Hello!

I hope you caught the Hochanda shows on Monday with Jo showcasing the absolutely gorgeous new stamp designs from Melina together with fabulous new stencils and substrates. You might just have spotted this piece of artwork on the set and in actual fact this is double sided but you'll have to wait until next week to see the other side.

Step by Step:

This is actually easier to create than you might think and the first thing I did was the background starting off by stencilling with the new 6 x 6 abstract stencil, using bright blue which you need to do twice to cover the whole panel, then moving the stencil over a little and topping with teal multi surface paint. That way you get just a few bits of the original brown of the MDF peeking through.

I then took the gorgeous new ferns stencil (my favourite) and placed it on the right hand side, stencilling with the 3D holographic gel. You don't need to be that careful with this as it dries clear with a lovely sparkle whether the surface is even or not. You'll see just a peek on the photo below so that you can get the idea.


I then set about creating my tree which I did by using the 6.5 x 7.5 tree bark stencil, stencilling it twice on an A4 sheet of mixed media paper with light texture paste. Once the paste was dry, I painted the bark with a mix of chestnut brown, grey, charcoal shimmer and antique gold metallic paint to gain a realistic look.


There are 4 shown above but I was able to get 6 from the stencilling and it was quite easy to create tree like structures as you could cut down where the knotty areas were and shape round where the bark ran to get the shapes.

I next created my fern leaves which were made by stamping the Into The Forest image on paper that had been sprayed with flat matte and lustre prays in shades of green, ochre and walnut. I stamped the whole image which is a plate including the words as it meant I could cut the elements out to use as I wanted.


I stamped several of the flower images (from the Bubbles and Flowers plate) on white smooth cartridge paper which black pigment ink and heat embossed them with clear powder. I coloured he images with Zig Clean Color Brush Markers and cut out just the flowers and stalks.


I painted the base with evergreen multi surface paint and stencilled it with the new abstract chevrons stencil and the 3D holographic gel - now my most favorite medium from That's Crafty!

I painted the tree and all of the stamped elements with 3D gloss gel which dries clear and gave them all a lovely sheen. I arranged the elements on the panel before gluing them in place in order to check I was happy with the arrangement. I finished off with a stamped and coloured bird for a truly tropical feel then glued the top to the base. I glued the Go Where You Feel Most Alive text to the base to complete this side.


Supplies:

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set - Bubbles and Flowers by Melina Dahl
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set - Into The Forest by Melina Dahl
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set - Fanciful Flowers Set 2 by Fliss Goodwin
That's Crafty! 6 x 6ins Stencil - TC60030 Abstract
That's Crafty! 6 x 6ins Stencil - TC60031 Abstract Chevrons
That's Crafty! 6 x 6ins Stencil - TC60028 Ferns
That's Crafty! 6.5 x 7.5ins Stencil - TC7023 Tree Bark
That's Crafty! MDF Surfaces - Large Rectangular Upright (from a pack of 4 mixed)
That's Crafty! 3D Holographic Gel
That's Crafty! 3D Gloss Gel
That's Crafty! Multi Surface Paints - Chestnut Brown, Evergreen, Grey, Teal
That's Crafty! Flat Matte Sprays
That's Crafty! Lustre Sprays
That's Crafty! Shimmer Paint - Charcoal
That's Crafty! Metallic Paint - Antique GoldVersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink
WOW! Clear Embossing Powder 
Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers
Smooth White Cartridge Paper