Sweet Treats

At Crafty Boots this fortnight Lisette has challenged us to use the theme of Sweet Treats - think cakes, cupcakes, macaroons, lollipops, gingerbread etc. I used the idea of Gingerbread and my faithful die to make a little Christmas hanging.

I painted an MDF board with white paint and used a snowflake stamp (with Iced Spruce Distress ink) for the background. The edges were softened with a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I used Distress Markers on a ticket stamp to make two tickets. The Gingerbread man was cut from glassine paper. A little twine and Idea-Ology finished it off. I hope you join in with us this fortnight!

One

Happy, happy first anniversary to the Crafty Boots Challenge Blog! How quickly a year goes by! This time last year I was entering the first challenge and now I'm on the DT - just shows that it's worth entering these challenges!

So, to celebrate the theme this fortnight is 'ONE' and can be interpreted however you like! I made a tag and it was one of those that just didn't go to plan. You know those projects where nothing you seem to do is right? Well, having confessed yesterday that I am a little obsessed by Treasure Gold wax I thought I'd play with it again. So that tag has about 7 layers of different coloured paint as I struggled to get it 'right' and a layer of Treasure Gold wax and then a layer of Beach Hut paint. When it was dry, I sanded it back, revealing some of the layers below. I added a Wendy Vecchi numbers stamp to complete the background. I distressed the edges of the Journalling Ticket and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink (of course!) The die cut heart was made the same as the tag and the number is from Tim Holtz' Word Play die and is covered with Treasure Gold.

I then made leaves and flowers for the corner and added a little sari ribbon to the top. So, how will you interpret the theme? We can't wait to see! If you need more inspiration, please do check out the rest of the DT's work - there is some truly fabulous work on display!

Industrial Rose

For my final DT piece for Creative Expressions using the Heartfelt Bold Bella Rose set and the corresponding Heartfelt Bella Rose Rose Die Template I decided to be a little adventurous and make it an industrial rose. The idea came when I was walking my dog (affectionately known as She Who Eats Art) and I saw a flower growing through cracks in some concrete - inspiration comes in some funny ways doesn't it?!  

I used kraft card to make all of this and the ATC and Gadget Gears die by Tim Holtz. So I used two shades of brown Distress Ink and a Cogs Mask by That Special Touch to create the background of my ATC. The die cut gears were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, roughly clear embossed and then I rubbed Black Soot Distress Ink over the top to fit in the pits left behind in the embossing powder - this is a really quick way to create a rusted look. 

The leaves and flower were die cut and inked - the leaves were inked directly using Peeled Paint Distress Ink and the rose stamp was inked with Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress Inks and then finished the same way as the cogs. The hand was cut from the mask's packaging and edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (I have a stack of this packaging ready to use - I rarely throw anything away!). 

The ticket was one I stamped ages ago using a Tim Holtz stamp but you could use the back of an Adage Ticket! I used the small rosebud stamp, inked with Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress Inks, crumpled it up, distressed the edges and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to it. A few ideaology pieces (Game Spinner, Sprocket Gears and a brad) complete it. Thank you, as always, for stopping by - and I hope you have a terrific week.

The Easter Bunny

The new theme at Crafty Boots this fortnight is Easter. Knowing this was coming up I decided to invest some pennies on Tim's Easter Elements die. So once I had bought it, put it somewhere safe and found it again I thought I had better use it! I wanted to make something a little more cartoony than my normal style and so I started by cutting out two Cabinet Cards from thick cardboard. I used the same piece of cardboard for everything here as I wanted the dimension.

I added PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints (Sky, Snowflake and Guacamole) with Cut and Dry Foam to create a background. I added the Snowflake paint last to create clouds. This is the advantage of using the foam as it can create soft, subtle effects - I used the same piece of foam for the blue (Sky) and white (Snowflake) paints that way the blue mixes with the white making the white softer and less harsh. Then I die cut the rabbit and painted it with Irish Cream paint and Gold over the top. The ribbon around its neck was painted in Orchid and then Moonlight. I die cut two fences and covered them with Snowflake paint. 

The bird was painted with Beach Hut (I love this colour!) and then stamped with part of a map stamp in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The ticket was inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, spritzed with water, spritzed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist and a sentiment stamped in Coffee Archival ink. The butterflies began life with Orchid and Moonlight paints on cardboard, the butterflies stamped over the top in Jet Black Archival Ink and then cut out. 

Everything was then sanded and Vintage Photo Distress Ink added to the edges and then put together. The ticket was given a Memo Pin to hold it up! I hope that this inspires you to create an Easter themed project and I am looking forward to seeing what you make!

Edit - To answer a question via Twitter - when I refer to 'painting' in this post I mean I applied the paint with Cut and Dry foam - the coverage is better and avoids brush marks. It also means you can vary the pressure you use to put the paint on the cardboard shape, so on the bow, for example, I could just have the lighter Moonlight paint as a light covering allowing the stronger Orchid shade to come through at the edges. I use a sponging, dabbing motion when using the foam, I rarely swipe the paint on. Hope that answers any questions - if you have more, please let me know and I am happy to answer them!

Happy Mother's Day

I am very lucky. I have a lovely Mum. She's so incredibly supportive and really very, very lovely. We don't see each other as often as we'd like as we now live quite far away but we email, text and phone when we have news (however small!) and somehow the distance doesn't seem a problem! So I thought I'd make her something a little different by way of a Mother's Day card. I used the larger of the two Matchbook dies and cut out a grungepaper matchbook.

I then covered both sides with Vintage Photo Distress Stain and dried. The outside I covered with a rough layer of clear embossing powder and rubbed Black Soot Distress Ink into the pits left and a little in areas on the inside to create a more 'worn' look. I made a grungepaper flower (painted with Orchid paint), sanded and edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The leaves were painted with Limelight paint. 

For the papers on the inside I used some PaperArtsy papers (Rum and Raison), scuffed the edges and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to them. The middle page I turned round so there was contrast between the pages. 

I used two off cuts of fences from other projects (I really don't waste anything!), painted them with Snowflake Fresco Finish paint, die cut two little birds and painted them with Beach Hut and Orchid paints. 

The grungepaper Butterfly was painted with Moonlight and Orchid paints using a mask. I sanded the butterfly and added a sentiment printed on my computer before lightly covering the whole piece with clear embossing powder. The large ticket was inked the same way as the cover but I added the sentiment before embossing. A little flower finishes it off. I hope Mum likes her alternative to a card. I loved making it and think I might be persuaded to make a few more...! If you are a Mum, whether you spend today with your child or not, Happy Mother's Day x