Clean and Simple

Hello everyone, I am back to share some more projects featured on last month's Steampunk shows on Hochanda. For these three projects, I wanted to focus on the new word plate, Punky Expressions, and the different ways that the stamps could be used. I have created three very clean and simple cards, great for when you need a card that does not take too long to make.

I created a gelli plate background on a large white card blank, by brayering Distress Ink in shades of Salty Ocean and Rusty Hinge across the round gelli plate. I used an image from the Steampunk Travel stamp set, stamping straight onto the plate, to take colour away, and not cleaning the stamp in between stamping, so it added colour in various areas as well. I pressed the plate onto the card to ensure that I printed the background exactly where I wanted it to go. I added a few more of the little airships onto the background, using the same shades of Distress Ink as before.

I stamped the large gentleman from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp plate using black ink. I added the Eureka! sentiment around the edges, starting at the top and bottom, moving left and right, then simply filling in the gaps.

For my second card, I created another gelli plate background, using Salty Ocean and Twisted Citron Distress Ink, and pressing a dotty tool onto the plate to create a textured pattern. I often use found items around the house, including bits of cling film, so whatever you have handy is fine. I added some images from the Silhouette Grasses stamp set, using shades of Versafine Clair Ink in tones of blue and green, a little butterfly from the Baroque Meadow stamp plate, and finally, combined two of the stamps from the Punky Expressions stamp set. These new words and phrases are so versatile, and will be very useful for lots of occasions.

Finally, a really quick card, using more of the grasses as before in a different colour option, sticking to blues, purples and pinks this time, straight onto a card blank. The butterflies as before, and a variation on the stamp sentiment. This was such a quick card to make using first and second generation stamping to build up depth to the flower field.

I hope that my cards have given you some ideas for these fabulous stamps. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Forgotten Friday- Time Travel

Hi Folks, well I have to apologise for the patchiness of Forgotten Friday over the past few weeks. As you know, I have been travelling here there and everywhere. My little weekly post is the casualty of that travelling I'm afraid. Anyway, I have managed to create something today, so that is a cause for celebration.

I needed to create something along a Steampunk theme, and was rummaging through some of my Chocolate Baroque stamps. I happened across a couple of stamps that I hadn't used, so decided to make something with those, using another one that I had used, but not since I was creating DT samples with the stamps. I made a background stamping the flying clock with Versamark, and embossing it with clear embossing powder. I then coloured the background with Tea Dye Distress Stain, and picked up splodges of ink in various colours over the top, drying each application between the layers. I stamped the words 'Time Flies' with black ink in the gaps. I used some of the left over ink to colour a manilla tag with the wrinkle free distress technique. I embossed a section of a cog mask on a couple of corners of the tag by running it through my Big Shot, and then swiped some Distress ink over the top of the raised areas.

I stamped the beetle onto a spare piece of card, and coloured it with Distress Markers and a water brush, then highlighted the shaded areas with neat markers for depth. I added some cogs and jump rings to the tag, and a couple of stamped words to fit the theme of 'Time Travel'. The word 'Time' comes from a larger stamp taken from the 'Artful Affirmations' stamp set from Chocolate Baroque, if you were wondering.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted the teeny cogs on my tag as well, they are watch parts.

Why don't you have a rummage through your craft stash and see if you have something forgotten or neglected? Make something and leave a comment on my post, and I'll pop along to take a look.

I am going to enter my card into the Steampunk Junkies challenge. This time around, the theme is Time Travel/Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Hinged ATC

I've been playing with the new stamps recently released over at Chocolate Baroque and have a piece on the Design Team blog today. Here's a brief recap of what I made, but the full details are posted on the DT blog.

I covered two ATC sized pieces of wood with gesso, and then painted them with Eco Green acrylic paint. I love this paint, as it has a lovely creamy consistency. I chose a lovely aqua and teal shade, which compliment each other perfectly. I then stamped some of the more detailed images onto tissue paper, and stuck those on with Claudine Hellmuth's Matte Medium, so that the tissue paper edges disappeared. I then decoupaged the less detailed bits over the top. I coloured my images with Polychromos pencils, and added some small brass charms, which accented the yellow tones on the images.

 The quality of the wood is not that great, as you will see from the next picture, but it adds to the charm of the piece I think.

I used some chunky cogs for feet, and on top of the ATCs, then added some brass hinges to join the two pieces together.

I really enjoyed making this little project, I'll have another one to show you in a few days' time. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Steampunk Guys

Hi Folks, just to let you know that there are new stamps available over at Chocolate Baroque right now. The stamps are based on a Steampunk theme:

Called Steampunkery and Steampunk Travel, the stamp plates are full of all sorts of quirky images and great phrases to go with them. Glenda also has a giveaway on the Design Team Blog until 16th June, so if you leave a comment over there, you are in with a chance of winning both sets of stamps.

I have made a card using a Crafter's Workshop template to create my background. I stippled Black Soot through the template onto a piece of card that I had already coloured with Distress inks. I distressed the edges of the card, and then coloured them with Pine Needles and Black Soot Distress inks. I used a piece of a printable paper available from the website, called Edwardian Gentleman, which I tore and distressed to complete the background.

I made a frame from aluminium adhesive tape stuck to grungepaper, which I embossed, then ran through a cog embossing folder. I coloured this with alcohol inks, then rubbed some black acrylic paint over the top, wiping off the excess. I placed some of the Edwardian Gentleman paper in the recess of the frame.

I stamped the large hat from the Steampunkery stamp plate onto kraft card, and then masked this, before stamping one of the men from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp plate over the top. I am not the only Design Team member to hit upon this idea, great minds think alike, as they say!

I created some cogs using the shattered stains method; coating some grungepaper cogs with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint and adding Distress Stains on top. The stains seep through the Rock Candy, and create a great effect. A few bits of hardware complete the project.

I had a few bits and bobs left over at the end of this project, and it struck me that one of the men on the printable page was just the right size to wear the Steampunk hat as well. So, I made a tag with some of the pieces that were on my craft desk. I used a piece of paper from the Prima Almanac paper stack as a background, stamping over the top with a stamp from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp plate. I stamped the phone on a parachute onto a piece of tissue paper and added it to the background, then I placed my man and his hat onto the tag. I tried to keep the hat very muted to tone in with what the man in the photograph was wearing. I added another one of those colourful cogs to complete the tag.

This was just a bit of fun, but I might just have saved myself a job in the Alphatag swap in a few months' time, lol!