Thursday 31 January 2013

Tags

Two tags created for an 'Angel' swap ...




Saturday 19 January 2013

Another project

This is an ATC accordion book I have made using pictures of Mata Hari ...


folded ...


and stretched out ... the background papers are a cotton rag paper coloured with Adirondack Colour Wash Sprays (I know it's spelled without the U but I just can't bring myself to use this way). They are stamped with  wonderful Paperartsy stamps - including the fine background text stamp, Mini 61, which I love and then over stamped with some swirls using copper Brilliance ink ... text paper has been added to the bottom, and the images and ATC edges are finished off with Derwent Inktense pencil in Bark. I've added some star shaped brads and given her a halo with Liquid pearls - many would say she doesn't deserve a halo - but I love her. The words are computer generated, printed and cut out. 

Here are some close ups with a little more detail ... the light is terrible today despite the snow and my camera flash has washed out some of the rich colour the sprays give.



I do like how this project has turned out and just need to finish the cover.



Friday 18 January 2013

Altered Surface

I recently took part in an ATC swap with the theme 'Altered Surfaces'. I knew immediately that this was the perfect opportunity to try out techniques and follow a tutorial by Lin Brown ... this was the result ...


I love it! Thank you Lin.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Using Stash

This is what the fantasy film 'items' turned into ... the tag is coloured with Distress Inks as is the seam binding ...


My intention this year is to use up what I've got (a lot!) - and buy less - it's going well so far but we are only 2 weeks in and I have some Christmas money to spend ...

Anyway with this in mind and the prospect of some proposed swaps with groups I belong to I have been spraying different papers with Colorwash ink ...


... they're really pretty so I took my favourite and added some stamping with Archival Coffee and Briilinace Bronze ...

... I'm not sure yet what this will become but it will involve cutting it up - probably into ATC size ...

Saturday 12 January 2013

Fantasy Film

I've been playing with Fantasy (Fusible) Film with these results ...


Faux carnival glass (tutorial by RachO113) - the light isn't great and the flash shows a bit but in real life these are very pretty and shiny.

I wanted to try something else so I took various scraps of painted paper and using gel medium pasted the film to the papers. For some of them I crumpled the film first and on some of them I cut little pieces out. I also glued the papers to lightweight card stock for a firmer foundation. 

When they were dry (well nearly dry ... I was impatient) I blasted them with a heat gun. They turned out very pretty and I used the Tim Holtz tattered florals die to turn them into flowers ...


Again in real life these are beautifully shiny. I curled the petals a little to give dimension. 

I only had one colour of Fusible Film - Crystal Aurora - from Crafty Notions.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Concertina Card

I've been working on this little project over the last few days - its made from an A4 sheet of Kraft card cut diagonally and then folded into four - I've decorated it for a sort of feminine/French(ish) feel


This shows it standing up ... and then I've laid it flat so you can see the pages more easily ...



The 'front' pages above and the 'backs' below ...


The tallest page has a pocket on both sides each containing a tag ... they were made this way because I only had 6" paper and it didn't reach to the bottom of this page! Embellishments are metal wood, shrink plastc and punches

Saturday 5 January 2013

Tim's Tags 2013

This is based on Tim's first tag for 2013 although I didn't have the same products as he uses.


The embellishments are made from polymer clay pushed into a mould before baking. 

Thursday 3 January 2013

Mixed Media Tag

This is a tag I have made following  tutorial by Rachel at Rach0113. Rachel is a brilliant mixed media artist and she has made some great technique videos. My tag turned out VERY like hers so thank you Rachel. This is for a swap so I hope my partner likes it ...


The swap was a product one and the product was 'Distress Inks' ... somy background uses the wrinkle free distress technique. It's hard to see in the photo but there is a layer of Iridescent Gold glimmer on top and some gold mica flakes (I have had these literally for YEARS and this maybe the first time I've used them!). The tag is collaged and I have made a charm to clip on the side.

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Art Tiles

I have been having a lovely time making some mixed media art tiles. I pretty much followed a tutorial by Linda who's Youtube channel is called liveartnow - if you get the chance check out her other videos - she is a fabulous mixed media artist.


The square ones are 1" x 1" and are on wooden tiles and the round ones are a little bigger and are on chipboard. It's hard to see in the photo but they have a number of layers including gesso, torn paper and stamping. The colour is added with Distress Inks and each one has a layer of Glossy Accents on top to give a lovely finish. 

These really are fun to make, cost pennies (compared to the ones you can find in the shops) and are great embellishments.

Tuesday 1 January 2013

New Year - New Start

Happy New Year to you all.

I plan to use my time better this year making more and surfing less. Watch this space to see if I keep it up or not!

To get me off to a good start I have been making swaps for the groups I am in and they have been going well BUT I can't really upload those until partners etc are sorted so they are scheduled for later in the month.

I can show a couple of ATCs though that have already been swapped out ...


This one is for the theme 'Fabric and Fibres' and I found this really difficult - not sure why - but my head just wasn't 'there' so in the end I used fabric background, piled a load of threads on top of it and covered with tulle - I then stitched a grid pattern over the top and finished with a dictionary paper embellishment and a charm.


This one was for the theme 'rust'. I already had some fabric which I had rust dyed so I added some stamping to it and some foiling using 'Hot Spots' glue from Nid-Noi - I then embellished with a swirl die cut, butterfly die cuts and punches and some seed beads.