Nature themed with altered patterned paper

This is a CVC inspiration challenge project.

I've focussed on using flowery paper page from 79 & Market and altering it so it is distressed and has become a more muted and subtle background for the added elements to sit on.

For the background I used a bought panel made of greyboard and a page from the paper pack cutting it to the right size.

Brayer a light coat of gesso randomly over it and when dry add some splatter areas (I used a small stamp block and dipped it in a watery puddle of magic moss paint and got some nice speckles).

 I also used the paints to bring back some of the plant details higher up, by painting them in lightly myself I felt this gave it a nice mixed media effect.

Gather die-cuts and transfers, stamp, colour and fussy cut the flower.

Create a small collage of the elements.

I love these colour swatch transfers created by Katie Pertiet.

xxx

  

Supplies

Tim Holtz - distress oxides -  Walnut Stain, Scorched Timber, Gathered Twigs, Hickory Smoke, Cracked Pistachio, Bundled Sage, Evergreen Bough,

Gesso - White

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Foliage                                            https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/th92788---tim-holtz-idea-ology---foliage-179530-p.asp

Paperartsy Fresco Finish paints - Magic Moss, Midnight, Haystack, Snowflake

49 & Market Paper pack 8 x 8, Die-cut Elements --- Botanical Buzz. Krafty Garden Rub on transfers,

PaperArtsy - Alison Bomber EAB48 Stamps - Summer Poppies Edition

Arden - Katie Pertiet - Garden Chronicle Transfer set

Tim Holtz punch - Butterfly

Frostie the Snowman Tim Holtz

Last Christmas card for 2025

Stamp Mr Frostie with distress archival onto printed paper.

Fussy cut the image.

Paint snowman, face and nose with a mix of decoupage and white chalky finish paint to seal the paper and dry. 

Then add a weak wash of blue distress ink to give him that cold look.

Paint the nose  with Rusty Hinge and paint the Scarf with Festive Berries.

Seal the Background paper with decou-page and dry. This helps the distress inks move around somewhat rather than soak immediately into the paper.

Use a brayer and add some white paint to the background to start to tone it down,

The depth of the whiteness with the brayer wasn't enough so I made a watery wash with the white paint and dipped and splodged some over the top.

Next take some vellum and the branches from the stamp set. 

Make them look like trees. Stamp with the distress archival again.

Now to add details and put the card together. 

Die-cut greenery and add some to the background.

Use a brown drawing pen to add depth, structure and more detail to the trees.

Plan where Mr Frostie and more greenery will go. 

Stamp the sentiment directly onto the vellum.

Dip leaves and berries pieces into a tub of Snow-tex and leave to dry and use a white posca pen to create the look of snow on the tree branches. Glue pieces down and add extra snowtex.

Supplies

TH Stamp - Mr Frostie  CMS499 -  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/cms499-tim-holtz-cling-mounted-stamp-set---mr-frostie-176446-p.asp

Distress Archival ink – Ground Espresso – Reinker only available in the shop at the moment- https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz---mini-distress-archival-re-inker---ground-espresso-139012-p.asp

Tonic Studios Tim Holtz - Stamp Platform 8.5"X8.5" - https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tonic-studios-tim-holtz---stamp-platform-85x85-75973-p.asp

Tim Holtz paper –

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint – Snowflake - https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/paperartsy-chalk-paint-fresco-finish---snowflake-175174-p.asp

DecoArt Americana Decou-Page Sealer/Glue Matte 4OZ  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/decoart-americana-decou-page-sealerglue-matte-4oz-69604-p.asp

Distress inks – Unchartered Mariner, Festive Berries, Rusty Hinge – https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-ink--re-inkers-103-c.asp

Sizzix TH dies – Festive Gatherings and Holiday Greens (currently out of stock) however Sizzix® Thinlits Die Set 11PK – Holiday Greens Mini by Tim Holtz are in stock and would be a great substitute.  https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/661597---sizzix-thinlits-die-set-11pk--holiday-greens-mini-by-tim-holtz-180330-p.asp

Constructing Vintage Photo Cabinet Card Collage

Gelli printing, stamping and mixed media

A gelli print, a stamp and the idea of creating a mixed media cabinet card brought this project to fruition. 

Played with Alison's poppy stamps on the gelli plate using Fresco Finish paints and ended up with a lovely design that I enhanced with a brown drawing pen. I cut it in half ........

...... and used one half as a wallpaper for the photograph, edged with a dark flowery paper that makes it stand out more.

I stamped the corners of the main card.

Next, gathered items to bring the design together including some embellishments, but knowing me these could change as I move things around to get a design I'm happy with.

Eventually happy with the design and the idea.

Supplies

TH Stamps - Victorian CMS300

Alison Bomber- EAB37 Poppy

TH _ Found Relatives

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints - colours not recorded, probably Buff, Toffee and Snowflake 

Affirmations 1 - Distress vintage layers

Be Brave 

It's the end of January as I'm writing this, the weather has been wet, chilly and even freezing but today we had some sunshine , blue skies and temperatures up to 10 degrees, you could almost say balmy weather. January into february is my SAD time when I need some love, time-out, friendship and excitement. But there are many of us in this position so I am going to build a box of affirmations to cheer me up.

This is #1. Just a small card 12 1/2 x 7 cms, covered in papers and ephemera with distress texture paste (matte), scraped into the edges of some of the bits of card, finger rubbed and then some distress stains painted in to give it some depth.

I carried on adding some inks spritzes of water and layers of pencils until it was nearly covered, dried it, ........

 ...... and rubbed away with a wet wipe to expose some of the pattern and text from the original layers, again dried it and finger rubbed some white gesso to create some highlights.

I finished by splattering some white gesso and distressing the edges of the card and rubbing walnut distress stain over them.

Now the background is complete, let's gather the collage elements and adhere them together to complete the project.

xxx

Supplies

Random papers, labels and pieces of TH ephemera

TH - Distress Spray - Pumice Stone, Ground Espresso

TH - Distress Crayons - Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke, Picket Fence, Pumice Stone.

TH - Ephemera

TH - Ephemera Snippets, Number Strips

TH - Distress Texture Paste - Matte

TH - Distress Ink - Walnut Stain

DecoArt Americana White Gesso

Mixed Media Panel

 Just some playtime using distress inks over modelling paste surface and stamping.

1. Scrape white modeling paste randomly, roughly and thinly over card. Dry.

2. Blend tattered rose and victorian velvet randomly and mostly in the centre of the card.

3. Repeat with faded jeans more around the edges but leaving gaps where the other colours are.

4. Make a puddle of tattered rose and dip your card into it particularly where you have blended that colour- Dry.

5. Repeat with victorian velvet and faded jeans.

6. Blend frayed burlap around the edges and lightly in other areas to get a more vintage feel to the colours.

7. Stamp the shrubbery in the lower left hand corner ...

8. .... I also masked off most of it to add a longer stem up wards to fill the left hand side completely. I also used a black drawing pen to add some little bits to make it all look as though it is one image.

Dipped edges into black soot puddle to get darker distressed outline.

Mounted into black journal.

Supplies

TH - DIs - victorian velvet, tattered rose, faded jeans, frayed burlap

TH - Stampers Anonymous - Urban Tapestry CMS061,  Watercolor CMS217