Creative Chaos

Svenja is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see some sheet music on our projects.

I couldn’t find my book of old and damaged sheet music so I printed a freebie score onto copy paper (it’s Beethoven —Für Elise— if any musically literate folk are trying to make it out through the other stuff here!)

I use my Gelli plate to do a print from a magazine onto the musical score, tinted it with Distress inks, stamped some circles and a sentiment (which I curved slightly before stamping to follow the shape of her face a bit more closely). The circles have a tiny bit of grey shading to give them some depth.

Creative chaos is a polite term for the usual state of my craft room!

Stamps:
Limor Circles (Indigo Blu)
Creative Chaos (Visible Image)

Paper:
Plain copy paper
Black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tattered Rose, Picked Raspberry)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Wilted Violet)

Other:
Copic markers
Gelli plate 
Black acrylic paint
Brayer

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you and yours are keeping safe and well.

August elements

Kathy has chosen a lovely inspiration mood board for the August “elemental” challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. As ever, just chose at least three elements from the picture to kickstart your project.

I chose a shell, waves, random sparkle, book text, turquoise blue and a single word in a handwritten style.

I used the square from the Gel Press Petites to add brayered turquoise paint to a card base. I then sketched lines with a Spica glitter pen on the gel square, spritzed with water and pressed it over the paint. Just take care not to press too hard with the pen if you do this so the nib doesn’t damage the surface of the gel. I used the little white imperfections in the paint impression to guide where I put dots of Glossy Accents and poured on some clear glitter. As usual with a still photo the glitter doesn’t show up too well but it’s there and it’s pretty in real life!

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (Hero Arts, both retired I believe)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Old book page

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Gel Press Petites
Fresco Finish acrylic paint by PaperArtsy (Mermaid)
Spica glitter pen (Turquoise)
Glossy Accents
Glamour Dust by DecoArt (Crystal)
Washi tape
Corner Chomper 

Here's the inspiration picture if you’d like to join in and didn’t arrive by way of the DCM blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Time to create

Sylvia is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers  this week and her theme is “a moment in time” - it could be clocks or watches or something like story time or tea time!

I've used an astronomical map as well as a traditional clock on my card - light years count, right?

I played with the circular Gel Press Petite here, pulling text from an old book page then adding a subtle dotty white layer using an embossing folder to texture the paint on the Gel Press. Background stamping, die cut frames, sequins and a punched star add to the mixed media credentials!

Stamps:
Reach for the Stars and Time to Stamp (both Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Small stars from Merry Cut and Stamp (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol boarp
Premium weight copy paper 
Silver mirror card
Silver glitter card

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Gel Press Petites
Acrylic paints
Old book page
Gently Falling embossing folder by Stampin Up
Fine frames dies by Altenew (rectangle and circle)
Star squeeze punch by Fiskars
Sequins
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Recycle it

The lovely Svenja is setting our challenge this week at Daring Cardmakers and she'd like us to do a bit of recycling. It could be a failed project that you've given a makeover to turn it into something fabulous or it could be bits and pieces you rescue from the recyle bin and put to good crafty use.

I used three bits of "recylcing" here: a magazine page to make a print using a gel plate, my sentiment word is cut from a piece of tomato paste tube and I used a "stencil" that is actually a piece of plastic that came on a computer keyboard as a protector while in transit.

If you have a gel plate and haven't played with the magazine transfer technique it's a fun thing to do - this video is a good introduction if you want to have a play! Premium weight copy paper seems to make a good surface to pull prints and it's not expensive so it doesn't feel too awful if something doesn't work!

I used a white pencil to add some gentle highlighting and a charcoal pencil for some grounding shadows.

This is for a friend with whom we enjoy the odd wine tasting!

Supplies:
Page from Decanter magazine
Gelli plate
Acrylic paints (black, yellow green, turquoise)
White pencil
Charcoal pencil
Happy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)
Tomato paste tube
Keyboard “stencil”
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Mowed Grass) 
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Black Copic marker
Corner chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - February

It's time for the reveal of the Card Chain Challenge for February! As usual we had lots of options to play with - I chose the theme of birds and the colours (honey, raspberry,  strawberry). My card has gone to Gail who does a fabulous job each month as part of the team who keep us all organised!

I inked up my circular Gel Press Petite rather like a big stamp (I will get round to using it some other way soon!) and then sponged extra ink over the impression to blend a bit more. I thought the colour combination was quite reminiscent of a sunset.

I added tiny speckles and "twinkles" in faint colour by stamping off on scrap first.

Stamps:
Spring Bird (Bloom Art Stamps)
Believe in Unicorns (Visible Image)

Paper:
Bristol board:

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Wild Honey, Picked Raspberry)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Watermelon)

Other:
Gel Press Petities
Charcoal pencil
Black fineliner
Hello die (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Pinflair gel glue

There are a still a few days to sign up if you'd like to be a link in the next chain - make and send one card to the person "up chain", receive a card from the next link!

January Elements

Happy New Year! It's the first challenge of the NewYear after our wee break so today over at Daring Cardmakers is Elemental day - choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to kickstart your creation.

I chose the butterfly, grass stalk, chevron pattern and the blues/aquas from the colour palette.

I got a pack of Gel Press Petites for my birthday and had a first play here with the circle one - I just used it a bit like a big stamp to layer up the inks and then add the chevron pattern by stamping onto the gel plate itself before transferring to the paper. It made it really easy to line up the repeat pattern (it's a border stamp).

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts)
Thankful Silhouettes (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous)
Offbeat Backgrounds (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Say It All (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed, Denim)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Copic markers
Wink of Stella (clear)
Gel Press Petites
Corner Chomper 
MISTI 

Here's the lovely mood board we have for our January inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by!