Sunday 19 November 2017

Lavinia Stamps I have a slight addiction!!!

Hi All,
I had to share my next set of whimsical cards 
featuring Lavinia Stamps,  a Prima Fairy stamp & a Concord & 9th Unicorn stamp. 
The cool backgrounds were created using various Distress Inks on a Gell Press Plate.


My Gell Plate still had some spots of paint
which added to the texture of the 'Planet' & the Background.


This gorgeous Fairy is perfect over a Brayered & Stamped Distress Ink Background
directly to the Gell Plate.
This gives that lovely soft impression to the background layers.


I had to picture her in close up!


Another dreamy background that I left quite plain as the colours look so lovely.


Combining same techniques with Prima Fairy stamp this time.
The Background card was tapped onto the Gell Plate after pulling the initial background.
This gives those striped effects which are quite cool.


My second pull of colour from the Gell Plate was really subtle
so I added a bright sun & Unicorn from Concord & 9th.


This gorgeous fairy stands alone on patterned paper
 with her wings & background accents twinkling.
They were heat embossed with Opalescent powder.
Older Tim Holtz die cuts & diamante brads complete this simple card.


Hard to see but background font, sprinkles, & wings all twinkle.


This was another interesting background from the Gell Press Plate.

I am amazed how different these cards can look depending on the colour & technique
used for the backgrounds.

Hope you like them.  I will share any more that I make soon.

Cheers Deb xx

Saturday 11 November 2017

Gell Press & Lavinia Stamps Card Play

Hi All,

I have been having lots of fun experimenting with my 
Gell Press Printing Plate & Lavinia Stamps
to make a variety of Whimsical Cards.





I recently bought some Lavinia Stamps from Paperific in Melbourne
featuring silhouettes of Fairies & Unusual Plant Images.
I was really intrigued by the examples they had on display that included
beautiful backgrounds with a glowing moon & misty hills & foliage.


The first card I made had a misty background made from Distress Oxide Inks & water.
The images were stamped in Versamark Ink & White Heat Embossed.
Tim Holtz Wildflower thinlits die used to accent with Glossy Accents for shine.

After doing a bit of research on You Tube & Pinterest.
I tried to recreate some of the techniques in my own style. 

The Gell Press Plate I used still had paint on it from a previous project, 
so I used Acrylic Paints (from Jane Davenport) to try to lift the remaining paint off.
I absolutely love the way that these backgrounds turned out on  6x6" white cardstock.


I cut a circle from Copy Paper to mask off the Moon above.
It looked so beautiful when I lifted it off, that I applied it to the next card
to form a gorgeous Moon image. See Below...


I then tried to lift the stubborn paint by doing a full print on an A4 page.
This resulted in the very cool image I have below
which suited these stamped images.
I am going to call this 'Morning Has Broken'
& will probably frame it eventually.


Once my Gell Press was 'clean' I started trying out Distress Ink & Archival Ink backgrounds 
applied directly to the Gell Plate with a brayer & Stamps.


These effects were much more subtle, but still really cool!
The Fairies silhouetted by stamping with black Archival Ink.





 Totally different effects were achieved when stamping direct to paper (above)
or onto the Gell plate itself as below. 


Liquid Pearls & opalescent glitter 
added to the Moon & dotted on card added a hint of shine.
Subtle effects on the stones painted with Art Alchemy Opal Magic paints.
These effects don't show up in the photos very well, but look very special in real life.


I have lots more examples in the process of being designed.  
I am improving from these early examples in layering the foreground & backgrounds.
I stamped some beautiful sentiments inside these cards.
I felt they didn't generally need anything written on the front.

I hope you enjoyed this peek.  Cheers Deb




Thursday 21 September 2017

Altered Book Finnabair Inspired




I wanted to share this cool Vintage Altered Book that I have made 
inspired by Finnabair's online class "Book of Transformation"


Above you can see all the many pieces that have been added to the cover 
using Heavy Body Gel medium from the Art Basics product line.
Some pieces are paper clay others are metal mechanicals & findings.  
Buttons, lace, crackle medium, art stones & ideaology flowers were also used.


The back cover was simply wiped with crackle medium to enhance it's Vintage style.


The magic occurs when Art Alchemy paints & Waxes are applied over a White Gesso base coat.


A dry brush technique & your 'finger' are the best tools for the job.
The colours selected helped the Transformation to blend with the original bookcover.
I combined the Art Alchemy paint colours of Green Olive Metallique & Steampunk Copper.
The Waxes used were a combination of Lucky Emerald, Bronze Age, Vintage Silk & Green Brocade.


The shine on this piece is really lovely & it has lots of depth with the various tones.
I am entering my book in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog "Shimmer & Shine"

These techniques are really easy and enjoyable to do.  I hope you will try them too.
Bye for now.  Thanks for reading.  Deb Adams



One in a Million Masculine Card


I made this 'Pop N Cuts' Card using Authentique Papers & stickers 
for a favourite bloke.
Various tokens and the Sentiment are layered with pop dots
over the Tim Holtz Game Wheel Blue Print Stamp.


Inside the Tim Holtz Thinlits Script diecuts are highlighted on the 'popped up' central disc.


as it is sometimes hard to think of themes for masculine cards.
Good Luck to you all.
Cheers    Deb

Unicorns are really magical!

I have adored using the Unicorn Awesomeness Stamp Set
from Concord & 9th to make some very sweet cards.


I stamped the Unicorn with Black Archival Ink. 
Coloured using Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels & Wink of Stella Brush Pen for twinkling highlights. 
This one above I combined with precoloured Sizzix Rectangular Frame die cuts.


I fussy cut some of the Unicorns (dies are available), it was actually pretty easy.



I layered the Unicorns over backgrounds made from various Washi/Tissue tape strips.
Love the Jane Davenport & Dyan Reavley combination above.


Pretty Pinks for a feminine touch!





Others I layered with Embossed & Watercoloured backgrounds.
Love the Pearl embossing powder with the Tim Holtz Botanical Sketch Stamp.

  
I want to enter this card above in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge 'Shimmer & Shine'
It has beautiful shiny highlights with the Silver Pearl Embossing & the Wink Of Stella used on the mane, tail, hooves & horn.


The Sentiments in the Stamp Set 
are also really sweet & appropriate.



Hope this adds a little 'awesomeness' to your day.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Cheers  Deb


Sunday 30 July 2017

Patina Effect Rectangular Tin

Hi All,
I wanted to share this Rectangular Biscuit Tin that I have given a makeover using inspiration & products from Finnabair, Tim Holtz & Prima Marketing.


I love the intricate details of the Iron Orchid Designs 'Keyholes' moulds.
I filled them with melted hot glue rather than paper clay.  
I found this process much quicker & easier to do.
The glue cools & sets very quickly.  It is easy to remove from the moulds & is flexible.
A few air bubbles form in the pour but they can be reduced, & the back flattened 
by warming with a heat gun.


I applied texture paste through the Tim Holtz intricate stencil shown below.
The keyholes, art stones & die cuts were attached with 3D matte medium.
The whole piece was then brushed with white gesso.


Once this was all dry I used a stiff brush to apply layers of the 3 colours of Patina Effect Paste 
over the surface.


I absolutely adore the way this turned out.



It is hard to photograph as it combines the shine of the Copper Effect Paste with 
the Matte effect of the Blue & Green Pastes.


The copper looks pink in the photos, but more metallic in real life.


Took photos from all angles! 
To finish the Base I covered the bottom of the tin 
with various Tim Holtz new Washi/Tissue Tapes 
before swiping with some of the colours used above.


It has now become much prettier storage for my stash of 'Bling' 


I recommend trying this.  It really is very easy & so effective..

Sunday 23 July 2017

MOON & STARS BABY WELCOME CARD


Tim Holtz Sizzix Die Cuts have been used in abundance 
to create this specially ordered  card to Welcome a new Grand Child.


The Grey base card was embossed with the Starry Night Texture Fade 
from Distress Co ordinations cardstock.  Lightly sanded to highlight the stars.

The central window was die cut using the Big Ticket Bigz Die and lined with a piece of acetate
& layer of navy card.
The Crescent Moon & Stars Bigz Die was used to cut out the focal point moon & the various stars 
that have been scattered around the card & envelope.
The moon was cut from silver cardstock then heat embossed 
with clear UTEE to give a subtle pitted texture.
Another moon was applied to the inside of the acetate & card to give a neat finish.



The Mini Tickets Dies & the Pennants Die were also used for the babies name 
& for the layered sentiments inside the card & label for the envelope.
Small ribbon tabs were added for extra detail.


Here the shine from the photo shows the acetate layer.

I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Blog

This card was a bit fiddly to design from scratch but looks very effective & the Grandma loved it.
Happy Creating
Deb Adams