Polka Dots

On the Stampotique Designers Challenge this week

is #149 - Pink, Turquoise & Polka Dots

I enjoy challenges that have a colour or theme

as I find it is a good starting point,

especially if, like me, you find yourself staring

at a blank card with absolutely zilch between the ears!

(i.e. nothing!  not a single thought!)

 

I started by blending 'picked raspberry' over the whole tag

with some darker splodges on the edges.

Next I inked up my 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder

with 'peacock feathers'

and ran the tag through the Cuttlebug.

It didn't quite do what I had in mind, but 'hey' that's OK.

I then inked 'picked raspberry' through the

'mini circle explosion' stencil randomly to create polka dots.

I stamped "Head" (Stampotique)

(borrowed from Jenni - thanks)

  onto some scrap card

and coloured his shirt alternatively with 

'picked raspberry' & 'peacock feathers' Distress Markers.

It is so good having Markers and Ink that co-ordinate when working on projects!

I cut him out, popped him on dimensionals and put two strips

of washi tape to ground him.

From left over card scraps, I wrote the little quote

and also popped each word up on dimensionals.

I finished with a length of seam binding ribbon 

coloured by dragging it through both colour stamp pads,

spritzing with water to blend the colours

and dried in the sun for 10 minutes before attaching to the tag.

Happy Crafting!!!

Steampunk Karin

I'm still trying to play catch-up

with all the different challenges

and lucky for me,

Stampotique Designers Challenge

although updated with a new challenge each week,

is actually open for the whole month.

So ........

Challenge #148 - STEAMPUNK 

I started off with a tag that had already been previously coloured

using Distress Inks blended together.

Using 'gathered twigs' Distress Ink and 'Mini Gears' stencil

I created the background.

I then used Ferro 'steel'
(metallic texture paste)

over the 'Mini Time Travel' stencil

in three areas on the tag to create some texture

and left it for a couple of hours

to make sure it was well & truly dry.

Next the 'ghost clock' from Heidi Swap was attached using a brad.

I've had the pack of 'ghost clocks' in my stash for years and now there are only two left.

I wonder if they are still available?

  I stamped Karin and coloured her with watercolour pencils,

adding highlights with a metallic silver pen

and the heart with 'majestic purple' Liquid Pearls

before attaching her with dimensionals.

As an extra embellishment, I fussy cut three postage stamp images

from Graphic 45 "Steampunk Spells" paper.

A piece of 'natural' lace finishes the tag off.

 Happy Crafting!!!

Yippee!!!

I know I'm a little slow in getting this challenge made

but here is my entry for the

Stampotique Challenge # 146 - Pink & Orange 

The background is a combination of 

'spiced marmalade' and 'picked raspberry' Distress Inks,

overstamped in 'picked raspberry' 

using the "Sea Bubbles" stamp from 

Designs by Ryn.

"Mela" is stamped directly onto the tag

in 'jet black' Archival Ink

and her dress, shoes and hair ribbons

stamped onto scrap paper and

paper pieced.

'Yippee!!!' is rub-on letters

and the tag is finished off with

pink and orange ribbons.

Happy crafting!!!

  

Hello Foxy!

Two blog posts in one day after such a hiatus?  Woohoo!!!

The theme this week at Wicked Wednesday is 

"Foxy" 

 and I found this lovely little chap from

Lawn Fawn "Critters in the Forest".

I started by blending 'peeled paint' Distress Ink

on the bottom third of this ATC, 

followed by 'broken china' Distress Ink

on the other two thirds.

The foliage is from SU 'Pocket Silhouettes'

(discontinued?)

in 'peeled paint' Distress Ink.

I stamped the fox in 'jet black' Archival Ink

on a scrap of white card

and blended 'tea dye' Distress Ink

over him/her (?) leaving the end of the tail white.

I then re-stamped him/her again onto the ATC,

fussy cut around the first fox

before glueing directly over the image.

I finished by stamping 'hello foxy' in 'jet black'

and went around the edges with ink

to darken them slightly.

Happy crafting!!!

 

Lighthouse

Gosh, where does the time go?  Lately I seem to be spending most of my crafting time designing and cutting cardstock for the next class I'm scheduled to teach - phew!!!

But today I decided I was going to play along with some of the challenges that are on this week.


The theme at this week's Tagalong Challenge is "Lighthouses".  Ok, I thought, I don't think I have any stamps with lighthouses, so while I was at Alice in Paperland earlier today, I had a look around and found a Graphic 45 paper from the "By the Sea" collection which suited the theme quite nicely.

My apologies for the photo, unfortunately late afternoon isn't conducive for taking the best shots.

I started with a tag (12cm x 6cm) and covered it with a scrap of newsprint that I found in the craft room and trimmed it to size.  It had a couple of torn edges but that just adds an extra touch.  I edged around the tag with 'Broken China' Distress Ink and just gently along the torn edge.

Next I fussy cut the lighthouse including some of the rocks at its base, inking the white edges with 'Broken China' ink as well, before gluing directly onto the tag with Zig two way glue.

I added the words "let your light shine" using Kaisercraft tiny letters, and finished off the tag with a little snippet of striped ribbon and blue and white wool.

This photo is a much truer colour, but is more out of focus, OOPS!!!

 Happy crafting!!!

Painty Fingers

This week I've been having lots of fun playing with paint.  No, I haven't been painting any walls but I have been making pretty patterns with Kaisercraft acrylic paints on paper.  No help needed, this is something I can do all by myself (LOL) !!!   That'll teach old Mr Mojo for not coming and helping with card designs for upcoming classes!!!

Of course part of the reason I was playing with paint was because the next Mixed Media Tag class was at Alice in Paperland on Wednesday and I was teaching it.  This is such a fun class where it is impossible to make any mistakes.  It is a technique based class and really I'm there to show them what to do and the rest is up to them, and the ladies did a really good job too!

 In the April edition of  Craft Stamper magazine, there was an article called 'Messy Monoprinting', and since I don't have a Gelli Plate but I do have different size acrylic blocks, this was a perfect way of getting messy with paint.  Then I discover in the new June edition, a continuation of this in the article on page 50 'Blistering Acrylic Paint'.  Wow, this is fun!!!

The 'yellow' bits in this tag are actually gold paint, and it looks fabulous in real life.

The wiggly and straight lines are made with a multi-purpose 'squeegee' tool

made by Tsukineko and which I've had in my stash for years but never used.

A finished tag complete with background stamp and doodling.

Lollipop flowers?

Love this technique, thanks Craft Stamper!

Have I mentioned how much I love all the ideas and techniques that Craft Stamper magazine has each month?  If not, then I have now.  It is so full of inspiration, some of which I can't do as I don't own all the bits 'n 'bobs (and some I've not heard of in Australia), but it is just such a fabulous magazine and inspires me to try techniques with the step by step instructions.

 

And on that note, I'll go and bring the washing in off the line as the sun is going down and shortly Spike and I are off to the vet for another check of his sore eye.

 

Happy Crafting!

 

Colour Saturation

The theme for April's Stampotique ATC swap was

"COLOUR SATURATION"

So, what to do?

Since Mr Mojo seems to be AWOL

and I was trying to work out exactly what 

"colour saturation" meant,

 I had a bit of a think and came up with a painty background

that I had been playing with a couple of weeks ago.

 

I don't have a Gelli Plate

but there was an article in a magazine 

about using an acrylic block instead.

So  a few squirts of Kaisercraft acrylic paints in

Turquoise, Lime & Hot Pink

onto my largest SU block,

shmooshed around then straight down onto a piece of cardstock

and when you lift it up, it sort of lifts the paint too

giving the texture of ridges or leaves.

Since there is plenty of paint on the block

you can give it a second and third go onto more card

and each time will give you a different effect.

I next stamped Girl and her Dog (without the Dog)

onto white cardstock

and then onto leftover pieces of the painty background for her dress

before fussy cutting around the images.

I decided to leave the Girls uncoloured

as I thought there was plenty of colour already.

The sticker words on each ATC were all different

as they came from a packet in my stash

and no two words were the same.

It took me a while sitting looking at them all

to work out little quotes that made sense.

So, there you have it!

The first two girls made their way to Scotland and the USA

and I kept the third for myself.

Thanks for coming to look at what I can do without Mr Mojo,

and if you would like to leave a comment 

(only nice ones, of course)

then please do!

Happy Crafting!