New Year Crafting Project

IT'S 2014

 Hope you all have a wonderful year

i spent the holiday with my family

 had a super time
 while out one day with son and grand daughter

we collected some leaves which gave me the idea for this art project

so new year's eve arrived and i set to trying to get the idea out of my head

 i had no idea what i was aiming for
 but hey

that's the best part just go with it and see where you end up
i had great fun and as ever made a mess

 I'm pleased with the result
 first i made a stencil from the original leaves
then went to town with my acrylic paints and  ice silk
  love that stuff it looks like a watermark when painted onto a plain surface
 the 3 top leaves  are sponged in a slightly darker shade to the ones on the background

i then added veins with my quickie glue pen and foil flakes
they didn't stand out enough from the background
so i gave them a coat of spray and shine quickly covered with
micro beads it's hard to see in the picture but when you see them in real life
they look like velvet  the leaves were stuck in place with 3D gel from
Crafters Companion
 brilliant stuff held firm straightaway

so here is my first crafting project
 for
2014
my new 12"x 12" altered canvas
something different to fill a corner

i hope you all have a smashing time crafting in 2014
thanks for dropping by today
hugs Linda x

More Sea Life with Sheena Douglass

Hi there Crafters

 more of the beautiful stamps 

from 

Sheena Douglass

 two card  hopefully showing they will fit any style of cards

i created a backing paper using  my Gelli Plate the stamps the Silks from set 1 and the brown fusion acrylic paint 

did some heat embossing on the top with clear and holographic powders

 the topper was coloured in with Spectrum Noir pens

BT1.BT2, BG1 and Blender pen 

onto Centura pearl card 

my second card could not have been more simple

stamped and coloured with Spectrum Noirs

embossed lines and some Glossy  accents on the fish added a few bubbles

leading up to the sentiment matted onto 

Crafters Companion Kraft Card

off to colour some more 

catch you all later

hugs linda x

Sea Life with Sheena Douglass

Hi there crafters

 there are some stunning 

stamps coming soon

from our Sheena

 Sea life 

 over on Create and Craft

Friday 13th at 10 am

there are 2 A5 plates in this collection

 i just love this stamp

i stamped out the image then heat embossed 

went in with distressing inks and even more embossing powders  once i was happy with the background i added the distress inks to the sea horse added frantage to finish off

the backingpaper was made using lots of layers embossing powders and stamps

well after that i had to make a candle

i embossed the image then applied it to the candle painted in the back ground

using silks from set 1 i then painted the sea horse with spiced tomato from set 4

the seaweed is one of the solid stamps from this set

 i cut them out added the ribbon flowers and gems  

it was very hard to get a half decent picture but boy in real life that seahorse does sparkle

i will hopefully be sharing more tomorrow

 thanks for popping by today 

hugs linda xxx

Decorating Candles with no need to wrap

Hi there crafters

i have been experimenting 

with candles again

and to be honest with you im blown away!!!

 the magic is 

Stick and Spray 

from 

Crafters Companion 

yes that's right no kidding

i did get good results heating the candles with a wrap

of greased proof paper but holding it in place was a nightmare

it kept slipping which you don't want 

  

so today i got out my candles

stamps embossing powder  and played...

i did 6 candles in just under 12 minutes got quite a little production line going on lol

everyone perfect no runs no pitting or dimples

It's so darn easy 

with the stick and spray

 i have taken some pictures of each step  

in case you might like to try it for your selves

Step 1

heat emboss your stamped image onto tissue paper

Step 2

 cut around your image not to close keeping your edges curved if you can to get a softer effect

Flip over your image over give it a quick light blast of Stick and Spray

 you don't need a lot a fine mist will work brilliantly

there is no rush it will stay tacky for quite a while

just let the spray agent evaporate  like you would if you use if for stamping

Step 3

place your image right side up onto your candle and smooth out with your finger tips

you can re-position at any time as i said no rush 

make sure there are  no bubbles or creases in the tissue paper

and heat set the image

Making sure your heat gun is moving at all times

you will clearly see the wax melting through the tissue 

you move to another area

once it was all done  but still warm

i rolled the candle onto some grease proof paper to make sure all the edges were in cased in wax

but really i didn't need to 

as i said everyone worked perfectly

here is the finished candle ready to decorate

 honestly do try it with the stick and spray 

Brilliant stuff 

Magic in my eyes

your able to hold the candle while your heating too

 with the greased proof paper i felt i couldn't see the wax clearly melting  

this way you have no fear of that it's happening there right in front of you

  i had no problems heating the image that had the stick and spray onto my candle

no fumes or any such thing at all

i was in full control at all times doing it this way 

 didn't feel like that using the greased proof wrap that's for sure

i do like to be safe when im crafting

 here is one of the other candles that  i made this morning 

decorated all ready to give as a gift

PS: just added a picture of the Stick and Spay

you need

 i type in the wrong product name  earlier

so sorry

 don't want to miss lead anyone 

thank you for dropping by

 hugs linda xxx

Nanna Said

hi there crafters 

not been too well for few days caught a nasty bug 

 feeling a lot better now i felt like crafting.

what a laugh !

 i wanted decorate some candles for Christmas so i gathered all the things i needed  it looks blooming easy when you watch others well i landed up doing a jig trying to keep my hands away from the heat gun and hold a candle at the same time needless to say

first one was OK-ish!!!!! cough cough...

 i wasn't going to be beat by a candle.

 but i could see my small stash of candles going out of the window after the first attempt

so i asked a few of my crafting buddies for some tips 

and as ever they came up trumps. 

off i trot to get sorted once more

i decided to make some keepsake ones for my grand children

 colored them in with my

 Next Generation Spectrum Noir

that was novel 

first time i have colored onto tissue paper they didn't bleed at all

  in fact they behaved very very well in deed 

i was impressed

 so here's my finished candles

 special message for Santa on the reverse 

he can't argue with this message 

im sure

created the message in craft artist and printed it out onto tissue paper

thank goodness for Stick and Stay   

from Crafters Companion

it held the tissue paper firmly to paper while it went through the printer

and stayed tacky enough to allow me to place on the candles

perfect for this sort of thing

here are the SN colors used 
GB6,GB8,GB10,BG1,BG2,BG3,OR3.DG3,CR11,DR6,TB3,TB5,BP4,BP7,IG6
,IG9,EB4

i think i could get used to this candle crafting

 it's fun once you get the hang of it

 note to self ....

must stock up on more candles

thank you for dropping by 

hugs linda xxx

Little card using New Spectrum Noir Pens

Had a little coloring session with 

the New Spectrum Noir Pens

from 

Crafters Companion

  really enjoyed coloring this digi

from Aurora Wings

it's been a nightmare trying to get a half decent  picture 

the light is shocking at this time of year

 a  plain layout for this card 

black and gold metallic card onto a 6"x 6" centura pearl card blank

here are the colors used

TN1,TN2,FS1,FS8,HB1,CR2,CR3,CR4,CR5.CR7,EB1,EB2,

CG2,DG1,DG3,GG2,CT1,CT3,TB7,TN7 TB3,TB7,BGR3

thank you for dropping by today 

hugs linda xxx

Next Generation Spectrum Noir Pens

Hi Crafters 

well i have been Coloring with my 

New Spectrum Noir Pens

  they are truly a pleasure to work with

they really are im totally in love with them  

the newly formulate inks blend even better if that can be possible 

well i can say  Yes they do !!!

double locking lid and the new Brush nib

the soft grip is great very comfortable feel love that  

the finer nib really does get into very tight area's

so what have i been making

i decided to make my Mums Birthday card

Along Side the Fantastic Next Generation Pens 

I used  Centura Pearl card Embossing folder 3D gel and Tacky glue

from 

Crafters Companion

 Some die cut boarders and Frantage

The Spectrum Noir Pens Used 

TN1,TN2,FS1,FS8,EB1,EB2,GB1,PP1,PP2,PP5,PP6,HB1 and Blender pen

thank you so much for dropping by

hugs linda xxx

Mo Manning in Spectrum Noir

Hi there Crafters

had a lovely relaxing weekend watching

both 

Sheena and Leann over on create and craft

it seems your all loving the new Stamps Silks 

and the Brand New 

Spectrum Noir Pens

 so thought i would make a start on some of my Christmas cards

with this fabulous Digi Image

from Mo Manning

printed the text in Serif Craft artist  added the image and printed out 

once colored i scattered some White Frantage and Crystal glitter

layered onto Mirri and Centura Pearl Card Blank

added die cut Snow lakes and dew drops

here are the SN colors used

Dog IG1,IG2,IG3,IG4,IG8,True Black ,GB1,GB5,GB9,GB10,GB11,FS3

Barrel TN3,TN4,TN8,EB8,CR11,DR3,DR7

Shadow GG1,GG2,GG3,HB1,Blender Pen

got more to colors lol 

thanks for popping by today 

hugs linda xxxx

Sheena Douglass New Coastal stamps

hi there Crafters

so it's nearly Launch time for 

the 

New Sheena Douglass

Coastal Stamps

 my card for today 

i used Distressing inks on this one 

stamped the sand dune with distress markers

then colored a strip of card with more distressing inks  

stamped the Puffin and bird in black 

then removed  the color from the puffin with clean water

matted and layered onto brown mirri and core-dination card

a little bit of ribbon and a wooden button to finish off

i think 

that full flash of color draws your eye to the puffin

thanks for dropping by 

hugs linda xxx

More Silks and the beautiful Sheena Douglass stamps

Hi there crafters

 more from the silks for you today 

set 6 Christmas colors with Ice

for this box of crackers i used set 6  straight from the jar onto Neenah with cut and dry foam

randomly sponged all three colors how easy is that to make backgrounds no muddy colors cut out the crackers with a tonic die then made the box with my Ultimate box board 

from Crafters Companion

but this is the exciting bit

you can change the colors with the Ice

it's a very understated  color in the jar that holds pure magic

i made a very watery puddle of each of the colors from set 6 then added the ice

so you would be able to get the full spectrum  of color tones by just adding water and ice 

be careful with your colors they are very concentrated in colour a little goes a heck of along way!

made the background by dropping all 3 colors onto card then let them mingle together

once it was dry i added a tiny bit more color to each puddle dropped on the darker color and blew out with a straw to get that coral effect  the shells were stamped onto the patterned card then heat embossed with clear cut out and dipped in frantage

 i altered a paper mache box with the same colors to match the card

there is a lot going on with this little box that doesn't show in the picture

i have used modelling paste and the waste die cut branch from my card

cut out the shells that i stamped and decorated the sides and lid using 3d Gel

from Crafters Companion

 i did paint the inside with the red from set 6 just one coat straight from the jar 

no need to do any under painting 

just one coat covered the brown how great is that 

and finally another card 

using the shells Ice and distressing inks

the ice acts as a resist to the inks and with very little effort you can get some fabulous effects in no time at all

thank you for dropping by 

hugs linda x