Countdown till Halloween....tic toc

I want to show you a tag I made some weeks ago for a dear scrap friend of mine (fabulous Sandra - yes, the goodies-fairy ;).

The background was cut out from an autumnal paper stash from Bringmann, distressed and blended with white chalk ink and Distress ink "black soot", using a rough kitchen sponge. Spider webs were stamped with white chalk ink too. For the skeletton from flonzcraft I used jet black archival ink from Ranger.

Heat embossing was done with black "Sternenstaub" embossing powder. I also added a self-adhesive black velvet ribbon and a wonderful flower from Prima. The eyes (watching YOU!) are from a postcard I found at a museum's fleamarket. I copied it and cut out three of the eyes, did some doodling with a black felt tip pen and glued them onto the tag.

To match the colour of the flower seeds, I stamped the tiny spider on top, using white stamping ink first and then stamping over this layer one more time using a light green.

For a finish I did some heat embossing with aged copper embossing enamel and chose a ribbon that should repeat the greens from the flower and the spider.

With this tag I enter Fashionable Stamping Challenges once more this fortnight.


Thanks for your visit!
Hugs,
die amelie xx

Halloween ATC Brochure

I wanted to do some metal leafing again - had done it years ago, covering found objects (rhinestones and driftwood for example) thus turning them into paperweights - and ordered some of the gorgeous Mega Flakes from Indigo Blu. The "Brighton Pier" mixture has some warm colour tones like reds and orange and a small amount of contrasting blues in it too, which I really love about it.

As it is still Halloween season, I decided to go for a little booklet with three ATCs in it, that are to be torn out, as I perforated the binding edge instead of just creasing it.

For the background of the ATCs I used an Impression Obsession "cover a card" stamp with a scratched design. (Love this one so much!)

I also did some embossing with clear embossing powder (on the covers) and black "Sternenstaub" (inside the brochure), namely the border on the front cover , the pumpkin picture on the back cover and the Halloween postal stamp images on the ATCs.

Stamps used for the ATCs and the front cover picture are from Paper Artsy, Darcie's, Chocolate Baroque and the Unity Stamp Company. Distress inks used were "black soot" and "barn door" (last one to blend the distressed edges of the ATCs). The white scratches on the front cover, which first looked to plain, were stamped with white chalk ink.

I punched two holes into all of the ATC-pages and covers and used a black organza ribbon to bind the brochure. Done.

Happy Halloween!

die amelie x

Tag on arched ATC

For the Fun with ATCs challenge "Tag on ATC" I created this arched ATC with - of course - a Halloween theme.

(Hope, the ticket counts as a tag ;)


I also enter Try it on Tuesday's challenge with this ATC. They are having a DT Call running until Nov. 20th! So check this out if you are interested!

For this ATC I used stamps from RedLead, My Mind's Eye, Inkadinkado and Chocolate Baroque. Distress inks used were "walnut stain" and "black soot". Embossing was done with Ranger "copper" embossing powder and the background paper is from the lovely paper stash "Lost Halloween" from My Mind's Eye.

The two wings of the ATC are closed with a thin rough cord, fixed with two punched out card circles, which were attached to the ATC with small copper brads.

Hope you like it!
Hugs,
die amelie xx

"The flat-sharing community is having trouble"

Today I want to tell you about the flat-sharing community of the three witches Amealia, Prudence and Porticia, shortly called "APP" by their witch friends.

They usually get along really well, having weekly afternoon-tea invitations with their witch colleagues with lots of gossip, laughter and potion-whispering spells and jokes.

But dark clouds have lately been rising and throwing their shadows upon the happy community at Witch Hazel Alley No. 7... the snap-shot taken in their parlour is evidence and shows Prudence and Porticia on the left side and Amealia to the right, turnig her back on the two "traitoresses", as she had been using to call them for the past three weeks.



What had happened?

Well, P&P (Prudence and Porticia) had recently won this years "Multipede Creating Potion's Contest" (or "Emmcee Peecee", how insiders call this event, which is one of the most frequented and frolic among the various potions and spells contests throughout a witch's year). So this normally would be a cause for a splendid party with having all their friends invited, but sadly this year it isn't.

Due to a bad headache when starting their potions-test-series for the contest, Amealia had accidentally mixed up "Frog's toes" with some crumpled green beans and these had caused the first brew to produce gigantic bubbles with a gruesome stink that wouldn't come off their dresses and hair for weeks. Therefore they were not allowed to enter the "Fluffy Muffin", the local tea-shop, where all those went to, who wanted to be (and stay) up-to-date, for quite some time.

Thus cut off from the latest news, Prudence and Porticia were very angry with Amealia and therefore they created their own potion for the contest without her - and won! (Luckily their awful smell had gone by that day). But the dark clouds upon their community had remained...

..even Percy, their tame raven, hasn't spoken a word since then.


About the making:

I used images from the lovely cut and color book from Theodore Menten, "The Victorian Parlor", which I copied, cut out and blended with Distress inks "antique linen", "peeled paint" and "pumice stone". I also used orange and green felt tip pens to color the details on the cupboard. The books and other thingies on the shelves are from a gorgeous border from echo park's "Chillingsworth Manor" paper stash and fitted perfectly.

I sketched the hats for the Victorian Ladies, cut them out and colored them with "black soot" before glueing them onto the heads.

Spider web images, the broom, bottles, bell jar and the raven were stamped and are from "My Mind's Eye", 7 Gypsies, Tim Holtz and Paper Artsy.

The single images were mounted with foam sticky pads in three various layers to create some depth.

Hope, you like it!

At the end some important NEWS: Try it on Tuesday Challenge blog's Team are looking for new DT members (see their actual challenge with the link below)! After some days of thinking it over, I decided to give it a try as I really love their artwork and their relaxed way of presenting their challenges! 

With this project I enter Fashionable Stamping Challenge's "Halloween/Use Halloween Colours" challenge, Try it on Tuesday's challenge and Art With No Boundaries challenge as well.

Hugs,
die amelie xx




Other Challenge blogs where I entered with this project are:

Challenge Up Your Life
That Craft Place Challenge Blog
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog
Craftymess Challenge Blog
Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog

Steampunk Tag with Pendant

I decided to do another project for the Vintage Stamping Challenge blog, where mainly stamps from flonzcraft ought to be used as they are sponsored by this awesome stamp set provider.

As flonzcraft stamps are a favorite of mine (well, amongst others *lol) and I LOVE to do tags, I also enter Simon Says Stamp and Show's "Your Favorite" challenge once more with this project.

I also enter the Stampotique Designers Challenge with this tag, as they ask for self stamped backgrounds, which is exactly what I did with the smaller tag.

This time I used my beloved "Learn to Fly" stamp set with the falling Ikarus and the gorgeous balloon from the "Vintage Machines Engravings" large stamp sheet.

I tried two techniques for the first time with this project: first modelling with polymer clay and second stamping and embossing on fabric. Both went out quite satisfying for first attempts - so I am really happy with the outcome.

 

The tag is made of two layers. The bigger sized tag is distressed and blended with "walnut stain" Distress ink and spritzed with some water afterwards. Then I added the lovely bird on a branch image from flonzcrafts "Sweet Bird of Love" set, to add some texture.

The smaller tag was stamped in the background with the balloon image in Distress ink "antique linen" several times. Afterwards I stamped one of the gorgeous flourishes and the falling Ikarus in Archival ink "sepia". 

The quote on the linen ribbon is from the "Learn to Fly" stamp set too. I stamped it with embossing ink and heat embossed it with Ranger "Copper" embossing Powder. 

The wing pendant is modelled of gold effect polymer clay (here in Austria we have the "Fimo" product line, which is very popular), which I first rolled flat and then I pressed the flonzcraft balloon image stamp into the soft and flattended clay. First time I did it without stamping ink - that merely ruined my stamp, as the clay wouldn't come off again easily. I had to give it a hard scrub with a fingernail's brush (and wasn't too sure the stamp would survive - but - a high quality product it is!!! - it did!). For the second try I used gold stamping ink and that went just perfect. The wing shape was done using a cookie cutter (my favorites for X-mas!).

After the baking process and the cooling, I gave the pendant a treat with AAI "oregano", "rust" and "juniper" and rubbed in some black archival ink afterwards, removing most of it with a soft tissue, so the colour only remained in some of the impressed areas.

Some additional close-ups as usual: 

Hope to see you again soon!

Hugs,

die amelie xxx

Steampunk Willow

The Artistic Outpost October Referral Challenge inspired me to do this project: the Steampunk Willow.

 

A look at it from the back.

As I love working with wire AND steampunk AND things being shown under a bell jar, I enter Simon Says Stamp and Show's "Your Favorite" challenge again with this project. ;)

Well, I know the "Whomping Willow" from Harry Potter,and its' true nature is obviously a mugwump's and a rogue's. My Steampunk willow's nature is one of tenderness and playfulness. When freed from the bell jar it will wait for the wind to play gently with all those "passengers" attached to its' branches.

This time it was really hard to take good pictures because of artificial light reflecting from the bell jar. But I finally managed to show you some pictures with bell jar and many more without.

All of the stamps used for this project are from http://www.artisticoutpost.com/ - the "French Flight" stamp set was a must-have for me, as I sooo love "L 'homme Aille" or the wonderful balloon driver. Well, to be honest - I love the whole stamp set and the "Anything Goes" challenge was just perfect to use them all!!!!

Inks used were Archival ink "sepia" and "Celadon" from Encore.
For the base I also used Frantage "aged copper embossing enamel".

The willow is made of five pieces of black matt wire, which I entwined around themselves, just leaving the ends and the beginnings to form roots (to give the tree a base to stand on, which I hid under the corrugated card platform) and branches with hooks for the single images.

The three men are the spectators who have to stay on the ground. ;)

The images were stamped in "sepia" and the edges blended with "vintage photo" first and after distressing the edges I gave them a finish with "celadon", which I applied with a rough kitchen sponge piece.

The tiny gears were attached with transparent crafting glue, which dries very quickly, so they stay in various angles after holding them for a few secs only.

I also added some embossing enamel to the branches, to give them a worn patina look.

For the bell jar I made a thin banner running around the base with the "Creme de la Creme" quote from the stamp set. And the backsides of the hanging images were covered with the script stamp from the same set, to add some texture.

Here some more close-ups:

Hope, you like it.
Hugs,

die amelie xxx