Altered Journal cover for Rhedd's Creative Spirit DT

Today I'm sharing my second Design Team piece for Rhedd's Creative Spirit :o)

I've decided I really need to commit some time to journaling; firstly because it just looks Amazing!! and secondly because it will help with some of the self-confidence issues that still come up with me from time to time.

So, if I'm going to journal, I need a journal, right?!?  I bought a great 6 x 6 scrapbook from Hobbycraft during their sale (£2.50 - can't go wrong at that!) it had nice sturdy inner pages and a ribbon tie fastening.  Only thing is the covers were just plain white, and boring!!  I decided to change that!

These are the plain covers, removed and ready for action!

The first thing I did was to cover them in gesso, to give a nice surface to work on.  Once that was dry I reached for some stencils and some texture paste.

Hopefully you will just about see the hexaganol pattern in the top right corner, and may be able to pick out some of the other bits - it was clear texture paste though so I tilted them under the light to try and catch them.

Next step was to go a little crazy with the embellishments!  I used a variety of pieces, some Finnabair ones (obviously!) some paper roses, strips of lace and some wooden bits from That Craft Place - that's where I got the 'Dream' word from - I think I might need to buy another - I love it!!

Once the embellishments were all stuck where I wanted them, and the glue had dried, I went back over it all with the gesso again, to give a nice even surface.

Then, out came my ink sprays!  I think I may have too many (if that's possible!?), they only just fit in their box, and that's only after a lot of shuffling about!  This effect was achieved using a mixture of both glimmer sprays and some ink sprays from Dylusions, spraying one, letting it dry and then moving on to the next.  I also sprayed plain water on to dilute them a little more so that they would run and cover the whole area.  The final step was to take some copper acrylic paint and touch up the raised areas.

I am so pleased with the result, and the covers really have a sparkle all their own due to the glitter sprays and the copper paint, although it doesn't fully show in the pictures.  I think I may need another trip to Hobbycraft to see if they've any scrapbooks left!

Don't forget to pop over to Rhedd's Creative Spirit to see what the other team members have created.

Thanks for reading :o)
Steffi xx

I would like to enter this into the Sparkle and Shine challenge at Finnabair's blog - here - http://tworzysko.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/sparkle-shine-blog-hop-challenge.html

Playing along with Tim's 12 Tags of 2015 :o)

Hi there, thanks for popping by :o)

Today I am sharing my take on Tim's January tag - I really enjoyed having a go at this and I'm pleased to get it done before the end of the month!  For those who don't know, starting in 2012, Tim Holtz has given a tag tutorial each month and challenged crafters to come up with their own take on it, I wanted to join in last year, but my health being as it was I struggled to even get started.  This year I am determined to join in each and every month (fingers crossed!!)

Here is a little glimpse of Tim's 2015 January tag & if you click here you will jump over to his tutorial :o)

I won't detail all the steps for the tag here, as if you want to join in yourself you should pop over to Tim's blog and have a look there.

I also needed to do two ATCs for one of the Facebook challenge group I'm in, and the theme was 'Resolutions', I decided that this layout would be great to adapt for the ATCs too, so that is what I've done.

The starting point for the tag is texturing some Tissue Wrap, I used Tim's 'Melange' for this:

Then the base is coloured using Distress Paints and Sprays, I used a slightly different combination on mine which gave them a more tan/greeny look. Next Tim used some Alpha Parts to make up the year, unfortunately I don't have these (despite my ever growing collection of all things Tim!) so I used some chipboard letters and numbers for this.  I also don't yet have the Chit-Chat stickers for the next step, so for this I used some of my favourite wordy stamps.

And here are the words edged with Distress Inks and then stuck into place:

The chipboard letters were coloured using a copper leafing Krylon pen, and stuck down in place.  I added a brad to each of the ATCs and on the Tag, which I wanted to use as a focus for myself for the coming year, I added a little bulb embellishment with the word 'ME' on it.  A few splatters of paint and finished!

I've really loved playing along, and I'm really pleased with the way the texture and colour built up!  I can't wait to see February's tag now (just as well it's only a few days away!!)

Thanks for reading :o)

Steffi xx

Three of a Kind - Steampunk ATCs

I'm getting back into my ATC making, after not really getting into the groove with them last month when my health was low.

Today I'm sharing a set of three with you that I've made for a swap on a Facebook Group, there was no specified theme, just that three were required to enter.  Being a bit of a steampunk lover, I thought I'd use that as my theme.

My first step was to cover the base card with some designer paper that was printed with French newspaper.  I put on three ripped layers and inked the edges using Antique Linen distress ink, I also distressed the edges slightly using scissor blades.

I recently found some brilliant wooden embellishments in The Range, a set of hats - top hats, bowler hats and homburgs - together with a mixture of moustaches.  I picked out one of each and coloured them black using a sharpie, then glued them into position on the front of the ATCs.  I also found a set of sticky notes in the same shop that had an assortment of pointing hands, lightbulbs and the like on them so I added one of these to each ATC, and wrote a suitable word on each.  The finishing touch was to stamp some little cog wheels and then add a little pearlised gold texture paste to some of the edges on each.

Can't wait to see what style of ATCs I get in return!!

Thanks for reading :o)
Steffi xx

I would like to enter this into the following swaps:

SanDee & Amelies Steampunk Challenges - Three's my lucky number - here : http://sandee-and-amelie.blogspot.co.at/2015/01/happy-new-year-and-new-challenge.html

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge Blog - Challenge 64 - Anything Goes with a twist - Use Layers - here : http://suzypantssmarty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/24-january-challenge-64-atg-with-twist.html

Daring Cardmakers -You Can Leave Your Hat On - here :  http://suzypantssmarty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/24-january-challenge-64-atg-with-twist.html

Craft Stampers Take it Make it Challenge - Take a Stamp - here : http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/take-it-make-it-challenge-all-new-for.html

and

Left of Center Creative Challenges - Challenge 62 - Layer it Up - here : http://leftofcenterchallenges.blogspot.ca/2015/01/challenge-62-layer-it-up-with-that.html

Pink for a New Baby Girl :o)

Hi, today I'm sharing a little mixed media shadow box I've made for Phil's niece and husband's new arrival.  A lovely baby girl :o)

It's another little goodie from Tando Creative, just the right size for some little wooden embellies from That Craft Place. - I bought a New Baby Grab bag, and asked Danny to just include bits suitable for a girl as we knew in advance that they were having a daughter.

I first lined each section with some designer paper in different pink patterns, polka dots, flowers and the like and then set to planning what to put where.  Then I decided whether to paint the embellishments or not, I decided I would, although they would have also worked left plain.  As they are made from 'raw' wood I used gesso on them first, otherwise the wood would just have soaked up all the paint.

The other embellishments are some word tiles, a wooden fairy button coloured with promarkers, two little resin pendant bases, a cute little bottle-cap with a butterfly image, some metal filigree corners and some brads.

I'm really pleased with it, and it's now on display in the new baby's nursery :o)

Thanks for reading
Steffi xx

A Little Box of Dreams and Wishes - First DT piece for Rhedd's Creative Spirit

Hi there - today I'm sharing my first ever make as part of a Design Team - so I'm feeling a little nervous!!  Please do pop over to Rhedd's Creative Spirit to see the wonderful makes that my teamies have shared.

This is a little altered wooden box that I have blinged up a little. You may realise looking through earlier posts that 'Bling' is a totally new concept for me, slightly out of my comfort zone, so I hope you like it :o)

This is what it looked like to begin with, just plain wood, I had bought it because I really liked the fretwork on the lid, originally though it was just a cut-away so you could see into the box - which would have been good for holding potpourri or similar - but I wanted to try something different.

My first step was to paint the box inside and outside with gesso as I always find that plain wood like this really soaks up paint otherwise.  The gesso puts down a surface layer that sort of seals the wood so that you can then paint as you wish.  I mixed up some of my paint; a metallic pearl and some deep violet; to make a lighter purple with a slight sheen.  Once dry I added some metal filigree corners to lower corners of the box - I really like the way they look.

I then glued a piece of purple card to the underside of the lid to create a base to the fretwork.  I mixed some clear texture paste with some glass glitter and then pushed this into all of the scrolls.

Not very easy to show the glitter, hope you can see it in the photo below.

I was really pleased with this but still felt it needed a little more so I set to thinking about what I would use the box for.  As I say, it is quite small about 3 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep.  Last year I kept a Gratitude Jar (although I didn't keep up with it as much as I should have done) and I intend to do this again for 2015, but I wanted something else to go alongside it.  I decided that this could be a lovely little holder for my secret wishes over the year to come, and so it is a 'Little Box of Dreams and Wishes' and it is now labelled as such.

I used a set of alphabet stamps in a fancy font to stamp out the labels and simply glued them in place, they were just the final touch I think the box needed.

Thanks for reading :o)

Steffi

I would like to enter this into the current challenge, #8 at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - Something New for the New Year (as I said above Bling is totally new to me!) - here:  http://mixedmediamc.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/mixed-media-monthly-challenge-8.html