Autumnal Match Box

Hello and welcome back ! It's Sue here and today I'm sharing an Autumnal match box. This was a sheer fluke in terms of where the idea came from, I had just finished a box of matches and was about to throw the box away when ......

 I had an idea and grabbed the Gesso ! The sun also came out at this point so apologies for the shadows !

 I also grabbed my Amsterdam acrylics, which seem to be my go to at the moment. The Gesso creates some wonderful texture and the paint, applied with a baby wipe, really highlights it.

 A real change about too are the stamps I've used, the above is a Tim Holtz stamp that I've only used once but I do love the script. I've used Amsterdam acrylic to stamp on to the box.

 Some bits of washi tape are added then some stencilling, using cut 'n' dry foam as the box isn't strong enough to stand me pounding on it with a stencil brush !

More stencilling and stamping, with Tim Holtz stamps and a Wendy Vecchi stamp, all done with Amsterdam acrylics. A little bit of smudging with Gesso then stamping the script stamp again and embossing with white EP. 

The handle is made from jute that I've plaited and the leaf is made from Grunge Paper ( I still love the smell !)

 I even dug out my Distress Inks to shade the leaf and rubbed some Archival Ink around the edges to colour the cut edge.

The text is stamped onto Smoothy card and the stamp is from a Lin Brown set. 

One final shot to show how everything goes all the way around the box.

I hope you've enjoyed today's Inspirational Post and remember you still have time to join us for the Spooky fun with an Autumnal Twist challenge.

A trip down memory lane

Hello and welcome to today's post ! It's Sue here and today I'm sharing a look back over my crafty journey and a few of my favourite projects too.

I have been crafting for more years than I can remember but the day it all started, when I wandered into the small craft shop in the village where I used to live, is still a vivid memory. I wasn't really sure what I was looking at and ended up buying a pack of 5 Christmas cards to make myself. The response I got from the recipients set me to wondering what else I could do. I attended a workshop in the shop not long after and was introduced to embossing powder, seeing it melt had me hooked !

My favourite technique has to be stencilling and all things associated with it. I love building layers and the depth and interest you can achieve just fascinates me. This led me to journalling, the blank pages are full of possibilities and it's also a place to experiment. I've taken many classes both online and also face to face but if there was one person I would love to take a class with it would be Donna Downey.

A few years ago I was very honoured to be invited to join the PaperArtsy blogging team and this was a real change in my crafting direction. I discovered Freso Finish Chalk Paint and that changed my thinking completely. New craft products are always exciting but new techniques have always attracted me more and using the Fresco paints just opened a whole new world !

I still enjoy making the occasional card and the above was made as a sample for the launch of some Lynne Perrella stamps. Being challenged to use different colours and stamps is always daunting but when the wheels start to turn and the ideas start to take shape it's always exciting.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, but sometimes it's a case of being given the building blocks then taking what you've learnt and using it in your own way. I attended a fabulous class with Lin Brown a couple of years ago and rusting fabric was the technique we were working with. The above was a project that came together really quickly, rusting lots of fabric and including metal too which is another passion of mine.

In recent years I've not crafted as much, life has turned in a different direction but I still enjoy the time I do spend surrounded by my craft products.

Sue
x

Metallic Blooms !

Hello everyone it's Sue here and it's my turn to share an inspirational post with you. I decided to indulge my love of metal for this post so grab a cuppa and get comfy !

The magic of seeing embossing powder melt for the first time is almost on an equal with the first time I was introduced to using metal in my art work at a PaperArtsy Artsy Craft weekend many years ago. There are so many techniques you can use with metal and it adds that different element to your projects. I've covered some of them but there's loads more, so, without further ado, I'll get started !

 I've used the reverse side of a framed canvas for my substrate, before I knew what I wanted to do I taped the top of the sides to cover the staples, but after I'd applied the Texture Paste you wouldn't have seen them anyway !

The tape lifted off the frame in places as the paste dried but I actually quite liked this as it made it look more rustic and shabby.

I glued small square pieces of mountboard onto the canvas, having in mind the sort of pattern I would go for if I were having paving put down in a garden. This piece is in part inspired by an old UK gardening programme called Ground Force. They've been showing re-runs recently and I've been hooked, I love to see the transformation of the gardens and the process is not disimilar to designing a craft project, get all your hard landscaping in first before you plant any flowers ! 

I used Prima Art Alchemy metallic acrylic paints to paint the background canvas, these blend beautifully and have a lovely, subtle metallic sheen.

Now that my hard landscaping was done it's time to turn my attention to the flowers. I've used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die and cut the flowers from my dwindling stash of Ten Seconds Studio metal.

Metal is great for creating texture so I wanted the flowers to have lots, so used a technique by Lin Brown. I was very fortunate to attend a metal masterclass workshop by Lin before her shop closed and I still refer to the piece we made as a reminder. The tools you can see above are a ball and cup and one of the many different wheels.

When working with metal it's really important to work on the correct surface for the technique. I'm using the ball end on the ball and cup tool above and because I need it to make an impression into the metal I'm working on a thick piece of cardboard. This has some give so allows the tool to press into the metal. You'll also have noticed the metal has changed colour ! This is because I wanted to use the silver side and all of the pieces I have left are all coloured on one side.

You can see on the above the impression made by the ball, now it's time to use the cup. The surface to use for this end of the tool needs to be hard as you don't want it to make an impression into the metal only refine the ball effect, which is why I'm using an acrylic block.

To create detail on the petals I've flipped the flower over again and using the wheel I'm drawing lines out from the centre using the cardboard underneath so the wheel will make an impression into the metal.

The above is the finished effect !

For the next size flower I'm using the cardboard as my platform and using the Teflon tool which is a plastic, pointed tool. If it was metal the tool would puncture your metal and you'd be left with holey flowers ! This technique is just scribbling in to the metal, easy !

The above is what you end up with !

Time to add some colour and Alcohol Inks work really well on metal.

I've knocked the colours back slightly by using some of the Prima paint and dabbing it around the edge of the petals. I love this colour which is Blackberry.

I've trimmed the smallest flowers petals and given them the same treatment with the Alcohol Inks and dabbing more paint onto the petals.

If you're still with me you'll be relieved that I've jumped ahead to the finished piece !

 Being able to photograph metal effectively is something I've never mastered so I've taken a second finished shot.

 The metal flowers were all layered up and I've shaped the petals around my fingers to get the shape I wanted.

The leaves are also a Tim Holtz die and I've used the Teflon tool to draw the leaf veins on the reverse side of the metal before using Pesto and Oregano Alcohol Inks. 

The ink pot and quill is another die by Tim Holtz, I've used a metal wheel on the ink pot and then Alcohol Ink but on the coloured side of the metal this time. The ink removes some of the colour but leaves it looking worn. I used the Teflon tool on the quill and then Slate Alcohol Ink. A few splatters of Bombay ink around it to reflect it's use. On the Ground Force programme the presenter, Alan Titchmarsh, would always present a beautifully painted and elegantly written design of what the garden would be transformed into and I thought the quill and ink pot could be a tool of choice.
The tiny metal flowers have had the same treatment as the largest flower but I've used the coloured side of the metal.

Last, but not least, is the stamped sentiment which is by Yvonne Blair. It's stamped onto Smoothy card then with a baby wipe I've wiped some Prima paint over it to give a subtle metallic sheen. I also did this over the crackle frame to age it but not cover the crackles.

I hope you've enjoyed my indulgence today and hope you find time to join our current challenge Metallics.

Mixing it with Metal

Hello and welcome to today's Inspirational Post. It's Sue here and today I'm sharing a revamp of an old project where I've indulged my passion for working with metal. Ever since I was introduced to metal in my art many years ago at an Artsycrafts weekend, that PaperArtsy used to arrange, I've been hooked. I love the dimension and texture that metal gives your projects and coupled with Fresco Finish paints I'm in heaven ! So today is all about my indulgence, so I apologise upfront !

 This is what the project looked like before I started work. First thing to do was to take off all of the embellishments and then sand it all over.

I originally was going to sand the stencilled Grunge Paste off but I do have a soft spot for swirls and flourishes so decided to keep them. 

 I have some sheets of Ten Seconds Studio metal, which is running out fast, and used some moulds to create different textured pieces. I placed them on the mirror to start the thought process going. 

 I grabbed a few Fresco Finish paints and added some satin glaze and using my finger blended the colours all over the wood.

 After finalising the metal layout it was all stuck down with extra strong double sided sticky sheets.

 To tie the metal into the colour scheme I used Brown Shed Fresco Finish over the metal and wiped it off before it dried.

 I also used Dusty Teal and some Little Black Dress to distress the metal some more. Now I needed to decide whether to keep the mirror in the centre or do something else.....

 I wanted to fill the niche so started by painting the mirror with Little Black Dress Fresco Finish paint. 

 I'd been watching some videos by Nancy Crawford on Encaustic Art so thought a small piece in the centre might be the way to go. I didn't have the right size of Stamp Bord so glued together the smaller square pieces then gave it 3 layers of encaustic medium.

I stamped the leaf from one of Lin Brown's new stamp sets onto tissue paper then fused it onto the board.

 I was originally going to try and do 3 vertical black lines on the right hand side of the board but things went slightly wrong ! So, I used masking tape then rubbed gold leaf over the wax rubbing with my finger so the leaf sticks to the wax.

 This is the finished piece, I think ! The colours didn't come out how I wanted them so I may need to work on it some more but for the moment I like it. 

One final shot to show the texture of the metal and how the encaustic piece sits in the centre.

I hope you've enjoyed today's Inspirational Post, no birds today but hopefully lots of inspiration !

Sue
x

A little bit more Tic Tac Toe !

Hello ! It's Sue here to share an Inspirational Post with you today and I decided to choose another line from the Tic Tac Toe grid for the current challenge. Just to refresh your memory this is what the grid looks like:

Having already used the middle horizontal line I decided go diagonally for this project and use an image, circles (lots of them!) and some lace.

 I made this journal some time ago and have not completed anything in it and as it's A3, when it's a double spread, I thought this would be a good size to go mad with circles ! After the initial base layer of Gesso I've used a Donna Downey stencil and stencilled all of the circles with Stone Fresco Finish paint.

 I then started to fill in some of the circles, my initial thought was to just do a select few, but ....

Once I got started I got carried away ! I've used Fresco Finish paints for all of the stencilled circles. 

 Blending the different shades in the colour families. For the small circles I've just stencilled with one colour but made sure they bump into neighbouring colours.

I then took a baby wipe and some Tikka Fresco Finish paint and wiped it over the whole spread. This gets rid of any white that's left and also blends all of the colours together.

I was tempted to leave it there as I loved the effect of all the circles, but I decided to knock some of them back using Gesso, spreading it over the pages with my finger. I did some stencilling on the opposite corners then took the gold Slick Stix and drew roughly around the opposite corners and a little down the centre then blended the colour out using a baby wipe.

 More stencilling, but keeping the centre area clear.

I wanted to bring some of the circles through from the background to the foreground so mixed some Whipped Spackle with Chocolate Pudding Fresco Finish paint, replaced the Donna Downey stencil and lined it up with the original stencilled circles. I then spread the Whipped Spackle mix over the stencil. Some stamping was done using a Tim Holtz stamp and second generation stamping, then using a Tim Holtz script stamp I did some white embossing.

 To frame the pages a little more I used a brown Slick Stix and again scribbled around the edges and a little in the centre and blended the colour using a baby wipe. 

The sentiment I've used is by Yvonne Blair and it fitted perfectly into this large circle ! The small buttlerflies are by Prima and I've painted them with Fresco Finish paints. 

 For my image, I started by covering a piece of mountboard with Tim Holtz tissue wrap, covering it with Glue 'n' Seal and while it was still wet sprinkling Infusions over the top. I spritzed lightly with water then dried it off.

The image itself is a Tim Holtz stamp, stamped with black Archival onto the Infusions piece then cut out. I also stamped the butterfly directly onto the page as the anttenae are impossible to cut out, I then glued the butterfly over the top. I've used a black Stabilo pencil to draw around the butterfly and with a damp paint brush blend it out to create a shadow and also a dribble down the page. I've also used the Stabilo pencil to draw around some of the larger circles them blended it out and to finish them added some white dots using a white Sharpie pen.

For the lace option I've used a small piece to mount the second little butterfly onto.  

If you've made it to the end you now deserve your cuppa ! This is the finished page and I really love it, I hope you do to !

You still have plenty of time to play Tic Tac Toe with us and I hope today's project has provided a little bit mor inspiration.