comfortingly neutral..

well here I am with my piece for Creative Expressions this week, more fab flowers and this time in the comfort of the neutrals that I love.. So this uses the delicate asters set from hearflet creations, these are pre-mounted and precut. So here is my make:

I still love tags and making them makes me happy...somehow they are the right size and shape...funny how some things feel like the right thing to make!? So I started by adding some strips of tissue tape in parts to the tag. Then coated with a layer of mushroom eco paint...what a yummy colour! Then when dry, I added some studio 490 texture paste through small dots stencil ( that special touch mask). I dried and swiped with white and sanded...adding some pearl gilding wax.
 

 

 The asters were stamped in frayed burlap..still continues my love of this colour!! then I used a waterbrush to slightly soften colour in centre and added some mini gears another thing i love...some silver wire and there you have it!

 

well hope you like my make today....and blogger let me put the pictures on !yippee!!!

have a fun and inky one!

trace  x

there's no time to waste for Frilly and Funkie DT

well it is time for the Funkie team to add their time inspired pieces to the Frilly and Funkie blog...for my theme There is no time to waste. There is still a week to play along and make sure you pop here and see all the fab Dt inspiration. I was so tempted to go for steampunk and grunge it up but decided to go for soft and gentle, delicate piece. So here is my time inspired creation:

 
I started by cutting the fab new pocket watch die out of greyboard ...and cream card for the base and then using the movers and shapers circles... I cut three layers with the centre removed. (hope that makes sense!)

I painted the top layer with antique linen distress paint , giving it two coats. when dry I added a good layer of rock candy, clear....leaving it to do its magic crackle thing!

The flowers were cut from cardstock and over stamped with fabulous flourish stamp in coffee archival...and then dunked I clear UTEE in the melt pot. This makes them sturdy and helps them to keep their shape. I added some pearls for centres.

The leaves...were cut from the tattered leaves die , from clear shrink plastic and then dipped in the clear UTEE , where they shrink and coat at the same time...very cool!!

The inside was cream card, lightly coloured with antique linen distress ink and then I stamped the papillon background using frayed burlap distress ink.

I added an idea-ology pen nib and a heart made from pearl UTEE in a mold , using my melt pot and a twirl of wire. Thanks Hels for getting me back into melt pot mode!!

I finally added some butterflies , stamped in coffee archival and some seam binding dyed with antique linen and frayed burlap distress stain.

make sure you pop here and join in the fun!


I would like to enter this for the following competitions:
anything goes @ http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.co.uk/
shaped but not square @ http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Simple Sayings	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Fabulous Flourishes	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Papillon	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves Die	Tim Holtz Pocket Watch Frame Sizzix Alterations Movers and Shapers Die
Tim Holtz Sized Circles Sizzix Alterations Movers and Shapers Dies	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Antique Linen	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain - Antique Linen	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Antique Linen	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain - Frayed Burlap	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Frayed Burlap
Ranger Archival Ink - Coffee	Rayon Seam Binding	Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) 8 oz. Clear	Ranger Inkssentials Shrink Plastic	Ranger Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet	Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy 4 oz size
Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool-With 2 Blending Foams

have a fun and inky one!

trace x

a little bit rusty..

well here is a piece that was inspired by the talented Tracy Evans here, there are so many lovely and inspiring people in blogand that never fail to amaze with their creativity and ideas. My make is not the same but came from seeing the piece here .

So here is my make :

having never really tried this technique large scale ... I dabbled here, I am loving it and know there will me more to come...
So I started with a script stencil from crafters workshop and some fab studio 490 embossing paste. then when dry ...I got playing with lots of yummy idea-ology and lots of yummy goodies from my Dad...screws, washers and lots more rusty goodies! thanks Dad.x I also added some prima things. I glued them all down...and really liked them like this!

 Then covered with gesso and admit it looked cool at that stage too!

 I then set too work creating my background colour, this was lots of spritzing, lots of water and lots of drying before it got the industrial kind of feel I wanted!I used selection of homemade sprays using re-inkers,( gathered twigs) and Dylusions sprays black marble, white linen and melted chocolate. I edged the whole board with treasure gold in onxyite.

The image is one of my favourites from the new Tim Holtz releases...love it and so many people have done such cool things with him already!I am a little late to the party...and wanted to finally ink him up!

I inked him up in black archival ad then set to work painting him with my waterbrush and distress inks and Dylusions to get a really industrial feel...I hope?!

I added him to my paperboard hanging and there you go...an word band sentiment and my make is finished! ( would have been blogged earlier if Mr Blogger had let me put my photos on!!!!!GRRRR).

I am entering this for the following competitions:

inspired by @ http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.co.uk/
anything goes @ http://www.fashionablestampingchallenges.com/

 finally blogged after trying since 6:00 am grr!!!..finally blogger let me add the pictures

have a fun and inky day!

 trace x

Saturday StepXStep for Frilly and Funkie

well it is my turn to do the  Saturday StepXStep., over at Frilly and Funkie .So for all the details on how I created this and the how to...I have a step by step tutorial for this tag on the Frilly and Funkie blog here.

have a fun and inky one!

trace  x

live life in colour for Creative Expressions DT

well here I am with my make for Creative expressions this week, and this time we have some great flowers to play with.. from hearfelt creations...they can be found here and here...so I decided to try something different for me...you can be the judge of if that paid off..so here is my make this week:

I started with some small wooden blocks and painted with mushroom eco paint. I then stamped parts of the block using bubble wrap background stamp inked with broken china.

Now onto the flowers...I started with lots of distress paints smooshed onto mat and card swiped through in colours to make lots of coloured pieces then when dried I stamped the flowers in archival black ink. These were then glued to grungepaper and cut out...not sure all the gorgeous painty backgrounds show...but hey ho! Then I set to cracking out my melt pot filled with clear UTEE.
This makes the flowers look yummy and helps to hold their shape and keeps them stronger.

I added little washers for centres....the hard part attaching to the block....and one of those...Why am I doing this moments!? Anyway they got on in the end..but overall they are ok but wish I had used these yummy flowers somehow else!

The sentiments are from art sayings.

Well I will be back next week with another make

have a fun and inky one!

trace  x

How does your garden grow for Country View Crafts Challenge DT

well what a wonderful lot of entries we had last month...and now onto this months challenge which is How does your garden grow?. make sure you pop across here to the challenge site as there are treats a plenty in store this month as well as a super special Guest Designer and  some other guest designers, so there will be stacks to inspire you all month!..so pop here

So here is my piece and I went for a garden with a difference...:

 

I started with a papier mache hanging board and glued lots of gear die cuts to it. I love cogs...so much...then when they were all stuck down, (I used cosmic shimmer glue..which is fab fab fab!) I coated the whole thing in gesso. Then I set to work using some home made sprays using mini mister bottles, water and re-inkers in walnut stain and frayed burlap (my love affair with this colour continues!) I also used  lots of water... I played and played until I was happy and then dried it.

 

 

 Now onto the fun of the flowers..

 

 

I decided to create imaginary flowers with imaginary leaves for my steampunk garden . I applied DIY aluminium tape to cardstock, but ranger foil sheets would work and then die cut flowers using the tattered floral die. Then I embossed them using new gears embossing folder. next to add colour, I used alcohol inks in various brown colours and then when dry I shaped.

 

 

The centres are bottle caps ( thanks Hubby for your help consuming the bottles of beer!). I added some idea-ology gears and mini gears and then out came my melt pot. I melted some clear ultra think embossing powder which had ambered and poured it in. I am thrilled with how these turned out! expect to see more...soon...

 

Then I added some rusty wire for stems and idea-ology light bulbs for leaves...hope you like my steampunk imaginary garden...

 

 

 

 

make sure you pop across here to see the wonderful Dt and Guest DT makes and also keep popping back as there will be a jam packed month of inspiration form the Dt and lots more guest designers!

and maybe show us how your garden grows.....?

 

have a fun and inky one!

trace  x

every possibilty begins with courage..for dragons dream DT

Well it is a busy day as this is Dt post one of two for today...so I will try and keep this short and sweet. Over at Dragons-dream TIO the lovely Sylvia has chosen our recipe this week and it is ...to use brown, hands and vellum. The only other rule is to make a tag and use at least on real stamp. So here is my make :

So I started to create a brown inky background and layered lots of stamping in inks and distress paints...I love how these combine together to add another layer...these paints are yummy!

 

 I then added some rusty wire net from the FunkieJunkieBoutique. I added this fab sentiment, a Tim one...and lots of rusty wire...did I ever say I love this ?!

Now for the vellum, I have to admit it is not something I use but I found some and made these flowers and added little clocks for centres.

 

 Then I added my hands...they could be leaves or ticking clock hands?! I added lots of staples from my mini attacher...love thi too and a bow tied with seam binding dyed in lots of yummy brown distress colours.x

make sure you pop across to dragons-dreamTIO, to see the other fab DT makes and maybe pop in a dream yourself!

have a fun and inky day!

trace x