Day 4 - stencils & gelli plates

I must confess, I don't own a gelli plate and didn't feel like making one so I tried this technique using a thick silicone mat.  Not bad but perhaps my choice of acrylic paint and stencils made this more difficult to achieve.

Ingredients:  Claudine Helmuth paint (Dab of Yellow, Modern Red, Altered Orange, Blank Canvas), Tim Holtz stencils (Splatters, Measured, Harlequin), white card stock, Bazzill card stock, QuicKutz lips dies, Tim Holz/Sizzix magnetic mover & shapers Tattered Florals die (= sun!), distress ink, Studio 490 'Never Enough Hearts' stencil, sentiment (Impression-Obsession), Crimson Archival Ink, vellum, fiber, Glossy Accents

Shhh...this will be my red-hot passion card for hubby this Valentine's Day!

Transparent illusions ala Halloween

If you're a follower of the Grungy Monday challenges you know that Linda's going to be taking a breather soon.  I'm sure she'll have some wonderful ideas for new challenges when she returns.  Bet she gets lots of ideas on the cruise so I can't wait to see what's comin' down the 'pike!  The last challenge before the break is to play with Tim Holtz's fragments, fragment charms, and facets. 

I started out with a Studio 490 art parts (spool base and core).  A bit of moss from the floral department of your local craft store and you're set to decorate your Halloween scene.

I adhered the sticky-backed metal sheet to the Black Clearly For Art, cut out the branch tree then ran it through the woodgrain embossing folder.  When heating/forming the tree, the metal helps the tree retain the embossing.  The tree was glued to the spool core (painted with the Pitch Black paint dabber) and base (painted with the Butterscotch, Espresso & Lettuce paint dabbers - camouflage for the moss) so it would stand up better.  The fence was cut from grungepaper, smeared with crackle paint, dried, then rubbed the Pitch Black paint dabber over the cracks for dimension.

Using the various techniques Tim talks about in his blog post I created my scene: a spider dangling from a branch, crow up in the tree, flying bat, witch with moon at the top of the project.  At the base of the tree sit 2 jack-o-lanterns and a witch's hat while the black cat sits atop the fence.  The larger fragment was collaged and had a bit of ribbon added before placing it at the base of the tree.

Tim Holtz:  Mini Halloween stamp set; fragments, fragment charms
Tim Holtz/Sizzix:  fence die, branch tree die, woodgrain embossing folder
Ranger:  Walnut Stain Distress Crackle Paint; Jet Black Archival Ink, Pitch Black, Butterscotch, Lettuce, Espresso Paint Dabbers; yellow, distress inks (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, black); grungepaper; Sunset Orange, Terra Cotta, Slate and Silver alcohol inks
QuicKutz:  sticky-back metal sheet
Claudine Hellmuth:  Matte Multi-Medium
Teresa Collins:  Spooktacular paper (small single images)
Studio 490:  art parts spool, Black Clearly For Art
Misc:  moss, ribbon snippet, black, green & brown wire, pumpkin leaves cut from a scrap of green paper

Spools rule!

Okay, so Wendy has new spool-like structures on the way.  Seems like this type of thing is one of the new rages because Linda Cain has spools featured on her blog of 7/22 that were inspired by kits that Julie Van Oosten from down under sells.  You can check out her blog here.  Once there you can click on the video of her making these guys - so easy and lots of fun.  I'm sure her kits are sturdier than what I made but since I'm not known for my patience and like to use what's on hand these will do for now.

The flower was made from kraft paper, Tim's tattered floral die and Wendy's new stamps.  The leaf is one that Japanese beetles made lacy just for me!  LOL 
The scrolls are Jenni Bowlin mini papers and a QuicKutz die with Wendy's word.

The sewing spool has muslin, old trim for a ribbon, an old snap, Wendy's stamps (shirt and measure) and the QuicKutz die.

The scrapbook papers are leftovers from other projects so I don't know who makes them.  Brown distress inks were used on the spool tops & bottoms.

I do have a large collection of antique spools in my sewing room but am afraid of altering them.  If I were to sell them later I don't want to affect their re-sale value.  I've sewn most of my life and come from a family of advanced sewers so these items are of special interest to me.  I've acquired much fabric, lace, trims, etc. from my dh's side of the family (old button makers) because no one was interested.  Gee, too bad, because I AM!