Twelve Tags of 2015 ~June

Don't you just love those afternoons when you can escape to your crafty space and loose yourself for a few hours?  Well that's what I've been up to today. My session started with getting down to work on my offering for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015 challenge. You can see Tim's lovely tag here. I was puzzling over what to use as I haven't got Tim's 'Fresh Brewed' die.  A little trip to the 'Crafty Bunch' craft shop yesterday, however, meant that I had got this newly acquired  Sizzix 'Birds' die.I really love it and I think it's worked a treat ! I've tried to maintain the essence of Tim's tag, by using the same techniques as well as  a variety of textures and similar colours. So now I am going back to my craft room to continue with another project, which I shall be sharing later on this week. Thank you Tim for continuing to inspire us all ! x

Etched Metal Books and The Joys of Internet Learning.

I'm not sure how many of my blog friends are familiar with the 'Interweave' website. I'ts basically an online store, that has a huge collection of craft resources. As well as providing information about crafting events and communities, it also stocks books magazines dvd's and digital downloads, on just about any type of craft or artistic pursuit you can imagine. It was here that I came across the work of Jen Crossley. I loved the look of her metal covered books, and decided to buy a digital download of her Etched Metal Book class and couldn't wait to get started on a project. Jen  has a blog called A Mark in Time  and you can see some of her beautiful work over there. 

This is the first book I made after following the Etched Metal Book class. Out of fairness to Jen I won't go into detail about the process but it does involve stamping and you may recognize the Tim Holtz Bookplate stamp that I've used here.The equipment needed was easy to get hold of, I bought the etching fluid from our local Maplins and brass sheet can be bought in several places on the internet. I borrowed a few tools from my husband and was soon up and running.The whole process is like magic ! I found it really fascinating. As suggested by Jen, the book is filled with water colour paper and is really nice to handle. It was the first time I'd had a go at binding a book and Jen's instructions on the video were easy to follow. After this 'trial run', I had to get straight on to the next book as I had so many ideas buzzing around my head!

So here is book number two. This time I did some masking and stamping to create the design.The anthropomorphic stamps I used, are by Katzelkraft. There is also a bit of freehand Sharpie going on around the frame too. This book has now been given away as a wedding present. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the inside but each of the water colour signatures, have been wrapped in papers from Tim Holtz's Wallflower collection, very pretty they are too ! I believe the happy couple were very happy with their present !

 Here's a view of some of the dingle dangles,  many of which, have been salvaged from charity shop  jewellery. I buy up old bracelets and necklaces, if they have glass or metal beads and are cheap! If you love learning something new, I can highly recommend hopping over and having a browse through the resources at Interweave. there are frequent special offers, and some freebies. The beauty of the digital downloads is the immediacy, no waiting for the postman to arrive ! I'd like to say thank you to Jen Crossley for teaching me, through the magic of the internet, a fabulous new skill.

Small is Beautiful ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge

It's time for a new challenge over at Stamps and Stencils. We've really enjoyed seeing all the entries for last month's 'Three of a Kind' challenge and I for one, can't wait to see what you come up with this time around. Julia is our host this month and this is what she has to say......

For this month's challenge you are asked to make or alter something small.This could be a tiny book or journal, an ATC or ATB, a small canvas or box/tin of similar size, a small piece of jewelry - anything, as long as it is small. you must use at least one stamp and one stencil on your project. Please remember we are a mixed media challenge blog and the style of your work should reflect this.

My project consists of these two mini canvasses decorated in a Steam punk style. Each canvas measures around 70 mm square or 2 3/4 inches. It's strange, but I find that a small surface can be almost as daunting as a large canvas ! 

My starting point for each canvas was to partially cover the surface with book pages. I then stamped the images onto a piece of Deli Paper and adhered them to the surface with matte Glue and Seal. I usually use tissue paper for this technique, but my dear friend Sandy, brought me a box of Deli Paper back from her trip to New York and I was keen to try it out. So far so good ! It's more robust than tissue so it's much easier to handle.

I used Distress Markers and a water brush, to add a little colour to the face, I then set too with embellishing, using some watch parts that I've been hoarding for a long time ! The stamps I've used on each canvas are by La Blanche. I have amassed  a pretty big collection of  stamps and it's been great to get out some of the ones I love but haven't used enough !

Here's number 2. The stenciling has been done with Wendy Vecchi's Crackle Embossing Paste through a Tim Holtz' Typography Layering Stencil. I decided to add some faux gold leaf onto the surface of the letters, 'cause I love a bit of bling ! I couldn't resist adding some coiled rusty wire to create a little hanger.
So now it's over to you ! hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog where you'll find some fantastic inspiration from Julia the rest of the design team. Don't forget to take a look at the blog next Tuesday where the winners of the last challenge will be announced. I shall also be using 'Mr Random Organiser', to select a winning entry for the palette knife. I will post the name both here and on the Stamps and Stencils blog. So, until next time... happy crafting ! x