Coaster {with Hot Picks stamps by Helen Chilton}

Hi everyone Helen here. As it's February I thought I'd make something quick and easy that you could make for Valentines Day. It uses a normal small tile that's been painted. You don't have to use StazOn inks but you do need to use permanent ink-pads as you're going to glaze it at the end. I've used coloured pencils as I like the textured effect they give over the paint.

Take a small tile coaster, either glossy or matte, and paint with Snowflake and Stone Fresco paints. Then, once dry, stamp the car from Hot Pick 1106 straight on top in StazOn black.

Cut a scrap of paper to the same size as the tile and cut out a heart for a mask - keep both parts of the mask. Stamp the car again onto scrap paper, cut this out and use it to protect the car image on the tile as a mask. Lay the heart aperture that you created over the masked off car and stamp the  map background from Hot Pick Xtra 01 using  Teal Blue and Cactus Green StazOn

You now have a heart shaped map 'behind' the car. now use the heart shape mask to protect the heart map zone, leave the car mask still in position too, and now stamp text all around the heart shape.

Remove the masks, add some corner stamping with gears/ cogs and then outline the heart zone with a permanent black pen.

To add a pop of colour use some coloured pencils (not watercolour ones though) and add highlights with Snowflake paint: The pencils will work well over the paint as the chalky finish of Fresco paint creates a good 'tooth' on the surface of the tile. For focus, leave the heart zone un-coloured, and add depth to the outer text area, and do the car in a contrasting colour.

Finally  seal with a coat or two of Satin Glaze sponged over and cover the back of the tile with a square of felt. If you want to make this into a wall hanging instead of a coaster, just add the hanging fixings to the felt backing.

See you again soon. 

Helen

A huge thank you to Helen from PaperArtsy HQ. What a fantastic gift for Valentines day, practical, colourful and just a nod to romance with the background heart. That is such a neat technique for adding layers and melding images together. 

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guests who have blogged since Sunday night, then join in to link up your creativity HERE you will go in the draw to win PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by17:00 (London time) Sunday Feb 9th 2014