Christmas Shanty

     Is it really a month since the last card post for Christmas At Sweet Stampin'? Where is the time going?

     This one is another Lavinia Stamps image called Shanty. It has been stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa on Kraft card, black was too harsh on Kraft.
     The snow is texture paste dabbed on and a little iridescent glitter added before it dried, sadly that doesn't show up n the picture. The tiny snowflakes and small drifted snow areas are drawn on with a white gel pen.
     Lamps and windows should have a glow about them so they are coloured with a yellow alcohol pen.
    Keeping it fairy simple it was layered with a white mat, then straight on to a Kraft card blank. The greeting is stamped and embossed in white to keep to the colour pallet.
     There is a lot of inspiration from the DT over on the blog to get you in the Christmas spirit so please pop over and take a look, it's never too early to make your cards.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sparkles - Vintage  (hope this qualifies)

The 12 Months Of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional brads/buttons/bows

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Father Christmas

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

I-Zink Snowflake

     This card was made using I-Zink droppers on acetate, with a twist. The droppers come in a variety of colours, some are pearlescent too.

     The acetate is coloured when the inks are dropped on one sheet and another sheet is 'squished' on top of that, it's a bit like making ink blots but with acetate instead of paper. Once pulled apart, when still wet, the result is two pieces of unusually patterned acetate.
     The twist for this one was a die cut snowflake made from masking sheet was added to one piece of acetate before using the inks, the fun came when I tried to peel the masking sheet off without messing up the snowflake, but it worked.
     Having masked off part of the acetate I had some clear area showing so my backing card had to be something simple but special, for a snowflake this had to be white and sparkly.
     Sticking acetate down can be tricky, the adhesive has to be strong and invisible. Double sided sticky sheet is perfect for this, nice and strong and with an all over sticky there are no marks showing.
      The white glitter card was cut just a little larger than the acetate so there would be a sparkly mat layer before going on to a purple mat to bring out the odd bits of matching colour in the inky background.
      Using some white texture paste and a stencil I added some randomly placed snowflakes over the card and sprinkled them with iridescent glitter. The greeting was stamped and embossed in silver, then die cut with a hole in the middle and mounted on foam pads to show the tiny snowflake underneath.
     

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

International Art & Soul - Add Some Sparkle

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas

Creatalicious - Christmas Snowflakes

The Male Room Goes Outdoors

     The Male Room is going for The Great Outdoors as it's theme this fortnight. I was working on something else for this but it wasn't quite right so I have gone for a winter outdoors card.

     The coloured circle is made using Izink droppers on acetate, I dropped on a few spots of blue, purple and turquoise and squashed it with another sheet of acetate, then pulled them apart to get this amazing pattern.
     The trees are stamped in black on to a white card square and the edge coloured with Distress ink. Sticking acetate can be really tricky so I put double sided sticky over the whole sheet and then die cut the circle, it stuck down perfectly with no sign of how it was attached.
     Using a stencil and some Izink texture paste I added the snowflakes, once the stencil was removed I sprinkled iridescent glitter over the white paste.
     All that was left was to mount the panel on purple card and then on a white card blank. It has no greeting on the outside but I rather like it like that, I will just have to make sure the one inside is rather grand.
     Please pop over to The Male Room and have a look at all the DT inspiration, there are some great ideas to get your creativity going.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

A Snowflakes Promise - Anything Christmas Goes

Addicted To Stamps - Christmas Comes Early

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Scrabble Fairy

     Apologies for the late arrival of my project for Altered Eclectics, lots of things have been happening here, some good and some not so good, but that's life. Thank goodness for crafting, sometimes it's the only thing to do!

      This project is for a local charity shop, a way of showing how all the odd bits and bobs can be used to make a mixed media item.
     It all started with some scrabble tiles and a few buttons, then a good rummage through all my odds and ends.
     The frame is plastic, also found in a charity shop, it had a back but no glass. I cut a piece of mount board to fit in place of a canvas to work on.

      With the board in the frame I drew around the inside edge, so I knew not to put any embellishments beyond that line.
     With my trusty hot glue gun I began to add buttons, broken bits of jewelry and shapes made with hot glue in a silicone mould. Once these items are painted they take on a whole new look whilst adding lots of great texture to the project.

     I drew around the fairy so I knew where she would be going, that way I could avoid putting anything that would be underneath her. Using some stencils and a tube of filler I added some more texture to the board.
     Once all the filler was dry I painted a layer of gesso over the whole board, then a couple of layers of acrylic pink paint. A spritz with a pink mica spray added some subtle sparkle.

     With all the paint dry it was time to add colour to the texture with some gilding wax.
     Before I started glueing bits on I had taken a photo of where I planned to put all the bits, so with to hand I started to add the finishing touches. A hot glue gun in hand I stuck the letters, flower, fairy and her wings to the board, along with a glitter covered flower in the top corner. It wasn't exactly as the starter picture but close, slight adjustments along the way which added interest.
     All that remained was to pop it in the frame, it was at this point that I was SO glad I had left that small border around the board, but the fairy could have been a little lower so she stood on the frame instead of floating a bit above it.
     The board bowed slightly, probably due to the paint, so I used hot glue on the back to seal it to the frame in the corners and along the edges. All that was left was to pop the back on and move the hanging points for a horizontal picture.
     Most of the items have come from charity shops, with the exception of the hot glue gun, waxes, spray and mount board, and they were already in my stash. To make something pink and girly was a little out of my comfort zone but I'm not too unhappy with the result.
     There is still a fortnight left to enter your project with Altered Eclectics, anything but a card or an ATC, we look forward to seeing you work.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

An Inky Mess - Anything Mixed Media   (M)

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media   (M)

Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes   (M)

Male Room Fossil

     Our new challenge at The Male Room is mixed media, you can make a card or any other project as long as it's masculine mixed media. I didn't want to use a canvas so I die cut a tag from mount board for my base.

     Using some stencils I added Henry and a couple of ammonites with texture paste, Then the tag was coloured with Distress Oxide in Fossilised Amber, Broken China and Vintage Photo. I used a wet stencil to remove some ink, which doesn't show all that well, then spritzed and flicked to get more variation.
     The edges are darkened with Distress Ink in corresponding colours but Henry is coloured with Black Soot because he just didn't stand out enough, I rather like the pale lines around him as it gives him a feint glow.
     Using the Distress Inks I have stamped a pebble texture type pattern to add interest to the background, there is also a fossilised fish stamped above Henry's head.

     The word 'dig' is die cut in dark brown card and stuck on near Henry. There are also some interesting beach finds stuck to the tag, the stone may or may not be a fossil, but it looks like it could be so that's close enough for my tag.
     The label is die cut from the same mount board, inked dark brown and then covered with gold gilding wax and polished. I did have a dictionary definition but I messed it up, so had to type this one instead, it's on white card stamped with a craze pattern and covered with acetate.  All that remained was to add some twine to the top and Henry's tag was finished.
     Our challenge runs for two weeks, so hopefully that will give you enough time to come up with a masculine mixed media project to show us. Please have a look at the DT inspiration for a few ideas.

I would like to enter this tag in the following challenges:

2 Sisters On The Blog - Beach   (M)

Delicious Doodles - Beside The Sea   (M)

Eclectic Ellapu - Seaside or Summer Colours   (M)

Take A Word -Sea Creatures   (I hope fossilised ones count)  (W) 

Pink Pocket Card

     This card was made using a selection of products from Creative Expressions Phil Martin range.

      It all started with a sheet of paper from the 8x8 pad Graceful Butterflies, this is a good quality firm double sided paper.
     Fold the paper in half with the pattern on the outside, open and fold in half the other way to get quarters. Cut from the outside to the middle on ONE side as shown, fold the bottom right corner in and the top right corner out as shown, they are not the same so do check before you fold.

      Fold the bottom corner in and fix down, fold the lower half of the square up to meet the top half (the pattern will show now). Turn it over and fix the small corner flap down.
      Now fold the card in half along the crease line. The patterned square will form the backing to your pockets, this will need to be fixed along the bottom edge, the left hand edge of the front patterned triangle will also need to be fixed to the plain layer to form the other pocket.  This should leave you with a double pocket on the front and a single layer flap for the back of your card.
     I would suggest trying this out on a piece of scrap paper first so you don't waste the good one.

      Now you have the card blank made you can begin to decorate it. I have a small gap open in my front pocket accessed from inside the card, perfect for a secret message tag.
     The greeting, which is from a John Lockwood set, has been added to a small die cut from the Madison Square set edged with Distress Ink Spun Sugar.
     Decoration on the outside started with stamping one of Phil martin's Sentiment Borders across the flap that is plain pink using Distress Ink Seedless Preserve. On the top right corner there is a small flower made using Graceful Pink Sparkle Texture Paste through a Doodle Daisy mask.

     The flowers are made using Sue Wilson die Classic Foldover Flowers and strips cut from another sheet of the paper pad. The greenery is die cut with a Couture Creations die and some of the green paper in the same pad.
     The butterflies are stamped with Phil Martin's Butterfly Montage set and Seedless Preserve, then clear embossed and fussy cut.
     The tags are die cut from the paper pad, the edges coloured with Distress inks and flowers made using the paste and stencils again. The greeting is stamped and embossed in Bright Gold.
     Once the tags are dry you can tuck them into the pockets, these are ideal for writing little messages on and could be used as bookmarks later on.

Materials used
Phil Martin Graceful Butterflies & Dragonflies 8x8 pad
PM stamps - Decadent Damask Every day Sentiments
                      DD Sentiment Borders
                      Butterfly Montage Collection
John Lockwood stamp set - Flower Hearts Elements
That Special Touch Mask - Doodle Daisies
CE PM Sparkle Texture Paste - Graceful Pink / Decadent Wine
CE Embossing Powder - Clear / Bright Gold
Distress Ink - Spun Sugar / Seedless Preserve
Sue Wilson Die - Classic Foldover Flowers / Madison Square
Couture Creations Die - Classic Vine

Decadent Love

     This is my last project this month using Phill Martin's Decadent Damask stamps and Decadent Wine colours. I shall be coming back to these though as I have fallen in love with them completely. You can buy these at your local craft shop, they are distributed by Creative Expressions.

     I began with a mount board tag that I had lurking on my desk, it was cream already so I didn't have to paint a base colour. I die cut a shape similar to Phill's motif and stuck it on with Cosmic Shimmer PVA, then I sprayed it with Decadent Wine Spray Mist. Once that was dry I rubbed some gilding wax over it, I don't have the wine (yet!) so I used Vintage Plum. If you don't have texture paste but do have a die cut machine this is a way of achieving the raised look of paste, the wax gives it the gorgeous shine that the paste has.

     The gold swirl is made with the same mask but using one of the other shapes along with Royal Gold Texture Paste.
     The word 'love' is from a set called Winter Greetings, they're mostly Christmas words but I liked the shape of this type face. Both on the word and all around the tag I have used Inca Flakes gilding flakes.
     In the bottom corner I have used made three little dots with the Wine PVA, some flakes stuck to it, I should have used the flakes and then done the dots last but it doesn't look too bad, it's antiqued!

       Using one of the Corners and Icons stamps with Distress Ink Seedless Preserve I stamped a few images in the top corner.
     The glittery motif was done using Phill's Sparkle Texture Paste and a Special Touch mask called ornate frame. I taped off the areas I didn't want so the paste only went through the shape I did want.

     To finish it off I have used some ribbon that I've had for some time, I think it's an iridescent ribbon that Creative Expressions had a few years ago, they do have quite a range of gorgeous ribbons to choose from.

Materials used

Phill Martin stamps - Decadent Damask Corners and Icons

Phill Martin Decadent Wine colour range - Sparkle Texture Paste / PVA Glue / Ink Spray Mist

CE Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Wax - Vintage plum

CE Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes - Inca Flakes

CE Cosmic Shimmer Glues - Dries Clear PVA / Flake and glitter Glue

CE Cosmic Shimmer Texture Paste - Royal Gold

CE Stamp Set - Winter Greetings

Distress Ink - Seedless Preserve

I would like to enter this tag in the following challenges:

Inkspirational - Purple / and love or wedding
Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Stencil It
Love To Create - Anything Creative / Mixed Media

For The Bride

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is a decorated box made just for the bride, if you know the wedding colours you can tailor it to suit.

      The box is a paper mache trinket box with a photo aperture on the top. There was a division inside but I removed that before painting with Cosmic Shimmer Gesso. To protect the aperture I have put a piece of acetate in the gap, it will stop the paint getting into the hole and sealing it.
      This box needed two coats of Gesso and two coats of cream paint. I have painted inside and out the same as I'm going to line the bottom for a splash of colour.

      I have used Cosmic Shimmer Royal Gold texture paste on the lid but if you know the wedding colour you could use that to make it extra special.
     The mask is That Special Touch Ornate Frame, I have used parts of the frame by masking off the bits I don't want. I waited for each piece to be dry before doing the next, that way nothing was smudged when the mask was re-positioned.

      The texture paste has a gorgeous shine to it, it's thick, creamy and very easy to spread. Once all the decoration on the lid was done  and dry I removed the messy acetate and replaced it with a nice new piece that will protect the brides chosen photo.

     Inside the box I have used a piece of Rich Plum card stamped with Phill Martin's Decadent Damask Icons to line the base, again if you know the bridal colour scheme this could be made to match her choice.
     On the inside of the lid I have put a die cut sentiment by Phill Martin from his Decadent Damask Everyday Sentiment, stamped and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold. It is cut with a Spellbinder die, the plum mount card is hand cut after drawing around the outside of the die.
     The outside of the box has strips of cream card stamped with Phill Martin's Decadent Damask Sentiment Borders, On Your Wedding Day has been embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold.


Materials used
Phill Martin - Decadent Damask - Corners and Icons / Sentiment Borders / Everyday Sentiments
Cosmic Shimmer - Rich Gold Texture Paste / Bright Gold Embossing Powder
Foundations Card - Rich Plum / Cream
That Special Touch Mask - Ornate Frame
Perfect Medium Ink Pad

I would like to enter this box in the following challenges:

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered Art/Mixed Media
Love To Create - Anything Mixed Media