We are a normal family

I have been using my Dylusions Creative Dyary every week since February and have occasionally shared my decorated the right hand page. I thought I'd share my process in case you have a Dyary too!
The next page in my Dyary is this purply one. I have masked the left hand page so I don't get any ink on it but of course you can decorate both pages if you'd like to.

I started by adding a thin layer of white paint (Snowflake) to the page using a plastic card.

I sprayed Slate Grey Dylusions Ink through a stencil.

This is what it looked like after I removed the stencil and before I dried the ink.

I then added Crushed Grape Dylusions Ink through a numbers stencil.

Not sure the next stage will show up on the photos but I misted the page with water and allowed the ink to run slightly.

I added some white paint stars and some black stamping.

I then added some Chatter tape and stamped two characters for positioning when the page was compiled.

On a piece of white card I stamped four characters (one was stamped twice as I hadn't stamped it evenly). These stamps are: Zini 11, Zini 12, Zini 13 and Zini 15

Colour the characters in however you prefer and adhere to the page. I wanted the page to have some whiter areas (as the background was quite dark) so left some white areas on the stamped characters. I added a sentiment and some white and gold painty marks.

Thank you, as always, for joining me today.

Gabrielle x

I need cake

I love layering paint and often make projects with over 20 layers of paint in the background. I thought I'd share how I do this with you today!

Take a kraft tag and add Little Black Dress paint. I use an old gift card to add the paint and I don't try and get an even coverage because it's those uneven layers that help build interest.

Ok. This might seem daft but I then added a layer of Snowflake. The next paints I'm going to use are translucent and so the white paint helps make them zing!

Add a layer of Bougainvillea - again don't do an even layer 

Then add a little more white

Then some Beach Hut and a little more white

For the next stage use a little Cut-N-Dry foam and put white paint through a stencil

Then move the stencil a few millimetres in a diagonal direction and add blue paint

Do the same two processes with a star stencil (I used Bougainvillea  again)

Then I added numbers using the same two processes, a stencil and Banana paint

I love this little chap and the hat on the house from Zinski Art's new stamp set and I knew they would fit together! This is me cutting them out to make sure I was right! 

I coloured them in complementary colours.

Add a little black paint to the edges and white lines made from the side of your gift card. The arrows were die cut from black card using a old Tim Holtz die. I also added a scribbly line around the edge and some gold painty circles.

Thank you, as always for popping by!

Gabrielle x

A little secret

I am really embracing these new Elenazinski stamps and chose to make a journal page with a secret!
In a black journal I started by brayering the page white and also brayering both sides of a piece of black card. I scored a bend about 1cm from the top of the piece of card.

I then added blue and yellow paint (remembering to dry each colour first) to the journal page and both sides of the piece of card. Adhere the card to page. Don't worry about trying to match up the paint so far - that comes next!

Then I added black painted stars through a stencil. When dry, open the flap you've created with the piece of card, reposition the stencil and stencil the areas under the flap.

When all is dry add borders to the stars using a white pen.

If you look carefully at the figures there are little lines that extend past the drawing. To save cutting all those little details out I stamped the figures onto my page meaning I only had to cut out the solid sections - much easier!

Colour the images in - as they are monsters let your imagination run wild! As my background is very strong I coloured my monsters pretty simply so they'd stand out. Adhere the solid areas to the journal page. I drew over the black lines of the stamps that I used for the clouds, for the monsters to stand on and the legs and eye stalks of the monsters.

And now for the secret...! Under the flap...

I love the secret but I am so proud of the pattern matching under the flap!

Thank you, as always, for popping by

Gabrielle x

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Tag Book

Thank you for your good wishes following my accident - I'm on the mend though I've been "reassured" I'll take months to heal and so, for the foreseeable future I'm crafting one handed! For my first project back I wanted to make a tag book and this is it! Each page is coloured with Dylusions Inks and stencils with a mixture of Dylusion, Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi and JoFy stamps. I apologise that there's a few photos... I couldn't decide what I could leave out!

January, March, May

Each page is edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink so there is a complementary feel as you look through the book.

February, April, June

The month name and phrases are typed on my laptop and printed out, before being edged in Vintage Photo.

July, September, November

To colour in the under sea animals I used water brushes filled with Dylusions Inks.

August, October, December

For the cover I used Tim Holtz Idea-Ology and Wendy Vecchi Art Parts which take Dylusions Inks beautifully! The binder is wonderful Ruler Binder kit with a little Vintage Photo ink added to knock back the 'just out of the packaging' look!

I hope you like my tag book and that you feel inspired to have a go yourself - if you add a quotation or saying you could enter it into this month's Country View Crafts challenge... Just saying! Oh! To prempt the question which are my favourite pages...!!!

Gabrielle x

One of a kind by Gabrielle

I know that many of you will have started to buy the rather lovely Distress Paints but might not always know how to use them. There are lots of ways they can be used and I thought I might share one of them! This might be a bit picture heavy!

I started by die cutting a Postage Stamp and Bottle Cap and a giant tag shape from kraft card.

Then I put some Picket Fence Distress Paint on my craft mat and sprayed a few squirts of water over the top. I then dabbed the tag into the paint adding more paint to my craft mat as needed. I then dried the tag and then repeated the process a couple more times. I wasn’t trying to achieve total coverage.

I then added a final layer of Spun Sugar Distress Paint and in doing so picked up a little blue ink from my craft mat. I never really mind about that as it adds to the layers!

To complete the background I added a harlequin pattern by first dabbing Seedless Preserves Distress Paint through the Dylusions stencil with Cut-N-Dry Foam - crossing your fingers is not compulsory! I don't know why I cross my fingers when I do this but I do! Perhaps I'm hoping that it works!

I then added Victorian Velvet Distress Paint over the top of the Seedless Preserves by moving the mask just slightly to the right. I then dried the tag and then sanded it until it looked ‘shabby’ and then I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges.

For the Postage Stamp and Bottle Cap die cuts I repeated the process with just the Picket Fence Distress Paint and sanded them. I also decided to add a sentiment and repeated the process with a further piece of kraft card. I stamped the images on to the Postage Stamp and on to white card. I cut out the images on the white card and coloured with Distress Markers (Victorian Velvet, Mustard Seed and Brushed Corduroy) before adhering to the Postage Stamp. The little dress form was made the same way but the ‘skirt’ was cut from packaging that the dies came in!

To complete the tag I die cut another Postage Stamp from the new Paper Collage Mini Stack papers and tied a button to some twine. To jazz up the button a little I added Picket Fence Distress Paint to it and then wiped off the excess. To keep it to the theme of the tag I dabbed a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the top when it was dry.

I hope this might inspire you to use your new paints - and you could always upload your creations to the all new Country View Crafts Challenge blog where the inaugural challenge is ‘Pick and Mix’ or anything goes!