Dress Up 2010. April

Yep, I know it is May but that one is also done and so is June's, so there!

What happened was, in typical Land of Shiny fashion I started April's dress back before we had the lovely 3 weeks of sunshine and I was feeling the winter blues, so go out my watercolours and made a dress that could only be for a June ball.
So I tried again and designed a new style of dress and got halfway through December's dress before I remembered to STOP and make April's dress.
Then other things got in the way.
So here we are in May with me making a million and a half excuses.
Yes, I know Spanky is never late with her dresses.

The way I see it is that there are two ways of approaching this dress making challenge.
You can make a piece of art that just happens to be in the shape of a dress or you can make a miniature dress with collars and belts etc.

So far I have been making miniature dresses.
Each month so far I have tried to do the piece of art style but couldn't because it was very firmly a little wearable dress.

But not so this month.

Be kind because this is my first go at proper Craft Stamper magazine style stamping and distressing. Well as much distressing as my little accurate and neat art freak self could stand.
This is not Land of Shiny style at all.

Click on it to make it bigger.

How I made it.

I used a 6 inch square piece of Papermania Exquisite collection and the wonderful wonderful set of stamps from 7 Gypsies called Victoria I think. I'm looking at the packaging and it's not very clear and it also says (spelling mistakes included) "Intended for childeren over age 13".

I'm glad someone still thinks I'm young enough to be a childeren!

Anyway I first saw these stamps when the lovely Sue Roddis had that altered book shelf project page 34 of the April 2010 Craft Stamper (you know the one with the free cute dog stamp).

I doubt I will ever be able to do grungy art like that but I had to have those stamps!

I used versafine vintage sepia ink and then once it was dry, wiped gesso all over the stamps with my finger and rubbed most of it back off again with a baby wipe. Ooooh I distressed it. (That technique was in a recent Craft Stamper magazine too.)

I backed it with the same paper using Golden regular gel medium for glue and again forgot to sandwich in a clothes hanger between the two.

Of the six dresses I have made so far I have remembered only once to stick the hanger between the front and the back. Only once, grrr.

What is it that they say?

You can teach an old dog to play a banjo but not teach her new tricks.

Well they are wrong! Because I have a new trick for you.

I have found trying to cut with the Fiskars decorative edge scissors nigh on impossible to get a neat finish, but no more!

I stuck a small foam pad to the tip of the bottom blade leaving the paper shield on the top of the foam pad which stops the over cutting, so you can't make a fudge of the pattern.

It works a treat.

Look; here is a picture of my cunning trick.

Click on it to make it bigger.

I feel like I've invented something important like electricity or cheese.

Well that's it.

Hopefully tomorrow Spanky will be presenting her June dress on time.

Happy creating everyone!

Gini
xx