Project Life week 22

I'm becoming quite obsessive about my Project Life and I'm able to say I'm only a couple of weeks behind at the moment.

Here's week 22;

Instead of using ready made cards I chose this time to use a sheet of cards to cut out by Echo Park called Capture Life.  This is a superb collection of full sheets plus these journaling card sheets. They can be bought individually too so at under £1 per sheet it's an affordable way to create a weeks layout.

I also used the die to cut the view finder which is also from Echo Park and matches the collection perfectly.

Jaine x

Serious Girl...

Hello!
Today I want to share some closeups of the piece I created for this months Colour Challenge!
Great palette, lots of scope for nice colour combos!

(The pic seems to be very yellow for some reason...the cream is definitely browner than it looks like on screen!)
 The base is a square of  recycled cardboard. My son had a new wardrobe, and I spent nearly a whole afternoon cutting up the packaging into nice sized pieces to paint on...very tedious at the time, but now I'm really glad I have a huge stash of ready cut bits to play with. Well worth the scissor blister!!!!
Anyway.....I've wandered off the point a little....

I smeared the cardboard with cream coloured paint (NOT lemon coloured, honest!), making sure to work some paint into the sections where I had ripped off the surface. I then added some seafoam coloured paint with a palette knife, emphasising the ridges here and there. Stencilling with the darker blue...

Then onto the printing and stamping!

I stencilled the ruby red stars, and had a bit of an accident! I used too much paint, and the stars went a bit 'smooshy'...technical term, that....
However, I tried to rectify things by doodling around the shape, drawing lines to give a sharper outline...

Weirdly, I like it better than an immaculately stencilled star..... (I could wax lyrical about embracing imperfection at this point maybe?!!!)
The little girl is a favourite Stampotique image, stamped onto text paper..

As a finishing touch, I added a little red splatter here and there. Not too much, (red splatter can look like an incident requiring the paramedics if you go overboard)...just enough to echo the red stars and bring the whole thing together!
I hope you like her.... and don't forget to have a play with the colours and enter the challenge HERE!
Love Trish xxx

A seaside tag

I thought for my post today I'd show you a bit closer the tag I created for this months colour challenge.
I was already working with the Teresa Collins Family Stories collection and this piece of wood grain paper was on my table. By painting a few black lines down the tag, I was able to give it even more of a wooden finish.

 I used a home made stencil to paint gesso onto the tag in order for me to be able to paint circles in watercolour paint.

The finishing touches are a few rub on stitches and my title.

Join in with this months challenge, the colours are so very fresh and summery.

Jaine x

May Challenge winner...

Good day to you! 

It's time to announce the colour challenge winner for May! Yay

Very many congratulations to Susanne for this lovely piece she submitted. 

You can see a close up on Susanne blog here

The new challenge will be up and running very soon.

 Please do come and join us and remember its "a sprinkle of colour". 

Happy Creating!

Vicki 

discover a beautiful world...

Hi everyone, 

As a shock to my system I thought it was about time I contributed something creative to the blog by joining in with the May colour challenge.  

The background was created on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolour paper. I've used a Darkroom Door background stamp (the perfect size for cards) and embossed it in white.

One cools I used paints (water colour in this case mainly because I had run out of acrylics on these colours - time to replenish my supplies me thinks) with a nice loose wash allowing the colours to mix and puddle in the embossed sections.  

The "earth" was done the same way using black embossing powder.  

Everything was then matted on to black cardstock.  Topped of with my all time favourite Satmpotique girl and Tim Holtz rub-ons. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Vicki 

Supplies Used: 

Darkroom Door Background Stamp

Stampotique Originals

Tim Holtz Watercolour Paper  & Remnants Rub Ons

Hero Arts White Embossing Powder 

American Crafts Zing Charcoal Embossing Powder

Black & White Bazzill Card shoppe Cardstock

Watercolour paints

Looking forward.

Just a quickie from me today, the sun is calling me.

The Jamie Dougherty stamp from Prima was stamped onto text paper and glued into my journal. I intended to leave it as it was but I started adding colour and didn't want to stop. I added the lace border which is also a Prima stamp but this time from Finnabair, inking it up with a Hero Arts Ink Dauber. I used this around the edge too.

A few ink spots including the one above her head which went a bit wild but hey that's the nature of ink spots, they're totally random, and I was finished.

 Have a good weekend.

Jaine x

Disco Puffin?!

Hello!
Anyone else remember that deeply cheesy song in the seventies called Disco Duck? I have absolutely no idea why, but it was playing in a loop in my head over the weekend! So, rather than ignore it, I decided to use it as inspiration for my project this week.
Now, I have no duck stamps, so may I present......Disco Puffin!!!

(This could also be titled 'random ways to use Washi tape', but I don't think that's as catchy.....)

The whole disco bling look is captured perfectly with the metallic Washi tape... I used the dotty tape for the disco podium floor..

As the dots are random, you can put multiple strips of tape side by side, and they look fabulous!
The silver striped tape goes around the sides of the podium...

I didn't take it off it's backing paper before wrapping it around the base (an empty ribbon spool) I wanted an opaque look rather than transparent, and liked the sturdiness of the tape + backing, rather than the thin tissue like tape once peeled off!
Disco Puffin is also sporting gold glitter go go boots....

I'm not even mentioning the glitter pole.... what Disco Puffin does in the disco, stays in the disco.....

LOVE this tape....and I may even break the habit of a lifetime and get my hands on the matching papers! (ssshhhhh...don't tell anyone I said that!!)

Have a fabulous day!
Trish xxxxx

Imagine

I found this striking image in a magazine and before anyone had the chance to read it, I'd torn out the page to use in a journal.

Actually I have to go back a step as it all started with the background which is a hand made stamp I'm a bit proud of. I cut it a while ago with a piece of Softcut lino cutting material but the chance to use it didn't come up until now.

I added a strip of gold metalic spotty tape from My Minds Eye which I didn't fully appreciate until I'd taken off the white backing paper and saw how cool it really is.

I painted the word imagine and cut it out to lift it up with foam pads over my background.

Have a good weekend

Jaine x

Be Still

Hello!
I love using stencils, but more often than not find myself scraping some kind of paste or medium through them to give loads of texture. I decided to challenge myself to use a stencil as a focal point, but with no texture!
I came up with this....

This falling leaves stencil is fab, love the heart shaped look! I've done a step by step so you can see how it all came together.
First, add the background colour. This was done by quickly brushing on stripes of green, red and purple Studio paint (with a little white added in!)

Once dry, I added a little more detail in the same colours, sponging through some sequin waste..

Black stamping next..Jenni Bowlin and 7 Dots stamps..

Next, the focal stencilling. I used white paint.

As it's acrylic paint we're using, even a lightly sponged layer of white will be opaque enough  to cover the darker colours beneath! I wanted to emphasise the leaves further though, so I doodled around them...

Once the basic background is done, you can see where you might want to add a few more details. I thought the black stamping was very 'blocky' on the left hand side, it seemed a bit isolated. I felt it needed a few extra black accents to draw it down into the lower part of the page...

I added printed lines, dots and a few more doodles here and there.
Next, add the images and text...

A stamped fairy, and some rub on words!
So.... adding multiple stamped images together, but only using small parts of them, creates a fab collaged look...

Fine line doodling can make designs 'pop'....

I hope you like it...have a great day!

Love Trish xxx

A layout for May

When I started my Project Life album at the start of the year, I made a promise to myself I'd also add one layout per month to go in between the pages. I'm not much of a 12 x 12 scrapper, preferring instead to create mini books and journals, but I wanted to venture more into this new area and find a style I liked.

In this layout for May, I've chosen to use Teresa Collins Family Stories collection. I love the colours.

I've also started to write more with a paint brush and cut the words out to add to my work as I love that look and believe me when I say it makes your handwriting look loads better. I normally hate my own writing but this makes it look great, especially lifted up on foam pads.

Freedom!

Hello!
Did you see the winner of our last challenge? Alisons fabulous entry with all the butterflies inspired me to add a little 3D movement to my project for today. Of course, not having the patience Alison must have had, my 3D movement was limited to just six hearts.......

Stitching them down the middle means you can carefully lift the edges up....

The background is a quick smeared paint base, with white stencilling, black stamping and washi tape added for extra detail. I also melted in some black UTEE crystals, and stitched some decorative elements....

My lettering is some very ancient rub ons... I think I got them at the Post Office years ago! Very impressed they still worked!

I used:
Paint
Black UTEE
Stamps: Background, Heart

Have a nice Sunday everyone!
Trish xxxx

April Challenge Winner...

good afternoon everyone. 

Wow, Aprils challenge sure was busy.  In the end we notched up over a 100 entries.  That's a lot to look through.  Guessing you really like the old "anything goes" challenges, so thank you for all the interest. It was great to see.

 After much deliberation by the design team and myself we have a winner! 

Alison!! You can see lots of photos of her piece here on her blog. 

Congratulations Alison! 

Anyone with the patience to stick down all those butterflies gets my respect. I know I couldn't be bothered...LOL.

May's challenge..

is now live and we have a fabulous and bright palette for you to play with. So good in fact even I have joined in, and previous DT member Paula Whittaker has joined us with this stunning card. 

You can find all the details here. 

Happy Creating! 

Ignis and the gang

Hi everyone!

I have designed some stamps for Stampotique Originals! The stamps will be on a sprinkle of imagination shelves very soon! Stay tuned!

Ignis and Agatha...

I used:
- black gesso
- gel medium
- Posca pen - white
- crackle accents
- Ink Sprays
- Archival Jet Black
- Stampotique Originals stamps

Magda x

Find Joy In The Ordinary...

Hello!
A simple painty panel from me today, this is a result of a little experiment!
I wanted to see if I could dye crackle paste....

Turns out, you can!
I created a quick and easy smeared paint background on a Tando panel, using blue, yellow and white paint. A little white paint stencilling through some sequin waste..

I then put a little crackle medium in a foil dish, and added some Bombay Ink. Mixed it together, then applied it through a circle stencil...

I found the colour intensity varied depending on the thickness of the paste, but I really like that effect, as well as the crackle! I did a little doodling, both around the circles, and around the edge of the panel..

Rub On words to finish.....

Another successful messy experiment!
Trish xxx