Squeeze - Q&L Challenge

The Craft Barn's challenge this year is around Quotes and Lyrics, and the first one is 'Smile' and/or 'Up'. 

One of my favourite bands is Squeeze - Difford and Tilbrook write the most amazing lyrics, and Up the Junction is brilliant, for so many reasons.  It's all in the present tense, but tells a story over several years.  And it is really poignant.  I used to live around the corner from Clapham, and I used to catch one of the old routemasters (the ones you could hop on the back of, you didn't have to wait for the doors to open).  I put all of this together, and came up with:

I found a fantastic artist's sketchbook, A3 size, so this is really going to give me space to play!  I watered the page, and smooshed on quite well watered brusho pigments.  They are still quite vibrant colours!

Then I did some stamping, using archival inks, and a little bit of stencilling - musical notes!


 
 






I stamped the words and the bus in Archival.  I added a little more watered down brusho to the bus, and then some white enamel accents - the old no 11 was this cream and red livery, back in the day.

I doodled around the edge of the words (this is the last line of the song), added a little shading underneath and, hey presto!

It is amazing how much difference that little bit of shadow makes - this is the page BEFORE shading.



On the facing page, when it has dried a little, I am going to write out the full lyric.  But it is still a little damp at the moment!!

Hope you like!

Resources

Paint and ink
Brusho pigments: Cobalt Blue, Prussian Blue, Black, Sea Green, Leaf Green
Archival Ink: Jet Black, Watering Can, Red Geranium, Sap Green, Fern Green, Manganese Blue
PaperArtsy: Nougat
Stampin' Up: Whisper White Pigment ink
Aquash watercolour crayons: Black

Stamps and Stencils
IndigoBlu: Square Peg Round Hole, Harlelquin
PaperArtsy: London Plate HP1208EZ
Artemio: capital letters
Hero Arts: Printers type lower case
Tando Creative: Music Mask

Bling and other stuff
Micron Fineliners
Sakura Gelly roll stardust pens
Enamel Accents: White

Back to class... The Art Society - Soar

Hi there.  I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions, but I have been thinking that I would like to do more different things, learn more, try more, and most of all, use some of the stash!! 

I have always been interested in Christy Tomlinson's style, and when I saw she was doing an online class this year, I thought 'Aha, that's for me!'  So, along with Kate Crane's calendar challenge, and The Craft Barn Quote's and Lyrics challenge...hmm...we shall see, and a few classes with Kate and Andy Skinner, and I have to fit Just Scrapbooking in...Aaaargh!  But such fun...  I wonder, will I be able to fit work in?

It's not appropriate for me to do a step by step on this, but I will add a few photos.  It isn't a copy of Christy's but it is in the same style, but perhaps a little more blingy - of course!!



Just checking everything fits.



Painted book pages



Spellbinders dies cuts, sprayed, of course, with cosmic shimmers



Butterflies and peacock feathers!  Match made in heaven



 

Normally, pink would be my colour of choice, but...



...cream looked so much better!  Still needed some bling, tho

Just a touch of Alchemy on the butterflies, and on the letters...

Hope you like!

Resources

Substrate: Liquitex 10 x 8 canvas, book pages,  Stampin' Up papers: Springtime Vintage

Paint and Ink
DecoArt Traditions: Prussian Blue
PaperArtsy: Pea Coat, Nougat
Archival Ink: Cobalt
Stewart Gill Alchemy: White Opal

Stamps and Dies
Stampotique: Amy Wilson Alphabet
Spellbinders: Peacock Feathers S4-429

Bling and other stuff
That special touch Mask: Butterfly
DecoArt Americana: Decoupage Matte
Daler Rowney: Glaze Medium
Cosmic Shimmers: Pearl, Twilight black

Twilight Framed!

Following on from my post last week, I have now joined the two parts together, canvas and frame.  I am really pleased with this.

 Standard wooden box frame from The Range, just what I needed!  Removed the glass, and painted - with just a little bling, and it's perfect!

I mixed up black acrylic with my favourite glittery paint, Galactica, and smoothed it on, with a piece of cut & dry. I like this method of application for three reasons - 1) I am really not very good with a brush, 2) it's nice and even, 3) no brush marks, and 4) I am way too impatient.  OK, that's 4 reasons!! Then I stamped dandelion clocks lightly around the edge in black, silver and gold.

Having painted up the frame, I saw that the mdf pieces needed a similar treatment.

While I had some paint left over, I also dabbed it on my fantastic gold leaf braid I had bought.  As gold I knew it was the right shape (it matched the stamping and stencilling on the canvas) but it was just too bright.  Taken down a bit with black paint, it was so much better!

Then, it was just a case of adding the canvas to the frame, and adding the leaves.  Another creation that needs to be in light to get the full effect of the shimmer, but it does look really good!


Hope you like!

Resources
Substrate: Box Frame
Paint and Ink
Liquitex Basics: Mars Black
Stewart Gill Galactica: Rainbow
Brilliance: Starlight Black, Starlight Silver, Galaxy Gold

Stamps
IndigoBlu: Wild Meadow WM1

Bling and other stuff
Gold leaf braid
Silicon Glue

Twilight Canvas

I have had this post sat sitting in draft for a month or so.  I have had the canvas sat sitting on the side for a month too!  It needs a frame, and I think I may have found one, but I'll get this posted as is for now, and follow up with the frame...at some point...!

I picked up a 'paint your own canvas kit' recently in a sale.  I ummed and ahhhed for a bit, but thought that the mdf cutouts were probably worth the price on their own.  So I bought it, knowing I would do something with it at some point.  I also bought a magnolia version, which is still in the cupboard.







So, as you may know from elsewhere on this blog, a few months back, I attended a Kate Crane workshop, and I have her DVDs.  In Bold Backgrounds she uses Dylusions to create some pages, and I really liked the effect.  So...  the canvas was already primed, so I used three colours fairly close on the colour wheel, and sprayed liberally.  Then I cleaned up the work surface!  I had a tiny bit of two colours of Primary Elements left over in spray bottles, so they went on as well.


I used two stencils and sprayed water through, and a touch more ink.  I wanted to create a frame, so used the leaves stencil (also Dylusions) as I knew I had the matching stamps.  I scraped gesso through the stencil. Two things here.  One: the gesso was a little runny, so the edges aren't as sharp as they might have been.  Two: I suspect the base wasn't entirely dry (nothing new there!).  This meant that some of the dye got pulled up into the gesso, so it isn't bright white.  At the top, where it was on the African Midnight colour, it looks like I stamped with bleach!  A happy accident!

Then (and I did wait for the gesso to dry!) I stamped with the matching stamps around the edge.

Meanwhile, the dandelion clocks needed to be painted, so I mixed a dark green acrylic with black and slathered it on, making sure I got in between the petals.
















So far, so good.  Next step, the frame and joining the two things together!  Watch this space (but don't hold your breath...!)

Hope you like!

Resources

Substrate: 12 x12 canvas
MDF flowers and leaf

Paint and Ink
Dylusions Ink Sprays: African Midnight, London Blue, Fresh Lime
Primary elements (in spray): Black Emerald, Wisteria (probably!)
Liquitex basics: Phthalo Green, Mars Black
Archival Ink: Jet Black, Olive, Fern Green,

Stamps
Dylusions: Around The Edge DYR34421, Doodle Parts DYR34582

Bling and other stuff
Pebeo white gesso
Dylusions Mask: Leaf Flourish small DYS38382
Tando Creative Mask: Harlequin MSKHRLQUIN
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil: Bubble THS002

Monthly Calendar - January

I went on one of Kate Crane's weekends last year, at the Stamp Attic, and really enjoyed it, so I have decided to have a go at doing Kate's Calendar Challenge this year - details are on her blog, The Kathryn Wheel.  I am going to start off slow and steady, so I don't burn out too early!  I am rubbish at diaries and the like, and have trouble doing anything regular, like even keeping my accounts up to date... oh dear.

I found this lovely book in Paperchase.  The paper quality is just fantastic, and I like the craft (or Kraft) covers, which I will decorate at some point.  The pages are c 9 1/2 inches square, or 24 cm.  Slightly cream or ivory.  But , oh so thick!









I decided January had to be green - my garden is sooooo lush - I don't mean that in a bristolian sense, more a verdant sense!  All the rain, already!  So the main part of the background is dylusions sprays, in cut grass, fresh lime and then some pure sunshine (I wish).  It wasn't quite what I was after, so I added a little white linen, which provides a little mistiness in the background.

Then out with the stencils, I love the Tando harlequin trellis, it's great.  Then Tim's Bubbles, with Picket Fence distress stain.  And an umbrella or three from the lovely Mr Skinner - very appropriate!

Then I stamped my hedgerow in - cow parsley, I think. First and second generation in two colours of Archival ink.  I also stamped the small bird from the same set on a separate piece of card, and attached it top right.

Elsewhere on this blog, I mentioned that I discovered pearlescent acrylic ink - still loving it!  Probably could have done with the Jan being a little more black, but I still like it.  There's a little doodling in black micron pens, a tippex pen, and a glittery sakura pen.

Then I drew my grid for the calendar entries.

Right, first (and only!) resolution of the year - do this every month!

Hope you like!







Resources

Paint and Ink
Dylusions: White Linen, Pure Sunshine, Fresh Lime, Cut Grass
Archival: Monarch Orange, Sepia
Distress Ink: Mowed Lawn
Distress Stain: Picket Fence
Daler Rowney FW Pearlescent Ink: Black

Stamps and Masks
Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz - Nature's Moments CMS001, Bubbles THS002
Tando Creative: Harlequin
Andy Skinner for Tando Creative: Accessories

Bling and other stuff
Tipp-ex pen
Micron pens
Sakura Gelly Roll pen, glittery pink