Sweet 16

My son n' heir is 16 tomorrow.

16!!!!!!!!!

Where have the years gone?

How did he get all grow'd n' stuff?

Happy Birthday Oliver.

You are AMAZING!!

XX

MFT - 'Amazing' die & stamp set

Brushos

A Tinkle of Twinkle

 

Greetings all, I hope you’ve had a good week.
Today I have a couple of cards I made a few weeks ago using Brushos, Liquitex Super Heavy Gel & a stencil from Crafters Workshop called Mini Daisy Cluster.

I love this Liquitex stuff and the Brusho powders create such a lovely effect on top.

I added gem stones to the flower centres on this one….

….and a tinkle of twinkle before the gel dried.

Have a great weekend!

Brushos By The Sea

 

Fav’ daughter & I have decided that we should try & get fit. There’s nothing of said daughter, she’s like her dad….a skinny bean. I, however, lack the ‘skinny gene’ so I’m hoping to get fit & shed a few ‘ounces’ (ahem!) too.
In the interest of dignity we agreed that night-time fast walking / jogging would be more appropriate. We have invested in lycra jogging attire that on a ‘skinny bean’ looks fab, on a ‘skinny gene’ lacking, middle-aged woman it looks less flattering….so dead-of-night jogging it is.
Last night, in sub-zero temperatures, we ventured out….looking more like Walkers from The Walking Dead than getting-fit walkers….but we‘ve made a start.
Here’s hoping the scales like my efforts.

Meanwhile, here’s a card to warm your cockles.
This is a Michael Powell stamp, coloured with Brusho paints.

Groovy Greens

 

Wotcha!
Here’s another card using Brushos & stencils.
Like the Muppet that I am, I forgot to photograph the Brusho colours that I used but I think it may have been Leaf & Sea Green.

Using acrylic paper, I spritzed a few drops of water, sprinkled on my Brushos & puffed the colours around using my Tim Holtz puffing gadget to create my background.
I then puffed a co-coordinating green Promarker pen around the edges (again, sorry can’t remember the colour…Doh!)

The next step (my fav’) was to use embossing paste with a stencil (Memory Box - Garden Fronds). I scribbled the same green Promarker pen as before on to my craft sheet & then added a small dollop of paste on top, mixed it together with a pallet knife & created 1 green frond. I sprinkled some glitter on too. When that was dry I repeated the process but this time just using the paste (which is white).

When it was all dry I glazed the green frond with clear gloss, for no reason, other than I like experimenting

To finish I outlined the card to frame it and I’ll add a sentiment at a late date.
Now, I’m off to write a blog post about Streptocarpus (like you do…lol).

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year everybody & welcome 2015.

Here’s another card using Brusho paints.

You can see from above the colours I used & the MINIMAL amount of paint ‘sprinkles’ needed to create the background. The powder is sprinkled onto dry card (I used satin silk art card this time).

Spritz with water. If you get any large water drops (see top edges of blue) then you can simply dab with tissue or paper towel just to suck up the excess water. Leave to dry naturally. I then spray with cheap hairspray to a) stop the colour coming off on your fingers & b) to re-intensify the colours).

I then cut out the portion I liked, added a Memory Box flowery border below & mounted onto my card. 3 gems…job done.
Ta-Da!

And now….

…for something completely different.

I have several new craft BFFs.
The first is Liquitex Gloss Super Heavy Gel. Smeared over a stencil (this is a mini Cell Theory template from Crafter’s Workshop) you can create some beautiful effects. It goes on white but dries clear and because I wanted to use my second BFFs, Brusho paints, I’ve used satin silk art card which allows the paint to move about a bit before drying.

These little pots of powdered paints are amazing.
Everyone seems to just poke a hole in the pot lid in order to dispense the powder. It’s truly magical stuff & the mix of colours in some of the pots is quite unusual….

The gel takes a couple of hours or so to dry properly & then you’re ready to play.
On this one I spritzed the card with water & then shook out a few sprinkles of Leaf Green & Turquoise Brushos. Trust me….a LITTLE goes a long way, these paints should last forever!
A quick puff with my third BFF, the Tim Holtz Distress Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer tool (minus any pens) just to move the paint around et voila!

Lush isn’t it?
Leave it to dry then my top tip would be to give it a quick coating of hairspray just to seal the colours. This paint is VERY intense & will temporarily stain your mitts & I do find it still rubs off a bit even when dry so I just hairspray to be sure.

Here’s my finished card.
There’s a lot of playing experimenting going on on my craft desk at the mo’, using all manner of things I’ve never used before, including embossing paste, masking fluid, stencils, shaving foam & more brusho paint techniques.
Until next time….XXX