Is it Spring yet?

Hi everyone!

 I can't wait for Springtime to get here!

So I thought I would make a spring themed creation - but with nothing in the garden here yet to inspire me - I went a bit grungy instead!

I started with a piece of mount board and painted some Decoart Media Gesso over it as a base. I applied it quite thickly, making sure brushstrokes could be seen and that they all were going in the same direction...The intention was to make the base look like a wood effect....

 Then I applied some Decoart Media Crackle paste through a TH Lattice Stencil. At the edges of the stencil I scraped some more paste, randomly dabbing or wiping it down the edges of the board

When this was dry I mixed some Carbon Black and Raw Umber Decoart Antiquing cream together and applied this all over. I love both colours but I find the Raw Umber a bit too pale at times and the Carbon Black too grungey...so here I was going for a soft black instead and gained the best of both colours.

When dry I wiped it away with a damp cloth. I prefer to use a cloth spritzed with water as then you are able to remove the excess gradually - I find a baby wipe can wipe a bit too efficiently and before you realise it there is barely any effect left!

The cream stayed in all the crevices of the stencil and highlighted the gesso brush streaks perfectly....

The crackle paste gives such a wonderful effect...and is perfect to apply through a stencil...

I wanted to capture the effect of some garden furniture left to the elements...so a peeling paint/rust/weathered look..... 

So around the edges I began to dab some Decoart Media Texture Paste. When dry I painted over it with Paynes Grey Decoart Media Fluid Arcylic Paint mixed with white acrylic paint. Then I gave this a wash of Paynes Grey and then a coat of Qinacridone Gold. I wanted an even more aged effect, so I covered it with Patina Green Antiquing Cream before wiping away - leaving a tinge of Patina on the rust.

After this was done the whole hanging got a coat of Ultra Matte Decoart Varnish - which lives up to it's name - it gives a totally matte coating and removes any sheen from the paint...this makes the rust even more effective

I decided to put the word 'Spring' on the hanging and used some letters from a TH paper pad.

The flowers were from the Tattered Floral die cut set and I cut several sizes, then I got to work making them up...

This one was made by bathing the flowers in a wash of Squeezed Lemonade DI mixed with water. Then the larger flower was dabbed with some Scattered Straw DI before both flowers were 'grunged up' with a smudge of Pumice Stone DI.

The center of the flower was a metal brad coated in gesso, followed by a coat of yellow acrylic paint before having a bit of Rock Candy Distress Glitter sprinkled over.

This flower was dabbed with Tattered Rose and Pumice Stone DI. A blob of Decoart Liquid glass was squeezed into the center of the flower before having some Tea Dye Distress embossing powder sprinkled over the top.

 This flower was covered with Shaded Lilac and Pumice Stone DI. A blob of Decoart Liquid Glass was squeezed into the center and when dry it was dabbed with a bit of Decoart Media Titian Buff Acrylic paint

This daisy effect flower was left uncoloured except for dabbing around the edge with Worn Lipstick DI. The center was made by the same way as the first flower...

The leaves were bathed in Shabby Shutters DS and when dry the large leaves were coated with Decoart One Step crackle glaze. When this was dry I dabbed the leaves with Gathered Twigs DI

Just to finish it off I added some chit chat stickers 

 And added rusty wire to make the hanger

And there is my (Grungy) Spring Hanger

Thanks so much for being here today!

Happy Crafting!

Laura

xxxxxxx

The hero of the story

Hi everyone!

   Today I will share with you a very nervous walk into the world of Journaling. I LOVE Journaling pages, but I never felt that I could do it. I did try it once and I created a very awful looking journal page and I just put it aside thinking "that isn't for me". I decided to stick to tags and altered items and lots and lots of flowers.

    Even though I love doing all that I kept seeing other people's Journal pages and just wishing that I could do something even slightly as wonderful.....Hey....I'd be thrilled to create just one that is bearable to look at!!!

     I had seen some pages that had sparked some ideas and decided one day to just try it again...and follow one of my favourite bloggers advice to me which was not to get too caught up with 'techniques' - stick with basics and just have fun.....and that is what I did...

     And....I quite like how this turned out. Occasionally I look at it and the perfectionist in me cringes at the crooked placement of a stamp or too much gold or too much paint splatter....Perhaps it is too grungey and messy?.....but the fun that I had makes me like it - because on this piece I really didn't let myself think. I just collected a few Distress stains, sprays and stamps and had them there in front of me and just flew with any idea that came into my head....never really stopping to think "Shall I do that next?, What is the plan here....?"....and so this is what happens when I don't think!

I got a double page from a book and covered the middle of it with Gesso. I marked out where the photo from the TH Salvage Stickers would go and cut an aperture out with a craft knife that was slightly larger so it would have a text frame.

I applied texture paste with the TH Burlap stencil around the pages and dried with a heat gun.

After applying the Gesso I decorated the page with some torn strips of a book page and some Tim Holtz Script tissue tape from the Hobgoblin set, and the travel tape.

   I then applied some lace strips to the page and when they were glued I began to colour the pages.

First I sprayed the entire page with Dylusions Melted Chocolate and dabbed with a tissue afterwards. This removed the colour from the gesso but the lace and texture paste absorbed the colour. I then dabbed the pages with Brushed Corduroy DI to add a warm brown colour, adding Walnut Stain around the edges.

     I then began to add some stamped images using Coffee and Jet Black Archival ink. I used several stamps from the Haberdashery set and two quotes which gives the title of the journal page. The title looked too vivid when stamped, so I lightly brushed across the archival ink with a dry brush to add some streaks and blend it in slightly.

 The other stamps came from a Paperartsy set called Letters.

I then began to splatter some paint...I splattered some Picket Fence DP with a brush and dried it with a heat gun to create bubbles - I love the grungey look that paint splatter has when you heat it too much.

Then I sprayed the entire page with a very fine mist of Adirondack Espresso ink.

 I added a pearl button....

 a grapevine heart...

                                                            a brass wire heart

and a pen nib that had been covered with Classic Gold treasure gold

.....and then I decided that more gold was needed on the page so I began to apply Treasure Gold to highlight the lace and parts of the pages.

And there is my Journal pages - I do hope you like it!

Well Travelled

Hi everyone!

Over at Try it on Tuesday we want to see creations about-

'Travel'

  

   
     This tag is quite different from my usual work. I still used inks and stamps but the main focus was on some Tim Holtz Salvage stickers that I had. I glanced through them and of course red tones jumped out at me - so that set the colour theme of red and beige....

    I started the tag with swiping some Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain DS over the craft mat, spritzing with water and then doing some wrinkle free distress. When it was finally how I wanted it, I began to work on a red toned sheet of card. Using Festive Berries and Walnut Stain DS, I did the same technique.

    I cut a tag shape from the piece of brown coloured distressed card and applied a script stamp in Gathered Twigs DI in the corner. I cut a rectangle out of the same card and stamped with Potting Soil Archival ink several travel images including a compass and a suitcase.

   I stamped a number stamp onto a rectangle of red distressed card and edged it with Walnut Stain DI

   A final small rectangle of the brown card was stamped with the word 'Memories' and a globle stamp.

  I attached them all the the tag and then added the stickers from the collection.

   Air mail labels were added to the corners and twine was used as the loop to hang the tag. Ivory hemp string was added to the twine loop and on the ivory hemp string was attached a travel quote stamped with Potting Soil Archival ink.

      

Hope you like it - Why not hop on over to Try it on Tuesday and share with us your travel creations?




                                                     Thanks so much for being here!