'Think Pink'- Guest Designer at Stamps and Stencils

Hello Everyone and Welcome

Hope you are all doing ok and having a great week so far. 

Today I am a Guest designer over at Stamps and Stencils having been fortunate enough to be their Challenge winner in April for my 'Spring is in the Air' altered canvas (if you missed it it can be seen here) and I really am thrilled and honoured to have been given such a wonderful opportunity to share some of my creativity on such a fabulous blog that has a very talented design team. 

With most of the details about my project over on Stamps and Stencils blog  I'll just take you on a quick tour around my project including a little story about a photo I have used.

When I learned that Stamps and Stencils challenge theme this month, hosted by Branka, was 

'Think Pink'

I couldn't help but smile! If I'm honest I laughed out loud! It had my name written all over it- literally!!
Hahaha! 

So there really was only one way I could go with this challenge I thought- and that was to make something that had a little bit of 'me' in it, on it or about it!
Here's what I made - a 5x7 inch altered canvas using tones of pink and an old school photo of a little girl (me) called Pink! 
Looks like butter wouldn't melt doesn't it with those eyes and that smile ....mwahhhh!  

 

So lets start with the canvas

 I do love the Tim Holtz dot fade stencil (it has been said that I can drive people dotty). There's also some lightly stenciled numbers. (Maths was my favourite subject at school, oh along with art of course) and some 'Hot Pink' paint splats (I love the carefree creativity of splats) 

 

I also added some crazing

cracks and nuts (me,crazy? cracked? nuts? hahaha I'll let you decide)

The photo is an old school photo, taken when I was about 8/9 that I resized and developed in black and white. I think of all my school photos its my favourite. However I'm sure my mum would beg to differ as she was,lets say a little disappointed that my hair wasn't in the the very neat and tidy 'a bit up and a bit down' style I left home with that morning! Well believe it or not the parting that looks like the 'hinds legs of a donkey' wasn't my fault even though that cheeky grin may suggest otherwise. It was indeed the fault of a boy in my class who en route to  pose for the camera decided it would be so funny if he ruffled up some of the girls hair and yes I was his main target!
Thanks Peter for making a memory that never fails to make me smile ! 

To finish off my 'Pink' canvas I added a personal wish and 'note to self .....'

and now for the arty shot

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this canvas and am really pleased with how it turned out. I really hope you like it too.

Huge thanks to all the team at Stamps and Stencils for the Guest design spot today - it has been a real priviledge and honour .
I would like to enter this  canvas into the following challenges
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Make a Wish!
Country View Crafts- May Challenge and Blog Hop - Use a Stencil
Anything but Cute Challenge #13 Celebrate your style 

 Creative Carte Blanche- Wood .... a word.... and something wild!
( wood= photo frame, words = small talk sticker , Wild= my hair!!)  

 Thank you so much for stopping by today. Your visits, comments and follows are always welcomed and appreciated 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and the sun shines down on you all 

Take care 

Amanda 

xxx

Tag Friday April 2016 at A Vintage Journey

 Hello Everyone and Welcome 

Today over at A Vintage Journey its 'Tag Friday!' I'm sure many of you are already familiar with this tradition but for those of you who aren't let me explain. When there are 5 Fridays in a month, the 5th Friday sees some of the AVJ Creative Guides create and post a tag created in their style. 

So here I am today sharing my 'Tag Friday' tag with you all.

I decided to take this opportunity to have a real good play with my Tim Holtz Distress crayons!

Apart from some Gesso and a little Texture paste the crayons did the rest.

Taking a #8 tag I applied a coat of black Gesso and let dry. I used Gesso, rather than acrylic paint as I wanted that 'dry matt' look and feel that it gives. 

 I then picked up small amounts of white gesso and applied it using a dry flat head paintbrush by just catching the top of the  black gessoed surface to give like a 'scratchy' appearance. 

Out came the crayons to add colour. Again I used them by just catching the surface of the tag, aswell as drawing some 'full' lines of colour randomly and smudging them out with my fingers. I continued like this until I was happy and I had great fun just going with the flow!
I kept the detail simple - texture paste stencilling and stamping -though the stamping isn't that clear to see but I kind of like that.

My focal image is the beautiful cone head flower from Tim Holtz 'Garden Flower' stamp set stamped using black Archival ink  onto watercolour card stock and painted using the distress crayons as a watercolour paint.

That's the versitility of this product -the crayons can give really bold , vibrant intense colour when used 'neat', water them down and they give a much more subtle hue. Using them with a paint brush enables you to 'work inside the lines' too with more precision. 

I distressed the watercolour card stock panel with Distress Crayons smudging it into the panel . I love how the crayons pick up the texture of the cardstock . 

I used a width of lace, a few gem dots, a silver eyelet and an Ideology NO.3 File tab to finish off my tag .

I enjoyed creating with my Distress Crayons and I can see this being the start of a wonderful friendship between us! 

Be sure to stop by A Vintage Journey blog if you haven't done already and see all the other fabulous tags some of my fellow Creative Guides have created . 

I woiuld like to enter my tag into the following challenges: 
Thats Crafty- Go Figure Challenge April 29th 2016.
Thank you for taking the time to pop by today and for all the lovely comments you leave - both are appreciated greatly . 
Enjoy your weekend 
take care 
Amanda 
xxx