Two Scribbly Birds

Hi there peeps!  Are you enjoying this little burst of summer?  I've managed to drag myself away from the garden for a few hours of crafty time.

I've been playing with the Scribbly Birds set from Dina Wakley.  I made a couple of background panels using Dylusions paints, then cut two panels using the Lawn Fawn Lawn Cuts Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies.

I smudged the paints onto the panel, splattered some white, then once that had dried I brayered some white over the top to knock everything back.

I stamped the bird in Versafine Onyx Black, then watercoloured using Distress Inks and fussy cut the image.

Cut-down strips of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tissue Tape were added to the panels for visual interest.

My second card was made using the same process.  I stamped some triangles from Hero Arts Stamps & Cut - Happy onto the panel.

This time I tore the tissue tape into strips to layer onto the panel.

Thanks for popping in, and enjoy this good weather while it lasts!
Shirley x

Index Card Art !!!!

Good morning gorgeous ones !!!

It's no secret that I loooove index card art, it was, after all how I got started in mixed media and it still holds very dear to my heart. 

I was lucky enough to teach a class last week on this very subject and think my addiction for these little beauties definately rubbed off on one or two or six of the lovely ladies that attended.....

We used lots of the fabulous Dina Wakley acrylic paints, they are definately one of my favourite go to paints, the colours are fabulous and the consistency thick and luxurious.....

I just love playing on these small cards, they are inexpensive and I can experiment on them with new colours and supplies without having to worry about the end result...

One of the other paints I like to use are the Ranger Distress paints. Although thinner in consistency the blend really well and the colours coordinate perfectly with Dina's heavy body acrylics so it's a real win win for me.....

It's so easy to create gorgeous projects with a pile of index cards, a mix of beautiful paints, and a black and white gel pen.....so what are you waiting for ????

Thanks for stopping by

Have a beautiful Sunday

Bright and painty hugs

Tracy

Xxx

It's A Man Thing

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Shirley here with a trendy masculine card for you.

I started off by stamping the guy image from Dylusions Mini Couture using Tea Dye Distress ink, watercoloured the image using the same colour, then masked that with some scrap paper.  I inked up the Mix Tape 6x6 stencil by Ronda Palazzari with Distress Inks, turned it over and placed it over the masked stamped image at a jaunty angle, pressing it down with kitchen roll so that the colours mixed, and the excess was mopped up.

The scrap paper I used for masking was red and white checked, but because it got soaked by the Distress Inks, some of it ripped and stayed behind as I was removing it.  Doesn't it look cool, though?  Might have to try drawing checks on the jacket next time!

I used a stamp from Dina Wakley Textures to add some detail around the edges, then trimmed the panel, matted it onto black card, then adhered it to my card base.  On a spare piece of black card, I wrote the HB2U with a white Posca pen, and stuck a strip of the trimmed card across the bottom using 1/8 inch Wonder Tape.  It just adds that little bit of interest.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Shirley x

Upcycled Love Birds

Well it's that time of year when things start to get a bit lovey dovey and I thought that I would share the love with my DT post for A Sprinkle of Imagination.

I recently found a couple of old coasters, you know the ones with a cork back, well they were in a bit of a sorry state and very nearly ended up in the bin! I had a lightbulb moment and decided that I would give them a bit of TLC.

I gave them both a coat of gesso and painted my backgrounds with Dylusions paint. Using Dina Wakey pebble heart stencil I blended through the contrasting colours I had used in the background. Using Dina Wakely Scribbly Birds stamps I stamped my him and her birdies and painted them using Dina Wakely heavy body acrylic paints. I added some doodles using my posca paint pens and gave the coasters a couple of coats of clear matt varnish to protect them.

So there you have it, my upcylcled coasters ready for a valentine cuppa! Who said romance is dead?

Happy crafting,
Clare x x x

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Poppy Parade

Hi folks, and happy weekend :)  Shirley here with a little stamped creation for you.  I stamped two large outline poppies and one small outline poppy from the Donna Downey Poppies set using Versafine Onyx Black, masking as I went along.  I left the masks on while I stamped the background (Darkroom Door Background Stamp - Peeled Paint) using, appropriately enough, Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

After removing the masks, I painted the petals with Festive Berries and Barn Door Distress Inks, then added Walnut Stain Distress Stickles to the poppy stamens.  Once everything was dry, I sponged a bit of Fired Brick Distress Ink to the centres of the flowers to deepen the colour.

I wanted to jazz up the background, so I covered the poppies with the masks again and stamped the text from Dina Wakley's Textures set.

Then I decided that the gaps between the text needed to be filled in so I used the dot stamp from the Textures set.

Here's another version that I made first, but in a slightly different way.  I stamped the solid poppy images in Distress Ink, blasted with a heat gun, then stamped and gold-embossed the line images.    The embossing powder still managed to stick to the petal area but I deliberately left it, to give it a grungy look.  I was using mixed media paper (porous, similar to watercolour paper) and the embossing soaked into the paper, so I ironed it all off.  Then I watercoloured the background with Distress Inks and stamped the text.

So there you have it, two 6x6 inch stamped and watercolored panels, which can either be trimmed to fit a card front, or mounted and framed.

See you next time!

Shirley

A Quartet of Bright Canvases

Hi peeps, Shirley here!  I thought I'd banish the winter blues today with some vibrant colours.  I had some mini canvases in my stash, so I set to work, covering them with Dylusions Ink Sprays in Calypso Teal and Funky Fuchsia.  Once they'd dried, I covered them liberally with Finnabair Art Basics Clear Gesso to seal the ink - it doesn't seal completely, but does keep leakage to a minimum.

Sunglasses time: out came the lime green Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic and some stencils by Tim Holtz and Rhonda Palazzari.

A bit of highlighting with a Sakura Gelli Roll white pen and a black pen to add depth.  It's only subtle but it does make a difference.

At this point, song titles sprang to mind for each mini canvas.  I wrote out the title words on black card, then wrote some of the lyrics around the edge of each canvas, photographed everything ready for my post, and decided I could be in breach of copyright, so I painted over the edges in lime and used the tiny stamps from the Hero Arts Happy Stamp & Cut around the edges.  Then I added encouragement phrases to each canvas instead.

In case you're wondering: Listen To The Music, Kissed By A Rose, The Times They Are A'Changin, Space Odyssey.

I hope they've brightened your day!

The 12 Designers of Christmas - Designer #10 Shirley Bampton

Hello!  As promised yesterday, I'm back with some sloshing and splattering - my favourite way of using Distress Inks!

I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest to create a couple of cards:

I stamped the bird from Dina Wakley Scribbly Birds, then stamped a hat from Dylusions Couture Collection Mini Couture.  I drew some holly on top of the hat, sloshed some Distress Inks onto the image, then added some splattering.

For the sentiment panels, I dragged some card through the inks on my palette, then stencilled the sentiment using Tim Holtz Schoolhouse.

A few drops of Ruby Red Liquid Pearls for the holly berries, then I sponged the edges of the panel with Peeled Paint, distressed the edges and mounted the panel onto my base card.

He's looking rather dapper, don't you think?  And here's his lady friend:

Same process, just stamping a different hat, drawing some holly again, using Platinum Pearl Liquid Pearls for the berries.  She's rather sweet, isn't she?

Don't forget to comment on all the Designer posts and Brand posts to be in with a chance of winning a mixed media goody bag :)

Joy

Hello!
I wanted to create a simple Christmas plaque as my project today... not many colours, not loads of distracting detail... I hope it works!

I covered an MDF panel with music paper, then gave it a wash of white gesso. A further wash of sky blue paint, and that was it!
I covered the panel with a layer of clear gesso, as I knew I wanted to add wet media in the form of watercolour pencils. The clear gesso gives an even 'tooth' layer, enabling the watercolours to move about freely, whilst still being able to see through to the layers underneath.
I sketched out and coloured my figure..

As i mentioned, watercolour pencils for the face, then I coloured her hair with blue acrylic ink. I added sprinkles of white UTEE as the snow, and also drew some larger flakes with a white gel pen..

My word is a die cut word from Hero Arts, I cut it from thin card then used gilding flakes over the top to give the silver metallic sheen..

Have a fabulous day,
Trish xx

ASOI products used:

White Gesso
Sky Blue Paint (Dina Wakely)
Clear Gesso
Watercolour pencils
Acrylic Ink
Hero Arts word Die
White Gel pen

Don't Forget To Fly triptych

Hello!
So... what do you do when you fancy making a triptych but don't have a suitable substrate? Make your own!

This little number was made from a cardboard box. I decided how big I wanted the middle panel to be, based upon the size of the main figure image, then cut two pieces this size from a bit of old box. One of those pieces was cut in half, leaving me with 3 bits....

I joined the pieces together with sticky backed canvas. Nice and sturdy, but flexible. Make sure you leave a gap between the 2 bits of card, as this is how a nice 'hinge' is created.

Stick a bit of canvas on both sides..

Once you've done both sides, the triptych shape is revealed..

Now it can be covered with either copy paper or old book pages...

And can then be decorated!

I used a mixture of Finnabair stamps, the main image figure:

And some circles..

And some butterflies!

Everything was painted with Dina Wakely paint, before grunging the designs up a little. I used black water soluble pencil, then blurred the lines with a waterbrush to create dark shadows.

Have a great day!
Trish xxx

ASOI stash used:
Dina Wakely Paint
Sticky Backed Canvas
Finnabair Stamps
Prima Stamps (on the triptych base)
Black watersoluble pencil

A Piece of the Puzzle

Hiya

Georgie here today, and I have been playing with the very fun, Dina Wakley paints... again! Boy, I am venturing more and more over to the bright side. I love how the colours on their own just lift your mood! Forget chocolate, these paints are the way to go!

Anyway.... :) back to the card. How many of you chuck away puzzles, with missing / dog-eared / eaten pieces? I have about three of my son's chunky puzzles which were about to find themselves in the bin, but the crafty brain got thinking, and voila:

Tried out some shadowing techniques with a stencil for the background. Laid down white paint first and then went over with purple, over a pink and blue mix base of colour.

Gorgeous Lawn Fawn die, had my eye on this for ages. This is just plain black card stock with UTEE over the top to give it that glossy domed look.

Finnabair stamps, those elegant butterflies and quirky text bubbles, stamped with Archival Inks. I coloured the butterflies with Picket Fence Distress Paint and edge with Intense pencils.

Bling bling!! Of course and little sparkle. Stunning faceted gems by Prima.

Products Used:

Dina Wakley Acrylic Paint:
White
Sky
Magenta
Ruby 
Lemon
Tangerine

Lawn Fawn Die Scripty Hello
UTEE
Finnabair Stencil Bubbles
Distress Paint Picket Fence
Prima Gems
Inktense pencil Hot Red