Playing card swap plus Lots to do challenge- boxes

I don't normally post photos of my altered art swap piece before everything is swapped out (I don't want people to say 'I don't want that'!) but as the Lots to do challenge this week was boxes, I just had to break my tradition. Sam had posted a tutorial to her Technique Zone blog, and I found it fitted my original idea (house of cards) really well. My lovely friend, Lucy, had lent me this stamp, and it all just came together so well. Where would we be without friends, eh?

Colour: Whispers markers, Versafine, Distress Ink, Whispers inkpad, fineline pen, Sharpies
Stamps: Crafty Individuals (birds), Paperartsy (swirls)
Other: Playing cards, acetate, white card, Pinflair glue gel, mountboard

The shadows in the background are not a trick of the light, I stamped first onto acetate and then coloured the birds black, before placing on the bottom playing card. I like the feeling of depth this gives. The layers are supported by thin strips of mountboard glued in place with white craft glue. And I hope that all my friends who twitter enjoy the little joke about birds tweeting to each other :)

February ATCs- Friends

I love to try variations on a theme for my 3 for 3 swap ATCs each month, and this month I was playing with Versamark resist, Blending Blox and brayering, and metal embossed in the Cuttlebug. I am also trying to use up old stash! The Papermania flowers were bought the year they came out, and I have given them a new look by embossing and shaping them. Expect to see more of the same- they came in a big pack! Now I just need to find a new look for my enormous box of metal-rimmed tags...

Colour: Distress Inks, Dee Greunig's Blending Blox, Whispers back ink, Stazon, Paint Dabber, Sakura glaze pen, black fineline pen
Stamps: Kathy Davies (flower), Crafty Individuals (words and flourish)
Other: Drinks can metal, Papermania metal flowers, seed beads, glossy card

Altered Domino Swap, plus mini-tutorial

This month's Altered Art swap on UK Stampers had the theme of dominoes. We each altered a domino, then incorporated it into a piece of work of our choice. I like this approach, as everyone has a different way of treating their domino. The pieces were all so different and gorgeous. See the slideshow here. My piece is a stamp book holder, and I have done a mini-tutorial for it (scroll down the page to see it). I call it mini because I didn't have time or a second pair of hands to be able to take any photos. First, the how-to of the decoration :)

Colour: Watercolour crayons/water-spray/drinking straw technique shown by Jo Capper-Sandon in Craft Stamper, Versafine, Versamagic, Distress Ink
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Crafty Individuals (postmark)
Other: Mountboard, old book pages, stamps (from a package sent to me by Marina from Cherry Pie), domino (the stamps are collaged on with beeswax using my Melt Pot).


My piece uses such simple techniques to construct it that I wanted to share them. I first came across the mitre trick when Tricia Morris showed it on Craft TV Weekly, which is sadly no more. I have used this technique before, to make a box file, and for the covers of my two circle journals. The trick is to treat your object as if it were a book, with two covers and a spine. I am giving the dimensions I used for this piece, but any variation will work.

What you will need:
Mountboard or greyboard
Cover paper and liner paper
Wet glue- I use white PVA
Something to spread the glue evenly- a foam brush or credit card is ideal
Ruler and pencil
Bonefolder

1. First of all, you need to decide your size and cut your mountboard pieces. My main pieces were: front 5cm x 8.5cm, base 3cm x 8.5cm, back 7cm x 8.5cm. I did not cut my sides or base at this point, as I wanted a really snug fit.
2. Work out the dimensions for your cover paper. Widthways is easy, as it needs to be 2cm bigger on each side than the mountboard. Lengthways, you will need to allow an extra 0.5cm each side of the spine for the piece to fold, plus 2cm each end. So my finished cover paper was 12.5cm wide x 20cm long. Decorate it, remembering that it is a wrap-around and the design needs to be multi-directional.
3. Mark your 2cm border on the back of the paper. Spread glue evenly on the mountboard pieces and glue down, making sure that they all line up at the top and bottom, and that you leave your 0.5cm gutters either side of the small spine piece.
4. Using your ruler as a spacer, draw a line across each corner of the cover paper, approx. 3mm from the corner of the cover, and at approx 45 degrees (you can do it by eye, it's OK to guess!) Cut along these lines.
5. Now we are going to fold in the long edges of our cover paper. First fold your flaps up without glue, to make a crease (just to make it easier to fold when covered in wet, sticky glue). Spread your glue along the first flap, making sure you get it right up to the edge of the mountboard. Lift up the whole piece, and press the edge against your work surface as you wrap your flap as tightly as possible around the mountboard (if you just use your fingers it won't be as even). You will know this is right if you can still see the shape of the mountboard- the paper shouldn't look domed. Repeat for the other side. Work the joints, smoothing the cover paper gently down into the gutters.
6. This next part is slightly fiddly. When you look at the corners of your piece, you will see that the cover paper overhangs the mountboard by 0.3cm on the long side. You need to use your bonefolder to tuck this excess around the corner and flatten it out. Do this on all four corners. Now you have a nice flat flap to fold up and glue, exactly like you did for the long sides, and when it is glued you will have a professional-looking mitre with no unsightly points.
7. Cut your liner paper 0.5cm smaller all round than your finished piece is (mine was 11.5cm x 19cm). Brush on your glue and, starting from the spine, smooth the liner down onto your piece, gently pushing the paper down into the gutters again. Now work the joins, and smooth it down anywhere it pops up, adding extra glue if necessary. Your covers are done!
8. To add sides and a base, simply measure your finished piece and cut your mountboard to fit. My sides have a slanted top edge, and my base is bigger by 0.5cm all round. Be aware that your cover paper will add bulk, so err on the smaller side when cutting. Add glue on three edges of the side pieces, and hold in position until the glue starts to set- with PVA this doesn't take long. Glue the base on, and leave the whole piece to dry overnight, using weights, clips or elastic bands if necessary to make a tight joint.

I hope this makes sense to you! If do you have any queries, please feel free to email me and ask- my email is on my profile. And if you make something using these instructions, link back to this post and I will come and admire your work!

UK Stampers Sunday Challenge no. 4- Red, White and Blue

It was with a heavy heart I saw last week's challenge:

Sunday challenge no4

Well it's all over... the Olympics that is and it's been handed over to London for 2012..so, create a card ( good luck or a congratulations if possible) using.....red, white and blue! ..Happy stamping!

A card! I think I have made my feelings about cards quite plain recently. I wonder if I'm getting a phobia LOL! I did it anyway, in the spirit of the Olympics I pushed through my pain barrier, and here is the result. Not perfect, but not bad :)

Colour: Versamagic, Whispers pen, Distress Ink, Gold embossing powder
Stamps: Crafty Individuals (flower), Stampin' Up (sentiment)
Other: Papermania metal-rimmed tag, paper roses, tiny snap, metal corners (all from my stash), Cuttlebug embossing folder

This week's challenge is a different story altogether- I'm excited and raring to get going on it. Here is the link. It's easy to join in- just sign up for UK Stampers and play along!

ATCs- Children

This month's 3 for 3 swap on UK Stampers had a theme which most people jumped at, but I found quite hard: children. I am not a brilliant collage artist, and don't have a lot of children-y stamps, so I ended up buying a new stamp. I love these two little cowboys, and I can see this image being handy at birthday and party invite time; it's nice to find something arty and yet also suitable for children!

Colour: Distress Inks, Perfect Pearls (sprayed)
Stamps: Crafty Individuals, Studio G and PSX (alphabets)

My trick-of-the-day for these ATCs was to tap the edge of a rough old plastic ruler into my ink pads and then use it to add the 'scratches' to grunge up the work. I'm sure it's not a new idea, but it impressed my husband!

Yet Another Present!- 3 of 3

This is the last in my little run of gifts for my friends- at least for a while. This mini-book (and it is mini- only 4" square) was for a friend who loves philosophy and psychology, so I thought I would go all out, and use most of my set of Elusive Images words stamps. I also used patterned paper, for the first time in ages, thinking it would be a quick option. Ha ha, I was so wrong! I found it a real challenge to tie in the printed paper with all of my stamped elements, and in hindsight I feel that it was not textured or tactile enough. But it did give a good surface for stamping on, although you will need to click on the photos to see, as I used Versafine Sepia for all of the stamping, which didn't photograph too well! In real life, you can read every word :-)

Colour: Distress Inks, Versafine, Whispers marker pens
Stamps: Elusive Images (words), Crafty Individuals (everything else)
Papers: Bazzil card, Crafty Individuals, gingham paper from France
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folders, Sizzix 'Sunset' alphabet and tags, linen fabric, mulberry paper, old manila envelope, Flora doodles flowers, old buttons from my box, raffia.

The centre image was stamped onto mulberry paper, then glued onto the linen fabric using PVA. The mulberry paper was almost invisible. The two images either side were stamped onto pieces of an old envelope which I had scrunched up then smoothed out. It was soft and tactile after the scrunching, and took the Distress Inks I used for watercolouring really well.

PS Each of the tags had a phrase on it, too, but my camera was running out of battery life!

Present For a Friend- 2 of 3

This is a present I gave to my best friend and scrapping buddy, Vicky. She has started to commute by train recently, so has suddenly got time to read more. I did a challenge where we were asked to make bookmarks, so I made this bookmark for Vicky, then did the card to go with it. The card uses my three most favourite stamp sets- one of the PaperArtsy Squiggly Ink plates, my new Inkadinkado Scribble Flowers, and the Elusive Images sayings plate.

Colour: Distress Inks, Silver Paint Dabber, Versafine, Stickles
Stamps: Paperartsy, Elusive Images, Inkadinkado, Crafty Individuals (On bookmark)
Other: Silk dupion, laminating pouch, Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder, Papermania gem brad, watercolour crayon background paper.

The flowers were made in the same way as on previous cards, by stamping onto the crayon background paper and cutting out. The bookmark was made by laminating a torn piece of silk dupion fabric, then stamping and heat embossing on the outside of the pouch. I used a silver Paint Dabber in places for added effect- I my do my Christmas cards in the same way, as it looks like a frosted window!

July's ATCs- Metal

With this month's theme, I was initially excited, as I could use my favourite technique with the metal foil/Cuttlebug/Paint Dabbers, but then I was stumped! In the end, I made up the metal pieces, then coloured the ATCs, and just stared at them for an hour. My dear husband had recently bought me a set of sentiments stamps from Elusive Images (not the usual verses, but much more interesting), and I realised that three of the verses were not only appropriate, but the right size! Whoever gets these ATCs will think I had been drinking, though, as the stamp I use on the back for my details is upside down; I changed my mind about which way they looked best after making them (obviously before putting the verse on LOL!). Whoops!
The bottom photo is a close-up of the effect on the metal- bling, bling!

Colour: Distress Inks, Paint Dabbers, Glimmer Mist, Moonshadow Mist, Versamagic (on vellum)
Stamps: Elusive Images (verses), Crafty Individuals, Inkadinkado, Cherry Pie
Other: Vellum, Metal tape, Prima flowers, heart punch, old book page, Ranger crackle accents

This Month's ATCs

The theme for this month's ATCs over on UK Stampers was 'Incorporating a tag', and I actually started these with two weeks to go before the deadline, as I was feeling inspired. Not like me at all, (the early start, not the inspiration!) as I usually find that time pressure helps me to work. However, I found once I started that I was *really* inspired, and took my time over these. I am really pleased with the outcome; I really feel that I expressed myself artistically, and I can't believe I made them! Let's hope it wasn't a fluke ;-)
I even made a slide show, so all of the hidden details can be seen:

Colour: Distress Inks in Broken China and Vintage Photo, Versafine, Moonshadow mist, Silver detail embossing powder, Cosmic shimmer lustre pearl embossing powder
Stamps: Paperartsy, Inkadinkado, Crafty Individuals
Embellishments: Star gems from Hobbycraft, Turquoise gems by Pebeo, pins, beads, wire, and ribbon from my stash
Other: Sizzix originals tag die, Sizzlits mini-tags die, Making Memories metal sheets (used to make mini-tags), Vellum from Lakeland, Silk dupion from Fabric Land, Vintage paper from old book
Thanks for looking!

Canvas Tag Swap

These three tags are for a swap I am in on UK Stampers. I haven't joined in with any swaps recently, due to other commitments. I signed up for this one with only a week and a bit before they were due back. Well, I was inspired by working on the canvas, and I did the tags the day I received them. I was supposed to do two, but got carried away and did three! As you can see from the photos I basically used the same design for each one, but I used different techniques on each. I have added the 'recipe' below each photograph.


Stamps: Crafty Individuals (Flower), Paperartsy (Swirls), Stampin' Up (Bird)
Colour: Distress Inks re-inkers sprayed on using mini-misters, Moonglow moonshadow mist, Versafine Sepia, Sakura Stardust pen used with waterbrush, Twinkling H20's, Distress Inks (for stamping swirls)
Embellishments: Meiflower butterfly, Embelliscrap swirl.

For this tag, I sprayed on the colour and dried with a heat gun, before spraying with the Moonshadow mist and drying again. I stamped the swirls for the background, then sprayed with a matte acrylic varnish. I stamped the flower onto tissue, then attached to the tag using the same spray varnish, smothing it down with my fingers. I coloured the flower with the Stardust pen and H20s, sprayed the embelliscrap with the Moonshadow mist, and added the bird and butterfly.


Stamps: Crafty Individuals and Paperartsy, as before
Colour: Ranger Alcohol Inks, Moonshadow mist, Perfect Pearls, Versafine Onyx black, Distress Ink (sprayed), Sakura Stardust pen
Embellishments: Lampshade trim from my stash (I've had it since the '70's!), Star jewels from Hobbycraft

This tag was coloured with alcohol inks before spraying with the moonshadow mist. The alcohol inks really make this bead up and form tiny droplets, which give a great sparkle when dry. I then stamped the swirls in Versamark and added Perfect Pearls in copper and gold. The flower image was stamped on a piece of white card which had been sprayed with Distress Inks and Moonshadow mist, and the flower head was coloured in with the Stardust pen.


Stamps: As above plus Inkadinkado butterfly stamp
Colour: Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Distress Inks, Moonshadow Mist, Brilliance, Sakura Stardust pen, H20s
Embellishments: Lace, coloured using H20s, button from my button box

This final tag (actually the first one I made!) was coloured using Paint Dabbers, before spraying with the Moonshadow mist. The swirls were stamped with Distress Inks, and the flower done as before, except the flower head was coloured with H20s. I stamped the butterfly using Brilliance, then went over it with Stardust pen.

The Moonshadow mist is a walnut Ink with Mica powder added, and the one I have is a turquoise colour. It is good to add an antique look, but really comes into its own when sprayed over a toning colour, as in the tags here. It probably doesn't show well on the photos, but I will try to take some better photos at the weekend, so you can get the full effect!

Collage swap over at The Land of Lost Luggage.

I am participating in a swap at Julie's art blog, The Land of Lost Luggage. Julie does great collage pieces, and is hosting this swap based on a book by Sally Jean Alexander, called "Pretty Little Treasures". Now, I haven't read this book, and my collage work amounts to...zero! However, I really feel the best thing about the blogging and forum communities is the fact that we can learn so much from each other, so I am now in the middle of learning how to collage!
Julie has been posting 3 steps at a time, I am sadly behind at the moment, but am catching up! Hopefully I will be finished early next week.
The first three steps are as follows:

Your collage can be on any surface as long as it will "take" the techniques. For example, cardboard, canvas, cardstock, etc. I am not sure your collage will work on glass or metal.

Having said that, he we go! Today's techniques are: Paint, Paper, Ink

1. Paint: Anything you can apply with a brush. Place paint on your surface to be the starting background of your collage. You can use all one color, mix and match, whatever!


2. Paper: Attach paper onto the painted surface for an accent to the background. Any type of paper will do!


3. Ink: Doodle, spill, splatter, dab, you name it! Add some ink to any areas of your collage.

I decided to my piece on foam-board, as it takes paint well and should be easy to post. It is 6" square. I started with acrylic paint, mostly hot pink, but with red and white added. I wanted the brushstrokes to be visible. The paper is from a fab book of 6" papers from Crafty Individuals. I was thinking of using some text instead, but I didn't have time to go out and find a book to use, and my (huge) collection of books at home are way too loved to use! The ink is Distress Ink in Dusty Concord, plus Nick Bantock Ink in Damson Plum. I have drawing ink in a lovely purple, but had already made such a mess with the paints that I didn't want to risk splattering anything important!
The next stage involves charcoal, which I didn't actually have, but today I went and bought some from...a supermarket! I has the blender stump and everything! And I thought I would have to go to an art shop!
I am really busy at home at the moment and the photos are backing up a bit as I haven't had the time to blog about them. I have also been tagged by Michelle at Faerie*Dust*Dreams, I will do my bit soon! (Michelle does amazing collage and altered pieces, I love the crown she has as her header.) It's nice to be busy, but it does take away from my creative time a bit. But I have a little notebook, so I am sketching away whenever I have an idea!

Happy Birthday Sara!

It is my friend Sara's birthday today, and last night a small group of us went out...alone! No babies! They were all in the good hands of their Daddies, and suffered no ill effects, of course. This is the card and gift I gave to her, so I can now show the photos.
The canvas was coloured with a mix of Distress Inks and Brilliance. I stamped the image of the Mother and child, and the oval swirls onto tissue and adhered them to the canvas using Klear floor wax. I found it was better to just let the tissue settle onto the wax, otherwise it takes the colour from the canvas if you brush too much. The tissue then turns clear, don't ask me how! I sponged Distress Ink around the figure, but not the ovals, you can see from the photograph the difference this makes. The heart was stamped directly onto the canvas with Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson, then I used the Iridescent Medium to pull the colour into the image. I also used it on the skin of the figure. I stamped the stars in Silver Brilliance, and went over them with my Sakura clear Stardust pen (as recommended by Julie), and I traced over the oval swirls with it. What you can't see is that the edge of the canvas was stamped with my Klimt swirls. All stamps used were by Cherry Pie.
The card came together in stages. The chipboard flowers I blogged about a couple of days ago. The background for the centre panel was made a couple of evenings ago. I used a piece of glossy photo paper and a sea sponge, and just added lots of layers of colour, including a couple of colours of Brilliance. It ended up looking like a piece of granite. I stamped my new stamp, from Crafty Individuals, over this background using Versamagic chalk ink in Eggplant, then added some to the back of the circle flower shapes. The main part of the card was stamped using Ancient Page and an Aud Design swirl at the weekend, then I put it all together, stamped the words (Beach Bum Stamps), and made a little acetate butterfly.
I forgot to photograph the inside and envelope, but with all of my cards I print a sentiment out on the computer, then stamp around it, and on the envelope too, as a little hint of what's inside. I can't leave a surface unstamped! I use softer colours, but keep it co-ordinated. Next time I will remember!

UK Stamper's Jacob's Ladder swap.

Good old blogger! I knew it would put these photos on one above the other so I didn't need to mess around in Paint Shop Pro, stitching them together! This is my finished Jacob's Ladder for the UK Stampers swap. For those of you who don't know what a Jacobs Ladder is, it is a child's toy made of squares held together with ribbon. When you turn over the top square, all the other squares flop downwards in turn. And, thanks to Craft TV Weekly, this one does work! I will make a little matching box to store it in, but I wanted to show the photos now, as this is also going to be my entry for Wednesday Stamper, for this weeks open theme.
The stamping on the front is all done in various colours of Brilliance Ink, using stamps from Paperartsy, Crafty Individuals, Rubadubadoo, Anita's, Limited Edition, and PSX. The back is heat embossed in white and the stamps are Judikins (flower) and Rubadubadoo (butterfly). And just in case you can't read the phrase, it says "Live life free like a butterfly".
PS. The patterned paper for the base is from Fancy Pants, but the bit with the name is stuck down!