What if your Fears and Dreams...............

I know I can't believe it either....................two posts in one day! It's just me trying to get myself organised before I start my enforced break from blogger due to that horrible four letter word......................WORK!!!

Tonights blog is on the entry I have made for The Sunday Stamper http://www.pinkleart.blogspot.com/2011/07/sunday-stamper-week-165-waterloo-sunset.html whose theme this week is "Waterloo Sunsets" and The Stampotique Designers Challenge http://www.stampotiquedesignerschallenge.blogspot.com/ whose theme this week is "Red,Yellow and Orange".

It is a framed piece of art in the colours of Sunset. I created a background with paints and sprays through masks and stencils and then a ray stamp. I then stamped the gorgeous Stampotique girl (well, I don't know if gorgeous is the right word.........but I love her!) and highlighted her hair with black Enamel Accents, gave her a crown and some keys. I stamped a sentiment then cut it up and placed it on the image and outlined in black. Once I was happy with the artpiece, I put it in a frame that I had coloured with the same spray inks and micas, after coating it with firstly with white acrylic paint. Once the inks were dry I covered it with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint and once that was dry I edged the frame with Inka Gold in Lava Gold. I think it has turned out ok. What do you think?

Time to Colour!

Just recently I have done a demo on using Letreset Promarkers and
Tim Holtz Distress Inks. I really enjoyed myself, as these are two of my favourite mediums to craft in! I have just LOVED Distress Inks for years now as they are so versatile and easy to use. The colours are just delish too! I was only introduced to Promarkers just over a year ago but have not looked back. It takes your colouring to another level and it so easy to loose yourself whilst colouring and disappear into your own little world! Which, I must admit, I do often!
The first card was coloured using Promarkers, including the background. Which is one of the reasons I love them, as it allows you to block colour an area, like the sky on this card, whilst achieving a smooth finish that is impossible to achieve with other mediums, or at least I can't achieve it! You can also creating shading and blends bands of colour so that you have a graduated background, eg. sunrise or sunset.
The above card used Distress Inks where the stamp was sprayed with water once inked and befored being stamped to create a watercolour effect.

The third card used Distress inks as a watercolour medium to created tis coloured flower, and Spellbinder dies to matt and layer the completed image.
The next card was created by making a "wrinkle-free" Distress Ink background where you swipe the ink pads on a craft mat, spritz with water and swipe the card stock through it to create a coloured background. I then stamped on it with Archival ink and cut the two images out and layered them onto a embossed cardstock.
The next card is a Gorguss Girl stamp that has been coloured with Promarkers. Now in my opinion, these stamps just lend themselves to Promarkers and the shading that can be achieved with these pens. They give you such a professional result and you don't even have to be that good at using them for the end result to look fabby!

The last card is one of my favourite stamps and it is a Stampendous "Gerbra" image that I have coloured, again, with Promarkers. I just love the way I have been able to shade the image and achieve a smooth finish but still suggest some dimension to the flower! I then glittered the centre with Stickles glitter glue and framed it with a Spellbinders die cut frame.

It was then layered onto a simple square white card with dimensional adhesive and embellished at opposing corners with rhinestones that had been colour matched with the Promarkers. Another great use for the versatile pens!

Tagged Men!

This week the challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Show http://www.simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com/ and The Artistic Stamper http://www.theartisticstampercreativeteam.blogspot.com were "Tags" and "Men" respectively. So I created this tag to fit both themes.

I coloured the tag with Distress Inks and then over stamped it with Archival Ink in Black and Coffee using Tim Holtz stamp sets "Steampunk", "Mini Holidays" and "Psychedelic Grunge". Got to say I am just loving his stamps at the moment and using them in almost everything I am making.

I then embellished it with Ideology pieces, a Creative Expressions screw brad and an Alterations die cut ticket stamped with Creative Expression "ticket" stamp set. Gave it a quick rub over with Distress Stickles and then used Ranger Enamel Accents in Black to highlight the Steampunk Gentlemen.

Once it was dry I matted and layered it onto copper glitter card and dark brown cardstock. And voila...........a tag is created!