A Moment of Magic

With Christmas over finally there's a chance to play and get inky!  I've been having fun with Dylusions inks and stamps and Giovanna Zara's Tando stencil.

I'll be sharing this on the Dylusions Facebook Challenge for December.

Winter Trees

Some of my Christmas cards this year were inspired by Kay Carley and how she uses Brusho.  The joy and frustration of using Brusho is that no two came out exactly identical!

Materials used:

Woodware: trio of trees

Brusho: gamboge, sea green, prussian blue, yellow, canary

Stampendous embossing powder: detail white opaque, frantage shabby white

Stickles glitter glue

Aurora Borealis

The last theme for The Craft Barn calendar challenge is silver/gold and trees.  Last year I was lucky enough to see the northern lights in Iceland and so my entry is inspired by that visit.
 

 Our sightings weren't quite as dramatic as the scene I've created!

Materials used:

Faber-Castell gelatos: black licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, cotton candy, 

snow cone, acqua dolce, spearmint, lime, margarita mix, coconut

Archival ink: jet black

Distress embossing ink

Hobby Art: winter scene-its, in the country 

Stampendous detail embossing powder: silver opaque

I've had a great year taking part in the calendar challenge and now I will get to enjoy all of the projects again throughout 2016.  I'm looking forward to next year's projects...I have my dictionary ready and await instructions!

Here's a look at all of the pages together...

Thank you for your support and lovely comments throughout the year xx

A day to give thanks

We need to learn how to want what we have not to have what we want 

in order to get steady and stable Happiness
― Dalai Lama XIV

Grey Owl

With the first little sprinkle of sleety snow this morning I felt inspired to tackle the Craft Barn's November calendar challenge.  This month the theme is grey and owls which initially I thought would work well with a Kate Crane style Journal Soup approach.  Having got started though I decided to keep it a bit simpler and more muted.

First a generous layer of white with layers of shades of grey (not quite 50).  Then more grey and white through a stencil, with some dry brushing on top to create the feel of a blizzard.

Next edging with Gelatos and Stabilo All pencil, and a little shading to ground the owl.

The owl was cut out of a piece of card painted with darker shades of grey and some stencilling was added.  Wings and feet were added separately and his face drawn on.  'Snow' was added with a piece of crunched up tissue dipped in paint.

Actually I quite like him like that, but that wouldn't really work for a calendar challenge!  I won't stick the calendar on yet and maybe some lucky owl lover might get him as a Christmas card next year!

Wishing you all a warm and cosy weekend xxx

Materials used:

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint: snowflake, elephant, taupe, little black dress

The Crafters Workshop: mini circle explosion

PaperArtsy: PS002

Faber-Castell Gelatos: squid ink, chocolate

Ranger Multi Medium: matte

Stabilo All pencil: black

fine line pen

Coasting Along

Hi there
A friend asked if I'd be interested in selling a few things at a craft fair and I thought I'd do my best to pull together a few bits and pieces.  I thought coasters always go down well so I set about altering nine bisque coasters with chalk finish paint and archival ink.  I chose three designs and three colour schemes and created a mix and match set.  I started with a white undercoat and then a mid tone on top and a darker tone on the edges. 

Then followed some stamping in white paint and I'm afraid at that point I got so engrossed I forgot to take pictures. 

 The next step was stamping in different coloured Ranger Archival ink and when that was dry the words were repeatedly stamped in black.  Before the ink was fully set the edges were rubbed with a damp baby wipe to knock the colour back a bit and make the centre stand out.  To tie the layers together some circles and a border were stamped in gold paint and a co-ordinating colour.  The edges were also painted gold.  The coasters were sealed with three layers of matte finish glaze to protect the stamping and give a surface that you can wipe clean with a damp sponge.  To finish they have been backed with a co-ordinating square of felt.

The problem is now they're finished I think they'd make rather good presents for my friends!  I won't be too sorry if no-one buys them ;-)

Materials used:

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint: amethyst, orchid, chocolate pudding, Irish cream, 

eggplant, lilac, snowflake, chalk, vintage lace, old gold, matte glaze

Ranger Archival ink: jet black, coffee, cornflower blue, deep purple

PaperArtsy stamps: EDY09, EDY10, EDY11, HP1006, HP1009

Impression Obsession: solar system

Stampers Anonymous: stuff to say

Pumpkin Power

Work, social life and colds have all conspired to limit my crafting opportunities this month but I couldn't miss out on getting my entry in to the Craft Barn calendar challenge.  This month the theme is Orange with Pumpkins or Fruit.

I've used a digital die cut as both a mask and a stencil and combined Distress Ink and Promarkers for the colour.

Today marks the end of an era as the physical shop at The Craft Barn closes.  I'd like to wish Sandy and Ian all the best with achieving a slightly more leisurely lifestyle and the success of the online shop. I'm very much looking forward to classes in the new venue.  See you soon!

Materials used:

Distress Ink: wild honey, scattered straw, squeezed lemonade, 

shabby shutters, twisted citron, pine needles

Promarkers: cool grey 1, 2, 3 and 4, pressed leaf, leaf green, lime green, winter spruce 

Archival Ink: jet black

Impression Obsession: Seth Apter solar system

PaperArtsy: EDY05

Kaisercraft: edges