Lessology Challenge - Typeface

The theme over at Lessology Challenge Blog is Typeface. Its all about using different fonts. An additional requirement they have for each challenge is that you have to upcycle something.

Finding different fonts wasn't the hard part as I have a huge amount of different stamps (alphabets, words), many letter stickers, lots of chipboard letters and stencils. The hardest part was deciding what I was going to use.

In the end I used 2 different Prima stamps - Rust and Dust & Don't Forget to Fly. Both of these fonts are a little hard to see as I did use them in the background. I used a Letter Jumble stencil by Dyan Reaveley, which form the main background. My quote I had in my scrap draw, it was to be used in a class that I did a little while ago but I didn't use it. The font is from a typewriter and the final typeface I use was my own hand writing. I don't really like my own hand writing but it seem appropriate to use it in this challenge.

Before i started this challenge I had decided that I was going to create a male card. Typeface just lent itself that way. Guess what that didn't happen in fact it didn't come even close to a male card.

To create the main background I used mixed media paper as I knew that it was going to have a lot of liquid to stand up to. I then used my stencil and texture paste to create a very textural background.

The stencil wasn't big enough to cover the surface of the paper, so I laid it 4 different times in different spots and different directions. I just love using stencils, they would have to be one of my favourite things to play with. You can get so many different results.

To add colour to my card I used Magicals by Lindy's Stamp Gang. When using them in this project I added the powder to water and painted it over the background with a brush. Once the background was dried and spread a layer of Texture Paste - Clear Crackle from Prima. I waited over night for it to dry as the instructions on the back suggested that but I had also watched different videos which said this was the way to do it to get that wonderful cracking.

 

Let me show you my card and then I will tell you about my upcycled item.

I have two upcycled items on my card, only because while I was looking for one I found the other. My first one is the sewing thread that is wrapped around my card. It was used to make a parcel I received in the mail pretty and the second item is the round circle that my flowers are on.

It is actually half a toy yoyo that we used to put in my daughter's birthday favour bags. My daughter had one and so did my son and both of them broke. I have no idea why I kept them, but I knew they would come in useful one day.

Looks a little different on the card as I coated it in gesso then used a spray to give it some colour.

Happy Creating

Swirls and Roy de Maistre

The ARTastic Challenge Blog asks you to take inspiration from works of Art. I think this is a really clever idea so I decided to play along with the challenge this month.

Roy de Maistre and his work titled Frozen Music is the art piece that is being used in the April challenge, with the additional criteria of using Swirls.

The colours from this piece of art that inspired me were the orange and purple. It's not colours that I would use all the time (although I used them last month in a layout) but they are 2 of my favourite colours. The swirls for me were the easy part. I had been wanting to try something for ages, and just hadn't done it yet, this was the perfect opportunity.

I found my D'vine Swirl embossing folder and ran my mixed media paper through my big shot. Then it was time to get messy.

The background I created remind me of Autumn so I wanted to keep it along that theme. The image that always comes to mind when I thinking of Autumn are the leaves swirling in the wind, which is taking the theme of Swirls that one step further. I was going to use leaves but then I found my feather stamp and feathers are very swirly in the wind.

Happy Creating

The Voice of The Sea

Recently I completed a course online with Michelle of Michelle Grant desiGns and she has been telling us that we have a voice. Well I decided to use my voice and all the products that I have sitting in my creative space and create a canvas.

The first thing I needed was a challenge and one that really appealled to me as I can count on one hand the amount of challenges that I have entered .

When I saw the mood board at Scrap Around The World I knew this was the challenge for me.

What initial drew me to the mood board was the colours, but in the end it was the texture and seahorses that really made me sit up and start getting creative.

Do you ever wonder why you buy things, I know I do all the time.Years ago I brought a seahorse stencil for no other reason than I thought it was cute, well that particular purchase came in handy.

Size of Canvas - 8 x 10

I love the stages that a mixed media piece goes through to end up with something that is very different from what it started out as. 

In finding my voice I also found this perfect quote that went with my design. In my research I found that the quote came from Kate Chopin - The Awakening.

Happy Creating

Creating with Distress Inks

With so many new products being released into the market (that we just have to have) sometimes we forgot about the products we already own. I was looking around my creative space and I saw my distress inks. To be perfectly honest I cannot remember the last time I used them. When I first got them, I needed them and after my first use couldn't wait to buy more. I ended up with 37. Now I know that is not all of them, but it is where I stopped buying them.

So combining my distress inks, embossing powders, stamps, texture paste, a rub-on and a stencil I created the card below

Close up detail

If you would like to see my step by step instruction please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

Happy Creating