Now in stock, are the brand new Distress Oxide releases and if you can't make up your mind
 which colours you like best, we have a great offer on the set of 12! :-)

Hello
This week I am sharing a project which appears in Stampington & Co's Somerset Studio Gallery (Winter).
I wanted a sense of the butterflies appearing to have alighted onto the arch, as though they are carrying the secrets belonging to the butterfly child, off into the Spring air.


Supplies

That's Crafty! Surfaces MDF Arch Shrine Kit Matchbox
That's Crafty! Surfaces Bits and Pieces Greyboard Sheet - Small Butterflies and Dragonflies
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Sets Lynne's Affirmations Set 2
That's Crafty! Multi-Surface Paint Antique Gold 
PaperArtsy Infusions Raspberry, Blackcurrant
Sharpie Medium Point White Poster Paint Marker 
Sponge Applicator Brushes (That's Crafty! stock HERE)
Memento Ink Pad Tuxedo Black
Grungepaste
Mister Bottle 
Gesso
Gel Medium
Willow Circle x 2
Sandra Evertson Relics & Artifacts Milagros
Sandra Evertson Relics & Artifacts Velveteen Flower
Re-cycled Corrugated Cardboard
Found/Vintage Papers and Lace



Instructions

I prefer to assemble the Shrine first, then apply Gesso with sponge applicator brush. Apply Gesso to a bundle of greyboard butterflies - select various sizes including a larger one which will become the wings on the Relics & Artifact.

Next, sprinkle Infusions onto the shrine and butterflies and generously mist with water. Use excess Infusions stain which will run off the shrine and butterflies by collecting it onto pieces of lace, found papers including piece of re-cycled corrugated cardboard and the Velveteen Flowers. Leave all to dry.
Once dry, adhere the torn corrugated cardboard into recess of shrine.

Partially ink up Affirmation from Set 2, onto found paper, adhering to upper element of arch, layered with torn pieces of stained laces.

Wishes
Lynne

Hi everyone,

Donna here today with a tag featuring Ella and some Mermaid Markers.

Hello everyone, it's Fliss here today with a rather steampunk flavoured mixed media creation as I haven't done anything like that for ages and felt like a revisit. Hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed creating this.

I first painted my panel, applying multi surface paints in shades of blue with white using a brayer. I then stamped on the gorgeous crackled riveted metal texture stamp with potting soil archival ink for an all over pattern. I felt it needed something else so I sprinkled on golden sands infusions powder and misted with water, allowing it to run down the panel.


My next step was to select some greyboard elements and I chose steampunk themed cogs, gears, rivets etc together with a clock and some dragonflies. I placed them all on a sheet of scrap paper and added a selection of multi surface and shimmer paints to a plate, applying the paint with my fingers until I was happy with the effect. Messy, but great fun! I also coloured a piece of fabulous textured waffle packaging material given to me by one of my daughters - they know me so well!


Once everything was painted, I assembled my panel as you see, tearing up the painted packaging and gluing this on first. The remaining elements were all placed on as I wanted and glued on once I was happy with the arrangement. My finishing touch was the handwritten tile which was a scrap of mixed media paper with the text written by yours truly with a metallic marker and coloured with diluted leftover paint.


Supplies:

That's Crafty! Surfaces - White/Greyboard Panel 4.5 x 9
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set - Textures Collection Set 4
That's Crafty! Bits & Pieces Greyboard Sheets - Butterflies & Dragonflies, Clocks & Cogs Set
That's Crafty! Multi Surface Paints - Ocean, Teal, White, Bronze, Black
That's Crafty! Shimmer Paints - Charcoal, Dark Blue, Purple, Turquoise
That's Crafty! Metallic Paints - Copper, Antique Gold
Paper Artsy Infusions - Golden Sands
Brayer
Water Mister
Extras - Scrap of mixed media paper, Scrap of waffle textured packaging material

We are delighted to announce that we are now stocking the fabulous Studio Magda Polakow stamps. 

These stamps are fantastic quality, made from deeply etched red rubber and are designed by the very talented Magda Polakow.

Hello
This week I thought I would share a paper doll made with Character Constructions stamps.
She holds a positive message in her hands but I will be honest, there was a reason behind some of the supplies used on this paperdoll.  Like so many others, I have a few Tim Holtz Idea-ology items but mine gather dust!  I never did succumb to the Idea-ology spell, only a few items caught my eye at the time.  Tissue Wrap and Word Bands were such items, it was time to make use of them.

(Remember - Laura will special order any Character Constructions stamps that are not in stock on the That's Crafty! site.  Simply email with your request)

Supplies

Character Constructions Clear Stamp Set Paris Flea No. 4 (head and upper body)
Character Constructions Clear Stamp Set Paris No. 3 (skirt element)
Character Constructions Clear Stamp Set Paris Flea No. 2  (beret)
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black 
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Word Bands
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tissue Wrap
Gesso
Matte Gel Medium
Cardstock (for stability)
Scissors (Fine pointed scissors are an advantage such as this set from Kaisercraft)
Foam Brush/Sponge Applicator
Speedball Brayer
Baby Wipes
UHU Glue Stick/Tombow
Various Scraps of Ribbon, Twine and Buttons (Black and White)

Note - I used legs from a Character Constructions set I own but they could be substituted with legs from Paris Flea No. 8 or Cirque No. 3

Instructions

I am sure, if you ask different people who adore making stamped paperdolls, they will all have their own preferred approach for stamping, fussy cutting and assembling.  This approach is the one that best suits me, using the supplies that I've chosen but you will find your own preferred method.

First, apply white Gesso to the Tissue Wrap. I like to apply the Gesso first with a sponge applicator then blending with a baby wipe. This allows for a diffused appearance, allowing the text to peek through yet not to be too intrusive to the finished paper doll.  Leave to dry thoroughly.

Stamp the various paperdoll elements required.  For this paperdoll I stamped a beret, head with upper torso and arms, skirt/crinoline and two legs.  When stamping the elements try to pay attention to the text of the Tissue Wrap, I allowed the skirt/crinoline to be stamped onto an area where the text was relatively bold as I knew it would add to this stamped element and not be too overpowering which it would have been if I had stamped her face onto this section of text.


To create stability for the stamped elements, roughly cut around each stamped element and adhere to cardstock. A paperdoll such as this, you can see she is made from various components so when adhering them, at the rear there will be overlaps. You can use white cardstock and on completion of the assembled paperdoll,  paint the rear with black Gesso or as I do, adhere to black cardstock which  eliminates the need for black Gesso. When I want to write a personalised message I use a white Sharpie paint pen.

A UHU stick is quite successful for adhering the Tissue Wrap to chosen cardstock. Use a brayer to ensure good adhesion and remove any air bubbles. Leave to dry before fussy cutting each stamped element. This is when fine detail scissors makes the work so much easier!


Once all the stamped elements are fussy cut, play around with placement before adhering (when assembling the dolls I use Gel Medium to adhere. For me, UHU glue stick isn't suitable for this stage not if you want your paperdolls to withstand being handled). It's amazing how placement can alter the personality of a paper doll.  For this doll, I decided on a black and white colour palette so I gathered scraps of ribbon, lace, twine and a spotted button and layered the Word Band to lace so that it wouldn't appear too harsh and also, it made it appear more banner-like, if you catch my drift!


Paperdolls are a wonderful way to utilize scraps of this 'n'that, even the smallest fragment can bring a dash of interest, such as the ribbon which I cut to layer behind the spotty button, it suddenly brought more interest to the button.

If starting out to collect Character Constructions stamps my advice would be, don't dismiss legs and arms! With so many collections it is easy to solely focus on Catherine Moore's beautifully illustrated faces and also dresses. It is also useful, in the early days to pick a stamp set which has a few elements on it for you to play around with.

Until next time,
Wishes
Lynne

Hi everyone,

It's Donna here today showcasing one of the Donna's Girls stamps I designed for That's Crafty! please meet the very lovely Amelie ;)



What I did:

I used a large white/greyboard panel for this which already has the hanging holes added for your convenience. I then set about adding the colours using a mixture of green, purple and blue multi surface paints with a brayer, which gives a lovely random effect.

Once that was dry I used one of the fab new That's Crafty! stencils with the Light Texture Paste to make a 'frame' around the images I was going to add to the middle. Once that was dry I added a little colour to it using some Gelatos as I only wanted a very light colouring.

I then stamped Amelie, the flaming heart and the crown onto a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper with black Archival ink and coloured in with a mixture of Distress Markers then fussy cut them out and adhered to the panel.

I then stamped directly onto the panel using another stamp from the Amelie set and also one from the Cara set (the leaf) which I also coloured in with a white Posca pen for a little pop of white.

For a finishing touch I added a sentiment from Tim Holtz and also added a piece of Bakers Twine to hang the panel with.

I really hope you all enjoyed meeting Amelie as much as I enjoyed creating her ;)

Supplies Used:

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Sets - Donna' Girls Collection (Amelie and Cara)
That's Crafty! Surfaces White/Greyboard Panels
That's Crafty! - Light Texture Paste
That's Crafty! - Daisy Frame Stencil
That's Crafty! - Multi Surface Paints
Distress Markers
White Posca Pen
Tim Holtz Clippings Stickers
Gelatos
Strathmore Mixed Media Paper Pad
Black Archival Ink Pad

Hope you like it
Donna x

Hello, I hope that you caught the news of our new stamp launch with some gorgeous designs by Donna and Melina but if you missed it, click HERE to see what you missed.

I have something a bit different to share this week as when I saw the beautiful new Lana stencil, I immediately thought of fairytales and this is why she ended up in an enchanted wood setting. Read on to find out how I did this.

I first painted my panel with the multi surface paints, using 2 shades of green and yellow, applying the colour in rough vertical stripes.

I then decided on the placement of my wood nymph, and carefully stencilled on the outlines using chestnut brown paint. I painted her with shades of peach (orange mixed with white and yellow), gold and bronze, using a darker shade for her lips and painting her eye with white and blue. I added dots to the iris with a white paint pen.

I then used just the top of the new mini tree stencil to create tangled branches around the edges with chestnut brown and bronze paint. Layering them up really does look like briars.

I used the enchanted Dinky stencil to add my text with chestnut brown and as a final touch, used the floral background Dinky stencil to add a little pattern to my wood nymph's face with gold paint.

Products Used:

That's Crafty! Surfaces White/Greyboard Rounded Corner 8 x 8 Panel
That's Crafty! 6.5 x 7.5 Stencil - Lana
That's Crafty! Mini Stencil - Tree
That's Crafty! Dinky Stencils - Enchantment, Floral Background
That's Crafty! Multi Surface Paints - Bronze, Chestnut Brown, Evergreen, Green, Metallic Gold, Orange, White, Yellow
Sharpie White Paint Pen

Have a great weekend and see you next week.

Fliss x

Yesterday saw the launch of the fabulous new stamp releases from Melina Dahl and Donna Gray. We had a brilliant video from Melina yesterday and Dorthe will be with us tomorrow showcasing Donna's new stamps.