Altered Tin- Inspired by Van Gogh

This tin was for a swap on Zuzu's forum, and I was over a week late sending it because I had one of those last-minute ideas that complicated the project but I had to do it! Typical me! Originally, I was just going to decorate the outside of the tin and prettify the inside, but then I realised that the tin was the perfect size to fit slide-mounts (I have rather a lot of these, bought years ago and never used!). So I decorated the slide-mounts and joined them together to make a wallhanging.

Colour: Versamagic, Sharpies, watercolour crayons, Brilliance, Aurora ep, gilt wax, Distress Inks, Vivid Inks, Cosmic Shimmer powders, Barry M eyeshadow powders
Stamps: Paperartsy, Studio g alphabet, ISC butterfly
Other: Crackle Accents, Gesso, Galleria moulding paste, heavy florist's wire, bead, twig, metal from coke can, plastic slide mounts

The tin originally contained saffron, and had the pink flowers as part of the original decoration. I was inspired by a Van Gogh painting and was trying to capture the swirly effect of the background. The three slide-mounts all have Van Gogh paintings in. To capture the vibrancy of the originals I printed each painting on paper and on transparency- when you lay the transparency over the paper print, suddenly the image comes alive.
PS Plastic slide mounts do not like being heated with a heat gun....!
PPS I realise that many of the mediums I used are not supposed to be used on metal, but it's amazing what a few light coats of spray varnish enable you to do!

Sunday Challenge No11

Credit crunch?...........
It's all over the news and in the papers.
This weeks challenge is to create a little something using credit cards, well not you proper credit cards but gift cards, you can pick these up free from most places. Lets see what you can make with them!
Happy stamping

I'm sure this is a shock to anyone who comes here regularly, but I have done and photographed this week's Sunday Challenge a whole day before the new one gets posted! I am stunned, too :D. Dan has actually napped three times this week, leaving me time to get on with my crafting commitments. Don't ask about the housework, though, I'll do it tomorrow, I promise!

Colour: Versamagic, Versafine, silver ep, Stazon, Paint Dabbers, gesso
Stamps: Limited Edition
Other: gift card, old book page, coke-can metal, mulberry paper, sanding block.

I am fascinated with the look of etched metal at the moment. I don't have the time to experiment with a new technique (yet), so I decided to try and recreate the look by using silver ep on metal, then rubbing white paint into the depressions. For this piece, I also decided to use rust coloured paint, to give a more distressed look. I am quite pleased with the overall effect, and will definitely keep playing to see what else I can achieve.

Altered Board Book- Scrapping Project

It was scrapbooking that got me into crafting, and I do still scrap, although not as often. I stamp alone, but scrap best in company, so I get together with my best friend every so often so that I can do some serious scrapbooking (and yakking lol!). Most of my projects end up being given away (my husband loves having mini-books and other items with photos of our son- I think his desk at work must be heaving under the weight of them!), so I am making this book for me, not to be given away.
It started life as one of Dan's board books. It started to fall apart, plus the story was about how great little brothers are (he doesn't have one), so I decided to use it as the basis of this book. I felt really guilty when I gessoed the pages! There will be a page for each of the letters of his name, and obviously this is the first page. I am using chipboard letters on each page, so this will be really thick when finished; I am planning to bind it with big book rings. The pages are all green or turquoise, and I have used all of my favourite products to colour the edges. It will be a long project, I'm afraid, as we only scrap once or twice a month, but I am promising myself I will finish it!

Colour: Distress Crackle Paint, Glimmer Mist, Brilliance Inks
Stamps: Katzlecraft, Studio G (alphabet)
Papers: Basic Grey, Crate Paper
Other: Grungeboard Mini letters, Ellison Thin Cuts alphabet (Sunset), AMM tag, Me and My Big Ideas Designer Chipboard (introducing...), Chipboard 'D' from pound shop.

'Buttons and Bows' ATCs

I had a really productive evening yesterday. I finished my ATCs for the UK Stamper's June swap, I made a background paper (Another one!) using the instructions from Kristy's 2nd class at 2 Peas Worldwide Stamping Weekend, and then I made the paper into a mini-book for another UK Stampers swap. I will confess, I was really tired but decided not to go to bed until the baby woke up, and then at ten past midnight, I realised that he hadn't woken up and it really was bedtime! But I felt so pleased at what I had achieved, and at how much fun I had had.
The photos are (obviously) of the ATCs. I'm too embarrassed to confess where the song lyrics are from, although if anyone recognises them, feel free to comment, I will publish the truth! The background is an image of a French postage stamp which shows the revolutionary fashion movement, 'Les Incroyables', and I pasted the image several times using Mod Podge. I then painted gesso over the top, and scraped off the excess using an old credit card. The bow image was made using a swirl from Aud Design and a bow from Fourth Dimension, and stamped in the Nick Bantock ink I bought recently. The lyrics were printed on acetate, then adhered using a Queen and co brad. The buttons and ribbon were from my stash.
Worldwide Stamping Weekend was a great success at 2 Peas, the submissions in the gallery ran to 26 pages. The threads for the classes are still there, and I intend to go back and do some just for fun, since I missed the main event. There is talk of another day for later in the year, watch this space for details, or even better, go and join up!

More backgrounds, or How I can't Move Forward!

I have 3 projects underway at the moment: Wednesday Stamper, the theme for which is 'Eggs', UK Stampers' June 'Buttons and Bows' ATCs, and a mini-book swap on UK Stampers. All of these projects are stuck at the background stage! I have an idea of where I want to end up with each, but I don't seem able to put stamp to paper. I think it's because DH is away. Although he doesn't stamp, I often talk through my ideas with him. Sometimes just the act of verbalising my thoughts makes up my mind, otherwise it's nice to have an opinion, even when I disagree with it! So Sunday is going to have to be an active stamping day, to make the most of him before he goes off again.
The first background here is for the June ATCs. I pasted down some images printed from the computer, painted gesso over them, then scraped most of it off with a credit card. Its a nice way to 'grunge' up your stamping surface. The second background is an ATC for Wednesday Stamper, and I used part of the Nick Bantock Ink background I made a couple of days ago. I stamped in Versamark with an Anna Griffin clear damask stamp, then dusted Perfect Pearls over. It is quite shimmery in real life.
I won't be posting again until Sunday, as I am going to my Brother's wedding tomorrow. But Sunday morning I will have photos of a little project I made as a gift for the happy couple!
Don't forget Worldwide Stamping Weekend over on 2 Peas this weekend. The schedule is out, so clear the decks and get ready to play!