Happy Monday That's Crafty! Creatives. After watching a tribute band this weekend I was inspired by one of the songs to create this little card using the Magician stamp from the Katzelkraft Sherlock Holmes set.

I started by stamping the image with Versafine Clair - Nocturne 3 times onto white card, as I wanted to layer the magician. To add colour to the little character I wiped Distress Oxide inks on a glass mat and used a thin paint brush with a little water to colour in. For the face I used Victorian Velvet, for the top hat Black Soot, and the clothes Uncharted Mariner, Candied Apple and Lucky Clover. (I had used Mustard Seed on one layer, but preferred the Lucky Clover as the top body layer.

For the background I wanted something quick, so got out my 3" x 5" Gel Press plate. I wiped the Uncharted Mariner and Lucky Clover Distress Oxides onto the plate and blended with my roller. I then applied Candied Apple Distress Oxide through That's Crafty! Dinky Star Shower stencil. I pulled a print from that, then applied more of the Candied Apple and Uncharted Mariner through the stencil. 

I cut the print to leave a small white border and drew 2 scribbly frames with a Posca Extra Fine black pen.

I edged the print with the Candied Apple and mounted onto a white folded card. Finally I added my magician and rabbit in a hat, and a hand written sentiment and mounted with foam pads. 

Then I thought I'd use a stencil and add more of the yellow. The paint was still wet between layers so the stencil left a great pattern in the white paint.

Then just stamp the eye onto a Craftyboard circle, colour in and layer onto a magenta painted circle.

 

Hello!

This week I have a collage to share that came about in a flash (unusually for me too!) as I was really short on time. In need of a crafty fix, my stash of collage papers designed by Melina Dahl came to the rescue. These are so versatile even little bits can be used on other projects.

My chosen substrate is an MDF Chunkie, the 4 x 6ins size which I assembled first before creating mt collage.

Once all glued together, I covered the front with a piece of the collage paper. As you can see, it makes a perfect background with all the work done for you.

I then set about adding some layers, choosing a co-ordinating scrap to tear out a circle echoing the one already on the background. I used a circle die as a guide for tearing the circle from the paper.

I inked the edges of the paper with black to make the circle stand out more.

I then cut out a leafy sprig from another scrap to add to the collage.

I stamped a butterfly on smooth stamping card with black ink and coloured the image with toning watercolour markers, then cut the image out.

I cut a floral spray from one of my other scraps to add to the collage.

I assembled the embellishments and then glued all the layers in place, finishing with text cut from another scrap and happily toning in with the rest of the elements. 

Have a great weekend and see you next week with aother part of my kraft card experimentation.

Sometimes the kit and a few choice products is all you need - I know coming from the girl who adds lots of layers to everything this may come as a bit of a surprise but really clean and simple is definitely sometimes the way to go.

I took the Farol house kit and laid out the pieces so i knew which side was going to be inside the building once it had been made up and then used the Daily Art Gilding Set so that inside had a reflective surface that my lights could bounce off. I started by painting the inside with the black gesso in the kit, added a layer of the glue from the kit and then chose the gold gilding flakes as I had warm white rice lights. You could use Pentart black primer paste, metal leaf glue and any other gilding flake you have to do this but the kit really does make it very simple.

Having decorated the inside with the flakes I constructed the walls and roof of the house - the eagle eyed will notice that I did not make it up in the same way as the packaging picture - the joys of receiving prototypes with no instructions! - so the piece that is pictured at the top of the building front was used by me to add to the apex of the roof, it sits there very nicely and gives a good alternative way of making up the building.

The walls of the house were covered with Structure Paste so that the house has a faux pebble dash surface. The windows and roof were then given a coat of Anthracite Deluxe Paste which gives them an almost ironwork like surface before adding them over the cut out areas of the house walls. The step made from three pieces of MDF which layer on top of each other was painted the same way and added beneath the door.

At the back of the house is a small circular aperture - I fed my string of rice lights through this before securing its on/off switch to the outside back of the house before then adding the house to the base also painted with the deluxe paste. Finally I added the lamppost from the kit.

I appreciate that I am a lucky girl and had all three variants of the house which were decorated slightly differently. The Amsterdam with its shaped roof which has the silver gilding flakes inside and cool white rice lights and also the Flores which has been made up with the two pieces for highlighting the floral cut out element on the front stacked together and used on the roof line.

I hope you like the idea of using the gilding flakes as a reflective surface as I really do think it helps the light projection from the building especially at night.

Happy Monday That's Crafty Creatives!

For today's project I'm using one of AALL & Create's new set of stamps Forget Me Not by Tracy Evans and a large That's Crafty! MDF Tag.

For the focal point, I stamped the daisy image again onto white card. I added some of the watered down Ocean paint around the edges of the main elements of the image then tore around it. I glued 2 layers of scrap card underneath to add depth, then glued this to my tag.  

For the finishing touches I added a daisy from my stash, and some blue string threaded through the top hole. I finished by adding That's Crafty! Metallic Gold Multi Surface Paint randomly around the tag, the centre of my flower and on the centre of the stamped daisy. 

I really enjoyed creating this grungy tag, and love the colour combo of the purple, ocean blue and metallic gold paints.