Steampunk Canvas

The challenge this week with Simon Says Stamp and Show is to create something using your favourite ink pad, your most used pad, or create with a favourite ink.

I have showcased my favourite ink pad, brushed corduroy Distress Ink in a steampunk dimensional canvas.

This weeks challenge was an easy one for me as I absolutely love brushed corduroy Distress Ink; perfect in my opinion for ageing any project or item, it adds that subtle aged colour without over powering the focal image. Tim Holtz Top Hats image takes centre stage in my dimension pocket watch cut using the Pocket Watch Frame die. The Idea-ology Pocket Watch embellishment echoes the main large focal pocket watch to give further interest and dimension to my canvas.

I began my canvas by firstly creating the dimension pocket watch. I die cut two bases, one from thick grey board and one from white card.

Next I added the large circle from the Sized Circles dies to my pocket watch frame and then die cut several layers to add to my base for dimension.

I coloured the white card pocket watch base with black soot Distress Ink. I die cut a circle from white card using the Sized Circles die, stamped the background with Tim Holtz Gears stamp using walnut stain Distress Ink and then aged, colouring with brushed corduroy ink. The gentlement with top hats have been stamped over the top with black Archival Ink.

From this picture you can see the subtle stamping in the background and the wonderful aged effect achieved from brushed corduroy Distress Ink.

I die cut one layer from acetate and added some stamping using black Stazon. I also added some mini gears to the acetate before assembling the pocket watch to give the appearance that they are floating inside the watch.

The background of my canvas has been covered with a sheet of card stock from Tim's Crowded Attic stash and I also sanded the edges to age a little and then coloured with brushed corduroy Distress Ink. Once I assembled my pocket watch I painted with black soot Distress Paint, adding silver Paint Dabber to the top to give a metal like appearance. You can also see the layer of acetate with the gears added. I also added enjoy the journey to the top of my watch.

This angle highlights the fabulous dimension given to the pocket watch. I have also added pen nibs, aged with a touch of black soot Distress Paint.

To add further texture I also added some ball chain to link both the pocket watches, again ageing a little with a touch of black soot Distress Paint. For further interest I have also included some mini numerals and mini gears.

I added some stamping to the pocket watch using black StazOn and the Gears background stamp, adding another one of the gentlemen with the top hats to the centre. Once again the stamped piece has been aged with brushed corduroy Distress Ink.

The sides of my canvas have also been decorated with mini gears cut using the Mini Gears die.

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and take a look at my fellow team members they have created inspirational projects. Remember there is also the chance to win a $50 prize from Simon Says Stamp.  I always look forward to seeing your creations each week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Top Hats Stamp
Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Gears Stamp
Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Simple Sayings
Tim Holtz Crowded Attic Paper Stash
Tim Holtz Alterations - Pocket Watch Frame, Sized Circles, Mini Gears
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Pocket Watch, Pen Nibs, Ball Chain, Mini Numerals, Mini Gears Sprockets
Distress Inks - Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot, Walnut Stain
Distress Paint - Black Soot
Paint Dabber - Silver
Archival Ink - Black
StazOn Ink - Black

Enjoy The Journey

I've used the Eiffel Tower from 100 Proof Press this week to create a travel themed card.

Distress Stains wild honey and walnut stain have been used for the backdrop, added to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzed with water, mopping up the beads of ink with my card.

I've added PARIS to jump rings along with adage tickets, film stip ribbon and a 'p' bottle cap.

The Eiffel Tower has been added to an embossed PARIS backdrop coloured with wild honey and walnut stain Distress Ink to highlight the embossing. The Eiffel Tower has been stamped onto white card and coloured with Distress Inks. The bottle cap has been coloured with butterscotch Alcohol Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Delicate Asters

My third piece for Creative Expressions this month uses the fabulous Heartfelt Delicate Asters.

I've used a more muted tone this time around. I have created a crackle backdrop for my dimensional flowers and added some random stamping using the Newsprint background stamp from Sam Poole.

The asters have been stamped onto a background paper, adding many layers for dimension. I have also added copper screw top brads to the centre of each flower for further interest and dimension.

Machine stitching has been added for stemps and I have also included leaves again from the same stamp set.

I have also added some strips of Elements Tissue Tape to the top and bottom of my card and stamped 'best wishes' using Tim's Simple Sayings stamp set.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Edwardian Lady/Natures Notes CD Rom

Another sample which will be shocased on 20th May when Crafter's Companion will be bringing you a fabulous 4 day deal to Create and Craft, The Diary of an Edwardian Lady / Natures Notes CD Rom (artwork by Edith Holden).

The show times are:

Monday 20th May - 8am, 1pm, 6pm

Tuesday 21st May - 9am, 4pm

Wednesday 22nd May - 8am, 2pm, 6pm

Thursday 23rd May - 8am, 2pm, 5pm

 

The backing papers from the CD are gorgeous and this is one of the many that are included.

I added stamped flowers to coordinate with the backing paper and added touches of brown to pick up the brown in the butterflies on the backing paper. I added two wooden butterflies along with a pen nib to the larger butterfly for added interest. I stamped each butterfly with a text background. The sentiment is also from the CD.

The May text is also from the CD, I love these so useful for adding to any creation. The dimensional flower is created usig the Die'sire Marigold and  Lace Flower dies.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x 

Natures Notes

On 20th May Crafter's Companion will be bringing you a fabulous 4 day deal to Create and Craft, The Diary of an Edwardian Lady / Natures Notes CD Rom (artwork by Edith Holden).

The show times are:

Monday 20th May - 8am, 1pm, 6pm

Tuesday 21st May - 9am, 4pm

Wednesday 22nd May - 8am, 2pm, 6pm

Thursday 23rd May - 8am, 2pm, 5pm

This is the first time I have ever used a CD ROM and the images are a dream to work with, absolutely gorgeous.

I used the Poppy's from Sheena Douglass and my backdrop has been embossed with the Floral Vine A4 Embossing Folder.

The May text and circular poppy image are from the CD along with the patterned paper.

I added a metal bird embellishment coloured with Alcohol Inks or you could colour with Spectrum Noirs. I also added wooden birds coloured with fired brick Distress Ink along with a double bow and bird cage charm.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x 

Adventure Is Worthwhile In Itself

It's time for our monthly blog hop with Artistic Outpost and this month the theme is MASCULINE, a perfect opportunity for me to use the Charles and Amelia plate, one of my favourites.

I created a card using the vintage cabinet card die which I coloured with Distress Stains wild honey and walnut stain and then flicked with water. I created a dimensional pocket watch using the pocket watch frame die, coloured with walnut stain Distress Ink and stamped using parts of the stamps from the Charles and Amelia plate.

The image in the centre has been stamped with black Archival Ink and I have added some mini cogs, stamped with parts of the stamps within this set. I added the fabulous sentiment "Adventure is worthwhile in itself" to the centre. For further interest and dimension I also included some ball chain.

The interior of the card has been stamped with more images, I love the left hand side stamping the image twice, once in brown and once in black to give a shadow like appearance and I then stamped the sentiment over the top another of my favourite sentiments "Sprint towards your dreams, you might just take off and fly. I have added two metal keys for dimension along with a wooden arrow pointing to the sentiment. A small tag has been added with the word FLY added and touches of text.

I added PIONEER to the top of the card along with a mini pocket watch stamped with another of the fabulous images from the Charles and Amelia plate, again adding ball chain for further interest.

The back has also been decorated, stamping with black Archival Ink and adding a large brass key and small tag with a touch of stamping.


My fellow Design Team members have made some fabulous pieces to inspire you, please pop along and visit their blogs and be inspired along the way.

• Gerrie Johnnic
• Lisa Somerville
• Suzanne Czosek
• Tracy Evans
• Linda Coughlin
• Alison Bomber
• Terry Horrall
• Kate Yetter

Artistic Outpost also has a fabulous REFERRAL THEME taking place for May and the theme is ANYTHING GOES using your AO images. There is also a fabulous prize on offer, upload your designs HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Tracy x x 

London Inspired Accordion

Simon Says Stamp and Show would like you to dig out those 6" x 6" paper pads and see where they take you.  There are small paper pads of cardstock, patterns, and just about any design you could choose. Whether you choose to use a small piece of a large paper, or dig into your 6" x 6" paper pad stash, we would love to see what you create.

I was inspired to create a birthday card for my husband who spends a great deal of time working in London.

I love the Karen Burniston Flip Accordion Album die, its perfect for the embellished look I love, so much space to get creative. The Bracket Frame and Label die makes decorating the flip album so easy and I loved using the Prima 6" x 6" Engraver paper pad to decorate and stamp throughout. I will definitely be decorating more of these, they are great fun and give movement and dimension to all your card makes.

All the background pieces have been embossed with the stencil Texture Fade and coloured with brushed corduroy and black soot Distress Ink. I cut the mini pocket watch from thick card, adding several layers for dimension, painting the edges with black Paint Dabber.

In the background of the pocket watch I stamped part of the Union Jack flag onto a piece of the Prima paper using black Archival Ink and then added a layer of acetate and stamped part of Big Ben onto the acetate using Tim's London Sights stamp set. I used the postage stamp from this stamp set to stamp around the front edge of my pocket watch. I also added some bead chain to the pocket watch, colouring a little with black Paint Dabber using my finger. I stamped the guard onto shrink plastic and also added two Prima mini numbers to represent my husband's age this year (don't think he will be too happy about me announcing that)!

I also added Big Ben to the front accordion and from this angle you can see the wonderful dimension I added to the mini pocket watch.

I also used images from Artistic Outpost's London Underground and Loverly London and embellished with Blue Moon metal charm London tokens.

I stamped the Union Jack from the Artistic Outpost plate onto a piece of the Prima paper, distressing the edges and colouring with black soot Distress Ink. I also found a broken earring in my collection of a heart Union Jack so added that to the top of the flag along with a pewter Big Ben embellishment.

I have added the guard from Tim's London Sights stamp set and again stamped the image onto shrink plastic and added as an embellishment.

I added more images  from Artistic Outpost and LONDON from Tim's London Sites stamp set.

When I cut out the pocket watch I had lots of circles of card left over so I used one, stamped the text "Keep Calm and Carry On" and added as an embellishment to the card. 

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and take a look at my fellow team members they have created some inspirational projects. Remember there is also the chance to win a $50 prize from Simon Says Stamp.  I always look forward to seeing your creations each week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 

Products Used:

Karen Burniston Flip Accordion Album Die
Bracket Frame and Label Die
Prima 6" x 6" Engraver Paper Pad
Tim Holtz Alterations - Mini Clock Key and Pocket Watch, Subway and Stencil Texture Fades
Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous London Sights Stamp Set
Artistic Outpost Stamp Plates - London Underground, Loverly London
Pitch Black Paint Dabber
Prima Mini Numbers Sunrise Sunset Vintage Trinkets
White Shrink Plastic
Distress Inks - Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot
Archival Inks - Black
StazOn Inks - Black

Blue Moon Metal Charm Tokens London
Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser