Hot Wax!...at Stamps and Stencils.

Hi everyone, it's time for my first inspiration post over at Stamps and Stencils. I've been exploring  beeswax so hope you'll hop across and see what I've been up to.

Sorry I've been absent for a while, hope to catch up and visit you all soon! 

3UP alert...Dinky Dominoes!

Hi everyone, I have a 3UP post over here on the PaperArtsy blog tonight. I was absolutely delighted to get another chance to do one. Please do hop across and have a look at the other wonderful 3 UP projects as well.

I got to use the new blues I had and created a box canvas...and it was literally a box that I covered with canvas because I couldn't find the size I wanted. I coated it with gesso after I had added some grunge paste around the sides and a section in place of the missing domino!

As I've explained on the PA blog, I wanted to have a go at a miniature project and had these teeny weeny dominoes saved from Christmas crackers. There about 2.5 x 1.25cm.

They all had a coat of blue oyster fresco after sanding them lightly.

I'll briefly explain what I used on each one so if we are working our way across from left to right, the top row is 1-6, middle is 7-12, bottom 13-17.

• 1, 7, 11, 13 & 16 have 2 coats of the translucent glass blue ( I adore this colour), then black archival stamping and some tiny metal findings brushed with treasure gold in silver. 7 & 11 have stamping in snowflake fresco before highlights with metallic glaze were added
• 2, 10, 14 & 15 have glass blue stencilled through a TCW stencil before archival stamping, 8 has stamping and a finding as above.
• 3, 5 & 12 have a coat of china fresco, then stamping in snowflake fresco & metallic glaze highlights. 9 has china fresco then black stamping.
• 4 & 17 had grunge paste through a stencil added, with silver treasure gold and yes dinky shrink plastic bee & butterfly additions.
• 6 had a crackle finish before black archival stamping.

Lynne Perella, Sara Naumann and PaperArtsy ink & the dog, hot picks and mini stamps were used.

Hope you enjoyed my 3UP post and might be inspired to join in with the current challenge over here on the blog. Thanks so much for stopping by.

What if?....

...I suspect that's how a lot of our creations start, for me this one certainly did. Over on the PaperArtsy blog the current challenge theme is all about grunge paste. One of Leandra's suggestions was to try and carve grunge paste, and this set me thinking.... I decided I couldn't carve it but maybe my icing skills could be put to the test. Grunge paste is a little like royal icing and it certainly holds an impression, much more than any other texture paste. Then when Lucy Edmondson used some cake decorating tools on her post here, 'brush embroidery' suddenly came into my head and I thought I'd just have to try it out with grunge paste. If you haven't heard of brush embroidery, google has lots of images.

The background is on greyboard and there are lots of layers, rubbing back and crackle glaze using stone, taupe & french roast fresco paints.

ooh and some stamping.

Brush embroidery can be done with coloured icing or white and then as you 'brush' the icing out you can add powder colour or my preferred way was always just white or cream. As grunge paste is a lovely chalk colour I wanted a neutral stone background and some crackle, too much texture and the 'embroidery' would be lost.

I needed to use an open stamp and opted for a Lin brown one (Ellen Vargo's tulip would also work) and then stamped it in rough. I stamped in chalk fresco paint and no need to mask off as the paste will cover it.

I'm hoping you can see the steps in the photos below. Once you've piped the outside of the petal, use a damp paintbrush an draw the paste into the centre, then work your way down. You need to keep dampening the paintbrush (not wet) and cleaning off the paste as it accumulates, usually every few brush strokes.

You need to work quickly and it does build up quickly...I also found it quite relaxing.

Now I know at this stage there are some of you saying well it's alright she can pipe...well yes I can but not that well and like everything we do it's just practice. This post was about how I was inspired but there are outline stencils, which may work without you needing to pipe and it was really about the fact that if you brush grunge paste out, it will leave an impression.... so why not have a play?

More familiar ground dry brushing with fresco's, first stone has been added to the flower on the right

Taupe next

Then treasure gold in white fire.

Hopefully you can see the shine and the 'veins' in the petals.

Hope you enjoyed this post and as always thanks so much for stopping by. Have a Happy Easter!

Anything Goes...at Stamps and Stencils!

Well there couldn't be a better way of marking my 100th blog post than with the launch of our first challenge over at Stamps and Stencils! The team have produced some wonderful inspiration for you so I do hope you'll join in...and hopefully have some fun at the same time. For all the details of our monthly challenge please hop across here.

The fabulously talented Sue has chosen the theme 'Anything Goes'....so I decided to create a 'Little Birdhouse in my soul'. 

It's an mdf money box I picked up last year. It's had a base coat of black gesso and then paperartsy crackle glaze and I've use the new Lin Brown tropical paints along with some of their new blue paints. 

The roof had a coat of vanilla fresco before stamping with cobalt archival, it's a very well used hero arts text stamp. 

Then grunge paste through a stencil and lots of washes of pink and orange...definitely in a bright phase doing this one!

Of course treasure gold sneaked in in white fire on the blue 'patted' grunge paste and florentine on the roof. 

The stamping is with some paperartsy minis including the JOFY flowers. I do love doing brayered backgrounds and used it as a base for the flowers. I picked up some inktense pencils at the weekend and oh do I like them...I've used them to colour in the centres.

I had the tune of this song inside my head all the time I was making it so thought I'd look up the lyrics. I found that as it fades it's telling the listener to keep all the good things that provide light in their soul protected......how very appropriate for our creative spirits! Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you'll continue to follow us on our new adventure together.