Things I Love

This little hanging is entitled Things I love and of course is made using a chipboard heart which is 13 x 13 cms in size.

I have had a load of Lynne Perrella stamps by PaperArtsy and have hardly used them so thought I would select one as the focal point for this project. In fact all stamps are by PaperArtsy.

First I stamped the image in Memento tuxedo black ink onto white cardstock.  I then tore the edges and coloured the image with Alcohol ink brush markers in shades of purple and pink.  The edges were touched with a gold Posca pen to highlight..

The base heart was covered in a printed paper of distressed letters on black background.  I then used more PaperArtsy stamps inked with Versamark ink and heat embossed with 3 different Moonglow embossing powders for a subtle mica finish (best seen with the naked eye).

Once this was done I took two pieces of ribbon, one turquoise grosgrain and one slightly thinner in purple satin.  The purple satin ribbon was overstamped with another circular LP stamp and more Memento tuxedo black ink and was stuck onto the turquoise with red line tape.  The assembled ribbon band was then stuck in place as shown across the heart.

The heart was then provided with two gold eyelets added with the crop-a-dile and the whole thing edged with more Posca gold pen.  The stamped image was then added on foam pads and the word stickers added as shown.

Finishing touches were to add a length of silk sari ribbon and more of the purple ribbon through the eyelets tied in a rough knot to allow it to be hung.  Just love the colours on this piece.

Sid xx

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Restoration .........

Hi everyone !  Lovely day here in Manchester but I am staying in and crafting away here and have just made this 6 x 4 postcard as part of a monthly swap over on UK Stampers Forum .  This month it's an 'Open' theme and the postcard has to be able to go through the post naked to its recipient.

This is a challenge as any heavy embellishment can suffer greatly as the postcard goes through the sorting machinery at our friends the P.O..

Anyway, I started with a piece of white cardstock cut to 6 x 4 inches.  I then covered this with a computer based background which I made using digital images.  The colourway is mainly blues with a hint of pinks.

I then used four rubber stamps. Firstly the female face was stamped in dark blue dye ink and then overstamped with lime green ink with the same stamp offset.

Around the right edge and bottom of the card I used a swirl stamp with lime green dye ink and stamped a swirly border.  The bottom border was then overstamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with ranger lime green embossing powder.

The word plates were printed and stuck in place and were edged with black micron pen (0.4).  The same pen was used to add some dots on the swirls on the right.  A few small butterflies were roughly stamped in dark red on the left to add a contrasting colour.

The whole card was edged in more lime green dye ink and the card was sprayed with matte acrylic varnish to protect.

Sid xx

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CC Domino Book

I have joined in on making an Altered Domino Book as part of a swap over on UK Stampers.  The swap had an open theme so I chose my theme along the lines of the pottery art of Clarice Cliff.  All stamps used are from a set I have had for ages from Tanda.

The two ivory coloured dominoes I used had metal spinners on the spots side which I first removed with a pair if pliers followed by a stiff sandpapering of the plain back and sides to offer a key for the surface treatments.

I carefully stamped part of a tree design in Archival black ink on both of the donimoes and dried this thoroughly with the heat gun.  I then carefully coloured the design with Alcohol ink markers taking care not to damage the outline.  Once thoroughly dry I quickly applied Versamark ink and then heat embossed with clear UTEE.  As can be seen from the pics this sort of caused a mottled but not unpleasant appearance to the images, in fact I thought it looked like a pottery glaze.

Once cool I applied a metal ribbon loop with Glossy accents to the front domino and allowed to dry. All outside edges of the dominoes were carefully painted with two coats of Viva Decor Metallic emerald paint.

The concertina insides were made from light green card measured and folded as shown.  The decoration was done before sticking to the inside of the two 'domino' covers.

Again I used more stamps from the set which were coloured with more AI brushes, more embellishmnet was added with Pitt gold pen and some self adhesive letters, coloured blue to spell 'Clarice Cliff'.

The opposite side was painted with lichen green Acrylic paint and stamped with a leaf/vine stamp in Archival black ink.

Both dominoes were stuck to the concertina with Glossy Accents and a short piece of chevron grosgrain ribbon in similar colours was threaded through the metal ribbon loop so as not to hide the design.  This was tied in a bow at the side as a closure for the book.

Finally I made a matching tag from two pieces of diecut card with more stamping and colouring.  An eyelet was added with the crop-a-dile and some more of the ribbon attached with gold staples.

Sid xx

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A Window on Italy

Another 6 x 4 inch postcard done as part of a swap over on UK Stampers Forum.  The theme this month is 'Windows' so I have done mine on an Italian theme.  The postcard travels to it's recipient 'naked' so it needs to be able to stand up to the RM treatment !

The background is plain white card and I have used a mask and Distress Ink in crushed olive and wild honey to build up layers to leave no white showing.  This has been dried to set with a heat gun.

An old Italian map has been stamped with an arched window stamp from PaperArtsy twice to form a round window in Archival black ink and trimmed out.

The background was then stamped with a leaning tower of Pisa stamp (PaperArtsy) in grey Memento dye ink as shown to form muted images on the right.  I have then heat embossed two stamped images (chandelier & finial) with Versamark and heat embossed with Ranger turquoise embossing powder after first rubbing over with an antistatic bag.

The bottom border is punched from black card with an EK success border punch.  The card was then assembled and edged with turquoise Versamagic chalk ink.  Final touches were to add the computer word, edged with gold pen, and apply Macarena Beadazzles with Glossy Accents to the top left and right of the card.  The whole card was then sprayed with a thin coat of matt sealer to fix.

Sid xx

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Happy Holidays

Here is a little matted plate I made using a base of Kraft card. I have stamped, used Distress Inks, stencils & Glossy Accents.  Loving the warm colours more so when it's so cold outside.

I have used a squares and a numbers stencil along with Distress Inks in spiced marmalade, mustard seed and vintage photo to produce the background by gradually building up layers through the stencils until happy.  All stamping was done with Archival black ink using stamps from Papermania Urban plates to produce the keyplate, key, music plate, background seedheads and sentiment.

The key and keyplate were covered with Versamark ink and heat embossed with stardust embossing powder which add a transparent iridescent finish and these were mounted on foam pads. Some of the coloured background squares were treated with Glossy Accents to add more dimension.

Finally the greetings plate was backed with a piece of orange grosgrain ribbon and mounted on foam pads.

Sid xx

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Look out, Look out the 31st is About !

Here is my October postcard for the monthly 'Naked Postcard' swap over on UK Stampers !  Bet you can't guess what the theme is.

Yes, it's Halloween of course !

My postcard started life as a piece of A4 plain copier paper which I treated with a homemade blue and silver mica powder spray leaving a portion at the top unsprayed.  I let it dry naturally and built up a couple more layers until happy with the sheen.  I then trimmed out a suitable piece to 6 x 4 inches. The top of the piece was coloured with wild honey Distress Stain applied direct to paper, overlapping the blue a bit.

Next I dribbled a few drops of poppy Sticky Fingers Summer Ink from the top left and allowed it to drip down before drying with a heat gun.  At this stage I sprayed liberally with cheap hairspray to set and seal.

All clear stamps were from a set by PinkPaisley and the side border, 31 and chandeliers were stamped in Archival black ink.  The 'Beware' seal was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Moonglow holly berry red gold embossing powder.

The paper was then stuck onto a piece of stout card with a glue stick and the card was edged with maroon Chalk Ink.  I then sprayed again with cheap hairspray just to be sure it would travel through the post.

Sid xx

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Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder !

I have entitled this little wooden shadow box 'Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder' as the framed image is one of a rather stern looking lady whilst the other images are those of  young and rather attractive vintage ladies.  Nice to contrast the two I think.

The plain wood shadow box was first painted with one coat of Viva precious metal colour in turquoise.  Once dry I cut down some Crafty Individuals domino sized images to fill 5 of the 6 boxes.  These were then stuck in place.

I also used black Stazon and a swirl stamp to stamp the outside edges of the box.

I edged the bottom right corner of the images with diamond Stickles glitter glue to add a little more bling.

The frame is also one of Crafty Individuals and was glittered to within an inch of its life with dries clear pva and fine turquoise glitter.  Once the glue had dried all edges of the frame were coloured in purple alcohol ink pen.

The stern lady image was stamped in Versafine ink and heat embossed with Moonglow imperial crown purple gold embossing powder before trimming out and colouring with Copic in pale violet.

This was stuck in place and a small metal strawberry charm was applied.  Finally the glittered frame was stuck in place with Glossy Accents and each of the boxes edged with small dots of purple Stickles.

Sid xx

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Wow !! That's Hot

Here are a set of 6 Twinchies (2 x 2 inch squares) done as a swap for UK Stampers Forum.  The theme was 'Firestorm' so I made a suitable HOT set.  I used printed backing paper stuck onto card cut to 2 inches square.

The flames were stamped in Versamark Ink and heat embossed with Tangerine iridescent Blonde Moments embossing powder.  The colouring was done with cut'n'dry foam and Distress inks in fired brick, spiced marmalade & mustard seed.  The letters are rub-ons.

Each twinchie was then edged with red chalk ink to finish.

Think I ought to go and cool down a bit now !!

Sid xx

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L'amour

Not blogged for so long, just haven't had the time since coming back from holidays.  Managed some time today and made this self standing collage........... how satisfying that I have crafted after nearly 3 weeks !!

I had previously made the background from recycled corrugated card which I had given a crackle finish with a gold base coat. The general colourway was purple, red and gold as you can see.  The piece measures 6 x 5.5 inches and the background technique is described in this blogpost.

I then used a Tim Holtz background stamp of distressed dots stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with violet pearlescent embossing powder.  A polymer stamp of a tag was stamped in similar fashion but this time heat embossed with mirror gold EP.  I then stamped a couple of flourishes in red Versamagic ink.

I used a lot of elements cut from 6 x 6 - 7gypsies papers (Camden & Lille).  All elements were edged in black archival ink to give them definition.

The Eiffel tower frame was made from a black card arch frame ( Stewart Gill) backed with paper from  the Lille papers and embellished with amber flatbacked gems adhered with Glossy Accents.  The letters were applied as rub-ons (Making Memories)

The remainder of the elements were stuck in place as shown.  The floral plate was stuck in place with a foam dot and pierced through with a heart-headed hatpin ( burying the sharp end in the corrugated background).

Some purple deco balls were added as shown with Glossy Accents.

The piece was then matted onto a piece of the Lille papers (they are double sided)  and the fold down stand (sizzix die cut out of cardboard) applied with glue to finish.

I like the colours of this piece and of course the bling too !

Sid xx

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One Mans Journey

I have just taken part in an altered CD swap over on UK Stampers Forum.  I decided to do a vintage theme mainly with Tim Holtz materials and stamps.

The CD was covered in letters backing paper (Lost & Found) adhered with matt medium and trimmed once dry.

I then stamped with the tatty sunburst TH stamp with onyx black Versafine ink at the bottom and the retro circles TH stamp with Versamark and heat embossed this with claret embossing powder on the top left.  The journey word (Invoke Arts) was stamped in archival black ink on the top right.

The circles and word were highlighted with gold and white Posca pens.  The military man was cut out from another piece of Lost & Found TH paper, stuck in place and highlighted with black Posca Pen. Holes were punched with the crop-o-dile for two star snaps and two gold eyelets as shown.  The edges of the covered CD were rubbed over with black soot Distress ink on cut'n'dry foam.

Finishing touch was to thread some brass chain through the top eyelets and join with a triangle split ring to hang.

Sid xx

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Beautiful Mystery

I love pearlescent embossing powders, in fact I love anything with a sheen or a shine and this was the inspiration for this little 6 x 6 inch plate.  I found a swirl stamp on my workdesk and used this as the main stamp.

I started with a piece of 6 x 6 inch double sided printed paper with an intricate design in maroon and cream on one side and a distressed ledger print on the reverse (My Minds Eye - Stella Rose/Mabel).

In the bottom left corner I used the swirl stamp (?) and inked with Versamark and stamped 3 times, heat embossing each time with a different pearlescent embossing Powder.  I overlapped the stamped image in a few places.

I then folded the opposite corner of the square toward the front exposing the reverse print and scored across the fold.  I used fired brick Distress ink and cut'n'dry foam to apply an edge colour and then stamped a couple of times with the same stamp and ink.

I then cut a piece of textured cardstock to 6.25 inches square and inked a PaperArtsy architecture stamp of arches with fired brick and stamped this top left, drying with the heat gun to show where the folded paper would be when matted.

The words are from the same PaperArtsy set and were stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with detail gold embossing powder on a piece of the maroon textured card. This was matted onto a piece of cream card.

Before assembly I cut a final mat of 6.5 inches square from the cream card and matted all three pieces as shown.  The triangular fold was held in place with foam pads and the wordplate was embellished with a gold swirly clip before applying on foam pads.

The final touch was to add a fab brass mask as shown.

Sid xx

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Reviving old papers

I have loads of old 12 x 12 printed scrapbook papers........... don't you?  I have recently taken part in a swap where we had to alter a 12 x 12 sheet, cut it into nine 4 x 4 pieces and swap with others.

This is one I just did.  The original paper was grey and has printed white leaves on it.  To alter it I stamped with a bird stamp (a Stamp In The Hand) inked with Versamark and heat embossed with detail black embossing powder.  I then took a swirls stamp (Creative Expressions ) and inked with Stazon gold and randomly stamped with this.  The final touch was to spray with some heirloom gold Perfect Pearl Mist and allow to dry.  Can't easily be seen in the pic !

That was it, I then cut up and used a drips embossing folder to emboss each piece and then posted.  A new lease of life to all those old papers we have and they can be used on collage, cards and many other projects.

Sid xx

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Timmy's Tag Day 12

Phew.....just finished the LAST one before Christmas Day !  This is it, another feat of improvisation.

The Base tag was cut from white card and a piece of Tim's paper adhered and lightly rubbed over with pearl acrylic Dabber.  The egdes were distressed with course sandpaper and coloured with vintage photo Distress Ink.  I don't own any movers and shapers dies so I just cut a circle of grungepaper and heat embossed it twice with dark maroon embossing powder held in place with Versamark ink.  I coloured the chipboard letter directly with barn door DI and added a few pink stickles to the edges before sticking onto the bauble.  The bauble was then stuck in place with Glossy Accents and a little green ribbon bow applied at the top and some gold ribbon and brad to act as a hanger (no wire on mine !).

 

The calender month of December was cut from TH papers and edged with vintage photo DI and stuck in place on foam pads.

 

The holly leaves are green sequins applied with red brads (as berries) in a little group at the top of the calender as shown.

 

Final touches were to add a gold eyelet with the crop-a-dile and to thread through some red ribbon tied in a loop.

Done IT !!  Now to relax with a little sherry..............

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Timmy's Tag Day 11

Here we go again with Tag No. 11 ....... Yipeee!!! just one more to go.  Once more really heavily improvised, only the Distress inks were Rangers !!

The background was made from white card covered in Yellow Pages paper heat embossed with detail clear embossing powder, a snowflake stamp and Versamark ink.  It was coloured with faded denim, cracked glass and stormy sky Distress inks and edged  (after distressing) with blue iris chalk ink.  I had no tree die so stamped with a PaperArtsy swirly tree and Versamark,  heat embossing with dark green embossing powder with some of the branches topped with frosted lace Stickles..  The other tree was another PaperArtsy stamp inked in black Archival ink on green textured card.  I have treated the spots with more of the dark green EP, added a little silver pen at the top and applied frosted lace Stickles (ohhh that makes 3 Ranger products now!).  The trunk was wrapped round with some blue fine metallic thread and tied off before mounting on foam pads as shown. 

The top of the tree was finished with a gold star brad poked through with a pokey tool.

The brass nameplate was added with brads after cutting a little oval of white card to fit the aperture and colouring with antique linen DI.  The words were also coloured with the same ink and stuck in place with Glossy Accents (4 Ranger items !).

Finishing touches were to add a gold eyelet with the crop-a-dile and thread through with some gold ribbon adorned with a gold charm.

Sid xx

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