Red Circles....

Yep, nothing more taxing that stating the obvious eh?!

The little peek above is part of my DT piece for A Sprinkle Of Imagination this week!
I would be very happy if you could pop on over HERE to take a look at the whole thing, and tell me what you think!
love Trish xxx

"Glorious" - a spoon girl!

Hello!
I decided to get my art doll head on again...and created this spoon girl for Calico Crafts today!

Spoon girl? The base for this is a wooden spoon....yes really!
Please check out the Calico Crafts blog for all the details!
Trish xxx

Take It Make It March Challenge!

Hello!
It's the first Friday in March...so that means it's time for a new challenge over at the Craft Stamper Blog
It's an exciting day, as not only is this the start of the new monthly challenges, but today marks the first projects of the brand new Design Team! Please pop on over and have a look at their fab projects, and show them some love in the comments!!!
Anyway...... down to business! The March challenge is all about monoprinting with Acrylic blocks. I have done an article in the April edition of Craft Stamper showing just how to do this (although it's easy really, you don't need me telling you what to do!) I can't show you my samples from the magazine, but I can show you another project created in the same way!

The background for this panel was created by smooshing red, green and turquoise paint onto an acrylic block, then pulling a print from it. Once dry, I got to work adding in some extra details. Washi tape, stitching and stamping...

and some black UTEE crystals melted in to give some nice textural splats...

My image is a wonderful Zettiology girl I haven't used in an age...

kept black and white so it didn't detract from all the colour going on behind!
There are some great prizes to be won in the challenge, so why not hop on over now to have a look!!
Trish xxxx

Peek A Boo!

Hello!
My DT project for A Sprinkle Of Imagination today has lots of Stampotique involvement...

All contained in a Prima icon box!
I would love it if you would pop on over and have a look at the whole thing!
Trish xxx

Fancy a colour challenge?

If you have a minute to get creative today, why not have a go at the latest colour challenge over at A Sprinkle Of Imagination?
It's a really interesting collection of colours this time....

Just the thing to get those creative juices going!
I made this...

Yes, I know it's supposed to be the start of Spring, but really? I'm still flipping freezing!!!!
Lots of painty, stencilled and stamped layers..

lots of stitching and melted white UTEE to give a bit of a snowy splatter effect..

And a fabulous penguin image from Crafty individuals!

So yes...that's a representation of me this past week, waiting on school playgrounds to collect little people! (well, minus the beak.....!)
Have a great weekend!
Trish xxx

Monochrome: For Stampotique

Hello!
Today is my last project as guest DT for Stampotique (sad face.....)
I've loved creating every project, and I have been absolutely thrilled that some of you have been inspired to create versions of your own! Gives me the warm fuzzies......!!
Anyway, on to todays project! The theme this week is Monochrome, something a bit tricky for a colour-aholic like me! I created this panel..

When you're working with such a restricted colour palette, you need to think towards texture for your interest, (as well as your images of course!) With this in mind, I tried to get as much on there as possible. Hopefully this will show up in the closeups, lets see!
I started off with some black cardstock, and roughly brayered over a layer of white paint...

As well as coverage, brayering roughly like this gives a rippled, almost stippled in places texture. I then went over it with a layer of black...

Layers, lots of lovely layers! Next, black and white text tissue...

More black brayering to help the tissue blend into the background...

I then stencilled with white paint...

Once this was dry, I put the stencil back in place and scraped rock candy crackle glaze through it. I love doing this, it gives such a cool look!
When dry, go over the crackles with a black Distress marker, rubbing the excess off with a dry cloth. The black will settle wonderfully into the cracks...

On the opposite side, I used black embossing paste through the same stencil....

I really like the spongy embossing paste look contrasting with the crackles!
I stitched the background onto some black card, and added a little more texture by way of white melted UTEE splatters, and some big white paint splats!

The stitching is a nice crisp contrast to the layers of paint..

My image was stamped simple in black, then added to a strip of dotty washi tape..

The final touch was the 'I thought of you' phrase, complemented by a punched out heart. I added some glossy accents to the heart, then heated it gently just to give a bubbly look to the glossy-ness!

I hope you like it!

I would just like to say a huge THANK YOU to the team over at Stampotique, I have really had a ball this month!

Stampotique stamps used:
Sheer
I thought of you today

Filled Bottle Caps..

Hello!
I've been experimenting with Triple Thick Glaze (by Decoart) for my Calico Crafts DT piece this week. I wanted to see whether you could use the glaze to fill a bottle cap, and get that rock hard, crystal clear finish you achieve if you use resin!

I'll explain all, over at the Calico Crafts blog!
Trish xxx

You are so worth it!

Hello!
My DT piece for A Sprinkle Of Imagination this week is a colourful painty panal...complete with a stack of birds!
A little peek...

The whole thing is now live over on the ASOI creative team blog!
Have a great Sunday everyone,
Trish xxxx

Acetate: For Stampotique!

Hello!
Week three of my Guest Designer month over at the Stampotique Designer Challenge Blog ! Thank you all once again for the lovely comments made on my 'pairs' piece last week!
This time, the challenge is all about acetate. I love using acetate in all kinds of ways, and for this challenge I decided to use it to help me create some depth to my piece. Which is this....

I made a shrine type assemblage, lots of layers and a cool red and blue colour scheme! You really need to see this sideways on to see how my elements are layered to give the depth...

To build up these layers, you need to have a base you can build up in layers too. That way you can add elements as you go along. There are chipboard designs out there that you can layer up wonderfully, but I decided to make my own. That way, I have total control over the size and shape. This is a little fiddly, but I'm going to take you through it, step by step!
First, I decided on the shape and size of my shrine. I then cut strips of greyboard to create the frame.

Don't worry about exact measurements, the finished frame will be covered in layers of paper and paint anyway! I stuck the first frame layer together with masking tape...

I then glued more strips over the first lot, giving me a frame two layers deep.
Next, acetate time! Stamp the seaweed design onto acetate, then colour the blobs! I love to colour acetate by painting the design on the stamped side, then flipping the acetate over so you have a smooth shiny finish!

I cut the acetate out, then stuck it to the bottom of the frame. I'd decided not to use all the height of this first image, so the end hangs off the frame at this point!

A third and fourth layer of greyboard frame was then added on top. Bulldog clips will keep everything together whilst the glue dries!

(As you can see, I chopped the excess image off!!)
The main figure image is the next layer, so I stamped and coloured her, before adding wings made with more acetate! The wings are coloured with paint too. I cut her out, leaving an extra bit of card under her foot. This was then glued to the top of the fourth layer of greyboard...

The fifth and final greyboard layer was then glued on top....

If you have an image that exceeds the limits of your frame, make sure you don't accidentally glue the wrong bits down! I had to keep a careful eye on the right hand wing!!
Once the frame is dry, its ready to be covered with old book pages. The most fiddly part of the frame to get access to is the inside, so we need to deal with this first, before we put the back on!

Tear tiny bits of paper to cover the parts where your acetate and card elements go into the frame. Once dry, it can be painted...

I wanted another red dotty seaweed element in my shrine, so created another using acetate in the same way as before. This time, I needed it to be slightly larger, so carried through the 'stems' by drawing lines with a permanent pen...

This time, I stuck it to the very back of the frame, slightly behind the figure....

Next, the back. Draw around your shrine (or whatever your shape is!), onto cardstock, then create a messy painty background!

I've added in some printing, then melted sprinkles of white UTEE to give both a gentle splatter effect and a little texture. The back can now be glued to the frame....

More old book pages are now glued on, to cover all the frame that is still visible!

Once the glue is dry, the top and edges can be painted to match the back...

I added tiny red dots as well, just to tie in my colour scheme!
The final touch is the star on the apex of my shrine...

Acetate again! Topped off with a word sticker.....
So, all finished! Mary is looking very folorn, despite her shiny wings...

Let's hope she can wish upon that star and cheer up a bit!!!!
Hope you like my project this week...

Stampotique stamps used:
Mary
Seaweed
Big Bee
Jo's Star

See you next week for my final GDT project!
Trish xxxxx

Craft Stamper Blog Challenge!

Hello!

The new Craft Stamper Blog challenge starts today...and it's a short one because we have..

 EXCITING NEWS!!!!

From March, the CS blog challenge is going MONTHLY!

Yep, a new challenge every month, still with fabulous prizes and the opportunity to get published in the UKs number one stamping magazine for the winner!

The current challenge is all about repeat stamping using a small stamp, and the DT have created some stunning projects for you to look at...why not go and take a peek? (and join in, of course!!)