Discovery and Re-discovery

I know I am being a bit of a sporadic blogger but I am playing and enjoying dabbling in the crafty world again and enjoying the whole ...playing thing, that sometimes get lost in deadlines and everyday life...some days I play with crafty things and some days I don't , no pressure but plenty of fun!

So here is the result of some of that playtime...some Decoart and plenty of distress and Tim Holtz goodness too ...so here is my latest playtime make :

So do you ever feel like you have found a way back to something that you loved, lost in life's ups and downs and now have found again....I feel like I am discovering all the things I loved about crafting and had forgotten ....the gorgeous way that crackles appear and how they look when inked, the yummy way simple drops of water splashing on distress in make so much magic...I know what a soppy socks, but I really feel I am experiencing the joy of crafting all over again ....and I don't want that to stop!

I still have  a busy life away from it and many things still to do , but I consider myself one lucky person.

So on to the details, as you know I have been playing with some new goodies from hubbie, well from Decoart actually , but you know what I mean... and here I have played with them some more and love this yummy crackle paste....coupled with some of my favourite distress colours...so the details..

I started with a size 10 tag and applied Decoart crackle paste through the lattice Tim Holtz layering stencl, one of my favourites...and left it to work its magic. When done , I spritzed some pumice stone and frayed burlap distress stain sprays onto the tag and dried. I edged with some walnut stain distress ink. The spritzed some water into the palm of my hand and flicked across tag, leaving for a few seconds before dabbing off and heat drying.

I love these colours and that crackle is just yummy, don't you think?

Now to add some details, I created some rusty looking pieces using trellis frameworks die and a technique from Andy Skinner's Timeworn course ( so no details but you can find the course here ).
 I like to place things and leave them unstuck until I  have finished as I often move stuff about!

here is a close up, hopefully you can see the rusty effect

Now for one of my favourite ideaology releases, okay I have a few ..well maybe more than a few but i love these found relative cards and this one just wanted to be used, I lightly sanded it and inked with...you've guessed it, walnut stain distress ink, scuffing the edges with my edge distressing tool.

I added a numeral, which had some Decoart painty distressing ...and was stapled with little kisses!

Finally I added some trusty rusty wire, a word band and some hand made flowers, again given a Decoart painty finish.

The flowers were die cut, embossed using Tim Holtz embossing folder, I then added some washes of decoart paints before adding a layer of crackle glaze. when dry I covered in antiquing cream and rubbed off, leaving very subtle highlights in the cracks.

So there you have it , the results of some very happy playtime, rediscovery of my love of distress and all things Tim Holtz and also a new discovery of a love of Decoart....I love how I can combine these with my love of vintage and that I am that I learning new things! I think I might like this painty lark!

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and I will be back soon with some more playtime pleasures x

keep those fingers inky ... and painty!

trace x