Shades of Grey?

For the Three Muses challenge this week we were invited to do something with Black, White and a touch of....

I decided to use a touch of love, since I'm making this for my daughter.
Starting with a white IKEA box and using drawing pens 01, 03 and 05 I began to Zentangle (doodle) on all sides and lid of the box.

Altered IKEA box - Zentangle

I couldn't believe how long this piece took to create.  The lid alone was over 4 hours, but maybe I'm just slow.

I followed an almost organic theme, with seeds, flowers, roots, leaves and branches coupled with the usual zentangle doodles.

Box Lid

You can see the video of some of the lid being drawn and the completed box in close up at YouTube

Home Sweet Home

The challenge this week at Take A Word  is 'Tattered'.

I had visions of an old stately home, that was beyond it's best, with  vestiges of former grandeur still visible but now on the tattered side.  I set about trying to recreate my vision in mixed media.

Home Sweet Home

The face image is from Stampers Anonymous coloured with Inktensils and Promarkers, with a light crackle applied.  The coloured 'fabric' is Claudine Hellmuth sticky backed canvas rubbed and stamped with various Distress Inks before spraying with water. Blue distressed paper was stamped with a french blue chandelier and clear embossed before being layered onto silver mirri card, to give the sense of a mirror reflecting into the room.

Back ground card stock was clear embossed before applying a weak wash of Tattered Rose distress ink and drying, then re-dipping.

The lace was white but dyed with Walnut stain distress ink and then quickly rinsed in clear water to fade it.

Fly me to the moon

Last week we went to visit Salisbury and while there, decided to look at the Cathedral.  As I was admiring the stained glass window, I saw the perfect image for the 'Take a Word' challenge for this week - Wings.
I did this postcard size piece for the challenge, but have other ideas in mind for this image from the window.

Wings of Steel

The paint I used as the basic background is Halo Pink Gold by Lumiere, which is beautiful in real life but terribly difficult for me to photograph.   On top of the pink gold, I stamped feathers in Archival Brown, and dragonfly and a small swirl in Archival Magenta.  The wings of the little man are coated with a clear glaze pen by Sakura.  there are other squiggles done with various colours of Sakura glaze pen too.

Wings of Steel close-up

I am just editing a video I took of this being made and I'll post a link here as soon as it's up.

Box 533 is leaving the station!

I have been thinking for a while that I would like to make a YouTube video and decided that I would make a rusty box to show the rust technique.  This is my first video and I should have chosen something simpler!

The video was originally over 1.5 hours but with some editing and pruning (thanks Cpt Slow) it's now down to a manageable 11 minutes.  This is all completely spontaneous, and other than knowing I was making a rusty box, the rest of the design hadn't formed before I started (another lesson for next time)

Here is what I made:

Small Rusty Box No. 533

It really reminds me of part of a train :)
It is quite odd, seeing myself working for the first time.  Feel free to smile and laugh.

You can also view it on YouTube

Finding Nemo, or other random bits

A few weeks ago I entered an ATC swap with the theme of maps ( at the Willowing site.)  I thought of many concepts from mind maps, phrenology, treasure maps, undergrounds maps, it just went on and on.  I finally decided that the theme from me evoked images of pirate treasure and the days of sailing ships. My partner for the swap has now received the cards so I thought I would share on here.
We had to produce two ATCs that were in similar style but not exactly the same.  My first card was titled 'Lost at Sea'.

Lost at Sea

I used Neenah white card stock and stamped it with an old map in Sepia Archival Ink.  I then brushed Antique Linen distress ink over the whole front of the card.  And finally stamped the splatter stamp also in sepia colour, to make it even more distressed.
The shells are Paua fragments, the starfish is a metal embellishment I covered in brownish paint.  The net is made from muslin, I dyed with Forest Moss distress Ink.

Lost at Sea close-up

The second card I think I called 'Treasure Haul.'  The same treatment for the map and the net but instead of sea life and shells I attached what is meant to look like treasure: gold mica flakes, coins of various types, some sparkly bling bits in blue and diamante.  I finished it off with a length of chain and some small keys.

Treasure Haul

A much better photo of the 'treasure'

I really must do something about either my photography or my camera, things are so much better when you can see them correctly.

Tickled by a feather

A few days ago I was looking through my stamps and saw the "Feather" set from Hero arts that I've never used.  I took it out and left it on the edge of my craft table.  Today while I was cleaning up my craft mat, I decided I would make a card with it.
The reason I gave up card making was because I would agonise about the design for hours, but today felt different and it was - the card was made in 10 minutes, and it's clean and simple!!

Very Clean and Simple Card

I stamped the feather in Versamark ink on Neenah white card stock and then dusted with bonding powder.  Starting with a hot heat gun I very quickly heated the bonding powder until it just changed shade (too long and the adhesive properties diminish).
I applied some Jones Tones foil in a peacock type colour range which has also been in my stash for years.  Rubbed over the top gently with the bone folder and pulled the backing away, voila!

Metallic shine from the foil

I mounted it on more Neenah white card stock that I coloured around the edges with Worn Lipstick distress inks.  The sentiment is from Indigo Blue Travel plate stamped in Archival Ink Deep Purple.
Adding some lilac polka dot ribbon to the mount card, I made a false bow on the front.

Take a peek inside

To finish it off inside I added a row of pen nib stamps from Indigo Blue in Magenta Hue.

I don't think I will ever have a need for this card so I will donate it to the Heart Foundation Card Drive.

Travelling Light

I was well ahead of myself for the Sunday Postcard Art this week in the theme of 'Travel'.  I worked out a design and created it yesterday.  When I woke up this morning and got ready to take a picture, it just didn't look like anything I would create.  It was so sombre and bland.  All kind of beige on beige if you can imagine that.

A new way of looking at things

I started again with the same basic concepts but got out some lovely colourful ink (Dylusions London Blue and Vibrant Turquoise.) And could not resist adding some colour to the Union Flag.

The tickets were stamped with an Indigo Blue plate called Travel on various coloured paper with various archival inks.  I then cut them to ticket shape and punched the little half circles using a single hole punch.  There is a ticket wrapped around the card at the top right hand side with a hole punched right through the card.

Steam punk Traveller

The steam punk traveller and the sentiment are stamped in StazOn Jet Black.  Steam punk man had his binoculars 'enhanced' with some bronze paint applied with the lid from a waterbrush.  And the reflection on his lenses is create with a white souffle pen.

Fairies at the bottom of my garden?

I bought the Kate Crane DVD set 3 / 4 and decided to use a background technique she demonstrated.  Once I'd completed the background I realised I didn't have a clue what the page would be about.  I started playing around with various stamps and ended up using a toadstool stamp from the Dylusions range.  Having coloured and cut it out, I knew what else I needed - a fairy!
I'm not usually good with cutesy pictures so went on the hunt for a good image I could use.  Maybe a small vintage child image I could add wings...  I just couldn't find anything so in the end almost decided on yet another quirky drawing.
After several attempts I realised I couldn't draw a quirky fairy, because fairies are quirky.

Fairy in the forest

Instead I set about drawing what is part fairy, part pixie :)  Whatever she is, she's happy, and I like that.
I must buy some more Promarkers or Copic markers for these small faces / bodies.  trying to use heavy, gloopy paint just doesn't cut it.  Her wings have the tiniest touch of glitter, which you may just be able to see.

Just sitting on my toadstool feeling happy