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!

A Tag for a Forum Friend

I made this tag for a forum friend for her birthday, and on the day of her birthday I was delighted to receive a really gorgeous piece of mail art from her, using 'three in a round' from Stampotique, which is such a cool stamp. If I get permission to blog it, I will! This tag uses lots of Cosmic Shimmer powder, so you will need to squint at it and imagine the gorgeous interference mica effects it really has!

Colour: Distress inks, Cosmic Shimmer powders, Sharpies, Versamagic, Stazon, Brilliance, Liberon Gilt wax
Stamps: Tanda (feather) and Studio g (alphabet)
Other: Beads, fibre, metal corner, acetate, slide-mount, eyelet and wire, all from my stash.

The feather in the slide-mount is stamped twice; once with Stazon, then with Versamark brushed with Cosmic Shimmer. When I put the two images, I offset them slightly so that you see the shimmer behind the dark feather.

Art Raffle January- Shiny

This is the first Art Raffle of the year, and how could I resist this theme! My husband jokes that I am a magpie, as I love shiny things (I love rusty things, too, so that makes me one contradictory lady!) and naturally I wanted to play with techniques too. This is a tiny mint tin, the ones that you see at till points, pink, with a mirror inside. I have altered it to be a bag charm. I really had to make myself post this to Sarah, as I was actually very happy with how it turned out.

Colour: Plasticote enamel paint, Stazon, Stickles
Stamps: Paperartsy (swirls), Studio G (Alpha- it says 'yourself')
Other: Fusible film in various colours, 'love' phone charm, black velvet ribbon, clasp.

To create the effect, I painted the tin black (2 coats) and then used gel medium to stick torn pieces of fusible film down in a random pattern. Then I used first the heat-gun, then an iron to smooth and fuse the film so that it became shiny again. I trimmed it around the tin, then used the iron to round the corner. It reminds me of abalone shell!

Christmas presents- mini-albums

I actually made all but two of my Christmas presents this year- it was time-consuming, but worth it, as the gifts were really appreciated. My family are used to handmade things- I used to make all my pressies from an early age (mostly felt comb-cases and embroidered hankies!)- but I have never made anything for Paul's family before, apart from cards, as I didn't know if they would like what I do! These are the scrapbooking projects, and I will show all of the arty things later!

Stamps by Studio G and Paperartsy. The green concertina album is made using two used gift-cards for the covers.

I can't believe it has been 14 years!

It was my Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday, and as the title says, it has been 14 years since we got married! For once, I hadn't made a card, as I was so busy last week, but Paul knew I would make him 'something'! This is a tiny canvas, 8cm x 6cm that my friend got for me from LB Crafts. I have made the reverse into a niche, and I am going to use it for something personal and probably slushy for Paul!

Colour: Glimmer Mist, Stazon, Distress Ink, Versafine, heat embossing, Paint Dabber
Stamps: Elusive Images, Studio g (i)
Other: self-adhesive metal tape, tissue paper, old book page, Sizzlits tag die, embossing tool, drinks can

The little word plate was made by cutting up a drinks can and heating it in a gas flame, and I was told about this by Tasha. It was fun to do! ( Yes, that's my handwriting again :D ) I also planned this piece to fit in with Wednesday Stamper, where the theme is pattern. The damask background was made by stamping a heart stamp three times, close together.

UK Art Raffle August entry- Summer Sun

I seem to be blogging an awful lot at the moment, but I think that's because I am doing a lot! I haven't even blogged the cards, mostly because they are only really interesting to the recipients; I am not a natural card maker. I have nothing for tomorrow, though, as I have reached the point with the piece I am working on where I have to leave it alone for a while, so that I know where I am going with it. But I thought I would share this tonight, as I really want to wash my hair and do some housework before going out tomorrow morning, and spending time on the internet is not conducive to either!
Anyway, this piece is for Sarah's UK Art Raffle, a fabulous sort-of swap she is running where everybody sends in something, but only one person gets all of the art each month! It's such a great idea, and I can imagine how I would feel if a surprise box arrived, full of inspiring things. This is the first month, but even now a lot of people have put their name down. It's UK only, sadly, because of the expense of posting, but there will be a gallery each month after the parcel has been received.

Colour: Alcohol Inks, Gold embossing powder, Dee Greunig Blending Blox, Distress Inks
Stamps: Paperartsy, Studio g
Other: Gold card, Cuttlebug embossing folder, fusible film, photo of baby laughing (Dan at 4 months!)

This piece owes a lot to Linda B, who has started to do Youtube tutorials. I had never considered using the fusible film and just melting it onto a project, and it was great fun, if a little unpredictable. And it was also heavily inspired by a certain children's show- the one everyone loves to hate, but I just love!

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!

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.

The Penultimate CJ Entry

So close now, this is the second-to-last entry in the UKStampers CJ. I am currently working on the final entry, and I feel like it needs to be the best of the lot (no pressure!!!) as I have met Tasha, and have spent the last nine months sending things to her.
It has definitely got much harder to do something original. The stamp for this journal is the face, and I kept having ideas, only to look at the (gorgeous) previous entries and find that my idea had already been realised. In the end, I took my inspiration from Cherry Pie, where I am a member of the Yahoo group. Last year, the group did an art doll swap, and the result of that swap was a plate of stamps which had the body and accessories for an ATC-sized art doll. This entry turned into a real technique-fest for me, as I used all of my newer craft products, and had lots of fun creating the individual elements.

Colour: alcohol inks, vivid inkpads, glimmer mist, paint dabbers, versafine, Brilliance
Stamps: face (unknown), Cherry Pie, Studio g (alphabet)
Other: Papermania jewel brads, acetate, silver detail embossing powder, printable magnet paper (used for doll and accessories), heavyweight watercolour paper, vellum, fibres and bead, all from my stash.