Opus Gluei Challenge #112. Everything's coming up Roses (and Rosettes).

The lovely Rosemary over at Opus Gluei has challenged us to make something with roses and rosettes as our inspiration for this coming fortnight.
For a change I wanted to try a different style and make something that Rosemary would make for herself.
Well I crafted myself right into a pickle with this one as I was so out of my crafting comfort zone, but I finally did make something I thought was blogable and that Rosemary would actually like to display on her desk.
This little card is only 3 1/2 inches square.
I thought a yellow rose would be nice and summery.
Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This side shot is to try and show the sticky up bits.

Materials used:
Spellbinders lacy circles and classic circles small and large.
Papermania Signature,  Rose stamp set (polymer clear stamps). Stuck on with white PVA.
I used silicone glue to raise the inner lacy circle as it was too small for foam pads.
Roses coloured with Derwent coloursoft pencils.

I had a few nice bits of left overs from the nestible die cutting that I thought I would try and make another card from them as I admire so much all the crafter's who can make something wonderful out of a pile of crafting detritus.
Ladies like Godelieve from Stamping Matilda blog who on a Sunday comes up with fabulous cards from her scraps.
So far with my attempts I can only make a similar card of detritus from my scraps as it sure never looks good but I keep practicing. 
Whilst making this card I just had to cut out a few more die cuts which of course has given me some more scraps - I can see this as being a never ending project and probably one without a happy ending.

This card is even more tiny, get your magnifying glass out.
Floating in at 3 1/4 inches.

Ooh a shiny shot, click on it to make it bigger.

Isn't that embossing powder just a fabulous colour!!!
It not only looks wonderful but it has an exotic name to match.
It's Persian Sea Aurora by Cosmic Shimmer.
The trees are from a lovely set of clear stamps called Flight of Dreams by Inkylicious Expressions.

What crafting goodies would you like to marry at the moment?
I would like to marry my spellbinders nestibles and have the Sizzix range as bridesmaids.
The vicar's togs would have to be covered in that lovely Persian Sea Aurora Embossing powder.
The best man would be Chocolate Baroque's new Steampunk Christmas stamps just have a gawk at these beauties.

Weddings or not to go to happy creating!
Gini
xx

Seaside Box Card

I am still in a sea themed crafting mood.
I have made a box card following Debbie Dolphin's  wonderful tutorial on page 46 of the August 2011 edition of Craft Stamper.

I am entering this card into the Crafty Individuals Challenge - Bright and beautiful. 
I think I've made by the skin of my teeth timewise and I've used papers from the Seaside book of Background papers Book 6, which is my favourite by far of the 6 books of background papers they've brought out. They are so pretty I really couldn't bare to add to them on most of the panels of the card, I'll be braver with them next time.

Also the new monthly challenge by Tando Creative Go wild.
They have a wonderful prize and you have until the end of the month to enter.
I'm just starting to use chipboard shapes in projects so it's a perfect challenge for me.
I think sea creatures are wild enough and they certainly are weird enough, who would ever dream up seahorses, such weird, sad and lost looking little creatures whenever I've seen them in Aquariums.
My gorgeous sea stamps are from Chocolate Baroque that you can find here.
They are inside the box.

I'm also entering the Sir Stampalot Challenge which is Whatever You Fancy this month. They also have a prize and you have until the end of the month to join in.

 

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #111. Oh I do like to be beside the seaside and all things fishy.

It's my turn this time to set the challenge over at the Opus Gluei Challenge blog.

So are you ready to roll your trousers up, tie a knot in each corner of a man's hanky to wear on your head, get sand in your hair and sandwiches?
Then finally in the early evening, to sit on the beach with your red peeling nose eating fish and chips covered with lashings of salt, malt vinegar and red sauce (Ketchup) out of a newspaper wrapping with a useless wooden fork provided by the Fish and Chip shop and to have the setting sun in your eyes.
Yes?
Well, it's time to put all your seaside memories or fantasies into a piece of art.
It can be based on the beach, sandcastles, donkeys, shells, beach huts etc. It could be something set on the sea, maybe a watersport such as sailing or surfing or just a seagull floating on the sea contemplating his next fish and whether or not he could ever become a pirate.
Perhaps you would rather go under the waves and use fish, mammals and other marine seascapes. Sunken vessels and treasure or mythical mermaids or even Kraken's. I don't know what a Kraken looks like but maybe you could show me.

I decided to represent through the medium of art; The birth of the Stampotique Mermaids.
Now as we all know, mermaids are born out of mermaids purses, which is presumably why groups of young women in the 1980's used to dance around their handbags down the disco often drunkenly and with their singing skills enhanced by the drink in an attempt to lure mortal men to their sides. (Mine's a Barcardi and diet coke please. Why yes, these white stiletto court shoes are very attractive.) They were of course mimicking the mysterious and beautiful mermaids singing to sailors and luring them to some fishy lovin' or to their doom depending on your point of view.
This is a 10 x 12 inch canvas that is shiny shiny shiny.
Click on any picture to make it bigger.

What I used.

10 x 12 inch canvas coloured with acrylics. 

The sea foam is Stickles frosted lace.

The background was covered completely with DecoArt glamour dust glitter paint in Ice Crystal. 

The Derwent inktense pencil coloured mermaids were overpainted with the other colours of DecoArt glamour dust glitter paint.

The text is Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations die cutter called Typeset (which is already falling apart after about 8 uses, so it has not been a good purchase for me.)

Other Stickles colours used were Waterfall and True blue.

Fushia glitter glue by Glitz-it.

The seaweed is one of the Spellbinders shapeabilities from the foliage set.

The various swirls are from two different Sizzlits Medium sets; Butterfly, Flower and Swirl set, and the Decorative flourishes set.

The fushia border diecut is from the Papermania chipboard set called Floral.

Hope you are inspired to join in.

Plus I am entering my Mermaids Purses canvas in the Alter It monthly challenge Sirens, Mermaids and the deep blue sea.

Happy Creating!

Gini

xx

Dress Form Canvas using Tim Holtz Die Sewing Room

I'm entering this canvas in the Crafts and Me Challenge 46 which is the theme, Anything goes.

I'm also putting it forward for My Mojo Monthly and the August theme of Muse it and Use it.
This splendid project is the brain child of a lady called Sarah (Sasa) whom I've not come across before but is very talented (makes amazing Clean and Simple cards amongst many other styles) and she gives lots of creative ideas and interviews a well known artist each month and she also asks you to talk about your project and your creativity.
She interviews colourer extraordinaire and fabulously diverse paper crafter  Kim Dellow this month, Craft Stamper published amongst many others and member of many Design Teams past and present.
Now Kim says she's just starting her creative journey so that would make me a single celled egg still waiting to split ;-)
Kim also says the best way to improve your paper crafting is practice practice practice. Which is so true and so obvious, but like many obvious things unless some one points it out to me I don't necessarily realise these obvious things.
I think this is a good example of how beneficial pointing out the obvious can be!
It's a great post, interview and blog do check it out if you have the time.

My contribution to this topic is not to underestimate the usefulness of designer papers to get a stalled project completed. 
How many projects do you have hanging around unfinished because you've made a mess of the background or other part that you created yourself?
Which ink, stamped or paint background didn't go right for you and so your project remains unfinished because you got disheartened by your efforts?
When this happen to me which is often, I go look through my designer paper stash and see if there is one I can use to rescue my project or I buy one especially for it.

This 5 by 7 inch canvas is an example of how a Designer Paper got this project finished.
Underneath the Tim Holtz designer paper background (from the Vintage Shabby pack) is a really boring acrylic painted background I made that I thought was too mheh, on top of that is the ugliest mess I've seen in a long time which was my first attempt at collaging torn book pages and torn designer papers and tying them together (I use this term very loosely) with more acrylics.
I'd already made the embelishments, the die cut sewing room and tattered florals by Tim Holtz and was pleased with them but was disheartened at this point with my canvas and ready to give up.
So I found a designer paper that complemented the embelishments  and got this project finished and me smiling again.

One of the questions Sarah asks her interviewees is "You are going back-packing in the Himalayas for a year and may only take 3 crafting items. Which - and why?"
My answer would be a mirror, tweezers and a back up pair of tweezers 'cos I ain't making nothing with whiskers on my chinagin. 

Click on it to make it bigger.  Said the bishop to the actress. (That one's especially for you Linda, I bet that afterwards they drank chicken soup.)

 
I made you all wait for the picture, sorry.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Stampotique Designers Challenges 34 Flower Power and 35 Red, yellow and orange and 35.

 The lovely Kaz has set the Stampotique Designers Challenge 35 as the colours red, orange and yellow.
So I've made this one especially for you Kaz :-)
Must have been distracted by shiny things. 

When I was playing Dress Up 2010 I met Halle who told me that my blog made her think of her neighbour's boys saying "must have been distracted by shiny things" when someone misses a play in a ballgame. So this is where the quote comes from, thank you Halle.

Click on to make it bigger and let it be a lesson for all of us shiny lovers.
Quite what the lesson might be escapes me because fish out of water or not, shiny is good.
Very very good.

It's an 10 x 10 inch picture. I used acrylics on 300gsm watercolour paper for the background desert, yes I know it's not lifelike but I'm using artistic license because I'm an Artiste *cough*.
The cactus is the same watercolour paper cut into a cactus shape, painted a dark green and when dry I added heaps and heaps of green and gold glitter glues mixed together and piled on top.
Sorry about the cactus being green Kaz, but it's a cactus and it has to be green otherwise it would be just a strange coat rack.
I've used the three Daniel Torrente's mermaids from Stampotique Originals.

The lovely  Gez set the previous SDC 34 as Flower Power.

So the question I was pondering - Can the power of flowers get the boys to the promised land?
Well, I would have to say that depends totally on the mood of the lady and has nothing to do with the flowers.
There are certain times of the month when even flowers sporting enormous diamonds aren't gone to get the boys to first base.
Nope, not a hope in hell.
But Weasel is ever hopeful and with a line like this how can he possibly fail?
Click on it to make it bigger (which is possibly a better line for Weasel to use).

 

It's a very red card isn't it? 

Now this phrase is new to me but you may have heard it before. My son was watching Fred on youtube.com and it was a line on one of the videos. I like Fred's Annoying Orange videos. But I think it's the marmite effect though, love it or hate it.

I love romance and chickens.

Happy creating!

Gini

xx