August

Hi! Suzz here. I am hosting the current challenge at Frilly and Funkie Challenge called "August".  No surpise that it is inspired by the month of August. :) In doing a little online research I learned that the month of August was re-named for Augustus Caesar. He was the first Roman Emperor and was very proud of the influence he had on the architecture of the country. For this challenge I am asking you to be inspired by marble, arches or columns. You will need to create a vintage or shabby chic project using some type of marble effect, arches or columns.

I really wanted to do some marbling and so I created a huge pile of marbled backgrounds.  I tried shaving cream, alcohol inks, water, etc.  I liked the shaving cream the best and ended up doing multiple backgrounds just for this card:

To create the marble background I did the following:

1. Spray a mount of shaving cream (Cream not gel)  onto your craft mat or a sheet of acetate. Basically anything that won't hold the color after you are done and is easy to clean up or throw away.
2. Drip re-inker or spray inks into the shaving cream.
3. Now you can try alot of different ways to marble. You can swirl the ink into the shaving cream with a plastic knife.  You can just smoosh it into the shaving cream with an acetate sheet on top and pushing and moving the shaving cream and ink around.  You decide.  This is the fun part and my shaving cream smelled good and conditions your paper!
4. After you get your ink and cream mixed you lay your paper ontop and smoosh it around until it is covered in inky shaving cream.
5. Pull back the paper and lay flat.  Using a flat edge scrape off the excess shaving cream.  I use my plastic rulers and shave off the cream.
6.  Let dry.

I ended up with so many pretty backgrounds it made it difficult to decide what to do next.  I spent a few days trying some ideas.  (I cut out some arches as I knew I wanted to incorporate arches into my project)  I think it was my husband laying bricks outside in a pattern that triggered the idea of creating a herringbone tile effect.

 I love how this turned out and my family wandered in and out while I was laying my faux tile and were very impressed. :)

I googled an image of herringbone to get me started.

1. Cut your tiles to the size you want.  I cut mine 1/2" by 1 1/2".
2. Cut the background to the size you want before laying down the pattern. 
3. Sponge the edges of your tiles with a grout color.  I chose black.
4. Start in the middle with one of your tiles and start taping and laying them.

5. Tape down the first on in the middle of you paper.
6.  Lay down the next one and line up to the edge.
7.  Repeat... Repeat.. Repeat..

A couple of tips:

• I first laid this without sponging the edges. They didn't pop enough because of the marbling. They needed a grout effect.  You could do this by leaving space between the faux tiles but would need your space to be even. 
• I had a few faux tiles that were slightly wider or longer.  Your pattern wont' work if that happens. :) I had to pull mine up and re-cut a few more. 
• When you get to the edge of the page attach them as a full piece.  When you get done you can cut the pieces off to use as filler for the areas where you don't need a full piece. 

After that it was deciding how to incorporate my arches with the background. I decided it reminded me of the church and what a lovely wedding card it would make.

I hope this has you inspired of playing with the marbling or the arches!  Come join us in the challenge.

The winner will earn the chance of a Guest Designer spot at Frilly and Funkie, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. In addition, the Design Team will select three further outstanding entries and those creators will receive a Top Pick badge to display on their blogs!

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

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Arches

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  this week is to be inspired by the letter "A".  That means you have free reign to use the letter "A".  I had all kinds of ideas running through my head but the thought of using arches intrigued me.

I wanted to see if I could create the feel of an old wooden church showcasing some beautiful stained glass windows.

I started with die cutting three arches from some scrap cardboard.  I keep all the backs of pads of paper so when they get used up I have a nice sturdy chipboard/cardboard for projects like this. 

I applied several coats of white acrylic paint and then finished it off with rock candy paint to get the weathered effect.   I let that dry and then took my finger and picked up grey pigment ink and rubbed it into the cracks to enhance the crackle.

Next up was to create my stain glass effect. 

I traced the shape of the inside of the arch onto tissue paper.  I cut it slightly larger (hence the funny edges).  I stamped the mosaic pattern using black ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder.

I flipped over the paper and colored the back side of the tissue paper with watercolor pencils.  After I had finished coloring I spritzed it with water to soften the coloring.   I could have colored with any medium (distress dye inks, watercolor markers, etc)  Just keep in mind the wetter the medium the more likely it will tear the tissue paper.

After it dried I applied versamark ink over the entire surface and coated it with clear embossing powder.  I then heated it up and melted it to give it a shiny coat.  After it cooled down I flipped it over and repeated the process.  I did the front side two times to give it a double coat.  You can decide what texture and how shiny.

After I finished that I attached it to the back side of the arch.

I took this photo in the sunlight so you can see the faux stained glass effect. 

I created a panel from cardboard following the same weathering process as the arches to place my arches on:

After that I added just a few more touches for my finished art:

Product:    White acrylic paint , Ranger Archival Ink - Watering Can,  Stampers Anonymous - Cracks, Maya Road Art Journaling Stamps, Spellbinders Arched Window Die,(I used Memory Boxes but any Arch will do),  Moss, Hero Arts Three Artistic Butterflies,  Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, Versamark Watermark Ink, Clear Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, Ranger Archival Ink - Black, Tissue Paper


The ever generous Simon Says Stamp is offering a gift voucher to a randomly selected participant in the challenge, so come join in on the fun.

Thanks for stopping by!


Suzz

A is for Altered Arches

 Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  is brought to you this week by the letter "A"... The challenge is to be inspired by the letter "A".  I was inspired to create an altered arches using Authentique's Valentine's papers.  .

Here is the full display:

 Click on the image to enlarge it and see the full image.

A few close up pictures:

The other end of the arches:

and the middle:

The unfinished arches after the pattern paper was cut and taped down.  I smeared white acrylic paint over the surface to soften the edges:

The back side is covered in coordinating papers and linked together with hinges.

I traced the arches on the reverse side of the papers and cut them out.  I cut chicken wire to fit over the opening of the arch.  I stapled the chicken wire to the chipboard.  I taped the pattern paper onto the chipboard arches.  I then smeared white acrylic paint over the surfaces.

I attached the hinges on the reverse side of the arches. I hand cut the different images from the various papers.  The doilies were painted with pink and white acrylic paint. I sponged the edges of the cut images and the doilies with brown dye ink.

Products: Smitten, Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiment,   hinges ,   white paint,   Lace Trim, Idea-Ology - Lavish Trimming, Bo Bunny Doilies, Heart Doilies,  Screw Brads, Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo, Claudine Hellmuth Pink Acrylic Paint
 

Come join in the challenge this week  for an opportunity to win a  Simon Says Stamp $50 Gift Voucher.

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Suzz