Nests and Eggs

 A Shadowbox for the Country View Craft Challenge - Easter - bunnies,chicks or eggs,

I have put together a curated collection of elements to create this curio shadowbox

Process Steps

Background - Scrape some gesso randomly on the paper, dry and stamp with text, I used ground espresso distress ink.

Making the nests - Pull out some natural cocosfibre, wind tightly round a pencil glue together with heat gun. Cut some of the fibre away and create a second one to glue on top keeping it to fit the dome. Keep pushing thumbs down in the centre to create the bowl nest shape. 

Spray with distress sprays to get the colour you want. I used gathered twigs. I then made two more and set them on two wooden spools bound with dark brown hemp.

Painting the eggs. Line them up on some double sided sticky tape to keep them secure and free from fingers for painting.

Here the nests were settled on the tops of two wooden reels.

The large bottles were filled with moss and three of the painted & speckled eggs. I added some brown paint to make them somewhat distressed. 

This is how I put the nest together for the dome.

The feathers actually ended up in a different bottle. 

And so did the twigs.

I used Tim's matchbox die to make these boxes for the larger die-dut eggs to sit in. I used leftover pieces of distressed card to cut them.

The smaller die-cut eggs were raised slightly by some small pieces of dowling wood my hubbie cut me.

It took several days to make decisions on how to put this together but I love that there are lots of eggs here to fit the theme of the challenge.

xx

Supplies

Tim Holtz latest paper pack for background and the title came from an old 8x8 TH pad  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/th94473-tim-holtz-palette-collection-neutral-8x8-183470-p.asp

Tim Holtz dies - Vault Matchbox 666604

Tim Holtz Stamps - Ledger Script CMS241   https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-stamps-by-stampers-anonymous-193-c.asp

Tim Holtz - Idea-ology Bottles, tny eggs, ephemera, Curator snippets,   https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-idea-ology-102-c.asp

DecoArt - Decoupage    https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/decoart-americana-decou-page-sealerglue-gloss-4oz-167418-p.asp   Gesso not in stock

Tim Holtz - Ranger - distress paints - tumbled glass, weathered wood, fired brick, seedless preserves, ground espresso, vintage photo     https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-paints-436-c.asp

Distress Inks - ground espresso, scorched timber  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/distress-ink-pads-1907-c.asp

Distress Sprays - Pine Needles, Twisted Citron, walnut stain, antique linen,    https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-spray-stains-696-c.asp

Sizzix dies - eggs a very old set.

49&Market Mindful Moments words  Out of stock

Easter Bunny cards for Country View Crafts with Tim Holtz dies

Fun with Hippity Hop dies

April's challenge at CVC FB Challenge page is 

Easter - Eggs, Chicks or Bunnies

I chose these gorgeous bunnies and had fun with them. The rabbits were cut from a previously dipped piece of media paper and cut using the vault hippity hop dies. I used distress inks to give a suggestion of clothes and die cut the bows and butterflies for decoration.

The background was made using the scallop stencil with the dry watercolour pencils and stencil and the monoprinting technique. I also had some lightly dipped and splattered card that I cut for the panel and I added some stencilling.

Finally I put the cards together using 49&Market papers and snippets.

xxx

Supplies

Tim Holtz stencil - Shifter scallop, Mini Sparkle Fade set #62,    https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-layering-stencils-523-c.asp

Tim Holtz dies - Vault Hippity Hop.                                                                https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-152-c.asp

Tim Holtz stamps - Ledger Script, Field Notes                                        https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-stamps-by-stampers-anonymous-193-c.asp

Tim Holtz distress inks - Fired Brick, Salvaged Patina, Bundled Sage, Squeezed Lemonade, MustardSeed, Ground Espresso                                                          https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/distress-ink-pads-1907-c.asp

Tim Holtz distress oxides - Salvaged Patins, Faded Jeans                    https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/distress-oxide-ink-pads-1908-c.asp 

Tim Holtz watercolour pencils - Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Evergreen Bough  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-watercolor-pencils-1598-c.asp

Tim Holtz Ephemera Pack Snippets - Curator, Number Strips                                https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-idea-ology-102-c.asp

49& Market - Paper pack                                                                          https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/49-and-market---botanical-buzz-1824-c.asp

Stencil monoprint and stamping

Happy Easter 

I did a workshop at Grayshott yesterday with an amazing group of ladies including Lois, Karen and Dominique.

They wanted to focus on distress ink techniques and create a tag book. We explored 9 techniques and ended up with 11 backgrounds. I came home with my sample book collection plus 32 more panels/tags so I want to use some of them to create some cards. This is the first.

The background which is a stencil monoprint with stamping through the stencil.

The elements. I collected bits together from my collage envelopes and some extra snippets.

A huge thank you to all the ladies who made it such a fun and enjoyable day. I definitely will be back to Grayshot to enjoy your company again.

xx

Supplies

Distress inks - stormy sky, hickory smoke, ground espresso

Stencil - Tim Holtz - Harlequin

Stamps - small text from my supplies, Tim Holtz - Natures Wonder

Dies - Tim Holtz - Silhouette Birds, Crochet

Tim Holtz - Snippets

Black archival ink

Poppies Edition - Condolences card

 A condolences card needed for a lovely crafty friend

Stamp the poppy with aged mahogany, dry it then using waterbrush pull the colour from the edges through the petals. 

Whilst wet add some fired brick with a watercolour brush.

Draw the leaves through the stencil and watercolour using the green distress inks.

Use a fine black pen to outline and create form, detail and depth to the image.

Stamp the flower onto masking paper, and trace through for the leaves. Once added to the card splatter both the red and green inks.

Lastly stamp the words and add them to the card.

Thinking of you Gayna. 💔 xxx

Supplies

Alison Bomber stamps Summer Poppies Edition EAB48

Alison Bomber Stencil for the leavesPS473

Tim Holtz Stamps - Simple Sayings CMS155

Distress inks - aged mahogany, fired brick,rustic wilderness, bundled sage, ground espresso.

Permanent ink - Versafine Nocturne

Fabriano watercolour paper

Black uni pin fine line water and fade proof pigment ink pen

Spring Into Life Apple Blossom Frame

 Spring Into Life Apple Blossom Frame

This is a second inspiration project for the Country View Crafts challenge of 'Spring into Life'. I have used the same set of Alison's stamps as I used for my previous project, showing how versatile her stamps can be.

I used Alison Bomber tissue paper from PaperArtsy, cut the blossom part and adhere it to green card and dry. 

Paint the blossom using the the paints and again dry. Make a wash of snowflake and paint it around the blossom lightly and again dry.

Stamp large and small apple blossom stamps using archival ink onto watercolour paper and paint. Dry and slightly cut around the large blossom images so they separate from the leaves. Then spritz water on the back of them and carefully squeeze leaves and blossoms to give them some shape.

Add some textured card to the photo frame and blend some distress oxides over it, spritz and dry. Then brayer one coat of the snowflake paint over it.

Edge all the flowers with brown distress ink and adhere pieces to the frame.

I now have a winter and a summer frame for displaying in my conservatory at the appropriate times of year. I think I will be looking to make a Summer and Autumn one as well.

xxx

Supplies

PaperArtsy Alison Bomber stamps - Apple Blossom Edition EAB46

PaperArtsy Alison Bomber Tissue Paper

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish paints - Bougainvillea, Blah Mange, Snowflake, Vintage Lace, Haystack, Magic Moss. French Roast.

Distress Oxide - Tattered Rose

Distress Archival ink - Ground Espresso

Ranger 12x12 paper in green (old stock)

Miscellaneous - Ikea Frame, Fabriano watercolour paper 280 gms cold pressed, flower stamens, white bought flowers.

Spring Into Life Apple Blossoms watercolour

Apple Blossom 

Stamps by Alison Bomber

I am using a technique I taught at Country View Crafts a few weekends ago, Everyone loved it and the effects they achieved.

Stamp and wider stamp the apple blossom to cover approximately half the page. This was a practice one I did.

Paint the images with masking fluid and leave to dry - this is an experiment in a Hobbycraft Shore and Marsh A5 sketchbook which says it is watercolour paper but it does not allow the distress inks to work and react with water like other card and watercolour papers do. So I shall be giving this sketchbook a miss in the future. After stamping over the images with the masking fluid still on and dipping into watery distress ink puddles, I made sure the ink was dry all over and rubbed the masking fluid from the page and then painted the images using  my chosen palette of colours.

From there I made sure I had recorded colours on a colour palette I created and use quite frequently at the moment.

I also made some swatches as I needed to include Rustic Wilderness which was an additional colour at the last minute.

 After adding the words and some thin cheesecloth I cut coloured papers echoing the coloured inks I had used and made the tiny bunting. The composition just needed something in the top right hand corner ......

.... and it finished with a splattering of white using a large white chalk marker.

xx

Supplies

PaperArtsy Alison Bomber stamps - Apple Blossom Edition EAB46

Ranger arhival ink - Watering Can

Tim Holtz distress inks - Scattered Straw, Bundled Sage, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso.