Wax fish?

The topic over at PaperArtsy for the next couple of weeks is "wax". I'm trying to join in with a few more challenges this year and thought this one might be fun to play with.

I don't have any wax art supplies and for a first experiment I decided to just go with stuff around the house so a plain old tealight came into play! It's translucent enough to work as long as the layers don't get too thick.

I used an ATC cut from mountboard - I like to go with something small when I'm just experimenting with materials and techniques, it feels more manageable than a full card or canvas. I stamped the fish skeleton on the ATC and coloured the edges with wax crayons (just cheap kids' ones from the £1 shop). Then I tipped some melted wax on there and used a heat tool to spread it out, let it set and repeated.

Once the wax layer was thick enough, I used a pokey tool to draw round the shapes in the stencil and get incised lines. I brushed the wax crumbs off, replaced the stencil and added a little colour with a couple of Copic markers (just dabbing so the nibs shouldn't have come to any harm!). That left the surface sticky enough to hold some Perfect Pearls. In real life it looks much more layered and inscribed but wax and mica combined to make a bit of a photography nightmare, I'm afraid!

Having made the ATC, I decided to mount it onto a card blank with just a little inky stenciling and a stamped sentiment. I think it will make a useful masculine card to have in my stash.

Stamps:
PaperArtsy Mini 100
Sentiment from Essential Messages by Hero Arts

Paper: 
mountboard
Bamboo mixed media paper by Hanemuhl
black cardstock

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass) 

Other:
Cell Theory stencil by Crafters Workshop
Tea light
Wax crayons
Perfect Pearls (Turquoise and Blue Raspberry)
Copic markers 
ATC and Corners die by Tim Holtz/Sizzix

Thanks for stopping by!

Coffee lover!

Inspired by a mixed media challenge on Splitcoast Stampers, I've been having a little play with coffee!

We don't usually have instant coffee but I got a small jar a while ago when we had workmen around who preferred it to "proper" coffee! The bit left in the bottom of the jar came in useful.

I made a strong coffee mix to start and used it at different dilutions - weak on a flat brush through the stencil to start off with and to sponge the edges of the card, strong to tint some gesso to paint over the hearts and also to add shading. I smeared some of the full-strength solution onto a craft mat, dabbled the flourish stamp into it and stamped around the edges. I finished by stamping a coffee-related quote with pigment ink.

I made a more conventional card with the same stencil for the Bubbly Funk blog too - you can see that here if you're interested!

Stamps:
Dinkie Vintage Flourish by Indigo Blu
My own design coffee sentiment

Ink:
Instant coffee/water!
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Love Post 6x6 stencil by the Crafters Workshop
Gesso

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday rose

This is one for the stash of birthday cards I seem to need in the early part of the year. It's a one layer design with a bit of stenciling and some dots to add some interest - the dots are just the "waste" from dies like tags and buttons domed out by rubbing over the back with an embossing stylus on a foam mat. If you make them from the same cardstock as the card base they give a nice, integrated look.

The rose is watercolored with a mixture of Distress inks and Clean Color markers with a tiny bit of green pencil in the centre. I think this stamp set must be retired as I can't see it on the Waltzingmouse web site which is a shame as the wild roses are so pretty and make a lovely change from the more traditional rose shape.

Stamps:
Roses in Bloom by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Sentiment from Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: Bristol Board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Picked Raspberry,  Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters)
Versamagic Chalk ink by Tsukineko (Key Lime)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Cressida stencil by Memory Box 
Zig Clean Color pens
Spring Green Prismacolor pencil
"Waste" circles from various die cuts
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Resolutions!

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but I do often take part in the postcard swap at UK Stampers and that’s what Jill has chosen for January's theme. I decided to use what is apparently the most popular resolution (lose some weight) as inspiration and added the sentiment as I think it's something that might well be appropriate as a resolution for many of us!

I put a piece of low-tack tape across the top of the upright on the stencil before inking the mannequin body in raspberry ink and adding shading with currant, then swapped the position of the tape to ink the stand in brown. I’ve stamped through the stencil after inking the focal point mannequin, using the same flourish as I used to “frame” the card.

I drew round the inside of the body shape on the stencil and cut a mask so that I could put the grey, shadowy mannequin “behind” the main one. As the postcards go to their recipients as traditional postcards (no envelope to protect them) this kind of layering with inks, stencils and stamps is perfect to create interest without adding layers and embellishments that will be exposed to the rigours of the postal service!

Stamps:
Vintage Flourish Dinkie by Indigo Blu
Journaling Words 3 by The Artistic Stamper

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Raspberry and Currant)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)

Other:
Modern Dressmaker stencil by Memory Box
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have 2016 off to a great start!

More Brushos!

I needed a card for a friend with a Christmas birthday - her favourite flowers are poppies so this still looks a bit Christmassy because of the red/green combo and it would be easy to substitute a poinsettia if you were that way inclined.

I played with Brusho again to make the background, stenciling over the top after it was dry for a bit of subtle "texture" and to tie it together a bit. The poppy is coloured with Copics with layers cut out and stacked for a bit of dimension.

Stamps:
Poppycock by Indigo Blu
Sentiment from Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: Bristol Board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Graphite Black
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger - Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint

Other:
Copic markers
Brusho - Leaf Green
Pinflair gel glue
Cressida stencil by Memory Box

Thanks for stopping by!

40th Fly-by

A friend asked me to make a card for her son's 40th birthday recently. They got him a flying lesson in a Cessna for a gift so she wanted a plane on there if possible.

The plane turned out to be an accent rather than a feature but I find you can't try to dictate too much of what happens at the craft table and this is what happened!

I'm late to the Brusho party but my parents bought me some for my birthday (thanks Mum and Dad!) and this is my first little play with them - just a simple sprinkled background with two colours (Ultra Marine and Turquoise).

I heat embossed the 40 so it would resist the Brusho colour. I also masked the tickets - I obviously didn't do a brilliant job of that in terms of resisting the colour but I decided I quite liked the arty look that accidentally emerged and ran with it rather than trying again! I used a very light Copic marker to tie them together a bit.

I added some "depth" to elements with a fineliner pen and some smudged charcoal pencil and the wee stamped plane is cut out and raised on a bit of dimensional glue.  I stamped it directly onto the card first so that the squiggly "trail" lines would be there, too.

My friend seemed extremely pleased with it which is the main thing - I hope her son liked it too!

Stamps:
Plane and ticket from Explore by Craft Secrets (retired)
A&P Numbers by Ma Vinvi's Reliquary (retired)
Essential Messages by Hero Arts

Paper:
Hot press watercolour
Black
Laid textured white

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko Graphite Black 

Other:
Brusho - Ultra Marine and Turquoise
Bright White embossing powder by Wow
Copic marker
Fineline marker
Charcoal pencil
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Colour me Christmassy!

I'm posting on the Bubbly Funk blog again today - three cards made from the lovely Colourful Christmas kit currently available in the shop

.

Daring reindeer

Bubbly Funk is sponsoring the Daring Cardmakers this week and I'm sharing my card on the BF blog, hope to see you there! (There's a prize package from Bubbly Funk on offer too - even more reason to join us in stenciling something!)

Supplies:
Message Wreath stencil by Hero Arts
Memento Luxe ink - Pear Tart
Canvas textured paper (inkjet printing stuff - try your local pound shop!) 
Kraft card blank
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Reindeer Flight die
Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Glitter - Antique Linen
DecoArt Glamour Dust - Crystal
Pebeo Metal Touch paint - gold
Acrylic nail art pearls

Anything but a card...

...that's what Dawn has asked us to do for this week's DCM dare.

One of these days I will think ahead to what might photograph well before I start in on a project. In the meantime, may I present a brooch with a very shiny surface that really hasn't photographed well at all?!

I started with a die cut oval of water colour paper and drew a line across it with black hot glue. While the glue was still molten, I dragged it out with a pokey tool and sprinkled copper embossing powder onto it then heated again so that the powder melted. It can tend to separate a bit but I like the slightly tarnished look you end up with if that happens.

Once the glue had hardened, I gave the whole thing a good spritz with water and added drops of Distress reinkers and then a wee bit of Perfect Pearl mixed to a glaze with water in a few places. Once dry, the whole lot got stuck to a sturdier piece of card for stability and finished with Lisa Pavelka Magic Glos (a UV cure resin) for an enamel-like finish.

Supplies:
Watercolour paper
Sizzix Framelits Ovals 
Tim Holtz Distress reinkers by Ranger (Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Blue Raspberry and Forever Blue)
Black hot melt glue (and glue gun)
Copper Embossing powder
Lisa Pavelka Magic Glos 


Why not join in with DCM this week if you have gifts or decorations to make for Christmas? There are lots of fab ideas on the blog if you fancy a play but you're not quite sure what you'd like to make.

Cuddly Creatures

It's Nat's turn to set the dare on DCM this week and she's given us the theme of cuddly creatures. I've gone clean and simple with these super-cute kangaroos - I reckon being carried around in a pouch must be like a permanent cuddle!

 The image is just a shade small to stand alone on a regular A6 sized card but I reckon giving it a swirly focal point sorted that out. I sponged over the mask with two shades of ink which gives a nice effect, I think. Kanga has her feet stuck to the card blank and her ears supported with some dimensional glue so she leans forward a bit - poised for her next hop, perhaps?!

The "hello" sentiment is dark brown in real life so it's not quite as heavy looking but the camera refused to treat it as anything other than black in today's odd lighting conditions! It has clear Wink of Stella on there for a little glitz.

Stamps: Kanga and Joey by High Hopes

Paper: Cryogen White and Chocolate Brown

Ink:
Versamagic (Key Lime and Turquoise Gem)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso) 

Other:
Rubber Bands by Crafters Workshop
Hello die by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Copic markers
Wink of Stella clear pen
Pin Flair Glue Gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!