Topsy Turvy. . .

Good morning all. It's time for a new challenge at Our Creative Corner and our host is the lovely Lys this time. Here's what she has to say:

'We often try to do things the right way, use the suitable thing, organize our creations following definite lines or intentions… and sometimes it doesn't go the way we wanted to. Sometimes it goes to the bin, sometimes we discover something new… and we love it!

On the right side or topsy turvy… Is there a right side in art?

So let’s play! Whatever it is: upside down, inverted, reversed or escaping from the right order…. Please show me one “topsy turvy” creation, and how it came to life in your hands!'

Crumbs! I'm not going to pretend I found this easy and I had to think long and hard right down to the wire almost. . . . . . 

In the end, I decided to go with using things I have in a different or perhaps unusual way and I hope you like what I came up with!

I decided to use a discarded wooden stamp block and create a little piece of art just for me!

I've gradually removed my old stamps from their wooden blocks because I prefer using them on cling material. This is one block which didn't find the way into the recycling bin and it becomes my first 'topsy turvy' thing. 

The plastic image label is carefully removed from the wooden block which is then prepared for use. A light sanding followed by two coats of gesso with further sanding in between coats. 

After the gesso coats, strips of fabric bandage (topsy turvy use!) and vintage book pieces are added. The horizontal embellishments are made from paper clay using a cake decorating mould - my second 'topsy turvy' thing. For my third 'topsy turvy' thing, I used stamps and paper clay to make the little buttons on the die cuts (I know we do this a lot but I worked on the idea that stamps weren't created initially for use on clay. . . . . ). 

I made a rustic heart from paper clay and used a stamp to embellish the clay before it dried. The heart is finished with DecoArt Media acrylics and antiquing cream. 

The heart sits on two 'bars' of paper clay created in an icing mould. Fluid acrylics are used again to colour the clay when dry. This is followed by dry brushing with gesso and gold metallic fluid acrylic. 

Die cuts are used across the wooden block - they are supposed to be dandelion clocks but I rather like them used in this topsy turvy way! Again, they are finished with dry brushing and some stamping with a bottle lid. The little 'button' is again made from clay and textured with a rubber stamp. Dry brushing as before finishes the button. 

The gold spots are made by stamping with bubble wrap followed by embossing with gold powder in quite a rough fashion. The frayed bandage can be seen clearly under the gold embossing. The white spots are stamped using a scrap of red rubber and some gesso. The larger white circles are done using a bottle top and gesso. 

The 'feet' started out life as wooden beads before their makeover using fluid acrylics, gesso and embossing powder. 

I love the effect of the dry brushed gesso on the beads along with the roughly embossed powder. The button image clearly shows the level of texture achieved with the stamp. This button was made from Fimo clay rather than the paper clay - I prefer the Fimo but having to bake it in the oven means the results take a little more effort. 

The back of the stamp block has been finished with some home made embossed card using the same colours. 

The embossed card was simply dipped into the leftover acrylic paints which were spritzed with water to make them very fluid. The card is dried between each dip thus building up the layers. The final touch is to dry brush the raised areas of the embossing with fluid metallic gold acrylic. 

The sides of the block don't escape the treatment either. 

The top of the block. 

Some twists of rusty wire add to the finished look. 

The vintage paper layer is just visible in this image under the bandage. 

I do hope you have enjoyed reading about my little attempt at 'topsy turvy'! I really enjoyed making this small piece of art and I just wonder what took me so long to get going! Don't forget to go over to Our Creative Corner and see what my hugely creative teamies have come up with and just how topsy turvy they have gone!

Our generous sponsor for this month is:

DecoArt

Colours may differ from those shown

Now that's a rather wonderful prize isn't it? You have until the 28th November to join in with our new challenge and be in with a chance of winning this lovely collection of goodies. I do hope we'll see you and your creation very soon!

Using Foam Board - Inspiration Post At Stamps & Stencils

Morning all. Just a quick post to let you know I have an Inspiration Post over at Stamps & Stencils. I've chosen to show you a few things that I do with foam board substrate. I do hope you'll pop over and let me know what you think. Here's a something to wet your appetite:

Whatever It Is - Make It 3D. . . . . For Stamps & Stencils And A Blog Hop Too!

Good morning everyone, I'm back with a second post and there will be one further post later to watch out for! Today sees the start of a new challenge at Stamps & Stencils which is hosted by the hugely talented Sue. We have been up and running for six months now so we thought it would be fun to add in a blog hop this month too!

The theme for this month is to make anything you like BUT it must be 3D and you need to add in some stamping and/or stencilling.

Here's the piece I designed and if you scroll down further in the post, you will find all the details about the hop:

I decided to alter a box in a gentle steampunk style. 

The box in the original condition - thanks to my lovely niece Louise!

First coat of gesso - a very stubborn print to cover! I watered down the gesso and that was my mistake!

After covering the box with some Tinting Base and a little colour, I added some Crackle Paste through a stencil.

Media Fluid Acrylic from DecoArt in gold was used all over the top of the box. When dry, a good coat of Carbon Black Antiquing Cream was added. Once dry, this was swiped away with a baby wipe and left in areas around the stencilling to give an aged effect.

A large TH tattered bloom was die cut in two layers. One layer is folder embossed and dry brushed on the raised areas with the gold fluid acrylic. This layer is then antiqued with crackle glaze and antiquing cream. The second layer is painted with black gesso and antiqued as before.

The flower centre is created from an old metal embellishment and some die cut cogs. The cogs have been layered together then finished with the same fluid acrylic, crackle glaze and antiquing cream as before.

The base of the box has been left black (with gesso) to give a backdrop for the embellished top and sides.

The sides have been embellished with die cut cogs, punched circles of card and some metal embellishments. All of this is then finished with the same paint and mediums as described previously.

Rusty wire curls finish the look.

Die cut flower detail shot.

Detail shot to show crackle paste stencilled cog. The centre of the cog is the waste material after die cutting the cog. I always keep these little pieces because they make very useful rivets and with a little carving, nail heads too!

Now for the blog hop details:

• You need to visit each blog on the following list. 
• Below is the prize which can be won by collecting a secret letter from each post. 
• Read through the post and leave a comment.  
• Collect the secret letter from each post and rearrange to make a word.
• Leave the word in a comment on the challenge blog. Nobody else will see your comment as we have set it to comment verification so only we can see your words!!

Below is the prize which is a few goodies from the fabulous PaperArtsy. There will also be the usual DT chosen winner who will be invited to join us as Guest Designer. We will also feature our usual Top 3 too.

Blog hop order:

Yvonne

Ruth 

Julia 

Sharon

Toni 

Sue

If you've got this far, you only need to do two more things: collect my secret letter which is K and hop to Sharon's blog for your next letter! Thanks so much for your visit and comment!

I would like to join in with a challenge this time too. I never seem to get time to do this so I'd like to enter this piece in the following challenges:

That Craft Place - Anything Goes Mixed Media - I've used paint, crackle glaze, crackle paste, embossing folder, antiquing cream, metal embellishments and a stencil.

Country View Crafts - Add Some Texture - I've used folder embossing, layers, 3d flower, embellishments and crackle paste to add texture.

Halloween Horror At Our Creative Corner. . . .

Morning everyone. Today sees the start of a new challenge at Our Creative Corner, hosted by the lovely Laura. Here's what she has to say:

Forget cute cats and smiling pumpkins....

we want....

For this Halloween share with us some horror inspired creations that 

are sure to send shivers down our spines. 

Bring out your most grotesque stamps and embellishments.... 

....or perhaps take on the challenge of finding a way to transform pretty stamps into something macabre.

Reach for the grungiest colours and textures....

Come over to the dark side of Halloween 

Can you scare us?

I needed no further encouragement to go all out scary for this wonderful challenge from Laura! Here's the project I came up:

I've made a wall hanging from foam board using image transfer, stamping, stencilling and fluid acrylics.

This image originated on Flickr and I found it on Pinterest. It shows the face of a stone statue and I thought it was very scary! The image was cropped and laser printed onto white paper.

These are the stamped and stencilled images which I used on the foam board base and forgot to photograph! Products used are as shown. For the image transfer method I used DecoArt Matte Medium. The foam board was cut to size with a craft knife and the edges aged by roughly cutting into foam board. The foam board is prepared using gesso and media fluid acrylic mixed with tinting base.

The web is stencilled first then stamped over with the skull. Some script is randomly stamped onto the background and Media fluid acrylic in Quinacridone Gold is applied as required.

The same skull is stamped again over a smaller section of stencilled web. Different sections of the stamping are visible through this skull. 

The skull is positioned near the mouth of the stone statue image.

Some rusty wire which is curled round a paintbrush handle makes a little hanger at the top.

The placement of the stamped drips and splatter over the eyes gives a super scary effect!

Another red splatter carefully positioned over the mouth!

Please do pop over to Our Creative Corner and view the inspiration provided by the rest of the DT. Our generous sponsor this month is NiceCrane Designs so why not pop in an entry to have a chance at winning their voucher?

I don't make a habit of producing scary stuff but once a year around the Halloween time, you just have to do it, don't you? Hope you enjoyed reading about this piece and the methods used to achieve it. I also hope you found it just a little bit scary but not offensive!

I'd also like to enter my piece in the following challenge:

That Craft Place - Mixed Media Anything Goes - I've used paint, transfer image technique, stamping and stencilling.

“Halloween HAUNTS: Zombies, Goblins, Witches… OH MY!”.

 I'm really excited to be sharing a piece for an upcoming challenge via DecoArt Inc. - details will go live from October 1st 2015 so keep an eye open on Face Book and other social media.

Amazing prizes to be won. Winners to be decided by Andy Skinner!

I don't 'celebrate' Halloween and I know it's still September but I love creating pieces for this time of year! I've altered a book box which I bought many moons ago and put to one side. All paints and mediums used are from the DecoArt Media range which can be viewed here. Here's what I've created to inspire your Halloween makes:

Lots of layers incorporating paints, mediums, embellishments, die cuts, stencils and even some altered paper flowers! 

This is the inside of the book box and the outside looked very similar before I covered it with gesso. 

The spine of the book is covered with some plasterboard tape to add texture and some stencilled modelling paste is being added. 

Found objects and other embellishments are added to the stencilled book box cover. The back is kept with just a stencilled image to keep it flat and avoid damage. 

Additional texture is added with this product which makes wonderful faux buttons/rivets. Die cuts can be seen in the left corner of this image. These are glued over the dry modelling paste and painted with gesso. 

Various mediums are used both before and after the application of colour to achieve the finished results. Click the image to see the product names more clearly.

At this point, I chose a number of colours from the DecoArt Media range of fluid acrylics and started adding layers until I was happy. This would have involved far too many individual photos so I thought I would share an image of the paints I used and comment on other products as necessary. If you have any questions about any part of this piece, please don't hesitate to email me.

The colours shown are used on the front and back of the book box to create the finished piece. Click the photo to see the product colours more clearly.

The back view. This surface had to be kept relatively flat and serviceable as it would often be placed down on various surfaces. Two stencils have been used. The skull is stencilled using paint followed by dry brushing, Crackle Glaze and antiquing. Modelling paste is used for the second stencil followed by layers of paint and dry brushing.

Detail shot of back view.

Die cuts are used to add details. Layers of paint, crackle glaze, antiquing and dry brushing alter the die cuts to suit.

Layers of paint clearly visible.

Detail shot to show paint effects around eyes.

Various embellishments are combined to create a central element of the design. Lots of layers of colour and dry brushing complete the piece. Also visible in the background is crackle paste which creates additional texture, along with small watch parts.

On a number of flat areas of the cover, skulls are stencilled with fluid acrylics then antiqued with crackle glaze and antiquing cream.

The main image is a large skull stencilled using modelling paste. Various layers of fluid acrylics are followed by dry brushing to make subtle alterations.

Detail image showing eye on the main skull image.

Altered mulberry paper flowers.

Detail shot showing layers of colour and dry brushing.

The edges of the book are painted with black gesso followed by dry brushing with gold metallic fluid acrylic.

Detail shot.

Detail shot showing crackle paste and those tiny watch parts.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the details of my Halloween Book Box! Keep watching for more details from DecoArt about their Halloween HAUNTS challenge!!

Thanks so much for visiting and spending time looking at my post.