Encore - Always and Forever Changing!

Encore Posts

While I'm away, there are some scheduled posts with new creations coming your way, but I'm also taking the chance to do some catching up here at Words and Pictures.   Projects which made their first appearances elsewhere for Design Team duties or Guest Designer opportunities, but which only had a sneak peek here, are being gathered together in the pages of my virtual scrapbook.  I'm calling them "Encore" posts and they're formatted differently (all the way down the centre), so you can spot them easily.

Please don't feel that you have to comment all over again!

This Encore takes us back to January 2014, and it's another one from my days in the Artistic Stamper Creative Team.  The Katy Fox - now Katy Leitch - botanical stamps were definitely amongst my favourites, and I remember loving this particular creation at the time, so I'm very happy to finally gather it in to my virtual scrapbook here.  Anyway, here's what I wrote back then...

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Hello all!  Alison (butterfly) here with my first Artistic Stamper post of the New Year.  I should probably have made a resolution about trying to write shorter posts, but I didn't, sorry!  I've another photo-heavy marathon for you (and remember you can click on the photos for a closer view).

I started with one idea in my head with this one, went via a completely different possibility and ended up in an utterly unexpected destination - but one that I'm very happy with.  In fact, it may be one of my favourite makes.

I'm afraid I don't have many photos en route since most of the way along I was pretty sure I was going to bin it.  Very glad I didn't now!

I started with one of the papier mache icons and some PaperArtsy crackle glaze, but that's long lost under some heavy gesso and loads of ColorWash sprays.  What I can tell you is a little bit of how the background shaped up once I'd gesso'd over my first idea.

I started with some text, stamping the botanical definitions from Katy Fox's Encyclopaedia Botanica plate in Potting Soil Archival (just as well I picked Archival with everything that then happened).

I stencilled Walnut Stain Distress Ink through the Harlequin stencil, and then clear embossed it, using only a light covering of powder.  (Again, just as well I kept it in place with the embossing - it wouldn't have lasted through the spritzing.)

At this point I had a gentle neutral affair on the way - white background, dark brown stamping, and I was still planning to stamp one of Katy's flowers directly onto the icon.  But, in my usual fashion, I had more than one thing on the go, and chance intervened at this point.

I happened to use a kraft tag to mop up some white paint from the mat, and suddenly wondered how the flower would look stamped onto that instead... the answer was "lovely"!  This particular flower is from Katy Fox's latest Botanical 2 release, and it's stamped in Potting Soil.

But then it started looking a bit bland to me.  I thought I'd like just a little hit of colour in the background... hmm!  I got out the ColorWash sprays, with their yummy earthy, natural tones, and tried them out on a nearby tag which gave me lovely spray patterns and some gentle blending and dripping.  But when I sprayed them onto the gesso, they behaved very differently and I ended up with really full on colour going on - not what I'd intended!

However, thanks to the embossed Harlequins, there was a lovely resist effect in places that toned in with the whitewashed kraft tag, so I decided to persevere.

I stamped the Artistic Stamper Messy Art blots and splashes (Katy Fox again!) in Fresco Snowflake...  I hadn't used these before and, oh, how I love them now!

I added a couple of spritzes of Dylusions White Linen too...

... and dry brushed some Snowflake around the edges of the icon too.  Obviously, all this is being carried over the edges as usual.

I stamped one of Tim Holtz's Simple Sayings in Potting Soil onto another whitewashed kraft tag and cut it out and distressed it.

And I added some Idea-ology Linen Ribbon to the top of the tag.

My final brainwave was to add some "Diamond Confetti" chipboard from the UmWow Studio, and highlight it with a dusting of Snowflake Fresco brushed up from the bottom corner.

I'm really pleased with how these echo my embossed Harlequins, and add a touch of dimension to the composition.

So that's me for today.

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Thanks so much for dropping in today - always lovely to know you're out there!  I'll be back soon with another Encore, but there's something new just around the corner...  Happy Crafting all!

What is once well done is done forever.
Henry David Thoreau

Brotherly Love

Hello all, lovely to see you!

A quick tag today (has to be quick - so much going on at the moment) with two Artistic Outpost characters who live a rich and complicated life in my imagination.  They're from the fabulous Generation Redux plate.

This was also one of my first times playing with Pan Pastels (yes, I finally succumbed - and oh, I'm in love!).  

So these two brothers (a.k.a. - to me at least - the Coffee Guys)...  

The older one is sober-suited and slightly grim about about the mouth and eyes.  

You can feel the weight of responsibility heavy upon his shoulders, having been left in charge of the family firm (coffee trading, clearly) after their father's death.  But you also get the sense that he's probably unnecessarily tight-lipped about things.  If he could just soften a little, he'd enjoy life so much more.









However, he can't afford to because his younger brother, Mr Flash (I think he's almost certainly called Harry) - with that twinkle in his eye and the natty blue suit - is reckless and constantly falling into scrapes... financial sometimes, but mainly with unsuitable women, and it's earnest Ernest who has to pick up the pieces.












I absolutely love the look of the Pan Pastels blended over the glorious print block letters from the Secretary Pool set.

You just stamp in Versamark and then work the PPs over the top - it's like magic!












Apart from the Pan Pastels background, I've taken the bubble theme that's built into the main stamp and run with it.  













There's a matching bubble texture stamp on the same plate, so I used that around the edges of the tag, stamped in Potting Soil like the main image.













Then I added some UmWow circle confetti to echo the stamped bubbles, and on some of those I added the same bubbles in Vanilla White embossing powder.














A topping that is full of contrasts, like the brothers themselves: some twine, some silk ribbon (coloured brown, though I see it's gone a little pink by this morning - hidden secrets, anyone?!), and some linen ribbon fraying at the edges - as you feel Ernest must be by now... see how he's barely keeping it together with that gripped lower lip.












Okay, so not that quick a post... but as I say, the brothers have quite a grip on my imagination, and I guess they didn't want to be brushed off quite so lightly!  

It wasn't until I was writing the post that I realised there are no words on this tag - gasp! - apart from COFFEE, and all those alphabet letters.  I think the brothers must speak for themselves.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you'll be able to drop in on Friday evening when there's a really exciting new PaperArtsy release to share!  Hope to see you then...

What strange creatures brothers are!
Jane Austen

Since I return to these Artistic Outpost stamps again and again (and it's not just because I'm on the DT - they inspire me endlessly, especially this Generation Redux set and the Think and Wonder set), I'd like to enter this in the lovely Brenda's Five Year Celebration Candy - with the Generation Redux stamps as one of my favourite craft materials.  I can also see that Pan Pastels are going to become a new favourite!!  You'll find all the details of Brenda's candy challenge here.

Garden of Dreams

Hello everyone!

I seem to be in a flowery phase round here at the moment.  I blame all those gorgeous Wallflower releases and projects at CHA... and my new Spring Greenery die too!

I've another small canvas for you today featuring an Artistic Outpost quote (not quite as small as the last one).

Although I haven't usually been much for using 3D flowers (though there are always plenty of stamped ones - meadow grasses, anyone?!) it's a whole different outlook now that I've got lots of leaves to play with.













Lots of layers, as usual... starting with tissue wrap over the 6x4 inch canvas, multi-medium, some torn paper napkins and a couple of washes of Light Buttermilk paint.

















Then texture paste - but of course! - through a damask stencil, and some Walnut Stain ink to highlight it.











I cut the Tim Holtz Distressed Doily once out of paper and once out of thick card.  

The top paper layer just had some gesso and some inking.












The card layer is underneath and it's had a coat of thick gesso, and a combination of glass beads, Verdigris and Peeled Paint Distress embossing powders for a mossy look.















The quote, from the Chalkboard Wisdom plate is stamped in Versamark on kraft card, and embossed with Wow Vanilla White.  

I stamped it inside one of the frames from the Chalk It Up plate which has had the same treatment.

Then I blended Walnut Stain ink on from the edges.





















I'm very happy with my glass bead embellishments.  

They're just those pebbles you buy for putting in vases and suchlike.  














I bought them ages ago, thinking I'd stick them on some pretty papers, but then I saw the amazing Matilde over at 100% Handmade using something similar on book pages and the lightbulb went on... book text - my favourite thing!











I spritzed a couple of pages with various shimmery sprays and stuck down lots of glass pebbles with gloss multi-medium.











Once dry, you can just cut them out.  I love the magnifying effect on the text - I might be more careful about what words I stick them over next time!!

I didn't want anything too turquoise for this canvas, so tried to get ones that were stuck over less spritzed or greener areas.










The flowers are by Wild Orchid, and they've had just a touch of gesso to shabby them up (down?).














And the metal heart is from Calico Crafts, and has had just a fingerful of paint smeared onto it.












I added some tiny wooden hearts - confetti from the fabulous UmWow Studio...















... with just a dusting of gesso added.













And, of course, lots and lots of leaves cut with the new Spring Greenery decorative strip die...














I promised you more ivy, and you've got some of the other leafy bits here too for good measure!













So that's my springtime canvas for you today.  I wonder how long this flowery kick will last - could be a whole new Words and Pictures vibe for 2014!

I'd like to enter this for the Wild Orchid Challenge where I've been inspired by the flowers on their Springtime Photo Inspiration, and using all the colours except the pink which has pretty much disappeared under all the layers!

I'd also like to enter it at the Inspiration Emporium where they are Dieing for 2014 - my dies are the Distressed Doily and the Spring Greenery.

And at Pan Pastels, it's Anything Goes.

A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in - what more could he ask?  A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.
From Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

A little peek...

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for your amazing comments on the final flurry of Funkie Junkie tags, and thank you for your well-wishes.  I'm still hacking away like a 90-a-day smoker on occasion, but so much better than I was, thank you!!

It's sneak peek time once again here at Words and Pictures... this time with a photo that I hope will encourage you to hop over to The Artistic Stamper to take a look.  

After some false starts, lots of changes of direction, and heart-stopping moments when I decided it had all gone horribly wrong and I should just chuck it in, it's turned into one of my favourite makes... whaddaya gonna do?!

Hope you like it...




They always say time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself.
Andy Warhol