I Do Believe.....

Time for my weekly post for Artistic Outpost and this week I am showcasing the fabulous Snowy Woods Stamp Set.

I created a mixed media backdrop for my focal image using Distress Paints.

I brayered Distress Paint over my background and then die cut two layers of baubles, one of which has been stamped with the fabulous Father Christmas image from Artistic Outpost. One bauble has been die cut from Metallic Kraft-Core cardstock and the smaller bauble has been die cut from my mixed media masterboard I created for the background of the card.

I also added delicate splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint to add to the snowy feel along with some snow using a DecoArt Snow Writer. The vintage seam binding has been coloured with Dusty Concord Distress Ink to coordinate with the background.

I added a die cut sentiment 'believe' to complete my design.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Whatever....................

Hope you are all enjoying the festive period. I created this next piece just for fun!

I had some Lyra pencils for Christmas and thought I would try them out, they are wonderful to use.

The image is from stampotique.

The background has been created with Dylusions paints.

I love this sentiment which I stamped on a scrap of paper.

I added splatters of red paint to lift the background a little.

I hope you all get a little time in this busy period to do something just for fun!

Thanks for stopping by. Tracy x x

Happy Christmas

Before I begin with my weekly post for Artistic Outpost, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and all the best for the coming year. Enjoy the festivities and thank you all for your support during 2015.

This week I am showcasing the fabulous Toy Emporium stamp set housed inside a shadow box. I began by die cutting the Postage Stamp Frame from white card, incorporating the sized rectangles within the frame to get the aperture. I then aged the frame with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and added splatters of Fired Brick Distress Paint.

I created a box to go at the back of my frame which I cut from white card and then adhered to the back of the frame, again colouring the box with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and adding splatters of water to add bleached out areas.

I stamped the centre of the shadow box with imagery from the Toy Emporium stamp set; stamping the images with Black Archival Ink and adding a layer of DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze to age further; allowing to dry completely and then rubbing over the cracks with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream. The imagery has been coloured with touches of red using Polychromo Pencils.

I added Hitch Fasteners to the outside edge of the frame and added rusty wire for further texture. I also included a few Christmas berries for added interest.

I die cut three postage stamp labels using Tim Holtz Thinlits Die and added touches of stamping to each label, again colouring with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Tracy x x x

Christmas Accordion

This week I have created a Christmas Accordion using the fabulous Toy Emporium stamp set from Artistic Outpost.

I created my accordion using the Tim Holtz Arch Frame Die; I die cut one shape and then drew around the shape to create the accordion, cutting from white card which I then coloured with Vintage Photo Distress Ink; applying the ink to a non-stick craft sheet and then spritzing with water to add bleached out areas in the background.

I love browns with a touch of red and I love how the Vintage Photo Distress Ink adds a real vintage feel to the imagery. With my first panel I stamped the sweet girl with Black Archival Ink, created a mask, placed the mask onto the girl and then stamped the Santa imagery behind. Delicate splatters of Fired Brick Distress Paint have been added to the background along with scratchy painted lines. I also added further shading to the edges with more blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I used a star template to add stars to the central panel, which I painted with Titanium White DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic, dried with a heat tool and then coloured with Gelatos to add shading. Christmas Joy was stamped into the centre of each star using Black Archival Ink and once again I repeated those red splatters and scratchy paint lines.

The third panel I added random background stamping using the text stamp from the Toy Emporium set stamping with Ground Espresso Distress Ink and drying with a heat tool.

I also added stamping to the reverse of the panel, again repeating the splatters and scratchy paint lines and those stars, to echo the details on the front of the accordion.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

A Vintage Journey - Secret Santa

Welcome, so glad you could pop by. Today myself and the team from A Vintage Journey are sharing with you the Secret Santa handmade gifts we gave and received.

Let me start by showing you the gift I received from the lovely Astrid.

I was so thrilled to receive a piece of Astrid's handmade artwork, it is gorgeous and so tactile and I have it on display as I type. Pop by Astrid's blog for all the wonderful detail, this really is a treasure. A huge thank you Astrid.

Now to the gift I created which was sent to the lovely Brenda Brown.

I wanted to create something that Brenda could bring out each year to display with her cards, something that was vintage and dimensional. My fellow team member from another Design Team Lisa inspired me to create this piece.

The arch shadow box is created using Tim Holtz Arch Frame die combined with Eileen Hull's 3D die, which enables you to make any die cut shape 3D. I then used the Sized Arches to create the front panel. I covered the die cut pieces with Tim Holtz Merriment and Yuletide Paper Stash. Once I had all my pieces stuck together I then added Texture Paste around the edges to give the appearance of snow and added Distress Stickles Dry Glitter Clear Rock Candy over the wet Texture Paste to give some shimmer. To add further to the festive feel I added some foliage around the outside edges using Tim Holtz Boxwood Twine.

I die cut the Mini Reindeer from white card, die cutting five layers and adhering them together to give me a dimensional Reindeer that would stand. I then painted the die cut piece with Vintage Photo Distress Paint, adding touches of Ground Espresso Distress Ink around the edges for shading. I added natural twine and a rusty bell to the reindeer for added interest.

I added a Mini Wreath and a Token embellishment to the centre, adding Dry Glitter to the Wreath for added sparkle.

I added some twigs from my garden to add a natural element to the design along with some mini Christmas lights.

Natural mini pinecones, faux ivy and berries have also been included.

To complete I added some Holiday Letterpress which I coloured with Wendy Vecchi  Red Geranium Embossing Powder.

Pop by A Vintage Journey Blog to see all the wonderful handmade gifts we shared.

Tracy x x

Christmas Joy

Welcome to my weekly post for Artistic Outpost and today I am showcasing the fabulous Toy Emporium Stamp Set.

I created a 4.5" x 6.5" card blank and covered with with decorative papers and added shading using Ground Espresso Distress Ink. I then die cut an aperture from the front of the card using the Tim Holtz Arch Frame Die and once again added shading to the edges using Distress Ink.

I added the die cut piece to the inside of my card and then stamped the sweet girl onto the panel using Black Archival Ink and coloured the image with Polychromo Pencils. I also added the toy imagery and again coloured with pencils.

I added a few delicate splatters of red to the background using Fired Brick Distress Paint and stamped the Toy Emporium Text to the top of the panel along with the Christmas Joy sentiment which I stamped onto white card and coloured with Fired Brick Distress Ink; flicking water onto the background to give bleached out areas. I love the touches of red against the plain beige backdrop. I repeated the sentiment onto the bottom of the card along with three mirrored stars.

A few more touches of red paint have been added to the outside of the card, adding scratchy lines with an old credit card. I also included a few red berries for added interest.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

A Vintage Journey Challenge - Vintage Christmas

Welcome to a new challenge with A Vintage Journey. This month our host is Annie and her challenge is:

"Use your dies, stamps, rub ons- anything you choose to create a Vintage Christmas card, home decor piece or gift for someone special".

This is how I was inspired by Annie's challenge theme:

I decided to opt for vintage colours this time around using Vintage Photo and Tarnished Brass Distress Paints throughout.

I began by spritzing my white card lightly with water and then adding small amount of Vintage Photo Distress Paint to a non-stick craft sheet and rolling my brayer through the paint, removing the excess paint before braying over my card. I then used a light touch to brayer the paint over the white card.

I then repeated the same process with Tarnished Brass Distress Paint which added a lovely shimmer to the backdrop. I then dried the paint with my heat tool.

I placed Tim Holtz Stars Layering Stencil onto the background and then applied Tarnished Brass Distress Paint over the stencil using a piece of Cut 'n' Dry Foam,  to add random stars to the background.

I moved the stencil around my card until I was happy with the design and then dried the paint with a heat tool.

 I die cut the Retro Ornaments from mountboard and then painted each one with Vintage Photo Distress Paint and dried with a heat tool.

I added textured stars to each of the baubles using the Stars Layering Stencil and Texture Paste. Once the Paste was completely dry I then added Picket Fence Distress Paint to the edges of each of the baubles.

I also applied Treasure Gold Wax to the textured stars to add a touch more shimmer to my design along with delicate splatters of Tarnished Brass Paint. I also included Remnant Rubs for added interest.

I die cut two snowflakes from mountboard using the Tim Holtz Stacked Snowflakes Die applying a layer of Texture Paste to each snowflake and then allowing to dry completely. Each snowflake was then painted with Vintage Photo Distress Paint and the texture was highlighted with Treasure Gold Wax.

I applied Ground Espresso Distress Ink to the edges of the card for added definition.

I stamped the sentiment (from the Tim Holtz Simple Sayings stamp set) with Ground Espresso Distress Ink, applying the same ink to the edges of the sentiment. I also added splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint to the background to lift the design. I then added the completed design to Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Metallic Collection card.

I would also like to link this to the Emerald Creek Dares Challenge which this time around is "show us all your holiday creations"

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x x
     
    

Christmas Robin

I have a Christmas card this week for my weekly post for Artistic Outpost.

I created a mixed media backdrop for the Robin from the Birds of a Feather stamp set.

I brayered a piece of white card with Broken China, Salty Ocean and Dusty Concord Distress Paints, applying the colour very lightly with the brayer so that some of the white areas are still visible.

I added some delicate stencilling using a layering stencil and Dusty Concord Distress Ink along with random circles of paint using lids from my products.

 I added a tree die cut from white card and added dimension to the Robin, stamping him twice with Black Archival Ink, cutting him out and adhering with hot glue.

I also added scratchy paint lines with an old credit card and Dusty Concord Distress Paint along with some delicate splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint. I love how all the layers of paint are visible.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x