Twelve Tags of 2016 Remix Challenge ~ January

Hi everybody ! I finally found some time to devote to making my first tag of the year, for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2016 Remix Challenge. This year, Tim has added to the challenge by combining two techniques from the previous year, in a what he describes as a 'technique remix'. This is a great idea as it will give us all a chance to revisit some fantastic techniques. You can see Tim's fabulous January tag and read about the the new challenge by following this link. For me this month has been a little bitter sweet, as Tim has combined one of my favourite techniques, Industrious Metal, with my least favourite, Chalkboard. So what can I say it's been a bit of a challenge. It took me several attempts  to conquer the chalkboard ! Do you think it's because I'm a teacher? maybe I've got an aversion to chalk !

 The ones that got away !

Having Fun with Gesso Over at Stamps and Stencils

Hi everybody! It's my turn to inspire you over on the Stamps and Stencils blog. I've chosen to have a play with gesso and I have to tell you, I'm pretty pleased by what I've discovered about this lovely stuff ! It's got so many possibilities. I can see that the big pot I've just been using to prime my canvasses, is going to get an awful lot more use now. If you'd like to know how you can get more out of your gesso, hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog. You might just want to grab a cuppa first as there are lots of pictures! hope to see you there.x

Oh So Blue ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge ~ January

Happy New Year everybody! I'm just wondering where the last year went. Still it's onwards and upwards and what better way to start the new year with, than a new challenge from Stamps and Stencils. Cec is our talented host this month and she has chosen the title 'Oh So Blue'. You can see her gorgeous journal page here. There's nothing like a bit of crafting to chase those January blues away!   My project consists of this mixed media canvas,using several different blue media. Unfortunately my camera was out of action during the making of this piece ( no panic just a very flat battery!) so, I'll zoom in and just outline the different processes I've used.

The canvas substrate was firstly painted with dark blue acrylic paint, once dry I added a coat of crackle paint medium and then added a top coat of Paperartsy Fresco Finish Paint, in Mermaid. Once all the lovely cracks had appeared, I decided to give it a deeper blue colour by brushing on a thinned coat of Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze. This also had the advantage of adding a nice pearly sheen.

The next layer is a piece of manila card which has been coloured with Ultramarine  Brushos. I embossed the card using one of my favourite Tim Holtz embossing folders, I then used Treasure gold to highlight the textured surface, and added a bit of vintaging around the edges with Distress Ink

 The heart was hand cut from corrugated card, and heat embossed, using the Wonderful Wendy Vecchi's  faux granite ware technique. Follow this link to learn from the master. After heat embossing it, I stamped over the surface using Black Archival Ink and a stamp from  Andy Skinner's 'Industrial' set. I really like this stamp as you can achieve an aged cracked effect in an instant.

I tucked a little piece of muslin behind the heart before securing it to the background. The butterfly, is a die cut from Tim's Butterfly Duo. This is a Bigz Die with a corresponding embossing folder. I initially heat embossed the butterfly, with copper embossing powder but felt I was moving too far away from Cec's 'blue' theme. I also wanted to give it a bit more oomph! I got out my Indigo Blu Flitter Glue and Winter Dawn Mega Flakes, and pulled out a few flakes that had some beautiful shades of blue and copper, I love the effect this has created. I used a rust finished pointer for the body and adhered the little gem for some added blueness!

 My final embellishment is the word 'Remember'. I used one of Tim's Framed Alpha Parts and gave it a rust finish. I chose this word as I have some happy memories of 2015. One in particular was the Wendy Vecchi workshop my bestest crafting buddy and I, attended in the summer. we had a a great weekend in London topped off with a super event where I was able to meet some of my UK crafting heroes. Our Sue being one of them ! So come on folks shake off those blues with a bit of total immersion. Hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog where you'll find some fantastic inspiration by the team as well as all the challenge guidelines. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations ! x