The 100,000 views prize giveaway for this ‘ere blog ends at midnight GMT tonight, with the winners announced tomorrow – this is your last opportunity to enter and have a chance of winning a unique piece of artwork. For prizes and how to enter, check my original posting here.
Take three stamps, add a little bit of colour magic and hey presto, another challenge entry! Well two, I couldn’t make up my mind which I liked best… It’s one layer week at ‘Less is More’ and the stipulation was to use three stamps, not two, not four, three. There’s precise for you!
Hero Arts Long Writing Background (F2674) in Frayed Burlap DI
Impression Obsession Textured Evening Gown (D4320) in Sepia Archival
Sentiment from WOW! Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set in Jet Black Archival
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Inkadinkadoo Arrange A Bottle Cling Set
WOW! Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set stamped in Jet Black Archival
Bottles: Manganese Blue Archival, shading with Tumbled Glass Distress Marker
Flower: Tea Dye, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint and Worn Lipstick Distress Markers
I’ll be teaching how to make this somewhat patriotic tag this Saturday (19th May) at the Manic Stamper Craft Club. It took a fair amount of experimenting to get the background the way I wanted, but I got there in the end! A gallery of my tags so far has been added here.
Hi all – this blog has just ticked over it’s 100,000 views in just 14 months of going live. And I think the person putting the time in today was Alice checking out my tangle patterns – thanks for all your comments, Alice!
As promised, I have a giveaway in honour of this momentous occasion. The lovely Tania at WOW! Embossing Powder has kindly provided a set of six powders in a handy carry case: Green Glitz, Princess Pink, Red Glitz, Metallic Gold Sparkle, Blue Glitz and Indigo Super Fine. As a second prize, I’ve also decided to give away a signed, limited edition copy of my drypoint print.
All you need to do to have a chance of winning is to leave a comment anywhere on my blog between now and midnight GMT on 22nd May. Only one entry to the draw per person, though feel free to comment as much as you like! The two winners will be announced at some point on 23rd May. Good luck, and thank you for your continuing support 🙂
One of the techniques taught in the Creative Chemistry 101 class with ‘Professor’ Holtz was a dabber resist – taking advantage of the fact that acrylic paint is waterproof when dry. Here’s a canvas I put together over the bank holiday weekend making use of the technique, and how I did it follow after.
It’s ‘Less is More’ challenge entry time again, and this week, being the first in the month, it’s a colour theme: yellow. I had in mind for last week’s sketch challenge to do a frame with 3D flowers in, but didn’t end up having enough time to make it. So here’s the same plan, with yellow flowers!
It’s not long until Father’s Day (at least in crafting days) on 17th June, and I created this card for my monthly slot at the WOW! Embossing Powder blog as part of my design team responsibilities. The theme is month is Earthtones and ‘manly projects’! If you want details on how to make the card, here’s the link. And don’t forget their really easy to enter challenge!
Our theme across all our activities this term at college is ‘influenced by an artist’. I’ve chosen the Polish surrealist Jacek Yerka to base my work on, and for print I was asked to do a drypoint. I discovered this is an etching process where the ink is trapped in the grooves and burrs made by scratching onto metal or acrylic and then transferred onto the substrate using pressure. I scratched my drawing onto a sheet of clear acrylic sheet (approx. A5 size), applied etching ink (which is very viscous), removed most of it, and then printed onto previously wetted watercolour paper using an etching press. Any ink left on the acrylic gets transferred to the paper, so removing it from where you don’t want it is quite laborious! I was sooooo excited as the first print was revealed, and that didn’t really diminish as I did a limited print run. I’m going to have a go replicating it at home using one of the many die cutting machines in place of the etching press, and more common crafting inks. Here is the basic print, and I’ll be colour washing some in due course:
I did get to making some cards this afternoon after the marathon quilting session yesterday. I’ve had a go at combining a couple of challenges again – the ‘Less is More’ sketch has a square centrepiece and sentiment, with lots of white space recommended. The other challenge is a new one to me – a ‘Seriously Creative Challenge’, hosted by Creative Accents, to do something with stains or sprays. Here are my creations:
As you might guess, the results of my experiments can be somewhat variable! The sprays used are Dylusions Ink from Ranger in Black Marble and I used Bubblegum Pink on a Magenta stamp as a watercolour stamp ink. I can guarantee my fingers are stained, as is quite a lot of stuff on my desk – the overspray is a nightmare – until I decided to create a spray booth in a cardboard box. The sentiments are all printed in Archival Jet Black and are from the WOW! Everyday Sentiments clear stamp set.
The weather has been lousy here all weekend, and rather than making cards – which was my plan – I ended up quilting. There was something about being under the quilt as I was sewing it and binding the edges that suited the conditions! I started it at the beginning of February at a quilting workshop I was given for my birthday at Quorn Country Crafts, during which I finished the top. I layered it and started quilting on Friday afternoon, did the quilted border and corners and binding yesterday, and I finished it with a hand-stitched label this morning. Most of the quilt is quilted with stitch-in-ditch, with the wide border needing a little more, so I created my own quilting design. The quilt measures 64x64in with binding, and as you can see was destined to go in our spare room.
Update 24-FEB-15:
Thank you to my testers, Julie and Anita, and to Tricia: the description of how I made the quilt is now available!
The instructions are an instant download PDF file, purchasable via PayPal by clicking the button below (you will have the option to pay in your local currency). The link will be sent to the email address that is linked to the PayPal account you use to pay. If you don’t receive an email, please check your spam folder! The instructions are for the above size quilt and do not discuss alternative sizes. If you want it bigger or smaller you may choose to adjust the border widths.
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