2017 #5 Sunflower Girls {by Clare Lloyd}

2017 Topic 5: Blue and Ochre

We love it when Clare pops up with her girls! Here she is with a beautiful card, which could comfortably hit the spot for that tween that you can never find the right card for? Take a look at how she seamlessly pulls it all together ... 

Hello Clare here.

I am going to 'fess up' and admit I really wasn't sure about working with this colour combo but it is always worth trying something a bit out of your crafty comfort zone isn't it?

I stuck to making a card as you can never have enough in your stash and I feel it will actually get used then and not just get shoved in a box or drawer somewhere. I am afraid that 2017 continues to be a use it or loose it year!

So after that initial "why did I say I'd do this?" moment, there was nothing for it but to get out Fresco colours I felt might fit the bill and in this case it was Caramel, Haystack and Southern Skies.

Thought tone on tone might be a good way to go so I didn't end of with green when I layered up colours...not there is anything wrong with green...it just didn't fit the bill! Then came a bit of coordinating stamping too using Archival Inks, ECL04 stamp set and my stencil PA 023.

And decided there had to be black...I couldn't live without black on my projects. So doodling and more stamping was in order....

 (Squiggly Mini 15)

So where was I going to put a girl (or girls) on this card? It wouldn't be a Clare Lloyd project without one would it? Then inspiration struck...I would have them peeping out of what became sunflowers...result...LOL!

And so after all that worrying about where I was heading with this project, finally it came together and I actually quite liked the card I ended up with. So the sentiment about summed it up...as that is what all us crafty girls/guys want...to have fun when being creative!

Blog: clarelloyd.blogspot.com
Instagram:@misscraftmad

Seems like you totally nailed it Clare! Ochre, blue and sunflower girls! And your stencils add that touch of magic to your layers perfectly too! So many great ideas! Thank you! 
~ Leandra

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here?

The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 9th 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

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2016 #23 Bleach Faux Tie Dye {by Christine Dark}

2016 Topic 23: Bleach Techniques

Hi everyone Chris Dark here, joining you this evening with a post about bleach faux tie dye and bleach stamping using distress inks. I’ve stamped and painted with household bleach previously onto colour core cardstock with pleasing effects so I was immediately drawn to the theme but this time I wanted to experiment with the reactions of bleach with distress inks which I’ve always loved for their gorgeous colours and unique reactive properties. The finished card pieces have been used in my small hanging for the snowy background, an embellishing and sentiment strip and for paper piecing the clothing of the pencil coloured girl from ECL08 stamp set.

Step One: For the faux tie dye technique use SCA4H Heavy 340gsm Smoothy card and add distress inks direct to the card then spritz lightly with water, the ink needs to be wet rather than running off the edges.

Step Two: Using a small paint brush or dropper dip into bleach and drop onto the inked card and wait for the bloom to appear then add more drops until you’re happy with the result and have achieved a tie dyed effect.

Step Three: For the bleach stamping technique prepare the card with ink and water as before. Pour a small amount of bleach into a container of folded paper towel and use this as your ink pad.

Step Four: Tap the snowflake circles stamp from ECL08 into the bleach and stamp; allow it to sit a few seconds on the ink and then repeat until the card is covered.

ECL08 

As you can see from the close up photograph below the effect of the techniques is lovely and appears quite textural. I found that keeping the ink wet gives the best results having worked on wet and dry ink and also that the thinner type of bleach was easier to work with than thick bleach, I also cleaned off my stamp as soon as I finished stamping.

I’m looking forward to working with other types of ink to see how they react and I hope you’ll try out the techniques yourself bearing in mind that care should be taken when working with bleach…..work in a well ventilated area, protect work surfaces and wear any protective clothing/gloves/glasses that are appropriate as bleach can easily splash. 

Thanks for joining me tonight

Chris

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Thanks for joining us Chris and sharing this great technique, it really does look lovely and just like fabric. The colours you have chosen are just wow! the whole project just pops and is so vibrant. ~Darcy

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas, particularly if you were inspired directly by their post; so please spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item. They all love to see your feedback and what you can do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Bleaching Techniques topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #23: Bleaching Techniques on this page HERE. The Bleaching Techniques link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Dec 11th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

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2016 #23 Dream Canvas {by Corrie Herriman}

2016 Topic 23: Bleach Techniques

Hi everyone Corrie from MadeByCHook here, joining you this evening with a post about the 'bleach' technique. I had great fun with this technique and used it on denim fabric with a stencil. I made a canvas using my bleached denim and added a little picture frame on top. Here's a picture of the finished project and the different steps of how to make this canvas. 

Step One: I used an old cheap canvas with a picture of a bird on it. It hung on my mothers balcony wall for a year and was totally faded. I took it home and gave it a coat of gesso to give it a bit of 'tooth'. I also made a little photo frame from cardboard which I got from the backside of one of my paper blocks. I always save these to recycle. 

Step Two: I used stencil (PS023) by Clare Lloyd and some Grunge Paste to add some texture to the front of the frame. 

Step Three: After the Grunge Paste had dried I painted the frame with Gesso and then with Fresco Paint. I used Inky Pool mixed with Southern Skies to get a colour close to the colour of the denim I was going to use. 

Step Four: After this had all dried (I used a heat tool because I am impatient) I painted the frame with Crackle glaze and then Fresco Paint Honey Dew. I also added beads and some paper flowers painted with the same mix of blues ie. Inky Pool and Southern Skies. 

Step Five: Next the denim. I used stencil (PS023) by Clare Lloyd, a sponge and bleach to get the flowers on the fabric. I washed and dried the fabric after this to get the smell out. 

Next I stamped the word 'dream' from stamp set (ECL03) also by Clare Lloyd with Cobalt Archival Ink in the middle of each bleached flower. I then adhered all the pieces to the canvas using a gel medium as glue. 

ECL03

Step Six: I used one of the lovely girls from Clare's (ECL03) stampset to go in my photoframe. I used Copic Markers to colour her. I used Fresco Paint in the colours Honey Dew and Sage to colour the background. I also used Clare's stencil again with Granny Smith Fresco paint to add the polka dots. When they had dried I used a white gel pen to doodle around each dot. 

Step Seven: When everything was to my liking and dry I added the coloured image to the frame and the frame to the canvas. I used gel medium as a glue for this. I also added the same polkadots to the edge of the canvas to give it a finished look. The little extra sentiment I did as an afterthought as I thought it needed something else. So I painted a piece of scrap paper the same way as the background behind the girl and stamped the word 'dream' once more with the Cobalt Archival ink. I then added this to the canvas as well. 

This technique is great fun even if you really don't like bleach like me. I did my bleaching outside so the house wouldn't smell of it. It is so much fun to see the colour just vanish. You could do this technique on paper too. For instance on an inked background. Why not try this too, I'm sure you'd enjoy it as well. 

I particularly enjoyed this project because it had so many different techniques in it. From the bleaching of the fabric, the making of the frame, the crackling and the colouring of the image. The nicest thing of all was putting it all together to make a pretty and cohesive canvas . 

Thank you for joining me today! 

Corrie 

Blog: MadeByCHook

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YouTube : Corrie Herriman

Thanks Corrie, this is a great combination of techniques. i love the bleached denim patchwork. i can see how that would work brilliantly in all sorts of projects. I am thinking i want a bag made with them. ~Darcy

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas, particularly if you were inspired directly by their post; so please spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item. They all love to see your feedback and what you can do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Bleaching Techniques topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #23: Bleaching Techniques on this page HERE. The Bleaching Techniques link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Dec 11th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store.

2016 #19 Gothic Arch {by Clare Lloyd}

 2016 Topic 19: Die Cuts

Hi everyone Clare Lloyd here.

I don't own that many dies but rummaged out a couple of my favourites to use for tonight's project. Of course, bright colours just had to be involved so decided on some juxtaposition and went for a monochrome look on the face. 

Step One: First I cut two Greyboard arches using a Tim Holtz die, one I cut into half for the doors on my gothic arch.  Then slapped on some Gesso. Once dry out came Cherry Red and Yellow Submarine Frescos I blended this in with a paintbrush working with horizontal brush strokes. While the paint was still wet I wiped back the colour using my stencil 023 and a baby wipe.

Step Two: Once my blended background was dry I added stamping using Black Archival Ink and a dotty image from my ECL09 stamp. Then some blue archival ink using Mini 18. I formed my gothic arch and punched holes ready to piece it all together with some Prima jump rings.

ECL09 

Step Three: Now for the girl ECL09. She was stamped onto Smoothy card using Black Archival ink. I used a 4B graphite stick but a very soft pencil would work the same I am sure! Softly shade lines around the edge of the face and details of the image. Then blend in a circular motion using a paper stump. The shading becomes lighter as you move into the centre of the face. She was simply cut out and glued onto my gothic arch.

As a finishing touch I die cut a PaperArtsy Tall Heart Die using some Metal Card, added some texture using an embossing folder and painted it with Little Black Dress Fresco paint. Once dry I sanded it back a little to reveal the metal on the dots. This was added to the doors of my gothic arch plus a little more stamping using Mini 72.

 Mini 72.

The grey shaded image looks really great on a bright background and is so easy to create...why not give it a try yourself? I love to see what you do with my stamps and so do share them with me, I like to show other peoples make on social media to spread the word!. 

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Those arches make a great frame for your stamped girl, and the tall heart is a brilliant finishing touch, hiding her away just waiting for the doors to open. Gorgeous colour blending and the colour removal technique with the stencil really pops. ~Darcy

We would love to see how you interpret this Die Cuts topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #19: Die Cuts, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Die Cuts link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 16th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

2016 #14 Contrasts and Shading {by Debs Wainwright}

 2016 Topic 14: Colour Mixing

Hi everyone Debs here.   Tonight I'd like to share with you a post about Colour Mixing to fit the current topic.

Colour is very important to me, not just in my art work, but in my life in general. It can alter mood, change the way we see things, as well as convey emotions. It used in all areas of our lives, both in the natural and man made world. How we mix these colours to form shades and tones as well as contrasts in all the above areas, plays an important role on our own senses and state of well being. 

In this piece I've shown some different colour mixing ideas, to demonstrate some of the effects you can create using colour. My overall colour scheme is with 'complimentary' colours, ie those that are OPPOSITE each other on the colour wheel: yellow-greens and pinky-purples.

Working with colours opposite is high impact (blue orange for example is another combination), BUT there is one thing you have to be aware of, if you mix  complimentary colours together while wet, you make brown...

Step One: I used Granny Smith, Rose, and Snowflake  Fresco Acrylic Paint on watercolour card with a brayer to form a pretty even layer as my base. Each colour was dried before the next as I wanted contrast, but this is optional as Fresco paint does dry particularly fast anyway being a chalk paint. For the reasons mentioned above, I really didn't want the layers to blend wet-in-wet as colours such as Pink and Green will form a shade of brown. So  it was important I ensured my colours were dry before adding the next contrasting layer.

Step Two: I worked out the composition of the page and stamped the head first, using one of Claire Lloyd's stamps from this year's release: ECL10.

This is a larger version of her lovely girls works perfectly for the kind of page I planned. I then drew in the body, giving her a glass jar of flowers, and stamped the remaining elements. I heat dried the ink to set it, and then using the Fresco Acrylic paint  in Chalk, I painted out as white blocks some of the areas where I wanted the next layer of colour to be bright.

Step Three: I painted her  face with Watercolour pencils using the darker shades on the outside and lighter shades in the middle. (You could also do this with watercolour paints or water reactive crayons/ markers) 

Shading with your paints helps to create a 3D effect. I also started the shading on her hair. I've kept the colours to similar shades of neutral browns at this stage wanting to convey a pretty scene. 

I opted for more depth in the background and so used Infusions in tiny amounts dotted around the outside of the figure and activated gently with plain water.

Step Four:  I needed more shadows and highlights on her dress as I was after a cotton look. I used the pencils around the sides of the dress, as well as in the middle panel. This added more depth and blue really complimented the green Fresco Paint. You can also see in this photo where I have used the pencils around the body and then blended them out away from the body to lighten the colour. It still acts as a contrast to the green creating an interesting effect.

 

Step Five: I continued the pink-green-blue colour scheme onto the birds, but for the clouds, I again used infusions, but this time I mixed a little Metallic Glaze with the infusions powder and used them as a watercolour to paint the clouds. 

I chose the pink to contrast with the green. Red-Violet, used for shading,  is in the same family as the pinks(warm colours) so they all sit happily alongside each other. The blues are from the cool side of the colour wheel so they add a nice contrast. I've also mixed up the values of the colours to pop and blend on different parts of the page.

Finally I painted the cup and saucer in green on the right hand side, to balance the colours on the left, as well as to contrast again with the pink.

I hope I have shown that colour mixing isn't just about physically mixing colours together to make more colours, it is also about where you can place colours on your project in different ways to create subtle or dramatic effects. 

Colour mixing can be a bit scary, but as long as you remember not to mix your opposites together eg Pink is the compliment of green, so once mixed they make brown,(unless of course that is your intention) you will be okay and go on to create interesting pieces of art.

My advice would be to invest in a colour wheel like the one below, then you will understand what to do or what to avoid in order to get the effects you like best.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog post, as much as I had creating the journal page. Take care as always hugs Debs xx.

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Ohhh Debs, you are so brave!! Pinky purples and greens are the two colours I avoid like the plague as I am so very competent at making brown! LOL but you clearly have got it sorted, and the results are so beautiful! Just like flowers in a green garden. Thanks for making that so clear!

I must remind everyone that Darcy put a load of information in this blog post at the start of the Topic about colour theory, and it is well worth referring back to as well! ~Leandra

We would love to see how you interpret this Colour Mixing topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #14: Colour Mixing, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Colour Mixing link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Aug 7th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

2016 #5 Rainy Day Girl {by Clare Lloyd}

 2016 Topic 5: Art Dolls

Hi everyone Clare Lloyd here.

Tonight I'd like to share with you a little project I made using fabric.

The theme is Art Dolls and after pondering lots of ideas, I ended up decided whatever I made had to be useful and practical. I create lots of projects that end on in boxes and are never seen again. So this doll had to be something I could use or at least gift to someone.

Step One: Once I had stamped my rainy day girl image from ECL06 using Black Archival Ink, I decided to sketch a little more of her giving her arms, etc using a Pigma Fine Liner. Oh, by the way I am working on a scrap of curtain lining fabric. 

ECL06

Step Two: Then I shaded her in with water colour pencils (though I didn't actual use any water!) Plus also coloured a rough border in preparation for sewing.

Step Three: What next? Well, then I had to decide what the back of my art doll was going to look like. I stamped up the clouds from my latest launch ECL10 and they matched perfectly with my little raindrops from ECL06. Once again I coloured in the sky using coloured pencils.

Step Four: To make the raindrops pop a little I added a touch of Pearl Glaze to each of them and the glaze blended nicely with the blue water colour pencil. Then came the sewing together. She was stuffed with polyester wadding and some dried lavender.

Here is how the Pearl Glaze looked. Can you see the sparkle?

So there she is my useful rainy day smelly art doll...LOL!

Find me here on my BLOG, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER or even PERISCOPE. 

Aww what a cute little gift, I bet she smells wonderful. I can imagine the fragrance wafting into your art room everytime you open the door. This idea could work great for children if it was filled with dried beans or lentils as a bean bag.  I wonder if it could be a heat pad, the ones that you pop in the microwave.. what would happen to the pencil work, if anything? maybe something to try. Thanks Clare for sharing your sweet girl with us. ~Darcy 

We would love to see how you interpret this Image Art Dolls  topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #5: Art Dolls, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Art dolls link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, March 20th. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.