Tracy Evans

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Best Of Times

Katzelkraft have a new challenge this month which is SUMMER COLOURS. We would love to see you join in the challenge; simply link your projects HERE.

I love these colours and think they are a perfect way to give a summery feel to any card. I added Distress Inks to the background and then crumpled some aluminium foil, inked the foil with ink and then stamped onto the background to give added interest; I love the marks this leaves in the background.

I die cut a circle from scrap paper and used the aperture as a mask. I left the mask in place and then stamped the COLLAGE DRAGONFLY into the aperture using Potting Soil Archival Ink. I flicked the background of the card with water to add blotches and also added dimension to the dragonfly wings.

I added torn book pages to the bottom of the card along with the hashtag sentiment. I also included a Bitty Blossom for added interest, stamping the card with the Dragonfly Collage stamp prior to rolling the flower.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

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Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Wonder and Think

This week I am using the THINK AND WONDER plate for my Artistic Outpost Design Team creation.

I brayered my background with Broken China and Rusty Hinge Distress Paints and added a touch of background stamping using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink.

The two girls have been stamped with Black Archival Ink and I added scratchy lines to the base of the girls using Rusty Hinge Distress Paint and an old credit card, this grounds the girls and stops them from looking like they are just floating on the card. I stamped the sentiment onto coloured card and applied Rusty Hinge Distress Ink to the edges.

I had some random pieces of the honeycomb frameworks die cut pieces lying on my desk and used these to add a further layer of interest adding parts of the focal image to the die cut pieces.

A coordinated piece of seam binding has been added along with a brass embellishment sent to me by my fellow team member Linda (thanks Linda).

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

Monday, 9 June 2014

THIS IS LIFE......

Whether you go acrylic or water, gesso or colourful, base layer or finishing touch, we all love a bit of paint in our creations! From stenciling to backgrounds there are so many techniques and so much that can be done with paint. The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge would love to see how you add paint to your designs this week.

This weeks creation is a card I created for my husbands birthday; he spends a great deal of time in London working and I thought the London Sights stamp was perfect for his birthday card. I love using the Distress Paints, perfect for creating mixed media backgrounds and this week I am showcasing Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Paints.

I applied a small amount of Walnut Stain Distress Paint to my non-stick craft sheet and then spritzed with water.

I mopped up the paint with my card stock and also spritzed the paint once again to dilute the colour further.

I love the grungy background this creates! I also cut a further panel for stamping and again coloured in the same way.

With the panel I cut for stamping I also added a further layer of interest by applying Walnut Stain Distress Ink through the Speckles Layering Stencil.

I stamped my focal image onto the panel and added a monocle for further interest, colouring the edges with Black Soot Distress Paint. The Distress Paint is perfect for colouring embellishments. I also dipped the top from the Distress Paint into the Black Soot Distress Paint and added random circles around the background.

I added THIS IS LIFE and an arrow from the Framed Alpha Parts to add dimension to my design. THIS IS LIFE is perfect for my husband's birthday card as working in London is part of his everyday life.

I tucked two smaller tags behind the focal image which I die cut from white card using the Tiny Tabs and Tags die. I added stamping to the smaller tags, adding part of the Union Jack Flag image and Big Ben to the tags, stamping the flag in Vermillion Archival Ink and Big Ben in Black Archival Ink. I also included Alpha Parts numbers to my design.

I stamped LONDON with Vermillion Archival Ink, coloured with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and distressed all the edges on all my stamped pieces to add to the aged feel. I also included some Life Quotes Remnant Rubs for further interest. Background stamping has also been added using the background stamp from the Classics 9 stamp set and Vermillion Archival Ink.

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog and take a look at my fellow team members artwork, 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. Tracy x x

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous London Sights Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Classics 9 Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Speckles Layering Stencil

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Monocles

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Framed Alpha Parts

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Life Quotes Remnant Rubs

Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs and Tags Die

Walnut Stain Distress Paint

Black Soot Distress Paint

Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Vermillion Archival Ink

Black Archival Ink

Non-Stick Craft Sheet

Tonic Paper Distresser

Thursday, 5 June 2014

GRUNGY STEAMPUNK

This week I am showcasing the fabulous BALLOON plate from Katzelkraft.

I began by stamping the Balloon image with VersaMark Ink and then sprinkling with white embossing powder. I then blended Peeled Paint Distress Ink over the image, applying Vintage Photo Ink around the edges. I then took a piece of kitchen towel and removed any excess ink from the embossed image; I love how the white pops against the more grungy backdrop. I then flicked the background with water to add blotches for further interest.

The STEAMPUNK sentiment has been stamped with Potting Soil Archival Ink and coloured with Distress Inks, adding Potting Soil Archival Ink to the edges for definition. I have also added scratchy lines to the background with an old credit card and Snowflake Fresco Finish Paint.

To add a little more interest to the background I have also included circles of Distress Paint added with the top from the paint lid. I then used a Tiny Attacher to fix all the layers together.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, I really appreciate you taking the time. Tracy x x

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Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Beach Hut Artist Trading Block

Time for this months ART WITH HEART Challenge and this month Eileen and the team are celebrating SUMMER with some summer fun projects.

I decided to create a beach hut for my beach babes using the Eileen Hull Block/Cube Die to create my dimensional piece. The base and the roof have been created from the Block Die and painted with Broken China Distress Paint. The beach babes are from the Artistic Outpost Boardwalk plate.

I scored a piece of card on my scoreboard to give the appearance of panels on my beach hut and I then dry brushed the beach hut with Snowflake Fresco Finish Paint to give that white washed appearance. I have also added mini spools to the base of my Artist Trading Block Beach Hut, again adding a touch of Snowflake paint.

BEACH has been added to the top of my hut using Alpha Parts which I then painted with Distress Paint and again dry brushed with Snowflake paint. I also added a bird to the top of my lettering. I also included a wooden heart and an old earring as an embellishment to the centre of my heart.

The beach babes costumes have been stamped with Archival Inks and paper pieced and I have added a touch of colour with pencils.

I also included a bench inside my beach hut, created from a small piece of driftwood and added a few mini shells for added interest and dimension.

We would love to see your summer pieces this month, simply link your projects HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

For more great ideas why not visit the Facebook page The Artists On The Block or The Artists On The Block blog page.

Monday, 2 June 2014

A Touch Of Magic

This week the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge would like you to put a touch of magic in your design. Will you have a magician's trick, want to show us a card trick, have a magical product you cannot work without, or perhaps are inspired by a story or movie that has magical elements, we cannot wait to see how you are inspired.

When I think of magic, I always think of card tricks and I also think of the boxes they use in their magic ticks where the doves fly out or the rabbit appears! This lead me to create an Artist Trading Block using Eileen Hull's Block/Cube die, which I feel in itself holds a little magic as you never know what’s inside, all part of the suprise. Tim Holtz Valentine Blueprint stamp came to my rescue for the playing card image and the Queen of Hearts takes centre stage on my Artist Trading Block. The Queen of Hearts inspired me to use red in my design using Fired Brick Distress Paint combined with touches of Walnut Stain. I love the hidden surprises a box can give!

I die cut the ATB from mountboard and also cut coordinated square pieces to fit.

I began by colouring my square pieces with Fired Brick and Walnut Stain Distress Paint, applying the paint to a non-stick craft sheet and spritzing with water.

Pick up the paint with the square pieces of card. At this stage I also spritzed the paint a little more to lighten the colour and I then heat set with a heat tool.

I painted the inside with Fired Brick Distress Paint.

I used the Hearts Layering Stencil to add hearts to the inside of my block and the hearts also coordinate with the Queen of Hearts image.

I used Fired Brick Distress Ink to add the hearts for a tone on tone effect.

To add a further layer of interest I applied Black Archival Ink through the Numbered Layering Stencil.

The Queen of Hearts image has been stamped onto each of the coloured square pieces.

Next stage was to add dimensional hearts to my design using Black Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel . I inked the background stamp from Tim Holtz Mixed Media Stamp Set with VersaMark Ink and then I placed heart cookie cutters onto the background stamp.

I poured hot Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel into each cookie cutter and then set aside to cool.

From this picture you can see the wonderful texture the background stamp gives to the UTEE hearts. I applied Treasure Gold Olive Bronze Wax to highlight the texture and dimension. I also added 'magic' using a Chitchat Sticker.

I added three playing cards to the top of my Artist Trading Block, coloured each with Fired Brick Distress Ink and flicked the background with water. Again I added UTEE hearts and a 'magic' Chitchat Sticker.

I have also added some blank playing cards to the inside which I thought a fellow crafter could decorate and I thought this would make a lovely surprise gift!