Catchin' a wave

If you're a visitor to the Tando Creative blog then you may already know this but if not then I have news to share! Carol and I have been test driving Di's new white-coated board shapes for the last few weeks and as we neared the end of our experiments, Di invited us both to join the very talented ladies on the Design Team! As most of you know, I love to stamp so I'm very excited to be taking up this new role as the board has been lovely to combine with my stamping habit!

To celebrate, I had another play with the wavy inchie shape over the weekend and did a bit of CD "upcycling" to make this little brooch.

Your Tonic Studio scissors are handy for this kind of project as they cut through a CD with no problem! I cut a little strip and stuck it to an inchie that was first slathered in Ferro. I pressed a moistened stamp into the top part for some pattern and textural interest and then sponged over with some Precious Metal paints once dry.

ETA - Janice asked about the "tooth marks" on the CD strip. They're just the micro serrations of the Tonic blades. I thought it looked attractive so didn't try doing anything to smooth them out.

The whole lot was stuck to another piece of CD, using the edge of the circle to make a gentle curve at the base of the brooch. I coloured the resulting spaces with some more Precious Metal. A couple of flat back gems (courtesy of my Secret Santa - thanks Caroline!) and some tiny nail art gems finish it off.

Stamps:
Beautiful (The Rummage Bin line)

Paper:
Wavy Inchie (Tando Creative - find Tando stockists by looking here)

Other:
Ferro by Viva Decor (Graphite)
Precious Metal paint by Viva Decor (Blue Azure, Lilac, Mother of Pearl)
Freebie CD
Flat back gems
Nail art gems
E6000 adhesive
Brooch pin

You can visit Tando Creative and the other girls on the Design Team through the links in the blog roll over on the right if you'd like to.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mixing it!

Today is the final project from me and Carol on the Tando white board. We thought it would be fun to have a free for all day and just go with wherever the flow took us! I decided to mix some of the products and techniques from the projects we've been showing over the last few weeks and made this little piece of shelf art (it has a stand at the back so you can just plonk it down on a flat surface and it's quite stable).

I took advantage of the white surface and inked my chippie with Adirondack dye inks and then added Tera over part of it, bubbled it with a heat gun and accentuated the texture with some acrylic paint. Sentiment and dragonfly stamped with the darker of the blue inks and then I added some teeny glass bubbles, some florist wire and a twig from the garden.

The floating dragonfly is made from Cosmic Shimmer fusible film (about the only time you see me with an iron in my hand is if it's being used for crafting - hee hee!). I painted the back of the body with acrylic paint so it still has the iridescent sheen from the film but it's more opaque than the wings. I gave him some wire antennae and the wire extends down behind the body to give it some support.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Emerging Dragonfly - Dream (Sara England line)

Paper:
Scalloped circle (Tando Creative - you can find Tando stockists by looking here - I know Bubbly Funk already has this shape in stock, not sure about other places)

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed and Denim)

Other:
Tera paint by Viva decor (Greek)
Florist wire
Cosmic Shimmer fusible film (Blue Lake)
2mm and 3mm AB finish "beads" (no hole)
Acrylic paint
Twig

Hop on over to the Tando Creative blog to see what Carol's been up to as well. Thanks for stopping by!

Measure of time

I managed to make time to play along with Ready Steady Stamp's current challenge. Here are the required five ingredients. I was struggling a bit with the numbers and then remembered I had some printed ruler twill that's been in my stash forever! The rest came from there and as I did it I realised that it fits this week's Sunday Stamper as well. I guess Roman Numerals should count for numbers too so my clocks are doubling my number quota!

The base for my project is an empty chocolate box. One advantage of hubby travelling is that he often buys me nice choccies at the airport. The added bonus of that is that the boxes are usually really sturdy which makes them perfect for decorating later! A quick covering with a couple of coats of gesso and you're ready to roll. I stamped the sides of the lid by putting my inked stamp face up on the desk and pressing the lid down onto it - you can get your fingers inside and make sure you get good contact that way.

I watched a video tutorial a few days ago for making faux suede carnations. They remind me of an extreme version of the "sloppy poppies" that Kathy and others have been doing for a while and I thought it would be fun to have a go as the 3D element required for RSS. A good excuse to abuse a piece of card stock and get a pretty result at the end!

Here's a close-up of how mine turned out. The video is here if you'd like it - leave Mary a note if you liked it, she's just getting going with the video tutorials and likes to know how she's doing!

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Time to Stamp (Rummage Bin line)

Paper:
Simply Smooth Vanilla
Baby pink (Prism Papers)
Empty chocolate box
Corrugated packaging card

Ink:
Stazon by Tsukineko (Timber Brown)
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Vintage Photo)

Other:
Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder (I used the second size up in the Classic Circles Large set)
Labels Nine Nestabilities by Spellbinder (trimmed so just the deep bracket was left)
Printed twill
Brad
Gesso
Copic markers (to colour the leaves and tint the edges if the carnation)

Thanks for stopping by!

Colour crazed

Carol and I have nearly reached the end of our white board line with Tando - just one more project to share after this. We decided to find ways to add colour direct to the board today, just to take full advantage of the fact that it's white so there's no priming or covering required.

I tried out my Copics and a detailed stamp - the board took the stamped impression nicely and the Copic ink blended fine and didn't bleed out of the stamped lines.

I know the arch is really supposed to have the point at the top but looking at it upside down reminded me of a tulip so I made a little hanging thing-a-ma-jig to say hello to spring (we finally have frog spawn here so maybe spring really has sprung). I pushed the ends of the wire into little metal beads so there was a big enough surface area just to glue them to the top of the piece.

Here's a detail shot of her face and hair so you can see how the Copics blended on the board.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Tulip Girl (Saturday Evening Post line)
Sentiment from Silhouette Blooms I (Kim Hughes Collection)

Paper:
Wavy Gothic Arch (Tando Creative - you can find Tando stockists by looking here - I know Bubbly Funk already has this shape in stock, not sure about other places)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers and airbrush system
Florists wire
Beads
Silk ribbon
Silver acrylic paint

Carol's project is up on the Tando blog as well if you fancy seeing her colour crazed chippie too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Framed in Ferro

Carol and I have subjected the Tando white board to more gunkiness today - Ferro paint by Viva Decor this time.

I used four of the wavy domino pieces arranged to make this little frame - each one coated in Ferro, stamped for a bit of texture and lightly sponged with a couple of Precious Metal Paints. I did them individually so that I got clear joins between the pieces on the final frame. I think my stamps were just a bit small to get a clear impression in the thick Ferro but I like the effect I got!

I stuck an acrylic fragment over the picture hole and dry brushed a little of the copper paint around the edge. A glass pebble over a stamped clock face, a few tiny glass bubbles (aren't those fabulous - 2mm and 3mm glass spheres with an AB finish) and a coil of copper wire finish it off.

You could easily use a small photo instead of a stamped image if you wanted to personalise this idea and maybe use it as a gift.

I did find my dominoes curved just very slightly with the moisture of the Ferro (maybe a just shy of a millimetre lift at each end) but nothing that didn't flatten back out easily for sticking to a base.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Inchie Style (Rummage Bin line)

Paper:
Chipboard wavy dominoes (Tando Creative - you can find Tando stockists by looking here - I know Bubbly Funk already has this shape in stock, not sure about other places)
Simply Smooth

Ink: Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Ferro Paint by Viva Decor (Graphite)
Precious Metal Paint by Viva Decor (Blue Azure and Copper)
Fragment by Tim Holtz/Ideaology
Glass pebble (the sort you put in vases)
2mm and 3mm glass AB "beads" (no hole)
Copper wire

Thanks for stopping by! This and Carol's Ferro project are on the Tando Creative blog along with lots of other chippie projects for inspiration if you're in the mood for a little blog hopping!

Spritz blitz

Another couple of pieces on the Tando blog from me and Carol today. We've been busy spritzing stuff onto the white board pieces. The white surface means you get great colour without having to do any kind of preparation before you get started - hooray!

I've gone for a slightly more masculine piece today - I think it might end up being an alternative anniversary card for my hubby!

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
On the Desk (Rummage Bin line)
Script Essential Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments line)

Paper:
Wavy chipboard tag (Tando Creative)
Scraps of white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed olus reinkers in Juniper and Stonewashed)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Perfect Pearls by Ranger
Glossy Accents by Ranger
Copic markers
Acrylic nail art gem

Thanks for stopping by!

Tera firma

Carol and I decided to subject Di's chippie to some more gunkiness today - Tera paint by Viva Decor. This is a super-thick paint, more like a paste really and it takes a texture stamp nicely.

I coated my piece in Tera and stamped it then left it to dry overnight. I did find that with a piece this big, the board had warped very slightly when I came back to it (it's approximately 100mm tall by 70mm wide). I heated it gently from the back and found it flattened out again, no problem. There's a lot of moisture in the Tera and I guess the board absorbed it slightly unevenly and wasn't thoroughly dry even after that length of time.

A coat of black acrylic and some sponged Precious Metal paint finished off the base piece and then I added a butterfly stamped on metal, painted with more Precious Metal paint and shaped from the back with a paper stump. She has beads for her body and is free to wobble on her copper wire! The Flights of fancy is on a separate piece of chipboard painted black and roughly coated with the copper paint then stamped and attached with a couple of brads.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Cracked Montana Earth backgrounder
Vintage Butterflies (Saturday Evening Post line)

Paper:
Jigsaw tag (Tando Creative)
Scrap of chipboard

Ink:
Stazon by Tsukineko (Jet Black)

Other:
Tera Paint by Viva Decor
Precious Metal Paint by Viva Decor (Copper and Blue Azure)
Copper wire
Antique copper brads (Making Memories)
Aluminium sheet (Amaco)
Black acrylic paint
Beads

Pop over to Tando Creative to see what Carol's been up to as well! Thanks for stopping by!

Feel the heat

Carol and I are still playing with Di's new chippie shapes and today's technique was chosen to see how the board stands up to some heat - triple embossing. Even fairly substantial chipboard can warp with this technique and UTEE is unforgiving stuff if you try to flex a piece to flatten it out. You might not have been aiming for the cracked glass look but it's what you'll end up wit if you're not careful!

Here's a little "arty" peep at my project - full picture on the Tando blog.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Time to Stamp (Rummage Bin line)

Paper:
Wavy Twinchies (Tando Creative)
Smooth white
Black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versamark by Tsukinkeo
Adirondack by Ranger (Pitch Black)

Other:
Tim Holtz Masks by Ranger (Time Works)
UTEE by Ranger
Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger (Rock Candy)
Jump rings
Dewdrops by Robin's Egg

Thanks for stopping by - I know time is tight for most of us!

Dream a little dream

I read Sharilyn Miller's book Rubber stamped jewelry a few months back but got distracted by other things before trying anything out. A couple of days ago I found big bags of clear glass "pebbles" in a local £1 shop and remembered one of the projects in that book used one as an accent. Here's the result - it uses the same base materials as the one in the book but is different in just about every other way!

I made a batch of "sea washed" glass a while ago by breaking a square section bottle and tumbling in a rock tumbler. Some craft shops carry sea washed glass or the Ranger Memory glass range works well if you want a regular shaped jewellery piece. I painted the edges with Precious Metal paint and in doing so hit on the idea of wiping a thin coat of it across the back of the piece as well. I love the effect! The mica in the paint makes the glass just slightly more opaque but it still has a translucence.

The pebble was stuck onto a stamped piece of paper with Glossy Accents, trimmed and edged with copper tape then glued onto the base piece which had been stamped and embossed with detail gold powder. I added Glossy Accents to hold a little drift of seed beads. When dry, I dotted a few beads with the Precious Metal paint to deepen the colour. Stick a pin on the back (hidden by the pebble and beads on the front) and you're done. The cost of this is literally pennies - gotta love that!

I used a backgrounder in this design - one of the reasons I love them is that they're so versatile, useful for everything from a full card front to a small project like this (it's about 6cm/2.5" tall). Backgrounders and their bigger cousins the Scrapblocks are on sale this Friday/Saturday at CHF - buy one and get a second of the same value at half price. You can see the details on the store's home page {here} if you fancy stocking up.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Inchie Style (Rummage Bin line)
Spanish Script backgrounder

Ink:
Versmark by Tsukineko
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Paper:
Simply Smooth

Other:
"Sea washed" glass
Glass pebble (the sort used to put in vases)
Detail gold embossing powder
Seed baeds
Precious Metal pint by Viva Decor (Blue Azure)
Glossy Accents
Copper Tape

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a lovely weekend!

Cracking up

Another in the series of projects with Di's new board over on Tando today - Carol and I have been playing with Croco paint.

The wavy edges make these new shapes just that bit different - I thought beads would look perfect nestled up into the arched areas and so this little pendant was born. Hey look, no stamping!

The beads are clear crackle glass - the light is flaring off the crackles and making them look opaque white - sorry about that!

I painted the inchie first with black acrylic paint so that the black showed through the cracks of the Croco.

I sponged Precious Metal paint over the dried Croco but didn't aim for full coverage which has given a pleasing, shell like quality to the colour, I think. I added a dab of glue on the ends of the pins for extra security before embedding them in the inchie but the beads are free to twizzle on there so they're "fidget beads"! The board is really thick so not only does it take texture paint like this without warping, you can embed pins and you get plenty of contact area to glue things together (I used a gel type superglue).

Check out the Tando Creative blog for more cracking projects on the new board!

Supplies:
Wavy inchie - Tando Creative (you can find Tando stockists by looking here - I know Bubbly Funk already has this shape in stock, not sure about other places)
Croco paint by Viva Decor - Turquoise
Precious Metal paint by Viva Decor - Blue Azure
Black acrylic paint
Aluminium tubing (from a model shop)
Czech glass beads
Pins (from shirt packaging!)
Gel superglue
Necklace findings
Rubber cord

Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful bleach!

Di is introducing some new shapes and a new sort of board as part of the Tando Creative range. Carol and I have been putting things through their paces and you can see the results of the first experiments -Distress Ink backgrounds- over on Tando. Yes, I really did use bleach here (and yes, I really did have to go buy bleach just for stamping!) - check out the full details and some pieces from Carol too on the Tando Creative blog.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Ornamental Beauty (Rummage Bin line)
Tree Swallow Silhouette

Paper:
White coated chipboard arch (Tando Creative)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint)
Stazon by Tsukineko (Timber Brown)

Other:
Bleach
Seed beads
Wire
Dangle from old earring
Copic markers (to tint white beads as I didn't have anything the right kind of colours).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Send in the clowns

I haven't played at Sunday Stamper for ages and I'm not quite sure why I felt determined to play this week since the subject is clowns and I don't own any clown stamps! I decided to go with a vintage download image and use the stamping in a supporting role.

I've gone back to those forerunners of the modern clown, Pierrot and Harlequin (represented in the background pattern). Pierrot is probably where the idea of "the tears of a clown" comes from. I printed the image on premium copy paper and then just accentuated his face and hat a little with a tiny tint of Copic colouring.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Textured Harlequin backgrounder
Live Laugh Love (Rummage Bin line)

Paper:
Black
White
Premium weight copy paper

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Memento markers by Tsukineko (Rhubarb Stalk and Tuxedo Black)

Other:
Image from Vintage White Faced Pierrots by Everything Vintage
Copic markers
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Red)
Acrylic nail art gems

Thanks for stopping by!