, I wasn't even sure if what I would come up with would be good enough to enter into a challenge...but I adored the colours in the photo.........

    ......so with my mind full of yellow, pinks, blue and green and swirls galore I sat down, got a tag cut out and reached for the Distress inks.

      This was a really fun tag to make because I didn't know where it was going......

    I covered the tag with Wild Honey DI and also some smudges of Worn Lipstick DI. I then sprayed the tag with gold glimmer spray. I stamped a flourish stamp all over the tag with Tumbled Glass DI. I then stamped some script in archival black ink and where the script was I blended some extra Tumbled Glass ink.

The flowers were coloured with Seedless Preserves, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Worn Lipstick, Tumbled Glass and Dusty Concord and had a faint dabbing of Walnut Stain around the edges (Wow that is a LOT of colours!) Each flower was given a spray of gold glimmer which I sprayed quite close to the flowers so they took a lot of glitter and also I wanted the spray to react with the distress inks giving a lovely mottled effect.

The flowers were attached to the tag with tiny gold brads.The leaves were blended with Peeled Paint and had Walnut stain smudged around the edges.

     Some very delicate die cut flourishes were covered with Seedless Preserves DI and after hunting around in the bits and bobs drawer I found a gold glitter twirl shape that fitted the gleaming gold tag. The tag was finished off by attaching some ribbon that had been dyed with Seedless Preserves DI.

     For me, the challenge photo really didn't inspire masks (I am not too keen on masks actually) I was far more focused on the colours, foliage and swirls and this is what inspired me....so although the challenge is called 'Party like it's Mardi Gras'....my tag doesn't really have a Mardi Gras theme, but it is really a tag based on what appealed to me in the photo.

      I had a bit of a strange reaction to the making of this tag...I loved making it as I don't usually use those colours - My happy comfort zone is my pale vintage palette but I have been wanting to experiment with new colours and techniques and so I found it was a lot of fun to be using this unfamiliar colour range. Then when I had finished it my first reaction was "Oh dear....that isn't good" and I think this is just an instinctive reaction to it not being my usual colour scheme so therefore I felt it had gone 'wrong'. I left the tag alone for several days and came back to it and it looked different to me - I was actually interested in it....it also helped that my daughter said she really loved it! ;o)

       

   There is my Mardi Gras tag! - I hope you liked it

     Thanks so much for reading my crafty ramblings.....I might pop up with another post soon but if not I really do hope you will come back to see my next project in about two weeks time.....

I am entering this into the following challenge -

Our Creative Corner  - Party like it's Madi Gras





   

My heart will go on....

   Still in Valentines mode everyone! Sadly this is my last Valentines creation.......until next year ;o)

     My other posts have been very girly - I love pastel, vintage, flowery crafts...and although I find grungier darker work really striking and interesting, I have found it hard to do. Many people have been telling me to watch videos online and so I took some time to sit and watch and learn. I saw a video of Tim Holtz demonstrating crackle paint. A medium that is new to me, so felt it was important I saw it. He created a tag in browns and blues with stamps and crackle paint. I haven't followed the tag exactly here - I was really inspired by the colours and style - Still I had some difficulties mastering some of it, so in the end I had to bring my own ideas in!

    Another artist who inspired me when making this tag...was Trace from inkypinkycraft - Trace is an AMAZING artist and I adore her blog. Every time I see one of her hearts with wings creations I smile. She does wonderful work and if you haven't taken a peek at her blog you really should - I am always inspired by what she makes.

    This tag....well, the first one was a disaster....then for my second go I decided to not copy Tim Holtz exactly....I began to just play around with the colours and stamps. I started off with blending Chipped Sapphire, Pumice Stone and Gathered Twigs DI's over the tag. Some spritz and flick and we were on our way to a grungier tag than I normally make...so far so good! Some dark copper spray was needed next and the spray doesn't work - it never has worked well but I decided this time it won't stop me. I poured out a little of the shaken spray and swirled a brush (A mascara wand style brush that comes in one of those brush on highlighting kits for your hair) and flicked it at the card to give a very fine sprinkle of dark copper spray.

   Some Tim Holtz stamps followed....a photo, film strip, text and flock of birds.

 

I stamped some wings onto card that had Pumice Stone DI blended over it and then I cut out the wings...I found some heavy thick card cut it into a heart shape and edged that with Black Soot DI. I then wrapped some silver wire around it with a silver jewellery bead cap at the centre. I sprayed the wings with silver glimmer spray and blended some Black Soot and Stormy Sky DI's around the edges of the wings. The word 'Valentine' was placed at the bottom of the heart...

 

    I applied some crackle paint around the edge of the tag.....loading a small brush (I never use the brush that comes with the pot, I find it too tricky to handle) with the paint and rolling it along the edge of the tag rather than painting it on. After it was dry and cracked I applied some Black Soot DI to enhance the cracks even more before wiping away excess ink.

   The tag ribbon started off as ribbon edged with bright glittery silver and it was too bright for this tag so I cut the edges away and used just the grey ribbon after fraying the edges a little.

    And there is a Valentines tag that will form a Valentines card for my husband - The title of this blog was chosen for very special reasons...First because it does feature a heart but the second, more important reason, is my husband is a drummer in a band and one of the first songs I heard him play and was amazed by and totally loved, was their version of 'My heart will go on' I still love hearing them play that song 12 years later....I asked my husband if I could feature him on this blog and he said yes!!!...so here you go....If you would like to have a peek at 'Allergy' click this link - Boatanic


     If you would like to see another heart themed tag then why not pop over to my daughters blog  and see the first tag she has made for a challenge...it would mean so much to her to get some comments about it so if you have the time to take a peek and write a short comment she would be very happy - Thanks!

            Take care!

   
I am entering this in the following challenges -

Creative inspirations paint - Valentines day
Try it on Tuesday  - Get ready to celebrate Valentines day
Sunday Stamper - Endless love
Fashionable stamping challenges - Birds
Vintage Stamping Challenges  -  Blues, brown and beige



      

A rose by any other name....

    Hello again....Glad you are here to see my second Valentines card. Some people might have noticed that I switched titles on these last two romance themed posts...Ok...I will own up to the fact that I didn't really think it out too well. My mind isn't so sharp at the moment with my back being bad and yes, it was pointless to name the 'Hearts' card with a rose quote and the 'Rose' card with a heart quote! - Never mind, it is all set in place now.

     This is my original card. If you read my last post you will know I made this over a month ago and couldn't find any challenges for it and I was desperate to enter a Valentines challenge - So I made another...I did still want to share this one especially as it contains a gorgeous image by Nicecrane designs - I adored this image and couldn't wait to use it.

The picture was placed behind an embossed frame that had Antique Linen and Pumice Stone DI's blended all over it. I chose several printed items - An artist advert, music sheet, postcard and envelope...all distressed with Antique Linen and Gathered Twigs DI's.

 
       I made two roses from die-cut flowers inked with Antique Linen and Victorian Velvet. The red rose was made using the same die-cuts but inked with Fired brick and Walnut Stain. The leaves were inked with Peeled Paint and then edged with Walnut Stain. I had some ribbon that I stained red and I weaved it around the roses and postcard.

       If you like this image and want to use it for your own creativity then pop over to Nicecrane designs and have a peek...and to make it really easy why not click this link and it will take you straight to this picture in a set with seven others!

       So there is my Victorian Valentine - I really hope you liked it!

   I would like to enter this card for the following challenge -

Vienna Impression Inspirations - Roses