Saturday Step x Step at Frilly and Funkie

I am presenting the Saturday Step x Step at Frilly and Funkie today.  Here is a sneak peek at my project but to get all the details, just click here and you will be taken to the blog.

By the Sea

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and our hostess, the very talented Kathy is calling it By The Sea!  She describes it this way:

"It's summertime, and our minds turn toward the shore where we find sparkling sands, delicate shells and refreshing breezes. Let's take a virtual beach trip by creating any kind of vintage or shabby chic project that features a nautical or beach theme and color palette."

For this challenge I have made a reverse canvas. I took an 8" x 10" canvas from the dollar store and used Mod Podge to completely cover it with torn pieces of old book paper. Once dry this gave the canvas extra strength and more of a wood feel like the frame it was stapled to.  It also covers the staples and any imperfections.  Then I worked on the back side of the canvas to create my steampunk-inspired project.  Now the canvas looks like a shadow box.

The next step was to use some texture paste with a couple Tim Holtz stencils to add some texture on the back and edges.  The inside was left flat to accommodate the embellishments.  Then everything was given a coat of white Gesso.

I gave the canvas a coat of Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint called Laguna next, followed by some Accent Clear Blue that I put on with a dry brush.  Then I sprayed the canvas with some Tim Holtz Iced Blue Distress Spray Stain.  The colour was a little too vibrant so I knocked it back with a very light coat of Gesso that I wiped off with a baby wipe.  I used some Jet Black Archival Ink and a Tim Holtz Mixed Media stamp to add some more bubbles on the inside of the canvas.

Now it was time to embellish.  First I stamped the gentleman riding the large fish from the Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea 2 set on some paper from Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea using Jet Black Archival Ink and fussy cut it.  Next I used more images from the paper pad and fussy cut them - large background image, sentiment, seahorse, octopus lady, mermaid and diving helmet.  All images were inked with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

My husband cut all the gears and the word "believe" from wood for me and I turned them into rusty beauties using black Gesso, Finnabair Rust Paste and Dina Wakely Ocean Heavy Body paint.  The magnolia flower from Wild Orchid was sprayed with Tim Holtz Lucky Clover Distress Spray Stain.  The starfish was made from Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay in a Wilton silcone mold and coloured with Vintage Photo DI and then highlighted with some copper metallic paint.  Finally some turquoise Stickles, little shells and a few beads were added.

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

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Under the Sea
Mixed Media World - Under the Sea
Dream Factory - Finding Nemo
Sandee and amelie's Steampunk Challenges - Anything Goes - Steampunk or Industrial

The following products used to create this canvas can be purchased for discounted prices from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

I Have News

I have some exciting news to share today.  I have been invited to join the IndigoBlu International Design Team and have happily accepted.

IndigoBlu is a UK-based manufacturer of high quality rubber stamps.  They also carry a wide variety of other products for papercrafting and mixed media including some specialty glues, flakes and paints.

Kay Halliwell-Sutton, the owner of IndigoBlu and Jenny Marples from the Design Team often can be seen doing demos on the UK craft network called Hochanda, which is also available online for those of us in other countries.  It is such fun to check out all the various products and techniques and if you can't watch one of their demos live, you can tune in later as Hochanda makes the segments available for viewing for one week after they air live.

I am excited about this new opportunity and can't wait to share my IndigoBlu creations with you.

Inspiration at Stamps and Stencils

It is my turn to provide you with a little inspiration over at Stamps and Stencils and this time I am showing you how I made this love-themed tower of Artist Trading Blocks.  Click here to be taken over to Stamps and Stencils where you will get all the details and hopefully become inspired to give them a try yourself.

Patchwork Floral

It is that time again - a new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie.  This time Jenny is our hostess and calls it "All Lined Up".  She describes it this way:

"For this challenge you need to think in straight lines! Be it rows or columns, stripes or even grids make sure those vertical and/or horizontal lines are a clearly visible part of your vintage or shabby chic projects (the edges don't count!)"

When I saw the description for this challenge my mind immediately went to the grid part and I thought a background of patches would be perfect to mount a floral display on.

I used some Staples card stock for the blank and then added papers from Maja Designs Coffee in the Arbor and Vintage Spring Basics sets for the background panel and all the patches.  They were all distressed and inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

I added Picket Fence Crackle Paint to the wooden flourish and then topped it with some white twine.  The twine was not as stiff as I hoped so I dragged it through some fabric stiffener that I have had for 30 years - worked like a charm so obviously there is no Best Before date on that product.

Next came the large flower and the leaves created from Heartfelt Creations stamps and Watering Can Archival Ink, which were leftovers from the bridal mini album that I made recently.  I added a faux pearl ring to the centre of the flower.  Some paper roses from my stash were added next along with a homemade stick pin.

The butterfly was cut by my husband, inked with Scattered Straw DI, embossed with a Sizzix folder called Sugar and Starry Night set that I picked up on clearance during a recent trip to the US and has pearls added for the body.  A few more pearls were scattered about.

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

Nordsalten Hobbyklubb - Flower Field
Polkadoodles - Add ribbon or twine
Cardmania - Lace and/or Pearls
Live and Love Crafts - Sprinkles of Summer

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

Tic Tac Toe at Stamps and Stencils

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  The talented Toni is our hostess this time and decided we should play Tic Tac Toe following the graphic below.

Since summer vacation time is upon us, I decided to make a beach-themed wall hanging using the centre row vertically.  I started with a square of mat board and topped it with a piece of corrugated cardboard.  I ripped the top layer off around the edges to expose the corrugations and then dry brushed it with some Deco Art Bleached Sand acrylic paint.

Next I grabbed a piece of white card stock and tore the edges before I coated it with white Gesso from Liquitex.  I used some Golden Light Molding Paste through a Tim Holtz stencil called bubbles.  I also dabbed on some Golden Course Pumice Gel in random spots around the edges.

Then I started painting with a layer of Fresco Finish Antarctic followed by a layer of Fresco Finish Lake Wanaka that I wiped back in spots with a baby wipe.  Next came a bit of Deco Art Peacock Pearl metallic acrylic.

Once the paint was dry I added some sprays - Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress Spray Stain, Lindy's Starburst Jack in the Pulpit Teal and Moonshadow Mist Buccaneer Bay Blue.  I used Wendy's Vecchi's Cornflower Blue Archival Ink and stamped some circles from a Tim Holtz set I picked up at Michaels that had no name.

The next step was to change the anchor from a lovely wooden piece that my husband made for me to something that looked like it had been on the bottom of the ocean floor for ages.  To accomplish that I used the Finnabair Rust Paste set from Prima and some Deco Art Media Patina Green Antiquing Cream - love the way it turned out and how easy it was.

I dipped some chunky cord, kitchen string and cheesecloth in a cup of weak tea to make all of them the same colour.  The chunky cord was added as the hanger for the project while the string is wrapped around the anchor and the cheesecloth is tucked under it.  I am wishing now that I had grunged up the string because it looks too clean attached to that rusty anchor.  Finally I added some driftwood (a.k.a. wood chips expropriated from the local playground), small shells, glass chunks and beads.

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

Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Altered Eclectics - Anything Mixed Media
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media
Mixed Media Mojo - Summertime (twist - use shells)

 Anything But Cute - Summertime Fun