Twelve Tags of 2016 Remix ~ March

Hi everybody! The end of the month is fast approaching, so I thought it was about time I posted my tag, for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2016 Technique Remix challenge.This month, Tim has mixed it up with 'textures' and 'dimensional die cuts', as featured on  his November and August tags in 2015. Making this tag, gave me the opportunity to try out the new Distress Crayons. I couldn't wait to get my hands on these, I think I'm going to need a bit of practice as they are very different from the other Distress products but I'm looking forward to making further experiments! Below, are pictures of the tags I made last year, using the techniques Tim has 'remixed' . I can see that the combination of last years and this years tags, are going to build into a fantastically comprehensive resource. 

 August 2015

 November 2015

I'm looking forward to seeing what Tim will have in store for April, not too long to wait! x

Anyone for a Cup of Tea ? ~ New Post for Stamps and Stencils

Good morning! It's my turn to inspire you over on the Stamps and Stencils blog. If you'd like to see how I got from this......

 to this..........

then grab a cup of tea and hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog, with this link, and I'll show you.
See you there x

Play Time !

Hi everybody! I've got altered wooden, book box for you today, inspired by the work of Andy Skinner. I've recently signed up for Andy and Tracey (Weinzapfel) 'Dare to Create' art retreat in July and I'm excited already ! I've been interested in Andy's work for sometime but I've managed to miss his last few UK workshops, so I'm thrilled to be going, and meeting not only Andy but Tracey too, Whoop, whoop! I thought I'd get in a little practice, by joining in with  Andy's Bold and Bright challenge. full details can be found over on his blog. I started off with a blank wooden Memory Box Book, I bought from The Works. 

Initially I painted it with Deco Art Media Fluid in Quinacridone Magenta. It's a gorgeous colour but I could see immediately that it was missing something.... Texture !  I used strips recycled tissue paper and adhered it to the surface with Deco Art Media Matte Medium, manipulating it to create texture as I went along.

I then painted the surface with Primary Yellow Fluid Acrylic. Once this was dry, I gave it a coat of Weathered Wood Medium and then a top coat of the Quinacridone Magenta, and waited for the magic to begin......

Here is the back and a panel I created for the inside to hold the cogs.

I mixed up a bit of Quinacridone Gold and Paynes Grey Media fluid with a dash of Antiquing Fluid, and brush.ed this over the surface to give it a bit of depth. Once this was dry I sealed it with Ultra-Matte Varnish.

Here is my selection of cogs, These are a selection of kraft card die cuts and metal cogs. I applied a thin coat of Deco art Crackle Paste to the surface of each one and then painted them with a selection of Media Fluid Acrylics. I finished  them off by brushing over some of the tinted Antiquing fluid I used on the box. I painted the metal cogs with Media Fluid Acrylics and whilst they were still wet , I applied clear embossing powder and heated until the powder and paint started to bubble.

I used heavy duty dimensional tape to attach the cogs to my prepared background, i also used the same tape to attach the panel inside the book.

I added some metal corners, and a label. The 'handle' is a butterfly nut, adhered to a couple of metal cogs. After puzzling about what to do with the sides of the box, I decided to use some strips of sheet music. I adhered it to the sides, and gave it a coat of the tinted Antiquing Fluid. As a finishing touch, to the sides, I painted on some  Deco Art Crackle Glaze, and rubbed  some black Antiquing cream into the fine cracks. 

and finally here's the inside.....

The back of the cog panel and a piece of card cut to fit the other side, were painted with Quinacridone Magenta, then stenciled with Andy's Serendipity stencil, and stamped over with his Industrial stamp set. I think that's everything.Well, I really enjoyed  altering this memory box, and giving it a kind of colourful, Steampunk restyle. I also enjoyed my two trips to Hobby Craft to arm myself with some lovely Deco Art products ! I'm going to enter this into Andy's Bold and Bright challenge where there are some awesome prizes and blog badges to be won. As my box book has a bit of  Steampunk style, I'm also going to post it over on Sandee and Amelie 's Steampunk Challenge blog for their 'Anything Goes Challenge, where there are also fab prizes by Deco Art and Boozy Bear ! Until next time... have fun ! x

Spring is in the Air ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge

Well the months are starting to race away and I can barely believe it's March already! Still, at least it's now officially 'Spring'. The beginning of the month also heralds a new challenge over at Stamps and Stencils. Our fabulous host this month is Rachel and  her challenge title is 'Spring is in the Air'. This is what Rachel has to say.....

'I want you to think about what the coming of Spring means to you? Is it a colour burst, or maybe flowers? Whatever it is I would like you to show us in a mixed media piece, including stamping or stenciling or both !'

For me, Spring is the time of year when everything starts to come alive... including me! I'm definitely not a Winter person. So my project is reflection on the vibrancy of Spring. I started off by making four backgrounds.....

I sprayed four pieces of card with various shades of Dylusions Sprays. I then used a variety of background stamps and stencils in deeper shades of Distress Inks. Once everything was dry, I die cut the four pieces using a Sizzix Accordion die. It was nice to give this an airing as I haven't used it for a while.

I then used a selection of stamps from Indigo Blu and Artemio, to stamp the images onto each panel, using Black Archival ink. The die cuts were a little messy on the back where they had been splashed and spattered with ink, so I decided to cut four more in black card and adhere them together. This also made each piece a little more substantial. I then joined each of the pieces together to make the accordion card.

Whilst I love getting down and dirty with pastes and other tactile media, it's really nice to get back to some basic stamping and inking with a project like as this. So now it's over to you ! If you'd like to join in with our Spring is in the Air challenge, then hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog where you'll find the challenge details as well as some fantastic inspiration by the rest of the design team. You have a whole month to get involved and we would love to see your projects!  So,until next time, happy crafting ! x