My Mixed Media Mannequin....

Morning! :)
I absolutely loved making this mannequin, and was really pleased with it! So much so, I had real troubles forcing myself to pack it up and send it off to IndigoBlu HQ! Lol

I have used some newly released IndigoBlu stamps on here, as well as some trusty old favourite products too.

The back of her wings - 

Various IndigoBlu English Cottage Metallic Acrylic paints,
Mega (Gilding) Flakes

...and Kroma Crackle

The front of her wings - 

GeeSso Good Gesso 

Texture Paste
Laurel Leaf - IndigoBlu Stencil
Snow White - IndigoBlu Metallic paint

Goldfinger - IndigoBlu Metallic paint

The mannequin -
coated with
Black Gee Sso Good Gesso

I have stamped with Flitterglu onto tissue, using the 

IndigoBlu Laurel Leaf Stamp...then gilded, 

and added it to the mannequin using Slap It On. Left it to dry and then 

splattered the mannequin with coordinating paint colours. 

I have stamped and gilded onto some Organza, 

and then attached it to the mannequin, draped to make a dress.
Made a fabric 'waist cape' - stamped it with Laurel leaf stamps 

using English Cottage Paint and Mega Flake.

I gilded the stick part of the stand, using 

a brand new background stamp - 

Added a few metal embellishments (which were gilded first)

and there it is! 

There are lots of new things being released soon, so keep your eyes peeled for more

news on the website, DT blogs and Facebook pages! 

I'm entering this into:

Craft Stamper - Anything Goes - Use a stamp somewhere

Simon Says Stamp - Stencil It 

Fussy & Fancy - Fashion

Happy Little Stampers - Stencil 

Have a great weekend!
Happy Crafting

Lydia xx

All That Sparkles - IndigoBlu Challenge

Hello again :)

Today I'm sharing my Demo Inspiration card for the IndigoBlu Challenge - All that Sparkles -

 which runs for another 16 days.

So there is still lots of time to join us...and there are the usual fantastic prizes on offer too!!

The fabulous winner’s prize this month is your choice of IndigoBlu stamps.  As always, you have 3 options to choose from:

1:   2 Large stamp plates

or
2:   4 Small stamp plates

or

3:   1 Large and 2 small plates

There’s also the Winner’s Badge, and one for the Top 3, to display proudly on your blog, and the WINNER of the challenge will also be invited to do a GUEST SPOT on a future Challenge Launch post. That’s right, your work will be on the Challenge Blog alongside the Design Team!

I am entering this into: 

The Artistic Stamper - Anything Goes

Crafter's Cafe - Square Cards

OLLCB - Girlie 

That Craft Place - Anything Goes 

Happy Crafting :) 

Lydia xx

Sleigh Bells Ring....

Well, here we are in the last full week of November!! Eeek!! 

Anyone ready for December??!!  I'm so not...but I at least have a decorated sleigh! :)

The sleigh is from Tando Creative...'flat packed' and made from chipboard, and then I've altered it... inspired by the ultra talented, Mr Andy Skinner.

I have used many DecoArt Media Line paints, Crackle Glaze, Crackle Paint, Texture Paste,

Weathered Wood,

Tando Creative Sleigh, Merry Christmas, Stockings and stars...

IndigoBlu Script stamp,  Ruby Slippers paint...

Archival Sepia Ink pad...

I had hours of fun with this project...thanks for taking a peek :) 

I'm entering this into:

Anything But Cute - It's Ornamental 

Mixed Media World - Anything goes

Happy Crafting

Lydia xx

Time Flies - IndigoBlu Demonstrator Inspiration

Time Flies......but we still remember them.

This month's IndigoBlu Challenge theme is 'Time Flies'

November is here...and as it's Remembrance Sunday this coming weekend, I thought it fitting to make something with that in mind. 

Poppies are also one of my favourite flowers, and as IndigoBlu have quite a few stamp designs with Poppies, the tough bit was choosing which one to use! I settled with 'Poppy Meadow' ...a beautiful set of stamps.
The background: Mdf clock cog,
1) Coat with IndigoBlu Black Gesso,
2) Using Slap It On to adhere, cover with a sheet of paper from our 12 x 12  Vintage Memories Mixed Media Paper set . 3) Swipe over with a wash of watered down Hot Cocoa, and leave it to dry, thoroughly.
4) Using Ink Splats - go around the edge using Archival Sepia and Archival Black inks.
5) Stamp the poppy onto IndigoBlu smooth cardstock...colour and cut out.
6) Add the Poppy to the clock background. Also the wording and soldier.
7) Using an image from Industrial Lamps - stamp onto the base and add some yellow and orange distress ink colours.
8) Add the mechanism and hands x

The fabulous winner’s prize this month is your choice of IndigoBlu stamps.  As always, you have 3 options to choose from:

1:   2 Large stamp plates

or
2:   4 Small stamp plates

or

3:   1 Large and 2 small plates

There’s also the Winner’s Badge, and one for the Top 3, to display proudly on your blog, and the WINNER of the challenge will also be invited to do a GUEST SPOT on a future Challenge Launch post. That’s right, your work will be on the Challenge Blog alongside the Design Team!

Also the Top Three each month (chosen by our lovely DT) will all be invited to do an inspiration piece to be included on the new reminder post that now goes live mid challenge. So, if you’d like a chance to be featured on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog get those stamps out and get creating!

I am entering this into:

Altered Eclectics - Mixed Media - Anything Goes

Fussy and Fancy - Flowers 

Happy Crafting

Lydia xx

They're Coming Out To....Play!!!

🎃 Hello!!🎃

It's that time of year where all things spooky come out....and this crypt is no exception!! 😱

I'm not a great fan of the Trick or Treat side of Halloween...but it's always a fun time to create. So as we approach the bewitching hour, I'm posting my entry into the

DecoArt Haunts Challenge.

Being totally honest...I'm fairly new to the DecoArt range of products, and only have a few paint colours, and gesso, so I was a bit limited! I will just have to do some shopping in Coventry next weekend!! ;)

 So... armed (bones...armed....see what I did there?!! haha) with a deep framed canvas...I began!

The canvas was painted to within an inch of it's life (on the 'other' side) with black gesso...then randomly 'splodged' with texture paste. I then added some chipped plastic type pieces (tech term!)  to the paste and left it to dry. Once dried I added some cobweb in places for some texture, and painted over everything once again with black gesso.
I painted the skeletons with Titan Buff & Raw Umber... mixed both together for a paler brown...to dirty them up a bit, and drew on some cracks.

The base has had Raw Umber, Prussian Blue & Pyrrole Red paint added for soil and muck...some greenery for bushes and grass...and some plastic pumpkins for effect. The pumpkins had a coat of Pyrrole Red and Raw Umber mix ...and the spiders too! 

The fencing is...sorry...WAS... a Tattered Lace dainty fence...now it's a broken, rusty old bit of fencing, (thanks to Raw Umber and Patina Antiquing Cream...oh and a pair of trusty scissors!!) which I don't think is going to do the best job in the world of holding these crazy bits of bone in their holding!!! Eeeeek!!! 

And there we are!! :)
Not as detailed as I'd have liked, but think I need to invest in some more DecoArt Media yummyness!!  x

Happy Halloween!!

I'm also entering this into ...

That's Crafty! - Haunted Halloween

Mixed Media World - Anything Goes - On Wood ...I have used a deep wood framed canvas x

That Craft Place - Anything goes - Mixed Media

Eclectic Ellapu - Halloween/Dark/Horror

Altered Eclectics - Altered Art - Anything Goes

Happy Crafting

Lydia xx

  

IndigoBlu Demo Inspiration - Autumn Days....

Hello!!
Woah...where did October appear from??  

One minute it was summer holidays...I must have blinked...and here we are in Autumn!
But Autumn (so long as it isn't wet, yukky and miserable like today!!) has got to be THE nicest season EVER!!
It's beautiful...and so full of colour.

Which leads me on to my inspiration piece for the IndigoBlu Challenge today...
... Autumn Days ...

I think I have just found a new addiction!! Art Journalling!!!

This is my VERY FIRST art journal page!!!!

This started as a blank double page, in a journal that I have been wanting to 'play in' for ages.

Using IndigoBlu Black Gesso as a base...a couple of paint brushes...and IndigoBlu Cottage Garden Artist Quality Acrylic Paint...I hand painted this...can you spot my little bunny?  :)

I have used the following IndigoBlu products to create this page:

Poppy Meadow - The beautiful sentiment

Nature II - The birds & the squirrel

Black GeeSoo Good Gesso

Cottage Garden Artist Quality Acrylic Paint:

Hot Cocoa

Postbox Red

Banana Custard

Burning Bonfire

Emerald City

&
Miss Moneypenny

-----

Other products:
Black Archival ink pad

White Charcoal Pencil

What is your take on Autumn? We would love to see! :)

The fabulous winner’s prize this month is your choice of IndigoBlu stamps.  As always, you have 3 options to choose from:

1:   2 Large stamp plates

or
2:   4 Small stamp plates

or

3:   1 Large and 2 small plates

There’s also the Winner’s Badge, and one for the Top 3, to display proudly on your blog, and the WINNER of the challenge will also be invited to do a GUEST SPOT on a future Challenge Launch post. That’s right, your work will be on the Challenge Blog alongside the Design Team!

Also the Top Three each month (chosen by our lovely DT) will all be invited to do an inspiration piece to be included on the new reminder post that now goes live mid challenge. So, if you’d like a chance to be featured on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog get those stamps out and get creating!

You’ll find all the information on how to enter the challenge,  the rules (don’t worry, there’s not that many) and get to meet the Design Team in the tabs above. 

I'm entering this into:

Craft Stamper - Technique - Paint

Mixed Media World - Anything Goes with Autumn Colours

Fussy & Fancy - Autumn Colours

Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Words

Good Luck...and 

Happy Crafting 

Lydia xx

Precious Metal ...IndigoBlu Demonstrator Inspiration

Morning all :)
Well, here we are in sunny August...minus the sun!!! It's more like winter out there today!
Never mind...hopefully my Demonstrator project for this month's  IndigoBlu Challenge, will bring a little ray of sunshine x

This was a metal pot that I bought from good old Lidl. I introduced it to some IndigoBlu Gee-Sso Good Gesso...some English Cottage Artist Acrylic paints, Flitterglu and Mega Flake...and this is the result!
Perfect for my ever growing collection of brushes :)

Nip across to the blog for some wonderful inspiration from the design team...and all the info on the FABULOUS prizes on offer!!!

Until next time...
Happy Crafting

Lydia x

A Pocketful of Posies...or....

...A Tinful of Poppies!!! :)

Morning!!
Here we are in June already....another 6 months and it'll be ....cold!!!! Lol
But, for now it's that midway inspiration point for the IndigoBlu Challenge!
The demonstrators have given you a bit of inspiration ...and a gentle reminder that you have 16 days left to enter!! ;) 

I have used some of the BRAND NEW releases to make my project...as always when we release newbies, my challenge is which one to use first!! 

Don't forget that there are awesome prizes up for grabs too!! x

The fabulous winner’s prize this month is your choice of IndigoBlu stamps.  As always, you have 3 options to choose from:

1:   2 Large stamp plates

or
2:   4 Small stamp plates

or

3:   1 Large and 2 small plates

Happy Crafting

Lydia xx

IndigoBlu meets Stick It!

I was going to say 'Good Morning'...but it seems that as I've had a lovely time playing...I missed that part of the day!! :) But...I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that's what happens when you get engrossed in your crafting! ;)

I was recently given a few sheets of the 'much talked about' Stick It - to 'play' with...by the lovely David and Brenda at Craft Obsessions...via the just as lovely Kay at IndigoBlu. These double sided adhesive sheets have been designed by the fantabulous crafter Ken Oliver. He designed them with the thought of making intricate die cuts easier to stick...and he soooo succeeded!! The sheets are just fabulous for that....BUT.....you know me...so let's find another use for them too :)

The dies that I used for this project aren't too intricate, so I used the good old gluing method to attach them to my card. Hmmm....defeat the object you say? Well...this is why. I wanted my die cut to match my background colours...and my background colours were......PAINT! I also wanted sparkle...so I needed to adhere that on too! Soooooo.....

I painted my background with IndigoBlu English Cottage Artists Acrylic Paint...and then dried it. I then covered the area I needed with a sheet of Stick It....and cut my shape out.

Carefully peeled the adhesive backing sheet off...

...and covered in ultra fine glitter!

The result....glittery die cuts to match my background :)

Thank you to the lovely David and Brenda at Craft Obsessions...I shall be creating again soon!! :)

Lydia xx

Posted with Blogsy

Just One Layer!

I don't know what it's like where you are...but I think someone forgot to tell the weather that we are no longer in April!! Phew! You'll definitely get a bit soggy around the edges if you go out there, and rather windswept too!!!
Personally, I think you should stay in the warm and create something cheery :)  How about something for the IndigoBlu Challenge?? ;)

This month the challenge theme is 'Just One Layer' ...and that's all there is to it!!!! Unless, like me you like lots of layers usually...and then it's what it is supposed to be...a challenge!! Lol
Don't forget there are the usual fabulous prizes ...  

The fabulous Winner’s prize this month is your choice of IndigoBlu stamps.  As always, you have 3 options to choose from:

1:   2 Large stamp plates

or
2:   4 Small stamp plates

or

3:   1 Large and 2 small plates

Have a go...we'd love to see what you create 

Have fun

Lydia xx

Here Come the Girls......

Hello!!! I'm back... with the girls on the catwalk of the Tattered Lace blog this time! 

There is so much you can do with these dies...I'm loving them!

For this project I used an mdf base, well...it's actually a box top which will hold 'hair bands and bobs'...but you can make something similar as a card very easily. 

Take the project base of your choice and coat it with a layer of Gel medium or PVA & water mix. Cover with a piece of dressmaking pattern paper and add another coat of gel medium.

Die cut 4 x Kensington Corners...adhere those to each corner.

Randomly spritz with paint/glimmer mist or similar. Dry off with heat gun.

Arrange different sized and coloured buttons in a couple of corners and adhere with hot glue.

Take a length of lace and make a bow with the small Bow Maker (absolute must have item!!! ;) )

Adhere to a big button in the corner. Make another bow with narrower lace and ensure you leave long enough tails to trail over the base.
Layer the two bows and add another button to the top. Glue down the bow tails.
Die cut the clock - Counting the Moments - then ink the hands and a few hearts in a contrast colour...adhere the clock and glue on the coloured pieces.

Die cut 6 of the girls and double layer them. Cut out dresses...again, doubling them up for a bit of strength and dimension. 

Cut out their shoes and hair...adhere the girls to the base and decorate them. 

Die cut some of the words from Fashion Sentiments in two colours to shadow them and add those.

Randomly dry brush some metallic paint to finish off your project x

Have fun!!

Tattered Lace Tools

Bella's Body - D716

Counting the Moments - D272 

Fashion Sentiments - D722

Bella's Short Dresses - D711 

Bella's Hair - D718

Kensington Corner - D318

Embellishments

Buttons 

Large Pearls 

Small Pearls 

Lace Trim

Happy Crafting

Lydia xx