Life is Art!

Hello there everyone

So its the last Bank Holiday weekend here in England until Christmas - Hope you're all enjoying , whatever your plans or the weather may be. Not sure what I'll be up to as yet other than being here today to share my latest make for this months challenge 'Things with Wings'  over at A Vintage Journey. 
As the clock is ticking to meet the entry deadline I will get straight down to business so to speak . 

I have altered a small canvas

The canvas was covered with a dictionary definition page. As my focal image was to be an embossed heart I  chose the page with 'Love' definitions. Acrylic paint was then applied randomly over the covered canvas to lighten some of the print. 
Detail was then added to the covered canvas using stamps and a stencil. For the stamping I used both Watering Can and Black Archival ink and Tim Holtz Honeycomb and Speckle stamps. For the stencilling I used Tim Holtz Dot fade stencil and some texture paste aswell as Tim Holtz dotty stencil with Weathered Wood Distress ink. 

A spritz of Perfect Pearls and some silver gilding wax was applied to add a touch of shimmer and opulence to finish off the background. 

The hearts and wings were die cut using Tim Holtz Heart Wings Bigs die and grey board. I love the asymmetrical design of this heart .The heart is inked up heavily with Chipped sapphire distress ink and triple embossed using ultra thick embossing powder. On the final layer the embossing is stamped into with a chosen stamp to create the design and texture on the heart.

 

The wings are painted with acrylic paint and distressed with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and the edges caught with a touch of silver gilding wax. 
The quote 'Life is Art'  was stamped in Watering Can Archival Ink and mounted onto steel grey card stock.

To assemble, the wings were positioned and adhered in place and then dimensional glue was used to adhere the embossed heart.The Quote was fed into a memo pin, making sure the 'is'  was the word that could be read through the ring of the pin.The quote was left sitting proud of the canvas again to give dimension.Two more memo pins were added for embellishment and grey gems were placed into the centre of the rings. Inverted eyelets were added to embellish each of the four corners of the canvas. 
Two screw eyes were screwed into the top of the canvas and a length of silver chain attached to enable the canvas to be hung .

 And here it is again my 'Life is Art' altered canvas - Hope you like

I do enjoy making pieces of wall art and I was so glad  I chose to revisit the triple embossing technique for the heart as the result, I think, is so texturally pleasing . 

I would like to enter this into the following challenges  

A Vintage Journey - August Challenge - Things with Wings 
Thats Crafty- 'Alphabet Soup Challenge'  
( I have used letters of the alphabet in the quote and on the dictionary definition background )

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge- August Challenge -' Get Texty!'  

( I have used text print background and Text stamp)  

Thank you so much to you all, both new and old friends and followers alike, for taking the time out to stop by today . Your visits and comments are very much appreciated. 
Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and the coming month (eek! September already - how did that happen?) brings with it nothing but good health and happiness for you all . 

Time for a brew here me thinks so see you again soon 

Take care 

Amanda x

Things with Wings!

Hello Everyone

Today I am a Guest Designer over at A Vintage Journey and I can't begin to tell you how thrilled and honoured I am to have been given this wonderful opportunity. I keep wondering if this really is 'for real'   and not a dream- I mean, me as a Guest Designer on such a prestigious Challenge blog- I would have never thought it possible! 
Its Anne's Challenge theme this month and Anne can be found not only at AVJ but also here and if you haven't already be sure to pay her a visit as Anne is incredibly talented and you will be sure to marvel at her creations . 
Annes' theme is 'Things with Wings' and here's what she has to say :

 "Tim has designed the most wonderful butterfly, dragonfly and bird stamps, dies and papers.  We would like to see you create a project using one (or more if you wish) butterfly, dragonfly or bird."
What a fabulous theme with so many options given the plethora of products that Tim has designed that would fit the theme perfectly. I knew I was going to be spoilt for choice .
Sure enough my mind raced with ideas but I decided in the end to go with my first thoughts which were of Tim Holtz's beautiful butterfly stamp in the 'Perspective' stamp set . It has to be one of my all time favourite stamps and one I definitely wouldn't be without.

I have created an altered canvas with the 'Perspective' butterfly as the focal image .  

I began by applying colour to my background panel using the wrinkle free distress technique and Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky and Hickory smoke). 

I love this technique as it allows for a gradual build up of colour and creates some really interesting and unique results .  

I added more detail to the background panel by first stamping in both Cobalt and Jet Black Archival ink using text, crackle, speckle and ink blot stamps (mainly Tim Holtz). I then added some stenciling using Tim Holtz Dot Fade and Schoolroom layering stencils and Distress Inks (Hickory Smoke, and Chipped Sapphire).  I also created some random circles using a bottle top dipped in acrylic paint and then lightly spritzed the background with perfect pearls before double mounting it onto white (edges distressed with hickory smoke )and black card stock.  

For the focal image -the beautiful butterfly and its ‘base’ I stamped and embossed the butterfly twice and then cut both out by hand. I used Distress Inks ( Broken China, Tumbled Glass) to add colour to the wings and also added some white highlights and a touch of silver gilding wax . After shaping both butterflies,one more than the other to give dimension, I adhered them together by their bodies.

I  twisted a length of silver wire by hand to form a few circles and then twisted the wire around the circles to fasten tight. After cutting a length of chicken wire I inked it up using Pitch Black alcohol ink.

I covered the canvas in Menagerie Tissue Wrap and applied some pale grey and white acrylic paint to the wrap with my fingers to lighten the print. I scuffed the edges with Black Archival ink again using my fingers and adhered a length of Tim Holtz tissue tape to the left hand side and bottom edge of the canvas . I then mounted the canvas onto a panel of black card stock cut to size to echo the black mount I'd used on the background panel.  

Now with all my elements prepared all that was left to do was assemble and embellish. 
Positioning and adhering the twisted wire, chicken wire and butterfly proved tricky but a little patience n perseverance won in the end. Once the butterfly and its base were securely in place I embellished the body of the butterfly with a deep blue gem ( isn't it lush) and an ideology pen nib. I added some hex nuts, metal letter beads spelling the word ‘Fly’ and a few remnant rubs to the background panel and a thoughtfully chosen small talk sticker to the canvas.

'With Brave Wings She Flies '

 
I hope you like !! 

If this months challenge 'Things with Wings' appeals to you then there's still plenty of time to enter - just head over to A Vintage Journey's  blog , checkout the rules and then go get those fingers inky . 

Thank you so much to all the lovely ladies (Creative Guides ) at A Vintage journey for inviting me along today to share some of my creativity - I truly am honoured .

I would also like to enter this canvas in the following challenges :

 Mixed Media Monthly Challenge  

(I've used a text stamp, remnant rub and chit chat stickers text and metal letter beads)

Country View Crafts- Summertime

(Butterflies and blue skies are two things that make me think of summer.)

That just leaves me to say thank you all for popping by today . I know how busy days can be so I really do appreciate you taking time out of yours to visit my creative space. 

Hope you all have a great week and see you again soon 

take care and  keep on the happy side 

Amanda 

12 Tags of Tim Holtz -August 2015

Hi Everyone 

Its time again for another of Tims tags for 2015 and for August Tim has shared with us a way to utilize our mixed media dies as a background to give an immediate dimensional element on which to collage and stamp. Tims Tag and tutorial can be found here. 
I loved Tims tag for August as soon as I saw it so I decided to follow the tutorial near enough to the letter.  At times during the creative process I did wonder whether I was just making one big mess of things having never tried the technique before but I stuck with it and here is my end result :

The die cut background adhered to another paper covered tag

Now for a few close ups.

I chose different remnant rubs to Tim's and used wire to fasten an ideology word label with the word 'Find' to the arrow.  I also finished the hole of the tag with an eyelet and used some hessian ribbon for the tag tie .

And just a reminder again of the finished tag

I always enjoy making Tim's tag as he never fails to offer new techniques and inspiration and this tag , for me, certainly offered both of those - Thanks Tim. 

Who knows with time on my side (for once, hahaha) I may make another one !! 

Right , off I pop  to enter my tag into  

12 Tags of Tim Holtz -August 2015

Thank you so much for stopping by today - always love to see ya here and you can be certain that any comments you leave are always read and appreciated . 

Hope to see you very soon 

Enjoy a great week 

Amanda x

Shop til ya' drop

Hello Everyone

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend and are all feeling refreshed for the new week ahead! 
I've had my crafty fingers busy all day making my entry for this weeks  Monday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp .
So as the clock is ticking and time really is against me I'll get straight down to business (so to speak ) and share with you my creation . 
The theme this week is 'Make a Plan' and I have chosen to make a Shopping planner because whenever I need to write a shopping list (yes I'm a lover of lists)  I can never find either a pen/ pencil or a piece of paper (I know I'm a crafter there should be loads in the house - well yes there are but they are my crafting supplies - I couldn't possibly use them, I might need them one day!!) 
So here's my problem solved - A Shopping Planner WITH pencil/ paper and a few other little essentials. 

I began by covering two pieces of heavy card stock, back and front, with blue embossed spotty paper. I then distressed the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. 
I made a spine from black card stock and used very strong double sided adhesive to adhere the front and back cover and paper pads to the spine. I rubbed gilding wax over the spine to pick up the texture of the card.

I made a pocket for the front of the planner as pockets are always useful aren't they? I thought it could be used to hold receipts/ coupons or maybe Shop loyalty cards - mustn't forget those as they = points and points = prizes ! Yay!  I embellished the pocket with paper clips and a silver hinge clip and added a remnant rub. 

I also added two pockets on both the front and back cover . 

I found a  silver frame amongst my stash of embellishments and inked it up with black slate alcohol ink and a touch of gilding wax which I then rubbed back with an almost dry baby wipe. I do like the aged effect the rubbing back creates. I finished it off with some black brads before adhering it in place to frame the word 'SHOP.'

I painted a wooden pencil with black acrylic paint and added a touch of gilding wax to pick up the grain of the wood . 

The pencil loop is a length of gross grain ribbon.

Now all I have to do is write my shopping list and my Shopping Planner is good to go .... Now what was it I needed ..............

hahaha! Did ya spot the craft essentials? Can't wait to go shopping this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today/ tonight.  Hope you like what you've seen

Have a great week and see you again soon 

I would like to enter this into the following challenges

 Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge : 'Make a Plan'