A touch of Klimt

Hello

I managed an afternoon in the craft room on the bonus bank holiday. Perfect for trying out some of my new Klimt inspired stencils from GiogioCraft.

I started with yellow chalk paint on black card and then added red, blue, green and gold translucent paints over the top. I masked off the lady and stencilled the background with Distress Oxide ink.

The second try I coloured in the skin with pencil...not sure I like it...

The third go was with black paint on white card, overlaid with the colours and gold again, and gold stencilling in the bacground.

It's such a gorgeous stencil I'm sure it will make another appearance in due course. Which do you like best?

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely creative week xxx

Bowled Over

Hello

I can't believe August is all but over. It's been a very busy month with family birthdays, trips away and visitors. There hasn't been much time for the usual mixed media and papercrafting but I have had a very creative time.

First I'm sharing some bowls made with air dry clay following a tutorial by Giovanna Zara. You can follow the link on her blog Giogiocraft.

My mother-in-law was staying for a while and we had fun having a go at this technique. The clay was easy to roll out like pastry. Unlike pastry, we found when we combined the left over edges it didn't join up again smoothly, but had air bubbles in it. We still managed 5 pieces from one packet. We used Giogiocraft stencils.

Once dry we sanded off the edges for a smoother finish. Here are mine painted...

Then gilded and varnished...

We chose to use a gloss varnish on the top and a matt varnish on the bottom. 

Here are my mother-in-law's...

...the yellow bowl came out especially well.

If you give it a try, do leave enough time for the clay to dry completely before painting, and again enough time for the paint to dry before glazing.

I visited the Museum of Royal Worcester in August and was completely blown away by this piece by George Owen in the collection. The photograph is taken from the website. Having spent a week on and off making our crude, wobbly air dry clay bowls I am in awe of the craftsmanship involved. I would highly recommend the museum if you're in the area.

Thank you for stopping by xxx

A gentle return

Hello

I'm back after a couple of months of no posts. I have been doing some crafting and painting, by that I mean starting things that I haven't finished! 

One project I did get finished was a mixed media canvas.

I started by painting a 25cm sq canvas with Fresco Finish paints and stencilling in some background.

Next I coloured white card by 'swooshing' through Distress Oxide ink...

...and die cut leaves, flowers and a vase. It was A LOT of die cutting!

I think it was worth it in the end.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day, hopefully with a little crafty something thrown in xxx

 

Maneki-necko

Hello

I've been having a little play with some of the lovely stencils in my Giogiocraft advent calendar. First up is the little maneki-necko, beckoning cat, in the hope that 2021 brings us better fortune.

Difficult to get a decent photograph at this time of the year when there is so little daylight.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope the week brings you happiness and good fortune xxx

The love of swifts

Hello
Hope you have been enjoying a relaxing weekend. I was up early this morning to catch the best light and finish off a canvas I started a few weeks ago. Most of the canvas was done with stencils and I only used brushes for the swifts.

Of course the more you look the more you want to tinker but I'm blogging so I can say it's done...probably!

I absolutely adore swifts and mark the year by when they arrive and depart. Only six weeks left for me before they start to journey back. Making the most of them.

Hope you have a great week ahead. Thank you for stopping by xxx

Steampunk style

Hello
Today I'm sharing a card made for an 18th birthday for someone who loves textiles and design. Hope it fits the bill.

Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the photos of how I made the background. I used an embossing folder for the tailor's dummy image and stuck on black peel-offs, before painting over it with black gesso and Fresco Finish chalk paint.

I used various metallic waxes to highlight the embossed areas...

...and added the embossed and die cut numbers.

It's a good technique to get a different look from your embossing folders.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day xx

Good day sunshine

Hello
I hope the week has been kind to you. Both April and the #craftingwithgiogio challenge have come to an end. For the penultimate theme 'faux' I made some metallic backgrounds for use at a later date.

The final theme was 'sunshine' which was a great opportunity to get out a lovely stamp set with sunny sayings.

I'm still debating whether to add a little gold foiling to the suns.

It's been a good week all things considered. Friends and family are safe and sound. I have received gifts of gin, flowers and a very special Very Hungry Caterpillar.

 
The sun is out and the swifts returned on the 30th April, always a highlight for me. My little treat to myself arrived just in time to have a play this weekend. Many blessings for me to count.

Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe and well and have a lovely weekend xxx

Life is a song

Hello
I'm playing a bit of catch up with the #craftingwithgiogio challenge. This journal page was for the theme 'geometric'. Not a style I normally choose, but then that's why we challenge ourselves to try something new.

 

 I love this Dance to the Music stamp set from Joy! Crafts.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day xxx

Romantic steampunk

Hello
Hope you are having a relaxing day wherever you are. At least crafting is helping some of us keep sane during the virus lockdown. Today I'm sharing the latest in the #craftingwithgiogio projects on the theme of steampunk or vintage. I was inspired by this painting of Elizabeth I for the colour scheme.

I started by covering the page with black gesso, using thick paint and heavy brush strokes to create some texture for the curtains. I added the Giogiocraft laser cuts and peel offs, and gessoed those as well, before laying down a first layer of paint.

I like using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints for crafting as they come in a wide range of colours and so I don't have to think about colour mixing. Even more importantly they come in opaque, semi-translucent and translucent so they are amazing for effortless layering, and they dry very quickly.

 

With all the painting done I added stamping with DecoArt dazzling metallic paint and highlighted the peel offs and die cuts with a variety of gilding waxes. To finish off I added some tiny watch parts, which were a present from my sister, with just this kind of project in mind.

 

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Do take the opportunity to see the other lovely creations #craftingwithgiogio. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.  Enjoy the weekend xxx

Pick of the pockets

Hello
Today I'm bringing you the latest in the #craftingwithgiogio challenge on the theme of pockets. I decided to make two pockets at the back of my journal where I could keep all the lovely tags I've received from Giovanna Zara when I have bought stencils.

I cut down two pages to make the front of the pockets and stencilled gesso to create a resist.

 

The backgrounds were coloured with Gelatos, one half with a warm palette and one half with a cool palette and I used a baby wipe to blend the colours together. The gesso resists the pastel to leave paler areas. To give a little more interest, I rubbed more Gelato through a stencil and used a baby wipe over the top to blend it on to the page.

Next step was some stamping and white highlights with a paint pen.

 

I painted Giogiocraft laser cuts and added light stamping for extra texture. These help to strengthen the pocket. The pockets were joined with strong red line double sided tape.

 

 

I had fun doing something a bit different. It's not too late to join in if you fancy a challenge #craftingwithgiogio or just take a look to see what others have been up to.

Thank you for stopping by. Take care xx