The Colours of Autumn

More limited supplies for my contribution to the Colours of Autumn challenge at A Vintage Journey. I have so many mop up tags and scraps I really do need to use up or get rid of!!!!!

This is a tag background that I found with colours and a design that seemed perfect for Jennie's fabulous challenge.

So out came some papers, flowers and a vintage photo from one of Tim's ephemera packs and I was away.

I often find that reducing the supplies in front of me helps me focus and create something in less time than normal which is just what I need to be doing at the moment.

Hope we see you over on the challenge blog and joining us, but even if you just pop over to see the wonderful contributions from the AVJ team we would love to see you.

Take care.

hugs Brenda xxx

Halloween Triptych

I am up on the DecoArt Media Blog today with a Halloween Triptych made from Tando media boards and embellishments.

The raven is from a stamp but I have made him very textural and I've used Andy Skinner stamps too.

If you'd like to see all the details then please pop over to take a look. There's all the process steps and photos to go with them that you can look through and have fun with if you fancy making something similar.

Have a great Halloween month making your own decorations and spooky projects.

hugs Brenda xxx

Updated from the DecoArt blog

  

Halloween is the perfect season to use some of the Andy Skinner stamps and I have combined them with some fabulous small greyboard shapes from Tando Creative to create this Halloween Triptych. Items needed :

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Prussian Blue Hue

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Payne's Grey

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Quinacridone Gold

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Burnt Umber

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Titan Buff

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Raw Umber

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Carbon Black

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Gesso - Black

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Modeling Paste - White

• DecoArt Media Varnishes - Gloss Varnish

• Americana Decou-Page (Glue-Sealer-Finish) 8oz - Americana Decou-Page Matte

• Andy Skinner Stencils 12x3 - Shedded

• Metallic Lustre 1oz - Iced Espresso

• Metallic Lustre 1oz - Orange Flicker

• Assorted Brushes

• Tando Mammoth Mechanical

• Tando Minis Halloween Mix

• Tando Spiders Grab Bag

• Tando Cogs Grab Bag

• Tando Media Boards

• Stamps - Andy Skinner Birds and Bones, Unexplained, Toxic

Instructions :Take three media boards and paint them with black gesso.

Using Andy Skinner's stencil apply black modeling paste - it doesn't have to be an all over coverage.

Find a piece of leftover painty card that will fit in with your planned colour combinations and stamp 

some words.

Layout your design so that you know where everything will go and adhere the chipboard pieces and 

some metal spacer beads to add more interest.

Make up a spray of fairly watery Titan Buff and spray over the chipboards and the background.

Spritz water around the chipboard pieces and dab on raw umber, let it drip around and then heat dry.

Spritz the chipboards with water and randomly dab on some Burnt Sienna and dry.

Spritz with water again and this time randomly add dabs of Paynes Grey and dry. You van see how 

the color is beginning to build up n all three boards.

Spritz around the metal elements and the chipboards and add dabs of both Raw Umber and previous 

colours if they're needed and dry.

Spritz lightly all over with water and dabble Quinacridone Gold in a couple of areas on each board 

and dry.

Take Iced Espresso and Orange Flicker lustres and paint over some of the chipboards and metal beads 

and if necessary dabble on some Paynes Grey. Raw Umber and Quinacridone Gold to create well 

mixed, dripped and metallic grungy effects and dry. Spray with the Titan Buff and add a wash of Quinacridone Gold

Using Titan Buff rub over the top cog and stamp over the oval and rectangle chipboards.

To create the raven daub embossing ink onto some card large enough to take the raven stamp, heat 

emboss with black EP, when cool repeat with clear ultra thick EP and repeat again with black and 

brown EPs sprinkled together. On this last round whilst it still hot stamp the raven having inked him 

up with versafine black pigment ink. Leave the stamp to cool in the embossing before removing it. 

Add some paint to the body and wings to subtly bring out the features.

Adhere the bird and words onto the boards and mix up a dirty glaze - I have a tutorial on my blog for 

this which can be found here - and paint it over everything on the three boards to seal and unify 

them.

Take a piece of leftover greyboard and make a panel for the back.

I hope you enjoy the grungy style and even if you don’t like to use Halloween images the steps 

and techniques will work with whatever you have.

Thanks for joining me today. Happy crafting.

Tag Friday

I'm joining in with this Tag Friday at AVJ at quite the last minute, using left over bits and pieces and limited supplies. I have only a few boxes and tubs available to me at the moment so please bear with me for a while.

I began with a tag that I found in my cast off box.

So I collected together embellishments to decorate it with ....

.... and finished up with this.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll pop over to A Vintage Journey to see the fabulous inspiration from the brilliant team.

Thanks for stopping by.

hugs Brenda xxx

Exciting news and new Journal

I've been sitting on this news for a little while but I'm really happy to announce that I am joining the Tando Creative Design Team and will be working with the fabulous Tando greyboard, acrylic and mdf products as well as continuing with demonstrating and teaching make and takes at the Mixology retreats and I'm so looking forward to it. So much so I recently attended one of Di's workshops at Let's Be Creative and made a new journal with her.

We all had fun using the Tando Art Journal Starter Kit which is a journalling kit laser cut from sturdy 2250 micron greyboard and consists of the following: 

2 x covers, 1 x drilled spine, 1 x 800 micron wrap around cover, 25 sheets A4 good quality cartridge paper, 2 book-binding needles and 10m of good quality book-binding thread.

I took a few pictures at the beginning of the process but then the concentration and the enjoyment of just sitting and making took over and the camera for forgotten.

I used one of the new stencils Di has designed that have added holes that will fit a standard ring mechanism. (The bottom right)

The stencil had crackle paste through it,

everything got a coat of gesso to prime and seal the greyboard,

the spine was given lots of gesso texture and layers of grungy, rusty paint,

and I also had fun playing with the Tando birds .....

..... keeping them to brown/black neutral colours.

Once everything was painted I assembled the journal - and here you can see the front, back and spine.

The front cover and ........

,,,,, the back cover.

It was a fabulous day and although these cute birds are not normally my style I wanted to play outside my comfort zone and loved the finished effects of the painting and stamping on them using the DecoArt media acrylics.

I wonder what else I will come up with with Di's products?????? We'll have to wait and see.
If you haven't visited the Tando Blog do pop over to see this journal and stop awhile to see lots of other fabulous inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy your weekend.

hugs Brenda xxx

The new Tim Holtz stamping platform

I recently had the new Stamping Platform by Tim Holtz delivered and at last I've had a chance to have a play with it.

I just took some left over inked backgrounds out of my scrap box and cut this to size.

I put it in the stamp platform and took out the Victorian stamp set (again unused and waiting to be inked up) and laid out the stamps where I would like them on the background .......

....... laid the top down to pick up the stamps, inked them and stamped them.

The ink wasn't as dark as I would have liked so I was able to repeat the process to darken it ......

I used watercolours to paint the images .....

..... and then used the stamp platform again to add the sentiment.

 I just inked the edges and added it to the card to finish.

Now I am out of the boot and beginning to get the strength back in my ankle and leg I need to get up the Pack House to see what needs to be added to my items for sale, I though this might make a good start.

Thanks for stopping by.

hugs Brenda xxx

Dragonfly Shadowbox Workshop

Sorry no Technique Tuesday today as I have been rather busy with workshops so I thought I would share the workshop photos of this rusted Dragonfly and Butterflies shadowbox.

I taught this at Let's Be Creative last week and had 11 most incredible variations from the attendees. I shared the original on my blog in April (see Here)

I also made another version and altered the frame too.

These were the amazing results at the end of the day.

Everybody enjoyed themselves and were pleased with their own version, I loved them all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have fun create your own art.

hugs Brenda xxx