What am I making?

Sweepstake for free online courses

2011-04-15T10:13:00.002+01:00

Julie Prichard is running a sweepstake to win free access to all her online courses. I have done quite a few of her courses and have enjoyed them all. The latest set have been taught with Chris Cozen. I find the videos easy to watch and detailed and they are both really responsive to comments and quick with useful feedback.

Here's the little video that Julie has created for this sweepstake

Mixed Media Art Quilt

2011-02-08T14:11:00.010Z

I have just finished a small (8x8) art quilt for a swap. I used the techniques from Angie Hughes' Inspired Velvet DVD.

The background is velvet that is sprayed and bleached to get the pattern. I used a stencil instead of printing with blocks. I didn't have colourfast silk paint as she uses but I wondered if it would work with other colour sprays. Because the inks weren't colour fast they turned an orange colour from green so I think I'll use the recommended silk paints next time. It looked fine though so I used it to create the art quilt.

I added some metallic foil to create the plant trunks and some chocolate foil for the squares. I added small squares of red fabric. I then covered the whole thing with black organza and free motion stitched on the top. I finished the back off with pelmet vilene and added a gold cord border. I had stitched a hanging pocket onto the backing before attaching so I could just thread a black cord through to hang it on the wall.

Beaded Purse

2010-09-08T15:20:00.001+01:00

This is a beaded purse I made for a swap. I needed to make an item using some beads. I have had this quilted purse pattern for a little while and wanted to give it a go. The quilting and free motion stitching went fine but because it is quilted before stitching the purse together the seams were untidy. I used some more of the lining material to bind each of the inside seams which took quite a long time. It was a time consuming project but I'm pleased with the end result. I hope my swap partner likes it. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them and can see more of the details.

Fabric paper

2010-07-07T14:14:00.000+01:00

I made some fabric paper using serviettes. I used this sheet of fabric paper to make a book cover and a card.

For the book, I used watercolour cards as signatures and sewed then to the spine of the book cover. The book cover was made from fabric paper back with felt that I oversewed using free motion machine stitching. I added some buttons to the front cover.

I used some of the left over fabric paper to make a card. Again I backed it with felt and oversewed using free motion machine stitching.

Stencils

2010-05-25T11:09:00.001+01:00

I joined a swap that required the use of a stencil. I decided to decorate some small canvases I'd got a while ago. They are about 4 inches square. I used acrylic paint to layer up some colours. I then used a plastic stencil from crafter's workshop to add some pattern to the background and then a brass stencil from Dreamweaver for the central image. I am pleased with them and intend to use one for the swap and to put the other one on my own wall.

Nature ATC

2010-05-09T09:09:00.001+01:00

Water stamping backgrounds and metal embellishments

2010-05-03T21:38:00.000+01:00

Here are three ATCs I made using a water stamping background and some metal embellishments I made from wire.

Mixed Media Art Quilt

2010-02-12T10:52:00.000Z

Wire work necklace and charm

2010-02-12T10:51:00.001Z

Card

2010-02-12T10:50:00.000Z

Bracelet

2010-01-30T11:03:00.001Z

I joined a bracelet swap and thought I'd use up some pretty pink beads I had. I made the wire pieces using inspiration from Bead on a Wire by Sharilyn Miller that I've had on my shelf for a while now.

Alcohol inks

2010-01-19T12:34:00.000Z

I joined a swap using alcohol inks so I've been experimenting with some techniques. Thanks for the ideas Adrienne.

First I put some drops of alcohol ink and some blending solution on a non stick mat and smooched some glossy card stock into it. I used the metallic mixatives on some of them. I used one piece to make a picture to put on a birthday card.

Stamp by Crafty Individuals.

I then stamped and embossed a collage stamp (Stampers Anonymous) using gold embossing powder onto some gold card. I then used my trusty chunk of wood with felt topping to add some alcohol inks. I used the piece and a piece using just the inks and no embossing to make a cover for a small notebook. I will send this away for the swap.

Beaded Charm

2010-01-15T13:01:00.000Z

I have joined a charm swap and thought I'd try out some of my improved beading skills since reading Beverly Ash Gilbert's book Beaded Colorways. It cleared up some issues I had with the details of the beading process. I was pleased though that the basics of the freeform beading I've been dabbling in were not too far off. I hung the charm up on the wall to try to take a photo of it, it is just over an inch top to bottom.

From one side.

From the other side

ATC catch up

2010-01-03T14:23:00.000Z

I belong to an ATC group and we have a guessing game every month to try to identify who made which ATC. This means that I can't post up the ATCs as I make them so I always forget to post them up later. So here is a catch up from the last few months.

Birds

Edgar Allen Poe

Texture

Beatles

Book

2010-01-02T14:52:00.000Z

I made a book for a Christmas gift swap. I stitched some deckle edges notecards into a book block. The front and back were covered with hand painted paper and then I made a tag to decorate it using Tim Holtz stamps.

Christmas decoration

2010-01-01T14:55:00.000Z

A Christmas decoration made for another swap. It was a piece of mount board covered in fantasy film, heated and then stamped into using black ink. The dangle was made by ironing fantasy film onto an inked stamp.

The Stamp Moves

2009-09-27T16:12:00.001+01:00

I participated in a swap where each person in the group sends round a stamp for each person to use. Here are my finished ATCs.

Rosie's stamp. Stamped onto glossy card and then distress inks sponged on top. Used some black german scrap to finish off.

Adrienne's stamp. I sprayed some card with red glimmer mist. I then sprinkled over some UTEE and heated until molten then stamped using some black ink. I then used the stamp on a fragment of polymer clay.

I use a background sprayed with ink sprays and stamped the picture and text. I used a black marker to add the borders and a silver pen to pick out the text.

I used a dictionary page painted with watered down gesso and then coloured using watercolour crayons and water. The image was stamped on a piece of background made using acrylic paint and an old credit card. I then used a sponge to darken the edges of the main image and tint the edges.

Making books

2009-09-27T15:54:00.000+01:00

I have been busy making some books after some instruction by Julie Prichard in her Super Nova class.

Hand painted covers and watercolour deckle edged pages

Preprinted paper covers and standard notebook pages

Preprinted paper covers and watercolour pages.

Jigsaw Canvas

2009-09-10T19:04:00.001+01:00

This is for a swap. It specified the size of the canvas and the jigsaw pieces and was to contain three pieces. The theme and colours were left open.

Purple ATCs

2009-08-29T20:00:00.001+01:00

The purple papers are sprayed using ink sprays. The butterfly was die cut from the paper then embossed with script, black ink to pick up the script then embossed again using a butterfly embossing folder and finished off with some treasure gold. The mulberry paper was embossed in a folder and then I used purple and gold treasure gold to pick up the texture.

ATCs

2009-08-29T19:51:00.001+01:00

A bit of a catch up of some ATCs I've made over recent months. This swap involves a guessing game where we see if we can spot who made which ATC and so I can't put the pictures up immediately. This means that I end up forgetting to post them at all so you can have them all at once in this post.

The theme was numbers. I used a teflon sheet and smeared some distress ink pads on and then sprayed with water before dipping the card into it. Dried then dipped again and again to get the final effect.

Theme was Impressionists. The background paper was made using three colours of acrylic paints picked up and dabbed on using some scrumpled up magazine page. The image was printed onto textured card to give the look of canvas.

Theme was Acetate. I die cut the butterfly from acetate then coloured using alcohol inks on one side and once embossed picked up the texture with black ink on the other side. Some beads attached the butterfly to the ATC and made the body, The background was made from several colours of acrylic paint. I used a stencil to dab on the purple border.

It girl gift notebook

2009-08-29T19:41:00.001+01:00

The theme for this IT girl gift was children and so I made a holder for a small notebook that can be refilled when the notepad is finished.

Last meander page

2009-08-29T19:40:00.001+01:00

This theme had me stumped for quite a while but in the end I decided to use a stamp I have that includes a song title.

Margaret's Angels

2009-08-29T19:31:00.001+01:00

Margaret's theme for her IT girl was cemetery angels which I found quite difficult to tackle. I ended up with a collaged canvas piece.

Time ATC

2009-08-29T19:29:00.000+01:00

Backgrounds

2009-07-08T15:12:00.001+01:00

Some backgrounds I made for a swap. I used watercolour paper for this background. The pattern is made from a thin plastic stencil I have. I first sponged gesso through the stencil over most of the paper. After it had dried I sprayed the sheets with three colours of Radiant Rain which has a bit of a shimmer as well as colour. When that was dry I sponged a dark blue acrylic paint through the stencil and left to dry again. Finally I mixed some of the blue paint with some black lava texture gel and used a palette knife to apply it over some of the blue paint. This all gives a layered effect and some texture too.

Lesson 7

2009-06-20T16:45:00.001+01:00

This lesson involved painting a pink picture. It was really pink half way through but the top layers of brown grunged it up nicely. It looks more bright pink in the scan than in real life. There are some lovely texture marks in the middle at the bottom where I used a palette knife to add one of the layers and the brown washes pick it up really well.

Lesson 6 of Layer Love

2009-06-20T16:37:00.001+01:00

Lesson 5 of my layer love course

2009-06-14T21:49:00.001+01:00

Meandering again

2009-06-08T11:44:00.000+01:00

The final page for Jacqui with some added pearly buttons to finish it off.

This is Annie's page. Her theme was play on words. I stamped a music background onto the base that she sent. I added some stitching on the side then sewed on a picture of a women with pan pipes layered over some netting. I embellished with some beads on the side and then added a dymo label with the text. A play on the piped music you get in lifts and telephones.

Vintage Meander page

2009-06-07T11:54:00.001+01:00

This is Jacqui's page and her theme was vintage. I used sheer heaven paper and a collage sheet to transfer some text into the background. I then edged the page using my machine and sewed on a picture printed onto the sheer heaven paper. I was going to add some beads but I think I like it as it is at the moment. Will put it aside for a while to make up my mind.

Fourth meander page

2009-06-07T10:57:00.001+01:00

This page is for Pauline C and her theme was nature. I stamped a flower onto the coloured background then sewed a fine fabric over the top. I embellished it with some beads and a dragonfly charm.

Another Meander page

2009-06-06T17:57:00.000+01:00

This is Adrienne's page and her theme is dreams. I put a layer of net over the entire background and sewed a ribbon the side. I used the colours in the background to make a beaded embellishment to circle round the dream charm.

Meander pages

2009-06-06T12:59:00.000+01:00

I am taking part in a swap to make a meander book. It consists of 8 square pages which are eventually sewn together to make a book. I decorated 7 pages and sent them out and people will decorate them in my theme and return them. I have 7 pages from other people sitting here ready to decorate in their themes. Each person has coloured their pages before sending out and have chosen a theme so the colour scheme and theme are set for each page.

I have finished the first two.

Eva's page. She wanted the page to scream orange and I hope I've managed that. I used some card that I had decorated with spray inks and a stencil then sewed some ribbon borders and some beads. I realised once I'd made it that the card was too thick to sew once on top of the base that Eva sent so the buttons and beads are glued on.

Pauline H's page, her theme was sea and sky. This had a vilene base which Pauline coloured and then I sewed on some fabric layers and some beads and a boat charm. The boat is only attached at the top so it moves around on the sea. The text was added using dymo tape.

Lesson 3

2009-05-27T13:47:00.001+01:00

Another lesson 2

2009-05-27T09:28:00.000+01:00

Again this is so much greener and has more depth in real life. Don't know why these green ones are so hard to photograph. This is on canvas from a canvas pad and I love the texture you get.

Lesson 2

2009-05-22T14:14:00.000+01:00

This scan is much bluer than it is in real life. The real version is quite green and has more shades in the darker sections. Why is it so hard to get a good picture of these paintings?

Different colour version of lesson 1

2009-05-22T14:13:00.000+01:00

Maggi's IT girl

2009-05-20T18:30:00.000+01:00

Maggi's IT girl theme was Literature/Movie/Song. I made a little pouch to carry a notepad. I used some pelmet vilene sprayed with ink sprays and then sewed on some stamped card. The stamp inspired me to use this song as the theme.

Layered background

2009-05-20T16:47:00.000+01:00

I am doing a layer love online class with Julie Prichard at the Land of Lost Luggage and here is my first attempt at my first background lesson.

House and Springtime Promises ATCs

2009-05-15T20:46:00.000+01:00

The house ATCs have now been sent out so I can post up my version.

The background is radiant rain sprayed onto textured black paper. The house is a sprayed paper stamped and with a sprayed piece of book paper added. The words are dymo tape.

The previous month's theme was Springtime Promises and here is the ATC for this theme.

I created the effect using masking. I used a flower mask and sponged some colours over it then put a bird mask over that and sponged on more colour. The little piece added in the corner is made from a textured piece I made in this blog post and punched out.

Polymer clay brocade

2009-05-15T20:27:00.000+01:00

I have finally had a chance to play with this technique. It is originally from Donna Kato's book - The art of polymer clay - creative surface techniques which is a book I have and love looking at. Adrienne challenged us to try this technique and has an excellent step by step blog post about it.

I am not entirely convinced by my first try mainly because I did not get a deep enough impression with the stamp and so the pattern isn't very clear in places. I still cut out lots of pieces though and here they are once baked

I made some moulded pieces too using a mould brushed with mica powders. I also just stamped into the left over clay and brushed with mica powders.

It is difficult to see the individual pieces in this photo so here are some closer ones.

Picture for Adrienne

2009-04-25T21:53:00.001+01:00

I decorated a picture for Adrienne. I painted a children's papery frame with some micaceous iron oxide which looks a flat colour on this scan but is quite sparkly in real life. I then added the turquoise piece which has a background painted with acrylic shimmery paint. I then added a section with paint with fantasy film on the top (which looks green on the scan but isn't in real life). I added the fantasy film while the paint was wet and then zapped with my heat gun. Trimmed the edges where the fantasy film rumpled up. The final sectionis a piece of cardboard with moulding paste through a stencil to produce the textured swirl. I then added paint and embossing powder and more paint etc until it looked right, heating each layer as I went along because I have no patience. There is turquoise and purple paint on that one I think plus silver embossing powder. The silver was then too bright so I added more paint on top to tone it down. Added a few stick on silver bits to the side which I covered in blue treasure gold so it wasn't so bright and little key. It has a flip out stand at the back so she can stand it up like a picture frame or can add a hanger at the back and put it on the wall. A combination of experiments.

I hope that Adrienne likes it when it arrives in the post.

Stripes

2009-04-15T14:59:00.000+01:00

Was inspired by Tim Holtz to try some stripes using a brayer. Played with some different colours. I think I will remember for the future.

Masking ATC

2009-03-22T20:34:00.000Z

My prototype for ATCs for a theme of masking. I sprayed a dictionary page with spray ink. I then put on a watered down partial coat of gesso. I put a mask on top and sponged on ink. Used some new Tim Holtz stamps to finish it off.

Experiments

2009-03-18T09:53:00.000Z

I have been experimenting with things so I thought I'd show you a selection of the results. Some I'm happier with than others. Most of these don't have a project yet but I'm sure they will be perfect for something one day. The technique I finally chose for the ATCs I was trying to design will be shown later on - the group I belong to keeps them secret until all are received and swapped out. The last experiment in this post was for another set of ATCs where the theme is masking so I think that's a good start for an ATC. Just have to design the rest of it now.

Some acrylics painted onto card then a crackle stamp on top. The right hand one has black ink, the left has versamark and gold embossing powder. They have a sheen in real life.

Micaceous iron oxide paint onto back of cereal packet quite thickly applied then used a stamp to create some texture. Once dried I put treasure gold on to pick up the texture. In real life it's rugged and shimmery and I love it. I think this will be a keeper.

Acrylics dabbed onto card

I saw a technique where you used gesso on a book page, embossed over the top and then sponged on ink. I tried that and produced some experiments and it wasn't quite what I wanted. So with this I first sprayed ink onto dictionary page. Then stamped and embossed the image. Then sponged on ink and then then ironed off the embossing powder.

This is the same thing but with the gesso. I didn't get as far as ironing off the powder so I may add more ink onto this one to rescue it or it may be used as it is.

For this one I sprayed ink onto page, applied some watered down gesso then used a mask and applied ink. I like this one. I tried it with no gesso and more gesso and this was the best one. I have a plan in mind for this one.

Book

2009-03-17T10:28:00.001Z

I made a small book for a swap. I made the coloured sections by swiping distress inks onto a non stick sheet and then spritzing with water. I dipped the paper in, dried, dipped in again and so on. I stamped a flower picture on the front and some words. The back I left plain because I love the background effect. I then cut some black mountboard to size and punched some holes. I made the signatures from some speckly paper. I then sewed the book together using coptic stitch binding. The photo below shows the spine. I then added some beads to the end of the thread. I hope the recipient likes it.

I found some great Youtube videos demonstrating coptic stitch binding. For a folded cover part1 and part2 and then with a hard cover.

Texture ATCs

2009-02-27T09:09:00.001Z

The theme for these ATC was texture. I created the background using light moulding paste through a glimmer screen. I then painted it with acrylic paints and finished with gold wax to highlight the pattern. The butterfly (Crafty Individuals) was stamped onto coloured paper and a little glitter glue makes the wings sparkle.

Karen's shrine

2009-02-15T21:56:00.001Z

This is a swap for Karen whose theme is shrines. It is my first attempt at a shrine so it took me a long time to sort it out. It is based on a deep frame. The background is sprayed watercolour paper with a stamped and embossed image layered with a page from a book which has been coloured and put through an embossing folder. I added a piece of stampboard which I had coloured with alcohol inks topped with a silver charm. Then there is the bird charm sitting above a piece of shrink plastic which was stamped while hot and edged with silver pen. I made a little scroll to go down at the bottom of the frame. I sprayed the plain wood frame with spray inks then used a writing stamp on it. I hope that Karen likes it.

Tiny book

2009-02-06T21:15:00.000Z

This is for a swap where we were to make a tiny book and a matching container for it. I had a little wooden box that I decorated and made a little sewn book with beads on the spine to go into it.

IT girl gifts

2009-02-06T21:09:00.000Z

The theme for this was Bright and Funky colours with black and white checkerboard.

There is an ongoing swap on one of my groups where each month we make gifts for one member using their theme. The theme for this one was time.

The theme for this folder was Women's Faces

Resist ATC

2009-02-06T21:08:00.001Z

Baroque ATC

2009-02-06T21:07:00.001Z

Two part ATC

2009-02-06T21:05:00.001Z

This ATC had to consist of two parts so I made an envelope and a tag to slip into it.

Postal Correspondence ATC

2009-02-06T20:57:00.000Z

This theme was postal/correspondence so I chose a postcard theme. The scan isn't terribly good. I used fantasy film which I ironed onto a rubber stamp and made alittle shrink plastic shell embellishment.

Shake Rattle and Roll ATC

2009-02-06T20:54:00.000Z

The theme of this ATC was to make an ATC with moving parts. I made a circle which turned round to reveal different parts of the image in the window.

Catching up

2009-02-06T20:48:00.000Z

Well, I've not updated this blog for a long time. We have moved house so as well as having all my art things packed up I haven't had time to update. I will try to add the things I've made over the last few monthes into the blog so I'll be up to date then I can post new things as I make them. Will be back soon.

Board book challenge on Art Buzz

2008-09-30T20:44:00.000+01:00

I have finally finished the first spread in an altered board book challenge on Trish's Art Buzz blog . The instuctions for each spread are on the blog and also on the Next Generation Stampers group . I have shown the pages at each of the three stages.

Distressed shrink plastic

2008-09-30T20:40:00.000+01:00

Had a play with distressing some shrink plastic as suggested by Jessie on one of my groups. I cut and punched the shrink plastic, heated it then stamped while still soft. I edged them in Krylon. One of them was a stack of the offcuts heated and then stamped and edged.

Deco page

2008-09-30T20:38:00.001+01:00

Stamps by Paperarty, Crafty Individuals and Catslife Press.

Canvases

2008-09-30T20:36:00.001+01:00

I have finished two canvases that have been half finished for ages. They are now hanging on the wall.

Music and Dance

2008-09-14T20:00:00.001+01:00

I have made up the prototypes for the Music and Dance ATC swap.

Nature notebook

2008-09-14T19:59:00.000+01:00

Stampboard

2008-09-02T14:06:00.000+01:00

A small wall hanging using two inch square pieces of stampboard. Stamp by Invoke Arts

A 2x1 inch piece of stampboard decorated with alcohol inks and an Invoke arts stamp. I will attach a brooch back to this one.

I have had some stampboard for a while but never used it. I set up a swap using stampboard so I've just made a couple of things using it. I coloured each piece using either alcohol inks or dye inks and then stamped in black. I then scraped away lines to put white highlights onto them

Fabric paper

2008-08-29T15:50:00.000+01:00

I have made a little hanging from some of the fabric paper I made in a previous post. I sewed it onto a felt background then embellished with beads and a couple of charms. The whole thing is stuck on a matboard backing to stiffen it.

Four seasons ATCs

2008-08-29T09:21:00.000+01:00

Using a faux batik technique on mulberry paper.

Deco page

2008-08-29T09:20:00.000+01:00

Another deco page for one of my group's round robiin swaps.

More tag duos

2008-08-26T19:10:00.001+01:00

Had another go at this technique. This one ended up with grey lines instead of white because I tried drawing on the black. Need to offset it more.

This is using brayered dye inks as a background colour. I have decided to mount the tag duos onto a black background to make them pop more.

I think this pair are improved by mounting them onto black too.

Tag Duos

2008-08-13T15:02:00.001+01:00

Some tag duos that I've been working on for a swap. Need to work out how to join them together now. The tags had to use the Bandana or Stazon technique. I prefer the first set. Thought it might work better with darker colours but I don't think it did.

Fabric paper

2008-08-09T12:17:00.001+01:00

I had a go at making some fabric paper based on Beryl Taylors work that was pointed out by Adrienne who has a swap going on one of the swap groups. I used Tyvek as the base layer. I didn't have any printed tissue paper so I stamped some plain tissue paper for the patterned layer. The recipe is tyvek, watered down PVA all over, small pieces of patterned tissue paper, more glue, a whole sheet of plain tissue paper, more glue then colour. Then I left them on a non stick sheet to dry overnight. These are the results.

This first one is the how not to do it example. I used posh inks straight onto the top glue layer and it was far too dark and it all started to split and fall apart when I tried to dab some colour off. So the moral of the story is to use diluted colours lol.

This one started with a coloured layer because my brush still had ink on from the previous attempt so the glue turned a bluey colour. I finished the colour in top layer with a colour spray.

These are the next days attempts and I used well watered down fluid acrylics for the coloured layer and so the pattern showed through more.

Deco catch up

2008-08-09T11:58:00.001+01:00

I haven't posted much onto my blog for ages now so it's time for a bit of a catch up. These are the deco pages I worked on in round robin deco swaps that have been going for ages now. The last page is for a theme of faces for Annie in another themed swap that is also ongoing.

Birds of sorrow

2008-06-27T11:07:00.001+01:00

A chinese proverb.

Architecture notebook

2008-06-17T14:57:00.000+01:00

Stamps by Green Pepper Press.

More row houses

2008-06-16T09:26:00.001+01:00

Deco page

2008-06-16T09:23:00.001+01:00

A deco page for an Art themed deco book.
Stamps by Crafty Individuals, Hero Arts, Paper Artsy, Designs Ink'd

Row houses

2008-06-09T17:28:00.001+01:00

I have been playing with some little row houses for a swap on ccswaps. It seems to be very popular at the moment and it's a great way to use up lots of bits and pieces.

Stamps by Invoke Arts, Crafty individuals, Paperartsy, Green Pepper Press, After Midnight Stamps and Autumn Leaves.

Images by Scrap girls and Lunagirl

Mermaid

2008-06-05T15:40:00.000+01:00

Each month one of my groups chooses someone to the IT girl for the month. She chooses a theme then we all make something and send it to her. This month Autumn chose mermaids as her theme so I've made her a picture with a mermaid story on the back. I hope she likes it.

Blooms ATC

2008-06-03T12:51:00.001+01:00

Dominos

2008-06-02T09:54:00.001+01:00

Deco pages

2008-05-31T22:00:00.001+01:00

Background is brayered posh inks. Stamps by Invoke Arts and Rubbadubbadoo

Decorated envelope

2008-05-31T17:41:00.000+01:00

This swap called for a swap item in an envelope as pretty as the contents. I made a little booklet using some brayered posh inks card and used a Penny Black stamp. I then decorated the envelope with the same posh inks put onto a non stick sheet and spritzed with water/perfect pearls. I then dipped the envelope into the ink to decorate. I finished it off with some of the same stamp as on the booklet in a darker red colour. I hope my swap partner likes it. I just have to finish the envelope off when I know who it's going to.

Summer ATCs

2008-05-31T12:09:00.001+01:00

Shining stone background and Stampendous stamps

Brayered rainbow inkpad and water spray and dabbed with kitchen roll for the background. Crafty Individuals stamp

More deco pages

2008-05-31T11:52:00.001+01:00

Stamps by Paperartsy and Crafty Individuals.

Stamps by Paperartsy and Catslife Press.

Stamps by Penny Black and designs Ink'd

Stamps by Penny Black and Delartful

Another deco page

2008-05-26T13:55:00.000+01:00

Another deco page, double sided this time. I used a brayered gesso resist on white glossy card this time for the front - not as striking as the black but still pretty. The stamps are from Crafty Individuals, Catslife press and Hero Arts.

Deco page

2008-05-25T20:46:00.000+01:00

This the last page in Adrienne's deco book for NGS so it's now on its way back to her. I used the brayered gesso resist for the background on the only piece of glossy black card I have. It's a lovely background but I'll need to get more card before I can make more of these. The stamp is by Crafty Individuals.

Tag it swap

2008-05-13T17:07:00.001+01:00

There is a swap running on one of my groups where one person is chosen to be that month's IT girl and chooses a theme. Everyone in the swap then makes something and sends it to her. May's IT girl is Carol Clements and her theme was travel/vacation.

I made a folded ATC for her. I don't often make anything with this theme so I needed to scrabble around to find something appropriate so it took a little while to make.

The stamps are from Paperartsy, Crafty Individuals and Hero arts.

Secret page

2008-05-13T17:00:00.000+01:00

I made a deco page for a secret birthday book for Adrienne so I've not been able to show it but now the birthday has arrived and the secret has been sprung I can show you my page.

The front is made from a collage of scrapbook papers painted using fluid acrylics. The back page uses stamps from Crafty Individuals. The background uses the waxed paper resist technique.

Set of four

2008-05-06T16:45:00.001+01:00

These four ATCs are for a swap where you make four connected ATCs. They should look whole when together and OK when apart. This is my first attempt at this. The background is brayered posh inks and the bird is some Bazzill card stock put through a cuttlebug embossing folder. I was just cutting it into an interesting shape when I ended up quite accidently with a bird so I had to use that.

Another deco page

2008-04-30T21:23:00.001+01:00

Stamps by Catslife press, Invoke Art and Crafty Individuals.

Some adjustments

2008-04-27T19:17:00.001+01:00

Flourish and diamond stamps by Crafty Individuals. Lady by After Midnight.

Swirl and flourish ATCs

2008-04-27T16:55:00.000+01:00

Experiments for my flourish and swirl ATCs. I haven't decided which design to use yet.

Today's Deco page

2008-04-24T21:01:00.001+01:00

I have finished another deco page and it's off to its next artist. I used Invoke Art stamps.

Background ATCs

2008-04-24T12:41:00.000+01:00

My ATCs for a 10:9 swap that I host on ccswaps. The theme was backgrounds. The left hand background is a colourspray background dripped with perfect pearls in water. I embossed some metal tape with an unmounted stamp and coloured with Stazon ink. The right hand ATC background is a rainbow pad brayered, spritzed with water then dabbed with a paper towel. I then stamped over the top using the same unmounted stamp.

Metal swap

2008-04-24T12:23:00.001+01:00

I decorated a metal tin for a metal swap I was hosting on ccswaps. The main image inside the box is from Crafty Individuals. The small bird image is from Invoke Art and the word stamp on the lid is from Catslife Press. The picture on the front is from a collage sheet.

My world chunky

2008-04-24T12:20:00.001+01:00

This is the art page for a chunky book whose theme was "My World" and was required to incorporate some Tyvek.

The stamps are from Invoke Art, Catslife press, Crafty Individuals and Rubber Stampede. The Tyvek heart was embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Tall and Skinny pages

2008-04-24T12:17:00.000+01:00

I joined in a swap for a Tall and Skinny book so I had to make lots of pages using images of people and animals interacting in an unusual way. The pictures are of the front and back of the page. They will be bound at the top of the page.

I bought the images from istockphoto, printed them out and collaged them. One background was sprayed with walnut ink, stenciled then overstamped with words. The other was colour sprayed. I used an alphabet stamp to create the titles.

Catch up decos

2008-04-24T12:04:00.000+01:00

I have been neglecting my blog for a little while so now I will take the time to catch up on the things I've been making recently

Surprise pages for a special deco book. All stamps by Crafty Individuals. I altered a photo of my dog in Photo Shop.

A page in a oriental deco for Next Generation Stampers deco round robin. I don't do a lot of oriental style work but I had this stamp by Inkadinkado which was just right for this.

Another deco page with a water stencil background. The stamp is from Craft Individuals and the flower is a chipboard shape I coloured.

Front and back of a two sided deco page. Deco books are like buses - you don't get any for ages then a few turn up at once. I made the background paper using a stencil and the images are from Scrap girls.

And another deco page in a tag book. The stamp is by Crafty Individuals.

Deco Page

2008-03-19T08:58:00.001Z

Another deco book arrived for me to decorate so here is my page front and back.

The Art stamp is Hero Art and I stamped in versamark ink and used chalks on top. The other piece is from the Christmas wrapping paper experiment I did after Christmas.

The background was an experiment with using a tray of water and dropping posh inks into it but it didnt marble very well. The stamp is by Crafty Individuals stamped on a background using a kaleidascope rainbow inkpad sprayed with water and dabbed with kitchen roll.

Lisa's new countdown for March

2008-03-18T07:47:00.000Z

Lisa Vollrath has a new countdown going for Easter and St Patrick's day.

Double Deuce Dare You

2008-03-07T21:12:00.001Z

I was sent all these goodies in a special swap where you get a package of pieces and have to make an item using at least half of them. It was a really nerve wracking swap - I've never altered a slide mailer before and I'd never used grunge board either so it was a real voyage of discovery. I covered the mailer with paper sprayed with colour sprays and cut out holes for the niches. I made little collages to fit into the holes and decorated the rest of the mailer with the images and bits and pieces. It was the fact I just had one large wing that reminded me of that quotation and so the theme of friends was born. The wing is painted with white acrylic then coloured with Marvy Le Plumes. It needed a little decoration so I doodled on it using on the pens. It will now set off on its journey to my swap partner.