Tuesday 27 May 2014

Altered Beermat Swap

This month's swap, which was kindly hosted by Louise at Zuzu's Petals Altered Art 'n' Stuff, was a little different in that rather than swap one-on-one with a fellow participant, we all took 5 beermats and altered them.  We then posted them to Louise who would randomly select 5 to send back to us, with book ring to make a little book from.  Having seen a little sneak peek on some of the other's blogs I'm really looking forward to receiving mine back!!  I actually made 6 as I kept one back for myself :o)


The Before ........



& the After ........

This really appealed to me, as I'm always picking up and fiddling with beermats! So I started of with some basic square shaped ones.  I painted both sides with some Eco-Green acrylic paint in Birch, and when dry I decided to have my first play with texture paste and masks.  Needless to say I just love the texture paste & will definitely be playing with it some more and soon!!


I knew I needed to do more with this side (which I decided would be the back) but I decided to leave it a while and focus on the front.

With the front I decided to use papers and chose some lovely ones from Prima Marketing.  I cut some strips from 12 x 12 sheets to the correct depth for the mats and then tore them down to leave a slightly tattered rough edge which I inked with distress stains and then stuck to the mats.  I stamped a collage stamp with a Penny Farthing onto one side using Stampin Up in Soft Suede.  I also made a little pocket from matching paper for a little stamped tag and ticket, and added a little 'Dream' cabochon as well.


Then back to the back!  I stamped a Tim Holtz sentiment and a little light-bulb onto some light yellow card-stock using Stampin Up - Chocolate Chip again tearing around the edges and staining with distress ink.  To finish them off, I added a little key and some washi-tape.


I have decided to also enter these into the following challenges:

Tando Creative Challenge Blog ~ Incorporate a Key ~ here http://www.tando-creative-challenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/may-challenge.html?m=1 ;

Rhedd's Creative Challenge ~ Altered Art Challenge ~ here http://rheddscreativespirit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/may-challenge.html ;

and Altered Eclectics ~ Anything Goes ~ here http://alteredeclectics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/1st-of-may-omw.html ;




Thanks for reading :o)

Stefanie


Thursday 15 May 2014

Artists for ‪#‎bringbackourgirls‬

You will all have heard of the terrible mass kidnap of almost 300 girls in Nigeria, well in order to raise funds and awareness there is a terrific auction of some very talented artists' work, 54 pieces which have all been donated, taking place right now.  Please go and take a look http://www.32auctions.com/bringbackourgirls

There is much more information about what you can do to help with the cause, here  http://girlrising.com/nigeria-action/




Here is a list of the generous people taking part and their blog addresses, show some love and pay them a visit too :o)
Marjie Kemper   http://www.marjiekemper.com
Lisa Pace   http://lisapace.com
France Papillon   http://www.france-papillon.com
Sally Lynn MacDonald   http://www.SallyLynnMacDonald.com
Marybeth Shaw   http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/
Jill Meyer www.jillmeyer.com
Kerry C. Mitchell http://kerrycmitchell.com
Barbara Lanza www.barbaralanza.com
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Thursday 1 May 2014

PaperArtsy #3UP Week

Hi - I'm sure many of you will already be aware of the wonderful PaperArtsy, they do some absolutely amazing stamps, and also papers and other altered art supplies.  I am an avid reader of their blog which showcases some wonderful technique by some very talented crafters.

At the end of each four month period on the blog PaperArtsy hold #3UP week, each night of this week 3 volunteers are chosen to showcase a piece of work using one of their newest releases.  Well this year when PaperArtsy asked for volunteers I thought I'd give it a go - never expecting to be chosen of course - but as they say 'nothing ventured ~ nothing gained'!

Well to cut a long story short - I got picked!!  A beautiful set of Lynne Perella stamps (LPC027) dropped through my letter box at the beginning of April.  That was roughly when the panic set in too!! What could I possibly produce that would do justice to these lovely stamps?  And, what had I been thinking to dare apply in the first place?



I do really love Lynne Perella's artwork and these stamps especially, I feel they are very bold and striking in their own right, so I decided to showcase them on a 6" x 6" canvas.  Here is a little sneak peak but to view it fully you need to pop over to the PaperArtsy blog.  It's really worth a visit to see all the wonderful creations of my fellow #3UPpers.  I'm sure you will find some more inspiring blogs to follow along with!


Thanks for reading,
Blessings
Stefanie