Rustic Glam at Anything But Cute

Hello Friends

It is time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute and the wonderful Niki is hosting the November challenge which is Rustic Glam!

Here is what Niki had to say - 'think of Southern charm meeting some Bling Bling.  Create a mixed media design featuring rustic elements such as whitewashed wood, chicken wire, burlap, soft subtle tones and lots of neutrals.  Don't forget to add the GLAM part with some sparkle and Bling!

I decided to challenge myself and use everything that Niki asks for in her fabulous challenge. Here's what I created:

I wanted to create a weathered wood look, like the design paper on the left.  I covered some Kraft card with DecoArt Crackle Paint and when it was dry I chipped a few areas off.

I coated the piece with a wash of Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass and I coloured the 'chips' with a Distress Marker in Tea Dye.

I then covered the whole piece with DecoArt Antiquing Cream and then wiped it back with a wet baby wipe to remove most of it.

I cut the piece into 'wood' planks and went around the edges with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream.

 I didn't like the darkness of it and so I painted over all of the pieces with some watered down white gesso, you will see this better in the picture below.  

I didn't have any chicken wire so I stamped and embossed some heat resistant acetate and cut this up into strips.

To make the flowers I used Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals die.  I also cut some leaves, a piece of cheesecloth, some string, a piece of hessian and a die cut word - friend.

To create the flower centres I used some Christmas 'berries', coated them with Multi Medium and then dipped them into Ranger Vintage Platinum Distress Glitter Dust.

Once I layered up all the pieces I attached the piece to a metal hanger (a gift from a friend) which I painted with cream chalky paint.

Thanks Niki for a great challenge, I really enjoyed making this project!

We very much hope you will join in with us for our Rustic Glam challenge at
Anything But Cute!

I would like to add this to Frilly and Funkie's 'What a Mesh' challenge - (my mesh pieces are the burlap and the cheesecloth).

Thanks so much for your visit!

Hugs,  Anne xx

Triple Trouble Corrugated Album

Hi Everyone!

The lovely and talented ladies at Creative Carte Blanche have a new experiment for us!  For Creative Adventure No. 2 we are to use three things that do not go together - Corrugated Card, Lace and Metal.

I had been watching a video on the Wanderlust experience where we learned how to re-purpose an old book.  I don't really have any old books suitable for re-purposing, but I had the idea of starting from scratch and making a little album from corrugated card, using some techniques I learned through attending an Andy Skinner class last year.  I don't have a lot of step by steps today as my album kind of 'evolved'.

To create the cover I used some packaging and started by stripping the top layer.  As you can see I did not strip it right back as I wanted some areas that I could decorate.

I coated the 'left over' layer with DecoArt Gesso in white.  Once it was dry I coated the gessoed areas with DecoArt Crackle Paste and left it overnight to dry.

Next, I created two 'washes', the first one using DecoArt Fluid Acrylic Paint in Cobalt Teal Hue.  I mixed a drop of the paint with about five parts of water and used this to paint over the crackled areas. 

The second wash was made with Quinacridone Gold and this was painted over the edges of the album, front and back and allowed to drip down.  I also painted the lace with the same wash to give it an aged appearance.

I treated the back of the album in the same way.

For the inside, I cut down two manila folders and created three signatures.  These were gessoed and painted in DecoArt Americana Deco Chalky Finish paint in blue (ADC20).  I attached the three signatures using some string and then decorated the string on the outside of the album with some wooden beads from my stash.

I used some embossing paste, stamping, remnant rubs and die cuts to decorate the inside.  I did not do anything too bulky as I want to add photographs at some point.  Since I used the manila folders, there are a few pockets for storing things in too.

The Idea-ology piece was rusted using a mix of DecoArt Fluid Acrylics in Paynes Gray, Quinacridone Gold and Cobalt Teal Hue, followed by a layer of DecoArt Ultra Matte Varnish.  The butterflies were stamped onto a piece of aged book page, the central butterfly was coloured and then covered with DecoArt Liquid Glass (Clear), followed by a coat of Ultra Matte Varnish.

I really enjoyed making this little album, the finished album measures 6" x 6".

I am entering this into Creative Carte Blanche Triple Trouble Creative Adventure #2.

Thanks for looking, I'll see you again in a day or so.  Thanks so much too, for all your lovely well wishes, we are slowly getting back to normal!

Hugs, Anne xxx

Grungy Love

Hello Everyone, this is one of two posts today...

The lovely Sara Emily is our host at Anything But Cute where we are celebrating Valentine's Day with a 'Grungy Love' theme.

In Sara's own words - "To celebrate St. Valentine's Day, we would like to see you make a Grungy Valentine's project for your sweetheart!  It can be a card, tag, or anything else you might give a loved one to show them how much you care.  Just make sure it's grungy!" 

For my Sweetheart's Valentine creation I used a 6 inch square wood base (purchased from Indigo Blu), lots of paint in some of  his favourite colours, some random stamping, a grungy crackled heart and some 'industrial' embellishing.

I gathered together some of the items I wanted to use.  DecoArt Media Gesso in white, Indigo Blu Gesso (Gee-so-good) in black and my favourite background stamps, Rugged Edge by Limor Webber for Indigo Blu.

I painted the wood board with a good layer of the white gesso and once dry I added a few pieces of Tim Holtz tissue tape.

I then added some colour, not too heavy, I just lightly loaded my brush, first with Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Scattered Straw and then some Indigo Blu English Cottage acrylic paint in 'Grandma's Teacup' - this paint goes a long, long way and you only need a tiny amount.

It was a bit too blue for my liking so I added some more of the white gesso to knock back the colour a little bit.  Next, I took a couple of the stamps and stamped randomly using the Indigo Blu black gesso.  I still wasn't entirely happy so I got out my Andy Skinner Industrial set of stamps and I stamped randomly over the entire board, using Wendy Vecchi's Archival Ink in Watering Can.  I love the way the gesso stamping comes to the fore and is slightly dimensional - and the Archival Ink stamping goes to the back.  I am happy with my background now.

Next up is the heart embellishment.  I cut a heart freehand and coated it with the Indigo Blu gesso in black.  Once dry I added a coat of my favourite crackle medium - Weathered Wood by DecoArt.

Once the heart was dry I painted the heart with DecoArt Qunacridone Magenta Media Fluid Acrylic, with just a tiny drop of Paynes Grey added in to give the heart a slightly more grungy look.

As with all crackle techniques it is best to 'seal' the crackle and I used the DecoArt Ultra-Matt Varnish, it really does give a beautiful matt finish.

To grunge the heart a little more I twisted some black wire and added two lengths to my heart.

I thought the base looked a little bare so I added some cogs to two of the corners.  The cogs were cut from some thick card using my new Memory Box Cog die.  

To make the heart 'pop' a bit more I went all around the outside edge of the heart with a charcoal pencil and then smudged it with my finger.  In real life it makes the heart look really dimensional.

To finish off I added some chit chat words by Tim Holtz.

I hope you like my grungy, masculine Valentine Project and I hope you will join us at Anything But Cute this month in our 'Grungy Love' mixed media challenge.

As I have used Indigo Blu stamps and paints I would like to enter this into Indigo Blu's latest challenge - where the theme is Anything Goes.

I would also like to enter into Countryview Crafts challenge where the theme is Make your

Own Background.

As always, thanks so much for looking, I have another project up already today - sorry for bombarding you but it is just the way it is sometimes!

Hugs, Anne xx

Artist Trading Block Favourites

Hello Friends

I apologise for my long absence and lack of visits, hopefully by early next month

I will be be in a better position to rectify that, I hope you will bear with me....

This month at Art With Heart we are not having a challenge (and things are being changed up for future months).  Eileen Hull has released some fabulous new products at CHA (like the cantilever sewing box I featured here and here) and Eileen has also re-released some all time favourite dies.  One of these is the large Artist Trading Block (ATB) die (Szzix 658983) which is my personal favourite.  The Design Team are showcasing these re-released dies during this month. 

First up is my Artist Trading Block Storage Cabinet, details of which can be found here.  I used some fabulous G45 papers to cover the cabinet.  This shows how versatile the ATB die is, you can create 3D projects with it.

Next is my Valentine Heart Box, details can be found here.  This was the first ATB I ever made and DH still has it out on show to this day.

My next choice is my Circus themed ATB using Tim Holtz's Big Top Circus stamp set (details here).

Another favourite is an Andy Skinner inspired ATB, made using DecoArt products and Andy's Faux Letterpress Technique (details here)

My final choice is a project made for our lovely DT member Anna-Karin, we held a virtual baby shower for her, following the birth of her beautiful baby Leo (details here)

I hope you can see how wonderfully versatile the Artist Trading Block (ATB) die is.  I have made houses with it - and even a steam train, it is such a fun die to use.

Edited:  I have had some very exciting news.  Thanks to Eileen Hull and Jo Packham of 'Where Women Create'  I have had four pieces published in Sizzix's newest book release 'Make it a Party'.  I am so thrilled and honoured, it is a beautiful book and wonderfully illustrated and it is my first time ever being published!!

Thanks for looking, take care and I hope to see you soon!

Hugs, Anne xx

Ring Out the Old, Bring in the New at Anything But Cute

Hello Everyone

I hope you have had a great start to the New Year!  I am thrilled to be the Host this month at Anything But Cute, and since it is the beginning of a new year I have chosen 'Ring Out the Old, Bring in the New' as my challenge theme.  To celebrate the New Year, we would like you to create a mixed media card or project using something 'new', perhaps you got some fabulous new craft item for Christmas or you have something new that you have not used yet - please do remember to tell us what the new item is!

For my birthday and Christmas this year I received some beautiful Sandra Evertson Archival Casts, by Prima and I really wanted to use the beautiful Archangel from the Archangels set. 

 It just seemed right to create a shrine for the Archangel.  I did some research on Pinterest to get some ideas and found a great board here.  Near where I live there is a real life shrine (photo at the end of this post) which has fascinated me for years. 

I started by cutting two Tim Holtz Cameo frames from black mount board (mat board) and I used Tim's Sized rectangle die to cut an aperture in one of the frames.  I measured the opening and created a 'box' to go between the two frames.  The spool was later trimmed to fit in the gap to create a sturdy stand.

The next view shows the assembled box, this was painted with black gesso all over and once dry I applied a coat of Americana Weathered Wood Crackle Medium.  This is part of Andy Skinner's Mega Crackle technique.  You can see a video of Andy using the technique here.

To create the base crackle I added a little DecoArt Media Fluid in Raw Umber to some DecoArt Media Crackle Paint.  You can use up to 20% of coloured paint in the crackle paint to colour the Crackle Medium but I just wanted a hint of colour so I just used two little drops of the paint.

Once the paint is applied, this is how the result looks.  It starts to crackle immediately and dries fairly quickly, but you really do need to let it completely dry before moving on. 

To tint the shrine I used a thin wash, a mix of DecoArt Quinacridone Gold and water.  Before the first layer dried I mixed some Prussian Blue Media Fluid with water and lightly brushed this over the entire piece.  In real life it looks a little mottled, which I like.  This is a view of the back.  I always seal all of the crackled area with a sealant, in this case I used Ranger Glue and Seal.

To give the Archangel an aged look I first painted it with a thin coat of white gesso, followed by a very thin layer of Weathered Wood Crackle Medium and then finally a coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic in Titanium White.  The cracks are quite subtle.

Here is a close up showing the mega crackle on the shrine and the lighter crackle on the face of the Archangel.  The hair was lightly tinted with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic in Quinacridone Gold.  The crown was painted with DecoArt Media Fluid in Metallic Gold

I also used my new Tim Holtz flower punch to create some flowers to decorate the shrine.  The flowers were punched and then coloured lightly with Candied Apple Distress Spray Stain.  I scrunched the wet flowers and used three sets of petals for each flower, adding white stamens from my stash.

I attached the finished flowers along with some Tim Holtz Holiday Greenery.

As I mentioned earlier, we have a real life shrine near where we live, it fascinates me because no matter what day of the week, or hour of the day you visit, it is always filled with flowers.  It is on a steep hill on a very narrow road and stopping to have a look is not easy.  It think it is beautiful and there is a great view of the Derbyshire hills behind.

Thanks so much for joining me here today, I hope you feel inspired to join in our challenge at Anything But Cute and I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Art With Heart - Favourite Things

Hello Friends

Our theme for this month's challenge at Art With Heart is 'Favourite Things'.  The Inspiration Team are sharing their favourite things all this month and we would love to have you play along!  It really is an anything goes challenge - just share your favourite things, whether it be a die, paint, colour or project - how easy is that!  Please do join us....

The biggest problem I had was trying to decide what my favourite thing is.... in the end I settled for Eileen Hull's fabulous new Cantilever Sewing Box.  I just love doing 3D projects and this sewing box goes together like a dream, it is such a useful box too - ideal as a real sewing container or as a gift box, or a jewelry box, like the one I made here.

I recently attended an Andy Skinner class (with some of my lovely blog friends) and I wanted to do  this box using one of the techniques we learned in class, to give the box a vintage feel.

I won't go into a lot of detail about the construction because I showed that in my previous sewing box post, but I will show you how I covered this one.

Once I had painted the whole piece I decided I would rather cover it in paper, than leave it as it was.  However the coat of DecoArt Americana Decor paints gave me a good strong base.

I used several sheets of thin card, first coating each with DecoArt Media Gesso and letting them dry.

Next was a thin coat of Cobalt Teal Hue DecoArt Media Fluid paint.

Once dry I covered it with DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackle Medium and let this dry before applying a thin coat of DecoArt Titanium White Media Fluid.

Once dry (it dries very quickly) I applied a coat of thinned down DecoArt Quinacridone Gold to give it an aged look.

I cut the sheets into strips and applied them to the base sewing box and to the struts before attaching these to the box.

I lined each of the boxes with some co-ordinating paper (Maja Design) and used a couple of Tim Holtz hitch fasteners on each of the box lids.

The flower is a Tim Holtz die - Tattered Poinsettia.  I spritzed the petals with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain.  I added some Tim Holtz greenery and covered the central bauble with the fabulous Tim Holtz Vintage Platinum Distress Glitter Dust.

I did not want the box to just be for Christmas so I attached some sticky back velcro to the box and to the flower so that it can easily be removed.

Here is another look at the finished box.  I have got my fingers crossed that the recipient likes it!  I hope you will join in our challenge at Art With Heart, HERE.

Thanks, as always, for looking and I really appreciate any comment you leave, I hope to catch up with you shortly.  Hugs, Anne xx