Mega Sale This Weekend!!!

A quick post to let you know that this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday August 4th and 5th, I'm holding a paper crafting and mixed media sale at Lisa B Designs HQ; 21 Froyle Close, Maidstone, ME16 0RQ

The sale will be open between 10am and 2pm only on both days.

There will be dozens of brand name items reduced by 50%, or more, and once they're gone, they're gone. 

The forecast is looking good for the weekend, but just in case the sale items will be under shelter and there will be free tea/coffee/soft drink for you to enjoy while you shop. 

Feel free to drop by if you're in need of a bargain or three, I look forward to seeing you.

Saturday August 4 10am - 2pm

Sunday August 5 10am - 2pm

Lisa B xx

Christmas Light up Box Tutorial.......

Good morning all, 

I do hope that you are all well and dodging the cold bug that is doing the rounds!

Well it was a busy weekend for me as I had my workshop on Sunday at Grove Green and my ladies got to make a light up Christmas box scene using Tando Products and and a lot of mediums....

Kirsten and I decided to take some stage photos so that I could blog it for you, although we got three quarters of the way through it and then it got too busy and people needed help so I will just explain the rest as we forgot to take any more photos and I have had to finish it at home. I will blog this one a bit later. 

The one pictured below is the one that I made before the class.

To start off we used the Tando Creative Boxed Scene Kit, which comprises of a very sturdy outer MDF box that slots and glues together, three greyboard houses and a large greyboard three.

I also gave them an extra kit to play with of assorted Tando embellishments.

So I started by painting the inside of the box back, top and sides to create a night sky using Deco Art Americana Paints in ultra marine and calypso blue. Blending the colour, giving an ombre effect.

Once that was dry, I used a template that I had created using a round die and thick card to create a moon. I placed it so that it overlapped the join to continue on to the top.

Next I used a Domed Stencil Brush and some Rich Gold Starlights through an Imagination Crafts Starry Trail stencil to create some stars in the sky.......

Once that was done I added some water to what Rich Gold paint I had on my mat and used a 3/4" Flat Brush to splatter some paint to create mini starts on the background. 

Next was to add some fluffy clouds to the sky, so I used the 3/4" Flat Brush again and Blanc Rusty Patina. Using the brush sideways with very little Rusty Patina on my brush I added some wispy clouds on to the background. I also painted my Reindeer Tando santa and Sleigh in Black Starlight paint and glued it to the background.

The next stage was to start decorating and building the houses. So once they were folded along their score lines it was time to set about painting them. I painted the bases of the houses inside and out with Blanc Rusty Patina. I decided to be a little different from my original one with this one  and painted the roofs, windows and doors in different colour Deco Art Americana Paints.

Once the houses were dry, I glued them together and added the roofs, windows and doors.

In this next picture, you can see that I have added some snowy roofs to my houses. This was done with a  3/4" Flat Brush and Blanc Rusty Patina and then glitter sprinkled on top.

I also did it to all the other Tando Embellishments in the extra pack.

So this is when it started to get a little busy and lots of people needed help so there are not step by step pictures.......

The next step was to create the snowy mounded base for the houses to sit on and this was done by scrunching up and shaping tin foil and then covering it with Structure Paste. I then added white tissue paper and then more Structure Paste and stippled with a palette knife.

Once that was dry I then gave it a coating of  Blanc Rusty Patina and then glitter to make it sparkle.

Next came the exciting bit as I had drilled a hole in the back bottom side of the box and it was time to feed through the Mini Lights ( I do have them available and will be on the website soon or you can ring me) and glue them in place to the back inside of the box with a hot glue gun being very careful not to glue the actual lights and just the wire. The flat small switch is then attached to the back of the box.

Once in place I glued and assembled the box and then started attaching all the elements within.

I had used a Marianne die to die cut some trees for the front left and right side of the box as shown....

Once this was all dry, I then finished off by using a palette knife and  Structure Paste to decorate the outer box top and sides to look like peaks in the snow as shown below. Once that had also dried I then went over with a layer of  Blanc Rusty Patina and glitter to finish off.

Then it was all finished and ready to light up........

I really loved making this scene and have gone on to make quite a few more different ones which I will show you soon. This has been in my head for about four years that I wanted to make and teach this and it was great to get the chance to do it.

I do hope that you have enjoyed taking a look and I will be back soon with some more light up makes.

Have a great week

love and hugs 

Lisa B xxx

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Canvas tutorial with Hobby Art Stamps.......

Morning all, Lisa B here........

Well I hope you are having a lovely week, I was very busy at the tail end of last week and the weekend working for Imagination Crafts at the NEC HobbyCrafts Show in Birmingham. 

Thanks you so much to all of you that attended the show and came on to the stand and supported us by buying some of our fabulous goodies to play with. Remember, you can always post what you have made on our Facebook timelines as we love to see what you have made.....

I was working on canvases at the show which was really up my street as I love mixed media and playing around with messy stuff. 

 I promised you last week that I would post a tutorial this week of a canvas and this is one that I created for the last workshop using the gorgeous
Hobby Art March Hares....... 

So, let's start from the beginning........

If you have never had a go at a canvas before and you find the thought somewhat daunting, them sometimes it is best to size up to a slightly bigger project than just a card base and use something in between. For this one I used a That's Crafty White/Grey Board Square with rounded corners. These are the perfect size as a go between from a card to a canvas as they are 8x8" and a great substrate to work on......

Now it was at this point that I forgot to take the photos but lucky enough, I had just done a White/ Grey Board Tag in the same way and had taken photos of that, phew!!
So you would do exactly the same as I am about to describe on the square as I have done on the tag.....

I first coated the tag in Deco Art Black Gesso giving a nice thick even coat, this is a really nice gesso to work with and great quality. You can leave it to dry naturally or heat it with a heat gun.

Once dry, I added a thick coat of Imagination Crafts Crackle Medium and then let that dry. Again if you wanted to dry it with a heat gun, then you can.

Once that was dry, I then applied a thick coat of  white MDF Chalk Paint . Now one thing that you need to know about Imagination Craft Crackle Medium is that it works really fast. It is probably one of the fastest crackles that I have used, so you need to load up your brush with plenty of paint and start at the top and work down the page. If you miss a bit, don't be tempted to go over it as it will already be crackling and you will mess up the crackle and it doesn't matter if you do miss a bit as it is going to crackle anyway and show the black.  

So this is the effect that you are going to get at the end and I think it is fabulous and a great background for a canvas. 

So as I said, I did this with the square grey board and came up with a similar effect below.

I then added some Bundled Sage Distress Ink  to the bottom of the page and Tumbled Glass to the top of the page around the edges with a Blending Tool.

I then stamped on the march hare main image in Versafine Black Onyx to get an idea of where I wanted him to be.

I then repeated this on to white Watercolour Card and embossed the image with Wow Clear Embossing Powder.

I then set about colouring my image with watercolour pens and here is the result below, I was quite pleased with the result as I have not coloured for a while.....

So then I wanted to start on the background and decided to add some ghosting effects with the Imagination Crafts Bubble Background Stencil and some white gesso. It looks bright at this stage but really does sink in to the background as you can see later.

So next was to add some grasses using two stamps from the Hare set which I also embossed.

So at this stage I got so engrossed with my canvas that I actually forgot to take anymore in between photos, so I will explain the rest.....

I added some colour to the grasses and flowers with watercolour pens and added a moon that I stamped on to a piece of white card, coloured, cut out and attached to the canvas. I also added a Stampendous Message Life Is Art that I stamped also onto a piece of white card and the coloured and drew and cut around it to create a wood effect banner.

I added more stamping around the moon from the Hare Stamp Set in the way of foliage and coloured it with the watercolour pens too. Then I added some texture around the edge of the canvas using a dotty stamp from Hobby Art Texture Stamp Set and Versafine Black Onyx and then added some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink around the edge to draw the eye in to the centre.

At this point I felt that the piece needed a little more detail, so I decided to add some butterflies and a mouse from the Hobby Art Bluebell Wood stamp set, this is one of my all time favourite set of theirs. It has so many lovely stamps in the set and you can create so many scenes from it. I stamped and coloured them in the same way and then cut them out and attached them to the canvas and then I was done.

I loved making this piece and took so much pleasure in working out what I wanted and where to place everything,it was so much fun.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and it gets you in the mood to have a go as I have said many times. Canvases don't have to be scary, they are no different to making a card really, you just break down the stages......

I hope you have a lovely week and I will be back soon.

Love & hugs

Lisa B xx


  

     

          

             


***On the website, some Hobby Art stamp sets have been reduced in price by 25% - 40%.***