Saturday 28 February 2009

Blog Candy at The Artistic Stamper

If you want a chance to win some blog candy pop over to Artistic Stamper to join in the fun

Jackdaw period.

Hmmm I think I am going through a 'Jackdaw' phase as I seem to be creating all things shiny at the moment, with embossing powders, acetate, and Cosmic Shimmer - this being one of the latter.



Another tag, another size, but on mount board again. I am so glad that I got the offcuts - it really is a nice sturdy surface to work on, and the reverse side of it really absorbs the inks.







I used TH distress re-inkers in lavender and blue for this, then flicked some Cosmic Pearlescence over it with a brush.





I stamped it with a foam stamp (took a chance and bought one second hand and it really is good) then once dry I added the image.

You can not really see the lovely sheen in the photos - but the greyer areas are the shimmery ones. It gives a lovely effect in the light.

Friday 27 February 2009

Bright and cheerful

I fancied making something bright and cheerful. I didn't know what - so this is what I came up with.


The from the Goddess' plate of images.

I stamped it twice as I wanted to collage on the leaves. I am undecided whether to colour the face flesh colour - or leave it as it is.







I used red, yellow and green inks, and dragged them onto the mount board tag to blend the colours.





I stamped on oak laeaves for the background, just to soften the colours a little.

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Tag

Well I filled in the gap on the tag I made the other day. For some reason a line from one of Elvis's songs jumped into my mind.

"Love me tender
Love me true
Never let me go"

Not like me to get so sloppy!



And bought a better matching piece of ribbon - so I think it looks better balanced now.

I was a bit of a dope as I printed out the sentiment on what I thought was a transparent label - but it wasn't - and it was too late to do another one.

Tins and boxes

Before half term I had mentioned to some ladies in my class that I was searching out little tins and boxes to alter.

Today, bless them, one lady had brought in a big carrier bag of cardboard boxes. Tea packet boxes of different shapes and sizes, a chocolate box, and a nice little sturdy square box - the latter I have plans to alter.

Another lady brought in a biscuit tin - which sadly is too big to alter - but I have put it to good use and it now has mixed corn inside for my bantams.

And this is the other tin

Isn't it lovely - and it is decorated like this all around the edges. It looks like a very old Cadbury's biscuit tin - a smallish one - but is right up to date isn't it - given that embossed metal is all the rage now - and this is really embossed.
So I won't be altering it - but I will be drawing inspiration from it -and I will be treasuring, and using it. That is for sure

Well what do you think of these?


I go to classes in a little on Wednesday mornings (not arty crafty), and today I had a walk into the centre and passed a charity shop and saw these.



Actually I only saw one - and the price - so I asked the window dresser to get it out for me.



It is made of paper mache.

I didn't have my reading glasses on - so just saw an orange and cream blur - and I thought I could use that to put some arty jewellery on.





It was then that I found out there were four of them -two of each style. The window dresser looked quite surprised that anyone would be interested and asked what on earth I would do with it. So I told her that I did altered art and would alter it.





She rolled her eyes - and got another one out for me to look at.





Then the one below




I chose the more curvaceous models


And paid the princely sum of £1.50 each!








It was only when I got home and had chance to have a closer look with my glasses on that I realised they are covered in what looks like genuine 1950's USA paper.





They are not the least bit dusty or dirty - and have a slight smell of perfume.

I don't think I could bear to paint them all over with Gesso or emulsion paint and alter them.



What do you think - Would you?

* Well after I had blogged this, and looked at them again 'in the flesh' I decided that I would phone up the shop, buy the other two, so that I had two to alter and two to keep. Foiled - the other two had been sold. I could kick myself!*

They are so gorgeous and have a wooden looking patina to them, and I just could not bear to paint them - I love them just as they are. So I might protect them with varnish, and use them as display - and I can always throw a bit of material over them if they clash with whatever I am going to display

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Thank you

I have lots of people to say thank you to - for all the encouragement, inspiration, comments, for all the links to sites, all the advice you give on your blogs and the forums I am on - so please take this to be just for you.



I have made another wallet, and used my bargain priced Tim Holtz stamp on the outside.



I cut out a tag from mount board, and a smaller tag of the same paper to glue onto it - it looks a bit lighter because of (a) the part of the pattern I used and (b) the acetate.


I have been experimenting lately with stamped images - reducing and enlarging them by scanning them into the computer, then printing them out. I got my son to print out some for me on acetate on his laser printer as it doesn't work on my ink jet, for some reason the ink never dries, no matter which way around I put the acetate in!

The acetate I glued on to the tag, then cut around it - the printed surface is behind - so is kept clean and doesn't wear off.


This little acetate strip was a 'freebie' from a forum I belong to, thanks Moira. It is clear acetate, with the thank you message on it. I coloured the back with Expresso alcohol ink and kept applying it until I got the depth of colour I wanted - then threaded some of the ribbon I bought last week - and wrapped it around the back.

Monday 23 February 2009

Welcome Home Tag

Well I didn't have a go at another ATC - I just couldn't get into it - so made a tag instead.

The threads are the wrong colour - so I will remove those and find something better - and there is a 'gaping' space beside the couple that could do with a sentiment - so I will search out, type up, and add one there.


Apart from that I quite like the colour combinations.

Coming, Ready or Not!

We have just has the school half term holidays here - but you would never know it!

It made me think of school holidays in the 50's and what we used to get up too.

I haven't made any ATC's for ages - but now I have a free supply of mount board off - cuts I can play to my hearts content.

I scanned this in so the colours are not quite true.



This little girl is playing 'Hide and Seek'

I have painted it with dark peat, over stamped with dark brown, and the little girl is painted in peat and aquamarine.

The numbers of course are embossed to make them stand out - which does not show up in the scan

The screen image is larger than the actual size of the ATC - well it is on my screen!

I think I might try out some different techniques on ATC size pieces of mountboard - and keep them to refer too.

Sunday 22 February 2009

I've got the bug

I haven't got my 'photographer's hat' on today so haven't made a good job of the photos - ran out of daylight.

In reality they all look deeper and richer the flashlight 'washes' them out somewhat




I made this tag out of thick mountboard and painted it with deep shades of yellow, lime and blue - to contrast with the reverse.

I stamped over it and then embossed it with black embossing powder - to give it a nice texture.

The butterflies were embossed too - with two layers of clear embossing powder - it makes them nice and bendy.

I had ribbon to match - but no beads that looked right to me - so I painted a scrap of paper in the same colours I used on the tag, and made my own - as before - and with three coats of UTEE to compliment the tag



The reverse of the tag I colour washed with shades of blue, yellow and lime - it is more 'colourful' than this photo shows.






Behind the acetate I used Cosmic Shimmers in pale gold on the dragonfly wings, and here and there.

Bottle caps


I can't seem to get a decent photo of these today!




These four bottle caps have been sprayed with black paint, a vintage photo inserted into the centre, the rims pressed, then filled with UTEE - which I think is the reason why I can't get a nice crisp photo because they are so shiny they keep reflecting the light.




It looks much better in real life. The mountboard cream tag has been stamped with a TH stamp in a rich brown and I have edged the border with copper rub and buff paint and shined it up. I also swished some over the patterned area to give it a lovely subtle copper sheen. I then did the same to picture 'frames'.

The copper eyelet matches perfectly and the brown organza ribbon has a copper sheen to it - and is long enough to put a not in to hang on the wall.

Friday 20 February 2009

Les Papotages de Stamp Franciso

Lovely blog candy for Easter here

It is a lovely site.

The Tears of Africa -Deco Pages

I foolishly entered a Deco swap not really knowing what it was - I thought it was Art Deco.

I was a bit shocked when I found out last week that it was a bit like a Circle Journal - but instead of sending on the book - you just send your two pages. There are six in a group and each has a different theme.

These are the pages I have made for the theme 'Africa'

I thought about it quite a bit - and decided to do an 'historical' Africa


I have called it the 'Tears of Africa' because of all the continent's hardship over hundreds of years. The pages are 6"x6" so quite large for me!

The stamped wording as the background is about 'flying away' and escaping. The centre panel is a stamped image which I enlarged and painted and gilded with gold - although it is hard to see the gold earring and border patterns. The blood red embossed border represents all the bloodshed from the slave trade, and fighting etc over hundreds of years. The paper I coloured with oranges, browns, and black.

Right hand page is the same colour as the left - its just looks different because of the angle.
Again it has the wet embossed blood red border. The map on the continent I embossed with UTEE and let it run down the map to represent tears. - You can't really see it here but it is looks really wet and realistic in the naked eye.

The stamped trees are those gorgeous ones you often see in photographs of African plains - with the orange background of sunset. The postcard I stamped several times on paper and collaged it onto the page. It looks lovely under light (well I think so) because some of it is black embossed; the scarab beetles are too and look quite real. The egg shaped disc on the left is collaged on and painted gold and embossed so really shines. The postcard is collaged on too - some of it embossed and primarily painted gold. This represents Egypt - and the tomb raiders.

For some reason, when I think of Africa it makes me feel sad because of it's history of being plundered, the fighting, the pyramids being raided, the poverty and hunger.

I think too much I know! It's just a bit of art!

Thursday 19 February 2009

Tag with wallet - Listen to your heart

Look what the postman brought


I received this lovely tag and wallet from 'Momiji' as a thank you - she doesn't have a blog sadly so I can't add a link.



It has been created using K & Co materials - isn't it gorgeous - she also thought that it would give me some inspiration to try something different - and it did. I didn't have the K&Co papers - so I adapted it.

Here is my improvised version.

You would never believe that I photographed these on white paper would you -why it looks blue I do not know!



On a sheet of A4 pearlised paper, I printed out a backing sheet, and swiped over it in shades of yellows and greens. It has a nice shimmer all over it.


The darker shades of green are the clear embossed areas, the lighter shades of warm yellow have Cosmic Shimmer on them.



I cut out the templates - and I was off. I have made this over two afternoons.

The tag image I coloured to blend with the tag, and she is meant to be the older version of the young girl on the front. She is 'Listening to her Heart' as the sentiment implies.





I found a single pearlised yellow button that matched perfectly - and I stamped the image on top with Stazon. The butterfly is from a book of them which I bought from Crafty Individuals last year.





The ribbon holding the button on with the dual purpose of being a hanger - is cream organza and matches too, although it looks white in the photo.
The lace is vintage cotton - which I aged a bit more with ink




The little girl image I glued behind a scrap of plasma, it has a bit of Cosmic Shimmer around the edges which you can't see. Jo Capper Sandon used it to make a tag which was featured in February's Craft Stamper. I had never heard of it before - thanks Jo.

The quote stamp is a Tim Holtz one and I have clear embossed the stamping.

When I saw the serious image of this little girl I just had to use her - and the sentiment seemed befitting. So I found an image which looked similar for her to make the tag with!

Tuesday 17 February 2009

Wings Tag

I just had to make something with a piece of my free mount board - so made a tag.

This is for the Lots to Do Challenge this week.

I graduated the colours from hot red at the bottom through to deep orange and paler until it ended up a warm yellow at the top - but the photos do not show the depth of colour or the graduation sadly, and there is not a line of red - it's the flash of the camera tsk. I made this late in the afternoon and it was dusk.

Using the same colours I dabbed over some sequin scrap to add areas of deeper colour, then stamped the image at the bottom.


It's that butterfly again - the free download, which I have just enhanced with deeper shades of its colours - which in 'real life' to match the colours exactly on the tag.

I just love the texture of heat embossing so it got a clear coat of embossing powder




I brushed over Cosmic shimmer powder in an orange colour which matches exactly the top colour of the tag - but sadly you can't see the wonderful warm shimmer, and how it softens the sequin scrap 'dots' and the dark stamped image at the bottom. I added the stamped ART and some deep brown organza ribbon across the bottom, and a narrower ribbon for the tag top with matching beads.

The mount board was really nice to work on - and makes a nice change from paper glued onto a piece of cereal box!

Who's a lucky lady then?

I get the Freecycle newsletter most days, and have given lots of things away over the past couple of years - including a shed, lots of flower arranging things, vases etc. and so much more.

Imagine my surprise when I saw listed some mount board off cuts up for grabs. It was under the heading 'Youth Clubs, Associations, Charities' and went on to say that they get lots of mount board off cuts and so to get in touch with them if they would like some.

I left it a couple of days and sent a nice email explaining that I was none of the above but would love some mount board off cuts if there were any going spare as I use it in my art work - and so do friends of mine.

I was really surprised to get an email back saying that I could go and collect some and the days and times. They were based in a town about 13 miles away. Luckily we could 'team it up' with other things we needed etc so off we set early this morning in the pooring rain!




This is one of those big storage boxes on wheels - so there is a lot of board - and the reverse of all the coloured pieces is white of course.

They had it all ready for me in another big plastic box and how my husband carried it I do not know - it was so heavy.

I had made some chocolate brownies - so took them with me as a thank you - and was invited to go and collect more any time that I liked - as they get so much each day!

Whilst I was in the town, I found a little craft shop - so got some bits and pieces including some organza ribbon!

RESULT!

Monday 16 February 2009

BIA Note Book and Tag

Someone beginning with 'j' has been ill in bed with flu - so I have made something for her to maybe cheer her up.


It is a little Bind it All notepad. I cut out a piece of card stuck on some white paper and painted a little scene.

(You'll need a bit of imagination for this). It is supposed to be a corner of my pond in spring. A bit green with algae before the oxygenating plants kick in. At the top left is the first plant of the year to flower in there - the marsh marigold. There are some stems in bud, amd tufts of water iris just appearing like grass.

The bead on the ribbon is one I made - faux ivory - it and the thread dangle on the book cover to soften the edge - but I moved it so that you could see the picture.

While I was in the mood I thought I would send a little gift tag too.


Finished off with a bit of thread, and a black bead I made edged with gold ink.

Saturday 14 February 2009

All threaded up and ready to go..........


I have joined in a bead swap on UK Stampers - we had to make 20 beads and will get the same amount - four lots of five.

I thought that if I threaded five on a little tag - it would make life easier for the lady who had the job of sorting them out!

Faux Ivory Paper Beads


I had another dabble this morning-trying to make beads that look like they are made out of painted ivory - instead of paper and UTEE



No matter how carefully you choose your paper...........


You never quite know how they are going to turn out

I like surprises!