Chocolate Baroque Challenge February 2017

Chocolate Baroque Challenge

February 2017

Masquerade

A superb colour palette this month! For some years - probably more than I care to think about - I have been yearning to use a set of Elusive Images mask stamps. I bought them along with another set for a particular project then changed my mind so they have been languishing in my CB box in pristine condition. This month's colour selection provided the ideal opportunity and has also given me the chance to try the set of Gansai Tambi paints for the first time - how I've resisted these for nearly two years, I have no idea! 

This was an adorable project and the rich coppery tones in contrast with the black, green and sparkle factor is quite lovely.
All four photographs have been taken in different lights to capture the sparkle and tones.

Materials:- 

• Stamps:- Chocolate Baroque - October Fairy (stylised leaves); mask - Elusive Images
• Canvas:- 1 x (10cmx15cm) ; 1 x (13cmx18cm)
• Card:- Black x 2 A4 sheets; Xcut - Copper metallic self-adhesive sheet; Copper mirri card; white
• Inkpads:- Distress Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Iced Spruce; Versamark; Archival Jet Black
• Paint:- Gesso - black; Kuretake Gansai Tambi set 
• Miscellaneous:- Die - Sizzix Bubble; Glitter Paste - Light Copper; Faber Castell Polychromos; Pebeo gilding wax - Renaissance Gold; Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Dawn Ochre embossing powder; fine clear glitter; sequins; Glossy Accents; tissue paper; double sided sticky sheet; Pebeo large white marker pen
  

Instructions:-

1. Canvas 1 - Paint larger canvas (13cmx18cm) with black gesso and allow to dry. Repeatedly ink and stamp with the 'leaves' stamp with Versamark and add images over gesso-ed canvas. Sprinkle over embossing powder and heat-set. When cool, sparingly apply Renaissance Gold gilding wax. Set aside.
2. Canvas 2 - Ink smaller canvas (10cmx15cm) - portrait orientation - straight from inkpads (in order from foot) beginning with Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint and finishing with Iced Spruce. (At this point, I added touches of Twisted Citron all over.) Allow to dry. 
3. From scrap white card, die-cut 2 bubbles images and place over green canvas as stencils. Sweep over some copper glitter paste onto canvas. Remove stencils and allow both canvas and stencils to dry. (NB At this point I dusted the wet stencils with fine white glitter for a contrast in some areas.)
4. Stamp the leaves used previously on tissue using Archival Black. When dry apply white marker to reverse of stamped image. Allow to dry then colour with pencils. Add touches of glitter to images. Roughly cut out images and add to one side of sticky sheet. With protective backing still in place, cut out images. Set aside.
5. Stamp mask onto white card using Archival Black. When dry, paint image using a concoction of greens from the Gansai Tambi paints set and the face with a mixture brown (scant) and silver. Add highlights by deepening the gold with some brown. 
6. Add some double-sided sticky to reverse and cut out. Mount onto black, cut out then onto copper mirri and cut out.
   

To assemble:-

1. Create a mat for the canvas in this order 1) black, 2) copper metal sheet and 3) black. 
2. Glue larger canvas centrally to this and allow to set. 
3. Glue smaller canvas centrally onto the larger black canvas. 
4. Apply glue to reverse of copper bubbles and add to canvas.
5. Remove backing from the stylised leaves and attach to canvas. 
6. Add mask using foam tape. 
7. Add sequins.
8. Add Glossy Accent glaze to centre of stylised leaves.

. . . . . and here we have my 'Masquerade.' 

Thank you for your visit to shelaghscraftyconcepts.blogspot.co.uk

Happy crafting!!

Shelagh

Indigoblu Challenge February 2017 Guest Post

Indigoblu Challenge 

February 2017

'Love is All You Need'

'Sending All my Love to You'

Hi and thanks very much for popping in. A bit of a departure for me from my usual work but oh! I so enjoyed all the colour blending and spritzing. Must do more of this random work as it is exactly that - RANDOM! I must look out for a frame and mount as I do think she deserves it!

Here's the 'how-to.'

Materials:-

• Stamps:- Indigoblu 'Juliet'
• Cardstock:- white A5 water-colour paper; pink mat; 8x8 card blank cut to size
• Inkpads:- Distress Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries, Aged Mahogany, Black Soot, Picket Fence; Archival Black; 
• Miscellaneous:- white pen, white pencil, grey Polychromo, silver pen, Color Burst Liquid Metallic Rose; tiny self adhesive gems; sticky notes

Instructions:-

1. Spritz water-colour paper with water. 
2. Lay damp paper landscape-fashion on craft mat and swipe inkpads in order -  Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick in bands across from bottom to top. Spritz again with water until the colours all merge. 
3. Draw a line of Metallic Rose along foot of wet card and immediately up-turn card, allowing all the wet ink to drip down. (At this point, there were scrunched sheets of kitchen roll on my craft mat, ready to mop up the residue.)
4. Dry with a heat gun - this has a dual purpose as the heat evens out the paper as well as drying it.)
5. Using Archival Black, stamp 'Juliet' in the centre of the coloured card. Allow to dry.
6. Highlight floral areas on Juliet with white pen. 
7. Cut a heart from centre of a sticky note. Place heart aperture on card and blend over Fired Brick; offset aperture and blend over Black Soot.
8. Repeat twice. 
9. Randomly place aperture around top and bottom of card and blend over firstly Worn Lipstick followed by Picket Fence.
10. Add shadows and highlights with grey and white pens and pencils. Add # to the lighter hearts with silver pen.
11. Blend Black Soot around edge.
12. Add tiny self adhesive gems to suit.

Et voila! Here we have 'Sending All My Love to You.'

Thanks very much for visiting my blog.

Hope to see you again son.

Best wishes and happy crafting.

Shelagh.

Indigoblu Challenge Feb2017

Indigoblu Challenge

 'Love is all you need'

February 2017

'Love from Me to You!'

Hi, great to have you visit my blog. Thank you!

The Indigoblu theme for February is 'Love is all you need' and it took me a bit of time to work  out where I was going with this as any stamps I own and deemed appropriate had already been used in DT examples. On that note, here's my 'Love from me to you' explanation. 

Materials:-

• Stamps:- Indigoblu 'Under the Sea' set
• Cardstock:- white;Hunkydory Ombre mat; 8x8 card blank (cut to fit;) scrap card.
• Inkpads:- Distress Inks - Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Black Soot; Archival Black; Versafine Onyx Black; Staz-On Olive Green
• Miscellaneous:- Faber Castell Polychromos; Micron pen; Glossy Accents; white Pebeo marker; tissue paper; sticky notes; double-sided sticky sheet.

Instructions:- 

1. Tap ink onto glass mat/craft sheet in order bottom to top Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and spritz with water spray.
2. Lay white card-stock over and press to absorb water. Mop up any remaining ink/water solution around extremities of card. Dry with heat gun.
3. Spritz water over dry card, allow to settle for 10-15 seconds then blot with kitchen roll. Allow to dry. 
4. Ink water weeds from set with Staz-On Olive and repeat stamp along base of card. 
5. Hand draw and cut three sizes of heart from folded sticky notes.
6.  Starting with middle size heart aperture, place in centre of blue background and stamp bubbles to fill aperture. Pencil in heart perimeter. Repeat with smallest and largest hearts to suit. 
7. Outline hearts with Micron pen. 
8. Stamp bubbles from weeds upwards, using first and second generation Versafine Onyx Black. 
9. Stamp a goldfish onto tissue paper; turn over tissue and stamp fish again. (N.B. To ensure two fish in opposite directions. Paint wrong (unstamped side) of fish with white Pebeo marker and allow to dry. Remove one protective layer and apply double-sided sticky sheet to each 'wrong' side of fish.
10. Colour fish with Polychromos. Cut out and apply to suit. 
11. Blend Black Soot around perimeter of card. Mount onto a complementary mat, then onto card blank.
12. Apply Glossy Accents to bubbles within hearts and allow to dry overnight.

Et voila! Here we have 'Love from Me to You,' my entry for this month's Indigoblu Challenge. 

Happy crafting!!

Thanks for your visit. Hope to see you back soon. 

Cheers,

Shelagh.

Clarity Challenge February 2017 'Flower Power'

Clarity Challenge

February 2017

‘Flower Power’
. . . 'Like a Red, Red Rose!'
Example 1

Hello and welcome to my blog. To fulfill this month’s brief, I decided to create a simple card which not only incorporated the ‘floral’ part but made reference to ‘The Bard’ (it was Burns’ Night on 25^th January) and would also be suitable for St Valentine’s Day. To this end, I used the Clarity ‘Chessboard’ stencil along with ‘Rose’ and ‘Leafy Swirl’ stamps.

Cover the stencil with Versamark Onyx Black and feed through an embossing machine. I was able to pull five prints from the single inking. Stamp the rose image onto super smooth copy paper with Archival Black and colour with Polychromos. Add double sided sticky sheet to the reverse of the image and cut out. Stamp the Leafy Swirl with Archival onto the chessboard, peel off the protective layer from the rose image and attach to suit. Outline areas with a glue pen and sprinkle over some extra fine glitter. (Mine was a holographic white from Tonic.) Add shadows with Polychromos. Using 'My' from Word Chain 1, 'Love' from Word Chain 6 and 'is' by blanking out relevant letters from 'Kisses' (Word Chain 15,) stamp ‘My Love is . . . in the plain area at the top of the chessboard using Archival Black. The dots were achieved by blanking out part of the exclamation mark from Alphabet Word Chains. 
 Et voila . . . . c'est fini!

Example 1

Example 2

For my second example, I set about to replicate the first - but in parchment. However a few things conspired against me in so doing!  1) I'm a novice at parchment work; 2) In tidying up my craft room a tad, I misplaced the stencil . . . ; 3) . . . and the rose stamp!!! I set about approaching it in another manner. 

Beneath an A4 sheet of white parchment, I secured a spare print detailed in instructions above (this was to obtain the right angle of the flower), embossed the large flower-head from Jayne Nestorenko's rose plate (Jayne - a tribute to from me to you,) added the stem from Groovi 'Leafy Swirl' plate, traced the checkered squares and embossed the lines using the Groovi Nested Squares plate. The black squares and rose were shaded with my trusty water colour pencils as above. I then added the sentiment using letters from the Groovi Border Plate Mate, coloured the reverse then added some glitter highlights to the front.

Then the nightmare - it is some time since I pierced and snipped a picot edge and this one turned out simply not good enough, in spite of changing scissors three times - but then as the saying goes, 'a bad workman . . . . ' - therefore I trimmed the lot off- excepting part of the stem - which meant I needed to use a corner punch - not something I use often - to secure the image onto a trimmed sheet of white parchment and mounted this on a trimmed but slightly larger sheet of black parchment before attaching to card.

Phew, got there in the end!

             

                 . . . .And here they are, side by side!

Stamps and Groovi plates are all available from the Clarity Stamps website.

Et voila! My Clarity Challenge DT examples for February!

Thank you for visiting shelaghscraftyconcepts.blogspot.co.uk 

Hope to see you back again soon.

Cheerio for now and happy crafting. 

Shelagh

'The Making Lady'

shelaghscraftyconcepts.blogspot.co.uk