Artful Times - Heavy Metal

It is ages since I worked with metal but I decided to do one of my usuals - cover a cat food box!  The cats have gone now from next door (sad face) so we no longer buy cat food but we do have one or two boxes in the garage (empty ones).

This box had been Gessoed ready to paint so I decided it might make a better surface for the metal to stick to so I went ahead and covered it with pieces - yes, I used up some left over bits rather than go into the sheets that are a tad expensive.  Afterall it was a recycle job!  Just hope Lyn or Leandra don't see it.

Long side - three embossing folders and purchased strips

other long side - mold, embossing folder and strips

two sides - both embossing folders

I mainly used my Artisan Explorer alongside my embossing folders as it gives a good image.  The two end pieces were not the usual metal but a much stronger sheet that I have had a long time.  The owl one I heated to give variety in colour.  I like that finish.

The strips you see have been in my drawer for years.  I never have used them until now and when I too them out the backing just dropped off.  I can only presume they were self adhesive at one time.  'Make Me; More than Memories' and 'Kars' are all on the packaging so I am assuming they are from my early days of teaching. 

As the Challenge was "Heavy" Metal I thought I would show you some jewellery I have made using bought pieces of embellishments which might give you some ideas on how you can use up some of those odd pieces you have.  I think the one on the left was done at CHA with Tim Holtz stuff

Just finished off the right one

Cannot find the others I have but if I do find them I will upload them at a later date.  What can you do with your heavy metal embellishments?  Great jewellery - and pull old jewellery to pieces - the two end pieces above are from old jewellery.  Just another idea for this challenge.

Pop along to Artful Times to see what the others have made and look here and the posts below it to see my faux metal class a while ago.  If you still have time this is my favourite metal piece.

Final Faux Metal Samples

Thanks for the comments on the previous two posts about the Faux Metal samples.  The idea of the sampler is that you try each one in turn and then you decide which you like the look of, which you enjoy doing and then which you are going to use on your photo frame.  For those of you in America, Michaels has frames like the one I used and in Europe you can get something similar at Ikea.  Of course you could always do a larger one using one of those big frames from Ikea like the Palooza was done with.

The first one I am showing you today was done using Mirri card/Mirror card.  Any base colour will do but I used Gold, fed it through an Embossing Folder and then dripped Alcohol Inks on.

Next is that plastic feel, greyish looking, Duck Tape.  The first one I did I was not happy with as the tape is not wide enough for the 3" x 3" base and you could see the join.  So I had a lightbulb moment and used the join as a line.

Can you guess what made the pattern?

Underneath I laid some string, first gluing the card and then placing the string in position.  Leave it to dry before putting the Duck Tape on.  Again Alcohol Inks were used for the colouring.

This was what I first did several years ago when I made a container out of matchboxes with the Girl Guides.  I must have read about it somewhere and we decorated a lid with string swirls and lines and then when it was dry used crumpled Aluminium Foil and Boot Polish. So you see where the idea was born all those years ago (many many years ago).

The final one is done with sheet metal.  For some reason it looks reversed.  The birds actually puff out and the windows sink in.  This was first stamped in Stazon, outlined with a tool (my class used a stylus from paper crafting) and then worked, in the case of the birds, from the back in a gentle circular movement until it was standing quite proud of the base.

Not sure if you can tell or not from the picture but the squiggles (again worked with the stylus tool) are worked sometimes from the front and sometimes from the back.  This gave a lovely effect with some parts standing out from the other which is indented.  Once happy with what you have done fill in the back of the birds with Polyfilla/Calk or something similar and let it harden before mounting on a piece of card.

If you go along to Ten Second Studios you will find some excellent videos on various techniques working with metal and my scant instructions above for this last tile are given in full there.

Before I leave I will just say that I also experimented with Easter Egg wrappers (foil), various sweet wrappers, Crisp packets (chips to my American friends) and found my favourites to be Total Yoghurt and the foil top off a margarine tub - the crisp packets did not work - plastic I guess.  The margarine foil gives you two different views as you get a shiny side and a matt side - take your pick!

Hope you give some of these a try - and thanks for viewing!

Faux Metal (Part 2)

Carrying on with what I used for my Sampler Board and later for my Photograph Frame - see here for the pictures - I am now going to show you another three tiles all of which use the same medium for the base

This one was produced using an Embossing Folder and colouring with Alcohol Inks.

This one was produced using a mold and rubbing with a large paper stump and then finishing off with a smaller one.  If you have a stylus type tool then you can go around the edges and tidy them up - this brings out the design even more. Again coloured with Alcohol Inks.

The last one was a square just put through a folder and coloured and then I made a metal butterfly to go on it which was die cut and coloured with Inka Gold.

and the material used on all of them was

Aluminium Take Away Cartons!

You can also use the Tomato Paste tubes which you need to cut and then wash out.  I can never be bothered with that but it was fun finding out what materials in the home I could use.  I decided to forgo the use of Soda cans when I was teaching as there can be some nasty cuts if you are not careful. 

There are still three squares to go and I will show you them tomorrow.  Hope you are going to play along and do some yourself.

As Promised - Faux metal (Part 1)

Remember my metal pieces I showed you a couple of days ago here? Well here is the first of my faux metal pieces and how to do it - three of them actually as they all use the same base.

This first one was using a die cut and Aluminium Foil with Alcohol Inks over the top.  First of all you need to diecut yourself a shape say a couple of times if using ordinary weight (300) cardstock.  Stick the diecuts together to make a bit more thickness.  Stick down on base and allow to adhere.

Then take a piece of Aluminium Foil, crumple it in your hands, unfold but do not straighten out fully.  Put glue over the entire piece of cardstock (die and base) and place Foil over gently pressing down. Using your fingers push the Foil down around the diecut shape, I also use the back of my finger nails to smooth out especially over the die cuts.  You could use a cotton wool bud or the eraser end on a pencil to push down with and help to smooth.  Colour with Alcohol Inks of choice.

This second one is done in exactly the same way as the flower but this time I painted Black Acrylic Paint all over, let it settle for a minute and then took it off with a piece of cotton wool or soft rag.  It stays in the creases and crevices formed by the die cuts.

The final one using Aluminium Foil is done in the same way but this time I used the negative from a die cut as this one below (the one above was a swirl).  The two wavy lines are die cuts used as in the previous two examples.  This may look silver but in actual fact when you see it in real life it is duller and the cracks and creases are black - what did I use?  Black Boot Polish!  Rub on, leave about five minutes and gently remove.

Well I hope you will give this a go and I would love to see your results.  I will be back another day with another reveal as to what I used in my sampler.

WOYWW 226

Have just done a two day faux metal workshop at home which was similar to the one I did at Vicky Stampers a couple of months ago. This is a corner of my room where Mo was working:

This is the sample piece which I got them to do

Can you tell which ones are the real metal and which aren't?
Can you guess what the faux ones are made of?

We used different things to colour them and a variety of things instead of the actual metal which can be expensive, especially along with the tools, if you are just trying it out for starters.

The object of the sampler above was so that they had a reminder of the different materials and finishes they could employ.  One the sampler is finished they could choose which ones they liked and wanted to repeat to decorate a photo frame like this

This normally has a photo of my friend's little girl in it but I don't like putting photos of children on the internet just in case.  Sad but true. Some of these are real metal some faux.  They don't look quite so bright irl and I really like this frame (from Michaels) so think I will be doing another.  The ones from the Swedish shop in the UK work just as well but are a little narrower so 1" squares fit perfectly.

I'll put a tute up shortly for those interested so you will need to watch out for it.  In the meantime pop along to Julia's blog and see what others have linked up to show their desks this week.  Do read Julia's own account though, she nearly always brings a smile to my face.

WOYWW

Cannot believe I typed all this out and then must have caught something and the whole thing disappeared.  Spent ages trying to retrieve it/find it - to no avail - so here goes - second attempt.

Cannot believe it is WOYWW again and I am bearing my soul to the world of Ms Dunnit and her followers all over the world.  Only three more days to go and it will be time to put away those Christmas stamps but this next year they are not staying away until November.  Famous last words eh?  Here is the aftermath of my trying to get on with my Advent House (will post on Friday when I do the last door) and my Timmie Tags (one to go and then I can reveal the whole lot).

In the meantime I still have a couple of cards to make and was going to do something with some corrugated card and these flowers I made, courtesty of fab instructions from Lin B.

Will leave it there folks as it is 6.45 am and time I got this show on the road.  For all you lovely peeps who pop by for a nose - Have a Lovely Christmas and My Very Best Wishes for the New Year.  Stay Safe and Happy and remember that little girl I mentioned in my previous posting.  Please.

WOYWW 73 and Turning Word Verification Off

Last week I was asked by a couple of people how to take word verification off.  I wrote to them individually.  This week I decided to put the instructions on for anyone else who might want to do it.  


IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION AS TO WHETHER IT IS FOR YOU OR NOT.  


There are two different schools of thought on this out there and if you see Ciara's comment on this post you might want to keep it on - if you are considering it please read what she has to say on the matter.  (Rooted, Permission to Mother are two blogs I read who are for it being turned off) 


If you want to do it here is how I did it:


Go to Design
then Settings
then Comments (blue tab underneath)
Scroll down - 3rd from bottom it says Show Word Verification
Click No (to turn it off)
Then go to orange button at the bottom and Save Settings

Now to my desk!  Decided to take a different view in my craft room this week.

As I am sat at my desk, which you usually see, this is the wall area to the right of me.  It is full of those little cubby holes from Ikea, each filled with different things.  In the top left corner you can just see the end of my "tick" which holds my craft dvd's and videos.  Can you see my Cinch?  Well to the right of that are some of my purchases from weekend - some Inka Gold pots and some Crafty Notions sprays.  Still got to find somewhere to keep them as the drawer with the others in is full.  

Behind my Cinch are some of my books - dare not tell you how many craft books I have - I am a craft book aholic and above them in a cubby hole are my Adirondack Color Washes, Liquid Pearls, some large ink pads, Reinkers and envelopes.  To the left of the picture the cubby holes hold micro slides and holders, Cinch binders, A6 cardstock and oversized stamps.  

This is the view below

Don't even go there with asking me what is in these drawers.  Let's just leave it that they are full of craft stuff - and the cupboard?  Bit of a jumble.  Or should that be jungle!  By the way - the two bins - one for recycling paper and cardstock and one for general rubbish.

Why am I showing you this - because the lovely Julia, over on The Stamping Ground, has got us all going.  We show our desks each week and visit others - surprising what you see.

Anyhow, Tuesday night I was busy finishing off my "Book of Wisdom" from the weekend.  If you read Monday's post you will know that I left part of it at the hotel so Leandra kindly sent me the bits I needed and I have now completed it.  Didn't get chance to download it yesterday as I had to finish my German homework off and get it sent in - class on Thursday morning.  Oh heck!  Two weeks off and I have forgotten it all.

This is it closed.  Sorry for the standard of the photograph but I did do it several times - think it was the light bouncing from the metal (even though the flash was off).

Now to show you the inside.

The papers we used are all the new Paperartsy ones - Leandra told us all the requirements they had made of the manufacturer - they wanted this paper to be special and it certainly is with all its properties.  If this looks a bit misty I must point out that I gessoed over it and then smooshed it with paint and glazes - yes, it stands a lot of crafty messing about with.  Here's a closeup of the owl

The paper in the background is actually a map and I have included a special bit of the map.  The metal flowers I slit on the edges of the petals so that I could give them some shape - doesn't really show up in the photograph but it does in real life.

Well, that's it for now - off for a snoop at some desks.  Sorry if I did not make it to yours last week - I gave up somewhere in the nineties because the weekend got in the way.  Thanks to all who left comments on my desk - I really love reading them all.

ArtsyCrafts Weekend

Well, my long awaited weekend is over - in Warrington.  Had the usual super time with Leandra and Lin along with the added bonus of Lynne H being there as well.  Great tuition as usual, wonderful help with all that we were doing - cannot begin to tell you how organised but relaxed these weekends are.  You really should get yourselves booked on one - but not until I have secured my place!  One word of warning though - all the snacks they provide are too yummy to resist - and the food in the hotel is super too.

I must mention the two Marks, who are there to support their spouses, run the shop, help with the hot gluing and take photographs.  Can't leave the guys out!

This photograph shows the room, early on the Sunday morning when there were not many about (which is why it looks so empty)

Long shot of the room showing the tables - you can see we all have lots of room to work on.

The right side of the room - this is the shop which is at one end

The other side

It is funny but each table is colour themed and although there are four or five of you working on one colour each project turns out quite different to that of its neighbour.  To begin with on Saturday morning we each sat on a table of our choice and made a book. Didn't get mine completed and to my shock horror on returning home found I had left part of it there.  Must have been on the table at the side of where I was sat and I never went to that area again.  Bah humbug!  Not to worry, contacted Leandra and she is sending me the bits so I can redo that section and complete my work.  Told you, nothing is too much trouble for these girls!

The afternoon found us making a Shadow Box.  This did not set out the same colourway as my final project but they do have similarities.

This is a very dimensional piece, building up layer upon layer and I just love those curtains at the top.  Could not begin to tell you what/which paints etc I used as we had so many to choose from.  The materials they provide for each piece is unbelievable.  Inks, sprays, different types of paint, the list just goes on and on.

The final project on Sunday was a Flower Frame.  I loved how we completed the background for this project.  Got a bit carried away and ended up with five layers.

Creating that background was F-U-N!  We experimented with colour to our hearts content, putting this on, changing it a little with the addition of that and then some more.  Could have sat there all day just playing.  

Loved the stamping we did which you can see in the top right corner and part way down on the left, especially when we highlighted the flowers.  I could not believe how that technique lifted the stamping.  Then there was the addition of embossing powder which again lifted the whole thing.

Next we were given lots of flower die cuts in various mediums, we cut some metal ones ourselves and then began constructing them.  This was great and has spurred me on to make lots of these flowers to decorate my body form (this will be a future posting) which is  a project that has been in construction for far too long.

Anyhow, I digress - here are two of my flowers

Loved the way Leandra showed us how to bend the metal for this effect - and was rather surprised when I got home to find that three of my flowers all had the metal bent in that way.  Wonder why?  I really thought I had done at least one slightly different.  Ah well!

This one is mainly tissue and it just ended up that way but I liked it so much I had to include it on my frame.  Did a couple of metal leaves and placed it at the top left of my frame.

You may notice there are one or two butterflies on the finished project, these have been added since I got home along with some curls of wire.  

Anyway, it was a super weekend, a great crowd - some I knew, some I didn't, and all I can say is "roll on the next one" and THANKS to the ArtsyCrafts team (including those who did not attend but who have worked so tirelessly to help get kits and boxes ready for us all).

Thanks Girls!

Artsy Crafty Weekend (Part 3)

The final chapter.  This is my Sampler for which I must have requested "lime green" as my colour:

The rose is made from metal, the square next to it with the bird is metal also, as is the dragonfly and the top right and bottom centre squares are also metal.  

The other squares are a mix of stamped canvas and Terra (Viva) paints the latter showing three different techniques with the Terra paint.

Here are some of the examples we saw on display:

This is one done by one of the other participants - I just love this colour combo

Not sure now whether these were samples or whether they were done by participants but just love these colours.

Aren't they beautiful?

As well as a great weekend of lovely projects thought up by Lin and Leandra there were also some new friendships made and I just have to include the girls from Spain on my blog.  Only one could speak English so we had a ball trying to make one another understand what we were saying.  All of this was done with lots of laughter and giggles.

It was good to meet up with one or two people from the last weekend I attended in Warrington and to meet a friend, Gaynor, from way way back in my stamping days.  I also met, for the very first time, Wendy from one of my Yahoo groups and Nathalie from a forum I am on, so that was extra nice.  

but to finish off I have to show you 

Freema chilling out

not exactly behind the bike shed

but in the car park of the hotel

Artsy Crafty Weekend (Part 2)

Well, as I said yesterday, here is the third project we did on the weekend.

This is a little bird house with love birds sitting in the centre.  This was coloured with Kaiser paints and then a piece of metal cut with a big die was embossed and I added some paint to it to vary the colour.  The roof piece was also embossed metal.  The heart and the little birds are carstock.

Again there were samples in different colours - wish I had done that blue - or the lime green as I just loved Carol's finished piece.

Here's a picture of Kay working diligently

Freema on the prowl

and my dear friend Anne sucking her lollipop

Tomorrow I will show you the main project which was a sampler.  That's all for now folks!