The Posing Peacock - Chocolate Baroque Challenge May 2016

Chocolate Baroque Challenge

*Stamps          - Chocolate Baroque Birdcage Collage, Steampunk Christmas, Music Fanfare

*Inkpads         - Archival Black, Stampin Up Wisteria Wonder, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Distress Dusty   Concord, Wilted Violet, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint

*Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens - Clear

*Polychromos

The Posing Peacock!

Double-stamped  tree from Steampunk Christmas.

Sponged background over 'torn copy paper' hills.

Overlaid layers of Birdcage Collage.

Birds and flowers highlighted with Clear Sparkle pen.

Music Fanfare stamp to create 'bubble border' (first, second, third generation stamping and over stamping.

Five Layer Parchment Birthday Card

Five Layer Parchment Birthday Card

Clarity Groovi  - Plate Mate 

                         Plates:- Nested Hearts, Nested Circles, Frilly Circles, Lace Flowers,                                    Diagonal Groovi Grid

                         Borders:- Ribbon and Stitching, Ribbon and Hearts, Occasions 

Parchment       - White - Clarity Groovi; Turquoise and Rainbow - Pergamano

Pens                - Distress Markers - Scattered Straw

Tools               - Embossing styli, single piercing and twin piercing styli, Solingen scissors

                         

Completed 

Five Parchment Layers

 Base Layer - White

 Turquoise pierced and embossed overlay

 White Daisy and Heart Circlet

 Individual Daisies Images

When assembled, mounted onto rainbow parchment then onto 8x8 card

Clarity Challenge 39 'Anything Goes' Mid-month Reminder

Clarity Challenge 39 May 2016

‘Anything Goes’

 Mid-month

Hi and thank you for visiting my blog, it's truly much appreciated. 

Already we are nearing the halfway point of May and time for a little nudge to remind you of this month's Clarity Challenge, 'Anything Goes.'

My mid-month contribution is a parchment shade, ready to sit atop a wine glass (LED night light is a must!!!) I used the trellis plate for the first time and had just taken delivery of new scissors hence the decorative top and bottom. The most perplexing part was drawing out a template and you will see the gist of how it was done. I used lids, plates, string and eventually my gran's pavlova plate was almost the right size. 

Looking forward to your art work!

Materials:-

·         Clarity Groovi Parchment - A4 size

·         Groovi Starter Kit

·         Groovi Plates: - Lace Flowers, Trellis. (Large Lace Netting and Frilly Circle were used in the step by step photos)

·         Large sheet of paper/card

·         Twin needle piercing tool

·         Fine scissors

Instructions:-
*To make the template, I had several attempts before using the 'plate and string'  method which I made up as I went along. Basically I drew around a very large plate onto 16x16 inch card, used string to divide it into three and on one of the thirds, added a tab before cutting out. There are a few photos below to give you an idea.

The blue shade above was where my idea began but had no idea how to go about forming a template.

1.       Draw around the template on the parchment with a soft pencil.

2.       Place the Lace Flowers plate into the Groovi Plate Mate and emboss the top and bottom of the parchment shape by fitting each scallop from the frame along the edges.

3.       Emboss flowers from the plate along the parchment.

4.       Remove this plate and replace with Trellis plate. Emboss blank areas, moving the parchment when necessary until all blank areas are filled.

5.       Using number four and three styli, add white work to the flowers. (Add white work to the trellis at this stage too, if desired.)

6.       Pierce around scalloped edges with the twin needle tool then cut, using fine scissors.

7.       Trim excess parchment from the sides. Cut a slit in the plain side using a craft knife and slot the tab in. (At this point, I folded the tab back which meant there was no need for any form of adhesive.)

Et voila! A wine glass lampshade!

*Please remember to use the LED nightlights! 

There are some stunning pieces of art already on show on the Clarity Challenge website so please think about having 'a go.' As I've said before - It's fun and it's free!! Remember you could be the lucky one, winning a £50 Clarity voucher. 

Best wishes to you all,

Shelagh
The Making Lady. 

Clarity Stamp Challenge 39 May 2016 'Anything Goes'

Clarity Challenge 39 May 2016
Anything Goes
'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'

Hello and thank you for visiting Shelagh-land and viewing my contribution to this month’s Clarity Challenge ‘Anything Goes.’  The canvas took a convoluted route before arriving at what you can see before you. The canvas itself, from my ‘little’ stash, is long and narrow and my original idea – even after re-working, did not quite fit the bill. Sadly, there are no photos of the project’s progress as it took many twists and turns over the weeks before evolving into the finished article. Whilst not entirely accurate regarding its subject, the phrase ‘Alone and palely loitering’ from Keats poem immediately came to mind, so I have called the canvas ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci.’

Materials:-

• Canvas:-  50cm x 20cm

• Stencil:- NDSC 4 Mirror Image, Pine Needle

• Stamps:- Filigraphy Foliage

• Inkpads:- Versamark

• Gelli Plate

• Paints:- Fresco Finish Acrylics – Sherbet, Nougat, 

• Perfect Pearls:- Mists – Blue Smoke, Forever Blue, Pewter, Pink Gumball, Blue Raspberry, Pearl

• Embossing Powder – Wow Gold

• Grunge Paste

• Texture Paste – coarse and fine 

• Mod Podge

• Miscellaneous:- Copy Paper, White Gesso, Charcoal Pencil, Posca Pens, Micron Pen, Ruler, Polychromos

Instructions:-

Canvas

1. Paint entire canvas with two coats of white gesso, allowing canvas to dry in between applications. 

2. Tear up a few sheets of copy paper into strips along the long side. Paint desired area of canvas with gesso and add strips to suit, painting over with gesso in between layers. Allow to dry.

3. Thinly skim over areas with coarse texture paste and allow to dry. Add fine texture paste over and around the dry paste. Allow to dry.

4. Spray dry canvas with Perfect Pearl Mists to suit and tip canvas top to bottom and side to side, allowing the liquid colours to mingle. (If necessary, mop up excess with kitchen roll.)

5. Allow to dry.

6. Attach the Pine Needle stencil to the top right-hand corner of the canvas with a ‘hinge’ of low-tack masking tape and ‘pull’ through a layer of grunge paste. 

7. Sprinkle over a good covering of gold embossing powder and dry with a heat gun. DON’T BE ALARMED!!!! The grunge paste will ‘puff’ up whilst the embossing powder melts and this creates texture.

8. Repeat on the next section at the top of the canvas.  

9. Ink one of the leaves from the ‘Filigraphy Foliage’ set (I used the second largest) with Versamark and stamp along the bottom left-hand corner. Add gold embossing powder and heat-set. Repeat to suit. (Due to the texture paste, the stamped image will not always be  perfect but I didn’t mind this as it added to the vintage effect.)

Lady Image

1. Previously, I had used my gelli plate to mix a number of Fresco paints (detailed in ‘Materials’ for backgrounds. From these, I chose the pink-hued print. 

2. Draw around the ‘Lady’ image on the reverse of print and cut out. Decide on the style of dress and cut the neckline accordingly. Draw around the 'Lady' image on plain paper (I used paper heavier than copy paper) cut out and add hair to image with Polychromos.

3. Shade areas of the dress image with Polychromos, adding depth to the hem and sleeve.

4. Paste the reverse of the Lady with Mod Podge and place on canvas. Apply more Mod Podge over image and add dress. Paste over gently entire image to seal. 

5. Using a charcoal pencil, add shading to define the outline.
6. Using a ruler and a soft pencil, measure 2cm intervals along length and width of all sides.

7. Paint alternate rectangles with diluted pink and silver from Posca pens. (I scribbled these two colours on a mat and watered them down as I went along.)

8. Using a Micron pen, scribble uneven lines oven the faint pencil marks. Add Zentangle patterns to every silver area around canvas. 

Et voila! Here we have 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci.' 

This month's Clarity Challenge 'Anything Goes' is open to interpretation but please remember to check the rules. Your contribution may just win you a £50 voucher to spend on your favourite Clarity goodies!

Looking forward to all your creative projects. 

Best wishes,

Shelagh.