Shabby Wings

 A project for Country View Crafts

Dragonflies

See both pages at the end of this post

I find it impossible to visualise finished projects so although I had no preconceived ideas about how the panels would look when I’d finished them I was thinking “shabby wings” but also I had the 4 dragonfly colours in my head and the idea that I really wanted to add to the lines that Tim Holtz had designed in the Dragonfly stamp.

Process steps

Take piece of watercolour paper and use low tack masking tape and lay across centre, both landscape and portrait directions, and half the size along the edges. Give each panel a coat of white gesso

Blend some Pumice Stone in random places and spritz the ink with water. Hold paper up to let ink move around a bit and then heat dry.

Mask off bits of the stamp you don't want to be stamped ie the bottom line and the round button and ink up. I used Versafine Claire Nocturne and Pinecone.

You can see they didn't come out brilliantly but I'm not too worried as I am getting out the distress inks and my coloured permanent pens, gold and silver pens and my Posca paint markers to see where they take me. I have no preconceived ideas here other than the dragonfly colours I have in my head and I really want to add to the lines that Tim Holtz had designed in the Dragonfly stamp.

I pulled out those Distress Ink colours and did a wet stamping on each dragonfly, spritzing them with water before they were dried. I'm absolutely loving the distressed look that's starting to appear!

I chopped the large sheet up so each panel had a clean white frame and then worked on each one until I was happy with it. They are all different!

The Cracked Pistachio was the first to get my attention. 

I added extra black lines and used a similar mint green paint marker for additional lines and for the dragonfly body. I also lightly stamped some text. I stamped the button 4 times on card with versamark and added silver embossing powder and created the button separately to add to each panel.

Here's the blue one ad this is where I introduced the rub on transfers by Katie Pertiet.

Then the purple one and I moved the button to a different place.

Finally the brown one and it's definitely my favourite.

I loved creating these, I spent quite a lot of time on them and they are not as shabby as I thought they might be ..........

.... but I'm really happy with the outcomes.

Here they have been added to my sketchbook.

I distressed the page and the collage strips ...

added some secondand third generation text stamping and then ruled in some lines to bring that effect out into the whole page. I also added some TH transparent wings.

Here's a happy find, I was transferring watery ground espresso ink onto the sketchbook page and dabbing the splodges dry but all of a sudden I realised I was getting grid marks appearing. I was using a Tim Holtz stamp block that has the grid marks on and i was picking up the ink on the ridged side (not the smooth side as on the next page (which I completed first!). Love it - something I will try again maybe?

xx

Supplies

Tim Holtz stamps - Classics #1,  

Distress Inks, Pumice Stone, Ground Espresso, Cracked Pistachio, Villainous Potion, Uncharted Mariner

Tim Holtz Collage Strips - large

Tim Holtz - Remnant Rubs

Tim Holtz - Transparent Wings

Tim Holtz - Small Talk Sticker Book

Arden - Rub On Transfers - Katie Pertiet Garden Chronicles

Katie Pertiet stamps - Chronicle Remnants

Versafine Claire Nocturne and Pinecone

Versamark and silver embossing powder

Posca pens 0.1 black, sepia

Posca Paint Markers - Light BLUE, lavender, Glacier Blue, Blue, Aqua Green, Silver

Masking tape