Using those stencilled backgrounds

Made some cards today, using the stencilled backgrounds done last week (see previous post).

Using another (sparkle medium) stencilled paper from last week, die-cut a couple of butterflies.  Words stamped and embossed, and finished with a hand-drawn pen border.

Mat and layered, with more die-cuts from a distress-inked scrap of card, with stamped tag.  Bird is overstamped with musical notes.

Stamped image, embossed, and coloured with distress pens, matted onto gold mirri card, and stamped and embossed words.

One week old today!

My blog is a week old today - this is my 3rd post - and I'm getting to know my way around Blogger.  I've added some gadgets, including a place to put my favourite sites.  I've added the Ashtead Card Making and Craft Club, which I belong to.  We meet once a month and do lots of crafty stuff - pop over and take a look!

This is a canvas I finished a few days ago - its called Love Blossoms.

I wanted to try stencil bumping, as shown in a video by Paper Artsy see here so I did a painted background with Fresco paints, and included the bumping technique - really effective, and not bad for a first attempt!  By the way, I'm using a flat canvas with a wooden frame, which come separately.

 I then die-cut some heart shapes out of scrap bits of aluminium, painted, embossed and puffed them out.

I painted some sheet music and cut the stems and leaf swirls.  To prevent the hearts being squished, I filled them with silicon glue, because I couldn't find my pot of polyfilla. Then final assembly, and a couple of coats of matt medium.

Friends come out to play!

There is nothing quite like crafting with friends on a cold winter's afternoon, which is what I did yesterday.  Always makes me feel happy and content.  Inspired by the article in the current issue of Craft Stamper Magazine, we did stencilling.  Here are some of the results.  All the backgrounds were done using Distress Inks.

Firstly,  Sparkle Medium through a stencil - very pretty!

Next:  Faux bleaching - simply spritzing water through the stencil.  Very effective, and a good way to give more interest to an inked background.

Using multiple stencils on top of each other - interesting.

Finally, my favourite - using modelling paste through the stencil then covering with embossing powder and heating - the powder melts and the paste bubbles, giving added texture.

I'll be using most of these as backgrounds for cards, or I may use for die-cuts.  I'll show the results when done.

I do know I'm going to use the modelling paste method on canvas, as I think that has great potential.

Looking forward to the weekend and some positively balmy weather, with temperatures maybe in double figures - Spring is nearly here!

Hello!

Having read crafty blogs for some time, I wanted to start my own, but other things always intruded, and time  passed.  Then, last Thursday I went to the Creative Crafts Show at Sandown (missing the snow which came down on Friday - phew!). At the Show I did a mini workshop with Paper Artsy (one of my favourite places for crafty stuff) - a hanging sign, using their scrummy Fresco paints. I decided to use the name of my blog, hoping this would spur me on to do something ......  and here I am!  And here's the sign.

I'll be sharing all kinds of stuff - things I've done in the recent past, as well as current projects.  I got some fab stuff at the Show, which I'll be playing with, so watch this space!