Interactive index card - Zodiac wheel

Hi everyone,

who doen't love interactive elements on cards! So here's one for the ICAD challenge. This weeks theme I'm working on is about diagrams, maps and blueprints and the stamps I used here came into my mind immediately.

This is how my interactive "dial" looks like. In this blog post, I'm going to show you how I did it.

 

I started with a simple two steps background: a layer of acrylic paint with a light paper towel pattern and a layer of heat embossing. For this second layer I used the eclipse chart stamp. The embossing powder I used is a chunky one so the details of the stamped image don't show too much, but that didn't bother me.

For the interactive element I stamped the zodiac wheel two times on watercolor paper. I cut them out, one as a whole and from the second one just the center moon face. I inked the edges with a black marker.

I had a picture in my head where the center part with the face was fixed while the rest of the diagram can be moved around it. Therefore I adhered a paper fastener to the smaller element I cut out using masking tape. I wanted to make sure that it sticks well and also added a little bit of glue. In the picture you can see how it looks like right before I cut the overhanging masking tape.

Next, I pricked a hole into the center of the large zodiac wheel as well as on the index card itself. I assembled the three layers as shown in the picture, bended the two pins of the fastener and secured them on the back of the index card with another piece of masking tape.

All I had to do now was adding a little quote. I found a matching one in my box of book text fragments.

Stamps used:
Eclipse Chart 1715 (20614)
Zodiac Wheel (20619)

Other material:
- index card 3 x 5 inch
- Canson watercolor paper
- acrylic paint (payne's grey)
- Versafine Claire ink (nocturne)
- Versamark ink
- Lindy's embossing powder (tin roof rusted)
- paper fastener
- masking tape


I hope you got inspired to make your own interactive "dial" element.

See you soon!

 

Art journal page - Believe in yourself

Hi everyone,

I'm in love with the latest release and want to share a project that features some of the new stamps. So here's a new art journal page for you.

 

As a base layer I applied some chalk paints with a brayer. I mixed some blue and yellow tones and really liked how the colors work together. The paints dry very fast, especially when you apply them in a thin layer with the brayer. This helps to avoid getting muddy colors. I added some script stamping in ochre to create just a little more visual texture (not yet in the picture below).

Next, I started to build a cluster that will be my focal point and therefore used scraps and stamps. I stamped the zodiac wheel in brown onto a die cut circle with a notebook edge that I had laying on my desk. It was already colored with an ink spray, but I cannot remember which one. I also found another scrap that I wanted to use. It had a beautiful stain of some oxide ink and a torn edge on one side. I simply stamped the eclipse chart on top and inked the straight edges.

The cluster needed something more and I added some torn book pages with inked edges to it as well as a piece of lace. This is hardly visible, both in the picture and in reality, but it adds some nice texture to the project. I glued the cluster down and added some splatters with acrylic ink.

 

At this point I liked my cluster, but also felt that there was something missing regarding my whole composition. I thought it would be nice if I had added the fortune teller stamp before I glued down my cluster. So I cheated a little and used my favorite fixing trick. I stamped her onto a piece of white napkin (make sure to use just one layer) and glued that down with matte medium, slightly under the circle so that it looks as if she is behind that. Luckily, I had a background that was not reacting with wet medium. The edges of the napkin turned almost invisible.

To finish the page, I stamped the quote "believe in yourself" and called this page done.

 

Here are a few more photos of the finished page:

 

Stamps used:
French Writing Background (20646)
Eclipse Chart (20614)
Zodiac Wheel (20619)
Gypsy Fortune Teller (20616)
Believe In Yourself (20643)


Other material:
- Marabu chalk paint (lagoon, light-blue, pastel yellow, ginger)
- brayer
- Versafine Clair ink (nocturne)
- Archival ink (pale ochre, potting soil)
- Acrylic ink (sepia)
- Joy! crafts - "notebook circles" die
- scraps, old book paper and lace

See you soon!