Blooming Field #2 for AALL & Create

Hello Friends

I am back with my Guest Design project for AALL & Create.  I have created a mixed media piece, using Olga Heldwein's Blooming Field stamp set again, along with stencil #38, also by Olga.

I had a piece of cardboard from a recent delivery that I thought was too good to throw away.

I removed some of the top layer and then covered the whole piece with gesso.

I added some blue paint over the gesso and then applied crackle paste both directly here and there and also through stencil #38 (a gift from my lovely friend Jo Rice).  I applied the same blue paint to the edges of a further piece of board.  The cardboard itself is not strong enough on its own to provide a sturdy base.

To add some further texture I stamped #125 by Aida Domisiewicz randomly over the base. 

I wanted a frame for the flowers, this one was in my stash, with some texture already, so I painted over with blue paint.

I stamped the flowers onto watercolour cardstock and coloured them with watercolour pencils, then fussy cut each one (there is now a set of dies available to do this but I did not have this at the time of making this project).

 I assembled the flowers onto the frame.  The largest flower was layered up to give some extra dimension.  Finally, I added the sentiment to complete my project.

All of the stamps and stencils I used are available from AALL & Create HERE, where you will also find a list of worldwide stockists.  AALL & Create do encourage you to buy from your local stockist wherever possible.

Cat Love, New Release for AALL & Create

Hello Friends

I am back again with another of AALL & Create's new release and this time I have created an accordion card using 'Cat Love' by Janet Klein for AALL & Create (#256) along with Stencil #19 by Autour de Mwa.

The image is so quirky and I just adore her cat!  Cutesy is way out of my comfort zone so I thought I would compensate and create something a bit more than just a standard card.  I used Karen Burniston's Accordion die set by Sizzix to create a single accordion fold card.  I think it shows her of quite well.....

I die cut the elements using Watercolour cardstock.

I brayered paint onto the front and back of the die cut elements and stamped

the images onto the separate die cut pieces.

Next, I used embossing paste to stencil the top and bottom of each of the frames.  Once the paste was dry I applied a light coat of Distress Oxide to blend the stencil in on the front and I stencilled the back of the frames directly onto the frame with Distress Oxide.

I watercoloured all of the images, after stamping an extra set,  fussy cut these and added them over the original images to give them some dimension.  I 'grounded' the girl and cat by adding some ripped washi tape.  I added a sparkly bow to her hair.

I stamped the sentiment and added it to the opposite side of the accordion.  This is a view of the card, closed and from the back.

This is a view of the finished card, closed, from the front.

If you are interested in purchasing the stamp and stencil you can find a list of worldwide stockists HERE.

Thanks so much for your visit, I really appreciate it!

Hugs, Anne xx

Blooming Field New Release by AALL & Create

Hello Friends

I am back this week with a Guest Designer piece for AALL & Create, using Olga Heldwein's newly released (and gorgeous) stamp set #229 - Blooming Field.

I created a simple notebook/journal.  I had intended to create a small hard back journal but I could not bring myself to cut into the image, I wanted to show the whole stamp.

Here is the stamp set - isn't it beautiful, along with the stencil I used lightly in the background, #64 by Autour de Mwa.

The image was stamped onto mixed media card, with Black Versafine Clair ink.

I coloured the image with Derwent Inktense Watercolour pencils.  Olga provides the shading in her stamps so the images are so easy to colour!

I masked off the image and used Distress Oxide Ink in Broken China to colour in my background area.  Once coloured I applied the stencil and coloured again using the same Oxide ink and it left a 'ghosted' image in the background.  I applied the image to my 6" x 8.1/4" notebook, trimmed around the edges and then added more Oxide ink to the edges.

To finish off I added an elastic closure in a toning blue.  This notebook/journal will sit on my desk to jot ideas and techniques down.

You can find a list of worldwide stockists of AALL & Create stamps and stencils  HERE.

Thanks so much for your visit, it is always appreciated!

Hugs, Anne xxx

Mermaid/Octopus New Release by AALL & Create

Hello Friends

I am back this week with my Guest Designer project for AALL & Create.  Even though we are nearer to Christmas than summer I really wanted to use the fabulous newly released OctoMermaid Stamp Set #236 by Olga Heldwein to create and underwater scene.

I stamped the image onto mixed media paper and used watercolour pencils to colour her.

After colouring her I fussy cut her out and set her to one side.

I turned my attention to the tag base.  I cut the tag from mount board and brayered some turquoise and green paint onto the base before brayering a thin coat of gesso to tone it down.  Using the Lotza Dotz Stencil #39 (by Autour de Mwa for AALL & Create) and Texture Paste  I applied this to the tag. I love the way the paint has seeped through the Texture Paste in many places.

Some greenery was added and a few other pieces, including some sparkly stars (which sadly don't show up very well) from my stash to create an underwater scene.

I used the sentiment from the same stamp set and added this to my tag to finish it off.  As you can see I also covered her modesty! LOL.

Here is another closeup of Olga's beautiful underwater creature.

If you would like to buy this stamp and/or stencil or any other AALL & Create products, you can find a full list of worldwide stockists HERE.

Thanks so much for your visit, they are always appreciated!

Hugs, Anne xx

Fabric Diary for Mini Album Makers

Hello Friends

It is time for a new challenge at Mini Album Makers.  Our rules are very simple, any Handmade Book goes, our focus is on completed works.  Check out the blog for full details.

Using a mask and stamps from our wonderful Sponsor this month, Paperbabe Stamps I created a Diary for a young lady, perhaps a teenager.  I am not great at colouring hair but I am enjoying practicing and hope I will get better!

I have quite a few steps to share so I have condensed the photos so the post won't be too long!

To begin, I cut two pieces of heavy board (greyboard weight) to 5" x 6.1/2" and one piece to
1.1/4" x 6.1/2" for the spine.  I attached construction tape to create the diary shape, leaving a small gap between the three pieces so that the diary would close easily.

To create the cover I cut a piece of calico fabric a little larger than the diary size.  I painted the cloth with PaperArtsy paint in Glass Blue which I watered down and added a small amount of Iridescent Medium (Windsor & Newton) to give it a little 'sparkle'.  I also painted the leather closure with the same paint so it would match.

Before adding the covering, I attached a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ring Binder to the centre so that the user can add or take away inserts, once filled.  I added a piece of wadding/batting between the board and the fabric as I wanted the diary to have a nice soft touch.  I then glued the fabric to the board, as shown above.  The next step was to add my closures (bottom right photo).

I am not sure whether these closures are still available but this one was perfect for my diary.

I have had some lovely modern papers in my stash for years and it finally got it's day.  The first photo shows the papers I used for the inside front and back of the diary.  The stamp on the second photo is also by Paperbabe.  I created three lined notebooks, two using the same papers and the cat one is a purchased notebook.

Now it was time to decorate.  I coloured up the stamped image of the girl and used the mask to trace out the hair image - it was so easy to use!  I coloured the hair and then cut it out.

I added the hair to the coloured face and then used some sparkly string to create her 'dress' and ponytail decoration.

My final step was to spell out the word 'diary' using some blue sequins from my stash.  I added a small blue bead to each of the sequins to give some extra 'sparkle'.

This is a view of the back of the completed diary.  I stamped the Paperbabe sentiment and applied this to the back.

Here is a final view of the completed diary.

Our Sponsor this month is the wonderful Paperbabe Stamps who are offering a
£20 Gift Card to spend in the Paperbabe Stamps Etsy Store.

 Paperbabe Stamps Blog - http://paperbabestamps.blogspot.com/
Website/Etsy Store - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaperbabeStamps

We really do hope you will join us at Mini Album Makers this month, it would be lovely
to see you there.  I also hope that you can pop over there to see what my talented
teamies have created for inspiration.

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx