Friday 30 March 2012

The Voices Spoke Only To Her

This week we have a fabulous set from Wendy Vecchi to work with, The Voice Of Art set from Creative Expressions.

I decided on an inky background this time around using Distress Stains and blending a little Distress Ink around the edges. I also added a little stamping from the Art Rules set.
I cut three circles from my background using Spellbinders Standard Circles and added the sentiment "The voices spoke only to her....." For my matting and layering, I coloured a piece of white glossy card with Distress Ink fired brick and added machine stitching to the edge for a little more interest.
I then stamped my young lady onto white card stock with coffee Archival Ink and added to the background.  To lift the background a little I added a little white highlighting with a white pen.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the weekend. Tracy x x

Thursday 29 March 2012

DREAM IN COLOUR

I wanted to move away from my usual vintage, brown tones for the wonderful VINTAGE set from The Stamp Attic and try something a little more colourful and Spring like.
I cut a piece of white card 5" x 5" and then cut up into random pieces.  Each image from the VINTAGE set has then been stamped onto the pieces with coffee Archival Ink.
All my pieces have been coloured with worn lipstick Distress Ink and all the edges have been distressed using Tim's Paper Distresser tool, adding colour again to the edges for definition.
I have added a dimensional flower cut from an orange tone Bazzill card stock using the Mini Tattered Floral Set, colouring the edges with a little vintage photo Distress Ink.
The finishing touches are the sentiment "Vintage Collage" stamped with Archival Ink and sponged with wild honey Distress Ink along with coordinated buttons.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Wednesday 28 March 2012

More New Releases From ARTISTIC OUTPOST

March is Women's History Month in the US, and Artistic Outpost wants to celebrate all of our customers of the female persuasion by offering THREE brand new collections that should tickle any gal's fancy.
Quote & Quotables:  Women, ladies, girls...they say the darndest things. This collection of 9 fanciful quotes features idyllic and profound statements by Helen Keller, Lucille Ball, and Audrey Hepburn among others.

Secretary Pool Featuring retro images including a typewriter, paper clip, staple collage, telephone, and a wonderful vintage alphabet, enjoy creating whimsical cards and other works of art with this versatile vintage collection.
 
I created a vintage card using the two plates above using broken china and vintage photo ink, throwing into the mix plenty of distressing and torn edges.
I cut a piece of white card 5.5" x 5.5" and then cut up into pieces and stamped each image onto the segments with broken china ink.
All the stamped images were then aged, distressing and tearing some of the edges to add to that worn/aged feel adding plenty of vintage photo ink to the edges.
I stamped the sentiment "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun" to my typewriter paper from the Quote & Quotables plate. To add a little dimension I added NOTES (printed from my computer) to jump rings, adding glossy accents to adhere. 
Flower Market Inspired by the famous flower markets of France, this collection of spring images includes 13 images including daffodils, lavender, poppies, and a cherub French girl who will most likely be chasing butterflies.





I wanted to try something a little different for the Flower Market plate so decided to alter an old tin I picked up from my local antiques store.
I sanded my tin and then coloured with alcohol ink, adding a little trim which I also coloured with gold mixative alcohol ink to blend with my background and to add a little interest.
Pages from an old vintage book were added to the inside of my tin, colouring with wild honey Distress Ink and bending the corners slightly to add to that worn look of the tin. I stamped my images onto white card and coloured with Distress Inks and a water brush.  A little film strip ribbon has been added to the bottom with the word GRATITUDE added from the sentiment available in this set. My dragonfly has been added to acetate to give the appearance of it floating in the air.
The front of my tin also has a little frame added, framing the girls face, adding glossy accents to the centre for a little dimension. For further interest I have added a brass bird charm.

All three stamp collections measure 8.5" x 5.5". They are available unmounted as a sheet of beautiful red rubber, or you can have our wonderful owner Steven mount them on clingfoam and hand trim them to perfection.  The mounted stamps come with a plastic index sheet / cling card for ease of storage.

Pop along to my fellow DT members, inspiration is abound!

·  Yvonne Garner

Thanks so much for stopping by, Tracy x x   

Monday 26 March 2012

I've Finally Made A Start....................

.............On Tim's Creative Chemistry Course at last and I'm thrilled I did as I am finding it very easy to follow, informative and a great insight to my inks, paints and mediums.
I've only completed day 1, but it's a start, something of a miracle for me and a FIRST as I have never participated in an on-line class, probably due to lack of time but I needed a little me time and this is the perfect opportunity.
Here are my three tags, my homework you might say using the Blended Distress/Spritz & Flick Technique (tag 1) Brushless Watercolour Technique (tag 2) and Wrinkle-Free Distress Technique (tag 3). All my tags have been adorned with images from 100 Proof Press (Med. Many Line Circle, Madame Birdcage Skirt and Large Tree Skeleton) combined with a few of Tim's products too.  I will not go into details re the how to, you need to register for the course to enjoy the fabulous techniques and I would highly recommend it.
 I was going to leave the tags blank but as I was enjoying a little ME time I could not resist but to add a few details. The sentiment is from Tim's Words For Thought set which I thought was perfect for my tag.
Add into the mix a little touch of highlighting with a white pen, ribbon and a coordinated brad and one tag is complete.
I've used the Brushless Watercolour technique for years and never tire of it and I found it great to revisit the technique with the Large Tree Skeleton.  A few torn edges and Alpha Parts add just a little more interest.
I stapled my piece onto a tag coloured with vintage photo Distress Ink, simple but I am quite pleased with the result.
Finally tag number 3 which I embellished with Madam Birdcage Skirt giving her wings so she can take flight whenever she desires!
A little gathered ribbon and coordinated fibres and she is good to go.  Well one day completed, think I had better hurry along a little before the class is over and I've not even started day two LOL.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

A Tag...............

................For our challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show this week, something I should do more of as they are great fun and the perfect size for a little creative time.
I decided to pay homage to the fabulous new Charles & Amelia plate from Artistic Outpost to create an adventurous tag cut using the tag and bookplate die.

Add into the mix plenty of Nostalgic Tissue Tape for interest in the background and plenty of metal in the form of Philosophy Tag and Screw Brads . Once I had covered my background with tissue tape I coloured with Distress Ink brushed corduroy to add to the vintage feel. I hand sewed a little chicken wire into the background adding a more masculine and steampunk edge to the tag.

I stamped my images with black Archival Ink and distressed the edges with Tim's Paper Distresser and then added a little vintage photo ink to the edges.

A little film strip ribbon has been added with PIONEER stamped with StazOn black ink. I then cut a small rosette from Kraft card stock and stamped fly on the centre, part of the sentiment on the AO plate. I then aged with a little vintage photo ink.

To complete, I added a philosophy tag (JOURNEY) perfect for my adventurous tag which I coloured with alcohol ink.

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and take a look at my fellow team members they have created some inspirational projects. Remember there is also the chance to win a $50 prize from Simon Says Stamp.  I always look forward to seeing your creations each week.


Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 


Saturday 24 March 2012

Circle Of Knowledge

Been having a little inky time this morning creating a tag for 100 Proof Press using the Med. Many Line Circle.
I created my background with Distress Inks picking up the ink from my craft mat, continuing the process until I was happy with the colour.
I added a little colour throught a Crafters Workshop Mini Numbers Template to add a little more interest to the background.  I used Distress Ink spiced marmalade and worn lipstick, adding a little more colour to the distressed edges for definition.
You can see the numbers in a little more detail on this picture. I then added the Med. Many Line Circle to my tag adding white highlights to lift from the background.
I punched a small flower in the bottom corner and added a little 7 Gypsies tape along with a quote from ALBERT EINSTEIN .
I cut a heart from corrugated card using the Alterations mini hearts set, colouring with spiced marmalade ink and adding a trinket pin for added interest.
The flower I punched out from the bottom corner has been added to the top corner along with coordinated brad and fibres.

I would also like to add this piece to The Stampman Challenge and this time around it is a BINGO CARD/RECIPE challenge.

Green
Fabric
Polka dots
Flowers
Circle
Numbers
Swirls
Metal/metallic
Ribbon


My tag uses Flowers, Circles and Numbers.


Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the lovely weather! Tracy x x

Friday 23 March 2012

Thinking Of You

Time for another creation using the Heartfelt Creations Bella Rose and coordinating Die Template from Creative Expressions.
The background paper is from Papermania, one that has been in my stash for some time, I thought it worked perfectly with my roses and heart doily.
I have given my doily a little padding for dimension and added some hand stitching to the outside edge.
Glossy accents have been added to my roses.
Faux stitching has been added to the outside edge of my card for a little more interest.

Enjoy your Friday, the weekend is in sight! Tracy x x

Thursday 22 March 2012

FLY

I've been using the fabulous images from the Charles & Amelia and Industrial Backgrounds plates from Artistic Outpost.

I stamped images from the Industrial Backgrounds to create a collage background and sponged with vintage photo Distress Ink. The images are stamped in coffee and black Archival Ink.
I added a few mini gears and game spinner for added interest and matted onto wine coloured card adding the fabulous sentiment to the inside.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Monthly Blog Hop.....................

........................With Artistic Outpost, yes it's that time of the month where we showcase some of the fabulous images available from Artistic Outpost and this month we are highlighting  A LOVELY DAY.
I decided I would go for a definite SPRING theme for my tag accordion using this wonderful versatile set of images.
My background has been created using a mini daisy cluster Crafter's Workshop template, applying VersaMark ink through the template and embossing with clear embossing powder and then blending broken china Distress Ink over the top. I felt this was a perfect backdrop for these images, very Spring like.
My images have been stamped in coffee archival ink and coloured with Distress Inks.  I have added dimensional flowers using the Tattered Pinecone die and little blooms to her basket, along with a small dimensional egg in the bottom corner. The image has been machine stitched to some hessian ribbon and the tag background. Simple Pleasures, a perfect sentiment for the image has been added to the top.
I love the bicycle image ( really must stamp this on a card multiple times, they would look great in a row!) again stamped with archival ink and a few simple blooms added to the basket.  The image has again been machine stitched into place.
I love the windmill image, perfect Spring scene with the meadow below, with a little colour added using my Distress Inks.
This is the reverse of my accordion, again florals added in the background from the Crafter's Workshop template.
The images have again been machine stitched into place, coloured with Distress Inks and a little dimension added with the mini eggs in one corner.
A little more interest is added with a little bunny and rosette.

My fellow Design Team members have created some fabulous pieces using these images, pop along and be inspired along the way.

Artistic Outpost are also holding a fabulous Referral Program, the theme being SPRINGPUNK why not pop along HERE for all the details and there is a fabulous prize on offer too.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, I appreciate them all. Tracy x x