EVERY SECOND COUNTS by Fran Chalmers

Hi peeps!

Today I've made a postcard for you - I hope you like it.

To make this I firstly stamped the clock, then masked it with a cut out clock on copy paper.   I then brayered distress inks in Broken China and Scattered Straw over the mask. 

I then stamped the main image and some textural stamps for interest.

I then coloured the clockface in with Kuretake pens and a gold chrome pen

I added the sentiment, and went round the edge of the postcard with distress ink in Black Soot.

Stamps Used:

Wright Brothers Walking 19730

Row of numbers 20170

Clockface 19468

Dictionary page 19015

Other products used:

Distress inks in Broken China, Scattered Straw, Black Soot

Kuretake pens

Gold chrome pen

Halloween wall hanger - Is pumpkin spice a carb?

Hey everyone,

it's time for a new project. This time I went for something different and created a Halloween themed and hexagon shaped wall hanger.

1. Preparation
To start my HDF panel, I had to prepare the surface and add a little texture, too. So I added the following with a quick dry between each layer:
- 4 thin layers of gesso, two with a baby wipe and two with a brush
- 1 layer of crackle paste
- 2 thin layers of aqua ground

2. Background
I sprayed and splattered a few Lindy's Gang sprays to the panel. To create some depth, I dried between each layer and sometimes dabbed away a little of the color before it was completely dry. I just love the look of that. This took me a while as I added lots of layers until I was happy with the result.
I added some background stamping with the plus signs and row of numbers. To finish the background, I inked the edges in black.

3. Focal points
To create some clusters, I chose the following elements:
- Poe stamped onto some gelli printed paper, cut out and edges inked with a marker
- Pumpkin row stamped onto white cardstock, cut out and edges inked with a marker
- Pumpkin spice quote stamped onto watercolor paper and torn to size
- a few Halloween die cuts, cut from white cardstock. The twisted edge one does not cut the top completely, so I tore that for a grungy look.

Here's how everything looked when I tried to figure out how I want to arrange all the elements:

4. Finishing touches
I heat embossed the twig with three different colors. I even added embossing powder to the bag as I planned to glue only the top to the panel.
To make the ghosts and the spider web less bright white, I dragged them through some oxide ink.
Then I assembled everything with foam tape and gel medium, added some wire to the two holes at the top and that's it - my wall hanger is ready to decorate my house a little for Halloween.

Here are a few more detail photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps used:
Row Of Numbers (20170)
Plus Sign Background (20571)
Poe (19900)
Row Of Pumpkins (20560)
Is Pumpkin Spice A Carb? (20555)


Other material:
- HDF hexagon panel
- gesso
- aqua gound
- crackle paste
- gel medium
- foam tape
- Archival Ink (jet black)
- Lindys Gang sprays (blazing black, screamin' banshee black, hag's wart orange)
- Tim Holtz dies (twisted edge, spider web, frightful things)
- Lindy's Gang embossing powder (tannenbaum gold green, midnight ruby, midnight emerald)
- Oxide Ink (pumice stone)

See you soon!

 

Hi everyone! 

Today I have a card to celebrate women! I hope you like it :)

To make the background I used distress inks in Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and Picked Raspberry.  I smooshed them with water then blended some on as well to fill the gaps and deepen the colour.

I added the sentiment so I could gauge where my lady would be standing on the card

I then made a mask of my main image so I could stamp the stars and know roughly where she would be.

Then I added to the background some stenciling (sequin waste) and some different stamps.  , I coloured some of the arrows in with a black pen.

I coloured my main image with copic pens and cut her out.

Lastly, I stuck her onto the black card so that she is standing on the sentiment. I went round the stars with a white pen and a black pen to add a bit of depth, and put a few lines of gold glitter pen (which you can't see properly in the photograph). 

And that's it!  I hope you like her!

Stamps Used

Lady Tipping Hat 2638 Plate 225

Tired of trying to cram 19833 Plate 1471

Squiggly star collage 19822 Plate 1471

Row of Chevrons 19829 Plate 1471

Rows of numbers 20170 Plate 1495

Other Items Used:

Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry

Versafine Clair ink in Nocturn

Black 7 x 5" card

Copic pens

See you next time!

Tag trio - Banksy girls

Hi everyone,

today I want to share with you a small series of colorful tags that I created. I always like to have a little something at hand to give away when swapping ATCs. 

I started with three tags cut from watercolor paper with a size of 5.25 x 3 inch. I used Lindy's Magicals and water to create a few layers of color. Make sure to dry them beween the colors to avoid a muddy color mix.

Next, I added some of the good old mark making and texture stamps to the background. These stamps from plate 1495 are very versatile and perfect for a lot of backgrounds.
Also, I stamped three different Banksy girls on the tags. I used Versafine Claire ink for the girls as it is a very intense black and Archival ink in the background for a more distressed stamp impression. Then I inked the edges of the tags directly with the Archival ink pad.

I like adding ribbon to my tags for a finished look. Here I chose to tear some strips of cheesecloth and added some of the same stamps to these grungy strips as I have already used on the tags themselves. This really connects all the elements. Another idea might have been to 'dye' the ribbon with some colors from the background, but I think that might have been a little too much here.

From some black cardstock, I cut a base for each of my tags, a little larger than the tag to get this black edge around it. I glued them together and sandwiched the ribbon in between, secured with a little bit of liquid glue. To finish the tags, I added some quote stickers.

Hope you liked this project. Here are a few more detail photos:

Stamps used:
Carved Xs (20162)
Row Of Numbers (20170)
Cross Marks Background (20165)
Punchinella/Sequin Waste Border (20161) 
Plate 1495
Banksy Girl Floating With Balloons (19421)
Banksy Balloon Girl (19430)
Banksy Child Sitting (19940)


Other material:
- Canson watercolor paper
- black cardstock
- cheesecloth
- Lindy's magicals (teenie weenie bikini, umbrella drink pink, nuneka's purple popsicle)
- Archival Ink (jet black)
- Versafine Claire Ink (nocturne)
- Tim Holtz quote stickers

See you soon!

 

Boys just want to have fun!

Hello everyone,

I have a set of Artist Trading Cards to share with you. My inital plan was to create an art journal page, but when I finished the background I found that it was not really looking good for me. But I didn't want to throw it away, so I just cut it to pieces and it worked well then.

These ATCs were quite simple to make. I started building my background on a larger sheet of paper with the two bull's eye stamps and three different colored embossing powders. I heat embossed one color after the other. Then I added a layer of Distress Oxide sprays and also some Dylusions spray. You can't see much of the Oxides at the end, but it left a nice visual texture. This was the point where I decided to cut it apart. The pieces are slightly smaller than ATC size, just because I like to add some backing to them.

I picked some paper dolls as focal images, one for each ATC, and then created a little cluster for each of them. I stamped the row on numbers on tome old book paper and attached the strips and some thread to the cards with some staples. Next, I added a cut out Writing Chevron to each of the card.

The three quotes that I chose are stamped on the same paper that I used for the back. This helps to make everything appear more consistent.

So, here are some more photos:

Stamps used:
Bulls Eye Target Solid (19196)
Bulls Eye Target Open (19193)
Rows of Numbers (20170)
Writing Chevron (19824)
I Found This Humerus (19767)
Boys Just Want (19766)
Wake Me Up When I'm Famous (19765)

Other material:
- Canson watercolor paper
- blue cardstock
- Lindy's Gang Embossing Powders (midnight teal, sassy sapphire, morning glory azure)
- Distress Oxide sprays (black soot, dried marigold, antique linen)
- Dylusions ink spray (after midnight)
- old book paper
- thread
- stapler
- Tim Holtz paper dolls


Keep on stamping!

Dreamer's disease

Hello everyone,

anyone else here who is as addicted to old books as I am? I love to include vintage paper to my projects or even journal into old books directly. The spread that I want to share with you today is made in one of those books.

Before working in an old book, you should make a few preparations. I always seperate a few pages to get some space for my layers so the book can be closed without getting too bulky. And I glue two or three sheets together, depending on the texture and thickness of the paper. This helps to make the surface sturdier. I also prefer to prime my pages with gesso as I'm often working with fluid mediums like inks or watercolor.

I chose the girl in the paper boat as my focal image, just because it's one of my all time favorite stamps. I created layers with gesso, texture paste and Distress Oxide Sprays. To keep that vintage look of the spread I tried not to add too much color. Some background stamping made everything come together.

To finish it off, my page just needed a quote and "you've got the dreamers disease" was the perfect one. I stamped it onto a piece of old book paper (one of the sheets that I seperated from the book), and sewed it onto a piece of cloth that I dyed with Oxide Ink spray. I always like those sewing or stitching accents in my projects. If you don't have a sewing machine you can always add them by hand.

Here you'll find the stamps I used for my project:
Banksy Child Fishing In Paper Boat (19939)
You've got the Dreamers (20354)
Postcatd - ATC size (19931)
Row of numbers (20170)

Other materials:
- Old book + additional page
- Gesso
- Texture paste
- Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
- Archival Ink (Coffee, Garden Patina)
- Oxide Sprays (Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet, Walnut Stain)
- Stencil TCW554S from The Crafter's Workshop
- Sewing machine and piece of old cloth


I hope that my spread inspired you. See you soon!