Thursday 28 April 2016

You can't buy happiness but you can buy ice cream!

Welcome to my weekly post for Artistic Outpost. Today I am showcasing the newly released Ice Cream Shoppe stamp set available from Our Daily Bread Designs.
I decided to do something a little different this week. I thought the imagery from this stamp set was perfect for a sweet treat container. Eileen Hull's Canister die was perfect for this.
I coloured the background of the Canister die with Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks, applying one colour at a time. I applied the Distress Inks to a piece of plastic packaging, spritzed with water and then pressed the packaging onto the die cut and then dried with a heat tool. I continued with this process until I was happy with the coverage of colour.
I stamped the Ice Cream Cone onto each side of the Canister using Potting Soil Archival Ink.
I placed the Tim Holtz Chevron stencil onto the background and applied Picked Raspberry Distress Ink over the stencil to add a further layer of interest.
I used part of the sentiment from the stamp set to add the 'ice cream' text to each side of the canister, stamped with Pink Peony Archival Ink.
I applied Squeezed Lemondade Distress Paint to old lids and stamped onto the background and also added delicate splatters of paint for a further layer of interest.
I added a couple of ice cream embellishments to the top of the canister and decorated using all the same layers as with the outside edges.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x


Wednesday 20 April 2016

DecoArt Americana Canvas Painting Gallery

DecoArt have a competition running at the moment up until April 22nd to enter a piece of art into their DecoArt Americana Canvas Painting Gallery; I thought I would take some time out from deadlines and have some fun with my Americana Paints. You can find a list of all the range of colours in the Americana Range HERE.
I created a mixed media canvas with lollipop flowers.
I began by drawing two small circles onto my canvas and then applying DecoArt Media Modelling Paste to the centre; applying with a finger, dabbing to give good texture.
I repeated this process for both circles.
I used a palette knife to add textural stems to the flower heads.
I then allowed the Modelling Paste to dry completely before applying any layers of paint.
I began by painting around the flowers with a layer of Americana Indian Turquoise Acrylic Paint with touches of Desert Turquoise, to add a deeper layer of colour; applying and blending the colours with a little water and my fingers.
To add further depth to the colours in the background I applied Americana Pansy Lavender and Royal Purple around the canvas; applying the darker colour around the edges of the flowers and the edges of the canvas; again applying with my fingers until I was happy with the blend of colour.
The lollipop flowers have been coloured with Americana Bubblegum Pink and Peony Pink; adding only touches of the darker colour and a few touches of the colours from the background to give a cohesive design.
To add further interest to the background I added scratchy lines using an old credit/store card and Americana Bubblegum Pink Acrylic paint. I also added a layer of stencilling using Andy Skinner's Industrial Elements Stencil.
I added further scratchy lines with Indian Turquoise Acrylic and added delicate splatters of Cool White. I added touches of black using a black Gelato around the edges of the canvas and around the flower heads and stems.


Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x

New Release - Artistic Outpost

Today the Artistic Outpost Design Team are taking a look back at the March new stamp release, for more details, pop by the AO Blog.
This time around I am showcasing the Seed Packets Background. I began by applying Color Bursts Crystals Terre Verte and Burnt Orange to the background of my white card and then spritzing with water and drying with a heat tool.
http://ourdailybreaddesigns.com/seed-packets-background.html
I then placed some removable tape onto my non-stick craft sheet and coloured with Citrus Alcohol Ink.
This is the background coloured with Color Bursts prior to any decoration.
I then stamped the Seed Packets Background image onto the removable tape using Archival Ink. I then removed each strip one at a time and added them to the background of the card.
Once I applied the stamped tape to the card I then coated with one coat of Matte Medium to protect. I also added a touch of stamping to the inside of the card using Potting Soil and Monarch Orange Archival Ink.
I added two terracotta pots to my design using Wendy Vecchi's Mat Minis which I coloured with Orange Blossom Embossing Powder; removing some of the powder from the edges before heating. Once the powder was melted and cool I then applied Potting Soil Archival Ink around the edges to add to the aged feel. I stamped 'SEEDS' using part of the sentiment from the newly released Harvest stamp set and added it to one of my pots.
I coloured a couple of plastic plant labels with Citrus Archival Ink and then stamped each of them with part of the imagery from the Seed Packets Background stamp. I also applied Potting Soil Archival Ink to the edges of each of the plant labels.
For added interest I also included some coiled rusty wire, moss and mini pumpkins.

My fellow design team members have also created more projects to inspire you, please pop by their blogs.


Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x 

Thursday 14 April 2016

Live, Laugh, Play - Artistic Outpost

Welcome to my weekly post for Artistic Outpost, today I am showcasing the Bottle Caps Background stamp and the Paperboy stamp set available from Our Daily Bread Designs.
I began by using a background created as a masterboard. I simply brayered Dylusions paint randomly onto the background and then dried with my heat tool. I added a touch of random background stamping using the Ephemera Background stamp and Vermillion Archival Ink.
I then created a stencil by die cutting a circle from scrap card and using the aperture as the stencil. I placed the stencil onto the background and then stamped the Bottlecaps background stamp into the circular aperture using Black Archival Ink. I repeated this process to add three circles to the background. To highlight the circles further I drew around each with a Stabilo All pencil and then used a water brush to smudge.
I stamped the Paperboy with Black Archival Ink, onto a section of the masterboard; where the paint was only lightly applied using the image from the Paperboy Stamp set, cut him out and then added him to the background. I also added scratchy paint lines using an old credit card along with some delicate splatters of paint. 'Live', 'Laugh', 'Play' were added from The Golf Club stamp set, stamping with Black Archival Ink onto a piece of the masterboard background piece.
I love how all the layers are visible!
Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x




Thursday 7 April 2016

Golf Accordion - Artistic Outpost

Today I am showcasing one of the new releases from Artistic Outpost, The Golf Club stamp set, available from Our Daily Bread Designs.
When I received this set I knew I wanted to create a card for my husband who loves golf so I opted for an accordion card, giving me plenty of space to use lots of imagery from the stamp set.
I began by applying Peeled Paint Distress Ink to a piece of plastic packaging; simply press the inkpad directly onto the plastic packaging and then spritz with water. Place the plastic packaging onto the background of the card and smoosh the ink with your finger. This makes alignment of the ink far simpler; you can add it exactly where you want it. I repeated this process for all three panels and then dried with a heat tool. I then pressed any remaining ink onto the background once again and dried again with a heat tool.
I then placed the Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil onto the background and applied Peeled Paint Distress Ink over the stencil, giving a further layer of interest and a tone on tone effect. To add a further layer I then added some background stamping using the Ephemera Background stamp, stamping with Potting Soil Archival Ink. I did not add the stamp to an acrylic block I used it as is to give a more random feel. I then stamped the lady golfer with Black Archival Ink. I also used part of the sentiment to add 'Golf' text for added interest. I then added DecoArt Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic to an old lid and stamped that over the focal image. I also included some scratchy paint lines using an old credit card and added the fabulou sentiment to complete this panel.
The second panel was decorated in the same way as the first but this time I used the flags as the focal image. I also included the advertisement from the stamp set and live, laugh, play.
The third panel is stamped with the gentleman golfer. I applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges for definition.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x


Tuesday 5 April 2016

Eileen Hull New Release

This month the Design Team are showcasing projects using Eileen Hull's new flower die release.
My first sample is using Eileen's soon to be re-released Suitcase Die.
I used Tim Holtz Layering Stencil to add rays to the suitcase colouring with Fossilized Amber and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks. I also added delicate splatters of Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain to the background.
I added a couple of natural twigs behind the flower along with a coordinated ribbon. The flower which is newly released from Eileen is called Flower, Heart & Soul and is a Sizzix Bigz Die.  I coloured the flower with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink, adding touches of Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain. I also added an Idea-ology flower to the centre. The petals from this flower could quite easily be used on their own. To complete I added a ChitChat Sticker.
My next project uses Eileen Hull's Flower Pocket Die, a XL Scoreboard die. I wanted both of my pieces to coordinate so once again I used Tim Holtz Layering Stencil to add detail to the pocket. I also added some random background stamping for added interest.
I spritzed the background with Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain and also added splatters and scratchy paint lines for added interest.
I also added some coordinated cards which I thought you could attach a packet of seeds to the back and send as a gift to a gardening friend. The cards were die cut using Eileen Hull's Recipe Card & Label Die.
The flower is a Thinlits Die Flower, Rolled and can be used in so many different ways, again I coloured with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and added touches of Vintage Photo do the edges.
http://www.eileenhull.com/

Pop by Eileen's blog to see my fellow Design Team members creations for further inspiration.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tracy x x


Friday 1 April 2016

Quirky Flower Heads

I took a break from deadlines this morning and took a second opportunity to make something just for fun. Andy Skinner and Tracy Weinzapfel have a "We Dare You To Create" challenge on their Facebook page which you can find here and I thought I would take this opportunity to join in once again.
I created a quirky canvas using the following products from the DecoArt Media range:

  1. DecoArt Media Crackle Paint
  2. DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Cadmium Red Hue, Cobalt Teal Hue, Burnt Umber, Titan Buff
  3. DecoArt Media Matte Medium
  4. DecoArt Media Ultra Matte Varnish (applied over the crackle to protect)
Along with Weathered Wood to create Andy Skinner's Mega Crackle.
Clay faces adorn the centre of my flowers.
Coils of rusty wire add further texture and the hands add a further quirky feel.
I cut the flower petals from an Alice in Wonderland book page.
'Flower Heads' is computer generated text.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a lovely weekend. Tracy x x #