Pin Painted Pebbles

     This months project for Altered Eclectics is a simple painted pebble. Have you ever tried to find a perfectly round, flat pebble before?  Easy?  Oh no it's not. You'd think on a beach piled high with thousands of pebbles you could find just one.  It's at that point you realise just how amazing nature really is, it's not just a pile of stones, they are all unique.

     So I settled on a couple of pebbles that are almost round and almost flat. As they are both quite small I had to find a way of adding paint that was also small. A pin head is ideal but difficult to hold, out came the jar of corks. If you keep something long enough it will come in handy!
     I tried to make pretty patterns on my stone but as you can see I need much more practice, it's not a easy as you think. The paint is Pebeo pearl in various colours, I have to say I prefer the pale pattern on the small stone, the dark colours are really dark.
    We all see amazing things made by others and think 'that's nice, I can do that', well yes you can but when you try it you appreciate just how much time and effort, as well as practice, they must have put into it. Maybe with my eyesight I should go for a bigger pebble!
     The larger one is now sitting in a flower pot with other unpainted pebbles surrounding a patio rose, the small one is on the bathroom windowsill.
     Whatever your project, as long as it's not a card or an ATC, you can come over and share it with us at Altered Eclectics, we would love to see you creations.

Media Plate Cat

     Having made so many cards with the gorgeous splat stamp I thought I'd try and get the same, or at least similar, effect with a media plate. I discovered two big differences, one is the obvious crisp edge of a media plate is nothing like the random edge of a splat and two is the less obvious type of acrylic that the plates are made of.
     Inks on the media plate tend to pool in small blobs unlike the splat but all is not lost. By adding a layer of Versamark on the media plate to begin with the inks bobble much less and a very similar effect to the splat can be achieved. The other thing to remember is that while the splat holds moisture well, the media plate does not, so only spritz the inks once or twice at most.

     So for this card the Versamark was applied to the media plate once placed in the stamp platform, then a layer of Distress Oxide Inks. A minimal spritz of water to get the inks moving and then the platform was shut on to the card. As previously mentioned it is sometimes best to shut the card onto the stamp so the ink doesn't run off the media plate or stamp.
     The water used on this card had some pearl mica in it so there is a subtle sparkle to the stamped media plate shape, unfortunately it doesn't show up well in this picture.
      These backgrounds are so pretty in there own right, they need very little else to go with them so silhouettes are perfect. I have several cards to make for next month which means the cats are most definitely out of the bag.
      A simple black mat layer was enough to make the stamping stand out but when I tried it on a white card blank the image panel seemed to fade, the answer was to use a Kraft card blank which keeps the image panel as the focal point. A tiny addition in the corners seemed to finish it off completely. There is no greeting on the front as I didn't want to take away from the image.

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

Show Us Your Pussycats -  Furrything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/ optional Use A Critter

Sparkles Monthly - Include An Animal

     

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

     I am pleased to say that I am now a member of the Design Team for Christmas At sweet Stampin', which means that at least once per month I can bring you a festive project. Please don't groan, I know it's only February, but if you start now you'll have everything sorted by December!

      I have used the splodge stamp quite a few times recently but that's because it's such a great stamp for backgrounds, especially with Distress Oxide Inks,it's from Inkylicious.
      The inks were dabbed direct from the pad across the stamp, then spritzed with water to make it all run and blend a little before being stamped on to good quality card. The card needs to be quite thick as the moisture will make it buckle a little.
      Once dry I used a white paint pen and tapped it hard while holding it over the image, this made lots of tiny white stars. The large star was stamped and embossed in silver.
      The stag is a Lavinia Stamps image stamped in Versafine black, using a stamp press really helps with silhouette images as you can go over them several times to get a perfectly solid black image.
      I haven't added a greeting to the outside of the card as I feel it doesn't need it, plus I have some friends who like to frame their cards and adding a seasonal greeting would limit when they could display it.
      Please pop over to CASS to see all the lovely DT inspiration, I'm so happy to be part of this team and looking forward to having lots of Christmas cards and decorations made before we reach December.

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

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round - Carols and Songs
Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas for Eileen
The 12 Months of Christmas - Anything Christmas, optional penguins
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas, optional cute
The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

I've Got My Eye On You

       Just before Christmas a crafting friend showed me how to make some amazing backgrounds with a 'Splatter' stamp, I loved it so much I had to get the same stamp, now I've gone splatter crazy!

      This stamp, from Inkylicious, has the ability to hold colour without beading, allowing all manner of colourful backgrounds. For this one I used Distress Oxide inks with a touch of Brilliance Lightning Black on the outside edges, a spritz of water and a bit of a tilt round to mix it up before stamping on white card. This was stamped using a stamp platform, I also found that sometimes it's better to close the bottom onto the lid so the colourful inky background stays put.
      Once dry it went back on the stamp platform so I could add Simmi, the gorgeous eye stamp from Lavinia. A platform is a must for silhouette type stamps as well as anything large, if you miss a bit you can re-ink and stamp again. This was embossed in black gloss to help keep the pen colour used on the eye within the lines.   
     The Iris was coloured with watercolour pencils and the white of the eye was done with a white Sharpie. Small gems have been stuck along the eyebrow pattern to add a little sparkle.
     I used a large square die to cut the image panel, then I rounded the corners before going around the whole panel with a little Broken China Distress Ink. A simple black mat layer framed the image before going on to a wider blue layer on a white 7x7 card blank.
     This splatter measures about 5.5 inches, so it would have gone on a smaller card if I hadn't added a couple of layers, but as it just about goes as standard post then I'm happy with it. There will be lots more of these backgrounds, it's so much fun playing around with colour combinations and no two are ever the same.

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

Watercolour Wednesday - Anything Feminine Goes
International Art & Soul - Make Your Own Background

Let Sleeping Mice Lie

      My first time making a 3D needle felted project and I only stabbed myself twice! Altered Eclectics challenge blog is somewhere you can showcase your projects as long as it's not a card or an ATC, so if you've tried anything new lately please pop over and show us.

     We started making our basic shape with what they call 'core wool', it's not quite as refined as the top coat but very necessary when making a 3D object.
     The lovely Sarah was very patient and guided half a dozen of us through the process. If you have ever thought about trying this craft I would have to say try it.

 

     This is my mouse with his top coat on, then curled up in a sleeping ball of grey fuzziness. A tiny pink nose added, a not so tiny pink ear ready to be attached and a little black closed eye.
     Working on a small felty can be a bit of a challenge, mixed with a sharp needle and cold hands makes for an interesting morning of deep concentration.

   
     Everything on this little mouse is attached using the needle, glue is nowhere to be seen, it's really satisfying when you attach something, stab it into place, pick it up and it doesn't fall off!
     A chubby little tail was added before attaching Mr Mouse to his snugly curly green bed.
     I have used a 2p coin to show his size, it was touch and go whether he would fit in the glass bauble but in the end it was just right. This was the only time any glue was used and that was to fix the bed to the glass.
 

     Having tried this I am in awe of some of the items I have seen, I now understand why the prices for felted animals is so high, they take ages to make and a lot of skill to get right.
     Please pop over to Altered Eclectics and have a look at the array of DT projects, we love altered items and mixed media, but also welcome other hand crafted projects.

I would like to enter Mr.Mouse in the following challenges:

Crafting By Design - Animals
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - #383 Anything Goes 

I See You

      This was made for my niece who has the most gorgeous hazel eyes, I thought of her when I first saw this stamp.

      The card started with a square of white card on which I stamped and embossed Simmi by Lavinia Stamps. I then stamped on some Stix2 masking sheet, cut it out and covered the eye to keep it white.
      Using Distress Oxide Ink I coloured it a very pale pink, covered it with a stencil and coloured again with the same ink but a little more of it.
      After removing the mask from the eye I coloured the iris with watercolour pencil and a touch of brown mica paint, it's not easy trying to match someones eye colour, especially when you have to do it in secret.
      The eyebrow pattern is coloured with a darker Distress Ink painted on with a water brush, then tiny gems were stuck on to give it a little sparkle. The edges of the image panel didn't look quite right so I edged it with the same pale pink ink as the overall pattern.
      It really needed some black to make the image pop so a couple of mat layers split up by a bright pink pearl card did the trick and by mounting it on a white card blank it brought out the white of the eye too.

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

Crafty Gals Corner - Make It Sparkle

The Sisterhood Of Crafters - Make It Sparkle

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes

Seize The Birthday - Stamping Only  

Let It Snow

      After watching Tim Holtz Holiday Hacks I rummaged through my Sizzix Bigz stash and found a snowman and this is what I came up with.

     In his video Tim shows how to fold a piece of card with a 'W' shape at the bottom and die cut it to get the shape to stand up all by itself. If you haven't seen the video then I would recommend taking a look at some of the ideas he shows, this one is very simple but very effective.
     Having cut my white card snowman with a 'W' bottom I then cut another shape in white glitter card to go on the front, in this layer I also cut the words 'Let It snow' with some dies from the 'Holiday Words - thin' set. To make the words show up I backed them with a small piece of light blue pearl paper.
     Once the glitter layer was stuck on the card I trimmed the bottom flush with the card and stuck a black top hat on to finish off. There is just enough room on the back of the snowman to stamp a small greeting and to write a message. I think a few more of these will be made for the Christmas card box, so this year I won't be caught out not having enough come December.

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

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Let It Snow

Winter Wonderland - It's Snowtime

The 12 Months of Christmas - Anything BUT Rectangular

Dies R Us - Anything using Die Cuts