Spring Canisters

Last night I was in the mood to just play and decided to have a go at Tim's April tag but with my own twist on things.

I decided to create two spring canisters using Eileen Hull's Canister die and I am really pleased with how they turned out.

These canisters also fit perfectly into Eileen Hull's Art With Heart Challenge which this time around is Spring Break.

For my background I used Worn Lipstick and Mustard Seed Distress Inks, applied to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzed with water, mopping up the beads of ink with my card to give a watercolour backdrop.

I have not used my Distress Markers for some time and it was great fun to colour, so relaxing to spend a couple of hours colouring and thinking about nothing else!

I added two handles to the top of my canisters and coloured the lids and bases with the same coordinated Distress Inks.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x x

Friendships

It's time for our monthly blog hop with Artistic Outpost.

Today I am showcasing the fabulous Think and Wonder stamp set, placing the children against an inky background.

I began by applying Drawing Gum to the background and allowing to dry. Once completely dry I applied Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks to a non-stick craft sheet, spritzed with water and mopped up the beads of ink.

I also included a touch of stencilling to the background using Salty Ocean Ink to give a further layer of interest.

A pop of red paint has been added here and there along with the sentiment 'Friendship' from the Skating Emporium Stamp Set.

My fellow team members have also created wonderful pieces of art to inspire you further along the blog hop.

Terry

Tracy (me)
Gerrie

Kate
Lisa

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x 

Vintage for Artistic Outpost

Today I am showcasing the fabulous Hats Background and Hat's Off stamp sets from Artistic Outpost.

I was aiming for a vintage feel with a spotlight for added interest.

The background of the card has been coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and flicked with water and then a touch of stencilling added using the Harlequin Layering Stencil.

I have also added a lens with stamped image and remnant rubs for further interest. The background has been stamped with the Hats background stamp, set against an inked background flicked with water.

A spotlight has been added to the background for added interest and dimension.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Eileen Hull Art With Heart Challenge

Morning everyone, today sees the start of a new challenge with the Eileen Hull Art With Heart Challenge and this month our theme is Spring Break, you can interpret the theme in whatever way you like!

The design team are showcasing the fabulous new CHA 2015 release, VINTAGE TRAVEL this month and I am showcasing the fabulous Passport Book.

Spring marks the start of the gardening season for me and I always love to see the fresh colour palettes and wonderful butterflies that visit the garden and this inspired my piece this month, using Eileen Hull's Passport Book Die, one of my favourites. I began by applying Pebeo Drawing Gum randomly to the background of the front and back covers and allowing to dry, then colouring all the die cut pieces with Abandoned Coral and Mustard Seed Distress Paints; applying them to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzing with water. I then rubbed away all the Drawing Gum which then leaves white areas in the background, love this effect. The Drawing Gum resists whatever paint I applied to the covers.

I machine stitched the front and back covers to the spine and added stamping using Prima stamps. I also included a heart cut from the kitchen towel I used to mop up all my ink, again adding stitching for added interest. I also included Prima tape stamped with FLY and a touch more machine stitching.

The centre piece to the butterfly is from Prima, I love the dimension this adds to my piece. I have also added touches of stencilling in the background using Tim Holtz Mesh Layering Stencil.

Each of the pages have been coloured with Abandoned Coral and Mustard Seed Distress Paints and once again I have added some random stitching to each page.

I also included a butterfly and pen nib to the inside pages, once again from Prima, added further background stencilling and a few paint splatters using Mustard Seen Paint.

Each page has added stencilling along with pieces of coloured kitchen towel machined into place for added texture. Splatters of Mustard Seed Paint and random stamping add further layers of interest.

This page shows in detail all the layers that I have added to each page.

The back cover has been stamped once again with a Prima image. All the pages were then added to the book tied in place with black twine. I love the bold black against the vibrant colour palette.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Sprint Towards Your Dreams

Today we are continuing with our monthly product focus with Artistic Outpost and this month our theme is Transportation/Aviation. I am focusing on the Charles and Amelia stamp set this month to create a vintage masculine card.

This month, the Artistic Outpost Product Focus is on the stamps found in the Transportation/Aviation stamp category on the Artistic Outpost Website. All stamps in the Transportation/Aviation category are ON SALE for 20% off through until Saturday 11th April 2015.

I began by die cutting my card with the Karen Burniston Oval Accordion Die from kraft card adding splatters of Gathered Twigs Distress Paint to the card and applying Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges for definition.

This is the front of the card which I added a die cut oval to the centre along with the fabulous sentiment from the Charles and Amelia stampset. I coloured the background with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and then flicked the background with water, applying Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges for definition. A touch of stamping, remnant rubs and a Chitchat sticker complete the front of my card.

I die cut two further ovals from white card and coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, again flicking with water to add bleached out areas to the background and then I stamped the focal images with Black Archival Ink.

I added a monocle to one of the focal images, adding a remnant rub to the glass of the monocle and attaching a mini sprocket with a jump ring.

A touch more background stamping and remnant rubs along with mini sprockets complete my design.

My fellow team member Shari has also created a wonderful project to inspire you further.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Guest Designer for Fernli Designs

I was absolutetly thrilled to be invited to be a Guest Designer for three months for Fernli Designs, thank you Lou and Tina for inviting me along. Fernli design and supply a fantastic arrange of quality laser cut crafting supplies and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to create with some of their fantastic range.

I was also sent a fantastic arrange of products from DecoArt and I thought I would combine both to create an industrial/steampunk piece.

The laser cut pieces I began with are an extra large tag, an ATC tag, 3" primitive heart and a single wagon wheel (I did not use the smaller one in this piece). I applied DecoArt Gesso to each of the pieces, applying two coats, this gives a good base for the paints I wanted to apply.

I used an Andy Skinner stencil to apply DecoArt Texture Paste over the INDUSTRIAL text and some of the numbers to add texture to my design.

I love adding layers, dimension and textures to my pieces to create a real tactile piece of art.

I also applied DecoArt Paste randomly over my design again to add further texture.

Once I was happy with the texture I then set aside to dry completely.

I then painted the entire surface with a mix of Titan Buff and Prussian Blue Media Fluid Acrylic paint from DecoArt. At this stage I then decided I wanted some texture to the edges so applied some DecoArt Texture Sand.

The smaller of the tags was sprayed with Carbon Black DecoArt Mister and then coated with a coat of Quinacridone Gold Paint to give a rust appearance (inspired by Andy Skinner).

It was then time to add the little touches and more rust details to the background. I added touches of Carbon Black and Quinacridone Gold Paint to some areas of my tag including the lettering, simply applying layers with a paintbrush. I also added numbers to my design again from Fernli Designs, spraying each number with  Carbon Black mister and then adding Quinacridone Gold paint over the top. I also added a dirty wash (as Andy Skinner calls it) to the top of all the painted areas.

I added stencilled numbers to the smaller tag using Titan Buff Paint along with grungy circles using the lid from one of my paints. I then mixed Paynes Grey and Quinacrindone Gold paints together added a touch of water and painted over the Titan Buff paint to give a grungy appearance.

The heart and waggon wheel  from Fernli Designs were adhered together; the heart was painted with Titan Buff paint and stamped with one of Andy Skinner's background stamps and the Waggon Wheel was given a rusty appearance.

I added a couple of pieces of frameworks, again sprayed with Carbon Black Mister and painted with Quinacridone Gold paint. I also included a Chitchat Sticker and Hitch Fasteners to the top of each of the tags.

The Fernli laser cut pieces are fantastic and will take any amount of paint and media products that you can throw at them and trust me I threw quite a few products at these pieces!

I will be back in May and June with two further pieces for Fernli Designs.

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. Tracy x x x

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Wherever I lay my hat that's my home

Today I am showcasing the fabulous Hat's Off and Hats Background stamp sets from Artistic Outpost.

I created a card with shadow frame, I have seen quite a few of these around in blogland and thought I would give one a try and I am really please with how it turned out. The background has been coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and flicked with water to add an aged vintage feel to my piece.

I added the hats and bike riders to the edges of my frame embossing them with clear embossing powder and I stamped the Hats Background to the centre of my frame. The text is printed on my computer and I added HAT to the centre for added interest.

These images are perfect for a masculine card and I know I will be using them frequently.

I added a metal hook, top hat embellishment and natural twine to embellish.

I also decorated the inside of my card to give a professional finish.

Hope you like my creation for today! Tracy x x x