Floral Tag

Today I am showing this floral tag over at IndigoBlu. To get all the details on how I put it together click here and you will be taken to the IndigoBlu blog.

Black & White Wedding

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time I am the hostess and am calling it With This Ring.  Here is how I describe it:

It is wedding season so let's create vintage or shabby chic projects that celebrate the big day. Your creation might be a card, a gift, a decor item or something to keep the memories of the special occasion.

I chose to make a card for this challenge and decided to make it primarily in black and white.  Here are the steps to create this card:

Step 1 - Distress the edges of paper from the Mon Amour collection by Graphic 45 and add to a white card blank.
Step 2 - Add a strip of venise lace and top with a strip of silver crochet ribbon.
Step 3 - Print the silhouette image from The Graphics Fairy onto white card stock, distress the edges and add pearls before adhering it to the card.

Step 4 - Alter the double wooden heart by painting with Black Acrylic Paint and then press into a Versamark pad and heat emboss with Ebony Embossing Powder from Recollections before adding to the card.
Step 5 - Add a number of white flowers and tuck a couple of organza loops among them.

Step 6 - Create a computer generated sentiment on white card stock, distress and add to the card.
Step 7 - Make a large loopy bow from sheer white ribbon and add a decorative button on top before adding it to the card.

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

Crafting When We Can - Shabby Chic
Card Mania - Buttons and/or Bows
Country View Challenges - Hearts
Craft-Dee Bowz - Anything Goes with a Handmade Bow
Making Memories Crafting - Anything Goes with Bingo Board (I used centre vertical row)

Poppies

Today I am showing you a card I made for the IndigoBlu International Design Team using the IndigoBlu stamp set called Poppycock.

I started by painting some water colour card with a mixture of Postbox Red and Mulberry Bush acrylic paint.  I loaded both sides of the water colour card with water and then mixed the paint on my craft sheet before painting it on one side.  There was more paint left on my craft sheet so I grabbed another piece of card, wet it down and dragged it through the remaining paint.  This gave me a little lighter result when I evened out the colour but poppies aren't all bright red so I was good with that.

I stamped the large poppy on my painted card using Versamark and then heat embossed it with some of Wendy Vecchi's Red Geranium embossing powder.  I did this three times, fussy cut each poppy and then inked the edges with some Red Geranium Archival Ink.  I decided I needed to highlight the petals so I took some Gee-SSo Good White Gesso and a fine paint brush and painted between the details on the petals, wiping it back with a baby wipe so it would be subtle.

Next I made some paper for my leaves by spraying some water colour card with Tim Holtz's Iced Spruce and Shabby Shutters Distress Spray Stain.

I used some of Wendy Vecchi's Fern Green Archival Ink and stamped some of both sizes of leaves from the Poppycock set and then fussy cut them.  I inked the edges with some Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.

I made a background by taking a plain piece of card stock and splattering some Ruby Slippers and Raven Black Metallic paint on it.  This was mounted on a red card card blank.

I stamped the sentiment from a new set called Dreams Come True from IndigoBlu on some white card stock using Jet Black Archival Ink and then mounted it on a scrap of black card stock and added a little red gem.

This card was easy to make and showcases those beautiful poppies to a "T".  I am sharing the post over at IndigoBlu today with Gio and Ksenija so pop on over and see what they have created.

Saturday Step x Step at Frilly and Funkie

I am presenting the Saturday Step x Step feature today over at Frilly and Funkie so pop on over and see what I made and how I did it.

Inspiration

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time, Nancy is our hostess and is calling it You're My Inspiration.  Here is what she has to say about it:

Find any type of image or photo that inspires you and create a vintage or shabby chic project based on that image or photo (you don't need to actually use it in your project). Please post the image on your blog along with your project, and tell us what it is you love about it.

While I have never entered any of my creations in the mood board challenges at Maja Designs, the mood boards do inspire me and so I thought I would use this one and create something with it in mind.  I thought I would make a little journal that is partly junk journal, partly mini album.  The colours are so soft and calm.

Warning - there are a lot of photos in this post and the quality is not always the best - thanks to the intermittent rain that we have been getting for weeks now.

I found a little 5 1/2" square chipboard album kit in my stash and decided it would be perfect for this project.  Here is how I turned it into a little journal/album:

1. Coated both sides of the chipboard pieces with white Gesso and then covered the front with some stenciling using a Tim Holtz Flourish stencil and texture paste.

2. Painted the chipboard with Bleached Sand acrylic paint from DecoArt and sprayed with Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain and Lindy's Starburst Saxifrage Olive Copper.

3. Altered the book rings with some Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink.
4. Embellished the front with the following elements:

• burlap panel
• tea-dyed venise lace
• paper doll from Tim Holtz inked with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• flower made from corrugated cardboard using Tim Holtz Tattered Florals, inked it with Vintage Photo DI and a carved coconut shell button for the centre
• bow from copper crochet ribbon with a little clock charm from xx
• Idea-ology pen nib altered with Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink
• copper button from the dollar store

5. Made some inserts from a variety of elements in my studio or that I found online and printed, inking edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I really wanted to embellish each page more but since I was running out of time, I had to suppress the urge so I would have a little something, something to show on the inside.

Left - Inside of Front Cover
Right - Front of page 1, which is a folded piece of paper topped by a vintage journaling card

Left - Back of Page 1 with a handmade coin envelope
Right - Front of Page 2, which is a vintage ledger card from The Graphics Fairy and a little ephemera tuck spot

Left - Back of page 2, which has been inked with Vintage Photo and Weathered Wood DI, stamped with a flourish from Wendy Vecchi using Tree Branch Archival Ink and another ephemera tuck spot added
Right - Front of Page 3, which is some old school lined paper

Left - Back of Page 3
Right - Front of Page 4, which is a folded envelope topped by some ephemera

Left - Back of Page 4, which is the fold on the enveloped topped with some venise lace and includes a vintage journaling card
Right - Front of Page 5, which is another folded paper from my stash topped with some Tim Holtz washi tape, a tattered floral cut from corrugated cardboard that was inked with Weathered Wood DI and a faux pearl cluster added to the centre

Left - Back of Page 5 topped with a vintage journaling card
Right - Front of Page 6, which is some old music paper folded and includes a vintage journaling card

Left - Back of Page 6 with a little ephemera added with a mini clothespin
Right - Front of Page 7, which is some old map paper from Far Far Hill with a doily tuck spot inked with Shaded Lilac and Vintage Photo DI and includes a tag made from Maja Designs paper and seam binding dyed with Tea Dye DI

Left - Back of Page 7, which has been inked with Weathered Wood DI and has an added pocket made from Maja Designs paper decorated with some Tim Holtz washi tape
Right - Front of Page 8, which is another vintage ledger page with an ephemera tuck spot

Left - Back of Page 8, which had some Maja Designs paper added along with an ephemera tuck spot
Right - Front of Page 9, more school lined paper

Left - Bank of Page 9
Right - Front of Page 10, which is vintage music paper, cut down with extra used to make a pocket

Left - Back of Page 10, which has some Graphic 45 paper added and a vintage note for a tuck spot
Right - Front of Page 11, which is more old music paper with a tiny journaling card added

Left - Back of Page 11, which has been folded to create a pocket and has a journaling card inserted in the pocket
Right - Front of Page 12, which is a sheet of Maja Design paper with an inked doily added as a tuck spot

Left - Back of Page 12 with a little piece of ephemera from Tim Holtz added as a tuck spot
Right - Front of Page 13, which is another folded piece of paper with a vintage journaling card added

Left - Back of Page 13 with a handmade coin envelope added
Right - Front of Page 14, which is another folded envelope with a strip of Maja Designs paper for a border and a stamped tag inserted

Left - Back of Page 14 with a vintage journaling card added
Right - Front of Page 15 - more school lined paper

Left - Back of Page 15
Right - Inside Back Cover

Back Cover

That was long - are you still with me?  If so, thanks for sticking around to see my little journal.  I know some of the colours from the mood board only appear on the inside but I tried to incorporate as many of the mood board ideas as possible.  This journal still has lots of room for pages but I ran out of time and I am sure you are happy that I did or you might have to grab another glass of wine. :)

I hope that you can find a photo that inspires you and you will share your creation with us.  The challenge at Frilly and Funkie runs until 11:55 pm EST on June 20th and you have the opportunity to win a Guest Designer spot or to be the random winner of a gift certificate from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Happiness Light

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  This time Sue is the hostess and she calls it Words With Meaning and describes it this way:

I may be an old romantic but I love to see quotes and meaningful sayings on pieces of art. These can be quotes that are particularly meaningful to you or family sayings ! So, for this challenge I want to see your words taking centre stage, big and bold ! Remember, as always, you need to include some stamping or stenciling or both!

I recently received a brand new stamp set from IndigoBlu called Shine Bright and it had a quote that I knew would thrill my Granddaughter since she has just finished reading all the Harry Potter books and is a big fan.  I decided to create a canvas in colours that would work in her room and showcase the quote.

I started with an 8"x8" canvas and added lots of texture.  Using Golden Light Molding paste I stenciled with a Mini Harlequin stencil from TCW and a mini dot stencil my husband made for me.  Then I used some IndigoBlu Super Thick Slap it On to add some pieces of wooden popsicle sticks.  I added more Light Molding Paste between the wooden pieces and embedded some tiny mirror chips in it.  They came in a big bag from the floral section at Michaels and were quite cheap.  I also added paste to the edges of the canvas and roughed it up with my palette knife.

Once everything was dry I wrapped some string around it randomly and then gave it a coat of Liquitex White Gesso.  I also coated the wooden butterfly (made for me by my husband on his laser cutter) with Gesso.

I got so busy creating I totally forgot to take any more process photos - my apologies - so I will give you some close-ups instead.

I covered the whole canvas with Wild Orchid Acrylic Paint from DecoArt.  Then I added a bit of Silver Gray from DecoArt on the right side.  Next I started to add some ink sprays - Hickory Smoke, and Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain from Tim Holtz along with Crushed Grape and White Linen from Dylusions

The next step was to paint the butterfly.  I first mounted it on a little wooden disk to give it some height and then coated it with Concord Grape Acrylic Paint from Apple Barrel, which was very thin so I followed that with a coat of Purple Pearl Metallic from DecoArt.  I mixed a bit of the Wild Orchid with some DecoArt Pearlizing Medium and added that on a portion of the wings from the body out and then rubbed a smaller portion from the body out with Treasure Pewter wax paste.

I stamped the light bulbs and the quote from the Indigo Blu Shine Bright onto a scrap of gray card stock using Jet Black Archival Ink and then fussy cut the bulbs.  In the end I decided just to use the large bulb for the butterfly body so I highlighted the plug portion and the filament of the light bulb with a combination of Folk Art Metallic Silver and Champagne Gold and Bright Gold from DecoArt.  I then went back in and redrew the filament with a Pigma Micron pen since it wasn't as visible after the painting even though I stippled the paint on as carefully as I could around the stamping.

The quote was cut into sections, distressed around the edges and then I ran a Sakura Silver Gel pen around the edges before I adhered to the canvas with a combination of IndigoBlu's Super Thick Slap it On and dimensional foam strips.

My Granddaughter has a collection of Harry Potter figurines lining the windowsill in her room so I hope this canvas will be a welcome addition to her decor.