I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Friday 30 May 2014

Queen Bee ATCs

Hello all!  It's time for a new challenge theme over at A Vintage Journey.  Our host this time is the fabulous Jenny, a.k.a. Buttons - and she has a real treat in store for us... she's challenging us to Get Some Texture!  To read the full challenge guidelines and see the amazing inspiration the rest of the team have conjured up for you, pop over to A Vintage Journey.

But, before you go, here's my offering to get your creative engines started...


This pair of ATCs is full of texture, using Tim techniques and products.  There's a Queen Bee/Royal Jelly kind of vibe going on, I think you'll find!




I stuck some of the amazing Wallpaper papers to some really thick card and cut them using the ATC and Corners die.  There's a lovely thickness and heft to this pair.

Over that I blended some Peeled Paint Distress Ink through the Latticework stencil (done on the left, not yet on the right!).







I added clear embossing powder and tapped the back pretty firmly so as to clear quite a lot of the powder before heating.  

That gives you a lovely pobbly effect, rather than smooth glossiness.














After some playtime with some moulds and UTEE, the crown and bee were left sitting around on the table for a couple of weeks awaiting a home...










... suddenly it looked as though they might have found one!
















With them in mind, I stamped the large bee and the crown to complement the UTEE shapes.






They're stamped in Coffee and Jet Black Archival, blended onto the stamps as I went.














I added some flourishes in Peeled Paint, and all that stamping got clear-embossed too.













The two hearts are kraft glassine, embossed using the French Script folder, then sanded for even more texture and given a dusting of Picket Fence Distress Paint.









I used the Shattered Kraft Core to cut some strands of ivy from the Spring Greenery Decorative Strip Die, and followed Tim's excellent tip of sanding the die-cut before you remove it from the surround.  

Especially with a delicate die like this, it means you can distress without distress!











Once they were trailing across their respective ATCs, I glued them down by just the stalks, so that I could lift the leaves for a dimensional look.  I love the texture of the Shattered card.












Around the edges I added some Peeled Paint Distress Embossing Powder - this has such a great mossy look, and a rough touch to the fingertips once you've released the textured particles.









Everything got a dusting of Picket Fence, and then a splattering of the same.  The Liquitex Splatter Brush has been one of my favourite Tim recommendations - such fun to play with, and it adds such fabulous splashes of random texture!










A couple of ChitChat stickers and we're done. 











So that's my pair of ATCs for you.  Hop over to A Vintage Journey and see what the rest of the team are packing for this leg of the journey, and I hope you'll be inspired to come and play along with us this month.  















Do make sure you read the challenge guidelines carefully, as well as our Travelling Instructions, in order to qualify for the prize, generously sponsored by Country View Crafts.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland!




The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use.  But the bee... gathers its materials from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own.
Leonardo Da Vinci

48 comments:

rachel said...

awesome - these are fabulous. love them alison beautiful colours and textures xx

Julia Aston said...

These are beautiful Alison! Particularly love the splatter of paint over it all - the great colors, stampings, wonderful inspiration for using texture!

Lisa Minckler said...

It's sensational and I do believe my heartbeat picked up when I saw the shattered Kraft Core for your ivy...wondrous!!
hugs to you,
Lisa x

Chrissy said...

Sensational Alison..love the thickness and textures and that little Utee bee is fantastic..I love him..fabulous work.

luv CHRISSYxx

barbarayaya62 said...

Tunning Atcs Alison! The bee and the leaves are spectacular! BArbarayaya

barbarayaya62 said...

Excuse me ... Stunning ! Barbarayaya

Meihsia Liu said...

Wow... Love the gorgeous textures and colors, Alison. :)

Helen said...

Gorgeous atcs - fabulous colours, and texture, but I love the spattering of picket fence on top.

Clare Lloyd said...

Gorgeous ATCs.

Nan G said...

Very cool tags, butterfly! Thanks for the info on the splatter brush. Love the Utee molded bee and crown. Something new to try. :D Hugs

chrissie said...

Fantastic Alison and certainly some wonderful texture ideas.Off to look at the challenge

Love Chrissie x

Astrid Maclean said...

They look great Alison, love the different texture effects!

JansArtyJunk said...

Oh...I just adore these Alison...beautiful texture and I just love all the elements you have incorporated x

Unknown said...

The title of this post is very apt Alison for YOU are the Queen Bee of ATCs! I don't think I've ever seen anyone so creative with them as you are and this pair certainly live up to that reputation. Fabulous colouring and great textures - very beautiful and really kewl! Chris xxx

Jenny Marples said...

Altered glassine, kraft card and UTEE! A joy to behold and a fitting tribute to a most industrious insect Alison. Love the way you knocked back the clear embossing through the stencil for a more subtle effect. Jenny x

Deborah said...

What a fantastic array of textures, Alison! I really like what you did with the kraft glassine. Wonderful.

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

Lovely and I think the splashes are the icing on the cake...very creative Alison!
Kind regards, Alie :-)

Redanne said...

Wow Alison, you have packed an amazing amount of texture onto your ATCs, I love the colours, the splashes look amazing and I adore the beautiful bees. Gorgeous! Anne xx

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Love it Alison,it looks very tactile,your colours are stunning once again.

Have a great weekend

Donna.x

Evelyn Walter said...

First I wanna thank you for your lovely comments <3!
I think the home for your bee is perfect :) Love the different textures and the white splatters make the ATCs unique and interesting.
Have a nice weekend!
xxx Evelyn

Dianne said...

SQUAWK well Miss Butterfly, you honor the Queen B with this gorgeous ATCs, I love how you made them thicker, they look like tiny beer mats, the background is stunning, and all that texture squawk I just want to run my grubby claws all over them, okay loooooove the splatters, these are soooooo creative, you blow me away, thanks for sharing all this inspiration, hope you have a wonderful weekend, ((( BIG HUGS)))..

Kay Wallace said...

Love the layers, love the colors, love the texture! I love how you got a world of art into this tiny space of an ATC! Well done, Alison!

maria's knutselplezier said...

Great Atc's what a beautiful image,and I really love the beautifull structure on it!!!

Greetings
Maria

Anonymous said...

WOW!! Stunning ATCs, they're absolutely gorgeous.

Netty said...

A challenge made in heaven for you Alison, loads of beautiful texture and shapes. Enjoy the weekend, Annette x

cathylynn said...

The bees and crown are awesome. The ivy gives the extra dimension and the textures are beautiful! These are two fabulous ATC's.
Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Juliz Design Post said...

Great work and inspiration.
Julie x

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh My!! This is err…the bee's knees - sorry!!!! Seriously gorgeous Alison and the splatter just perfectly highlights everything! Chrisx

Anonymous said...

Fabulous ATC's Alison, so much detail on such small projects ! Love the little UTEE bee and fleur de lys. Sue C x

Von said...

Love the UTEE for texture Alison :) a gorgeous pair :)
Von ♥

froebelsternchen said...

Just a dream Alison! Fantastic and so inspiring in one time... LOVE LOVE LOVE them!
♥♥♥
Susi

Dorthe said...

I love your glassine hearts looking like a sugared candy , and the ivy stems swirling from corner to corner
, Beautiful tags, dear Alison !
xo, Dorthe

Nikki Acton said...

Love them! The utee embellishments are fab and that heart.. such wonderful and contrasting texture all drawn together in your clever composition. Thanks for reminding about the Tim trick! I completely killed some little die cut leaves the other day sanding after removing from the the rest of the paper! Nikki xx

Meggymay said...

Awesome textures and details. love the Bee, it found a good home.
Yvonne

Meggymay said...

Awesome textures and details. love the Bee, it found a good home.
Yvonne

Lys said...

A beautiful work of textures! I would simply like to eat this honey candy bee! and the "fleur de lys" is also perfect. Beautiful tags! Lys

Kate Yetter said...

These are lovely. That bee has amazing color and dimension. Lovely!
Kate

Becky said...

Great Atc's and the amount of texture on them is amazing.

Becky x

Annie said...

wow Alison :-) your ATC's are fabulous with stunning textures and details. i adore the background and stamping. The Utee bee is such a wonderful embellishment. TFS and hugs
Annie x

S@ndy Diller said...

These are so beautiful - especially like the sprinkle of Picket Fence.

Brenda Brown said...

Just gorgeous ATCs Alison, fresh and pretty colours and textures galore. I love the utee bee he's adorable and the whole summer theme comes through on both of these stunning little pieces of art. xxx

Unknown said...

I'm a bee lover too and this is a terrific tag. Lots of eye candy to look at. :) Love it!

Anke said...

Oh Alison your ATCs are so beautiful, great backgrounds.

Hugs
Anke

Kasia said...

Beautiful ATCs, Alison :) Hugs!

Shirley said...

You know how to do texture Alison even on something so small as an ATC. Fabby x x

Warm hugs from Shirl x x

Jools Robertson said...

Blooming beautiful bees! Love these such amazing colours and patterns
Love how you did the embellishments, they remind me of sweets in icing sugar!

Jools x

Terry said...

Two gorgeous ATC's, Alison! Love your molds and I think we may have the same ones! Lovely garden delights! Hugs and enjoy the weekend.

Kezzy said...

Wow wow wow absolutely gorgeous stunning awesome ATCs, they are so amazing. The backgrounds as always looks fab, especially with the embossing of the stencil (so neeeeeed this stencil) and the background stampin looks lush :-) Kezzy xxx