Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Starry Night

********************UPDATE**************************

I am sooo loving this.....I made the designer spotlight again :-) It never gets old either. You can read all about it here. Do have a look and think about joining in the fun!

Starry Night and NOT Christmas or Halloween (I have put myself on a ban for this make at least!).

Challenge time again at Simon Says Stamp and this time Starry Night is the order of the day! I really wanted to avoid the elephant in the room with this one which is the steadily looming Christmas season.

I love to get the TH sayings and words and then just move them around until they say things to me.

I have gone instead for friendship and unlikely pairings (some of the best friends that I have are not people who are obvious matches). I also wanted to use  older dies and mix them with new. I love the Crazy Cats and Crazy Dogs and this was also a good time to test them without the stamps.

The trick of the eye here is that both of these are actually facing forward (as fits with the stamps) but when you just cut them as a silhouette, you can fool yourself into thinking that you are looking at them from the back! Cool huh!

I began with a blank card base (as you do) and cut some card stock to match the size of it. I also cut a slightly smaller piece. This smaller one needed to become the night sky so Oxide time!

Nothing makes a backgrounds like Oxides!

I started with some lighter blue and grey (antique linen and broken china). Then went back in with darker (faded jeans and black soot).

Allow the lighter colours that you use first to remain visible.

I inked the edges with pure black soot (Distress Ink) to close the sky in and give it a frame.

This step gives a great frame to your work.

Adding drops of water from the Distress Sprayer and then blotting with paper towel adds more texture.

I splattered the background with white acrylic paint and a toothbrush too (you can see that in the next steps).

Just testing....

I did want the dog and cat buddies to stand out so I tested the background to make sure that it wasn't too dark where they were to sit. And I added in a highlight with a white gel pen at this point to give more definition.

On the larger one, I inked it with Oxide in faded jeans,stormy sky and black soot and splashed and sprayed it a bit with water. 

When you apply the ink, don't be too worried about the blender marks. They will disappear when you spray with water and then dab with a paper towel.

Then I finished that bit with some toothbrush sprays of white acrylic paint.

A toothbrush must be one of the cheapest and most used items in your kit.

While this dried, I cut two black silhouettes - one dog and one cat.
and then painted them with a DecoArt Americana product called Glamour Dust Ultra Fine Glitter Paint in black ice.....

Love this product for giving the finest glittery effect!

Time for stars! I love the Sizzix Swirling Stars die and I found a lovely 3D Sizzix die from last year' Christmas haul too. 

I wasn't sure which large star to use so i made the two - look out for the larger one in the Christmas makes!

I adore sanded things (sanded and stitched appears in everything!). So I sanded some gold Kraft core card stock and then cut the stars from it. I only needed part of the big swirl one because I was actually after individual stars.

I am afraid that the camera has not done the colour justice at all!

The next step was to glue the two layers of background together and stitch them on my sewing machine, going twice round and not being too neat.

There is a nebulous quality to the background.

Then I curled up the edges of the smaller panel here and there to increase the distressed effect. You can make this easier by spritzing them with water and waiting a while. Curl and they will dry in place.

In real life, the glitter makes the cat and dog stand out nicely.

The dog and cat went on next and I stuck them down with some foam tape to give some dimension.

Adore that star!

Next up the large gold focus star. More dimension! Then some words. I love the Label Letters which always rescue me when I cannot find the right word.

Always look at your dies from two perspectives - the positive and the negative space. My stars are positive but  I might just as well have cut the stars out of the background and matted it against silver or gold.

And then showers of stars! A wax pencil (like the ones used in a nail salon) is a great way to pick up tiny components.

Sometimes a concept just happens!

I stuck the stars on individually where they would do most good.

But I wasn't finished yet - a bow really finished the card off and I was lucky enough to have a honey coloured twine in my stash.

Finally, I added a twine bow to the side and stuck a few leftover stars onto it.

Well that's it! I had to call time before I spent the whole week adding stuff!

Ready to go in!

Finished and ready to send in!

I do like the bow with stars on!

Thank you so much for dropping by! I hope that this inspired you a bit and maybe you would like to join in the challenge too! You can do that here.



Hugs
Debbie
xx

Hobby Craft Challenge- Ten Cards from One Collection

A lot of people talk to me about cards for the men in their lives and I agree - if it wasn't for steampunk, there would not be too much for the guys.

So what to do about it!? Well I think that this collection from Hobby Craft in the UK is a great answer. So with that in mind, in collaboration with Hobby Craft, I set about using one collection to create ten cards. 

They could be given to anyone of course but the main part of the brief was to come up with a collection for men and boys.

Here we go!

The first of my makes is a square on a kraft blank. I layered simply with black card and the papers from the kit including a banner down the middle and some embellishments. I loved the puffy stickers.

Number two is another square 6" kraft blank and this time I stitched the paper down. There are some super cute hexie frames in the collection too and one made a perfect frame for a die cut. The bow is made with some twine wrapped around my first two fingers and the tied in the middle. it stays put beautifully and it can be glued anywhere.

Next had to have the bear stamp! I coloured the stamp with some Tim Holtz Distress markers and then glossed the fussy cut image with ranger Glossy Accents. My favourite thing on this card (apart from the delicious washi tape) are the cute wooden arrows which make for great dimension.

No camping trip is complete without critter spotting! I cut a stag head with a Christmas die (not in the collection but it really matches well and is a good lesson about looking at what you have to go with new stuff). you can see another string bow and more washi tape. The little crystals are great too and add a bit of sparkle.

I wanted to make some cards which were really simple and very quick. this is one of those! Simple use a piece of the paper and some die cut letters in black. The puffy stickers yielded a woolly hat and another arrow. And of course some twine wraps and a bow.
when you do this, wrap the twine first and the make the bow separately and use the tails of the twine wrap to tie the bow on. a dob of glue keeps it all in place.

Right! From one extreme to the other here! The last one was simple and this one is anything but. I used grey card stock for the background and made a little tent from some yellow paper. a puffy sticker made the camp fire and then I dived into the Christmas dies to find one which was perfect for the trees. my favourite way to frame a card is with sewing machine stitching. As you can see, it really sets it off nicely.

Simple again for hurried card needs. This one used washi tape and twine wrap and then a simple message in black die cut. I love this font which is a Sizzix one and designed by Tim Holtz. It is called cutout lower. I used some glittery copper washi tape which is not in the collection and a wooden arrow. Some copper coloured diamantes add interest.

I really would not be me if I didn't ink something! This time it is a piece of white card inked with some Ranger Distress Inks so that I could frame it with a wooden hexie and die cut a little lantern.
I made the words from my Sizzix font and I used some card onto which I had painted with acrylic paint using my Gelli plate. If you like that, I have a tute here. It is really easy and effective and the scrappy bits can be used for die cutting.

Back to a bit more complicated again! Another tent and you can really freehand this without a die. I laminated two pieces of paper together and then cut a triangle. cut about 2/3 of the way up from the middle bottom and then fold the flaps back. I cut some thin strips for the poles which you can just see at the top. a puffy sticker made the sign on the tent.
And then LOTS of trees from a Christmas die set. The stars this time are from a Sizzix Halloween Witch die set - here again, never assume that you have to stick to using things in sets. If something has a component that you need, use it!

Lucky last and actually one of my favourites! I made this one because a camp fire is really important and it must have sparks coming up from it! I free handed the flames and then inked them. the logs are some more gelli printed scraps (seriously do check that tute and give it a go. It gives you the best components for your projects and you can bulk make and then have them on hand).

Well that's it! I do hope that you have enjoyed them and that you are a bit inspired. These would be great for Father's Day and you still have time....

Thank you for stopping by! See you next time.
Hugs
Debs
xx

Stamping With Acrylic Paint

Hi All!

Well it is getting closer to Christmas and I have been so busy with my day job, writing furiously for the year ahead - magazine world is such a strange place to live, that I have not had a chance to post anything remotely Christmassy! Let's do something about that right now!!

Normally when papercrafters and card makers talk about stamping, they reach for their favourite ink pad. But there is another way. Consider acrylic paints! I love DecoArt for their general versatility and now I can add stamping to the mix.

Before we begin though, I want to do the right thing and thank the wonderfully talented Andy Skinner for showing this idea. We have much for which to thank him!

So. What do we need? Firstly, we need some paints. DecoArt have litterally dozens of gorgeous colours and then they all mix together ad infinitum so the sky is literally the limit.

Next you need a stamp or two. Let's choose something Christmassy for the sake of this particular argument.

A brush is also needed and make it a flat one to make the spreading of the paint easier. I use a 3/4 flat brush. This is a really good all rounder and it makes a welcome addition to your kit. Incidentally, if you are new to painting and you are worried about choosing a brush size, they are printed on the handle and if they are not, RUN! the brush is too cheap and is a waste of your money. Buy a great brush and look after it.

You will also need a non stick sheet. These are those beige Teflon ones - everywhere at the moment. However, if you have not got access to one and you need to do this tonight, try non stick baking paper. Even waxed paper. Experiment.

The first thing to do after choosing the paint colour and the stamp is to put a pea sized amount onto the non stick matting.

Spread it out with the brush until it is very thin and even.

Coat the stamp by pressing it onto the paint and then apply it to your project. et voila! A very crisp image.

So why bother, I hear you ask? Well, this paint is lightfast and waterproof. You can use it where you cannot use ink, paints come in an almost infinite number of colours and you can mix them for more. This is without talking about the benefits of being able to stamp white or light over dark and the whole world of metallic shades. You can use paint over transparent and translucent surfaces, layer them up and it is simply another way of approaching the subject. Acrylic is waaaay cheaper too, need I go on...Have a play anyway and see how you go.

There is a small warning though. Acrylic paint dries really fast. This is both a good and a bad thing. In particular, I am talking about your brushes and stamps. Wash them immediately in water. Never leave this task because once the paint is dry, it is dry. As I said, both  a good and a bad thing!

Thank you so much for stopping by!
See you next time,

Debs
xxx