Believe

Today I am back with another piece for Fernli Designs using their fabulous laser cut crafting supplies.

I love these Fairy House Tall, fantastic for altering and I opted for a seasonal make this time around.

I began by applying a coat of Gesso drying with my heat tool and then adding a coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Cadmium Red Hue again drying with my heat tool. Next I applied Texture Paste over Tim Holtz Layering Stencil and allowed to dry. I then applied a coat of DecoArt Media Crackle Paint which I did not apply too thickly as I wanted a thiner more subtle crackle. If you want good thick huge cracks simply apply a thicker coat.

I love the crackle and how the red is clearly visible below and I love the added texture and dimension from the stars, subtle but I like it.

Twigs have been added to the roof for a real rustic feel and I painted the edges of the roof edges with the same red paint.

I added a small house inside, adding a santa image from Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods stamp set. I added twigs around the edges of the house again to add to the rustic feel of my piece and to add further texture and dimension to my design.

Three Stars have been added, again from Fernli Designs, painted red and stamped with the month of December. I added a circle of rusty tin wire along with a rusty tin star.

Thanks to Tina and Lou for inviting me, I have loved altering this house which could be used in so many ways; a fairy house, bird house, forest house, halloween house; there are endless ideas.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x 

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What's The Buzz?

Welcome to my weekly post for Artistic Outpost. Today I am showcasing the fabulous Paperboy stamp set.

I have opted for a mixed media tag this time around which began with a Gesso Resist background which I then cut down to size.

I applied Gesso over one of Tim's Layering Stencils, dried the Gesso with a heat tool and then applied Broken China Distress Ink over the top. The Gesso resists the ink. I then added splatters of water to the background which I allowed to sit for a few moments and then dabbed dry with a piece of kitchen towel.

I also added further stencilling, this time applying Broken China Distress Ink over the same stencil to give a tone on tone effect.

The focal image has been stamped with Black Archival Ink and once again I have added a circular spotlight around the image using Titanium White Paint. I have also added a few random numbers to strips of card to echo the stencilled numbers in the background.

A few delicate splatters of paint complete the design.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Sing From The Soul

Time for my weekly post for Artistic Outpost (stamps available from Our Daily Bread Designs). This week I am showcasing the Birds of a Feather stamp set.

The background is a mop up from a previous project. Picked Raspberry and Twisted Citron along with a touch of Spiced Marmalade Distress Paint were added to a non-stick craft sheet, spritzed with water and I then mopped up the beads of paint with the card.

I stamped the bird with black Archival Ink and then added a circle of paint around the focal image to act as a spotlight.

Distress Crayons have been applied over stencils to add layers of further interest to the design.

The sentiment is from the Songbirds stamp set.

Splatters of white and Twisted Citron paint have been added for further interest.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Be Yourself!

I am thrilled to have been invited back to be a Guest Designer for Fernli Designs, who supply a fantastic quality range of laser cut designs.

For my first piece I chose to use one of the fabulous Tags which I combined with Tim Holtz products.

I began by applying one coat of Gesso to the tag to give a good base for my next layer of paints.

I applied Evergreen Bough and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzed with water.

I mopped up the beads of paint with the tag; these tags are so sturdy and will take anything that you throw at them!

I continued to mop up the paint from the sheet; drying each layer between applications. I love the blend of colours.

I placed the Tim Holtz mini stencil over my tag and then applied Gesso lightly over the numbers using a piece of Cut 'n' Dry Foam.

The white really pops against the background and adds a further layer of interest to my design.

For my next layer I applied Black Soot Distress Ink to the reverse of the number stencil and then spritzed with water.

I then placed the stencil ink side down and then dabbed with a piece of kitchen towel and then dried with my heat tool.

I had a second background prepared using the Gesso Resist technique, colouring the background with Distress Inks. I stamped my focal image onto the background and then cut out the image.

I shaded around my focal image with a black pencil and then added some scribbly lines with a white pen.

I included a number embellishment from Tim's Idea-ology range to echo the numbers in my background.

To spotlight the focal image further, I added a painted circle around the image using an old lid.

For further interest I also included splatters of red and white paint to the background and repeated the sentiment from the focal image, adding to the top of my tag. I also applied Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges of my tag for definition.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I will be back soon with a second piece for Fernli Designs.

Tracy x x 

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The most important shot in golf........

Today I have a masculine card for you for my weekly post for Artistic Outpost. I am using The Golf Club stamp set this time around, available from Our Daily Bread Designs.

I die cut a circle from a scrap of card and then placed the circle onto a piece of white card, holding in place with a piece of low tack tape. I then inked Tim Holtz Stripes Layering Stencil with Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Ink, spritzed the stencil with water and then lay the stencil over the card, dabbing with a piece of kitchen towel. I then removed the stencil and dried with a heat tool and then removed the circular mask.

I added a touch of colour to the inside circular aperture using Peeled Paint Distress Ink; applying the ink to a piece of recycled plastic packaging, spritzing with water and then dabbing the ink into the circular area and then drying with a heat tool. I also added a touch of background stamping using the Ephemera Backgrounds stamp set. To highlight the circle further I draw around with a Stabilo All pencil and smudged with a waterbrush.

I stamped the golfer into the circle and added the sentiment, colouring the edges of the sentiment with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

I stamped Live, Laugh, Play to the top of the circle to complete my design.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Duo Silhouette

We have a fabulous new challenge this week over at A Vintage Journey and the theme is "Stencil It" chosen by the lovely Amanda.

Here is what Amanda had to say about the challenge:

"There are so many fantastic stencils available to us right now and so many ways in which to use them so we would like you to include stencilling in whatever it is you choose to create for this challenge.  Don’t forget all the ways in which they can be used – inks, sprays, paints, texture/embossing pastes and gesso are all stencil friendly. So be sure to have fun and embrace your stencils in your vintage; shabby; mixed-media; art journalling; industrial or steampunk projects".

Stencils pay a huge role in my artwork, I think I use them most times that I create so this was a perfect challenge for me.

 I began by brayering Distress Paint Evergreen Bough lightly over a piece of white card.

I then added a second colour Mowed Lawn again brayered lightly over the card.

I used one of Tim Holtz number stencils, applied Black Soot Distress Ink over the stencil.

Spritz the stencil lightly with water.

Place the stencil down onto the brayered backdrop.

Dab the back of the stencil with a piece of kitchen towel.

I love the random look of the numbers.

Apply Texture Paste over the Dot Fade Layering Stencil to add a further layer of texture to the background.

I also added some Tissue Tape and then placed two of Donna Downey's Silhouette Trio stencils onto the background and then applied black paint around the silhouettes using my finger.

I also added touches of red, applying Fired Brick Distress Ink over the Donna Downey Artist Soul stencil. I love the red against the background.

I also added a few scribbly lines around the imagery using a white pen and then added delicate splatters of white paint.

I added 'artist' to the top of the card again applying Texture Paste over a stencil.. To complete I also added delicate splatters of red paint.

Our sponsor this month is Country View Crafts who are offering a £20 Gift Voucher to our randomly chosen winner.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x