It's a Creative World

Playing with media.

Last month I went to a Media weekend at Art From The Heart.  It was taught by Dyan

 

We arrived on the Friday evening to a pile of paper, textured, ribbed, watercolour, kraft etc. By the end of the weekend I'd made this:

It was a great opportunity to try out all sorts of media and decide what you liked using and what you didn't.  My favourites were the Dylusion Inks and golden acrylic paints. I found I preferred inktense sticks to artbars and pan pastels are so vibrant.

 It's amazing what you can do with stencils when you think outside the box.

We were all asked what our least favourite colour was and then given that colour to play with!

Mine was orange, but with a touch of pink and some gesso I actually found I liked it.

Here's a lemon and lime page:

This is my first attempt at Art Journalling:

A little twee maybe, but it says what I wanted to say.  I don't think it's finished yet.

It's great to dip in and out of and has helped keep my mojo flowing and is a great record of all the techniques we used and media we tried.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Lynne x

 

 

 

Recycled Swap Storage

Hello again :)

At the moment there are a great many swap sites around, and - thanks to Sir Tim of Holtz - current swap trends have moved from ATCs to Tags.

Now, for those of us who like a change, this is great.  Quote swaps, technique swaps, all good inspiration for our crafting.  But many people hit on the problem of where to store them.  ATCs fit in their own little storage albums, clip cases, and even trading card albums - not so tags :(  Over the course of a year on UKS, for example, you could receive 120 tags or more - and your other half may not be happy to have them dangling from the rafters!

Of course, if they are, you're fine.  But if not, what do you do then? I envisaged a washing line with them pegged on, or a wire rail with IKEA curtain clips.  However, my darling husband wouldn't be completely thrilled, because my craft space is the dining table, and my storage is one wall of our kitchen diner.  I tried using book rings to hang them on hooks, but found I couldn't get to my shelves. Rifling through boxes was annoying and time-consuming.

Now, I'm not saying these ideas are bad, just that in my limited space (and decor of duck-egg blue) this wasn't going to work for me.  Then I stumbled across a blog (and cannot find the link!) where the crafter had revamped heavy-duty cardboard washing tablet boxes, and they'd made very good lidded crafty storage for inkpads, misters, punches, and other tools.  Brilliant!

I found, for the tags, that washing tablet boxes were the wrong size, but cat food ones were perfect - sized for pouches, they are pretty much tag-sized!  I pulled it all apart (carefully) and flattened it out, before decorating with a patchwork of old papers and stamped images.  Then I hot glued it back together, and stood the tags up like library cards, which is so much better than having them in a box, having to pull them out and trawl through.  Now I can flick through my tags for technique inspiration without damaging them, or pulling them all out and having them clutter up the dining room. 

It still needs a coat of gel medium to seal it all down, because the paper shifts when you reassemble the box.  But you don't have to disassemble it if you'd rather not - you could give it a wash of paint first and th cover with paper, and the paint would hide joins, or awkward shapes you couldn't cut :)  Next I think I'll make one for my SU inkpads, as they don't stack well - and turn it on it's end the the front flap drops down for access... then another for the SU/EK Sucess punches so I can keep them neat... I'm hooked!

I'd love it if you would share your storage solutions with us- Pop a link in your comments, and help spread the inspiration!

Thanks for popping over!

Leanne x

www.craftaholicleanie.co.uk  *  www.beautfulimpressions.co.uk

Tidy Cutting!

Hi there!

I love to colour in my stamped images then cut them out and add them to my cards- sometimes raised up on foam pads.

Cutting out can be tricky but with practise it is possible to get a good result!

Here's a little tip I use to make those cut out stamped images look a little less snaggy:

Here's a little Koi set which I've coloured and cut out:

 

 

I've done an OK job but some of the ripples around his fins and tail were too fine to cut accurately and could look a little snaggy so:

 

I take a sponge applicator and some dark ink- I like Walnut Distress Ink and apply all round the edge of the stamped image, work it into the corners so all the white card stock edges are covered.

 

 

With the white edges of the card stock covered the stamped outline shows up much better and makes your cutting out look MUCH neater!

 

 

Here's the finished result:

 

 

Hope that helps!

 Happy crafting!

GlitteryKatie

xxXxx

Same Again?!

I'm a one for favourites!

I get a technique, a patterned paper or a stamp that I LOVE and I have to use it over and over but reusing  a stamp for example doesn't mean it has to be the same!

One of my favourite stamps recently has been Rose's Portrait by Bombshell Stamps, she has such pretty eyes and a wistful expression that i really love her plus she's a good size and therefore a joy to colour!

Consequently I have used Rose quite a lot but I have rung the changes in several different ways:

Colour is the easiest way to change the look of a stamped image.

In this first card I used soft pinks and lilacs:

Whereas in this card I used warmer autumnal colours for a completely different look and feel to the first :

Character is another way to change the look of your stamped image.

In this card Rose is a Gypsy I had Jane Russell in mind for this image:

but in this card she is a silent movie star from the 1910's, very like Mary Pickford:

You can use a different Mood for your stamped image.

Here Rose is a tough, tattooed, vampire chick, embellished with textured,grungy netting and a black rose:

whereas here Rose is a Steam Punk inspired Cyber Chick half woman, half cyborg, embellished with mechanical stamps and metallic cogs and gears.

So if you're like me and have a stamp you just can't get enough of don't worry about repeating yourself! Instead look at it as a chance to test your creativity in making the same, different!

Happy Crafting!
GlitteryKatie xXx

Stamping up

 

I went out to a fellow IACW friends house last night as she was hosting a Stamping up party. It's one of those nights you got a headache, you don't feel like going out of the door but you feel like you have to make an effort for a great friend and I was really looking forward to it before last night ! Well I got there & had such a lovely night I actually got back to my house at 11.00pm !!!!

The little item I made last night pictured above was a Sizzix Die cut pillow box...Stamped, Punched & Embellished and is filled with mini eggs (supplied). The cake below (pic was taken after travelling home in car & this morning so flattened a little) was made by the Hostest & tasted nearly as nice as her Lemon Drizzle cake that I adore :)

carving out your own crafty niche...

Hi there everyone, its alix here again :0)

Today I thought i'd share some of the online class by Julie Fei~Fan Balzer that i've been taking this month.  I am a big fan of online classes as you can take them as and when suits you, you don't have to travel or sit too long anywhere uncomfortable...and you can even do them in your p~j's...no~one need ever know!  Actually though, the best thing for me about an online course is generally the prompting to get out of a rut and try something with a bit less thinking and a bit more doing.  I'm terrible for spending hours contemplating what to create or make...and then running out of time or energy to do it...so sometimes a bit of organisation is what i need to get me going again.  And this course has kick started me again big time!

The course I'm taking is called Stamp Carving 101 and if you've been to my personal blog lately you'll have seen lots of evidence of it!

I'm not giving away any of Julie's secrets or hard work...but showing you an example of one of the lessons i followed pretty much to the letter.  This was the carving out a bracket frame lesson.  I drew mine freehand and transferred it to the rubber with the pencil transfer method.  Its an easy shape to carve out so a good one to get started on...and a very versatile stamp to have in your stash as its ideal to frame a small image or hold journalling, as well as to make swirly borders with.  Hence why i didn't chage the design! ;0)

 

When i had carved my stamp and printed it out with a Big and Juicy pad you can see how cute it it...but i wanted to play with my new stamp...and i wasn't in a *cute* mood today...i was feeling distinctly grungey and inspired by dirty walls and graffitti...so here is my stamp used in that way!!

Its not the prettiest journal page you'll ever see...not even the prettiest one by me...but i had 10 minutes and i was feeling direct and raw and this is what I came up with!

Sometimes you just have to carve out your own niche for the day, right? :0)

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope I've given you pause for thought...if nothing else do stop by Julie's blog and see what she's up to from time to time...she is awesome!

 

 

A Crafty Phone case

I bought a white phone case for my IPhone & quickly stamped a Birdcage onto it with Permanent ink , I used Archive Ink & heat set it. I will post on here how long this image lasts at a later date. I've added a little bit of colour using permanent marker pens & 2 Buttons glued with Glossy Accents which worked quite well. I might also be daring & add text next & even try embossing on another cover ! :)

This was an experiment & took all of 10 mins but I love the results & hope you do, It was not difficult but a little scary when I had to stamp onto the case incase I smudged it seeing I had not ever stamped on this kind of fake leather before....but don't be scared, it was easy. :) I have also bought a Clear case so going to try & attempt a scrapbook layout but my phone is a little rounded so this might not look so good. If you have an Iphone 4 the case is completely flat & will work much better I would think. Remember it will have to be flat but you could stick a button or two to the outside of the clear case !

Jayne xxx

 

Make your own Tissue Tape

Hi Debbie here with a cheap and cheerful way of making your own tape. I have to thank my friend Linda (Dot) who told me a few weeks ago that Micropore tape could be used to make your own.

I had a huge roll of micropore in my first aid kit (thought no-one will need it that desperately) and started experimenting.

I found that versafine didn't work however I didn't try heat setting it and I was a little impatient.

Black Stazon was the best although I needed to put loads of ink on to make these images.

I do like the way they add a little bit more detail to the "squidge" book I have made.

I'm going to try stamping with different colours and see if heat setting helps.

 Debbie x

Which Inks?

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful Saturday! Last time I posted I looked back at some basic techniques to create inked backgrounds. This prompted some questions about which inks I use so this is a whistle stop tour of my favourite types of inks!

Alcohol Inks - my daughter's favourite! These can be used on a variety of surfaces from metal and dominoes to glass or plastic and even glossy card stock. I use them on shrink plastic too as the colour is always very pure. They come in a little bottle and can be used directly onto your project or pop some on an Alcohol Ink Applicator. For more tips on using Alcohol Inks why not start here? I think you can see, by the state of the bottles, these are well used!

Distress Inks - these are my absolute favourites and now come in Stains and marker pens (the pens will be in the UK by the end of March I believe!) I use these inks pretty much every day and I suspect I use Vintage Photo Distress Ink on virtually every project I do (I really must hide this ink pad and find a new favourite!) If you are fond of embossing these inks stay wet longer allowing you to emboss with ease. By staying wet this also means you can blend the ink on it's own or with other colours - in fact using more than one colour can look really striking! You can ink a project and blend the colour and stamp an image on top and the image will stand out against the background - a useful tip if you are entering a monochrome challenge! The ink also stays the colour you chose even if heated or wetted which means you have a more even finish to your project. As I showed last time, Distress Inks react with water and can 'bleach' giving a really cool vintage feel. Distress Inks are safe to use on photos and can create some really interesting effects.

The other main type of ink I use is Archival Ink. I use this when I want a really crisp image. The ink will not smudge when dried and will therefore not react once I put Distress Ink over the top - even if I wet it! My favourite colours to use regularly are Jet Black (I know black is boring but it's really useful!) and Coffee but I am currently experimenting with Cobalt and it's a really lovely sort of French Navy colour!

There is one other ink I use a lot - and that's clear ink for embossing or use with PanPastels. I use the ink when I want to create a 'resist' image or as a sort of 'glue' for the PanPastels to adhere to. It's surprising how, when I sat down to write this post, I nearly forgot about this ink and yet I use it often. I think it's because it's a sort of 'workhorse' ink that's always there but isn't terribly glamorous!

This is a tag I've made to show the difference between the inks. The background is Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Inks and the leaves to the left are Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The middle leaves are Coffee Archival Ink and the leaves to the right are clear ink with brown PanPastels over the top. The small flowers and leaf are shrink plastic inked with Alcohol Inks.

Thanks for popping by!

Gabrielle x

 

That loving feeling

With Valentines day just around the corner and the shops all adorned with all things pink, red and heart shaped, it is really hard to avoid the subject of love this week

 

I actually created this romantic card for my mum and dad's wedding anniversary last month, but it would make an equally apt valentines day card.

 

 

The heart stamp is a Stempelglede, and definitely my all-time favourite set of stamps. Born on Valentines Day myself I guess I am destined to be drawn to hearts in all their many forms. The sentiment is by Stampin' Up.

 

The papers are a mix, My Minds Eye and Bo Bunny, flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and the delicate leaves are a Marianne die cut.

 

I have created the shabby edges to the paper layers using a Tim Holtz distress tool.

 

I have stickled a few of the details, including the flowers, which I brushed with a paintbrush dipped in stickles ( much easier than trying to do it with the nozzle.)

 

So....have you got that lovin' feelin' ?

 

Til next time

Much love 

Tracey xxx