SDC233 - Use Squares

 

 

This weeks Challenge at Stampotique is to use squares, Corrie is our hostess and this is what she said, "I am very fond of circles in my work, so I want to get outside my comfort zone and use squares for a change and I would like you to join me. Have Fun!!"

This is my version, I haven't been well for the past few weeks so this one is a simple one, hope you like it.

 

 

The background was really easy but very effective, I began by simply using a few mini distress inks and stamping the ink pad directly onto watercolour card.

This was then lightly misted with water to make them run and blend but retain the square image in parts.

A square stamp was randomly stamped over the square distress ink colours.

Black soot was used around the edges to take off the whiteness of the card.

The little moustache monsters were stamped and coloured with watercolour pencils.

Washi tape created the grounding and good old Dymo provided the title.

Everything was mounted onto a card base and Tah Dah, one square card finished.

 

To see more inspiration pop on over to the Stampotique blog here.

 

Sue X 



Blog Candy Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a couple of Magnolia foliage dies visit Debbie Dolphins blog and leave a comment.

Good Luck!

Sue X

Paint Brush Art

Here goes.
 

  I've often thought I'll go get a paint brush out of the garage and have a go at that, then I've thought actually that was an expensive brush do I really want to alter it.

Anyhow, as many of you know "The Range", has an array of reasonable priced items screaming alter me  and whilst on a quick visit (just to get out of the house) I came across this 4" wall brush for £2 bargin.

The brush is a great size perfect for the job at hand, let the mess commence.

Firstly the brush was given a coat of gesso to act as a primer for the base,  a little of the paint was pulled down over the brush tufts.  Clear Crackle paste was added randomly over the brush and bristles and left to dry.
 

 

This produced the most wonderful texture.  Paint was added all over and rubbed into the texture with my finger, a baby wipe was then used to remove excess paint and make the cracks visible. Soft mat gel was added and rusting powder sprinkled on top, this was then spritzed with water to activate it (water and white vinegar normally work a lot better but I didn't have any at hand).
 

 

 

At this point I had to wait for it to activate, then I got bored and wanted to get on with it so I dried it off with a heat tool and got out a few rusty paint colours. I love the effect of an old paint brush under layers of old paint and mess.

 

This was the front.

 

 

This was the back, I didn't want to leave it plain and as it wouldn't be seen I just added a touch of texture and colour.

 

Now then as usual the moment over took me and the photos stopped, sorry!

 

However this is how it came together, cheese cloth was pulled apart and layered onto the brush along with white dried natural fibres. A combination of shop bought and handmade flowers were arranged along with a few dried cones and beaded berries. Dried tiny flowers were used as fillers and also fake green moss (as used on model railways), be aware though as the green colour does come off.

Micro beads were added in copper to add to the rustic look.

 

 

Here are a few more close ups.

 

 

 

If you like what you see and would like to see more I found a little bit of inspiration for you with a video here, 

Hope you like it.

 

Sue X

SDC231 - Love Is In The Air

I'm a little late posting this one.

 

The reason being I wanted to use it as a valentines card for my hubby and I needed to keep it under wraps as recently he has taken an interest in reading my blog.  

This weeks theme "Love is in the air" was chosen by Coby VanWilligenburg,  this is what what she said about the challenge.

"Love is so sweet and so tender...love is more than a boy and a girl...love is my children, my grandchildren and animals...show in your creation this week, Love".

Sooooo with that brief in mind I began my card.

I had an initial idea about "clouds" and the "Love is" and this is what I came up with.

Many, many years ago during my early days at high school I vaguely remembered ATC sized "Love is...." cards. These cards were made up of two characters a boy and a girl normally naked with a leaf strategically placed to cover body parts, I googled the cards and they didn't appear how I remembered them, never mind I have my title.

Cloud 9 came up because I thought  of air, clouds and I remembered something else about being on cloud nine and happiness. Back to google to confirm the meaning of the phrase as, "in a state of blissful happiness".

This is how I made the card, sorry no I between pictures as I was in the zone and got lost in the flow of the card. 

A 14cm x14cm square of smooth water colour card was cut out along with couple of die cut clouds, one of which was used as a mask with distress ink in 8 random places creation a cloud base.

The colour had been applied rather heavily and so to lift it a little water was lightly misted over the top and removed with kitchen roll, my favourite "Love" stamp was used with the same colour distress ink to create the Love in the air, literally.

 

Love  was a die cut which was coloured with black sook distress ink and again overstamped with the "Love"text stamp and glued into position. A die cut heart was also coloured lightly with black soot and placed in position.

 

The Stampotique birds were stamped with black archival again on smooth water colour card and coloured with distress inks used as a watercolours. I know I've used these birds quite often in the past couple of weeks, I thought logically about it and cats or dogs wouldn't be seen dead on a cloud however birds were a possibility.

 

Old faithful Dymo created the rest of my words, everything was arranged and stuck into position then mounted onto black card to create a border.

 

 

 

 

That's it for today, pop on over to The Stampotique Challenge blog here to see more fabulous ideas and inspiration. 

Sue X

SDC230 - Mardi Gras

SDC this weeks title is Mardi Gras which this year is on February 9th, I read the prompt and instantly knew I wanted bold intense colours and as I am writing this I can hear mardi gras music, whistles, drums etc. Sooooo cool! in my head that is (I have a good imagination).
The Challenge host this week is Kathi, this is what she said.

"The colours of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold... use them or the symbols of Mardi Gras  Fluer-de-lys, masks, costumes or music!! Let the good times roll."

So my take on this, if you have young children or grandchildren you may have seen the film Rio.
Yes, it's animated but it's fun colourful and includes a touch of a Mardi Gras parade. The film is about a rare blue bird, taken as baby and shipped away from his home in Rio to America.
Cutting a long story short a young girl finds him in a box in the snow which has fallen off a Lorry.
She cares for him and they spend many happy years together until a stranger from Rio spots him through a window and asks if the owner could take him to Rio to breed with his female Blue bird.
All goes well until he is kidnapped again, the Mardi Gras parade was a clip of his journey and how he  found. The owner dresses as a Blue bird and that was my inspiration.

Blimey that said here goes with a journal page.
The first layer was ink sprays, second layer was texture paste through a couple of masks using three colours of mica powders mixed into the paste, gold, purple and green.

Next layer stamping with archival ink, French text, Mardi Gras and Party.

The images were stamped with embossing ink and embossed with gold glitter to make them more carnival like. The images were coloured with distress ink and added to the page.

A layer of more stamping created the grounding for the Carnival Princess to stand on.

Finally the beads were added paint mixed with mica powder, this didn't have the desired effect and so I knew somewhere I had gold perfect pearls and glossy accents. These were added over the top of the paint to add a more pearl like appearance.

That's it for today, hope you like it for more inspiration go to the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog here.

Sue X