Remember the now - Artist trading block and book for Country View Crafts Stencil it challenge

Well it is the first of the month and that means time for a new challenge over at Country View Crafts challenge blog where the theme this months is stencil it ! So without further ado here is my DT piece for the challenge and be sure you pop across here and see all the other DT makes, there's some great inspiration. So I decided to have a play and make an Artist trading Block and also a small quotes book to fit inside :

and here is the top view of the box itself ..plenty more pictures to come ..

So now for the how to... I started by cutting my Artist trading block from 300gsm white card, as this thickness cuts beautifully and also allows for the crease lines to be added so it folds neatly. Then I applied some yummy distress paint in antique linen through one of Tim's layering stencils.. I used lattice work, then I let the paint dry and when dry I applied distress ink in frayed burlap over the top.

This is all about building up layers of paint and ink using the stencils which creates a great background for embellishing.. after letting paint dry I applied antique linen and frayed burlap distress ink. ( the paint when dry stays permanent and acts as a great resist for the inks and also allows water to be flicked on without affecting paint)

When all inked up I then set too adding more stencilled layers using mini ink blending tool which is perfect for stencilling and leaves no harsh lines..using schoolhouse, speckles and cargo stencils and distress inks.

When all layered up with inkiness I then spritzed some water in the palm of my hand and flicked over surface..left for a few seconds and heat dried (large drops can be blotted off ). 

Rather than leave the surface inside plain as as stencils are the name of the game I used some distress ink and this great layering stencil ( a real favourite ) to add some detail inside ...forgot step by step picture but you can see the stencilled details here :

The box is now ready to be glued and embellishing fun can begin!

Now for the book, I cut the smaller ATB die out of thinner card and then trimmed so I had some nice squares that I knew would fit inside. I used more distress ink and layering stencils to add detail and then used tissue tape to attach all the pages together in accordion fold style.

To add a bit more detail to the pages I added some script stamp , using stamp un mounted to get random parts of text.

To complete the book I added lots of stamped arrows from here and there Tim Holtz set along with my much loved pointy finger stamp and lots of great quotes. finally adding a pen nib and a little bottle.

For the top of the box, I added a new favourite , this cool man stamp from mercantile set, some curled distressed paper, little bottles made to look like spilt ink and a pen nib.

I embellished the inside of the lid with a piece of framework trellis die and also stamped on a piece that fits inside with text from stamp set. I added some more stamps and another little bottle....and you can see the book nestled inside.

For all the sides I embellished with stamping, trellis framework die and idea-ology. I added little bottles turned upside down for feet for the box to carry on the inky / writing them.

Well thanks if you made it to the end of the post...my typing fingers are rusty but it is great too be back and getting inky! I will be catching up with your blogs soon. make sure you pop across here to see all my team mates makes and hopefully you will be inspired to join in the fun....you could be the lucky winner of a £20 voucher for CountryViewCrafts or a winner of a guest design spot.

See you soon, keep those fingers inky and those hearts full x

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