Sunday, July 25, 2010

Book Cover

This weekend I've been working on a book cover for the ATC lessons I am going to with Kelsey O'Mullane. (I didn't get a chance to go to her Rinse Aid resist lesson and therefore didn't make a cover for the technique book that Kelsey gets her students to compile.)



The cover measures approximately 20 x 15cm.

I started with a blank piece of A4 copy paper and spritzed with Glimmer Mist in 'Choc, Covered Cherries' and 'Midnight Blue', I sprayed a little water over the top before crumpling the paper up whilst it was still wet. (This creates lines of weakness where the glimmer mist penetrates easier and becomes darker, creating a 'crack' like appearance.) I then carefully opened the crumpled paper so it would not tear and dried it off using a heat gun.
The stamp is one of Michelle Ward's, stamped twice using Stazon Jet Black and Timber Brown. the 'D' rings and corners are all Tim Holtz Idea-ology products. The clasp is cut from Grunge paper using one of Tim Holtz's Harware Findings die. The Mocha coloured metal on the spine, I got from Scraptivate, embossed and then sanded to have the silver meatllic colour come through on the raised pattern, before lightly dabbing it with the Stazon Jet black stamp pad.

I have used the same coloured Glimmer Mists on the piece of gauze and used Ranger Distress Crackle Paint in 'Weathered Wood', on a rectangular piece of Grunge paper to glue the key to, before wrapping rayon thread around it as a highlight. All edges are a mixture of Plaid Folk Art Metallics in Antique Copper and Sahara Gold, which I have applied roughly with the tip of my finger and when it has dried I have dragged the Stazon Jet Black stamp Pad across the edges also.
The blue ribbon and Kaiser Rhinestones are the finishing touches.

Happy Crafting
Sonia :-)

Friday, July 23, 2010

Bird Tags and More............Tags


As I said in my last post, I have been 'playing' with Tim Holtz's 'Caged Bird' die. I have incorporated some of Michelle Ward's stamps that I picked up from my favourite store, Scraptivate. The 'egg' stamp was just the same width as the tag, so I couldn't resist using it for this project. The tags have been a lot of fun. Bigger than an ATC so that you have more room to play with, but not too big that there are too many empty spaces to fill.

These are just a couple of other tags that evolved over the week.






Happy Crafting
Sonia :-)










Monday, July 19, 2010

Tags

This week I have been playing with the new Tim Holtz die cutter "Tattered Florals". I have used the technique from Tim's 12 tags of Christmas (look on his blog) to make the 2D flowers into 3D roses. All of the following tags have started off as plain yellow post tags.

Red Rose Tag

This has started with the 'Swipe' technique. I have sprayed several Ranger Adirondak colours onto a craft sheet and dropped and twisted the tag over the top. I have dried this off with a heat gun and then used some diluted bleach to create areas of lighter shades. I have then spritzed with Moon Shadow Mist in 'Bucket O'Blood Red'. (Don't you just love the name!!) This is a walnut based stain with the lovely red glimmer to it. I have then edged the entire piece by rubbing in with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and when this has dried I have used Golden Iridescent Gold on the tip of my finger to create the edge of gold. The rose is painted using a combination of FolkArt Metallics with a drop of Aged Mahogany Ink thrown in to intensify the colour. I have then run this through the cuttlebug and assembled the rose according to Tim's instructions. I have used several trims along with a cuttlebug die for the final design. The small loops and twists are made out of small strips of Grunge Paper which I have painted all over using Golden Iridescent Gold and then glued into loops and twisted, before tucking under the rose in the final design. A small vine patterned strip of German scrap at the bottom and a bead trim along the bottom finish the tag. I have glued another tag to the back of this once everything has dried, just to neaten the finish.

Blue Butterfly Tag

This tag was first coloured using the 'Swipe' technique again, but this time I have dabbed Distress Ink in Denim and a touch of Aged Mahogany into a craft sheet and spritzed with water before dropping and twisting the tag onto the top. I have dried this off with a heat gun and then stamped over the top using one of Tim Holtz's stamps in Denim and another in Pearlescent Paint in Pink (you can't see this in the photo). I have then covered the tag with UTEE and heated with a heat gun to melt and fix to the tag. I have edged the piece using Denim Distress Ink and then used my finger dipped in Golden Iridescent Silver to crate the silver edging all around.
For the design, I have glued a light pink rayon ribbon across the bottom and glued a light pink bead trim to the bottom edge of the tag. The 'swirl' is from the Collections range, which I have painted using the same pearlescent paint I have used in the background. The silver webbing and leaves were glued into position before the flower was attached using the brad. Once again I have glued another tag to the back to neaten the finish.

Blue Rose Tag

This tag have pretty much followed the same techniques at listed above. the leaves have been made out of Angelina Film heated and then cut out using a leaf shaped punch. The rose hase been painted using Distress Crackle paint in Picket Fence and then rubbed with Denim Distress Ink and edged with Golden Iridescent Silver paint.
My next post will be tags using Tim Holtz's Caged Bird die.
Happy crafting. :-)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

More Resin Canvases

This weekend I've been continuing to explore resin canvases. The 'Deep Blue Sea' is one that I'll probably enter into Scraptivate's latest challenge - 'Shades of Blue'. When I thought of 'blue' I thought of our blue planet and the fact that it is called this due to most of the earth being covered in water. The sea for me is a beautiful unknown wilderness with many dangers and secrets, so I thought that this canvas would be my homage to the sea.
First, I have covered the entire frame in Texture Paste including the inner frame to prevent the resin from seeping under the frame and wasting it. I then waited for the top layer to form a 'skin' before taking the end of a paintbrush and digging some lines into it. Be careful here, as the 'skin' can tear and you end up with a mess.
I have then painted the entire surface using a combination of Lumiere and FolkArt metallic paints. Light shades at the top graudating into dark at the bottom. I have then used any metal charms that I have collected over the years with an 'ocean' theme and added them to the inside of the frame. I have also scattered some washers and small bugle and seed beads amongst these metallic objects to create an underwater picture. On the inside of some of the washers I have put some Rhinestones (luckily these were jus the right size!!) in a very light blue to signify bubbles. I also added some Pearls in a blue/green to add contrast. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I mixed the resin and added it to the inner frame. The finishing touches were gluing beads in 'waves' over the top using Inkssentials 'Glossy Accents', highlighted with Stickles Liquid Glitter in 'icicle'and smeared some Golden Coarse Pumice Gel over the bottom to create a 'sandy' look. The rope and metallic netting were added and finally the words, cut from a Cuttlebug die completed the piece.


'Gothic Moon' was alot of fun. I have covered the outer frame with texture paste and left until it has started to dry and developed a 'skin' on the top layer, while the underneath is still damp and malleable. I have then used a scroll stamp to push into the texture paste to leave the 'scroll' impression. For the image, this time I have layered the resin to create a three dimensional effect to the background. I painted the background first using Lumiere paints. These paints have a beautiful sheen and finish to them. I then scattered small stars over the darkest part. The moon has been made by ironing some Angelina fibers between some Angelina Film and then using a round punch to create the circle shape. The bats are a Tim Holtz stamp, which I have stamped using Stazon Jet Black, but I had to go over it with a black 'Sharpie' as the paint did not take the stamp very well. I have then prepared the resin. I have used the 'Smart Craft' brand here. Like most resins, there are two parts, the resin and the hardener. Simply mix together and pour over your subject. It is self-levelling, so you need to make sure that the work surface you are working on is level. I have used a heat gun to bring any bubbles to the surface, where they 'pop' and you end up with a clear finish. Leave the resin overnight, so that is is well and truly set before you do the next layer. I have stamped onto two pieces of cardstock using Stazon Jet Black and then coloured one of the images with pencils, highlighting the edges of the tombstones and deepening the shadows cast from the 'moonlight'. This whole piece has then been mounted onto chipboard. I have cut out two of the large tombstones from the second piece of cardstock and mounted these onto chipboard and glued them to the first to create depth. Luckily I had a jewellry finding in the same shape as one of the stamped tombstones and I've glued this over the image too. This mounted image has then been placed onto the first resin layer along with another scattering of stars and a new layer of resin has been poured over the top. While this layer has been hardening, I have painted the gates and fence using Golden Fluid Acrylic in 'Micaceous Iron Oxide' and then spread a little 'Red Oxide onto a craft sheet and using a scrunched up paper towel, I have dabbed this onto the fence and gate to give it a rusty, aged look. The tree I have covered in black ink and then used a very fine silver pen to add highlights to show the moonlight. Once the resin is nearly hard I have pushed into it two more metal jewellry 'crosses' as the third layer to the background. (These are difficult to see, as the gates and fence have covered them.) Once the resin has fully hardened, I have attached the fence, gate and tree to the frame. The last thing I have done, (which is not evident from the photo) is to glue more of the small stars onto the frame at the top, so that the frame and the picture are linked further.

Thankyou Tag
After two canvases, I was all 'resined' out, so I decided to do a quick tag for a work colleague who has been very supportive over the past six months.

Much of the inspiration for this comes from the paper guru (as I call him) Tim Holtz.
Have a great week.
:-)