Spring like colour theme at Tando Creative

There's colour themed inspiration on the Tando Blog this week and I have used the inspiration photo to make a grungy looking tag in Springlike colours using the ever fabulous DecoArt media fluid acrylic paints and some white crackle paste.

A full step by step is over at Tando if you would like to see how this came together.

Thanks for popping in to see what I have been making.

Have a great week.

hugs Brenda xxx

Tag Friday AVJ

It's a Tag Friday post over at A Vintage Journey

I began by stamping the salamander from France Papillon's Illusionary Artist set of stamps Creepers and Crawlers using distress oxide, spritzing it with water and drying it before cutting it out.

For the background I die cut a tag using media paper tag and stamped with gesso to get some immediate texture and interest on my tag and then dipped in spiced marmalade and worn lipstick distress oxides. When that was dry I rubbed in some vintage photo around the edges and spritzed with water and heat dried and later towards nearing completion I stamped lightly with an old text stamp and splattered both titan buff and titanium white media fluid acrylic paint.

I used the same distress colours plus walnut stain and barn door DI to get another background from which I die cut a robo bar frame by Seth Apter. This was a little smaller than I wanted so I have saved it and cut the outside piece into a larger frame in which the salamander can sit.

I sewed round the edges of my tag and then mounted it onto some brown card. I also sewed down the sides of the frame.

These are the elements I collected for embellishing, the button actually got left off when it came together it just didn't work.

The Salamander is mounted over some chicken wire .....

... and the book plate is being recycled although the inner part is new.

 For more information and inspiration pop over to A Vintage Journey to see what the other amazing Creative Guides have added for us to peruse.

Happy Easter.

hugs Brenda xxx

Entomology tag for Easter

I have a pretty Spring like tag over on the Country View Crafts project blog today and I think it's a perfect gift tag for that Easter egg or present for someone special. 

I have outlined the steps with photos if you fancy taking a look at how it came together.

Easter is only a few days away. I love getting out my seasonal decorative pieces for this time of year.

Hope you have a good week.

hugs Brenda xxx


Updated from CVC Project Blog

Begin with distress oxides in spiced marmalade, broken china and cracked pistachio and create a dip and dry background.

 Stamp some flying bugs, I used the Entomology set of stamps by Tim Holtz and used his stamping platform to get a strong outline ( I stamped it twice using coffee and black archival inks)

Take forest moss, pine needles, tea dye and rusty hinge ordinary distress inks and with a paintbrush paint in the wings. I also used some white linen ink spray by dylusions to highlight the bodies.

Next take some scraps of paper and tear pieces to cover the butterflies and stamp the text stamp, also from the etymology set, with broken china doxide.. 

Before removing the paper lightly spritz over with water and heat dry.

Stamp the small butterflies from the classics 17 stamps and remove the little Fig. numbers, cut, distress ink the edges and adhere. Also stamp the special delivery from the correspondence set directly onto the tag.

I always 'frame' my tags, cards etc and didn't want to rely just on the normal distress inked edges so I searched my boxes of old unknown stamps and found a fabulous forgotten distressed border stamp which I used with cornflower blue archival ink.

Finally I covered the winged bugs again and splattered some white gesso and then finished with the distress inked edges.

A lovely gift tag with springlike images and colours don't you think?

Positivity journal panel for CVC

I am over on the Country View Crafts blog today with a panel for my positivity journal and using some of the new Aall and Create stamps. More photos and a description can be found over there.

Thanks for popping in.

hugs Brenda xxx


Updated from CVC Project Blog

The background was made by laying down some gesso applied on the back of a palette knife and left to dry before adding in some colours - primary cyan, cerulean blue, titan buff, raw umber and burnt umber, taking time to add some dips of watery washes of these colours and finishing with a brayer and titanium white to bring some brightness back. 

The stamp set has 11 stamps in it, so there's plenty to help make up a composition with the brush which has written around it -

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

The stamp above says - Creativity takes courage.

The little arrow and dots make a nice fill in piece and the circles make up a great border.

I love using text so I added some very light random stampings of one of my own small stamps.

I used the quotestamp on paper so that it stood out more and shaded round it after I had finished and sealed it all with matte medium.

To get the finished look I splattered some raw umber and white paint and dried it and took my white posca pen to add some small dots in the circles and a black one to add some squiggly border additions. I sanded the edges and blended in ground espresso distress ink.

Mini Book Storage for DecoArt Media Team

I am up on the DecoArt blog today with  a storage shelf kit from Tando Creative to house their mini books.

I have as always used layers of paint but this time used the new Premium range of acrylics which are absolutely fabulous to use.

If you would like all the details please pop over to the DecoArt Media Blog to see all the process steps with plenty of photos.

The little books and the shelf were made for Stitches so you will be seeing more of some of those little cute albums, just keep your eyes peeled here on the blog.

Thanks for being here, enjoy your week.

hugs Brenda xxx

Tando Tiny Mini Album - Vintage style

I have a super cute mini book over on the Tando blog today. It measures about 6 cms square and is just such a sweet little thing to hold in the hand.

There's more details on the blog although I didn't have time to do the process steps as it was for Di as a sample to use at Stitches last month and she has kept it lol. There are a few more photos as well though.

I hope you can pop on over. Thanks for dropping by.

hugs Brenda xxx

Visual Journal - altered book and cabinet card for AVJ

As promised my step by step of the altered book I made to start our new year of challenges is now up at A Vintage Journey. You will see how I prepared this cover and how the embellishments and finishing touches pulled the vintage collage together. To see my original post and my 'Treasure' that triggered this project for this month's challenge click here.

I have already created the first pages in this book so keep an eye here on my blog in May when I will  link to the DecoArt Mixed Media blog when the project goes live.

Thanks for being a reader and supporter of my blog, I do read all your comments and really appreciate them.

Have a great weekend and hopefully enjoy some crafting time of your own.

hugs Brenda xxx

Updated from AVJ

I began by preparing a couple of old books by painting the outside covers with gesso and adding some texture using the gesso with a palette knife when it was dry.

Having chosen the larger book and this cabinet card to use .....

..... I decided that as it was quite plain I would alter it and I found a piece of old Graphic 45 paper and cut an oval shape from it.

I had ensured there was plenty of space around the oval to fully cover the card.

I aged the centre cut by rubbing round with an emery board and blending over ground espresso DI. Then I adhered it onto the cabinet card and used a sanding block to sand away the excess patterned paper. This had then distressed the edges as well and again I blended in ground espresso DI.

I started to gather bits and snippets to make some decisions on the embellishing first. Every piece has been painted, inked and/or distressed in some way. I sealed all the card embellishments with satin varnish before they were added to the cover.

This cabinet card covers quite a bit of the front cover so I felt I needed to create a layered background with textures and neutral covers. I began with a text stencil and texture paste mixed with gesso that I heat dried and then, dribbled, dipped and spritzed my gorgeous decoart media acrylics.

 Using quinacridone magenta, titan buff and yellow oxide I dribbled and spritzed the colours to create a light mottled background.

I stamped with the same colours using a text stamp from the Andy Skinner shabby chic set.

I darkened the background by dribbling and spritzing some raw umber with titan buff and dabbled over some watery titanium white (all the time I am heat drying between each layer).

At this point I decided to seal it and used the DecoArt satin varnish. I wanted it to be very sturdy and ready to take the punishment of it being used regularly and creating and making the new journal pages. I began adding the collage elements in layers ....... getting the base parts adhered and flattened under a heavy box.

Now to add in the collage elements. I used the new clear modeling paste from DecoArt and oh boy does it have a strong bond for the card, fabric and metal pieces.

Looking at the book I felt there was something missing - contrast in the background - so I took a fine brush some quinacridone gold, paynes grey and raw umber ........ and with some dabbling of the colours around the collage elements the shading, shadowing, aging and framing has brought it together more.

Panel 7 - Antediluvian

..... or something ancient, primeval, prehistoric.

This is another of Andy's skulls and comes from the Skulldoggery set of stamps.

Process Steps

1. Paint a layer of brown umber media acrylic paint.

2. Monoprint using card painted with titan buff and rubbed onto the background.

3. Stamp with some numbers/text with coffee archival ink.

4. Repeat step 2 with cobalt blue and titan buff.

5. Lightly brayer some titanium white ver the surface.

6. Stamp text using burnt umber, quinacridone gold and titan buff paints.

7. Stamp the skull and specimen onto tissue paper and adhere.

8. Give everything a coat of satin finish varnish.

I love how striking the images are on this slightly textured background, the tissue paper technique works perfectly if you use a soft white tissue paper and seal it afterwards,

Thanks for stopping by. The weather today has been beautiful, some blue skies, sunshine and feeling quite mild. Spring must be on it's way.

Take care.

hugs Brenda xxx

Positivity Panel for Mother's Day

If you saw my post on Friday you will know I have started a Positivity Journal and I thought I would make a panel as a tribute to my Mum. I can no longer make or buy her a Mother's Day card or gift but this seemed perfectly apt and helped me remember her with very fond memories.

I used the process steps almost exactly the same as I had used on the two panels shown on Friday.  I had covered the card with canvas from a canvas pad and stamped onto it using the media acrylic paints before adding the tissue tapes. 

The heart was a Tando one that I soaked and split into four thin ones so it will not be too bulky in the journal. The words were computer generated and to me my Mum is one of the best and most beautiful things in the world. I cannot see or touch her anymore but I certainly feel and love her in my heart.

I hope I haven't got too slushy but I still like to think of her often but even more so today.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mums out there.

hugs Brenda xxx