Wicked Witch

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Zoe, our hostess is calling it A Very Vintage Halloween and describes it this way:

"With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to get your witches hats on and create a project in a vintage style with a Halloween theme."

I started with some Bazzill card stock for the blank and then added panels of paper from the Tim Holtz Materialize pad. On the top panel, I used a Tim Holtz stencil called Speckles with some Aged Mahogany Distress Ink to add some "blood splatters".  All the paper pieces on this card were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I cut a big circle from Tim Holtz Kraft Core Shattered Collection and topped it with a bat that came in a little goodie package from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  I found the clock face online and added a skull and crossbones charm that I altered with Pitch Black Alcohol Ink and a light coat of DecoArt Black Metal Paint.  The spider charm was also treated this way.

The witch is a sinister looking lady that came from The Graphics Fairy and I hand cut a witch's hat from a scrap of black card stock for her to which I added some dollar store gems.  I made her broom from a wooden skewer and some raffia that has been in my stash for years.

The potion label was printed from online as was the pentagram.  The words were computer generated.  The bird is a Recollections stamp and was stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.

Finally I added a loopy bow made from black organza ribbon that was tied together with black burlap string to which I added a bat charm.  The bat was altered with a mixture of Pitch Black and Silver Mixative Alcohol Inks.

I think I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Shopping Your Stash - Hey Ghoulfriend (Halloween)
Country View Challenges - All Things Sooky
Delicious Doodles - Halloween
Let's Craft & Create - Halloween/Autumn/Fall
Scrap From Your Heart - Fall/Halloween

The following items used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie

I am presenting the Friday Focus segment at Frilly and Funkie today.  Here is a sneak peek of just one of  my projects so pop on over and see what I am focusing on and what I made.

Cherry Blossoms

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and this time Autumn, who is our hostess calls it Elements of Nature and describes it this way:

"Whether you are inspired by the glorious world around us with the changing seasons, or tempted to use elements of nature in your art work, this month we'd love to see your nature inspired entries.

Anything goes as long as you include a natural element in your art which can be either either stamped or an actual item ! As always you need to include stamping or stenciling."

I decided to make a canvas featuring cherry blossoms and while they aren't real, I think they are a great representation.

I started by covering a dollar store canvas with a coat of Liquitex Gesso.  Next I glued some strips of Tim Holtz Melange Tissue Wrap to the canvas along with some torn paper.  I added some stenciling with Golden Light Molding Paste and a Heidi Swapp geometric stencil.  Once dry I covered everything with another coat of Gesso.

I painted the surface next using dry baby wipes and lots of different paints applied in random spots - Golden Maganese Blue Hue and Green Gold, DecoArt Cobalt Teal Hue, IndigoBlu Hunter Green Matte Acrylic and Fresco Finish Pumpkin Soup and Smoked Paprika.

Next I made the branches and the blossoms from Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay and a Wilton Mold.  Once the pieces were dry I painted the blossoms with Fresco Finish Blush, Candy Floss and Blood Orange.  The branches were painted with Fresco Finish Mocha and inked with Tim Holtz Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks.  The leaves were painted with Golden Green Gold and Fresco Finish Green Olives and then inked with Gathered Twigs DI.

I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp the bird from the IndigoBlu set called Live, Love, Laugh and coloured it with Prismacolor pencil crayons blended with Gotrick OMS.  I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp the little bee from a Tim Holtz set called Random Thoughts.

The sentiment was computer generated and inked with Cracked Pistachio DI and think it really speaks to the fact that this branch is not very full of blooms as you might see on the trees in the spring.  I personally could be considered the adversity because I ran out of clay and time - lol.

I hope you will join us and share your nature themed project.

Cinderella

Today is the start of a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time Suzz who is our hostess is calling it Author, Author and here is what she has to say about it:

"There are so many wonderful books that inspire the mind to imagine the worlds created within them. Think Fairy tales, mysteries, romances or even science fiction and use that to inspire your art. Provide an explanation of how the book and author inspired your project."

When I was about 5 years old I had to spend an extended period of time in the hospital in a city quite a distance from my family but my Godfather, who did live in the city and was a pioneering allergy specialist would come to visit me every 2 days and on the days in between he would sneak into my room and leave me a new book so I had lots of reading material. I could read quite well by then so I was thrilled. One of the books was a Treasury of Children's Literature that contained a variety of stories, including many of the Grimm's fairy tales.

I still have that book to this day so I decided to make a card based on one of those fairy tales - Cinderella. When I was doing a bit of research I discovered though that the brothers Grimm didn't write those fairy tales but published collections of the stories. Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault in 1697.

I started with some Recollections card stock for the blank and added a panel of paper from Maja Designs Nyhavn topped with a panel from Maja Designs Vintage Spring Basics.  Both were distressed with my scissors and the edges were inked with Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

Next I made a coach by printing clip art I found of a pumpkin and some wheels.  I coloured them with a Krylon Gold Leafing Pen and then added some sparkle with Stickles Glisten to define the lines on the pumpkin.  I cut the opening by hand and then added some Venise Lace and the word Dream, which was cut by my husband and altered by coating it with Gesso and spraying it with Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain.  I added some gold brads from my stash to the wheels.

I made the little book from some Recollections kraft card stock and added a cover, which was an image found online to which I added text on the computer before I printed it.  The inside of the book is a bunch of vintage Cinderella images that I also found online.  The little book is tied together with some burlap string and has a flap on the back that slides through a little band of card stock on the card so that it can be removed.

I extracted the Fairy Godmother from one of the book pages and added her with foam dimensional dots before I gave her wings some sparkle with Stardust Stickles.  Next came a bow of silver crochet ribbon topped with flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Walmart.  One of the flowers was coloured with the Brushed Pewter Distress Spray and the flat Walmart flower was inked with Stormy Sky DI to change the shade of blue.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Christmas for IndigoBlu

I am posting some Christmas inspiration for you over at IndigoBlu.  Here is a sneak peak but if you pop over to the blog, you can find out what I made and get all the details.

Going Round in Circles

It is that time again for another new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  The lovely Sue is our hostess for this one and is calling it Going Round in Circles.  She describes it this way:

"Including circles in my projects is one of my favourite things to do, so for this challenge I want to see circles, lots of circles, not just one ! Stencilled, stamped or even a circular project such as a wreath!"

I hope you will join me for this one - you could be a random winner of a wonderful gift certificate for Linda's shop or you could be one of our Guest Designers.

I thought this might a good time to get started on my Christmas card stash, especially since I am running way behind.  I decided to go a little non-traditional this time.

I chose papers from A Christmas Carol by Graphic 45 and a scrap from my stash to create the patchwork background.  Each panel was distressed with my scissors and the edges were inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

I cut a scalloped circle frame from the Graphic 45 paper pad using some Nellie Snellon dies that I have had for ages and inked all the edges with Gathered Twigs.  I found the bird online, changed him to sepia and printed him onto a scrap of card stock before mounting him behind the frame.

I dyed some venise lace with Antique Linen Distress Ink and added that to the card with a strip of burlap and a strip of brown ric rac.

The poinsettia is made from the Graphic 45 paper and a Marianne Creatables die.  The edges of the petals were inked with Gathered Twigs and after it was layered I added some brown pearls to the centre.  The poinsettia is mounted on top of some die cut greenery or rather brownery :).

I used Coffee Archival Ink to stamp a sentiment from IndigoBlu's Vintage Frame stamp set onto a sctap of card stock and punched it with a circle punch from EK Success before I inked the edges with Gathered Twigs DI and attached it to the card with some burlap string.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

House of Cards - Bird and/or colour palette
Crazy Challenge - Burlap and/or Twine
Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Real Lace and Pearls
A Vintage Journey  - Create Within a Frame

The following items used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Mother and Child

I am back today with some inspiration for IndigoBlu.  I have made a shabby Christmas card featuring the stamp called Mother and Child.

I started with some grey Bazzill card stock for the blank and then added a panel of music paper that was computer generated and distressed and inked around the edges with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.

Next I made a couple of embossed panels from scraps of card stock, mixed some Silver Luscious with Matte Slap it On and sponged it over the top.

I stamped the image with Jet Black Archival Ink, fussy cut it and then sponged the edges with some of the Silver Luscious mixture.

Next I made a poinsettia out of metal foil tape.  The 2" tape is readily available here at hardware or DIY stores and is used by people in the heating and air conditioning business to wrap pipes.  When the fellow came to service our furnace last fall, I discovered he used 3" wide tape and he was kind enough to sell me a roll from his truck, which allows me to use the larger dies from my Marianne Creatables die set.

The trick with this tape is to cut twice the length that you need, fold it in half and then carefully peel off the paper backing and fold it onto itself.  I take a bone folder and smooth it out after it is folded together.  The adhesive is very sticky so I do not recommend using a punch with it but it does die cut and emboss beautifully.

The next step was to coat each piece with black gesso and then wipe it off leaving the gesso in any grooves or indentations.  I used Ruby Slippers Metallic Paint with a drop of black gesso mixed in to paint three and Emerald City Metallic Paint to paint the last one.  I wanted the red to be a bit deeper so I inked over it randomly with Poppyfield Alcohol Ink.  All the petals were layered together and some large silver seed beads were added to the centre.

I also altered and coloured the word joy with the same red process.  The word is made from wood and was cut for me by my husband on his laser cutter.

To assemble the card, I added some gem flourishes from Michaels, a seam binding loopy bow and a couple of bead stick pins that I made from my stash.

I am sharing the inspiration post at IndigoBlu with Ksenija and Gio so pop on over and check out their gorgeous projects.

Butterflies in Flight

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  The talented Pamellia is our hostess this time and she is calling it Things With Wings!  Here is what she has to say about it:

"Create any vintage or shabby chic project with something that has wings. It can be butterflies, bees, dragonflies, whatever you can think of."

I started with a canvas from the dollar store and gave it a coat of Gesso. The next step was to add some colour with DecoArt Tan Grout Acrylic Paint, Tim Holtz Gathered Twigs and Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain followed by Lindy's Starburst Sprays in Wild Honeysuckle Coral and Frozen Jack Frost.  I added some stamping with a script stamp from Recollections and Watering Can Archival Ink.

I cut a whole bunch of butterflies on my Cameo in different shapes and sizes and proceeded to colour them with different distress inks - Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Antique Linen and Dried Marigold.

The next step was to give them some interest and that was achieved using Watering Can Archival Ink and Tea Rose Distress Ink along with a bunch of stamps and stencils - a flourish stamp from the Dollar Store, Wendy Vecchi Vintage Wallpaper and Splatters stamps, Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge, Numbers, Honeycomb and Classics #12 stamps, Tim Holtz Gothic and Flourish stencils and Wendy Vecchi Dots and Stripes Border stencil.

I layered some and left others single but the one common thing is that none have bodies or antennae so I wonder how they are going to find their way on this flight - lol.  This may not be as frilly as usual but I love the way it turned out - hope you do too.

Falling Leaves

It is the first Thursday in September and that means a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  It also means autumn is fast approaching.  Rachel is our hostess this month and wants you to create with the colours of autumn - reds, oranges, golds and browns; use these in a mixed media creation.

I decided to finish a page for my art journal that I had started ages ago and set aside.

I added some random strips of masking tape and used a TCW harlequin stencil and some Golden Light Molding Paste to add some texture along with some thread.  Next I gave the page a coat of Liquitex Gesso.

Once the Gesso was dry I covered everything with Haystack Fresco Finish paint and then added some Pumpin Soup Fresco Finish paint and wiped it back in spots.  I added some Tim Holtz Twisted Citron and Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain and then some FW acrylic inks in Birdwing Copper Pearlescent and Crimson.

Now it was time to add a little more stamping with Jet Black Archival Ink and Tim Holtz Bubble and Numbers stamps along with a vintage leaf stamp from Just Right's Autumn Leaves set.

 

I made a bunch of fall leaves by taking Tim Holtz Kraft Glassine, crumbling it up and then cutting some from Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die and some by tracing a maple leaf clip art pattern.  Once all the leaves were cut I coloured them using Sunset Orange, Meadow, Rust and Red Pepper Alcohol Ink along with some blending solution.  Once dry I rubbed them with a little Rose Quartz wax paste from Treasure Gold.

The sentiment is computer generated and inked with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Even though the days are getting shorter here, the weather is still definitely summer weather - hot and humid - so we won't be seeing leaves like the ones shown here for a little while yet and I am OK with that because once fall is here, it means winter is close behind.

Princess Unicorn

Today I am presenting some inspiration for you over on the IndigoBlu blog.  Click here to pop over to the blog where you will get all the details on this canvas that I am calling Princess Unicorn.

Floral Infatuation

It is time for another new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time the talented Nancy is our hostess.  She is calling this challenge Floral Infatuation and here is what she has to say about it:

"Create any type of vintage or shabby chic project with flowers as a focal point."

I decided to make a card this time with a mixture of handmade and purchased flowers taking centre stage.  I started with some Recollections card stock for the blank and then started layered panels of distressed paper from Prima Vintage Emporium pad and Graphic 45 Precious Memories.

The large peach flower is made from mulberry paper that I bought from A Touch of Grace.  I cut it with the Tammy Tuterow Shabby Posies die, coloured it with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and added stamens from Wilton to the centre.

The white and peach flower is made from mylar that was stamped with the Heartfelt Creations Open  Vintage Floret stamp set using Versamark and Recollections Snow White Embossing Powder.  Once they were fussy cut, I coloured them from the back using the Tim Holtz Rusty Hinge Distress Crayon, layered the petals and added some pearls for the centre.  The rest of the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The leaves are metal that were coated with Snow Cap Mixative Alcohol Ink and fixed with clear embossing powder before I added some Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink.

The resin frame was also highlighted with Copper Mixative and the sentiment is computer generated.  Finally I added a bow made from copper crochet ribbon.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Stempelgarten Challenge - Flowers and Plants
Wow Embossing Powder - Flowers with Heat Embossing
My Time to Craft - Embossing (I used heat embossing)

The following products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

 

Unicorn for IndigoBlu

Today is my first post for IndigoBlu as a member of their International Design Team and I am excited to be sharing it with Solange and Ksenija so I hope you will pop over to IndigoBlu and check out their creations too.

I decided to make a very girlie card with this wonderful unicorn stamp from IndigoBlu called Jewel along with some of the other wonderful new products IndigoBlu has just introduced. 

I cut some white card stock from Recollections for the blank and then set it aside while I made the background, which started with lots of Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Shaded Lilac, Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar on a piece of Terra Skin paper.  Then I flicked some water on with my fingers to get some movement of the ink.

The next step was to mix some of the new Silver Luscious pigment powder with some water and pounce it on the background with a natural sea sponge.  I was so excited about creating with some of the new products that I totally forgot to take a couple photos along the way but if you click on the card photo, you can get a better view and I will add a close-up later in the post.

I stamped Jewel on some white card stock with Jet Black Archival Ink.  Next I mixed some Unicorn Sparkles with some Super Thick Slap it On and spread it on two corners through this gorgeous new IndigoBlu Vintage Frame stencil. Like some of my teammies I have found this to be the best way to keep the glitter from going everywhere.  The best part is that the Super Thick Slap it On dries clear and doesn't change the properties of the glitter.

Here is the close-up where you can see the shimmer of the silver Luscious and the sparkle you get from the Unicorn Sparkles.

The next step was to colour Jewel with a couple grey Prismacolors pencil crayons blended with OMS. Then I mixed some Pink Luscious powder with Golden Self Leveling Clear Gel and repeated it with some of the Purple Luscious. Luscious will mix with all sorts of mediums but I tried this because I wanted something thin enough to paint on that would dry clear and still let the Luscious colour shimmer through - worked like a charm. I just used a fine paint brush to paint both colours on Jewel's mane, her tail and the hair on her legs as well as her horn. I didn't even have to use much of the Luscious to get this fabulous depth of colour.

Once Jewel was ready, I mounted her on a panel of purple card stock and added some sequins from the dollar store.  All the panels were distressed with my scissors.

I added a Wilton doily and some leaves that were inked with Shaded Lilac DI, some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, a loopy twine bow and a few stars that were fussy card from a piece of card stock to which I applied some of my sparkle mixture through the new IndigoBlu Stars stencil.  Finally I stamped the word Sparkle from the IndigoBlu Sparkle and Glisten set with Jet Black Archival Ink, cut it into a banner and inked it with Shaded Lilac DI.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Penny Black - Anything Goes with a Stamp
Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Goes
Alphabet Challenge  - M is for Mythical

Small Cabinet

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and I am the hostess this time.  I am calling it It's a Small, Small Word and I describe the challenge this way:

"Create or alter something small in a shabby chic or vintage style. Your finished project can be anything from the size of an inchie, matchbook or domino to the size of a playing card or note card, which means anything from 1 inch to 4 inches and it does not have to be flat. Be creative and let us know in your post just how small your project is."

I have made a little cabinet with a surprise inside.   The cabinet is just under 4" long by 3" wide.

I asked my husband to laser cut some chipboard pieces for me for the cabinet but he has a little program that creates boxes so he made me one of those instead.  It is made from Baltic Birch and since the pieces that make it up are interlocking, it is perfectly aligned on all sides.  I coated it with black gesso and then cut paper from the Graphic 45 paper called Once Upon A Springtime to cover all exterior surfaces.  All the papers have been inked with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.

Next I embellished the top.  I started with a little piece of May Arts black crochet ribbon and topped it with a black feather, followed by a stamped branch from Heartfelt Creations and a magnolia flower from Wild Orchid Crafts that I inked with some Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Next I recycled a little lock and key set that had been coated with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and I added some Tea Dye DI and then tied them together with some organza ribbon from my stash.  I added a chipboard piece from Graphic 45 A Ladies Diary collection, a fairy postage stamp from Once Upon A Springtime and a Martha Stewart punched butterfly with little black pearls for the body.

When you pull out the drawer, it isn't a drawer at all - surprise, it is a micro album.  The substrate for the album is chipboard that was covered with black card stock from Michaels and then covered with the same papers as the cabinet.  Next I made all the pages with lots of papers from Graphic 45 collections - Once Upon A Springtime, Gilded Lily and Precious Moments.  I have added a few embellishments but left it fairly plain so that it would close properly to fit inside the cabinet.  I did add some black satin ribbon to keep it closed when it is outside the cabinet.

All the pages are pockets and hold a photo mat that has patterned paper on both sides and will fit one of those tiny school photos that your kids got in their pack so they could trade with classmates.

The front of the first page has a flip out pocket that also holds a photo mat and is decorated with an element from Graphic 45.

The back of page one has a pocket with a little band of lace and the front of page two has a little diagonal pocket.

The back of page two has a side pocket with another photo mat and the front of page three has another pocket decorated with a Graphic 45 element.

The back of page three has a tiny envelope created from card stock with a Velcro closure and a teeny button.  The front of page four has a flip up decorated with a pearl flourish.

The back of page four has another lace trimmed pocket and the front of page five has a flip out pocket with a photo mat.

My husband was kind enough to take the photos for me while I was out and he forgot to take one of the back of page five but it has a diagonal pocket like the front of page two.

Once the album was decorated I added the little metal handle, which was altered with Pitch Black Alcohol Ink. There is no decoration on the front or back of the album in order to ensure that it behaves like a drawer and pulls in and out easily.

I hope you will be brave and create something tiny to share with us.

The following items used to create this project came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Soar

It is time for the next monthly challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  The very talented Sue is our hostess this time and is calling it Time To Take Flight!  She describes it this way:

"For this challenge I would like to see anything relating to flying, so this could be a bird or a butterfly or it could be an inspirational quote that includes words relating to flying ! As always, please remember we are a mixed media challenge and you must include either stamping or stenciling or both!"

I had a fun time making this projects, which started with a simple flat dollar store canvas.  I gave it a coat of Liquitex White Gesso.  Next it got a coat of Craftsmart Espresso Acrylic Paint.  When it was dry I added a coat of Folk Art Crackle Medium and let that dry before I added a coat of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint by DecoArt.

After it was dry and crackled I dry brushed Freso Finish Mocha Mouse on in random spots followed by Fresco Finish Lake Wanaka and a wee bit of Liquitex Black Gesso.

Next I made a couple of textured panels on card stock by first using some Golden Light Molding Paste through a Tim Holtz stencil called bubbles.  I painted them with the same paints as the canvas background and used Black Gesso to distress the edges.

I added some metal to them that I altered by rubbing them with a mixture of Pitch Black, Rust and Copper Mixative Alcohol Inks and blending solution.

I found some Kraft Glassine in my stash, ripped a small piece and stenciled the word Soar from the Tim Holtz Typo stencil with Jet Black Archival Ink.  I added this along with a button on top of a piece of bark, some package filler and some fibres from EK Success.

I stamped the word Fly on a piece of canvas ribbon that I picked up in Fancy Gap, Virginia with letters from a set by Darkroom Door and Jet Black Archival Ink.  I inked it with some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and attached a little brad from the dollar store.

Next I altered a butterfly that my husband cut for me by painting it with Fresco Finish Lake Wanaka.  I used some Jet Black Archival Ink to add some stamping from a 7 Gypsies set and some cracks stenciling with a Prima stencil.  I used DecoArt Harvest Copper paint to add some script with a Recollections stamp called Haunted and then inked the edges with Black Soot DI.  I added a pen nib for the body that was altered in the same manner as the rest of the metal pieces.

The butterfly was adhered to a piece of corrugated cardboard, which was dry brushed with some Bleached Sand and placed on top of a piece of burlap that was inked with Gathered Twigs DI.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

Get Creative Challenges - Lots of Blue
Classic Design Team Challenge - Anything Goes (must be on a design team)
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with Twist of Create your own challenge (I used Sights - Butterfly)