Altered Domino

Today's post is a Bramford challenge/swap that I was very behind with, mainly because I missed the crop for a couple of months and the July challenge Domino was then posted to me.  I am also entering this piece in to the Out of a hat creations Challenge 31 Christmas in October - week 4, this time the challenge is to create a "Christmas Gift" or "Stocking Filler".  So I have seen these altered plenty of times and really love how they look when worn as jewellery so I had a really great idea of what I wanted to achieve but I have to say it didn't work out as I expected!!  They say practise makes perfect so I'll definitely be trying another one soon.

I started by applying Ranger Alcohol inks and once dry I went round the edges with gold Adirondack dabber and left to dry.  My first attempt was from a tutorial I'd seen where the lady stamped the image onto white tissue paper but when I adhered it to the domino the base didn't show through, I think she used floor wax but I didn't have any and obviously need to find something that makes the tissue paper translucent.  Anyway it didn't work so I cleaned the domino and started from scratch.  For my second attempt I stamped the 'Imagine' stamp directly onto the domino but that didn't work either so again I started over.  My third and final attempt saw me stamp the image onto white card stock and then cover with the alcohol inks.  I adhered the card stock to the domino using Claudine Hellmuth multi-medium and filed the edges.  Next I covered the whole domino with glossy accents and once dry attached the metal hanger using glossy accents and threaded the rope.  You may notice that I have left the hole at the bottom and might attach some beads before the swap but I don't have any at the moment.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

Altered Light Bulb / Christmas Decoration

I can't believe that it's already week 3 of the Out of a Hat Creations Christmas in October and this week's challenge is to create a Christmas Decoration.  I am combining this challenge with the December Bramford Crop girl's swap which was set by Nancy and is a light bulb.

I started by adding alcohol ink to the glass and silver screw fixing of the light bulb and next using Claudine Hellmuth matt multi-medium covered the coloured glass with a white mulberry paper with a gold fleck and then added another coat of multi-medium on top making the paper transparent before sprinkling chunky gold glitter on top.  I added a torn strip of mulberry paper around the middle of the bulb and covered it with a gold ribbon tied in a bow.  I added a sentiment handwritten on white cardstock and covered with glossy accents.  Finally I added several punched snowflakes with a blob of gold stickles in the middle and wire to hang the bulb.

Running out of daylight hours at home, I had to take the finished piece to work today to try and get a photo during daylight without my flash...bring back summer please!

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

Sugar Skulls/Day of the Dead

I was lucky enough to spend some time in my craft room yesterday and after finishing the project which I had been planning for a while (I will blog this later), I decided to have a play and created some backgrounds on tags ready for future use. I started by running white card stock Tim Holtz die cut tag through my big shot inside the Tim Holtz pocket watches texture fade, next I rubbed embossing ink over the top of the raised image and covered and heated with clear embossing powder. I spritzed the tag with Dylusions ink sprays and once dry covered the embossed image with Ranger adirondack silver paint dabber. The colours are bright and I wasn't sure what I could put with the background so I put the tag to one side for another day.

So whilst doing my daily trawl of the internet this morning surfing for new challenges, I came across the Poisoned Peas challenge blog and the current theme for challenge #8 is 'Sugar Skulls/Day of the Dead'. Well I have the perfect Bombshell Stamps set in my stash but hadn't used them before so here was my opportunity. I thought the colour for this project would fit in well with the tag I made yesterday so once I stamped my skulls and words on to white card stock I used Promarker pens to colour the images. I edged everything with the black Adirondack paint dabber and then mounted the pieces on to black card stock. I covered the skulls and flowers with glossy accents and the words with Tim Holtz rock candy distress crackle paint. I attached the 'Day of the Dead' saying using the Tim Holtz tiny attacher, and used double sided foam tape for the 'Sugar Skulls' saying and the 3 individual skulls. Finally I added a piece of black ribbon.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

A Christmas Gift Card and Envelope

Well I never thought I'd manage to keep up with weekly challenges but so far so good with this one and today's post is for the Out of a Hat Creations Challenge 29 - Christmas in October week 2: create a form of packaging /wrapping for a Christmas gift.

I have created a Christmas gift card and envelope which can be used to hold a gift card/voucher or money. I started by cutting the pieces using Sizzix card and envelope dies.  Next I embossed both items with Tim Holtz embossing folders and then covered with Tim Holtz blue jeans distress ink and spritzed with water.  Instead of leaving the card as it was on the inside, I created a pocket to hold the gift.  Next I stamped a Tim Holtz snowflake on the envelope and then covered each embossed shape on the card and envelope with Ranger stardust stickles.  Finally I added a piece of blue ribbon topped with a Tim Holtz sentiment which I covered with glossy accents.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

A Few Of My Favourite Things

As any of you who venture on to my blog will know, I have a real addiction for all things Ranger at the moment so when I saw the latest Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge: 'Your Favourite' I had plenty of choice and scope.

I started with a Tim Holtz tag die cut with white card stock and covered it in Dylusions spray inks.  I covered the background with a Dylusions stencil and spritzed with water to create the dots ghosting technique, I then spritzed with Tattered Angels marshmallow glimmer mist.  Next I added circles of Ranger Adirondack gold and silver acrylic paint dabber applied with the lid and then splattered bleach to take some of the colour of the tag.  Happy with my background I had to decide which way to go with my products, now normally that would have been Tim but I am having loving my Dylusions so I stamped the face and flower fan onto white cardstock and coloured using Dylusions and distress inks applied with my water brush.  I stamped the Stampotique Originals hanging hearts across the top of my tag, bleached out the middle of the hearts and then covered each one in glossy accents.  I stamped a Tim Holtz sentiment in embossing ink which I heated in black powder.  I used a Dylusions stencil to draw leaves on my background, I doodled with black and white pens plus bleach and then again covered in glossy accents.  Finally I added my cut out stamped images using double sided foam tape and applied black Ranger stickles to the ends of the lashes and stardust stickles to the middle section of each leaf of the flower.

I am really missing the sunshine at the moment, my photos are just not doing the colours on my tag justice!  I've probably said this before but we are going to try and sort out a light box so that my photography doesn't have to rely on a nice day.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

A Christmas Gift Box

A number of months ago at the monthly Kesgrave craft club which I attend, Jacqui gave us each a Pandora ring box to alter as a challenge.  The next meeting is on Tuesday.

I started by covering my box with Claudine Hellmuth gesso and once dry I added Tim Holtz tissue tape around the bottom sides of the box and on the top of the lid.  Next I covered the box with Tim Holtz barn door distress ink (although the colour no longer looks red).  Next I stamped a Tim Holtz tree bough around the bottom and on the lid in black ink, on top of the tissue tape.  I wrote a greeting on kraft cardstock, inked the edges, cut the sentiment out and attached it to the lid of the box with glossy accents.  I then covered the lid with Ranger stardust stickles and once dry I covered the whole outside with Claudine Hellmuth matt multi-medium.  Again once dry I added Ranger gold acrylic paint to the edges of the lid.  Next I attached a piece of gold sequin ribbon around the top part of the box sides.  Inside the box lid I added a Christmas square from the Tim Holtz seasonal paper stash.

Apologies but my photographs of this project are very poor, especially the one of the lid.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

The Wonders of the Natural World

Today I am submitting a tag to the following October Challenges:
The Artistic Stamper Creative Team The Natural World
The Stamp Man Butterflies, Birds and Bees

I started with the Tim Holtz tag die and white card stock which I covered with strips of masking tape before spritzing with Dylusions ink sprays.  As some of the strips started to curl when drying, I covered the whole background with Claudine Hellmuth matt multi-medium.  Once dry I used stamps by Inkadinkado and Tim Holtz to create my background.  I coloured the butterflies and bees with Tim Holtz distress inks using my water brush and then used a white gel pen to outline the main images.  I added Ranger stardust stickles on the bee wings and covered all of the creatures with Ranger glossy accents.  I attached the tag to a piece of black card stock and cut it to shape to bring out the black ink.  I wrote my sentiment on pieces of inked card stock, attached to black card stock, covered with Ranger crackle paint - rock candy and added the pieces to the tag using double sided foam.  Finally I threaded black and yellow ribbon through the tag hole.

Thanks for Looking!
Tracey x

Christmas In October

Today's post is an item created for the Out of a hat creations challenge 28: Christmas in October (week 1) which is to create a card or a tag.  I think I have a real addiction to tags at the moment and I love it.  I was lucky enough to be chosen as a prize winner during the Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas last year and received a lovely gift which I've previously blogged about.  I haven't used the stamps before so this is my first go and they are just perfect for this project.

I started as always with my Tim Holtz tag die and white card stock.  I stamped the music in embossing ink and heated iridescent/sparkle embossing powder with my heat tool before covering the background with Tim Holtz seasonal distress inks - winter 2011 and spritzed with water.  Once dry I stamped the tall thin trees in iced spruce so that they looked like a forest at the bottom of my tag and added the closest set of trees in embossing ink and this time covered in black powder.  I then added Tim Holtz tissue tape and film strip across the tag using the Tim Holtz tiny attacher.  I stamped the tree branches at the top of the tag in the evergreen bough ink.  The sentiment was stamped in black ink and the card stock coloured with the same inks as the tag and attached to the side of the tag using double sided foam.  I stamped the date onto a round piece of card stock and again inked and attached with foam tape.  Finally I added 2 pieces of ribbon and a bell (from a Christmas chocolate reindeer) and highlighted the edges of the tall trees with a gold sparkle gel pen.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

Learning to Dance in the Rain

I can't get enough of the Designs by Ryn water droplets stamp at the moment so when I saw the latest blog post at Stampotique Designers Challenge SDC68: Weather, I knew I had to enter.  I am also going to combine this with the October Tando Creative Challenges which has a theme of: PURPLE, ORANGE, GREEN AND BLACK.

I have created a similar tag recently just for fun so started off with my Tim Holtz tag die cut and white card stock.  I spritzed the tag with Dylusions ink sprays in the challenge colours, then spritzed again with water and added water drops and let it run down the tag to create an interesting background.  Once dry I stamped the water droplets in black ink, added a white gel pen highlight and at the top of each droplet and covered each water droplet with glossy accents.  I also stamped a small Tim Holtz dotty stamp in the top left-hand corner as this looks like mist/rain.  Next I added circles using white distress stain and gold Adirondack acrylic paint dabber using the lid of the dabber.  I also added a white and black pen line round the edge of the tag.  Now this tag was a bit of a journey as I stamped two Stampotique Twinkie images, one on white card stock and one on shrink plastic, I coloured both images, cut out and heated the one on shrink plastic.  I attached both to the tag but the large image just didn't sit right so I removed it and replaced it with the sentiment which I have seen on a Tim Holtz stamp (one I don't have).  Finally I added black and orange ribbons to complete my tag.  I'm still not happy with Twinkie but the tag is about the weather and the colours I guess.

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x

Spooky Altered Bottle

Wow, this is my 50th blog post already and I have to say that it has been a lot of fun joining the world of crafty bloggers.  So much talent, inspiration, lovely new people and my blog list is huge.

Anyway, I had an unexpected evening at home last night as the once a month Stampin'Up card class run by my friend was cancelled.  Well this opportunity to craft didn't pass me by as all week I have wanted to take part in the Out of a Hat Creations challenge 27 to 'Decorate a Bottle or Jar'.  I already had a glass swing-top bottle which I found at my Dad's house about a year ago but I've never come up with the idea of what to do with it...until last night that is!

I started by covering the bottle with different size strips of Ranger metal foil tape, this was my first time using this product and I have to admit that I didn't try the rivet markings this time but instead just made line marks across the joints.  Next I covered the metal tape with black Adirondack acrylic paint and once it had dried a little I removed some of the paint again using kitchen roll to get an aged and distressed look.  Finally I covered the metal tape with Rock Candy and left it to dry.  I embellished the bottle by adding a thin strip of metal round the neck in order to give a clean finish to the top of the metal foil tape, added Tim Holtz film strip with a black stone at each end and a Tim Holtz timepiece with 2 spinners as my main focal point.  I decided that my bottle looked unfinished so I tied 3 pieces of ribbon to one side of the swing mechanism, stamped a Dylusions spider on to shrink plastic and attached it to the other side.  I then attached another piece of ribbon around the top of the bottle neck.  To finish my project I thought the Stampotique face would look brilliant, I also stamped the appropriate spooky date and covered both pieces in rock candy crackle paint.  Once the 2 pieces were dry I attached them to a kebab stick which I had painted black.  I stood the stick in the bottle holding it in place with a piece of  black netting.

I am also going to enter this piece into the following monthly challenges that I participate in:
Inspiration Emporium Spooktacular Decorations
Happy Daze Design Team Something Wicked This Way Comes

Thanks for looking!
Tracey x