Facelift anyone??

Over on the Paperartsy blog the topic is Dark to Light. I really enjoyed creating this portrait of me and incorporating the lovely stamps from Emma Godfrey EEG14.

First I created a brayered master board with lots of stamping over the top. This was to stamp on and cut out my flowers.

Here are my chosen fresco Chalk Paints

.

For my background I chose Pumpkin Soup, Banana and Tikka Fresco Chalk Paints.

I wanted to make the process of portraits easier for the people who think that they can't draw. So, I chose a photo of me and printed it out in black and white, and traced it and transferred it to my page.

The scariest bit is adding colour, but the stages really made me laugh out loud!

I have given myself fuller lips, brighter eyes and a tighter jawline! what more could a girl want, except longer legs of course!

Heres a close up, highlighting Emma's indispensable stamps!
Thanks for looking!

Objet Trouve

Happy to be back in the groove and joining in once again at "Stamps and Stencils".

The topic is Colour, Texture, Shape, and the mood board was very inspiring.

I chose to use mellow tones of honey and sepia, with a little antique linen for good measure.

I began with a background of fragile papers and toned them down with Chalk and Snowdrop fresco paints. Added some texture with gesso through a stencil and also with a few Seth Apter stamps. 

next came the lace, flowers and beads which took longer to arrange than the background to create. 

to finish off, a little dishes stain and a word band. 

I managed to include a little of the Oxide, antique linen to the background which made me happy!

Infusion-oxides mash-up.

Hello, happy to be entering the "A Vintage Journey" challenge once again after falling off the crafting wagon recently.
This morning, while half watching tv in my kitchen, I spotted the fabulous Leonie Pujol playing with oxides.
As I came into it near to the end, I am not sure how she achieved her effects but it gave me an idea.
I was about to embark upon a project for the Vintage Journey challenge of "All Squared Up", so here goes.

I started on some hefty mixed media paper creating squares by pressing down with a selection of Oxides.

Then sprayed them with water and dried them.

Next, some stamping with a selection of Lynne Perrella stamps from PaperArtsy. There was a fair bit of masking done.

Next, I sprinkled a selection of infusions over it all and spritzed with water!

Finally, I lifted some of the infusions away with a wet brush and kitchen roll; sectioned the images using a Gold Leaf pen; added a few words and made a rough border.

I am pleased with my experiment and am entering it into the A Vintage Journey Challenge.

Paint card.

My second piece for "Things with Wings" over on the Country View Crafts challenge is a very simple and quick card.

I have recently been buying paint from a paint store and picked up a few paint sample cards.

This stamp from PaperArtsy HP1506, is the perfect size to fit along the colours.

I stamped with black Archival ink , added a strip of ribbon and stamped an extra butterfly onto another paint card and added a greeting from Emma Godfrey's mini stamp EM18, finally mounting onto black card.

There is still time to enter our challenge and be in with a chance of winning £20 to spend in the CVC shop. 

Products used:- Black Archival pad; HP1506; EM18.

Collywobbles?

My title is "Collywobbles", because, for the first time in ages I got excited and my heart was going on overtime as I created this piece.
It grew from nowhere and I really enjoyed it!
It doesn't have a story, it is just the pure enjoyment of a creation.
I used 2 of my fave PaperArtsy stamps, SD1 and stamped onto smoothy card with Distress Ink Blueprint Sketch.
A bit of distressing and a few attachments of ribbon, lace and sari sis, a few buttons, a stick pin with jewels and a clip.
Obviously, the pocket of a pair of denim jeans....and a nice little play after tea!
So, I am entering this into the PA challenge of Aqua!

Hey Little Wren.

This weekend I joined in with a free class entitled Creative Retreat.
There was a great selection of talented artists and as always, some appealed more than others, but what struck me the most was one lady in particular who just talked.

She was talking about Rituals and how they can help with creativity. Now, recently I have been in a creative drought and somehow this lady was speaking to me.
One of the things that she talked about was spending a little time each day drawing something....just anything, but drawing practice.
Well, yesterday I drew my teacup and today a little baby wren.
I hope that I keep up the momentum and work towards my creativity once again.
By the way, her name is Eli Trier.....and here is my little wren.

Fanfare!

My latest post is called "Fanfare" because we have our first sets of stamps from Alison Bomber! So happy and so well deserved.
Alison has been an amazing source of inspiration to me and many others for a few years now. I now have a few techniques locked into my head from her work and she never ceases to inspire me.

So, my stamps arrived this morning and I chose one of them to create this piece.
(New stamps).

I had a sheet of Bo Bunny paper which was ideal for my background and selected a few Oxides to add to it to create an interesting sky. Blending and spritzing onto my craft sheet to create the desired effect.
A frame of Vintage photo distress ink and the sentiment stamped with coffee archival onto Kraft Card which also had the oxide treatment.
A little hessian to frame the words and......hey presto....happy with my creation.
Thanks so much Alison....you are a star!

Padstow Journal Page

Last month I spent a week in Padstow. The weather wasn't very kind to us and so we went on lots of walks.

Here is my journal page celebrating the fabulous Camel Trail. 

I had collected a few brochures with pictures of the Padstow area which I used as my base. I added some neutral paints into the gaps and also rubbed some TH Distress crayons in Tattered Rose and Scattered straw, spraying them with water and blending with my fingers.

Next, I added a beautiful poem by Wordsworth entitled "To a Butterfly" and stamped a sentiment from a fairly new Kay Carley stamp. EKC05.

To complete my page , I added some lovely images from TH Botanical Layers...a packet filled with flowers, birds and butterflies. 

I do hope that you feel inspired to join in with the challenge over on Country View Crafts....lots of lovely ideas on there. 

Products Used:- Distress Crayons; EKC05; Botanical Layers.