Steampunk clock shabby style.

Today I am sharing the steampunk clock I had published in the Craft Stamper earlier this year over on the Tando Creative Blog.

 The frame is covered with a crackle texture that has been coloured mixed media style....

.... and the background has layers of DecoArt media acrylics used as washes and some Andy Skinner stamps.

 

More photos and the process steps are available over on the Tando blog where I have added them as part of my Texture Week sample.

 

xxx

A Visual Journey #8

I had a great time at the Stitches Trade Show Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and spent some time at the DecoArt stand chatting to Andy Skinner and Mark Gould when they were free. I also did a couple of make and takes with Mark and also Andy's workshop. Andy was very generous and gave us two sets of his new stamps, one of his new masks and some acrylic paints from the new media line.

After being pretty in pink and very feminine last week, this is much more grungy, industrial and masculine this week.

I started with DecoArt media fluid acrylics and very lightly brayered yellow iron oxide, phthalo grebe-blue and phthalo blue in layers drying between each one.

 Next I brayered watered picket fence distress paint over the top and dried.

To finish I added a watery wash of quinacridone gold.

For the next stages I stenciled using the fluid acrylics and a new stencil from Andy called Industrial Elements and then took a cog mask and used peacock feathers and evergreen bough distress ink to create more depth in the background.

Over this I stamped  with two stamps from Andy's new Steampunk set........

..... finishing with the clock and the butterfly key from the set stamped onto left over distressed card from another project.

Lastly I die-cut some cogs from paper scraps ..........

..... which finished the composition for me.

If you are having fun with some journalling then please link up to this page and show us what you are doing and take a look at other inspiration from fellow travellers. This is just for fun. 

Thanks to those who have been joining in.

Here is the Linky code for you to use.

get the InLinkz code

Always listen to the heART.

hugs Brenda xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

FSC - Steampunk

My Steampunk DT contribution this week is very masculine. But not so if you pop over to the Fashionable Stamping Challenges blog and see the fabulous inspiration from my great DT sisters.

I started by covering my tag with a page from a steam power book showing a plan of something!! Next a layer of white acrylic paint, then inked over with tattered rose DI. I then put it through the Steampunk embossing folder and covered the raised areas with Iced Spruce DI and weathered wood distress powder. 

The tickets were inked with iced spruce and old paper DIs then stamped with a TH steampunk stamp in walnut stain. The gentlemen are from the Tim H Steampunk stamp set, stamped in walnut stain and then embossed with clear EP.

Love this propeller shape with a nut in the middle of it. These were inked the same as the tickets and I used the TH steampunk set of stamps again.  

A few manly embellishments from the tool box and finito.

I look forward to seeing your creations in the challenge over the next fortnight.

Have a fun Sunday whatever you are doing.

hugs {brenda} xox

Challenges to have fun with -
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes
So Artful Challenges - Steampunk
Card and Scrap - Vintage

Steampunk Débutante tag

Hi All

I have some of those fabulous Graphic 45 papers which I tend to 'stroke' rather than play with, but have decided they must make more of a showing and of course one of my new year resolutions is to use more of my supplies, so I am hitting that one still.

The tag was covered with some gold, flower embossed paper and I used both the Steampunk Débutante and Le Romantique Graphic 45 paper pads for the elements. 

To add to that, this includes a stamp by Andy Skinner, a couple of Memory Box dies and a flower made with a Spellbinders die. 

Oh and the little black flower on the top hat is an earing. 

The earing and the butterflies were heat embossed.

I know it doesn't look much but it's taken me a whole weekend to put this together - why do I always spend so much time, cutting, changing, re-arranging and re-designing things????

So I hope it brings a little inspiration to some-one.

 thought  would also share a couple of pics from my workshop on Saturday. These great ladies made a mini album with me ready to take home and add their photos.

Joan, Debs, Carol and Pat.

I need to take some photos of my album to show you too.

Have a great week.

hugs {brenda} xox

The Stamp Man - Texture

Happy Friday everyone - where did the last two weeks go? 

I hope you haven't been affected by the snow again this week. We have had a lovely covering but I think it is going to melt quickly.

Our next challenge to tempt you at The Stamp Man is about creating a project that shows us how you use textures in your work.

I felt like creating a steampunk card again this week and have used an embossed piece of mirri board that Jill had sent me a while ago. It really speaks for itself except the colouring on the embossed gears are done with Promarkers.

Here you can see the Promarker colours.

The inside page.

Can you see the vintage bee I have stamped. 

Yvonne will remember this one?!?

Supplies -

Tim Holtz stamps - Steampunk

Tim Holtz Ideaology - game spinners, ornate plates, sprocket gears

Tim Holtz Journalling Ticket and Salvage Stickers

Stazon Metallic gold

Distress ink - vintage photo

Watch parts and button from stash

The team have been busy making fabulous things to inspire you, so I hope you will come on over to the challenge blog and see what they have been creating. Most of the elements used can be found at The Stamp Man shop and the winner will receive a £10.00 voucher to spend there.

Thank you for visiting and big hugs if you leave a comment. It is so amazing to know that people come and look to see what I have been creating.

Have a great weekend.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Gingersnap Creations Chestnut theme - Words of wisdom -
mine are 'You an do anything but not everything'

Crafty Ribbons - Men or boys

Just for Fun - Vintage Men

Steampunk in red - The Stamp Man

It's Friday and the weekend starts here everyone. Hope all is well with you today.

When Jill told us that Vixx had chosen the colour red for the Stamp Man challenge this fortnight, my attention immediately turned to Valentine's,  but I have been hankering to go back to T!m's tags of Christmas to try the techniques as I didn't get to make them (maybe 2??) - and Grungy Monday this week is about his fabulous tags, so I knew this would fit perfectly - sorry I have been awol Linda, but here I am and hope to take part more often again.

So off I go to T!m's blog, find the tags and start at number one. But of course Christmas is over, I don't want to replicate them so I get the little grey cells working (do you like the touch of Poirot here?), and gather a new embossing folder - steampunk, gadget gears die and tattered leaves die. An embryo of an idea starts to emerge.

Tag 1 used embossing resist - a fabulous technique. 

I've got coredinations but no kraft core for the tag, so having used red card, the steampunk embossing folder and after the silver satin pearl ep has cooled I sand the top and then rub walnut stain over it. I die cut the word 'treasure' and tattered leaves from different red coredinations and the gears from silver embossed card. 

 I sanded the word treasure then added a glittery ep and I alcohol inked the gears. The leaves didn't look right at all, so out came the ideaology sprockets and gears, some beads and a heart, so more a 

Valentine feel after all eh?

So what are you making with the colour red at the moment? Come join us at The Stamp Man challenge to show us and you could be in with that chance of a £10.00 voucher for Jill's on-line store. What are you waiting for? - Let's go and I will see you there.

Supplies used -

Tim Holtz dies - tag, gadget gears

Sissiz die - treasure
Embossing folder - steampunk

Idealogy - sprokets and gears, heart, pin

Beads and ribbons from stash

Coredinations red card

Alcohol inks - raisin and cranberry

Have a wonderful weekend.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Try it on Tuesday - Resistance
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Red letter day - I am focused on the colour red
Stampalot - Monochrome
Grungy Monday - Tim's Christmas tags

For the Steampunk Man

I worked at home yesterday morning so I got up extra early to see what my blogging friends have been making lately and to catch up on some challenges. I have combined some of them to make this tag which fits the themes at -
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Men only
Make My Monday - Steampunk anything but a card.
Sunday Stamper - Simply irresistible
PanPastel challenges - Anything Goes

I have used the PanPastels to create the background using versamark with stamps as a resist. Some stamping, spraying and embellishing finish it off. I love these pastels that create this dry mixing of colours. I used Turquoise Shade, Raw Umber, Bright Yellow - green tint and Yellow Ochre.

This is one of my moulds covered in copper inka gold and black soot DI with white and silver ink pads wiped over the numbers and cogs. I added washers and a watch part to it.

A Scrolls Work stamp coloured with PanPastels and inked round the edges. Added to a spring and wire and pinned to the top.

My pen nibs were acquired from ebay and watch pieces from a carboot.

Thanks for stopping by today. I am now off to work.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Planes and Trains - art journalling

The Random Redhead Challenge at Gingersnap Creations this week continues the machines theme with a focus on planes and trains. I decided that having not done any journalling for quite a way this would be my chance to have a play and get very inky.

The backgrounds were made with torn strips of paper, including newspaper, stamped over the top and then given a colour wash. Over that I masked some sequin waste and added paint through it.

All the images have been downloaded, some from the Graphics Fairy and some I just Googled.

Both the planes and the trains are being transported high into space by the balloons enabling them to travel further distances, being watched by some very dubious characters. Are they spies?

The images have been cut out and inked and some have been edged with pen.

I had a real Steampunk fun time creating this.

Inspiration was drawn from -
Gingersnap Creations - Planes and trains
Try It On Tuesday - Steampunk
Simon Says Stamp - use newspaper
Sunday Stamper - Back to Black - as a tribute to Amy Winehouse, after the tragic news yesterday that she has died age 27. Like Hels says I hope she may now find the peace she couldn't find  before. xx The blue page has alot of black in it - hope that counts Hels.

I hope the weekend is going well - we have some lovely sunshine today and I have been to a carboot sale and picked up a couple of little bits for altering.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Cogs and wheels Steampunk

Hi All

Firstly a warm welcome to Patricia, Sandra and Wax Beach Artist who have all joined me this week. I am pleased that you have seen things you like on my blog and that you can join me on my creative journey.

This is my piece for the Gingersnap Creations Spicy Supply Challenge - gears, cogs and watch parts. It is machines month, focusing on steampunk and this challenge is to bring the mechanics of machines to the forefront. Other inspiration was drawn from Hels Sunday Stamper - make your own flower, Try It On - Steampunk, Stampotique - Flower power and Just For Fun - metal.

The base for this piece is a coaster made of black plastic with a soft black velvety backing to it. The head is from Hampton Art and is the same lady as can be found on the Graphic 45 Steampunk papers. I stamped her on some card which had been swooshed with distress stains and then used DIs over the top of that.

After stamping I drew over some of the cogs with Sakura glitter pens before heat embossing over the whole thing and stamping cogs into it using a gold metallic ink pad. When it was dry I sprayed it with a glossy sealer which actually left a nice soft textured finish to it.

To finish off I added lots of watch pieces, a handmade metal flower and a metal number plate. You can just see the tiny watch screws in the middle of the bolt at the centre of the flower.


Hope your day is good and thank you to all you lovely friends who visit and to those especially who leave me the most encouraging comments - I really appreciate them all.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Alcohol Inks with The Stamp man

Ooooh I have been trying to catch up with myself this week and I got right behind, mainly because at last I am in negotiations for some work next term. Having not been in paid work since the end of March, I am really quite excited. I'll tell you more once it has been organised.

This is a scheduled post as I should be at LB Crafts today with my sister where Lin has a workshop on making a frame and small canvasses. Also my Stamp Man teamie, Sue should be there as well - so we will get to meet - looking forward to seeing you Sue.

So on to business. At the Stamp Man it is my turn to host and my challenge is to use alcohol inks. I have also provided an optional sketch for those who would like it, but it's not compulsory. Sadly the Stamp Man store is closing but Jill is staying on-line and continuing with her internet sales - yay, thank goodness for that. There are sales items that are very good value - so go take a look.

I have decided to use a steampunk theme this week, mainly because I wanted to enter the Just for Fun challenge but knew I wouldn't have time, but their steampunk work inspired me. So you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised to see yesterday they have an 'Anything Goes' challenge this week, so I can still enter this.

I have also used the sketch, which has been kept very simple on purpose so that it can be embellished in any way you like.

Adirondack alcohol inks are the inspiration of the great Tim Holtz - check out his blog and this video to see how to use them and for more inspiration.

I have used -
Papers - TH crowded attic
TH embossing folder - collage
TH dies - gadget gears, ticket strip
TH stamps - steampunk
Alcohol Inks (AIs) - sunshine yellow, ginger, raisin, copper
DIs - vintage photo, walnut stain, tea dye
Walnut Hollow metal roll - aluminium, copper
ranger embossing ink and clear embossing powder
Ideaology embellishments and bakers twine
Coloured drawing pencils

Quick recipe
Stamp edges of paper and clear emboss - ink over.
Run metal sheet through embossing folder and use alcohol inks and TH dabber to cover.
Blend DI and then AIs and blending solution over paper strip.
Die cut gears from metal, texturise and again alcohol ink over them.
Stamp small tag, blend with DI, sprinkle with water, heat dry and colour with drawing pencils.
Edge piece of gold card with AIs.
Create wording in Word, distress with DIs and AIs, glue on.
Colour the bakers twinr with walnut stain DI.
Distress edges, mount pieces and add metal embellishments.
Assemble all pieces together.

 You can see the alcohol inks on the gold card here which edges the whole piece.

I also made this to enter the following challenges -
Simon says Stamp and Show - A word - mine is Inventors
Grungy Monday - Alcohol Inks.
Ink on my Fingers - Words

If I haven't got to see you recently hopefully I will get to catch up with you sometime over the weekend, but I am also off to the Stamp Show at Newbury tomorrow. Maybe I will see you there?

Take care and hopefully you have got some lovely things planned for the weekend.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox