For The Love Of Lace

Simon Says Stamp and Show would love to see your elegant creations this week, whether you add doilies for a touch of elegace, a lace like border, a lace trim, we would love to see your interpretation of this weeks challenge.

Before I move onto my project this week I would also like to take this opportunity to wish my very dear friend and team mate Terry all the very best on her new ventures. This is Terry's last week with Simon Says Stamp and Show, I will miss her kind nature, positive attitude and ability to always make me smile. Sending you a huge hug and lots of love Terry; this is not goodbye, simply a move to pastures new.

So onto my project for this week........

I was inspired by a gift from fellow team mate Suzz to create a vintage elegant wall plaque.

Suzz sent me this fabulous bracket book cover which I thought would be perfect for an elegant vintage plaque and was the starting point for my creation.  When I think of lace and doilies I always think of creams and browns and natural materials.  I felt that the Artful Silhouettes image was perfect for my focal point set in a Maya Road Vintage Metal Heart Tart Tin, coloured with Ginger Alcohol Ink, set against a Royal Lace White Heart Doilie, coloured with brushed corduroy and vintage photo Distress Inks.  I am really happy with this piece and will find it difficult to give away!

I began by adding texture paste through the dots on the Dots and Stripes Borders stencil from Wendy Vecchi to add a little texture to the background of my plaque.

Once the texture paste was dry I then painted my cover with two coats of honey dew PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint to give a subtle backdrop for my focal images. Once the paint was dry I then dry brushed a little mocha mousse PaperArtsy Fresco Finish pant over the top to add a further layer of interest. To add a touch of glamour I spritzed the background with biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.

The next step was to add a heart doilie to the centre of my plaque which I coloured with brushed corduroy and vintage photo Distress Inks and again I also sprayed with a little biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist. I cut the angel wings from white card using the Layered Angel Wings die, embossing with the bubble texture fade and colouring with brushed corduroy and walnut stain Distress Inks adding a little antiqued copper Distress Stain to the raised areas using my finger. The wings were then added to the top of the doily, behind my heart tart tin.  The heart tart tin has been coloured with ginger alcohol ink and I then cut a heart from white card stamped the heart using the Ephemera background stamp from Artistic Outpost using coffee archival ink and added the Artful Silhouette stamped with black archival ink. To add further elegance I included three small pearls to her neckline.

To give a little more dimension and interest I added a resin treasure above my heart tart tin which I coloured with a little PaperArtsy honey dew and mocha mousse paint and once dry I rubbed a little walnut stain ink over the top and a little antiqued bronze Distress Stain over the raised areas.

I always love to add flowers to my vintage pieces and this time around I have used the Mini Tattered Florals set, cutting six layers from white card, stamping each layer with the Ephemera background stamp and colouring both sides with brushed corduroy ink, adding vintage photo to the edges.  I also sprayed each layer with a little biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist. I adhered each layer together to give me a wonderful dimensional flower, adding an antique button to the centre.

I love to give a real natural feel to my vintage pieces when using lace and doilies and I always think corrugated card works beautifully with this type of creation.  This time around I cut a heart from corrugated card to echo the heart in the centre, painting the card with honey dew paint and sponging with a little walnut stain Distress Ink.  I also added an Artful Silhouette to this heart to echo the one in the centre of my heart tart tin and again I have added pearls to her neckline. I have cut a tag from white card using the tiny tabs and tags die, stamped with the Ephemera background stamp, coloured with brushed corduroy ink and added a Chitchat sticker to the centre. I have also added some natural twine and adhered to the top of my heart.

I've added a second dimensional bloom to the bottom of my plaque to give balance along with the fabulous sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's Love To Make Art stamp set, stamped onto white card with black archival ink and coloured with walnut stain Distress Ink. I have added another little mini tag again stamped with the Ephemera background stamp, adding a Chitchat sticker to the centre.

To complete I have added a lace trim to the top of my plaque along with some natural buttons threaded with twine.

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:

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Artful Silhouettes
Tim Holtz Alterations - Layered Angel Wings, Mini Tattered Floral Set, Tiny Tabs and Tags
Tim Holtz Bubble and Honeycomb Texture Fades
Tim Holtz Metallic Distress Stains
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Chitchat Stickers
Artistic Outpost Ephemera Backgrounds Stamps
Maya Road Vintage Metal Heart Tart Tin
Alcohol Ink- Ginger
Royal Lace White Heart Doilies
Distress Inks - Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain
Archival Inks - Coffee, Black
Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 Love To Make Art Stamp Set
Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 Stencils For Art - Dots and Stripes Borders
Wendy Vecchi White Embossing Paste
Wendy Vecchi Embellish Your Art - Antique Buttons
PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint - Mocha Mousse
Perfect Pearls Mists - Biscotti
Melissa Frances Cream Pearls
Prima La Coeur Resin Treasures
Natural Twine

Cherished Owl

Time for my first DT creation of 2013 for 100 Proof Press using the fabulous SHARP OWL stamp.

I coloured the background of my card with Luminarte Colour Concentrate and then embossed to add wonderful texture and also embossed with gold embossing powder, adding a little opulence to my background.

I coloured a second piece of white card with the Luminarte Colour Concentrate and then stamped the SHARP OWL onto the coloured card with black archival ink, cut him out and then added to my card, adding Bakers Twine to the bottom to ground him. I also cut a heart from the same card and added to his chest adding cherish to the centre using Chitchat stickers.

I cut three further hearts from the coloured card and added Chitchat stickers cherish & adore. I also added a gold flower embellishment for further interest and dimension.

OWL has been added to the top of the card using Alpha Parts. From this picutre you can also see the fabulous embossing in the background.

I would also like to enter this into the Frilly and Funky challenge, where Sue would like you to let your "muse wander free" which is just what I did here with this piece.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy the weekend. Tracy x x

PIONEER

Following a New Year clear out and reorganisation of my craft room I decided that it was about time I used some of the wooden pieces I have lying around. This jigsaw pieces being one of them.

I began by adding texture paste to my jigsaw piece and once dry I painted with acrylic paints to give a rusty like appearance and fabulous texture to my background.

I used the fabulous Charles and Amelia plate from Artistic Outpost to decorate my aperture. I stamped the image with black archival ink, coloured with brushed corduroy and vintage photo Distress Inks and then spritzed with a little water. I added two small cogs coloured with ginger and rust alcohol inks. I also added the fabulous sentiment "Adventure is worthwhile in itself" to one side of my jigsaw piece.

More cogs/gears have been added to the bottom of my piece along with a game spinner and pen nib for added interest and dimension.

PIONEER has been added to the top of my jigsaw piece along with a small wing embellishment again coloured with ginger and rust alcohol inks.

Artistic Outpost has a fabulous referral theme running for January and the theme for the month is ANYTHING GOES using any of your fabulous Artistic Outpost images.  There is a fabulous prize on offer too. You can upload your projects HERE.

We also have some other fabulous news for 2013, we have more talented designers joining the team. Welcome Alison, Terry and Kate I look forward to working with you and continuing my journey with the long standing DT members too, what a thrill to be on such a talented team.

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

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

PUBLISHED

I have been published in the recent (January) edition of Making Cards. I am thrilled.

That is one of my cards that you can see in the top right hand corner of the front cover "Perfect Petals"

And this is the card featured on the front cover and inside the magazine. I love the subtle colour palette and the texture achieved from the texture paste used through Wendy Vecchi's Stencils For Art 3 Fresh Flowers available from Creative Expressions.

If you would like to see the other cards featured the Magazine is available on line HERE or at your local craft store or Hobbycraft.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Embrace The Old

Our first challenge of 2013 with Simon Says Stamp and Show and coincidentally my birthday too and today we are Embracing The Old, how apt considering I am a year older today!

A filmstrip frame helped me to showcase some old movie classic images.

As soon as I saw our theme this week I new I wanted to pay homage to the old movies, those classics that I love watching on a Sunday afternoon especially at this time of year when it's cold and dark outside, a perfect opportunity to embrace those old classic movies.  What better way to do that than with the Picture Star stamp plate from Artistic Outpost. This stamp set just takes me back to the classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers era; now I am showing my age. Brushed corduroy and walnut stain Distress Inks give my piece that old vintage feel. Creating this piece made me feel extremely nostalgic.

I began by painting the filmstrip frame with PaperArtsy honey dew Fresco Finish Paint. Once dry I coloured with a little brushed corduroy Distress Ink, adding walnut stain to the edges to add to that old, vintage feel. Before adhering the frame together I added "Camera" and "Action" using letters cut from black card using the Typeset alphabet strip die, then adhered the frame together.

I stamped the star image around my frame using black archival ink to add a little more interest and to coordinate with the other star embellishments used in my piece. I stamped my female image onto the central panel again using black archival ink, adding brushed corduroy around the edges to age a little. I also added a lovely dimensional flower to her dress, ageing a little with Distress Ink. I have also added a couple of rusty stars for added interest along with some filmstrip ribbon.

I added the clapperboard to my central panel adding lights, camera, action text to the top of the image.

I have added another one of the fabulous images from the Picture Star plate to the top frame adding SHINE to the top of the image.

I have added a large wooden star to the top of the frame to echo the stars throughout my creation, colouring with brushed corduroy ink, adding walnut stain to the edges.  I added the sentiment You're A Star with black archival ink along with more filmstrip ribbon  and a camera embellishment attached with a jump ring.

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:

Artistic Outpost Picture Star Stamp Set
Kaiser Filmstrip Frame
Distress Inks - Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain

Tim Holtz Alterations - Typeset Alphabet Strip Die
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Filmstrip Ribbon, Jump Rings 
Archival Ink - Black
Maya Road Cream Blossoms
Blue Moon Metal Charm Token

Masquerade

Its taken me a while to get back into the swing of things after Christmas; I seem to have spent most of my time clearing and sorting my craft space. New Year always inspires me to get organised. Time for my first piece of the New Year for Creative Expressions using the Masquerade A5 Stamp Plate.

I coloured a piece of kraft card with brushed corduroy and walnut stain Distress Inks and spritzed with water to create my background panel.

I stamped the masks onto kraft card using black Archival Ink and then spritzed with a gold spray to add a little glitz and glamour, cut out each mask and added to the stamped masks for dimension. I also used a couple of cocktail sticks to add to my masks coloured with Distress Inks.

I added black feathers to each mask along with two black buttons threaded with twine.  I added MASQUERADE using computer generated text and added it once again down the side of my card cut from kraft card. I added three black gems to the top corner to add to the glamour of my card.

I also stamped the mask onto shrink plastic and added to the bottom of my card along with some burlap ribbon and natural twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Tracy x x 

She Knows Her Own Strength

I've created a card using the fabulous Cowgirl Strength from Artistic Outpost.

My inspiration began with the flowers sent to me by my fellow DT member Suzz, I thought they were perfect for adding a feminine touch to my image.

I loved the combination of the earthy tones and the warm red which again was inspired by the flowers.  The star background paper is from one of Tim's paper pads with a little fired brick ink sponged around the edges.  I coloured my focal image with Distress Markers and matt and layered onto coordinated card.

I added the bunting to the top of my card for a little more interest along with a flower to her hat.  I love the sentiment with this set "She Knows Her Own Strength" which I think will work perfectly with so many female images.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x