Crow's Woes - A Story of A Halloween Raven

Re-edited: Yeeppie!!! I am a Designer Spotlight with this project over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! Yaaay!!!

Happy Halloween to all!

I haven't blogged for a long while but I've finally been able to find some crafty time and the inspiration came for this Halloween themed project! Just in time to join in the finale of 31 Days of Halloween!

I've decided to alter an old photo frame for this handsome fella. The stamp I used is the Raven Background from Stampendous. I took the inspiration from the JUGS #417 Challenge Photo:

The autumnal colour splatters, the bird theme, feathers...

The frame was first painted with DecoArt's black gesso and then treated with random dollops of alcohol inks in a range of colours.  When the inks dried I applied some Dazzling Mettallics wax in Iced Esspresso to highlight the raised areas, along with a touch of Cherry Red acrylic paint.

I also framed the image further with Black Glass Glitter from Stampendous.

At the top I added an ornament cluster with hidden bat wings, mystic medallion and raven's feathers, complemented by a smaller ornament at the bottom with a scull and crossbones. All straight from the pantry essentials for witch's brews and potions... :).

If you'd like to indulge in more Halloween inspiration, do also have a peek at my Halloween lantern and Halloween Witchcraft tag projects. And make sure to check out of the spookylicious projects over at the Stampendous blog with the links to the whole month's worth of Halloween inspiration!

Thank you so much for stopping by and for all your lovely (or terrrrrifying!) comments! Happy Halloween!

Big crafty hugs!




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I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - All Creatures Great and Small
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Frilly and Funkie - Trick or Treat (bat wings - treat for a witch)
A Vintage Journey - Crazy for Autumn Colour
Country View Challenges October - Mixed Media With Autumnal Hues 

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A Christmas Wish to All - Part 2

Hello Friends! I hope you had an amazing Christmas period, enjoyed together with your family and friends. Ours was lovely, too - spent with family, friends and... a leaking radiator! Not exactly my choice of Christmas entertainment if you ask me but it could've been worse :). We moved into our new home earlier this year and the house is still throwing surprises at us here and there!

As promised, here's the second companion from my Christmas Lights set - in my previous post I shared this Christmas lantern and I have one more item to share :).

I love how church candles can be altered with stamped images - they can easily transform ordinary candles into magical ornaments. I've previously shared on my blog another set of altered Christmas candles and I also have one in my Easter Home Decor set.

Stamped images can easily transform ordinary candles into magical ornaments

For my altered candle I stamped this beautiful image onto tissue paper and I coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers first. I also used the alcohol ink markers and an air spritzer to give my Crystal Angel a whimsical look. Then I adhered the image to the candle by gently melting the tissue into the wax.

Use alcohol ink markers and an air spritzer for a whimsical look

To melt tissue into the wax evenly, wrap the candle tightly with grease-proof paper, carefully heat with a heat gun until the image underneath looks sharper and continue to hold the sheet until the wax cools down.

As a finishing touch, I added a glittered 3D foam snowflake, some handmade poinsettia flowers with glass glitter 3D DODZ centres and some lace and seam binding ribbons.

Add handmade poinsettia flowers, ribbons and lace to create a shabby chic look

Supplies:

Stampendous: cling Crystal Angel; Crystal MicroGlitter; Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter

Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Snowflakes; 3D DODZ

Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Die: Tattered Poinsettia

Crafters Companion: Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers

Church candle

Seam binding ribbon

Pearl lace

Cheese cloth

Spray of foam berries

Decorative pins

Tissue paper

Air spritzer tool

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments!

Big hugs


I would like to enter the following challenges:
Mixed Media Place - December mood board
Country View Challenges - Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Sparkle
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything Goes
Mixed Media Monthly Blog Challenge - Merry and Bright

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A Christmas Wish to All - Part 1

Hello Friends! I've been promising to get back into regular blogging routine and this is still to happen - please forgive me! Hopefully I will be a much better blogger in the New Year! :)

For now, please allow me to wish you all a very happy Christmas, full of love, peace and kindness and also hope that the magic of Christmas can conquer any obstacles and sadness that may be thrown your way. May this festive season be the happiest one ever, one to remember for years to come!

As I haven't done much Christmas crafting this year I thought I would share with you a winter project that appeared in the December 2015 issue of the Craft Stamper magazine. This is actually a trio of mixed media/altered items and today I'm kicking it off with this altered winter lantern. The idea was inspired by the Halloween altered lantern I created some time ago.

If you have an old lantern that has suffered some damage to the glass panes, this is a perfect up-cycling opportunity. You can alter and decorate the lantern to your heart's content, just like I did with layers of 3D foam shapes, crackle paste, paints and DIY shimmer mists. I make my mists quite subtle as I use them more for vintage ageing and delicate shimmer than for intense colour tinting.

You can also replace the glass panels with illusion film sheets - they reflect the light beautifully and guarantee an attention-grabbing look to the whole project. And yes, they are also perfect for stamping! I found that StazOn ink works great on them and the stamped image shows through on both sides. If you want to add more colour to your images, I recommend using alcohol markers on the reverse (unstamped) side – as the markers will make the StazOn ink smudge. The blending pen will then help you move the colour around the image.

The final touches were made with textural snow (toned down with paints after it was dry) and Glossy Accents glittered icicles. To embellish my lantern I added cheese cloth, seam binding ribbon and handmade poinsettia flowers.

Supplies:
Stampendous: Cling Sweater Snowman, Cling Sweater Square, Crystal Micro Glitter, Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter, Spoonful of Pixie Dust
StazOn Ink: Jet Black
StazOn Ink: Emerald Sky
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Stars, 3D Foam Snowflakes, DODZ 3D
Donna Salazar with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: Pigment Powder - Gold, Pink, Brown
DecoArt Dazzling Metallics ®: Oyster Pearl, Silver Sage, White Pearl
DecoArt Americiana Decor ® Chalky Finish: Everlasting
DecoArt Snow-Tex, Texture Crackle

Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Die: Tattered Poinsettia
Crafters Companion: Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Rowlux: White Moire Illusion Film
Glossy Accents
Lantern
Seam binding ribbon
Cheese cloth
Spray of foam berries

Thank you so much for stopping by and for any kind words you'd like to share to let me know you've been here :).

With big warm hugs


I would like to enter the following challenges:
Mixed Media Place - December mood board
Country View Challenges - Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Sparkle
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything Goes
Mixed Media Monthly Blog Challenge - Merry and Bright

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Shabby Chocolatier - Stampendous and DecoArt Blog Hop Finale

Hello everyone! Welcome to the big Stampendous and DecoArt blog hop finale! Throughout this week both design teams have been very busy tempting you with delicious designs and inspiring projects to get your creative juices flowing.

This collaboration has always been one of my absolute faves as I absolutely loooove playing with stamps and paints! I hope you will enjoy visiting the other posts published earlier this week, if you haven't seen them yet. The week has been packed full with fantastic projects - you really don't want to miss seeing any of them!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

So what has this week really been about? The whole Stampendous gang along with our friends at DecoArt have joined forces to show off some fantastic stamps designed for Stampendous by Andy Skinner who's a great mixed media artist and DecoArt International Education Coordinator.



Andy will join us along with his team of international mixed media artists including Julia Stratford-Wright, Mark Gould, Mel Hookham and Jools Robertson. Plus there will be posts this week on the Stampendous and DecoArt blogs as well.

And let me tell you. You’ll want to get your commenting fingers ready… Each comment on a post this week will enter you to win a fabulous prize package! (one comment per post, per person). Contest open to everyone! We have three packages and each has a Fluid Media Starter Kit, all three of Andy Skinner’s new Stampendous Stamp sets and a Jumbo Acrylic Handle. Look at this great prize!

I have a super sweet project for you today! I altered an ordinary, boring, metal CD tin and created this choccie tin instead! Needless to say, the chocolates are long gone - just say'n, in case you wonder...lol.

Stampendous Supplies:

Andy Skinner - Shabby Chic and Toxic stamp sets 

Detail Embossing Powders - Black and Gold

VersaMark Watermark embossing ink pad

DecoArt Media: Titan Buff, Quinacridone Gold; Ultra Matte Duraclear Varnish

Other:

Color Solution Alcohol Inks: Pearl White, Creme Brulee

Ribbon - May Arts

Metal tin, self adhesive pearls

StazOn Mini inks - Spiced Chai, Ganache

Directions:

1. Using felt alcohol ink applicator cover the tin with Creme Brulee alcohol ink all around the edge.

2. Cover the top of the lid with Pearl White alcohol ink.

3. Using a cosmetic sponge dab Titan Buff paint all over the tin.
4. Add more Creme Brulee in places for more rusty look.
5. Stamp the 'scratches' with a texture stamp from the Toxic set using Spiced Chai and Ganache inks.
6. Add a wash of Quinacridone Gold paint, wiping some off with a baby wipe.
7. Stamp the labels from the Shabby Chic set and heat emboss in black and gold.
8. Finish off with a small bow and accent pearls.
9. Add choccies.
10. Eat choccies :).

So here's the full line-up of the blogs playing today:

Stampendous Blog

Wendy Price

Asia King (that's me!)

Pam Hornschu

Janelle Stollfus

Pam Bray

Jamie Martin

Louise Healy

Alison Heikkila

Lea Fritts

Amy Hurley-Purdie

Tenia Nelson

Debbie Cole

Laura Drahozal

DecoArt Blog

That's all from me for today. Your next stop is Pam Hornschu. Enjoy the hop and good luck in the draw! And have a wonderfully creative weekend! :)

Big crafty hugs

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On A Bed Of Moss And Berries, There Sleep The Woodland Fairies

Morning everyone! A very happy welcome to my newest followers - thank you so much for joining in! :).

Time for another post for Scrapbook Adhesives By 3L® and my today's offering is still very much in an autumnal mode. I really enjoy driving through roads lined up by old trees displaying their full autumnal glory. And I love watching the leaves flirtatiously dancing in the wind :). And the smell of the wood smoke from nearby fields and gardens... hmmm... I always think it's quite a romantic time of year. Would you agree?

Today I have a mixed media wall art for you to enjoy. This project was quite 'involved' so here you will find out more about the medialicious part of it, whereas over at Scrapbook Adhesives By 3L's blog I am focusing on the adhesive side of things :).

This altered shadow box was so much fun to make. It's full of textures, flowers and vintage flavour - I am really happy with the way it turned out :). Despite the fact that it evolved completely from the original plan - but which creative play doesn't? :)

My woodland fairy started its life as a little resin-plaster mask which I was hoping to decorate in a Venetian style with layers of frilly fabrics and lace. I bought this mask ages ago in a charity shop - it had some flourishes painted in bright colours and covered in glitter. But that wasn't the 'look' I was after so I decided to cover it all up with layers of base paint.

The picture above is to show you what the mask looked like before the big make-over :). Inspired by the autumn season I painted the mask yellow. I tried to add some fancy features to the mask with a stenciled butterfly. I also added some stenciling to the background. Click through to read more about the stenciling process and supplies I used.

At that point I thought the mask looked rather tribal and I couldn't find anything else in my stash to help me with my Venetian theme. So I took a different route altogether and decided to go with a woodland theme :).

The mask was going to become my woodland/tree witch. After painting my mask again the texture of the stenciled butterfly still showed through and it looked like little tree bark wrinkles, which I quite liked.

As I wanted the mask to look more like a face, I needed to find eyes for the empty eye sockets. After a long and unsuccessful hunt I decided to try to create the eye lids with my trusty DODZ™-3D. Let me tell you a secret - I can't live without my DODZ™-3D! This stuff is unbeatable in so many ways, waaaaay beyond its primary function of big glue dots :).

With a little help of texture paste to smooth out some parts, the DODZ worked perfectly! That's how my fairy became a sleeping fairy :).

I painted the face with Enchanted Chalky Finish paint (so appropriate for my enchanting fairy! lol) and then gave it a couple of washes with Quinacridone Gold and Dazzling Metallic paints. I rested the fairy's head on a bed of dry flowers, fruits, berries and faux moss (most have been rescued from old charity shop finds) and secured in place with lots of glue.

For the frame I first added heaps of Texture Crackle, layering it quite thick in places and I let it dry overnight. Next I chipped some chunks off, exposing the raw wood of the frame - I wanted to create an old, rough, chipped paint effect. I painted the frame with Enchanted, Coffee Bean, Country Red and Quinacridone Gold, wiping it off in places with a baby wipe. Then I misted it with White Linen and a DIY Gold Mica spray.

Finally I added some gold highlights with a Rub-N-Buff wax.

Supplies:

DODZ™ – 3D; Dodz™ XL; Quick & Easy Dual Tip Glue Pen; Pigment Powders: Gold, Pink, Brown (Donna Salazar with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®), DIY Gold pigment powder mist

Media:

Color Wash ink sprays (Ranger) – Red Pepper, Butterscotch, Lettuce; Dylusions White Linen Ink Spray; Vermillion Archival Ink (Ranger)

DecoArt: Dazzling Metallics: Silver Sage, Oyster Pearl; Americana Acrylics: Country Red, Multi-Surface Satin: Muted Gold, Coffee Bean; Chalky Finish: Enchanted; Media Fluid Acrylic Quinacridone Gold; 
DuraClear Ultra Matte Varnish, Texture Crackle, Fabric Stiffener, Vintage Butterfly stencil

Dreamweaver Translucent Embossing Paste; wooden frame, resin-plaster mask, Gold Rub-N-Buff wax

Stampendous – Cling Vintage Letter; The Crafters Workshop Mini Chickenwire Reversed stencil

The cheese cloth head scarf wrapped around the face and the frame was first inked up and then soaked in the Fabric Stiffener.

I would love to know what you think of my Sleeping Fairy :). Please also check the stenciling and adhesive details over at Scrapbook Adhesives' blog - and I would really appreciate it if you had a comment to leave a comment over there as well :).

Thank you all so much for all your kind words - your comments are always so appreciated! Have a fabulous week my friends!

Big crafty hugs




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Challenges for this project:
Country View Challenges #32 - Add some texture
JUG #316 - Hexagons
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Wrap It Up
Rhedd's Creative Spirit Altered Art Challenge October - Anything Goes
Fashionable Stamping Challenges #104 - Changing Seasons
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Throwback (inspired by Autumn is in the Air challenge)
Try It On Tuesdays - Lots of Layers

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Craft And Hobby Association 2015 Project: Mixed Media Dragonflies - Part 2

If you're looking for my Grow Your Blog 2015 Link Party blog post, click HERE.

Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by today to see the second installment of my Mixed Media Dragonflies CHA ensemble. I'm posting it a little early than originally intended :).

In my first post I shared a Mixed Media Dragonflies Canvas With Adhesive Sheets and today over at Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L I am sharing the remaining items - an altered wooden plaque and an altered mobile phone cover. I would love it, if you found a moment to hop over to the blog to find out all the details how I made these items.

Here are my three pieces together.

 

Here is my altered wooden wall plaque - a shelf for my altered phone cover.

And a couple of close-ups:

Supplies used for the altered wall plaque:

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: Adhesive Sheets - 6x12", DODZ™ - Small, DODZ™ - 3D, Thin 3D Foam Squares - Mix White, 3D Foam Squares - White Mix, 3D Foam Pennants, 3D Foam Keys & 3D Foam Swirls (Donna Salazar with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®), 3D Foam Wings, 3D Foam Butterflies

Media: DecoArt Americana Metallic Oyster Pearl and Spa Blue acrylic paints, Prima Color Bloom sprays (Soft Teal, Summer Sky), Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (Peach Delight, Lemon Zest, Iridescent Gold), texture paste, white gesso 

Other supplies: Tim Holtz Layered Stencil - Gothic, PaperArtsy - Bloom stencil, wooden wall candle holder, printed napkins, various embellishments and findings, paper flowers, buttons. 

Now onto the altered phone cover. I had a used mobile phone cover in my stash and I thought it would make a great notepad, perhaps for keeping phone messages or telephone numbers?

And a few close-ups:

And the inside:

Supplies used for the altered mobile phone case:

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: Adhesive Sheets - 4x6", DODZ™ - Small, DODZ™ - 3D, Thin 3D Foam Squares - Mix White, 3D Foam Squares - White Mix, Crafty Foam Tape - White, Keepsake Envelopes

Other Supplies: Stampendous: Vintage Typewriter & Vintage Press Perfectly Clear stamps, Phone Elements Cling Rubber stamp, phone cover, printed napkins, cheese cloth, various embellishments and findings, paper flowers, buttons

Media: Stampendous Boss Gloss, Stampendous Periwinkle and Aqua embossing powders, DecoArt Americana Metallic Oyster Pearl and Spa Blue acrylic paints, Prima Color Bloom sprays (Soft Teal, Summer Sky), Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (Peach Delight, Lemon Zest, Black Cherry, Iridescent Gold), Tsukineko StazOn (Jet Black, Blue Hawaii, Midnight Blue, Emerald City), white gesso

I hope you enjoyed the second installment of my mixed media project. Thanks for stopping by and for all your heartwarming comments!

Big crafty hugs




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Where Hummingbirds Nest, Butterflies Rest - Upcycled Yarn Birdhouse

Hello dear friends! Thank you for stopping by today and my warmest welcome to my newest followers from Bloglovin' and Networkblogs! So lovely to see you here!

In case you missed my last post, be sure to check out my CHA2015 Mixed Media Dragonflies Canvas with dry decoupage technique :).

Today I have another 3D make - a colourful fluffy birdhouse. This project was so much fun to make! It's a weaved collection of yarn, fibers, feathers etc - I almost felt like a little bird weaving a nest myself lol :). And of course it also includes some stamping, colouring and Frantage-ing!

Here is the front view of the birdhouse and inside you can see some tiny spotted eggs. To make these I squashed some small Styrofoam balls to form an egg shape. Then after painting them with acrylic paints I added some spots by flicking a paintbrush over them with some watered down brown paint. To weave the birdhouse itself I needed a base to work on - and for that I used super hi-tech equipment. Read on to find out more...:)

Supplies:

Stampendous: PenPattern Butterflies, Butterflies Die Set, Cling Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds Die Set, Aged Hunter Embossing Enamel 
MEM01 Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko® 
SSH57 Jumbo Perfectly Clear™ Acrylic Handle

Cardstock by Bazill Basics Paper®

Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Pennants, 3D Foam Squares Regular and 3D Foam Squares Small - white, DODZ™ - 3D

Inktense Pencils, plastic florist stand, multicolour yarn and threads, ribbon, cheesecloth, watered down white acrylic paint in a spray bottle, feathers, Liquid Pearls 

Instructions:

1. Weave the yarns and threads through the gaps of a florist stand, leaving one gap open to create a nest's entrance. 

2. Spray generously with watered down acrylic to tone down the bright colours. Repeat until you are happy with the result. 

3. Wrap around with hand died cheesecloth and secure with matching threads.

4. Stamp the Hummingbirds and PenPattern Butterflies and colour them in. Die cut the images.

5. Add some Aged Hunter enamel to the birds' wings. 

6. Stamp the flowers, colour in with pencils and cut them out.

7. Start layering the images over the nest as shown, securing them with DODZ and Foam Squares.

8. Embellish further with foam pennants, feathers and flowers. Add little eggs inside the nest. 

I absolutely adore those little hummingbirds - they look super cute! And the patterns and colouring options for them are just endless! If you'd like to see some more 'humming' inspiration check out the projects my Stampendous teammies are sharing today!

Stampendous Blog

Lea Kimmel

Kristine Reynolds

Asia King (that's me!)

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your heart warming comments! Take care of yourselves and stay warm!

Big crafty hugs

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