All posts by Jackie

M for mystical tag

24/08/2009mystical, tag, tags, ukstampers Sunday challenge No. 52Jackie

This weeks ukstampers tag theme was M for mystical. The idea here is the mysterious carved figure in the tree and the ghostly figure of the lady emerging from the boggy water.

I adore our highland landscapes and forests and while on holiday in Aviemore we found a fabulous trail through some beautiful woodlands in Feshiebridge where Frank Bruce has created sculptures in trees and stone. We took loads of photos and this one in the tag is called The Thinker and is set at the edge of a boggy pool in amongst the trees and moss.

Inks: Brilliance platinum planet (overstamped with black document ink), Distress inks; milled lavender, peeled paint and weathered wood, Stazon black and cactus green
Card: white card
Stamps: Non sequitur Grave tidings, Tapestry stamps tiny dragonfly
Other: McGill pine branch punch, Distress stickles peeled paint, glitter pens, eyelet, piece of mica
I overstamped the ghost lady so she looks like she has a shadow but she is still quite see-through. I then stamped her onto scrap card, cut out her face and hand and stuck these to the tag. The mica is stamped with black stazon and edged with cactus green. The branches are coloured with peeled Distress ink and stickles (peeled paint). There is also a tiny dragonfly stamped about half way down the sculpture but it doesn’t show up well.

ATC swap using a recipe

20/08/2009ATC, craftsbycarolyn swap, vellumJackie

I am hosting the August ATC swap for craftsbycarolyn and for a wee change I decided to use a recipe (items to include). Make two ATCs using any theme, any colour, any material but they must include:

vellum
fibre (wool, raffia, thread etc)
at least one eyelet (or brad)
and both ATCs must look different (either colour, layout, etc)

Here are my two

I love the flock vellum on this one so I used it to make a cover that can close using a button and a loop of white fluffy wool. The little flowers on the inside were cut from the vellum and stuck over the leaves.

When I started cutting the stripy vellum it looked a little like a histogram so I took the idea a little further by adding the eyelets and joining them up with red darning wool.

Inks: Stampin up mellow moss, Distress ink peeled paint
Card: White card, stripy vellum, flock vellum floral
Stamps: Magenta leaf, Stampin up friend to friend, Dovecraft fantasy emblems flourish
Other: eyelets, clear button coloured with alcohol ink, white fluffy wool, red darning wool, letters (X and Y) from Cosmo cricket, stickles, tiny leaf beads

ATC swap theme – yellow and orange Moos

20/08/2009ATC, Moo, ukstampers August swapJackie

The August ukstampers ATC swap theme is that it must have a Moo which has been coloured yellow and orange. A Moo is a piece of work measuring 2.8cm x 7cm which can be any theme and any material.

The idea behind this one is a beautiful, if rather tattered, moth emerging from the moth-eaten cloth.

This little Moo depicts patchwork on jeans.

In real life this one looks a little brighter. Tegan gave me the idea of a sunset or sunrise so this one is a sunset over trees.

Inks: Adirondack stonewashed, Distress inks dried marigold and mustard seed, Stazon black and cactus green, Brilliance pearlescent orange
Card: white and black card, orange vellum
Stamps: Stampers anonymous mini muse and fairytale frenzy, Papertreyink out on a limb, Lavinia stamps birds, Arts encaustic trees
Other: cloth butterfly, snaps, clear circle dome, glitter pens and stickles

Tegan and Connell’s weekend

17/08/2009bottle caps, Connell, tags, TeganJackie

We all had a fabulous weekend, despite all the bad weather, when our great friends came up for a holiday.
Tegan (age 11) and Connell (age 9) made some wonderful tags, bottle caps and scrapbooks.

Tegan’s work

Connell’s work

Inks: Distress inks in a variety of colours, black document ink, Brilliance dew drop inks,
Card: white card, luggage tags, Cosmo cricket tag book, black card, tartan paper
Stamps: Stampin up friendship, Non sequitur oriental, The artistic stamper Ephemera, Paper artsy, Dovecraft fantasy fairies.
Other: Bottle caps, eyelets, stickles, ribbon, images from magazines, washers, oriental coin, and lots of imagination and creativity.

Zoo tag

08/08/2009tag, tags, ukstampers challenge, zooJackie

Here is my entry for this weeks ukstampers challenge – Z for Zoo.
There is an acetate overlay on this which would not lay flat when I was trying to photograph it so it looks like there is a gap at the right. Also you can’t really see the shimmer – I used a glitter pen on some of the icicles and snow then using an aqua brush just swished over to make bits glisten. The words read ‘who’s watching who at the zoo?’. The icicles and slide are drawn in.

Inks: Black document ink, copic pens to colour
Card: white card, acetate
Stamps: Tanda stamps penguin set 1
Other: silver eyelet, glitter pen

G for graffiti tag

01/08/2009graffiti, Sunday challenge no 50, tag, tagsJackie

My tag for the ukstampers Sunday challenge No. 50 is meant to look the gable end of a house that has been white washed then painted in graffiti.

I painted some card with picket fence crackle paint first then typed the word graffiti using Larabie font Degrassi then transferred the letters individually by rubbing pencil on the back then tracing over them. I did the same sort of thing with the word good/evil. Art was stamped with crimson acrylic paint. I masked some bits of the tag then sprayed with neon yellow then stamped embrace imperfection with black document ink. I added more black dribbles with black marker pen. Using highlighter pens and neon pens I coloured the letters and hand drawn star burst. The roof is just white card and terracotta card.

Inks/paints: black document ink, crimson acrylic paint, crackle paint picket fence, neon pens, black marker pen, neon yellow spray paint
Card: white and terracotta card
Stamps: Elusive images Diamond art, Stampers anonymous Mini muse
Other: hole reinforcer

New home scrapbook page

31/07/2009new home, scrapbook, scrapbook pageJackie

8″ x 8″ is a new size for me to work with so this is my first page for Sue’s grown ups challenge over on CBC. Sue gives a recipe and measurements to make it nice and easy and I just added the number 36. My theme for this scrapbook are some of the before and after photos when we had the builders in way back when we first bought our house in 1990.
My layout uses Cosmo cricket card, small letters and numbers, grunge board New Home letters painted in crimson acrylic paint, a couple of blooms, punched leaves, embellishment. The number 36 is a square of card with card board numbers stuck to it. I covered the front with aluminium tape and I used an embossing tool to press the foil close to the numbers. I then scribbled on top then rubbed black acrylic paint over it then crimson. I wiped most of the paint off leaving little bits on to highlight the numbers and scribbles.

Altered book: project 1- stage 3

30/07/2009altered book, stage 3Jackie

The first two pages are what I consider to be my title pages where I used a T.S. Eliot quote for as my inspiration. I have tried to portray the circle of life idea where death may look bleak and black but in death are the beginnings of life. So the background is quite gloomy but I have highlighted small areas with fluorescent crayons and stickles.

I painted the pages with white Gesso then sprayed with Slate chroma jewels and sprinkled with salt while the slate was still wet to create the background. Using a couple of Tim Holtz masks I created a border down the left side and across the corner of the right side with Distress ink fired brick. I moved the mask a couple of mm down the left side and went over it again with dark red ink to give a highlighted effect. The top right corner is sprayed with Adirondack colour wash Denim.
The stamped images are all in black document ink and they were highlighted with crayons. I added a few dots of distress stickles for the butterfly and tiny flowers.
I had put stickles on the ravens wings but didn’t like it so I removed it when still wet and it took some of the blue colour away which left an interesting effect.
The quote was printed onto white paper – ripped then coloured with distressing inks antique linen, frayed burlap and stippled lightly with black soot. This was then sprayed with fluorescent paint. The cross was stamped using black Stazon onto acetate which was coloured using stickles on the back side.

Inks: Distress inks; antique linen, frayed burlap, fired brick, black soot, Black document ink, red ink, black Stazon
Card: the inside cover and first page, white paper, acetate
Stamps: non sequitur Grave tidings, Stampers anonymous Urban tapestry and Faiytale frenzy, Celtic cross (unknown)
Other: Tim Holtz border masks, Distress stickles worn lipstick and antique linen, stickles lime green and fruit punch, spray paints; chroma jewels slate, Adirondack colour wash denim, fluorescent pink and yellow, torn black mesh

Altered book: project 1 – stage 1 and stage 2

27/07/2009altered book, project 1, stage 1, stage 2Jackie

Altered books? Why? I don’t get it – what is the point of altering a book? I guess I am just going to have to do one to find the answer.
I found this great site to get a few pointers.

This is not a tutorial but more like a ‘what not to do’ when altering a book as I am bound to make loads of mistakes and possibly some ‘happy accidents’ along the way. Please join me on my mini adventure into the world of Altered Books.

I have no plan and no idea what I will do but I DO have a book so here goes!

Stage 1.
The book is a hard back, Innocent Blood by P.D James, and no I have not read it but have nicked it from my husband Harry. Don’t worry though he was just going to throw it out anyway.
I ripped some pages out of the book to allow for the extra thickness created by some of the altered pages possibly being thicker or having 3D embellishments on them.

Stage 2.
I have had a wee think about themes and have decided on Death! I know that sounds a bit macabre but it doesn’t need to be, after all death is just an altered state of life.

I painted the cover all over with black Gesso to prime it and once it was dry I roughly painted with distress crackle paint aged mahogany keeping some areas lumpy and some quite flat to add a bit of texture. After it was dry and the cracks appeared I then painted over some areas with acrylic crimson, sprayed with a little water and smudged it into some of the cracks. To darken it all down (it was a little too pink still) I used the direct to paper technique and swiped some distress inks, aged mahogany and black soot, over the top then wiped the excess away.
I know it looks like a right old mess just now but I will leave it like that for the time being and add the embellishments later.

V for vintage tag

25/07/2009mucha, tag, tags, uk stampers challenge 49, vintageJackie

The ukstampers challenge for this week’s tag is ‘V’ for vintage so I made this Mucha style tag. I think the stamp is from a print called Polyanthus .

Inks: Versafine onyx black, Stampin up Sage, versamark with gold embossing powder, copic pens to colour
Card: ivory
Stamps: Polyanthus (unknown), Stampin up Totally tabs, ivy and flourish (unknown), Dovecraft Fantasy fairies (drooping flower), tiny leaves are from Papertreyink out on a limb set
Other: gems, gold eyelet, computer generated words, I drew in the lines and ‘V’ with gold Pilot pen and sprinkled a little embossing powder on the ‘V’ too.

Cardesque

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