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Showing posts with label Ranger Distress Stains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ranger Distress Stains. Show all posts

Sunday, September 21, 2014

My #Cre8time Soars to New Heights with STEAMPUNKtember at Anything But a Card Challenges



Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to week three of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 39... STEAMPUNKtember! Yes it's time for to get your Steampunk fix for today. CLICK HERE to jump over to ABAC and see what the rest of our design team has created.


The current Challenge... is one that is near and dear to most of our creative heARTs so we have brought this one back again. For Anything But a Card Challenges No. 39 - welcome to "STEAMPUNKtember"!!! YES... Steampunk!!! Anything Goes within this ever popular genre!

Popular Collage Stamp from Darkroom Door

Victorian, Airships, Industrial and Mechanical – need we say more!!! The theme is full of so many possibilities. Just remember create anything except a card... get GEARED up for all things Steampunk!!!

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. Please do us the favor to mention Anything But a Card Challenges, Challenge Name and Number, and LINK BACK to this challenge using this PERMALINK: http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2014/09/welcome-to-steampunktember-anything-but.html :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight September 27th giving you 1 more week to play along and ENJOY the creative process! We will share more of our Design Team's creations each Sunday to keep you inspired.


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For this challenge I have created an new art journal page with the newest addition to my rubber stash - the Steampunk set of Darkroom Door Stamps which has a variety of words and images which go together nicely with the collection of steampunk stamps that never seem to leave my work table.


I love combining stamps together into interesting scenes... for any kind on all kinds of projects - from tags and A.T.C.'s to cards and altered projects. Many times the image itself strikes the idea and sends me off and running... for all the tools in the craft room ESPECIALLY a fistful of stamps and some ink! This set has my gears spinning instantly.


I always have scrap paper handy to doodle on when I get an idea, and for this project I had the visual before the end result. I've created a scene stamped upon a background of gessoed scrapbook patterned paper and go from there - featuring the words, gears, lightbulb, top hat and the hot air balloon that I've combined with a whimsical scene accented with pops of color using Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens and a waterbrush.


My background paper is a 12 x 12 patterned scrapbook paper. It has the feel of book paper, with some whimsical doodle flowers and a bit of color. I painted a drybrushed layer of watered down gesso to mute the detail, while still being a bit translucent.


Using some 3M Spray Adhesive, I adhered some torn sections of rectangluar paper doilies and the torn section of my gesso'd paper. Using double-sided adhesive tape, I began taping torn scraps of faux leathered brown paper to the base of my journal page.


I layered several torn strips to create a faux wall effect. This paper has a muted metallic finish which will go wonderful with the vintage "Steampunk" scene I will be stamping.


On a slightly larger acrylic block, I assembled all the word stamps from the Steampunk set in a staggered brickwork fashion. I inked up with StazOn Timber Brown Ink and stamped repeatedly over the brown paper border.


I let the stamping overlap onto the black base page which gives a nice contrast. I also went back and added some gears and the compass images for some added interest.


I began stamping my scene using the gears, airship, steam car, hat and lightbulb image. I toned down the intensity of the ink by swiping over with Ranger Picket Fence Distress Stain and make it seem like there are light whispy clouds.


Using a stencil I misted some subtle yellow rays to add color – and a base for my words to be bursting from the top hat. For this journal page I've stamped in layers. Some items are stamped fully inked and then repeated using the second and third image before re-inking to create depth.


My art journal page before I add the final stamped images, words and a bit of hand coloring. I smudged a little more Picket Fence Distress Stain in areas to create some fluffy clouds. I really love the little doodle flowers that peek through the background that add a little whimsy to these vintage steampunk images that tend to be a bit masculine.


On some scrap painted and patterned paper I inked the words that will be bursting from my idea hat. Instead of trimming letters from words – I only inked the part of the words I wanted. "Invent" from inventor; "Explore" from explorer... etc. For the word "DREAM" I will handwrite using a letter stencil.


For the final stamped elements I stamped onto deli paper, {this is a trick I learned from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer}, tore around images and adhered to my collage using a matte gel medium. The deli paper justs melts away into the background – while keeping the clarity in the stamped image. It's total stamping MAGIC... and looks like I stamped them in place. After the gel medium dried, I adhered my words and then some pops of color by scribbling with Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens on my craft mat and applying with a waterbrush to get a watercolor effect. I added a little doodling for finishing touches.


Thanks for visiting. I hope you are inspired to get your Steampunk on and will play along with the challenge. Have a fantastic Sunday! :) Sb

Friday, August 1, 2014

#Cre8time for making Underwater Reality...
T!m Holtz #12Tags2014 for July



Good morning everyone! July was been a whirlwind and despite my best efforts... my muse commands her Cre8time beauty sleep to recharge. I always plan to play along with the monthly T!m Holtz' 12 Tags of 2014, but sometimes life and other creative projects take precedent. The July tag was summer themed and bits a pieces of this project took me most of the month to MAKE and complete... and I am so thrilled with the results!!!


I am presently on the hunt for a large preserved seahorse to mold/cast in Amazing Crafting Product {that it's beginning to reach obsession status}, and since I don't own the sea life Sizzix dies {and my CuttleBug set is way too small in proportion for this project} I decided to DIY my seahorse. This is a vintage seahorse image from The Graphics Fairy that I printed out on the laser printer and mounted to a recycled piece of chipboard at the end of a notepad {1/4 letter page size}. When the glue stick was fully dry I swiped a few different colors of Ranger Distress Stains to add some color.

**A NOTE of Observation** I printed these images out on the lo-end Dell Laser printer at work... not the big-Elsie Xerox Digital Press and to my surprise - the rubbing of the distress stains dissolved and removed some of the toner. I'm OK with the results as it adds to the DISTRESSED look. Just wanted to point out that little discovery. 


I waited for my stained vintage seahorse to fully dry - then I slathered on the Ranger Rock Candy Crackle glaze and set off on my daily adventures {this stuff takes quite a while to dry}. When dry, I fussy cut using my T!m Holtz Tonic scissors and aged with Ranger Distress inks to bring out the details in the crackle finish. I'm totally loving this look and the subtle details of my original vintage image are still visible.


As you can see in the inspiration tag, the starfish and sand dollar are perfect companions to the seahorse... and mine are resin reincarnations of the real thing. I love using shells in my projects - EXCEPT - they are brittle, fragile and sometimes smelly. Molding and casting them with Amazing Crafting Products is the perfect solution for making a replica that is identical to the real thing.

I also created my own texture stamp and embossing platform for my recycled film {imagesetter acetate} layered in the background. To view how I created the starfish, sand dollar and texture plate please CLICK HERE to jump over to my Mold Rubber Monday feature project. It is truly AMAZING!


This was a lot of work for the end result! I'm so thrilled to paint the papers, make the molds/castings and embossing platform, and hand create all the tiny details for this tag - and this is going to get a proper shadow box home that I will hang on the wall in my studio.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! August is shaping up to be a busy and exciting month right from the get go. This weekend I have lots of wonderful creations to share and I invite you to join me for my Steampunk Edition of "thoughtful abstractions" at Unruly PaperArts on Sunday.

Have a fabulously creative Friday! :) Sb