Thursday 30 May 2013

Teresa Collins Layout


We made a fantastic double layout at CAD with the lovely Teresa Collins. She talked to us about the importance of journalling and telling our stories. Although I have not put any pictures on the layout as yet I intend to choose some special pictures and do lots of journalling. I will go out of my comfort zone and journal more so when I am old and can't remember anything we shall be able to read my albums.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Donna Downey's Class

Today I'm showing you a page from the Donna Downey class we did at "Creative Adventure"
Donna took us out of our comfort zone by getting us to use paints, pastels, gelato's and our fingers!!
We were given an art journal and we were shown several different techniques.
This page was done using paints, gesso and our fingers. I did the inital background and then I was lucky enough to get chosen to have Donna do the top technique. The result is lovely.
Below is my page using the same techniques. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
 
Donna Downey's Class
My experimentation in Donna's class. I loved playing with paint and learning about painting. If you ever get a chance to take one of Donna's classes I recommend you do.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Maggie Armstrongs CAD Layout

As we said last week, Sue and I were away on the "Creative Downunder" weekend in Auckland.
We had a great time and I'm sure the other 130 ladies would agree. It was great from start to finish. The classes were brilliant and the tutors even more so. They were Teresa Collins, Heidi Swapp, Donna Downey and Maggie Armstrong.
So this week we are going to show you some of the things we did.
Today I'm showing you the layout we did with Maggie Armstrong.

We used Authentique papers for this layout, The camera effect of the layout was specifically designed so we could incorporate photo's from the photo booth (Friday Night). The "Create" embellishment was made by using hot wax and perfect pearl powders. It also has feathers, Paua and a cute little metal camera. Gorgeous!!
In this photo you can see that I have added the photo strip from the Friday night. My photo is of the tutors and myself trapped in the booth. I'm a firm believer of if you have an idea then you go for it and so I managed to get all the tutors on standby ready for when it was mine and Sue's turn in the booth.
This photo shows that the camera "front" opens up to reveal a space for yet another strip of photo's or just one large one.
 

Maggie Armstrong Layout




Monday 27 May 2013

Our CAD weekend. Creative Adventure Downunder

Thanks to the ladies who organised a fantastic weekend with Teresa Collins, Donna Downey, Heidi Swapp and Maggie Armstrong.
Here are some of the swap pins made by the other ladies who attended. So much creativity!


Ribbon Tidy

Another great way for space and time saving is to store your ribbons correctly. Over the years I have built up a huge collection of ribbon, Alot has been stored in tins. If I buy new ribbons and haven't had the time to store them correctly they usually end up in a large zip lock bag.

but when I have the chance I cut up card board sheets to the correct size of my drawers and then they end up stored like this. Much easier to see what you have and to find the correct colour.











A much nicer way to store them and so easy to find the colour, type I want for a particular project.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Storage Saturday

Today's storage idea is how I store the ink pads for my distress inks. I did velcro them to the back of the ink pad. However they would ink the lid of the other ink pad when I stacked them up. I am now trying a folder with them in it. Hope it works well.
They are adhered to a plastic file page with the colour samples suck to paper inside. I then put a plastic sheet between pages, as i have two pages. The plastic makes it easy to clean and having the sorted in colour sets makes it easy to choose colours.



Friday 24 May 2013

Paper Storage.
A great way of keeping tabs on all your scraps is to use 300mm square zip lock bags that you can purchase for your local packaging store.
I was fed up with having to go through a whole box of scraps to find the colour I was looking for and so I store all my card stock in these bags and label them depending on the colour.
Its so much quicker now to see if I have a scrap piece big enough for my needs without wasting time searching for it.
I haven't stopped at card stock either, as you will all know the amount of scrap paper we get is ever increasing and so I have all mine in bags, I store them by manufacturer and have them labelled. I have a misc bag for pieces that I have had for a while and can't remember the make. I also have a "larger than 8x8" bag so again I can easily find that bigger piece if required.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Technique Thursday

This week we are looking at ways or organising your stash. As we are off for the weekend to Creative Adventure Down Under.
The way I organise a list of what I already have is to have a notebook with samples and lists of paints, inks etc that I already have. I have organised it in colour and resource. This way I can easily decide what things I need to increase my supply of!! It is a pretty little, store bought, notebook that is easy to carry. The picture below shows some of my distress inks.



Wednesday 22 May 2013

Wednesday Workshop


Today's workshop I have covered a letter with paper, sanded the edges off and then inked the edges with distress ink. I the added some Kaisercraft rub-on words, sealed the paper with two coats of diluted PVA glue and then poured on the resin.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Tuesdays Tag


with this Tag I have used pouring resin to coat paper glued to a cardboard base. The  cardboard base curved up at the edges a little so the resin pooled in the centre and didn't really make the domed finish but I still liked the end result.


Saturday 18 May 2013

Scrapbook Saturday

I have used my Eiffel Tower embellishment on my Paris page.


Friday 17 May 2013

Embellishment using Glossy Accents

Today's embellishment is made using a small plastic scrabble tile.

I have firstly covered the tile with the chosen paper and adhered using the glossy accents.
Once completely dry I have filed around the edges.
Then I have coated the tile in Glossy Accents. When doing this you need to keep the nozzle in the liquid until you have finished, that way you get less bubbles and you just tease the liquid with the nozzle towards the edges. Leave somewhere safe to dry completely.

I drilled a small hole, affixed a necklace clasp and then made a necklace using ribbon. 




Five Minute Friday

To create a glossy finish quickly and for finely detailed items you can use glossy accents.
For the wooden Eiffel Tower I inked with a black silver ink and then applied a coat of glossy accents.
Quick and easy. Dry in about 1/2 hour to 1 hour.

Thursday 16 May 2013

Technique Thursday

Pouring Resin.

Kathy and I attended a class in pouring resin. It gives a high gloss finish to a surface. We used a low odour resin that you mix in equal parts. First we glued the paper to the wooden shape and sanded off any excess edges. we sealed the paper with two coats of diluted PVA glue. The resin was then poured into the centre and pushed out to the edges with a spatula. The air bubbles were dispersed with the use of a BBQ lighter
The class was amazing and a great deal of fun.


Wednesday 15 May 2013

Making Resin Pieces Using Plastacine

Today I'm going to show you how you can make resin embellishments using plastacine instead of a mould. I came up with this idea because here in Nz the Pinkisil is quite expensive and if you make moulds of everything you then have to store them and you may not use them quite as much as you thought you would. Using Plastacine means that you have to keep a "Master" of an item to use over and over again. It is idea for using with buttons and the pieces can come out quite thin so don't bulk up your page too much.
.
So firstly you need to get some white plastacine from your local art store. Break a piece off and warm it up in your hands. Roll it out on a flat surface so its approx 1" deep. Press the item you want to use as your "master" carefully into the plastacine, making sure you press it down flat and trying not to disturb the plastacine around the sides of the object. If using a more detailed piece you will have to be careful removing the item from the plastacine.
You can see in the picture below I have used a small metal frame and two buttons.
Mix and pour the resin as instructed on the box, pour very carefully as the impressions are not very deep. You will see below I have a little overflow but don't worry as that can be trimmed off later. 
This photo shows how you can easily replicate a button even if you only have one left in your craft stash. 
Again fill with resin as normal. 
The resin sets hard just like when using shop bought moulds, although it does take longer than normal. 
In the photo below I have pulled the items from the plastacine and you can see that they have overflowed and attached themselves together. Don't Worry. 
In the photo below you can see that when you pull the set items from the plastacine they don't not come away cleanly. just pull as much off with your fingers and then using warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush give them a good wash.
The overflow excess can be cut away with a pair of old scissors and you are left with your completed items ready to use. all you have to do now is reroll your plastacine and pop it in a sealed bag and it will stay soft ready for using again.  
 

 


Monday 13 May 2013

Make a Card Monday

For this card I have used a resin frame in the centre and resin corners in each corner. I coloured the resin with alcohol inks and when dry subdued the colour with biscotti perfect pearls.




Saturday 11 May 2013

Scrapbooking page with resin embellishment

Here is a scrapbook page that I have just finished.

The paper is Kaisercraft and I have kept it quite simple by adding a mixture of flowers, a pearl swirl and then I have made a bird using the quick drying resin and coloured it with copic markers.

Thursday 9 May 2013

Technique Thursday

Making Resin Embellishments using molds. I use easy cast resin to make the embellishments. It is very simple to use. You need some lolly sticks for stirring, a mold, plastic container for mixing in and plastic container for measuring. The resin does not stick to plastic so it is the best thing to use.


Pour one part resin and one part hardener into a plastic container and mix.


Pour the resin into the mold.


It will start to go white as it hardens.


When it is totally white and hard then turn it out of the mold.


Then hay presto beautiful embellishments.


Wednesday 8 May 2013

Canvas workshop

I have created the background on this canvas by using a Prima mask. I made my own sprays using water and momento inks. I also used  gold glimmermist to add shimmer.
I have double mounted my photo and distressed the edges slightly. The flowers are Prima and Kaisercraft and the butterfly is cut on the cricut out of grunge board and coloured using momento spray.
 

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Tuesdays Tag

Today I have made a tag using a mask. I used a texture medium and then sprayed my inks and perfect pearls over the top when it had dried. I like the way it raised the design when you use a texture paste. I then added my kaisercraft sentiment to the ribbon, coloured and added flowers. I pulled the centre out of the flowers and added a button with a brad as it flattens the flowers a bit. I then inked with distress ink the chandelier and cut it to fit on the tag. I also has some old lace which i coloured and put it on the bottom. I cut out the leaves from a roll of paper I brought in England about 10 years ago.And yes I do have quite a good stash of things at home that have been in the craft room for a long time.



Monday 6 May 2013

Monday's Card using masks

For this card I have used the sequin waste and coloured the background using Tim Holtz distress inks and appicator tool. The blue is faded jeans and the green is olive. I have press harder in some areas to produce light and dark tones. Then using a shop bought mask I have used white gesso to do the blossom tree and little bird. When dry I have added colour using my Copics pens.
I finished off with a bow. You will notice that I have not put on a sentiment. When making cards I usually only add a sentiment when I'm actually getting ready to send it. This way I can use my cards for many different occasions and don't have to change the sentiment to suit the occasion.

Saturday 4 May 2013

Scrapbook Saturday


I love sprays and mists for creating backgrounds but don't like to waste them. When I made the layout from March post I put the frame on paper so I could use the negative of the frame as well. Nothing wasted.

Negative of frame as background


Misted frame

Friday 3 May 2013

Five Minute Friday using Masks

Today's Five Minute Friday is to show you how to use masks.
You can use all sorts of things as masks. Below you will see a few different examples.
I have a shop bought Mask, some sequin waste, an imaginarium chip board piece and 2 masks that I have cut out on the cricut.
   
 
I have used Tim Holtz ink and application tool when using the sequin waste. This is very effective and easy to do. It doesn't get colour been pushed under the mask so is a great choice.
 
 
 
With the imaginarium chip board I have used the Dymensions ink spray, This spray gives a strong colouring but you have to be carfeul not to spray too much otherwise it will find a route to get under the mask.
 
Masks are ideal for use when doing altered art. With this shop bought mask I have used black gesso to give texture as well as pattern. Don't use the gesso too thickly and be careful when using really skinny masks as its very easy to push the gesso underneath.
 
 
This mask is actually a frame cut using the Cricut, I had the full page selected to get the biggest mask out of a 12" piece of card stock. With this one I have used Tim Holtz Perfect Pearl Sprays. I love these sprays as the coverage is so good and very shiny. I have used the bronze spray on the Black mask sitting on a cream peice of card stock. Here you get 2 for 1 as you can use both the mask and the negative in your scrapbooking.
 
 
Lastly I have used the Glimmer Mist on this Cricut frame. Once again the effect is lovely and its such a quick and easy way to make a background page.
 
 
One thing to remember when using masks with mists and that is to spray with confidence. You will notice on the last two examples there are some slightly larger dots of colour. These are completely normal. However if you hestitate when spraying you will get more of these and they can be quite large and inky (hence may run). No two sprays are the same and so you can never get a uniform colouring so there is no point in been frightened to just spray.