I spotted the latest Paperartsy challenge Kraft Card weeks ago but then I was away from my desk all week ill and frustrated. Today I'm delighted to get back to my studio and play with lots of layers all in Kraft. I have been meaning to get out my dies for a while and Had great fun with them this morning.
This card is made entirely in Kraft card with corrugated card flower centers. I have used lots of different Paperartsy and Lynne Perrella stamps on the flowers which are cut from Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Bigz die. The greenery is cut from Tim Holtz Garden Greens Bigz die and all the elements are stamped with archival ink then smooched in distress ink and finished with some Queens gold embossing powder.
The card base is mounted on a Kraft card. The sentiment is from an old Crafty Secrets stamp set Garden Girl. Thanks for looking.
Paperartsy Challenge #7. 2018 Kraft Card Paperartsy Challenge #7 2018
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is Flower Power so I will link it there too.SSS:
I mentioned I had been in a public studio for the last few years, during my blog void! This is one of the projects I kept from that time. I am fascinated by old photographs, snapshots and cabinet cards. I have a collection of old studio photographs, none of them are very collectable but I cannot bring myself to use the originals. They seem so irreplaceable. I am however a terrible hoarder and realize they are unseen and unused and I want them to be used.
These more formal studio portraits were called Cabinet cards. I have placed this cabinet card along with objects and ephemera to create a story for this lady at her highly fringed armrest. The photo remains intact but she is surrounded by an imaginary life. The coral, starfish and tiny shells are real. More hording from walks as far back as our honeymoon 25 years ago. The side of the frame has a collage of vintage sea shell illustrations.
This lady seems nervous but wiry and energetic, I imagine her gathering seashells and seaweed specimens and struggling to sit still for the long exposure time of the portrait.
Ive been wondering about challenges this week. I started couple recently that I was not happy with. Making a card or project that is not going where you want it to is very time consuming and frustrating. Perhaps I am a bit of a perfectionist or maybe a control freak? Having abandoned two cards I started another challenge. This time it is colour based and I used a new stamp I wanted to try out. Happy to say it worked out this time.
On reflection I think that the benefit of challenges is in reaching out and connecting with other crafters. The most rewarding aspect is the connection it creates through visiting and commenting on each others blogs or projects. One of the joys of blogging is this connection with the artists and designers across the globe. I was looking at my stats and discovered a significant number of Portuguese visitors. So hello to any Portuguese visitors today, welcome! and welcome to all the Americans, French and many other nationalities please say hi and leave me a trail to your blog.
The challenge I am going for is Mixed Media Monthly Challenge # 47 using Split-complementary colours Orange and the two colours adjacent to its opposite on the colour wheel: blue green and blue violet. Sounds complicated but if you check out the link it is made clearer. It was a colour combination I would not usually have used but I stuck to my happy place with distress ink water and lovely stamps. I also used Paperartsy grunge paste applied through a stencil and some Renaissance Treasure Gold. I am not entirely sure the violet is blue enough, but its distress so its always an adventure!
Stamps used:
Sweetbriar, a wood mounted stamp by Lynne Perrella from Stampington & Company. (I bought mine at Blade Rubber Stamp shop in London)
The stamp used to add a leafy 'collar' is from Lynne Perrella collection 036
I made lots of these sets of picture blocks for gifts over the last few years but these ones were made for myself. Like lots of the things I make they are nearly always given away. I am going to try and make more things that can decorate our own house this year.
These are like children's puzzle blocks they look great and use up those lovely scraps of paper. Each side gives you a chance to really appreciate the detail on papers. These blocks use paper from Le Cirque paper an old Graphic 45 collection. They look great as complete pictures or randomly arranged, the trapeze lady is my favorite side.
The blocks are recycled from old chair legs by my husband and the edges are finished with Tim Holtz crackle paint in antique linen. I have a few old tubs I am trying to use up before they go completely solid. These blocks are a favorite with all my visiting nephews and nieces.
Another card for another SSS challenge, this time the theme was Texture. I used Kaisercraft paper and scraps of old book paper. I coloured some Paperartsy Grunge paste with shabby shutters distress reinker and used a Tim Holtz stencil to create some subtle textured pattern on the paper. I stamped onto the book paper and colored in the images with distress pens and speckled everything with fossilized amber distress ink.
It is hard to see the text in the photograph as it is stamped and embossed with Queens gold antiquities embossing powder. I also used this to edge the paper before mounting it on a kraftcard base.
This album was made for my neice who was "glamping" for her hen night. The album was intended to hold photos of the weekend and the wedding but also has lots of fun ephemera for the girls entertainment. My neice loves fairies, Celtic mythology, mushrooms, seashells and all things mystical so I tried to include lots of these elements in the album. The paper is from old collections in my stash including, Prima Fairy Belle, Nature Garden and Bo Bunny Gabrielle. I loved these papers so much they could only be used for somthing very special. I have a video and also photos of pages before they were added to the binding.
The cover is a hidden hinge case binding. I used coloured cardstock to make each pocket page then covered them in patterened paper. Each page has a top opening pocket fastened with policy envelope style washers and thread. The flap of each pocket is shaped with a Tim Holtz on the edge die. Inside each pocket is a large photo mat cut with a Spellbinder Grand Nestibilities die.
This page used paper from Primas Nature Garden collection. The pocket at the bottom on each side features gorgeous vintage mushroom illustrations printed out on my computer and then fussy cut and mounted on card. I have used some vintage stamps, cigarette cards and one of my own fairies made on Photoshop, printed and decorated with stickle glitter wings. The tags are cut from patterned paper and distress inked. Some of the tags have seam binding dyed with distress re-inker to match the colours of the paper. This page also had a set of vintage cigarette cards with hand shadow puppet instructions for the girls to try out in their tents.
This page is one of my favourites. I fussy cut the ballerina fairy from the paper and used as a bellyband to hold more ephemera including another cigarette card with pretty seashells. I love these collectable cards and use them a lot in my projects they are very easy to find on eBay and have lovely vintage illustrations and cover lots of different themes. I have scanned in some of them to reprint for other projects. This bride is perfect for a wedding theme. The little pocket envelope has a paper doll that is fussy cut and stowed away inside with her clothes. These are held in place with a tab cut using a spellbinders die.
This page uses my all time favourite paper I love this page the little lanterns made a perfect edge for the pocket and with some stickles it is totally magical. The pocket has a small book was made with pearl green cardstock and stamped with a background stamp in Versa Magic Jumbo Java chalk ink. (Even the ink is magic!) There is another paper doll and a cigarette card with a fairy maiden illustration. The other page has a magical moon face which forms a tuck spot for more tags and ephemera including a lovely Victorian bride whose head you can just see popping up. Both of these pages have the pocket opening on the other side.
This page has more mushrooms forming the fussy cut corner pocket also tags and another fairy. This one is a little sad looking but I used her as she looks just like my niece at that age. The next page has the moon face again and another bridal paper doll in an envelope and a graphic 45 snippet of paper with her romantic heart.
This page has Mr moon again and an envelope made from some Melissa Frances paper. I held on to this 6x6 paper for so long but the colours and whimsical fairy and nursery rhyme illustrations were perfect in this album. I used a Martha Stewart punch to edge the envelope flap and a cream brad and swing fastener.The right-hand page has a corner pocket. The angel was printed out and fussy cut. I love the colour of this page and the bird on the cigarette card matched the paper perfectly.
This is just some of the ephemera form the album. I used lots of brides, fairies and things from nature. My niece had a great time on her hen weekend and loved the album; her favourite element was the Alice fairy I made with Photoshop, (the one with purple and blue sparkling wings and hair wreath).
I was away for the weekend and missing crafting so Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge was a good incentive to spend the evening at my desk.
I made a background with distress inks in squeezed lemonade and mowed lawn distress ink then added some peeled paint round the edges. I finished off using dylusions leaf flourish stencil with peeled paint and mowed lawn distress ink and stamped text in leaf green archival ink. I die cut the Happy birthday and a Tim Holtz detailed butterfly in black card stock then coloured the background for the butterfly in orange and yellow distress ink. its mounted on a black card base.
I am entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Happy birthday
This is another catch up post. I made this for my Valentine last year instead of a card. It is made from plain red card stock. I love making tiny houses they give me an opportunity to use lots of small detailed stamps on all four sides and the roof. Most of these are Jill Tweedy stamps from her valentine set.
I used the Brenda Walton Country Cottage 3D die from Sizzix. This is quite an old die out before the tin Holtz dwellings were released.
These wooden ikea drawers have been needing decorated for ages. I used a mix of Tim Holtz Wallflower and Prima paper from my stash. Funny now they are done I wonder why I waited so long they look so much better now. Still I do have two more sets so that will be 2022 I should be done!
Mass production line of little birds for a fair. My husband cut out the wooden shapes from a template I made. The feet are twisted wire and then I used lots of scraps of patterned paper.
Happy Easter wishes enjoy the chocolate feasting.
This is a real birds nest found abandoned this winter in our hedge. I have made these tiny eggs from pound shop white eggs collaged with tissue paper that I have stamped onto.
