Just wanted to say ... thanks for taking the time to stop by, hope you enjoyed your visit.x

Thursday 16 February 2017

Out of the Cold - guest design for Frilly and Funkie

Well how proud do I feel to be guest designer for the new challenge over at Frilly and Funkie! I haven't blogged for such a long time, so be given the opportunity to guest design having won with my first post in nearly six months was a huge honor...just hope I'm not too rusty!

So the theme is out of the cold...and all the details as well as gorgeous inspiration can be found here .

So I used one of the new fab thickboard Etcetera tags - from Tim Holtz and I chose the medium one for this piece , so here is my make inspired by sunnier times and summer flowers :


I started by giving the base a coat of distress paint in tumbled glass and smudged on some picket fence with my finger. I added some texture paste through dot fade stencil to add some texture, left to dry and coated with a layer of collage medium .


Next I added some lines of distress crayon and smudged in with my finger, gradually and slowly smudging and building up the colour until I was happy  - I know I am late to the party on these but I am loving them !


When happy with the base layer I added a layer of collage medium and added more layers of colour to continue building ...


I then lightly sanded back some areas of the edges ...to give a more vintage feel and added in some walnut distress crayon...well there was bound to be brown in there somewhere!


this show the texture and colours- was kind of hard to cover some areas up.

I then started to add the base layer of collage elements ...slowly building as I went... I had used the other tag to lay out my pieces to get an idea of placement..as that helps me to plan the overall layout.


So now for the details...I wanted a splash of tropical colour and what better than shades of abandoned coral flowers and hand dyes seam binding...I used the Tim Holtz tropical dyes and distress spray stain to colour the foliage and flowers and then added walnut stain distress ink to highlight the edges.

I do love idea-ology so plenty can be found tucked in between the flowers and foliage ...

 The foliage was dipped into spare stain from the craft sheet to create a more natural mottled look..and a compass idea-ology piece to tie in the while travel / holiday feel.


I love the found relatives and am eager to get my inky fingers on the new paper dolls....so this found relative card formed the focal point ...plenty more splashes of colour...very unusual for me..


 The top was finished with a splash of hand dyed seam binding and an idea-ology plaque- wanderlust was coloured using distress crayon..to complete the piece.


So all that remains is to say a huge thanks to all the lovely ladies for having me as guest designer...and leave you with a final photo of the finished piece . 


trace x



15 comments :

  1. Well done on being GT for this challenge Trace. This is very inspiring as I couldn't think what to do for this theme and now my head is full of ideas after seeing your wonderful tag

    Love Chrissie xx

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  2. Absolutely love the pop of colour that the "abandoned Coral " gives, looks stunning!

    Sally xx

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  3. So I knew I loved this tag but the tutorial and close ups just make that feeling grow even more! What a fabulous way of building up the colours and textures to transport us to a tropical beach. Love it Trace! xx

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  4. Congrats Trace on both your win and your GD spot ! Definitely no signs of being 'rusty' with this fabulous project . Gorgeous colours , lovley texture and terrific collaged ephemera and embellies .
    Absolutely LOVE it x

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  5. I just love your tropical themed tag Trace, the colours are so warming and cheerful! Your collage is wonderful and I love the textured background you created too. Beautiful work and lovely to see you back and finding some time to get inky. Those new tags are wonderful to work with aren't they!? Hugs, Anne xx

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  6. This is stunning, Trace! I just love the weather-washed look you created with your layers of Distress Crayon - beautiful - and the pops of coral are so full of summer sunshine. And the little touches of brown just make it that bit more perfect! Congrats on a fabulous guest project at F&F.
    Alison x

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  7. Beautiful tropical tag! Love the pops of pink/coral with the blue and neutral background. Thanks so much for GD with us at Frilly and Funkie!

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  8. Bravo, Trace! Congratulations on your Guest Designer spot at Frilly and Funkie! Your tag is a feast for the eyes, starting with that lovely background! The collage pieces are great choices for your theme, and what a great design! Love those tropical colors! I can almost hear the ocean breezes and smell the tropical flowers! Love this!

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  9. Lovely to see you here as GD Trace and I love your take on the challenge theme. Like you I can't wait to get my hands on new TH stash.

    TF's and hugs
    Annie x

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  10. Huge congrats Tracy on your win and what a fabulous design to bring to your guest post. Love the beautiful colours and the warm feel it brings to mind. So happy to see you blogging and looking forward to more. Have a great weekend xxx

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  11. This is gorgeous! Makes me want to go to the tropics.

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  12. Lovely to see you in blogland Trace and wow what a wonderful piece! I adore the colour and texture and the beautiful use of that image. Big hugs lovely lady and congrats on being guest designer xx

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  13. Gorgeous! Love everything about this tag.

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  14. I love your tag! The colours are fabulous, and all the details! Awesome.

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  15. Trace, this is just gorgeous,makes me want to be on a hot sunny beach somewhere! xo

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Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leave me a comment..it means a lot..hope you like what you see. Trace x