Playing with Numbers

Over at Artful Times this week they have a theme of spray away. I took this photo as I didn't want to spray too much and thought most of it might end up getting covered up.

These are the 3 sprays I used. They are all browns.

I didn't really know where I was going with it, I was just playing, but this is my finished piece. I managed to sneak in some of my gelli plate pages, along with tags, stamped images, tissue tape wooden pieces and various other bits and bobs.

Close up of the tissue tape and some the the metal embellies.

I also added a vellum and corrugated tattered florals flower and a stamped butterfly and one covered in UTEE as over at Anything But a Card they have a theme of spring forward and are suggesting butterflies and flowers.

Another close up of the stitching on the tag.

And finally a close up of the sprayed ink.

A Vintage Journey have a theme of spring flowers and I'm hoping mine qualifies as I've used two of T!M's tattered florals!!

Mini Masterpieces

I think I picked this link up via a tweet, it was entitled Stamptember Mini Masterpieces and had me intrigued, so I went off for a look. But I did more than look, I ended up making a couple!!

It's a step by step by their guest designer, the man himself, Mr T!mmy Holtz and he kind of took us back to basics with his mini masterpieces - great fun.

I made mine into larger cards to fit the envelopes!!!

Grunge paste meets Stencil

Look what arrived yesterday!!!  I just had to have a play as I've heard so much about it and I have to tell you, I wasn't disappointed, in fact quite the opposite, I was extremely impressed.  I took the lid off and delved in but was really shocked at how liquidy it was compared to texture paste which I usually use through a stencil.  But I found it really easy to work with and love the texture. Can't wait to mix it with the fresco paints, but will save that for another day.

I used one of my shaving foam tags from the shaving foam technique shown by Suzz over on the PaperArtsy blog earlier this week and used the harlequin stencil using the grunge paste and was impressed how quickly it dried.

I took a blank tag and used part of a flower and a dragonfly stencil again using the grunge paste.  It gave a really nice crisp finish and again even though it was quite thick it dried very quickly.

Over at Stampotique this week their brief is simply to use a stencil, so I coloured the grunge paste with the base colours, beach hut, limelight and eggplant fresco paint.  I stamped some circles using pen lids, lipstick tops etc in the same colours and outlined some of them with either a black and/or white posca pen.  Added Stampotique image Gibi coloured with distress marker pens along with a piece of embossed and sanded core-card.

Basically for the background on this tag I mopped up the above colours using a piece of cut n dry to apply the paints to the tags.  I then blended them in using pan pastels in yellow, blue and purple.  I edged the grunge paste images with a white posca pen to make them stand out.  The bees are Stampotique images stamped in black stazon and the word 'beauty' is pinched from one of their sentiment sayings and again edged in white pen.

Play Time

Been playing with all sorts of different things whilst sitting in the warm watching the snow come down!!  Used my new TH blueprint stamp set which I stamped twice and cut out the cogs to build it up.  The distress paints are lush, they just blend so well.  They were used to colour the mini cogs and the mini clipboard which holds the stamped cogs in place.  Alcohol inks on the bottom heart which has been covered in silver sticky foil and run through an embossing folder. Bits and bobs to finish it off.

Queen of Hearts

I'm trying to play along with T!m's 12 tags for 2013 and so far this year, I'm keeping up, yes I know it's only the second one!!  Did have a bit of improvising to do as you can see!!  I used a couple of mini playing cards and doodled around the outsides!!

Also over at Anything But A Card they have a theme of 'share the love', and I think this tag fits in perfectly.

And Happy Daze have a theme of 'love is all around' so I'm entering over there as well.

Topaz Postcard

I decided to make a postcard using topaz colours which I've interpreted as orangey browns, as the Out of a Hat Creations challenge of birthstones is running for 2 weeks over the Christmas period.

The background is a piece of core card run through a texture fade embossing folder and then sanded to reveal more of the underneath colour.  The fabric piece was created a while ago and if you want to how check back here.  The flower from the tattered flowers decorative strip was also cut from the core card and assembled using a brad.  A piece of ric rac ribbon was added to finish.

Misty Autumn Glaze

I had so much fun playing with my new metallic stains, sticky embossing powder and guilding flakes I decided to use them on a tag for this weeks theme over at TIO Dragons Dream as chosen by Elizabeth.  The background is antiqued bronze, wild honey and rusty hinge distress stain.  The mini leaf images are stamped in versamark, covered with sticky embossing powder which was heated and then the flakes were applied and rubbed over with a scoochy sponge.

So the brief for this weeks recipe was:

Mica/Ink Mists, Autumn Colours, Glaze and as always at least one real stamp on your tag please

This is a close up of the leaf which has been stamped with walnut stain distress ink onto the mini tag and coloured in with glossy accents.

Tattered Flower Autumn Tag

Simon Says Stamp challenge this week want to see our embossing, so I just had to get out my new Ranger sticky embossing powder which I used with my new purchase of guilding flakes from Joanna Sheen.  I used my new T!m blueprint stamp plate which I picked up at the Manchester show to stamp the mini leaves in versamark.  The background is the new metallic antiqued brass distress stain mixed with wild honey.

The tattered flowers I'd previously prepared.  I gave them a  splash of rock candy stickles and glossy accents!!

Anything But A Card - Texture

Over at Anything But A Card (ABAC) this week they are asking to see texture, so I decided to make another box using the flowers I'd made earlier in the week.

I made the box from my new Sizzix die (box candy drawer) using chipboard and then running through a couple of different colours of chocolate box core card.  I needed to use the crease plate for these as they were much thinner than the chipboard.

Once cut, I put them through the Cuttlebug stylized flowers embossing folder and sanded to lift off the brown and reveal the pinky / purple core colour.

I added a T!m idea-o-logy hitch fastener and a distressed flower to the front of the drawer to make a handle. 

A view from the side.

And finally with the drawer open.

Tattered Flowers

These are some of the flowers I've created with my new TH Tattered Flower Garland decorative strip die which Rach0113 inspired me to get (along with lots of other things!!) when she shared her recent haul.

I then took them outside in the (don't faint) sunshine, and although there is lots of shade, you get a truer colour.

One thing I will do different next time I make some is sand off the card before running it through the die, I lost a few petals sanding afterwards!!!

TIO - In a Heartbeat

Wow this was a hard one!!  This weeks Dragons Dream TIO recipe is 

a beating heart, a weathered timepiece and a bit of grunge..

How on earth do you show a beating heart I asked myself!!!  So I came up with the above.  The hearts are cut from chipboard using T!m's heart wings die and have been treated with everything under the sun!!!  Aged mahogany crackle paste, dabber paint (red pepper, copper, pitch black), clear embossing powder, fired brick distress embossing powder, so they certainly got the treatment.  I wrapped copper wire around the bottom one but this still didn't solve my problem of a beating heart.  I would of loved to add a flashing light bulb but my physics skills (or lack of) did not permit me to even try!!  So I decided on a large crystal, but then it looked a bit too blingy (and I don't do bling), so I toned it down a bit with a piece of silver mesh.

The background is Graphic 45 paper which has been sanded back.  Then I remembered I needed to include some stamping, so I stamped the word passion with timber brown stazon, cut it out and coloured it with black (800.5) and red (340.5) pan pastels.  But duh!!! the banner was stamped in timber brown stazon onto a piece of T!m's kraft resist, so I did have some stamping on there - never mind!!!

So I'll leave it to you to decide if I have accomplished the brief of a beating heart!!!