faux metal embossing

There is a lot of talk about metal embossing in the craft magazines lately but I didnt want to have to buy more craft tools and metal sheets so I had a go at making my own. The photos show some ones I made with black paint and I also tried blue, green & brown paints for a more subtle look. I have had these tools for years so was glad to use them as I havent used them for ages! I am very pleased at the way they turned out as they look very gothic looking..I feel as if I should live in a medieval castle with these lying round.

You will need:
Card diecut shapes (I used a cuttlebug)
Any card for the base
50mm Aluminium metal tape (around £2.50 off ebay)
Embossing tool with a round end
Tracing wheel used by dressmakers (check your local market for one)
Scraper tool or anything with a sharp point (from the kids craft kits)
Black or other dark coloured acrylic paints
Sanders block or rough sandpaper

Glue the diecut shapes on to small pieces of card then cover all this with some thin aluminium tape. Use your embossing tool with the round end and go around the outline of the diecut shape. Next take the tracing wheel and wheel it all around the shape for the background. Take your scraper tool and make the odd mark on your diecut raised shape. Cover it all with black acrylic paint and leave to dry. When it is dry sand down and voila ..you have your very own gothic faux metal embellishments! Good luck and dont forget to tell me if you have a go!

Mad knitting on a glorious hot day

Its a gorgeous hot day today so I am knitting in the garden with my cricket stumps!! Last month my friend Pat and I were discussing how to knit quickly using big knitting needles and after discussing various items such as tent pegs, broom handles we both came up with the idea of cricket stumps!! I knitted this cushion in 2 nights as I was feeling pretty bad with a a backache so wanted a cumfy cuddly cushion. I am knitting another one in the garden at the moment. Here is a photo of our veg plot in the garden that we are all proud of. The peas are doing very nicely so we will be able to pick them soon. Its such a great experience for my kids and hopefully will encourage them to eat their home grown veg instead of fish fingers and chicken nuggets all the time!!!

Saturday Workout "altered book"

Here is a pic of an altered book cover that I made last year..it features birds, charms and a pic of my fav artist Dali complete with egg.

Collage play with crowabout challenge no 37

I have joined a new flickr collage group called collage play with crowabout. Each week members have to use elements of a given collage sheet to create a piece of collage art. Here is my first attempt. The words are from an old Jackie annual from the 1970's. For info on how to join the group here is the link.

http://crowaboutgroup.blogspot.com/

its a mad world when its raining (wed stamper purple & green)

Its been raining heavily most of the day plus we had to wait in for the window man to fix our windows so its been one of those mad days! What do you do on a mad day then?..get the felt tips and paint out of course! We made some more spin backgrounds, drew with felt tips (by my 4yr old) and made pictures with funky foam. My ATC is made out of all different stamps so we have got some wings for hair, a crown for a ruffle. The background is a purple and green splash background. My kids would love to have comments about their art if you would be so kind..thanks

dreaming of summer canvas page (created by hand "insects"

We have had lovely hot weather recently in the UK and I wanted to do a canvas page with a light summery feel. I have painted the background with watercolours and have added some stamped dragonfly and bird images to the sky. Embroidered and button flowers add layers to the page over stamped tissue paper. The quote is by Proust and reads "the voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Having a quack of a day!

Its the half term holiday for the next 2 weeks and today we all went on a tour of Liverpool on a yellow duckmarine. It was fantastic and we all loved it..half an hour was spent touring the city and the rest of the time the duck went into the water around the Liverpool docks. If you are visiting Liverpool I would recommend this as a great way of seeing the sights! Just a quacking good time!

UK Stampers "i is for icon" tag

Another tag challenge..this time I is for icon. I used a St Matilde Stampington stamp on one of my painted background and added a stamped I for invocation. So it could be invocation for a saint, icon or art muse?

my kids just spin me round and round!!

After we had been to the skateboarding Hub festival we had a go at some spin art. On my friends Lisa's blog she has been using some spin backgrounds for her ATCs...and I remembered that I had a spin machine in the loft. So today we have all had a great time making spin backgrounds..with the paint flying everywhere!! Good job we were all wearing aprons and I managed to find the plastc cover to catch some of the paint..ha ha!! Great messy fun

I just love getting arty postl!!

Got a great surprise in the post this morning..just check out these origami charms off 3rd eye muse arent they so delicate and brilliant. I am going to put them on a necklace and make some earrings with them..She also included some gorgeous shells..I can just imagine they came from the beach in Florida as that is where she lives. I just love the blue muse doll as it fits into my hand. Thanks Michelle. Check out her blog http://3rdeyemuse.blogspot.com/

heebie jeebies village fete

Today I went to a village fete event at a pub in Liverpool called Heebie Jeebies. It was really great as it was full of stalls selling vintage and arty items. I got a bracelet which looks very Mexican as it has got loads of little icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary..very eclectic. My son loved the magician there and there was also a band playing outside with a bbq. I just wish more pubs in the UK were like this having events and encouraging families to have fun together. The picture is of the wallpaper they had on the walls..isnt it excellent. The stall holders said it was going to be a monthly event so cant wait for the next one and it was lovely just to spend time with my eldest without his brothers hassling him!!

New item in my etsy shop..grunge boho charm bracelet

I got such a fantastic response to my first mixed media art bracelet that I have made another one for my etsy shop..thanks everyone for your great comments

Altered Spoons (UK Stampers challenge)

This months swap at UK Stampers really had me thinking as it was to alter cutlery. I am not rich enough to have any silver spoons to melt so had a go with some plastic ones instead. I love recycling and making something from nothing. I melted the spoon, painted it and then decorated it with beads, wire and added a little collage inside the spoon itself with more beads around the edge. I altered 3 spoons and have added one to my etsy shop to share a bit of quirky fun.

mixed media art bracelet (wed stamper mixed media)

I have always wanted to make an over the top mixed media art type charm bracelet such as those featured in Belle Armoire magazines. I made one today using an old brass chain I had..various charms are added including some stamped tiles. I think I will keep this for special occasions as it is no good to wear while washing the dishes etc!!

UKS and Theme Thursday "N is for numbers"

This tag reminds me of my Sundays..have a bath, do your homework, stop playing your nintendos!! to which the answer is No!! Dedicated to all stressed parents everwhere.

Fibre Art & Mixed Media Group "junk mail" challenge

I belong to a facebook group of fibre & mixed media artists. This months challenge was to create something using junk mail. I cut a flower out of the fused plastic ..you can also use your cuttlebug etc to cut flowers out. I have used junk mail from a magazine and fused it with plastic bags to create this bin for my craft area. Here is the link if you want to join

http://fiberartsmixedmedia.ning.com

and here is a link explaining how to fuse plastic bags (if you live in the UK like me use greaseproof paper)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB1mE8e35UY&feature=related

leandra beads canvas page (mixed media monday "altered people"

I wanted to challenge myself to use some utee beads on a canvas page. The background for this is painted and dyed nappy liners, various fused chiffon and netting fabrics, burnt lace and stamped canvas painted tape. The image is one of my favourites from Paper Artsy...I just love their eccentric stamp range. The words on the image read "her minds eye sees everything" which I have repeated on the canvas tape For a final touch I have added some sparkly stones to complement the 3 utee beads that are hanging at the top by chiffon. If you want to have a go at altering a canvas book click on the badge to the right "I love fiber art" and that will take you to the C&T shop.

Leandra utee beads

I made some utee beads today. They are called Leandra beads after Leandra Franich the designer of one of my favourite range of stamps Paper Artsy. I covered some paper beads with wire then dipped then in utee then I wrapped sequins, pearls and a variety of beads in wire and dipped them. I am going to use some beads on a charm bracelet and have used some beads on the canvas page above.

rag rugging canvas page

I wanted to combine rag rugging with stamping on this page. I have stamped my favourite Lost Coast image of a happy couple!! Recently I bought a rag rugging tool so I have used little scraps of material to make a frame. I have added some embroidery and the words "they led such a passionate life". Does anyone know where the image for this stamp came from..is it a famous painting as I have seen it on the tv programme Desperate Housewives in the title.

C&T "lutradur" challenge canvas page

I am a creative troupe member for C&T publishing and this months challenge is to use lutradur. I love lutradur as it is excellent for cutting with a soldering iron as it doesnt give off fumes and is a lot more solid than dryer sheets and nappy liners. I sprayed the lutradur with ink first then applied various acrylic paints and cut it with my fabric master soldering iron. The background paper was a happy accident as it was the paper that absorbed the ink when I was spraying dyes..it has come out all rusty looking..very me!! The quote reads "seek not outside yourself Heaven is within" by Mary Lou Cook. I have covered the lot with wax for even more texture. So apart from the lutradur challenge this is part of my second canvas book. To buy lutradur or canvas books click on the badge to the right "I love fiber art" and this will take you to the C&T shop.

grunge ATC canvas page (theme thursday masculine)

Thought I would do another canvas page for my canvas book. This page is made using painted and fused canvas to make pockets to hold some of my favourite masculine grungy ATCs. I got my canvas books from C&T publishing..to see their shop just click on the logo to the right witht the "I love fiber art" on it.

inchie twinchie mirror (GPP "make it your own")

I made some more tiles in the style of Laurie Mika today..I just love her book "mixed mosaics". I had a large collection of inchies and twinchies that I had received from swaps off UK Stampers and I didnt know what to do with them. At first I was just going to cover the mirror with the tiles I made today but then I thought why not display some inspiring twinchies & inchies made by some talented artists from UK Stampers combined with some of the tiles I have made. So in a way I have taken some art made by others and combined it with my own art to make a mirror in my own style..and this is what this month's Green Pepper Press Challenge is all about..making it your own.

"dichroic" glass using the melt pot

Had a go at making some dichroic-lookalike glass stones today. I followed Sid's instructions from UK Stampers..thanks Sid. I rubbed the front of the flatbacked glass stones with rough sandpaper then added some clear ink, put it down on some foil then added various embossing powders to it as it was melting in the melt pot. I love it..especially the ring I made. This was the only flat seaglass that I had so hence the experiment with glass stones. As you can see from the photo I love chunky rings and the ring I made looks great next to my turquoise and amethyst rings..so very pleased. . I wrapped some silver wire around 2 of the stones which was quite tricky. I also made some more tiles using some chunky cardboard ..this time stamping into the utee whilst it was wet. Love this melt pot..what can I try next I wonder???

Mermaid (wed stamper "under the sea"

Stamped background with fishes. I have used blue chiffon to cover the image of the stamped woman and added some jewels for underwater bling

UK stampers "b is for bird"

I used a new stamp that I bought at the weekend of a bird by The Artistic Stamper. It was such a simple design that it was ideal to embroider over. I have made the B out of blue utee..I mixed some alcohol ink with clear utee to get this blue (dont mix it in the melt pot).

UK stampers butterfly twinchie swap

fused fabric background with stamped acetate using my new Michelle Ward stamp. I have attached an eyelet so there is the option of swivelling it to see the background underneath. The edges of the acetate have also been burnt using a soldering iron for more texture

mixed media monday "helping hand"

Made this ATC featuring a hand made of utee. I am still at the experimental stage with this so anyone know any good links besides suze weinberg?

playing around with utee

I bought some giant bottlecaps yesterday that are about 2". Filled them with a collage and some clear utee. I also had a play with the black utee and filled some flower ice cube trays ..the flowers have turned out really well. I had a little go with the white utee and stamped on it with staz on. Really enjoyed playing with my new melt pot..has so many possibilities!!

Dans-ma-maison-il-y-hote-des-bois "wood" & UK Stampers "H"

Used my new paper artsy stamp to make a house tag. The letter H is made out of wood that is inked and stamped and has holes in it for texture.

Saturday workout "clay"

Today at the stamp show I bought a load of style stones and some makins clay. I rolled out the clay very thinly using my pasta machine. I then put mica powders on the stones and pressed the clay into them. I am going to make a load of these and put them around an ikea mirror frame.

happy stampers show..meeting up with friends

I went to the Happy Stampers Show today and it was excellent in that I met up with so many friends off the Net. Here are some photos of Linda, Pat, Anne and Sid and myself!! We are all squashed together as I was taking the photos with my mobile phone! It was great to meet them in real life and we all had a great time spending loads of money!!! I treated myself to a melt pot, some style stones, clay, stamps etc etc etc

fabric fusion

I have been experimenting with fusing various fabric with my fabric soldering iron I quite like the effects you can achieve using this as you can layer upon layer upon layer..and you know me thats what I love!! I am off to the Happy Stamper show tomorrow and meeting up with some friends off UK Stampers so looking forward to that!! If you are going be sure to say hello if you recognise me (I will be carrying around my multi-coloured felted bag to fill with goodies!!)