Friday, September 30, 2016

ATCs Week 4



The fourth category in the Swirlydoos Not So Round Robin is "Anything Goes" and today, I'm submitting my leftovers.
ATCs are so quick and easy - and fun - that I actually created quite a few every week. I decided to upload a few at a time, saving the "extras" for the final round.

I came up with this idea while enjoying a cup of tea; the tag somehow seems to go along with this lady from Gecko Galz so well that I couldn't resist. A bit of inking and some Bo Bunny pearls were all that I needed to complete this card.

Another quick design: a fussy-cut sweetie from a set of images that I found on Pinterest stands on a piece of lace with a stamped image in the background. The butterflies were in my scraps; I've added a bit of bling to their centers.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Create Art Mosaic Canvas



I'm making an effort to dig into my "to do" stack - projects that I put aside for later.

At the top of the pile, I found the Swirlydoos Project from January, featuring Tim Holtz's Distress Paper Mosaic Kit, along with a 12" x 5.5" canvas, a chipboard frame from Dusty Attic, some Darice crystal rhinestones, a package of Prima flowers and a length of beautiful May Arts lace.


I had been putting aside scraps from Prima's Tales of You and Me collection for this project; these were cut into various shapes and sizes to form my mosaic.

Following the instructions on the Tim Holtz packaging, I applied a layer of  Grout on my canvas, smoothed it out and left it to air dry. Next came the (messy) fun: using the Glue to adhere my paper tiles - spreading a small amount onto the canvas and a bit more to the bottom of the paper, then putting it in place, being sure that each piece was well contacted to the surface. The next step was the Glaze; each tile was covered with a light coating, using the applicator to smooth it out.
After allowing this to set overnight, I gave my mosaic an aged look by applying Walnut Stain Distress Ink  over the entire surface, then misting it lightly with water and going over the entire surface with a paper towel. Not only did this take the ink off the tiles (the Glaze acts as a resist), but it gave the areas in between a more mottled appearance.

I've used two chipboard embellishments: the Dusty Attic Vintage Frame 7 from the kit and two pieces from the Creative Embellishments Inspire Word Set from my stash. These were first coated with the Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then misted with Prima Color Bloom in Empress Gold.

I used the entire package of Prima Royal Menagerie #583309 flowers  around the bottom of the frame, along with the May Arts lace tied in a bow.
The butterflies were cut from the Spellbinders Cascading Butterflies from the August Die Add-On and embellished with the pretty Darice rhinestones.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Riding the Dragon




This is my last layout using the August Tranquility kit from Swirlydoos, featuring gorgeous papers and flowers from Blue Fern Studios' Tranquility collection.

I was trying to think of a way  to use all of the beautiful golden items that came in the Embellishment add-on kit when my DIL sent me a series of photos and gave me a total "ahah" moment!

I blended the Ranger Distress Grit Paste from the Mediums add-on with Prima Mica Powder in Teal and Metallique Paint in Emerald Green until I got the color I wanted to use with a long-neglected Dylusions stencil.
While that was drying, I coated a chipboard frame (thanks, Rae!) with Ranger Liquid Pearls in Brass.

Several strips of Prima Dresden Trim were adhered to the paper, then I glued the frame and photo down. I used just about the last of my flowers, a few butterflies from the Magnolia Lane ephemera, the bling swirly and that awesome metal pull.

The Norristown PA Zoo holds an annual picnic for member families. Sophia enjoyed  the food and the animals, but most of all, she  loved riding the carousel with this amazing dragon.

Friday, September 23, 2016

ATCs Week 3



Here are some more entries in the Not So Round Robin Challenge that Kim is hosting for Swirlydoos.

For week #3, the category is "Holiday" and I've chosen Halloween.
I've used some odds and ends that I have , along with chipboard die cuts from Creative Embellishments and Dusty Attic and stickers from Graphic 45's Rare Oddities.

Karen has gathered a bunch of vintage images perfect for Halloween on her Graphics Fairy blog (a fantastic resource!) and I've chosen her #14 - Serious Woman - for my first card. I've embellished her with a bit of lace, a G45 sticker, a few berries and a Creative Embellishments bat that I've inked with Ranger's Black Soot Distress Ink .

 
Next up is a photo of two little girls from long, long ago celebrating the holiday with creepy homemade costumes. A Rare Oddities tag and sticker, a few pieces of black bling and a couple Creative Embellishments carved pumpkins backed with black cardstock and colored with Ranger's Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink are all I need to embellish these sweeties.


It just wouldn't be Halloween without mention of Edgar Allen Poe's "Raven". I've had this Dusty Attic chippie for quite a while; time to trot him out, ink him up and adorn him with some sparkle trim. I've used a snippet of purple netting trim in the background and simple cardstock to print out the beginning lines of the poem.