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Sunday, May 4, 2014

La Mode - an Arty Tag





Today I received a box from Fran!  And in that box was a set of new paints by Paper Artsy called Fresco Paints.  I had seen these on the site and really wanted them.  I think the word "fresco" drew me in...LOL.  
So, how to try out my new paints? I decided to make a tag with a paint background.  I chose some of the colors - some blues and a pretty cream color, got out my cosmetic wedges and pulled out some card stock.  I made my own tag (6 x 3 1/2 inches) this time because I wanted a larger size to work with.
I chose a few Frantic Stamper stamps to work with including a tag stamp.  Before I started painting I stamped my tag stamp onto some paper and made a mask and placed that on the bigger tag.
This paint is so nice!  It's creamy and covers really well.  The colors mix well also. I was able to blend while wet easily.
After I got my color background done, I stamped the shoe stamp randomly onto my tag.  I used the new Tim Holtz colors in Distress Markers to color my stamped shoe images.  I wasn't sure if this would work but it worked really well. The distress markers were transparent but you could easily see the colors over top of the paint which was very cool.  As my final step, I used the Pearl Glaze from the Fresco paints and applied a thin layer over my entire tag.  It was gorgeous!  The paint went on very smoothly and dried quickly. It left a really nice pearly shimmer.
To complete my tag: I removed the mask from the tag.  I cut some washi papers and added them onto my card with glue stick.  I had an old post card which I added to the bottom of my tag and then trimmed off.  I added some crochet ribbon to cover the seam.  I stamped La Mode (also Frantic Stamper) at the bottom on the post card.  I added Viva Decor Pearl Pen pearls to the smaller tag.  I added two colors of ribbon to the larger tag and fastened them with a small brad.
That was fun! 



 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Victorian Birds and Cage

 

Hi everyone!  I was working on card ideas today and thought I would make a birthday card using some new papers that I got from Graphic 45.  Their papers are so nice, such a Victorian feel.  I decided on lavender as the main color because that seems to emulate the Victorian era to me.  I found this really great lavender stripe paper that reminded me of wallpaper.  I had some purple suede paper and used that as the mat, and used an ivory card base.
 
I have this Martha Stewart punch that is extra large. It's a challenge using this one on my cards because I usually only work in A2 size.  Today I decided I just had to use it!  I cut my card so that it would fit the punch design and punched the side of the card. It came out ok but I decided a second layer of the punch in lavender would be a good idea. 
I also use gold as a secondary color.  (I even used some gold bling!)  I cut out the Frantic Stamper birdcage die and a couple of birds too.  You may not have noticed but the flying bird is actually the negative cut into the lavender pattern paper. It's not layered on top.  The burgundy bird sitting on the cage is a separate piece of paper. I did this to create some dimension.
 
I wanted to have an open bird cage door.  I did it by using one of the die cut pieces, using mounting foam and reattaching it.  It looks very cool! You cn see in the picture below how I engineered it.
 
I left a place on the card for a Happy Birthday Sentiment which I haven't added yet.
Thanks for stopping by!