Today I am sharing an art journal page that I created recently.
To create the texture I used Kaisercraft's Leaves stencil and Mont Marte Modelling Paste.
A row of lace was attached to the bottom section of the page using Satin Mod Podge
To colour the page I used Dylusions London Blue Shimmer Spray, Dylusions Dirty Martini Ink Spray, Perfect Pearls Mist Green Patina and Artiste Spritzing Ink in Gold.
I used a stamp with Jet Black StazOn ink to stamp all over the page.
The final touch for the background was white splatters using acrylic paint.
The Focal points were created using Dina Wakley's Scribbly Birds stamp and StazOn Jet Black ink
To colour the birds I used Distress Inks - Candied Apple, Festive Berries, Ripe Persimmon, Mustard Seed and Scattered Straw.
I gave the birds a spray with Boyle Matt Clear Finishing Sealer so that the colour would not move when I add more wet mediums to them.
Once I had fussy cut the birds I attached them to the page using Matisse Matt Medium
The title was cut on my Scan N Cut. The black letters are Adobe Gothic Font and the white cardstock is Beyond the Mountains Font.
To detail the birds and title I used Uniball Eye Micro Black pen and a white 0.7mm Posca paint pen
The scribbly border around the page came from two Fineliner bottles, one with white acrylic paint that has been watered down and the other has watered down black acrylic paint.
You can watch the video if you would like.
Thank you for spending part of your day here with me today.
This layout is for the challenge that requires you to use Red, Orange & Yellow - You can use one, two or all three of these colours plus use a stencil. I have used all three colours.
The inspiration for this layout came from a video by Allison Davis. You can see her video here.
The triangles on this layout reminded me of the Pyramids we saw while we were holding in Egypt, where this photo was taken.
To create the triangles I marked the middle of one side of each square and then cut from the two corners on the opposite edge to the centre mark. I cut approx 10 squares to begin with and placed them onto the layout leaving a thin white border between each triangle then I cut more triangles as I needed them to fill in the design and extend it out to the size I needed so the triangles were visible around each edge of the photo. Once I was happy with the placement of the triangles I inked the edges and attached them to the background using glue. I used my T-Ruler to make sure the first triangle was straight so all of the other triangles would be straight as I lined them up.
The photo measures 8" x 4.5". I matted this on white cardstock so it had a 1/16" border on all sides.
A piece of chipboard was attached to the back of the photo before it was added to the layout.
The words Sunset and Nile were cut on my Scan N Cut from black cardstock. To complete my title I used some stickers from Basic Grey.
My layout now looked like this and I had planned to stop here.
After looking at the layout for a few minutes I thought it looked a little bare so I fussy cut some of the small flowers from Simple Stories - Hello Summer - Oh Happy Day. I had inked around the edges of each flower and attached them to the top left hand and the bottom right hand corners of the layout. So you can see the difference those few flowers made.
I have to admit I do prefer the layout with the flowers but the part of me that likes clean layouts is still pretty keen on the layout without the flowers
Today I have a quick post to share with you four of my favourite ways to use my stencils
There are dozens of ways to use stencils but these are the ones I enjoy and seem to use the most. I love adding texture and dimension to my projects.
I have made samplers to demonstrate these techniques.
I cut a 12" x 12" piece of smooth white cardstock into 6" squares to use as my base. I will probably cut these up and use them on card projects in the future.
I clean my stencils as soon as I have finished each project because I do not want any of the product to dry on the stencil and make it harder to keep my stencil flat on future projects.
To get a nice clean edge to your stencilling projects it is very important to make sure your stencil sits flat on your cardstock.
I use a soft scrubbing brush and warm water in the sink to clean them. This could cause blockages in the plumbing if you are using your stencils continuously but I figure that for the number of time I use them I can probably get away with it. Time will tell I guess.
Starting from the left hand sample I have used Matisse Impasto Medium, which dries clear, and put that through my Kaisercraft "Textures" stencil. While the paste is still wet and in place I sprinkled Dress My Crafts Frosted Sugar Powder over it and pressed it into the medium using my brayer. The excess was tipped back into the bottle and the stencil removed. The Frosted Sugar Powder will not come off once the medium is dry as it has been firmly adhered. You could also use glitter, confetti and glass beads in the same way.
The second sample is using Colour Blast Colour Pastes through the same Kaisercraft stencil. The stencil is one of those that has 4 designs in the one 12" x 12" stencil.
This technique shows that you can use any paste with a stencil. Mostly I use Modelling Paste which I colour with acrylic paints to suit the project I am working on. Some other products that fit into the "Paste" category are Viva Inka Gold, Shimmerz Textures, Faber Castell Texture Luxe, Stencil Magic Paint Creme and BoBunny Glitter Paste, really anything that has a paste texture.
I have applied the gel through the stencil and set it aside to dry. The gel goes on white and when it is dry it is clear. Once it is dry I laid Fab Foil, patterned side up, on top of the cardstock and ran my brayer over the foil to transfer the gold to the gel. There are lots of different colours and types of foil so the effects are unlimited really.
The final sample used Distress Oxide inks in Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean and Speckled Egg which I have applied through a Stencil Girl stencil using my blending brush. Once this had dried I stamped on top of the stencilling using StazOn Jet Black ink and a Kaszazz Stamp called "Reason Season Lifetime" before I removed the stencil. You could use any stamp here.
So there we have a few tips for using your stencils.
Here is the video that shows my process.
I hope you have found this informative and you try some of these techniques on your next project.
I would love to see or hear about your favourite stencil techniques. I love trying new things so leave me a comment.
Today I am sharing three cards I made using my DT supplies for March from KS4U.
They are all Double folds, Double Gate Fold, Double Zig Zag and Double Z Fold
KS4U are having a huge 40% off everything (except paper) until 20th March. You will find their stores here and here.
They still have some the large boxes of assorted flowers for sale too. Only $25USD plus postage gets you over 3 lbs of flowers, you also go in the draw for to win a $50USD store credit to spend on whatever you like.
All of the patterned papers used on these cards is from the 8.25" x 11.5" Prima paper pad called Lyric, such pretty muted colours.
Card No 1. Double Z Fold card
All of the patterned papers on this card have had the edges distressed with my Prima Distressing tool and inked with a black ink cube.
I have cut two pieces of white cardstock to create the base. One is 11" x 5.5" and one is 9.25" x 4.25"
The larger one is scored at 2.75" and 5.5 " on the 11" edge and the smaller one is scored at 2.75" and 5.5" on the 9.25" edge
Each piece is folded the same- fold at the 5.5" score mark first and then fold at the 2.75" score mark away from the centre of the card.
I chose two patterned papers from the pad.
The first sheet was cut at 5.25" square and two pieces 5.25" x 2.5". This is attached to the 5.5" x 11" card base.
The second sheet of patterned paper was cut to 4" square and two pieces 4" x 2.5" and attached to the smaller cardstock piece
I folded both pieces and slid the smaller piece between the folds of the larger piece so that when it was open and you look at the bottom edge of the card it looks like to Z's
I applied glue to the left hand edge of the small piece and attached it on top of the folded back front section of the card base. I then attached the other end of the smaller piece to the card base so that it sat flat and still allowed the card to open.
To decorate the card I used a piece of chipboard from Mixed Media Fragments - Retro by Gina's Designs. There were four of the stylised snowflakes joined together, I cut one off, painted it with Apricot Preserves acrylic paint and added a coat of Glossy Accents.
The silk flower was cut from a larger flower cluster.
The black flower shaped decorations came from a previous kit.
The greeting was heat embossed using a Woodware stamp called Boxed Greetings. I stamped with Versamark ink and embossed using black superfine embossing powder. I fussy cut the greeting and attached it to the front panel of the card
Card No. 2 Double Gate Fold card
All of the patterned papers on this card have had the edges inked with a black ink cube.
The card base for this card measures 5" x 12" and is scored at 1", 3.5", 8.5" and 11"
I used a Martha Stewart punch to punch the two outside edges on the 5" lengths.
Make a mountain fold at the 1" score line, a valley fold at the 3.5" score line, another valley fold at the 8.5" score line and a mountain fold at the 11" score line.
I also punched two strips of patterned paper then trimmed them down to 0.75" x 5". These were attached to the scalloped section of the card base.
To create the sliding closure, cut three squares 3" in size, score two of them at 1.5". Fold and burnish on the fold lines.
Attach one of the folded pieces on top of one of the flat pieced so the fold is in the centre of the flat square, ensure the edges are lined up perfectly.
Next attach the second folded piece so the two folds are touching each other, once again ensuring the edges are lined up.
Now attach the last flat piece directly on top of the two folded squares.
This makes the sliding closure panel.
I have used the same patterned paper on the inside and outside of this card.
The inside papers are one piece 4.75" square and two pieces 2.25" x 4.75"
The outside papers are 2 pieces 2.25" x 5"
The patterned paper for the closure panel is 2.75" square.
To create the flowers to decorate the closure panel I have heat embossed two flowers using Woodware's Five Daisies stamp, Versamark Embossing ink and black Super Fine Embossing Powder, on two different coloured papers.
I created two of each colour, fussy cut them, shaped them and then layered the two flowers, staggering them so the petals did not sit directly on top of each other. I added some small foam squares between the layers of the petals so they would always have some dimension.
A large clear gem was added to the centre of each flower
The flowers were then attached to the closure panel
The greeting, which is on the inside centre panel is a clear sticker from 13@rts His & Hers Remastered clear sticker sheet. It says "Make A Wish"
Card No. 3Double Zig Zag
All of the patterned paper on this card has had the edges inked with a black ink cube.
The card base for this is 5" x 20"
I used 2 A4 sheets of cardstock. I cut one 5" x 10" and one 5" x 10.25".
I applied a strip of 0.25" double sided tape to the 5" width of the 10.25" piece of cardstock and then layed the 10" piece on top of it so the edge of the cardstock ran along the inside edge of the double sided tape.
To score this card score at 2.5", 5" and 7.5" rotate the card and score at 2.5", 5" and 7.5" again.
I measured up 2.5" on both outside edges and then drew a line from this mark to the top of the 7.5" score lines on both sides. I then cut this off using my trimmer. You could cut it off with scissors but I can not cut a straight line with scissors to save myself
To fold the card I started at the 7.5" score line and folded the outside edge into the middle then I worked my way out to the edges folding in the opposite direction to the last fold. I did the same thing for the other side.
I cut patterned paper for both the front and back panels of my card but you could just do the fronts if you preferred.
To get my sizing right I cut all of the panels to the width of the panel minus 0.25" then I cut the length to the longest measurement of the panel minus 0.25".
I held this piece of patterned paper against the panel and marked where I wanted to cut the lower end of the slope with a pencil then cut from the tallest point down to my pencil mark. I did this for each panel
These were then attached to the card base.
To create the sentiment panel I cut a piece of white cardstock 3" x 1" and two pieces of patterned paper 2.75" x 0.75".
One of the patterned papers was attached to the back of the white cardstock piece.
I used Hero Arts C5594 Happy Birthday stamp and Jet Black StaZon Ink to stamp the greeting on the other piece of patterned paper. This was then attached to the front of the white cardstock and then attached to the left hand front panel of the card
I had a piece of the punched cardstock left over from the previous card so I attached that to the bottom of the inside back panel, applying glue to only the bottom and two side to make a tiny pocket.
I then used white cardstock measuring 2.5" x 3.5" to make a tag. I added and eyelet using my Crop-a-Dile and some black crochet cotton. This will sit in the tiny pocket and give me a place to write my personal message.
The flowers to decorate this card were created using Picket Fence Studio's Flowers For Picking stamp and Jet Black StaZon ink. Each flower has two layers and there are 17 flowers. I used an assortment of patterned papers so I would have a variety of colours.
After I had shaped and assembled the flowers I added them to the top edges of the card so they cascaded down the card.
To finish them off I added a clear gem to the centre of each flower
Here is the video that shows how I made the cards so if you have any questions you may find your answer in the video. Alternatively, you can ask in the comments and I will get back to as quickly as I can.
This is a very long post and I thank you for staying with me till the end.
I have just got home from Yoga, who would have thought Yoga could be so hard. I have been going to Yoga for a few years but haven't been for a couple of months and boy will I feel it tomorrow.
Anyway on with may card making share for you today.
I love acetate cards and so I decided to make three different styled acetate cards to share with you.
I have used papers from Prima's Nature Garden 6" paper pad on each of these cards.
As coincidence would have it my Facebook memory for today was three acetate cards I made a year ago. If you would like to see that video you will find it here.
These are today's cards
The first card is created on an acetate base so it is very hard to photograph.
The acetate I used for the card base is thicker than the acetate I have used on the other cards. I don't know how the thickness is measured but it easily holds its own weight.
I cut the acetate to 10" x 5" and scored and folded it at the 5" mark to create a 5" square card.
To decorate the card I cut three strips of patterned paper 2" x 5", inked the edges with black ink and attached one to the centre front of the card base, one directly behind that piece on the inside front and one directly behind those on the inside back of the card base.
I cut a piece of white cardstock 2" x 5" and attached that to the outside back of the card base directly on top of the patterned paper I had attached to the inside back of the card. This is where I will write my personal greeting.
The reason for putting each layer directly on top of the other is so that the adhesive cannot be seen through the acetate.
I stamped and heat embossed my greeting on a piece of white cardstock that I had cut to 1 3/4" x 5" then attached this on top of the patterned paper on the inside back of the card.
To embellish the card I stamped several layers of my Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossoms onto white cardstock with black ink and then fussy cut them. I made two flowers by shaping each layer and glueing them on top of each other making sure to stagger the petals. A pink gem to the centre of each flower added a little sparkle
The flowers were then attached to the left side of the front patterned paper panel
Card No. 2
To create the card base I cut a piece of pearlised white cardstock 5" x 5 1/2" and scored and folded it at 5" on the 5 1/2" edge. I also cut three 1/2" x 5" strips from the same cardstock.
Next I cut a piece of acetate 5" x 5" and ran that through my Big Shot with Kaszazz Butterflies embossing folder. Using double sided tape I attached the acetate to the 1/2" panel on the cardstock, this makes the front of the card.
I attached one of the 1/2" strips over the top of the acetate where it is attached at the top of the card and the other two were attached to the bottom of the card front, one on the outside of the card and one directly on top of it on the inside front of the card.
To decorate the card I cut two pieces of white cardstock 1 1/4" x 5". To one of these I added a strip, top and bottom, of white cardstock that I had punched the edges of. The punch is from Martha Stewart but I don't know the name of the pattern. This was then attached to the card front approximately in the middle of the card.
The second piece of 1 1/4" x 5" was attached on the inside front of the card so it lined up with the outside panel
To decorate the front of the card I cut a piece of patterned paper 1 1/4" x 5", stamped and heat embossed Happy Birthday on it and attached it on top of the white cardstock. I used my hot glue gun to attache five porcelain flowers to the patterned paper panel to complete this card.
Card No. 3
This card base uses a piece of white cardstock that measures 10" x 5" then scored and folded at 5" on the 10" edge.
I used a Spellbinders square die to cut a 3 5/8" square from the front of the card.
I cut two frames from white cardstock using my Lifestyles Nesting Doily die and the same square die that I used to cut the square from the front of the cardstock.
I cut a piece of acetate 3 7/8" square and stamped and heat embossed a floral design on it. I used Prima's Daisy Trio stamp and white embossing powder.
I used Art Glitter glue to attach the acetate to the back of one of the doily frames.
I then used glue to attach this to the outside front of the card so it sat exactly over the top of the square I had cut out of the card base.
I attached the second frame to the inside front of the card to keep it nice and neat.
The only other decoration I added to this card was a computer generated greeting which I matted on a piece of patterned paper.
To cover the back of this greeting I printed a birthday wish trimmed it to the same size as the greeting and attached it to the inside front.
I cut a piece of patterned paper 4 3/4" square and attached that to the inside back of the card as I thought that helped the white embossing stand out a little better.
You will find the process video below if you would like to watch it.
Thanks for spending part of your day here with me today
The theme for this month is Fire & Ice so I have chosen to scrap some photos from our 2015 holiday to New Zealand. One of the places we visited was Tasman Glacier, so lots of ice in these photos.
My challenge for you this month is to use torn papers and the colour blue on your layout.
The torn papers on my layout are to give the impression of waves on the water.
I embossed some Navy cardstock with my Kaisercraft Diamond Tiled embossing folder and then rubbed some Art Alchemy Metallique wax over the top of the cardstock so the wax adhered to the risen sections of the card
I have torn strips of paper's No 4, 6, 7 and 10 so they were about 1/2" wide, inked the torn edge and the two side edges and layered them at both the bottom and top of the layout, tucking each new layer under the previous one.
Another way I used the Art Alchemy Metallique Wax was on some resin pieces from my stash. I coated them with some acrylic paint to match the colours in the patterned papers then used my finger to apply the wax to the top surfaces of the resin.
A chipboard tab from Dusty Attics Mini Tabs #2 set was left in its natural state and added to the left hand edge of the top photo.
The title, which is the name of the place and the date the photos were taken was printed from my computer and attached to the back of the resin frame.
You can watch the process video here
Thank you for spending part of your day here with me today
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