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 

Fernli Designs Shop
Fernli Designs Facebook

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

Today I Am Thankful

I am showcasing the fabulous Harvest, Seed Packets Background and the Grunge Elements stamp sets from Artistic Outpost, available from Our Daily Bread Designs.

The background has been coloured with Color Bursts and then I stamped the Seed Packets Background using Potting Soil and touches of Monarch Orange Archival Inks.

I stamped the children onto card coloured with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, stamping with Potting Soil Archival Ink. I cut out ieach image and then added them to the decorated panel and added a piece of circular rusty wire to spotlight the children, attaching with staples.

I added further background stamping using the background stamps from the Grunge Elements stamp set and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I also added the sentiment "Today I Am Thankful" again surrounding it with rusty wire to echo the wire around the children.

I also stamped the children onto the inside of the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Eileen Hull Twist and Style Tool

This month the Eileen Hull DT are showcasing the fabulous Twist and Style Tool. Eileen has a fabulous video HERE to show you how to use the tool, its great fun!

I opted for two ATB's and a coordinated card. The Artist Trading Blocks were created using Eileen Hull's Block/Cube Scoreboards Die.

1 I began by die cutting the ATB from mountboard and then I applied Mowed Lawn and Evergreen Bough to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzed with water.
2 Mop up the paint with the die cut pieces.
3 Dry the paint with a heat tool.
4 Take a stencil, apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink directly to the stencil and then spritz with water.

1 Place the inked stencil ink side down onto the die cut pieces and then dab with a piece of kitchen towel.
2 Remove the stencil to reveal the design. Repeat this process for all the die cut pieces.
3 Cut lengths of rusty tin wire, use the Twist and Style Tool to twist and then shape into hearts. Keep the spare lengths of twisted wire for added interest on the projects.
4 Place the wire hearts onto book pages and then pour Liquitex Pouring Medium into the hearts and then allow to dry overnight. Once completely dry, cut out each of the hearts.

I created a coordinated card again using all the techniques above. I added two of the hearts to the card adding paint circles in DecoArt Media Cadmium Red Hue to give a contrast to the design. I also added three of the lengths of twisted wire to the card for added texture.

I love how the text from the Alice book pages are clearly visible within each of the hearts.

I also added some stencilling to the background of the card to add a further layer of interest. I also included some splatters of paint.

I added hearts to the ATB, adding threads of cotton behind for added interest and texture. Again I have added painty circles to the background.

Numbers have been added to the top of the ATB and once again I have added lengths of the twisted wire to echo the design on the card.

Two hearts have been included to the top of the ATB. I love the twisted wire and the Twist and Style Tool makes it so easy.

I echoed the stencilling and circles on each side of the ATB.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Tag Friday - A Vintage Journey

This is the fifth Friday of July which means that over at  A Vintage Journey we have a Tag Friday post for you.

My tag began life from a mop up background from a previous project where I was using Distress Paints and the paint that was left over I mopped up onto a separate scrap piece of card. I die cut a tag from the coloured background using Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplate Die.

I applied Black Soot Distress Paint to the mini number layering stencil and then spritzed with water. The stencil was then placed face down onto the background and dabbed with a piece of kitchen towel. I then removed the stencil and dried with a heat tool.

I stamped the winged girl from the Winged Things stamp set onto a second mop up background and then cut her out and added her to my tag.

I added dimension to her wings with a second stamping and added a 'love' tag which I die cut from a background piece of card using Tim Holtz Labels Thinlits die and then stamped the wording love onto the tag. I also applied Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges of the tag. For further interest I also added random Remnant Rubs to the background, along with delicate splatters of white paint along with scratchy paint lines using an old credit card.

I decided to add my tag to a card which can then be used for a birthday and I repeated some of the techniques onto the background.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x x