The Mad Feeling...

Hello!
I am sharing a messy painty project over at A Sprinkle Of Imagination today.....

I've done a step by step for this, (lots of pictures!) so why not hop on over and take a look!
Leave me a message on the ASOI blog and let me know what you think?!
Trish xxxxxx

Zentangle tweet!

Hiya!
Just a quickie from me today.... whilst making the 'bloom' project from yesterdays post, a little idea came to me whilst I was cutting out all those leaves. I love using stamps in odd ways!!!

The leaves and stem were just shouting 'birds on a branch' to me!

A couple of tiny doodles here and there, and the transformation was complete! I cut up Chit Chat stickers into individual letters (how fiddly?!) to make the word..

In case you were wondering, the stamp actually looks like this before I cut it up...

Gorgeous by itself, but how much more useful when you can do lots with it!
Have a lovely weekend!
Trish xxxxxx

Zentangle Bloom

Hello!
My DT piece for Creative Expressions this week is a bit floral!

I've used the gorgeous Zentangle flower by Sam Poole, but chopped it up and layered it to give a more 3D feel. The background is a very simple Distress Stain 'smoosh' type affair! I swiped my craft mat with Shabby Shutters and Broken China Distress stain, sprayed a little water on them, then dipped and dabbed my cardstock into the inky mess. Once it was dry, I added just a little Seedless Preserves to the card too, not too much as I wanted a fairly light colour scheme.

I stamped the word 'bloom' using Sams mini alpha clear stamps (yes I own two sets of these so I can use two of the same letters at once one the same block rather than stamping one letter at a time!- I'm very lazy!) The word needs to be stamped before you add the flowers and leaves....tricky to position your acrylic block around embellishments, and can you imagine the hassle of trying to unstick all those bits if you make a dogs breakfast of the stamping?!
I stamped the flower three times onto cardstock that had been given the same Distress ink treatment as the base card. Cut out, then shaped and layered on top of one another...

I stamped and cut lots of leaves too, these were positioned under the flower and up the edges of the panel. I used hot glue to attach some leaves to give them a little raised dimension...

Hope you like it!
Don't forget to check out the Creative Expressions news page, not to mention all my other Teamies blogs next week....there may well be an exciting plan afoot!!!!
Trish xxxxxx

Spring Chicken!

Hello!
I may have lost the plot.....
I made a chicken...

He is now live over at Calico Crafts, so please check out the blog for some more pics and a little 'how to' !!
Stay warm....
Trish xxxxx

Butterfly Tree

Hello!
I finally got around to playing with my Distress paints.... and made this:

The whole project, plus more closeups is now live over on the A Sprinkle Of Imagination blog.... please pop over and have a look!
love Trish xxx

Live In The Moment

Hello!
The DT were given a fabulous choice of stamps this month from Creative Expressions to play with! Showcasing the new Single stamp range, so you can now buy single images rather than a whole plate! Some gorgeous stamps too, and this week I've chosen to use the Steampunk Dressform......

Now, the eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted that this creation isn't very Steampunk! Which goes to show just how versatile these stamps are. For this piece I wanted a less industrial look, so got rid of any steampunk-ness! I'll explain as I go along....
The base is a square of chipboard, painted white to give a blank base. I then used Eco Green paint in purple, pale blue and lime to colour....

Once dry, I added the frame that surrounds my dress form. Another single stamp, this time from the Stamps to die for range. This one is called 'Blossoming Frame'. As the background is a little textured because of all the painty layers, I stamped the frame onto tissue and glued it down. Once dry, the tissue becomes transparent and it looks like you stamped directly onto the substrate! As it happened, this actually worked a little too well, the frame was very crisp and clear. I toned it down slightly with more paint on top. I wanted the frame to be a background, not a focal point!

The dressform was stamped onto scrap card that I coloured with more paint. To 'de-steampunk' it was easy, I simply cut off the cogs that surrounded the skirt part, and created a tiny rolled up rose from purple cardstock to adhere over the cog on the bodice. The rose got a generous dusting of Rock Candy Dry Glitter as you can see!

To add a little extra interest, I also stamped the dressform again onto acetate, and cut out the wings. Remember to leave a little flap of acetate when cutting out, as this then gets inserted into a small slit cut into the main dressform. The wings then look seamless, sprouting from the correct position!
The sentiment is from the A5 Art Sayings plate by Sam Poole. Love that plate, so useful!

Simply stamped onto a bit of scrap painty card, then cut out and mounted!
And there you have it...a steampunk dressform that really isn't steampunk!!
Please pop back next week as I'll have another piece showcasing the Single Stamps to share!
Love Trish xxx

Princess Green

hiya!
I've been getting very painty...and very green! I made this..

Loads of green paint in various shades, specifically Paper Artsy frescos in Limelight, Guacamole and Hey Pesto. I also used some Pebeo Studio acrylic in iridescent green yellow, the sheen from this is fab...you can just about see here in the corner...

I stencilled using the darker Paper Artsy shade, hey pesto...

And did lots of stamping and printing as usual!

Bit of doodling there too! I grunged up the background slightly by adding a gentle brayering of black. Gives it a nice mucky look!
My image is this fabulous Octopode Factory fairy...

Quite unlike me, I coloured it a little! Green hair (Distress Stain and a waterbrush!), and I gave her black and white stripy tights. Of course, she has to stand on something rather than floating in mid air, so I added a little text paper ledge for her to rest on....

I found a phrase in my torn up book stash that I thought just fitted her perfectly...

As luck would have it (!!) the challenge over at the Octopode Factory Challenge blog this week is 'Green', so I'm playing along!
Hope your week is going great...bit chilly here in Blackpool but at least we have no snow!
love Trish xxxxx

Believe in Butterflies...

I had this panel of cardboard that I'd been playing with, peeling off the upper layer to reveal the corrugations underneath. Liked it so much I thought I would use it as a base to create on!

The right hand side is the peeled bit, and I covered the other side with book paper....

I gave the whole thing a wash of cream paint, then did a little stamping with brown ink and blue paint...

The butterflies (Memory Box -prob my favourite butterfly stamp ever!) were stamped onto book paper covered cardstock. They were stamped and coloured a little too, before I shaped them and stuck them to the base. A little few pearls for the bodies....

I was too much of a chicken to stamp the words directly onto the background, so stamped them onto tissue first and adhered them with Mod Podge....

The hanger is a driftwood stick that I have covered with more book paper and given a touch of paint. Large eyelets and gold wire fasten the hanger to the main piece....

This is a bit of a muted colour scheme in comparison to my usual stuff, maybe a bit of a shabby chic thing going on? he he he, good job really as I'm entering it into the Simon Says Stamp And Show challenge which has the title "Chic to be Shabby" !!!
I also want to enter the first challenge from the new Country View Crafts challenge site! (I dread to think about how much money I've spent with them over the past couple of years!) As that challenge is a general 'Pick and Mix' theme, hopefully this panel will fit right in!
Love Trish xxxx

Wonderful houses...

Hello!
I have another project to share using the fabulous Art Houses stamp plate by Sam Poole!
I've gone brown and grungy for this one...

I started off with a chipboard square, which I covered with old book pages. I used Multi Medium to glue these down, which meant I had a non porous coating to deal with when colouring over the top. This is both a positive and a negative, the colour I wanted to use (Distress Stains) isn't going to stay put or dry easily, but the finished result will look transluscent and nicely grunged up! I actually mixed a little stain with Ranger Glue and Seal, and sponged it on with a makeup sponge. Vintage photo first, then a little Walnut Stain. Once the glue dries, it also has a nice subtle sheen which I like!
 I also stamped some background designs using the Bubbles, Chicken wire and the grid stamp from the Urban Beats plate. The little touches of red were done very simply by scribbling with a Distress Marker, then blending with a fingertip!

I stamped the house onto more book paper, cut out then added highlights of colour. Brown for the door, and a little red for the crown tips and door knob. I covered these parts in Glossy Accents.....

I cut some house shapes from a wooden ruler embellishment, and covered these with Glossy Accents too....

These were placed onto a piece of bookpaper covered wooden trim, then the trim was adhered to the base panel. I wanted a raised look, so I stuck beads behind it.....like this....

The sentiment (again from the Art Houses plate) was stamped onto coloured bookpaper too, before adding it to my background..

I hope you like it, I've loved working with these stamps!
Can't wait to see the next lot of lovely rubber I'll be playing with for Creative Expressions!
love Trish xx

Journey?

I made a colourful piece for A Sprinkle Of Imagination this week.....I even broke the habit of a lifetime and coloured in my image!

Please pop on over to the ASOI blog to have a look at some more pics, and I've explained how to do the very quick and easy background!
Love Trish xx

Deeply Dippy -part two!

Hello again!
Remember these petals from yesterdays post?

I've shared a step by step tutorial over on the Calico Crafts blog, so you can see exactly how I made them!
Have fun,
Trish xxxxx

Deeply Dippy!

Hiya!
My turn over at Calico Crafts today, I've made a flower plaque..

Please pop on over to the blog, where I've explained how I made it! The petals are created by dipping text filled wire shapes into molten UTEE, and I'm going to share a step by step tut on exactly how I did this tomorrow, so check back!
love Trish xx

Home is where the heart is!

Hello!
My project this week for Creative Expressions features the fabulous Art Houses plate from Sam Poole again, along with another fabulous 'Sam' design, the ruler background. I've called it 'home is where the heart is'.....

I cut a piece of chipboard into a heart shape, painted it white (it was a dull grey colour!), then used Festive Berries and Walnut Stain Distress stain to colour it. I swiped the stains onto a craft sheet, sprayed water over them, then smooshed the heart through the resulting inky mess. I also repeated this with a piece of cardstock, ready for use later! Once the heart was dry, I stamped it with the ruler background using Sepia Archival ink...

I edged the heart with Walnut Stain Distress ink, then set it to one side. Using the inked up cardstock I created earlier, I stamped the house twice using black ink, and also stamped the ruler background again. Both houses were cut out, then I cut the crown detail from one of them. I mounted it in the relevant place on the other house, then added Glossy Accents to give a nice depth and shine...

I created a heart using UTEE and a mould. I added a tiny bit of Barn Door reinker to the molten UTEE to give it the red colour.....

This was glued onto the house, as you can see! I stamped the word 'love' from the Art Houses plate onto a scrap of leftover inky card, and glued that on too.
I cut the longest ruler from the background, and used this almost as a street, or at least a base upon which my house can rest....

I glued my house plus all its details onto the heart, then glued the heart onto an inked up chopstick! I found these in the supermarket, and they are so useful!!! I added some dyed seam binding in two bows to complete the look....

So, I hope you like my 'home is where the heart is' assemblage!
I'll have another project next week, so please check back!
Love Trish xx

Blooming Spray Inks!

Hello!
My turn again over at A Sprinkle Of Imagination, today I'm sharing a little experiment I had using spray inks!

please pop on over to the ASOI blog to see exactly what I did, with some more pictures!
Have a great day,
Trish xxx

Large Hair Day!

Hello!
I thought I'd have a little play today, and I made something that I can enter into a challenge, yay! Totally by coincidence too! I admit to having favourite stamps to use a backgrounds, and the number strip from Kaisercraft is probably my first 'go to' stamp of them all. Which is handy, as this weeks challenge over at Simon Says Stamp And Show is all about numbers! The main reason for playing was trying out some new iridescent coloured paint.... and wouldn't you just know, it really doesn't show in the pic!....

As well as the 'flat' orange and turquoise, I used some Pebeo Studio iridescent in orange yellow and blue green. In real life its very shiny, and I love the result!
The base is a 6 x 6" chipboard sheet, covered with white paint. I smeared on the paints before adding the black stamped details...

My white doodling pen has an accident, so white flicked paint splats were the order of the day to disguise the unintentional 'puddle'! I think I would have used black otherwise, but it turned out OK..
The image is 'Marie Antoinette' by the Octopode Factory...

I typed the phrase on my new favourite toy, my vintage typewriter!

This is so much better in real life, the shimmer and sheen are fab!
Have a great week everyone!
love Trish xxx