Alcohol Inks - No 14

Get your sunglasses out...the Pinata alcohol inks are in town!

Pinata inks are insanely bright, outrageously garish, the punk rockers of the crafty world. 

This is a 9 x 11 inch Yupo painting.

Add 91% isopropyl alcohol and you've got a magical mix.

Pinatas provide the razzle-dazzle...give 'em a go.

Follow Your Heart

Spring has officially arrived this week and, as an outdoorsy-kinda-gal, I can't be more thankful.

Flowers are appearing, there's a hint of green in the trees and the sun's got some warmth to it...Yay!

In celebration of all things 'springy', I've made a gift drizzled in sunshine yellows with a message for all of us.

Follow Your Heart.

This applies in so many aspects of our lives.

Just do it.

As always, I prepped my heart base with gesso, added crackle paste and then went to town (and back) with my embellies.

There's ooodles of white microbeads and glitter alongside some tiny, yellow flowers, glass stones and hearts. Drizzles of Lemon Peel impasto paint and Wink of Stella shimmer.

The weekend is here.

I hope the sun shines where you are.

Follow your heart.

XXX

Altenew - Remember This / Bold Alphabet

This is the card that I made for my son's girlfriend a few weeks ago.

The brief was 'something pink n' girlie'.

I used flowers, buds and foliage from Altenew's 'Remember This' stamp set and their Bold Alphabet die to cut out the letters.

Dusting off the ol' Zig Brush markers I used them as watercolours, adding the tiniest amount of colour, where the darker sections would be, and then using a fine brush to drag out the ink with water to give a really delicate look.

I also stamped and embossed in white, some foliage on vellum and fussy cut it.

As always, sequins to finish. 

Spring Mixed Media Tag

Another tag today, this time with fresh, cheery, spring colours.

I started with a leafy piece of 6 x 6 inch paper from an old Basic Grey collection called 'Sultry' and cut it a few millimetres smaller than my chipboard tag, which is a 3.5 x 6 inch tag from Prima.

I roughed up the edges of the tag and the paper (in an non-violent way...lol), adhered the paper to the tag and then started decorating.

A mixture of elements....Wild Orchid Crafts flowers and flat beads, a Prima keyhole mould, wooden foliage and birdcage embellishments that I embossed with a white, glittery powder from Honey Doo Crafts.

There is additional colour in amongst the embellies using this luscious Green Apple Impasto paint from Prima.

More texture with various sized artstones, which I love...

....sisal and and then a couple of metal dragonflies.

I love making these tags, they can either be used on gift packaging or as a hanging ornament. Sometimes I like to add a message or encouraging sentiment.

And then, as if by magic, when I photographed it the sun came out.

Love Is All You Need - Mixed Media

I'm always falling in love.

Somedays it's a new flower, other days it's a piece of music and sometimes it's a crafty project.

I'm just a romantic fool.

This project was for 2 very special, loveable people and also an excuse to have a go at 'proper' scrapbooking.

What I love about mixed media is the opportunity to use all sorts of different mediums and in ways that I've not used them before.

Everywhere I go now, I'm looking to see if I can use things in this new craft that I'm enjoying so much. Bits of wood, bottle tops, packaging, old jars....I've become a bit of a magpie. 

So I started with a delicate, pale, green page from the beautiful First Edition Papers 'The promise' 12 × 12 inch paper pack. Every page in this pack is soft and elegant, like classy wallpaper.

I clear gesso'd my page first so that I could add some additional paint / spray colours, then it was just a case of positioning my centrepiece, in this case the photo, and then decorating around it.

I used a paper doily, die-cut paper foliage, art stones, glass glitter, glass stones, Nuvo Crystal Drops, wooden shapes, Christmas floral pieces and wedding decorations. The beautiful flowers are from 49 and Market. There's also a stencilled heart backdrop to the embellishments but you can't see it in the photos.

I loved making this.

Love is everywhere....and it's all you need.

Mixed Media Tag

Ahoy!

Today I have a mixed media tag that's simply oooooozing with embellishments.

The tag is a heavyweight chipboard from Prima and measures 3.5 x 6 inches.

Gesso'd first to prepare the base then a layer of white, crackle paste.

I decided to go for a rustic look with embellishments painted and waxed with browns, golds and brassy colours. I used Prima Impasto paint and then a selection of acrylic paints and metallique waxes, again all from Prima / Finnabair.

Lots of embellishments surround the picture frame, which has an opening on one side so you can slip a photo in.

So what did I use? Well...no kitchen sink this time...lol, but I did use wooden hearts, glass stones, microbeads, glitter (regular and glass glitter), ....

.... some wooden shapes and metal flowers. I painted the flowers pink in the end as I felt they were getting a bit lost being a bronze colour.

So there you have it.
A really touch, feely tag.

Mother's Day Card

This is the card that I made for my MIL this year using an oldie but goodie stamp from Flourishes called 'Cherry Blossom'.

I stamped the image & coloured it with Zig Markers and added shimmery highlights with a Wink of Stella pen.

Using the Altenew Bold Alphabet die, I cut out the letters 'MUM' then stuck the remainder to my card base. I then cut the letters out again from a scrap of white 3d foam, stuck those letters back in the empty spaces then the original letters on top of them, to give it that 3d look....am I making any sense here??

A few sequins and Tada!

Job done.

An elegant, pink, feminine card...just like me...Not!

Pastel Heart - Mixed Media

Today I have another little mixed media heart to share with you.

I love making these as gifts. They're perfect for all sorts of occasions or just simply to inspire or encourage someone with a heartfelt sentiment.

I made this one for a special aunt.

I started by applying a base coat of white gesso and then different depth layers of white crackle paste. By applying different thicknesses of crackle paste you get different sized cracks.

I used a Crafters Workshop stencil called 'Cell Theory', with light paste, to add some extra texture and pattern. The little frame was also gesso'd n' crackled and added to the heart with a photo of my aunt and uncle. I stuck it on in such a way that the recipient can change the photo should they wish. 

The decorations are a mixture of wedding and Christmas embellishments, glass stones, sisal and gorgeous flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

No glitter this time, no coloured paint effects, no razzamatazz.

Just a soft, feminine, decorative gift for a special person.

Alcohol Inks - No 13

Another alcohol inking from last summer to share with you today.

I love how the inks on this one created a marbled affect in the lighter areas.

I just sat back on my deckchair and let the inks do their 'thang'....lol.

This is a 9" × 11" on Yupo.

Here are a few close-ups...

....looks like a bloodbath.

Many of the inks have secondary colours to them when they bloom and flow, which is a bonus.

As always, let me know what you see (except the bloodbath).