Tag Friday AVJ

It's a Tag Friday post over at A Vintage Journey

I began by stamping the salamander from France Papillon's Illusionary Artist set of stamps Creepers and Crawlers using distress oxide, spritzing it with water and drying it before cutting it out.

For the background I die cut a tag using media paper tag and stamped with gesso to get some immediate texture and interest on my tag and then dipped in spiced marmalade and worn lipstick distress oxides. When that was dry I rubbed in some vintage photo around the edges and spritzed with water and heat dried and later towards nearing completion I stamped lightly with an old text stamp and splattered both titan buff and titanium white media fluid acrylic paint.

I used the same distress colours plus walnut stain and barn door DI to get another background from which I die cut a robo bar frame by Seth Apter. This was a little smaller than I wanted so I have saved it and cut the outside piece into a larger frame in which the salamander can sit.

I sewed round the edges of my tag and then mounted it onto some brown card. I also sewed down the sides of the frame.

These are the elements I collected for embellishing, the button actually got left off when it came together it just didn't work.

The Salamander is mounted over some chicken wire .....

... and the book plate is being recycled although the inner part is new.

 For more information and inspiration pop over to A Vintage Journey to see what the other amazing Creative Guides have added for us to peruse.

Happy Easter.

hugs Brenda xxx

Positivity Journal Panels for Andy Skinner

I have a post over on Andy Skinner's blog today sharing these panels I have made for a new Positivity Journal.

Sitting on a shelf were some offcuts of card measuring 3 1/8 x 4 1/4 inches left over from a previous project and I decided to make up a couple for my DT contribution to Andy's blog this month both using the same recipe but changing papers, images and colours etc and adding an odd scrape of gesso for texture and variation on the second one.

Card 1.

Seal the card with a coat of gesso.

Stamp diagrams onto greaseproof paper and adhere to the card. Sand round the edges with sandpaper to remove any excess.

Add some tissue tape to different parts of the card.

Spritz the surface with water and finger paint some light daubs of cobalt blue hue, cerulean blue and raw umber. Heat dry. The tissue tape will probably lift so seal the whole surface with a coat of decoupage sealer/glue.

Stencil numbers etc using Andy's French Elements stencil and black acrylic paint or black gesso.

Die-cut, punch or tear stars from patterned paper and adhere to the card. (I used some left over painty card and the tim holtz dimensional stars thinlits dies and some watery paint in the crevices)

Add a quote and .......

..... sand back and ink the edges.

Card 2

Follow the steps above and before stencilling Time .... In Action, just scrape a little gesso with a flat palette knife and dry.

The cogs are from Tando Creative and to keep the panel flat I soaked them in water for a while and then split them into 3 or 4. That way I could layer several and it not sit bulkily in the journal I wanted to put them in.

It was only once I had finished the first one that I liked it so much I decided I would use the small panels for the little altered journal I had started. I remember my friend Astrid had started a positivity journal years ago so  thought I would start a new one and add these cards to the pages.

Well I'll have to make sure I make a positivity panel every month so I can fill all the pages.

Take care I hope you have a good weekend.

hugs Brenda xxx

King Spook Hanging

In typical Andy Skinner style these new stamps are fabulous to work with and I used them to create a little hanging to share on Andy's blog today.

I've used the little fella in the bottom left and called him King Spook.
Click on the photo for the links.

Roughly seal the substrate (I used one of my Tando media boards) with gesso, leave some of the outer edges exposed.

 Using the dip and dry technique and watery washes start with raw umber - dry. Add a little cobalt blue to it, dip and dry. Add a little more cobalt blue and some titan buff, dip and dry. Add some titanium white to the mix and repeat.

Stamp text using Spooks and Tech Trauma with watering can, give it a blast of the heatgun and then take a little white gesso with a palette knife - flatten it on your paper/foil palette and the keeping the knife flat to the surface of the board drag small amounts over the background so you get a distressed look.

Stamp the skulls onto tissue paper - I wanted a good clean image over the  rough background. Adhere to the background and give the whole board a covering with matte medium.

Mix a very watery wash of quin gold, paynes grey and quin red and apply to the surface spritzing with water if necessary to keep in light in colour tone - just like watercolours.

I chose those colours so it would tone in with the frame as well.

Cut the TH cameo frame with an oval cut out centre from thin greyboard, run it through an embossing folder and seal with a coat of gesso.

Put a little drops of decoart media acrylics silver, quinacridone red, quinacridone gold and titan buff on a flat palette and take them randomly on a brush and mix and blend them on the frame.

Paint over watery washes of raw umber and paynes grey allowing them to seep into the crevices and dry - repeat several times.

When dry sand the high spots on the surface back to the silvery colour and some raw greyboard and then blend a dark brow distress ink over the whole background and with a babywipe wipe it off again leaving the greyboard areas taking the ink and making the frame look much older,

Don't forget to sand the edges inside and out and blend with vintage photo DI.

Take a piece of media card and dip in watery cobalt blue, dry, and then mix a watery rose colour from the quin gold, quin red and titan buff and dip again.

Using the a stencil apply titanium white through it and stamp some text and numbers from the brand new 'Spook' set of stamps by Andy for Illusionary Artists.

Follow up with a wash of quin gold and paynes grey and dips of those colours with titanium white to get an etheral layered effect.

I stamped the image using aterng can archival ink but because of the stencilling and layers it didn't come out as sharply as i thought it would.

But I knew I was going to paint it in and with some paynes grey and a very fine brush I was able to add the detail in.

Stick King Spook to the back of the cameo frame and adhere it to a second one to give it some substance and dimension .... 

.... and assemble the hanging.

Thanks for stopping by and a especially to those of you who leave me such lovely comments - I really appreciate each and every one.

Don't forget to stay tuned to Andy's blog to see all the wonderful inspiration that gets posted.

hugs Brenda xx