Thursday 30 July 2015

ATB Art Doll! By Trish

Hello!

Have you seen the cubes?! They are quite simply FABULOUS! Couldn't wait to get started with them, so here is creation number 1 of probably lots....


(These things are a pain to photograph though!!)
Maybe this angle will show off the cube-ness better...


These cubes are perfect for creating ATBs...Artist Trading Blocks. The possibilities are endless, from the very complex creations to something a little simpler, like my creation today.

Once I had glued the cube together, (this is a 3" cube), I glued a square of black cardstock onto each side. I then created a masterboard, smearing paint over an A4 sized bit of card. After a bit of stencilling, stamping and a bit of splattering , I cut the card into 5 squares (no need for one on the bottom!)

Each square was then fixed to a side of the cube..


I created my art doll by paper piecing stamped images and a cut out dress shape, then fixed it to the front of the cube..


She has a crown made from wire and crystals..


As I said, this is a 3" cube.... I can't wait to show you what I've made with the whole range of sizes.. and apertures!

All the cubes can be found in the shop HERE!

Have a fab day,
Trish xxx


Sunday 26 July 2015

Shabby Grunge and crackle by Astrid

Hi everyone and thanks for dropping in. Astrid here to share a project with you today.


A shabby, grungy wall plaque, using the fabulous Craft Parts of course.

I started with an 8 x 8"  (200mm x 200mm )sized Mixed Media Grey Board to which I attached a piece of corrugated card.


These boards have become my favourite substrates as they are so sturdy and can withstand any amount of media thrown at them.

I covered the card with Gesso and when that had dried applied crackle paste with a palette knife.


Colour was added with various acrylic paints but I left the centre as that was going to be covered anyway.

Next I selected my chosen Craft Parts and altered them to suite my project.


Here you can see some of them: I used a couple of Heartshaped Keys, made to look rusty with the help of Sand Paste and acrylic paints, some wings from the Wings Style 1 and a crown from the Wood Crowns Style 2. I gave them a patina colour with the help of a Gelato. I also used the word Dream from the Ancestry Style Word Font.

Next I created a small plaque to form the focal point for my project. and adhered my chosen Craft Parts to that.


I adhered the smaller panel onto the larger one with foam tape and then added 4 of the gorgeous Fleur de Lis Corner Wood Shapes to finish my project:


Here are a few close ups still:

Subtle crackle was added for a shabby look.

A few little pearls were added to the crown.

And here the final plaque.
I love how these Craft Parts can be altered in so many different ways, or indeed be left just as they come as I have done with the corner flourishes.

Thank you for visiting like always and I hope you like my project.
Have a fantastic week

Friday 24 July 2015

Life on Kepler 452b: By Zuzu

So I got some of those fantastic new Artist trading Block style cubes from the shop and have been itching to use them. As I had a nice selection and not all the same, I decided to do a stack.
I have also been watching the discoveries of Kepler and this wonderful new planet Kepler 452b that is being dubbed "Earth 2.0".
My stack shows what life on Kepler 452b looks like. Its covered in peaceful, gentle and loving, star gazing hares (If only).

I used Decoart crackle paste on the large cube (here is a close up as its hard to tell from my "rainy day photos".)
I poked some holes in the roof of it and jabbed the Craft Part stars into them. secured with some wood glue.
The grass is another book page (painted with translucent white media fluid.) folded in an accordion/concertina style fan and snipped along the edges.
The middle cube was covered in book pages. I found the pages to be a bit too aged and yellow for the look I wanted so I used DecoArt media fluid translucent white on them. it whitens the paper but lets the text shine through. I could have used a very watered down white but that would have weakened the integrity of the paper and could well have resulted in tears and worn bits.
And lastly, the top cube was painted with crackle paint and has a wee star inside and a crown to reflect the imagery of the crowns the hares are wearing, tops the stack off nicely.
Thanks for stopping by.
Z x

Calico Craft Parts used:

ATB cube kit Square aperture Large
ATB cube kit plain cube Medium

ATB cube kit Arch aperture small
sheet of mini stars
sheet of mini alphabet letters (I am using old stock so may differ slightly from the new stock)

Wednesday 22 July 2015

Treat Me As you Would The Queen - by Lesley

Hey people, Lesley here with a canvas this week. I used one of the flamingo bird shapes. How i have managed to miss these until now is a mystery! They come in two sizes.......if you're going to order one, i have one word for you......MEASURE! I didn't, and they are bigger than i thought!


I started by giving the canvas a coat of gesso, and i then i randomly splodged on some Decoart black paint. Using a few different coloured gelato's, i scribbled them on......blending them with my finger as i went along. 

My twins are always asking me why i don't have my name on my work like they do at school........so i drew my nickname Lelly with white gelato on the background. You can just about make it out!! It kept them happy!!


The flamingo was painted black and then a layer of Decoart crackle glaze with antiquing cream rubbed into the cracks. I gave the birdie a wee crown to finish her off.


Using Decoart triple gloss and a stencil and spatula, i added some texture to the canvas in random places. Once dry, i went over the top with some gelato colours. I then added some strips of washi and fabric tapes.

I painted the mini plaques, and stamped the wording on. The little words were just stamped onto scraps of canvas. 


I love these flamingoes........reminds me of the TV programme Miami Vice! Do you remember that? Or am i getting old? ;)

Thanks for reading.
L.x

Ingredients used.



Sunday 19 July 2015

Brocanterie Window - by Alison

Hello everyone, it's Alison here again from Words and Pictures, and today I've got a little antique shop window to share with you.  Well, it's more of a Brocanterie really.  Brocantes is such a useful French word - somewhere between antiques and flea-market finds... not as upmarket as antiques, but nicer than thinking about fleas!


I used one of the fantastic Shrine Kits to create my shop window.  I hope you saw Trish's fantastic Keeper of Hearts last week using one of the medium sized Display Kits... well, this is the same simple arch design, Style 2, but in the smallest size (this one is 12x7x3cm).  And if you want to go large with your project, you can choose one of the Cubby Kits.  Several of my fantastic team-mates have been playing with the various kits, and you can see just how versatile they are from how different all the creations are!


The kits come in pieces, but assembly is pretty straightforward.


If you want to cover the pieces with design papers, that's best done before you glue the thing together.  I wanted papers for the inside of my shadow box, so I glued those down, taking care to get them on the right side of each piece.


You also want to avoid papering the "teeth of the combs" along the edges - those are going to slot into each other, so you don't want the extra thickness of the paper in the way.


Once that was done, I glued together the walls and the back, but left the front cover off for the time being.


I painted the exterior with layers of DecoArt paint and crackle mediums, starting with the Chalk paints line, adding some Media Line crackle paint over those, a coat of Ultra Matte Varnish to seal it (so that the precious crackle won't flake off), and then some Raw Umber to add shading around the edges and corners.


I also added a wash of chalky white to the interior walls, and some Raw Umber shading to darken the corners of my dusty little antique shop.


The kits also come with little circular feet.  You don't have to put them on at all if you don't want to, and you also have some leeway as to how long you make the legs.  I did a two layer version, then just glued the little circles to the bottom of the shrine to raise it a little way.


For the inside I gathered a motley little collection.  Against the back wall you can see the gorgeous Calico Craft Parts Candelabra (strictly that's probably one candelabrum!).  This is Candelabra Style 1 out of a whole collection of Chandeliers and Candelabra - well worth checking out.


And mounted on the wall there's also one of the delicious Mini Butterfly Wood Shapes, which has had a coat of DecoArt Crackle Paint.


I also used crackle glaze and paint on the little china doll, and filled a glass vial with tiny copper beads cut from a bead chain.  There are some other metal bits and bobs if you rummage around - old keys, bulbs and pocket watches, as well as some wooden bobbins and an antique picture frame.  Looks like a bargain... snap it up while you can!


I altered my Word Band with DecoArt paints in Raw Umber and Red Iron Oxide as well as some granules of embossing powder for a rusty texture, and it's bound on with good old rusty wire.


I hope you've enjoyed browsing amongst the remnants in the brocanterie - it's always great to hear what you think.  If you'd like to have a play with any of the Calico Craft Parts I've mentioned you can click on the links in the text to go straight there.  In the meantime I'll wish you a wonderful week, and I'll see you again soon.

Alison xx

Thursday 16 July 2015

Keeper of Hearts by Trish

Hello!
Today I want to share a larger project, made using one of the fabulous 'display' kits. Bigger than the shrine kits, these are wonderful for creating larger scenes and ....er... displays (which is why they're called display kits, obviously!!)

I've called it 'Keeper of Hearts'....


This is display kit 2, and looks like this before it's decorated:

(In case you were wondering, this is a bit of a size comparison so you can see... this is the 'middle sized' kit... there is an even bigger option!)


I gessoed the whole thing, then painted it with green, blue and white paint. I then did a little stamping onto tissue, and Mod Podged the tissue to give the background details..


My figure has wings, and is residing behind some gates.... keeping her in, or keeping you out? You decide....


Surrounding her are lots of hearts... has she stolen them, or taking care of them until needed?


The final touch is spool 'feet'. Feet do come with the kit, but I wanted to raise the height even more with this project...


I hope you like her... I think of her as a keeper... looking after the hearts rather than stealing them away....


See you soon,
Trish xxxx

Calico Craft parts used:

Display kit 2
Wings
Hearts
Fence panel (60 x 90) (x 2)

Sunday 12 July 2015

Journal Queen by Astrid

Hello lovely visitors and thanks for dropping by here!! Astrid here today to share a project with you.

Like many of us, I love art journalling and my project  is one day going to become the cover of a journal.....


I used two different Mixed Media Grey Board Blanks. The base is the Door Shaped Grey Board, - the inner layer is an Arch Shaped Grey Board.

I started with the outer layer:

I added a thinnish layer of decoart texture past around the edges and while still wet, stamped into it with a text stamp. I then covered it with a thick layer of decoart black gesso.


As you can see, the text is not particularly clear but it does add extra texture.


Next colour was added with various decoart acrylic paints, I kept changing my mind but in the end landed up with a patina colour the match the paper I wanted to use as the background to my arch shape.


Here you can see how the colour helps to bring out the texture a bit more.


The arch shaped panel was created with the help of stamps, paints, a vintage photo and some scraps of a paper serviette.


The word Journal was added, from the Olde English Create your Own Word  MDF Wood Font
And finally I finished it by adding three of the Art Deco Ornament Wood Shapes, I used Style 6, but there are many different styles available.

I am going to use another arch shape as the template for my journal pages and another door shape for the back cover, and will probably show you those at some point on my own blog.

Meanwhile thank you for visiting today and see you next time!

Have a creative week