More mixed media

Good morning, peeps!

Well are you all ready with a cuppa to sit down and watch wor Sheena?  I'm so looking forward to the shows!  If you are watching, look out for these samples:

This is painted on a stretched canvas and I think I just about chucked everything at this before I finally painted it with the Pebeo Acrylics (on the shows today if you're quick - they often sell out!).  There are plasterboard tape, butter muslin (or cheese cloth as some call it), crumpled tissue paper, modelling paste, die cuts, grunge board shapes (Tim Holtz) and silk flowers....oops! nearly forgot the beads!  When the paint was dry I dry brushed over the highlights with gesso and finally added some Pebeo Gilding Wax to other highlights.

This box could be for a man because it's not fussy at all but is painted with the special effects paints that are in the mixed media kit launching today on Create and Craft TV.  The shape stretched diagonally across the lid is one of the new stamps that you'll see today.

And finally:

A door hanger for the lady herself.  The wood is primed with gesso and then painted randomly with Spectrum Noir Aquatints.  The stamps used for the tree and leaves are new for this weekend's shows and the leaves are painted with H2Os.

Enjoy the shows and thank you for looking.

Hugs

Tree Canvas

Good morning, peeps!

Did you miss me yesterday?  I'm sorry there was no post but I don't know what happened to the day, it just sort of ran away with me.  I'm sure we all have days like that.

Anyhoo, here is today's offering:

This is a canvas board on which I painted some random hilly shapes using white acrylic mixed with various shades of H2Os.  The basic tree trunk is one of wor Sheena's new stamps that are being launched on the Weekender event starting tomorrow at 9.00 a.m.  I filled the trunk shape with Modelling Paste to create the bark texture that isn't showing all that well in the piccy.  When that was dry, I painted the surface with H2Os.  The leaves, blossoms and sky were all produced with some of the special effects paints that are in the mixed media kit that's also being launched on the weekend shows.  The stamps that produced the flowers and leaves are also on the shows but the butterfly is cut from a Crafter's Companion die.

I do hope you'll all be watching over the weekend because I know there'll be some wonderful demos and some exciting products as well.  The show times again are:

Saturday 1 November at 9.00 a.m., 12.00, 6.00 and 8.00 p.m.

Sunday 2 November at 11.00 a.m, 2.00 and 7.00 p.m.

Thank you for looking today.

Hugs

 

There be dragons here.....

Good morning, peeps and here I am with the second sneaky peek at wor Sheena's new stamp collection.

It certainly looks as though this chap has been burning up the place - it's a good job that rocks don't burn or he'd have nothing to stand on!

This is a wonderful fantasy collection that includes the gargoyle I showed you yesterday as well as a phoenix, mermaid, angel and a ghost ship that will be marvellous for those of you who celebrate Halloween.

Sheena's show is at 9.00 a.m. tomorrow so do watch on Sky 674 to see some great techniques demonstrated!

Thank you for looking today.

Hugs

A Tiger Reflection Tutorial (at Sheena's request!)

Good afternoon, peeps!  Are you saying 'what's this?  Two posts in one day....will wonders never cease?'

If you watched wor Sheena's show at 4.00 p.m. today, you'll have heard her ask me to write a tutorial for the tiger reflection card - this one:

...that I blogged a few days ago.  I thought I'd more or less said how it was made but, when I checked back, the description was fairly incomplete, so here goes:

I produced the tiger reflection by using a 6" brayer to pick up the image from the stamp and then roll it off again on to some Neenah Card.   Once I'd rolled the reflection off the brayer, I  cut the A4 card to size (19 cm square) because it was easier to make sure that the reflection was in exactly the right position doing things in this order.  It's also possible to produce a reflection by stamping the image on to acetate and then, whilst the ink is still wet, burnishing the acetate on the reverse to transfer the image.  The result is not quite so clear but the, it is a reflection!

I coloured both images with Spectrum Noir Pens but made the reflected image paler to enhance the realism.   I tore the edge of the card underneath the main tiger so that it would look like an area of earth next to the pond.

The jungle background is made with various shades of green and cinnamon coloured Twinkling H2Os (just use what you have) splodged on to the matte side of Centura Pearl and dried.  Then I stamped the leaf images from the same tiger plate with the same paints I'd used for the base layer but this time using only the greens.  The last stage for this section was to emboss the card with the Jungle Leaves A4 embossing folder.  It's a good idea when you're creating this piece of card to make it larger that needed, then you have some embossed green card from which you can cut out some of the embossed leaves to use as embellishments.

I embossed a piece of acetate that I'd first painted with a slightly watery solution of Bolivian Blue Luminarte Silk using the Water Ripples embossing folder when the paint was dry.  Another option would be to leave the acetate flat if you don't have a suitable embossing folder.

Finally, I edged the acetate with the Pebeo Silver Gilding Wax and glued on some leafy die cuts in various shades of green.  The ones I used are available here but anything that could be a variety of water weed would do the job.  Mount the resulting piece on to a dark green piece of 19.5 cm square card and then mount this on to a 20cm square base card.

I do hope this is all clear and that you'll have a crack at making the card for yourself.

Hugs

It's getting closer ....

Good morning, peeps!

Yes, wor Sheena will be on the telly tomorrow morning at 8.00 a.m. and the whole of the Taste of India Collection will be revealed in all of its fabulousness!  Only one more sleep to go but, in the meantime, here are some more of the stamp designs on this card:

This time the mango shape that was on yesterday's card with the elephant has grown a bit and it's coupled with the Indian Arches image that was stamped on to the base card with Luminarte Silks Ice.  It's a really useful white paint that acts as a resist to the Distress Inks that are splodged over the card on top of the Silks.  It's all finished off with heat embossed Mangoes and flowers painted with H2Os and that's it .....simples!

On the morrow, peeps - see you then!  Thanks again for looking.

Hugs

Watch out .....there's a tiger about!

Good morning, peeps and what a lovely, sunny morning it is - well, in Yorkshire anyway!

I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long but I've had a really nasty dose of bronchitis that has dragged on, and on..... anyhoo, moan over, I'm back with a tiger - no, not in my tank (for those of you with long memories!) but on my card.  I've been beavering away with wor Sheena's wonderful new Indian Collection of stamps about to be shown on Create and Craft TV next week as their new 4 Day Deal.

Here's the big pussy cat taking his ease by the watering hole:

Sheena's drawing s always superb but I particularly love this tiger - what a handsome chap he is!  I produced his reflection by using a brayer to pick up the image from the stamp and then roll it off again on to some Neenah Card.  I coloured both images with Spectrum Noir Pens.

The jungle background is made with H2Os splodged on to the matte side of Centura Pearl then I stamped the leaf images from the same tiger plate with the same paints and finally embossed the card with one of the A4 embossing folders that you'll also see on Sheena's shows - there's a whole big bunch of them, all with wonderful designs in the Indian theme.

A rather new addition to the range this time is a CD with printable background papers all designed by the Inkoids and they're fabulous!  (Well, I would say that wouldn't I but they are - really!)

The shows start on Monday 14 April at 8.00 a.m. and Sheena's back again at 1.00 p.m.  Be prepared for lots of wonderful, technique-y demos!

I'll be back tomorrow with another sneaky peek.

Oh, and I mustn't forget to tell you that I heard only this week that I've passed the course and I'm now an Accredited Crafter's Companion UK Demonstrator - am I thrilled or what!

Edit:  I decided to enter this card in the Spectrum Noir Challenge for April.

Hugs

Something 'A Little Bit Different'

Good morning, peeps!

Well, did you watch Sheena presenting her new stamps on the Create and Craft Channel yesterday?  I have a stinking cold at the moment and it was a good excuse to sit on the sofa for a couple of hours and have a good chuckle at Sheena's new A Little Bit Different range.  Here's what I did with the stamps:

The sky on this 'Just 4 Ewe' card was created with a cloud shaped card template and Adirondack Stonewashed ink brushed over it, whereas the sheep were coloured with Copics.

On this one, I created the sunset sky with Twinkling H2Os and use Distress Inks to colour the sheep.  The DP is a really old one from the depths of my stash!

 

It's a shame that it can't be shown on a still photograph but the Silly Moo with the crown is cut out and mounted on an Action Wobble Spring so that she dances on the card if she's given a gentle nudge - what a silly moo!!  Both these cows are painted with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and the gold crown and its jewels are painted with Twinkling H2Os.

 All of the effects on this image are created with Distress Inks and the background is embossed Coordinations card and I used the Darice Clouds embossing folder and then sanded over the raised bits.

I hope you find this new range of stamps to be fun - I certainly think they are and it's good to be able put some humour into our crafting!

Thank you for looking today and I'll be back again soon with a Polka Doodles Challenge.

Hugs

Mardigras!

Good morning, peeps!

Are you feeling in a party mood this morning?  It's hard to feel much like a party when all the Christmas and New Year celebrations are over and it's gloomy and cold outside, so I thought I'd show you something bright and cheery to help the day along a little.

These cards were produced for the Stamping with Clarity show on Create and Craft TV last Sunday.  When the stamps arrived, I was delighted with them and I think they hold many possibilities.

This is another of my not very good photographs but I hope you can see the effect.  It gave me a good opportunity to play with my Twinkling H2Os to create the background.  They haven't been out to play since I can't remember when and I've promised myself that I won't leave it so long before I bring them out again!  To get this effect, I first painted a sheet of A4 card with pale pink and then stamped all over it in random fashion with the small mask and the harlequin stamps using Versamark. I then applied clear embossing powder and heated it.  Then out came a large-ish flat paint brush and I splodged several colours all over the top (red, pink, green, yellow, blue, purple).  At this stage, it wasn't looking so clever but then I spayed it with Pearl Glimmer Mist and the magic happened when all the colours ran and blended into one another so I finally had the effect I'd been aiming for.  Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?!  With all this colour going on I decided to keep the large mask image to just black and white and it's stamped on to Centura Pearl Card, coloured with a black ProMarker then cut out and glued on to the background.

I wanted to create the impression of fireworks, which is how the gold ribbon came on to the scene. Having found the ribbon, the problem then was how to make it curl.  The answer was to wind it round a wooden chop stick, secure the ends with little metal bulldog clips and apply the heat gun.  However, I have a tip for you with this technique - wait for the bulldog clips to cool before removing them otherwise you're stuck holding an ice cube for some time until your fingers stop throbbing, ask me how I know!!

I then used the large mask stamp with one of the Clarity Alium stamps to produce the firework effect for this card:

 

The alium image was embossed with several different shades of  Moonglow Embossing Powder.  The main image has been stamped and enbossed in gold and then painted with the H2Os.

When it came to creating a card with the Dippy Toe Lady set, I knew I wanted to have the effect of the lady in a leafy glade at sunset then, having created the sunset, I was trying out all the colours of card to mount the image when I suddenly realised that I'd used all the colours of the Mardigras background -I am slow sometimes!  Good thing that I'd created a whole A4 sheet wasn't it?  Here's the result:

Well, if you've stayed with me through this marathon post, thank you and well done!  I hope you enjoyed seeing the cards and thank you for looking.  I'll be back later in the week with some challenge cards but, in the meantime, if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours!

Hugs