Grungy Monday 34- Crackle Resist

Over at Studio L3, the Grungy Monday challenge is into its second week....hurray, as that means I can still join in!
Have a look HERE to see how to play, and to see all the fabulous entries so far.
This challenge is all about Crackle Resist.....and who can show us how do this better than Mr Holtz himself...have a little peek HERE to see exactly what we're talking about!
Great technique, and a nice excuse to get out that crackle paint!
This is what I made....

I created a background by picking up inks from my craft sheet. Broken China and Dusty Concord, to be precise! Just gently dabbed the card in places onto the wet ink, to get the gorgeous splatter effect you can see here.....

I then stamped a Tim flourish using white paint, added some text with the Dusty Concord, and printed a few black circles here and there. Once that was done, onto the crackle paint! Rather than just painting it on, I applied it through a harlequin stencil on one side, and printed dots with it on the other side of my piece. Once totally dry, I blended more dusty concord ink over the harlequins, then stamped a fern design over them. Carefully wiping the harlequins, the inks disappear and you see the full result of the resist......

A little girl was added just to finish, stamped onto text paper then cut out. I also used another of my stash of odd phrases I've cut out from old romance novels!
Why not pop over and see what everyone else came up with!
Love Trish xx

Heart Within a Heart- For Calico Crafts

I'm very excited to share my first Design Team project for Calico Crafts!
Why not pop over to the blog HERE  , to see the whole thing in all its glory!
I've done a step by step to show you exactly how to make it, so you can make one just like it.......

Have fun!
Trish xxx

Gingersnap Creations colour challenge-Glorious Greens!

Over at Gingersnap Creations , colour challenge 136 is underway...Glorious Greens!
Now, I adore green, and its generally my fall back colour whenever I get creative. I have been trying very hard to use other colours recently though!!! When I saw this challenge however, I couldn't resist the lure of the green again........!!

I smeared green paint over a cardstock panel, and did a bit of brayering/printing with more paint to add a bit of texture. Alphabet stamps, bottle tops, the edges of credit cards, you name it, it gets painty! I stamped the flourish directly onto the background...

as I needed somewhere for my angel lady to stand! The lady herself is stamped onto tissue then applied with Mod Podge. I didn't want to risk stamping HER directly onto the background in case the detail was lost on the paint texture. A text phrase from a cut up old book was added to finish it off!

I see more green creations on the horizon, loved getting my greens out again!
Love Trish xx

Craft Stamper March Edition!

Subscribers are receiving their copies all over the country right now...so thought I'd share this months project from me!
Well, I say share, more of a tiny peek! You'll need to get the magazine to see the whole thing!
My article is all about creating your own bead gel, using accent beads and gel medium. This closeup doesn't actually show you the bead gel part...don't get confused!!

 There are LOADS of fabulous articles in there this month...click HERE  to take a closer look!

love Trish xx

Penny Black- crafty bargains!

Week 185 of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge , and this week we have been challenged to use some crafty bargains!
I found this bargain last week at my local craft shop:

These books are fab to use as they come, but ever the cheapskate, I've cut it up so I can use all the pages individually! Nice thick smooth chipboard gives a great surface to stamp onto, and each page comes with a hole, so something a bit quirky to utilise! I made this.......

I painted the whole thing green, then stamped the flourish also in green, but a darker shade. As I stamped in paint, it gives a lovely raised texture. This texture ends up being beautifully highlighted if you lightly brayer a pale shade of paint over it, as I have done. The foliage and the warbler were stamped in black ink directly over the paint. On a separate piece of card, I firstly coloured it red, then stamped the top part of the warbler image. carefully lined it up under the hole so the images matched up, then glued it into place. Once dry, I added glossy accents to the hole to give that glass like finish.

Edged in red, then added a computer printed word. All done!
Stamps used; 2976K Warbler
                     3938K Hill Flowers,
                     1987M Harlequin Background.
Thanks for looking!
love Trish xxx

WOYWW 138!

Its that time of the week again!
The fabulous blog hop that is Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday! our host is Julia , pop on over to her place to join in and see all the crafty spaces out there!
As the past two weeks' shots have been closeups of my creating space, I thought I'd take a few steps backwards and take a pic from a distance today! You might *just* be able to see my stamp storage......or at least, one half of it! (There is another wall like this opposite.....I have just a few wood mounted stamps!!)
So what's actually being worked on today?

I'm prepping up and doing the kits for a February workshop, the blue discs are the beginnings of the sample piece. Hopefully will be finished by the end of the week (takes an age to do workshop samples as I like to cut out and bag up any relevant pieces for the students as I go!) Please check back to see what I'll be teaching!
Right, off to begin the marathon nosey into the craft rooms of blogland!
Love Trish xx

Simon Says Stamp and Show -A Song Title

Eek...two posts in one day!
Even vaguely related to the first one, as there is a distinct starry-ness about this one too!
over at Simon Says Stamp And Show , the theme this week is Song Titles...
I created this figure....catching the stars as they fall, and tucking them away in her pocket for safekeeping!

She is made from a painted piece of driftwood, with a stamped pinafore. Her legs were painted with some cheeky stripy tights, and some red shoes.

Her head is a large wooden bead, painted then given some text paper hair! (The red bead necklace is hiding her gluey neck...but don't tell anyone!)

The falling stars have been stamped onto text paper, then cut out and strung on thread to give some movement. Attached to her wire hand at one end, and landing in her red painted patch pocket!

The base is a text covered Art Part spool base, covered in text paper and given a wash of white paint. Around the base is the song title..."Catch a falling Star and put it in your pocket" by Perry Como.
I think she is my new favourite thing.....................!!!

Love Trish xx

Sometimes 'simple' works out well!

Whilst I love spending hours (days sometimes if things won't dry!!) on projects, I get just as big a kick out of something that takes literally a minute to create! This tag is exactly that...a one minute wonder!
Remember the 'revamped' canvas board of a few posts back? I had used turquoise and pink paint on it...and as usual swiped the leftover paint onto a tag. I had also used acetate stars to mask off areas on the board. Again, these masks can become creative elements in their own right, don't bin them! So, add the acetate star to the painty tag, add a word, a few printed circles and a bit of outlining, and hey presto, new art that took seconds!!!

Love Trish xxx

CR84FN46- Colour challenge time!

I'm determined to get out of my comfort zone as far as colour is concerned, I need someone to challenge me to use colours I wouldn't dream of using normally. Its good to stretch yourself! With that in mind, I was excited to find the CR84FN colour challenges...definitely one to get my teeth into! Have a look at all the info HERE , where you'll also find some gorgeous creations from a lot of talented people!
The current challenge is pale pink, yellow and neutral, which is a REAL departure for me! But that's the whole point isn't it!!!! So......here's what I created....

Canvas board, text paper glued on then smeared with biscuit coloued paint. Yellow and pale pink printing and stamping as background elements, then a large black flourish stamped on top. (Thank goodness black is allowed too!) The children (Paperbag Studios image) were stamped onto tissue, then applied with Mod Podge. A text piece from my box of cut out books was glued on to finish.

Really enjoyed getting the brain cells working on this one, and can't wait for more colour combos to play with !!
Love Trish xxxx

Brangles!!

Yes, that IS a word!!! A cross between a bracelet and a bangle, in fact. As I have my first jewellery event of the year looming, I thought I'd better leave the messy stuff and get some stock built up. If you don't make it, you can't sell it eh?!!!
So, first on the list were some brangles....... the 'bangle' part is a length of thick wire, that the beads, spacers and coils are threaded onto. Loops made in the ends, and then chain and a clasp can be added. The thick wire can be gently shaped to the contours of the wrist, and the clasp gives added security so it won't come off!
Choosing the right beads for these is essential, as the wire used is thick (I used 1.6mm copper wire). Most beads simply don't have holes big enough! I use pairs or orphan Lampwork beads that I have accumulated over the past few years. These are made on thicker mandrels, so the wire will easily go through. I have to admit I don't know who made the green-ish beads in the first pic, for some reason my system of keeping business cards with the beads so they are identifiable has gone wrong! The name Wendy rings a bell......anyway, the beads in the other were created by two of my favourite bead makers, Julie Fountain of Lush Lampwork , and Kaz Baildon of Cheeky Cherub Designs . I have to say, the beads I've used are soooo not representative of their main creations, these are just spacer beads! Go check out their web sites to see the gorgeousness on offer!
What, you want to see them rather than read my waffling?!!! OK....

Both brangles were oxidised by me, then polished back up slightly, to give the antiqued look. I did actually make a whole load of them, but that'd be too much of the same kind of thing to show you!!
After I made these, I taught myself to make Shamballa bracelets. Which wasn't good thing as now I have a list from my daughters detailing their requirements! Better get busy then.....
love Trish xx

Bluebird Birdhouse!

The finished birdhouse from yesterdays 'before' picture!!
Bit of background....... Last year, I designed a project for Beads And Beyond magazine called When Happy Little Bluebirds Fly (which you can see HERE ). I used two gorgeous little glass bead birds made by the very talented Les Nixon of Mad Cat Glass , sitting above a seed bead rainbow. They arrived back with me recently, and rather than just putting them in a corner somewhere, I decided to make them a home.....hence the birdhouse!!!!

After the painty start you saw yesterday, I stamped a lot of tissue with text, flourishes and a vine, then attached them with Mod Podge. I made some small paper bunting, and a star to go on top. The birds look very pleased to have a house of their own don't you think?!!

Looks a bit different from yesterday, huh?!!
Love Trish xx

WOYWW 137!

Welcome to Wednesday..................!
And that means...the fabulous peeks of everyones crafty workspaces! Hosted by the fabulous Julia HERE !
Why not pop over and have a look at what everyone is up to today!
My workdesk is painty again (now there's a surprise!). This time its halfway through a birdhouse! I love decorating large 3D objects, very theraputic. Not showing you closeups today because at the moment it's waaaaay to bright, needs to be toned down a lot. Not sure about the in-your-face stripes.Anyway, this will get finished today, so feel free to drop back tomorrow to see the finished piece!

Thanks for looking!
Off to go look at everyone elses work..may be some time!!!!
Love Trish xxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny Black -Anything Goes!

Over on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge Blog , this weeks theme is anything goes!!!
I love the Penny Black botanicals and nature stamps, and have large quantities of both (!), so I thought I would do my own messy, inky take on the theme. Thinking about it, its quite restrained for me........

Dragonfly Dance has the brush dragonfly image as the main focal point, and i've also used 'Twinkling' and 'Berry Wreath' as background stamps, stamped using paint around the borders.

I created the background by spraying pink ink onto cardstock, then added turquoise and black printing and stamping. The dragonfly was stamped directly onto the background using black VersaMagic ink, then I added on some text printed from my computer.
Thankls for looking!
Love Trish x

Simon Says Stamp....

Anything but a Card!!!
Thats the name of the theme over at the Simon Says Stamp and Show Blog!
I thought I might have a go this week, so here is my effort...a canvas board.

I painted the background, then added painty flourishes and various printed shapes. The Stampotique image was stamped onto card then added, the stars were stamped onto tissue and adhered with Mod Podge. I chose a phrase from my stash of cut up book pages, and it was done!
Closeups....

Hope you like it!
Love Trish x

Revamped......

I made this canvas board piece last summer.......

Didn't really like it for some reason, too big for the images, too much blank space etc etc etc. So I decided to revisit it, rework and add bits to see if I could make it better. Here is the revamped piece......

I made it darker by adding more teal paint, put the stars in to fill up some space, and stamped more flourishes. The good thing is that once you've added images using the Mod Podge / tissue method they effectively become glazed.(Even if its a matt finish) Because of this, you can get paint over the top of them and still wipe it away if you're quick! Yes I know I should really mask off the images, but I'm a tad lazy sometimes!
Closeups.....

I definitely like it better now!
Love Trish xx

Orange!

Yesterdays post showed the background I managed to create when I challenged myself to work with orange...... Well, I finished it!

As I thought, I added a Zettiology image of the girl, and stitched around the edges. The machine packed up halfway cross the bottom strip, you can see where it left holes not thread! However, a happy accident as I quite like the holes! I added a lot more background stamping/printing, put some words on and outlined a few bits. I think I like it!
Couple of close ups...

Enjoy!
Love Trish xxx

WOYWW -136 !!!

Eeeeek...first time for me to join in with this challenge!
Whats On your Workdesk Wednesday....fab challenge for us to show just what we've been working on (and just how messy our workspaces are!!) Hosted by Julia (where you will find all the details), there is so much to see of you go check it out!
My desk today...... has a background I created yesterday, all waiting for me to add images and the final touches. This was a real 'push yourself' challenge for me...I forced myself to use orange, something that I rarely do! So rarely, I had to take the plastic off the dabber to use it!
I'm thinking a Zetti image and some stitching....will reveal all when its done!

Wild and Precious spirit....

or, the tag from my last post all prettied up!!!
This tag is the central one that had the paint smeared all over.

I did my usual gesso brayering over the paint, then stamped a Tim flourish and some words down one side. The main image is a good contender for my favourite image ever, made by the now sadly defunct One Stamp Dreamer company. I've been looking for years for a whole body, modern, masculine image to match this......not found one yet! Anyone with any ideas, shout!!!! A Post Modern Design quote is stamped along the edge. Another old stamp i've had for years and years, who knows if they're still going!

So, a quick and easy project, because the background tag was already done using the canvas board leftovers!
Love Trish xx

Waste not, want not.....

One of the most inspirational artists around, Dina Wakely, shared a tip a while back. She said she always keeps any spare paint, inks etc from a project to use another time. By that I mean wiping up any leftovers, using tags or smearing directly into journals etc. Fab, unexpected colour combinations and patterns emerge, and can be a starting point for new art projects. Great idea I thought, so since then I've been doing just that. I thought I'd show you just how this works in practice..........
I made this canvas board.......

Using red, mauve and lime paint, with plenty of gesso thrown in for good measure!
One of Dinas own stamps from her line for Stampington....

And a 50p special stamp I discovered in my local Home Bargains store!

Once I'd finished the canvas, there was a load of paint still on the piece of acetate I use as a palette. I swiped the painty acetate over three tags, and let them dry to use later.

Three different effects, the left hand one had gesso added, the middle one is just excess paint applied with a palette knife and the right hand side tag simply printed with the acetate.
I'm planning on some studio time tomorrow, so I'll show you if anything creative comes from one of them!
Love Trish xx