Doxide Tags set two

Hello lovely visitors, today I have a second set of nature themed tags for my nature journal and they were created again with the help of Oxide Distress Inks. The more I use these inks the more I love them!

If you missed the first set of three tags, you can find them here. In that post I describe how I went about creating the backgrounds, so I won't repeat that here I'll just show you a few close ups...

This one uses a Chocolate Baroque stamp (as far as I remember), Its was stamped in Espresso Adirondack ink and the poppy seedheads were coloured with Antique Linen Oxide Ink, another new discovery, pressing the ink down on your craft mat and then picking up the ink with a small paintbrush works brilliantly and gives a wonderful chalky effect, but because it is also dye based, it remains water soluable, so unlike acrylic paint, can be easily lifted. I used a water soluable pencil around the bouquet to make it pop a bit more against the background.

And here is tag number two, done in a  somewhat different way:

I adhered a scrap of a Tim Holtz paper pad, that was flying around on my desk, blended the Oxides around it, spritzing and playing until I was happy with the effects. I then used a layering stencil and Distress Crayons to blend the image into the background so it looked less stuck on.

Finally I embellished it with one of Tim's Botanical ephemera and some word stickers.

Lastly tag number three:

This one was finished with a couple of wildflower dies, cut from card that was coloured with Oxides before die cutting them.

I tried to tie all three tags together by using similar embellishments, word stickers and stars, and that was pretty much it.

Like usual, thanks you for your visit and before I forget, a big welcome to all my nnew followers!

xxxxx

Vintage ribbon and lace spools freebies

Hello friends, hope you are keeping well. It has been weeks and weeks since I last posted some freebies, so for all those of you who follow me because of them, here finally are some new ones:
 First up a collage sheet, it will print on A4 or 81/2 by 11 paper.

Next follow the individual images, so you can resize them if you wish and pick and mix as you like.

I also created some matching papers to go along with them, well actually I designed the papers first and used them to make the spools. They will print at 6 x 4 inches.

And here finally a little sample of how I used them. I printed the collage sheet on card, stuck that on some backing card and then fussy cut the spools, - done and a great way to keep all those laces and ribbons (well at least I think so)....

I think these could make a great gift for someone too. I plan to make a box to keep them in and use one of the papers for the top, but that will be for another day. 

Well, that's it for now, happy crafting and thanks for popping in like always!

xxxxx

A Trio of Oxide Tags

Hello friends and thanks for dropping in. Yesterday my new colours of Oxides arrived, and I just really wanted to play, so here you go, my first exploration with some of the new (and some of the old) Doxides

At first I thought I would use these as bookmarks, but as size 8 tags are the perfect size to fit inside the Eileen Hull journal die journals, I think I will add them to the next insert of my nature journal, - that way I have the chance to make loads more as they were so much fun to do.
Below a few more detdails.

This one was actually the last one I made, but as I discovered a new (for me anyway) technique, I thought I would share it first. The colours I used were Wild Honey, Antique Linen and Twisted Citron from the new colours, and Peeled Paint, Iced Spruce and Walnut Staian from the old colours. I did a mix of spritzing and dipping and blending and spritzing etc (just playing in other words), and then I used a stencil and wet baby wipe to see what would happen, and tada, pure magic (well I think so anyway)...

I'll definitely be using that technique again. Anyway, below the finished tag:

Tim Holtz Wild Flower stamp was stamped in Walnut Stain Doxide and then clear embossed.

The other two tags were done in a very similar way but minus the baby wipe stencilling, below a few close ups:

This one started as a mop up tag, again using a mix of the old and new colours. This time the stamp was stamped on a torn bit of watercolour paper, clear embossed and coloured with Tombow markers and a small brush.

And finally, the one below, again, done in a similar way but this time using an old stamp from my stash (sorry can't remember who made it).

Stencilled with two colurs of Distress Crayons, I always love the 3 D effect of that.

Sentiment cut from a very old Tim Holtz ticket,  love going through my old stash.... :o)

Anyway, hope you like my little exploration into the world of Oxide Distress Inks, - the more I play with them the more I love them.....

Thanks for your visit today and stay creative!

xxxxx

Nature Journal, installment 2

Hello friends, thanks for coming by.
Today I am sharing the first few pages of my new nature journal. If you missed the first installment, you can find it here.
The insert was made from kraftcard, the actual pages were all done on 180grm hotpress watercolour paper.

All of the pages were done  using two differnt stamps by Penny Black's new Poetic collection and were inspired by the work of two of their designers, Jill Foster and Micheline Jourdain, also known as Mimi. You can find their amazing work on Youtube HERE

I used a mix of watercolour paints, Distress Inks and watercolour brushmarker and pencils.

Here another version, using the same stamp. My plan had been to create some light summery creataions, but the weather here in Edinburgh where I live, has been so grey and gloomy, that all of them have turned out rather autumnal......

For the next two pages I added some more background stamping and subtle stenciling.

And below, the final one, probably the most autumnal of all.......

The background stamp on the top left here is a Michelle Ward stamp that I have had for years, I am so glad I rediscovered it, you can expect to see more of it in the future, - I always love it when I come across some old and forgotten stamps......

Anyway, that's it for today, thanks for your visit, and have a good week!

xxxxx

Nature Journal installment 1

Hello friends, today I have a new journal cover to share with you, made with the awesome new Eileen Hull Journal die.

Unfortunately this die is extremely hard to come by. I have had mine on pre-order since February, but have just heard it is now on its way to me. The cover used for this one was donated to me by my wonderful friend Anne Redfern, you can see some amazing examples and tips of how to use the die on her blog. Now that I know my own die is on its way to me, I finally felt ready to use the last one of the ones she sent me....

The covers were coloured with a mix of Doxide Inks in Faded Jeans, Iced Spruce, Cracked Pistachio and Vintage Photo, using both blending tools and dipping. I then toned it all down a bit with a layer of watered down gesso for a more faded look. I did some gold embossing around the edges, some background stamping with various flower stamps (Paper Artsy and Tim Holtz) and finally used some of Tim's wild flower dies as my focal point.

They were coloured with the same inks and then tied together with a seam binding bow, again, died with the same colours.

I added some nature themed charms to the spine and used some text stamping on the back.

The closure is made from one of the dies that comes with the set. It closes at the front with a little magnet.

I added one of Tim's chip board phrases and a pen nib to the front, some tiny flecks of gold foiling to the flowers, to blend in with the gold embossing, and that was pretty much it.
I made a first insert out of Kraft card, I will use it as backgrounds for watercolour nature themed pages I am planning to keep in this jounal, but more of that on another day, stay tuned :o)

Thanks for your visit like always

xxxxx