A Leftovers-Mixed Media-Assemblage Piece for PaperArtsy

 Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by today! 

I am sharing another project I've done for PaperArtsy, using some of their lovely Fresco Finish Acrylic paints and products alongside some beautiful stamps designed by Lin Brown. "Leftovers" is the actual theme over at the PaperArtsy Blog and that was definitely a theme straight up my alley! 

I actually hoard leftovers of all kinds in all kinds of boxes (preferably old beautiful cigar boxes), vintage or vintage looking drawers, wood, tin and ceramic bowls and cabinets of all sizes. Leftovers for me include paper scraps and other tiny left over bits from previous projects as well as found objects like nature finds or rusty bits and also items that I have because I needed a single piece for a previous project and could only buy them in packages of two or more pieces of the same kind. I even keep tiny scraps of trims and paper strips - who knows? Maybe these will come in handy some day with one or the other ATC or assemblage piece...I even have some small tin and wood bowls on my studio desk that display leftovers and found objects for an inspiring space to work in. 

As you know you can click on all the images for a larger, closer view. 

 

Speaking of assemblage pieces...I've done a new one for PaperArtsy and creating it was a process I thoroughly enjoyed - thanks to my inspiring collections and studio desk! The whole finished project can be checked out at their blog (HERE), but I am sharing some detail shots in this post. It's design was inspired by the leftovers that spoke most to me on that day. 

I guess you might already have seen this one being shared on social media: 

The texture was done using PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze and Fresco Finish paints and the paper trims I used were - yes, of course - leftovers. The blue-ish dry brushed one at the very bottom is a design that I really like and need to use more often I found. It's a paper strip done using the fabulous Tim Holtz Lattice Trim 3-D Impresslits. The thinner Star Trim on top is actually an old (slightly damaged) scrap of original gold Dresden Trim but you can also use Tim's Star Trim 3-D Impresslits to create one yourself if you're not able to get these ( I do have that Impresslits die as well as I love to be able to create my own Dresden Trim whenever I am in need of one and will have run out of the "real stuff"). 

In the picture below you can see the two trims "in action" on the finished project. Another star on my assemblage is the little glass vial that I altered using PaperArtsy Infusions. I wanted to get an aged look instead of having the boring white glass of the vial and found a cool way to create the beautiful drip lines and the tint (it is all explained in  detail in the PaperArtsy blog post along with the other stuff of course). 

You may also have noticed the highly textural piece to the right in all its aged and worn glory...if you want to find out what it is, how I did it and how it looks as a whole, simply click HERE to get taken to the PaperArtsy blog and post. 

I hope to see you over there soon!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Luminescent Specimen Cabinet - a PaperArtsy Project

 Servus, hi and how's everyone doing these days?! I hope you are all fine and enjoying Spring and (finally!) warmer temperatures! 

Over at the PaperArtsy Blog they have just started a new topic - "Specimen Jar". You can tell I loved that one right away! I immediately thought about all the specimen neatly aligned in the beautiful vintage glass cabinets in Vienna's Natural History Museum. I could look at these for hours and just feel happy and soothed (I guess not only because I love studying fossils, insects and other small specimen but also looking at something so intriguing to me being displayed in such a neat order and large numbers). 

My aim with this project was to capture the feel of a cabinet from the Victorian era and also re-create an effect from a display box from Salzburg's "House of Nature" where they show some fish of the deep sea that make their own light down there. You press a button and their lights turn on - how cool is that?! So, yes, you're guessing right - I also used some mini-lights with my cabinet (and that was great fun). 

Just a few pictures to lure you over to PaperArtsy's blog. 

Find out more about the how-to and products used and meet me there! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

A Little Handmade Gift, a (not so) Secret Watcher and an Invite

Hi, servus! So happy to see you pop by my little creative corner! 

I hope you are all well and safe! Austria still isn't back to normal concerning Cov-19 rules and restrictions (due to still not enough people being vaccinated) and this year winter isn't a very charming or romantic one (at least not around our corner) - it has been storming for actually weeks and temperatures are too warm for snow that would last. But I am still hoping for at least a few winter walks in the forest with my dog girlie and in the meantime we are mostly staying at home, making cosy fires in our new fire place and I am bit by bit approaching a new crafting routine that fits in with the new life with two homes (and two crafting spaces). 

My mother-in-law has celebrated her birthday with us this weekend and I had altered a splint box to give to her as a little handmade gift. I really love her a lot as she is a good friend and also mother to me and a really great grand-ma to my son! She is a true treasure! 

I used Tim's gorgeous "Bloom" Colorize Thinlits dies set and the BigZ XL "Vintage" Alphabet die for the Initials. 

I started with priming my splint box with a thin layer of DecoArt Raw Umber Student Acrylic paint and after that had dried I applied an uneven coat of DecoArt Americana Crackle Medium and let that dry too. 

In the meantime I die cut all my pieces from the Bloom dies set from white cardboard using my little Side Kick (one of my most beloved tools I've ever bought to be honest. When I bought it, I thought of it as a pure luxury gift to myself, but it has turned out to be my go-to die cutting machine for all my smaller dies). 

I didn't cut the parts for each layer from coloured papers (which is of course the most clever way to do it), as I had planned to paint all the twigs and blossoms intuitively (and maybe slightly differently), starting with the twigs and then picking each next colour from my DecoArt Americana and media fluid acrylics stash as I proceeded. That meant a lot of fiddly painting of course, but you know me - I love me some thorough meditative fiddling from time to time. ;)

I arranged all the tiny die cut pieces in an embossing funnel tray, so I could see at one glance which layer would go on which base piece. 

In the end I used mostly colours that matched the vintage feel I was aiming for. Only the initials and stamen got a layer of bright yellow. I also used mixes of colours already used - this way everything just fused nicely. 

The box lid still needed a matching crackle background for my blooms and twigs - so I picked DecoArt Chalky Finish Acrylic "vintage" and applied a very thin layer with a soft wide brush to the totally dry crackle medium. The crackling process started almost immediately and as I had applied the medium by using random brushstrokes that went in many different directions, the cracks did so too. 

While the crackling chalk paint was drying, I glued all the painted plant layers in place (using a small detail brush and matte DecoArt Decou-Page) and heat dried everything. Then I added a slightly diluted wash of DecoArt "Patina"Vintage Effect Wash on top to tone it all down a bit and fuse it with the vintage crackle background. 

I heat dried that again and then it was time to glue everything in place with more Decou-Page! 

As a final touch I added a thick layer of DecoArt Triple Thick to the rose bloom and the initials and let that dry over night. 

I had added some DecoArt clear Crackle Glaze to the painted Initials and highlighted the cracks with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream afterwards, before I glued these in place and added the Triple Thick. 

At that time it started to get dark outside and I took a look out of my window - only to discover a secret watcher in a tree in our neighbour's garden...

A pheasant had already prepared himself to go to sleep. The picture isn't sharp, but the colours are there! Isn't he beautiful? He sat there and watched the workers at the site nearby and seemed quite relaxed. I learned only a few years ago that pheasants sleep in trees (to be safe from foxes and martens)...and I think they look a bit funny too (as they seem to be too big to sit high up in trees on thin branches). 

The next morning the Triple Thick on the box had all cured and my splinter box was done! 

 

I was really pleased with how it had turned out! The design of Tim's Bloom and Alphabet die goes so well with the vintage colour theme, doesn't it? 

So before I wish you some happy crafting there is just one more thing to do: invite you over to the PaperArtsy blog, where I am sharing my first project as a new design team member (just in case you haven't seen it on social media yet). 

The actual theme over at PaperArtsy is "Pattern Play" and my teamies have all come up with some really cool projects and ideas on that one too! So hopping over and checking it all out is a really rewarding and inspiring thing to do! I hope to see you over there! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Stay safe!

Claudia 

xxx

GrungyFlower Still Life - a StencilGirl Project and Video Tutorial

 Oh, well...hey there....long time no see...so thank you even more for stopping by! ;)

As you may have noticed I haven't been spending much time in my studio(s) during the last months but now and then inspiration still likes to strike (at least a little) or one or the other design team project "forces" me to indulge in some creative me-time and I really always enjoy that (and am thankful for it as it keeps me going and in touch with my creative side). 

I am still in the middle of exploring and re-defining myself and my life, being in a new location and also health (or rather meno-pause)-wise forced to find new approaches to enjoying myself and everyday life. The new home close to the lake and the mountains helps a lot with this and I am enjoying my little garden, riding my kayak and exploring new sections of the lake's shore. Hail from one of the last heavy thunderstorms has done some superficial damage to the house and garden, but it is definitely nothing compared to the massive damage farmers and market gardens are dealing with! 

This weekend my son will get his second dose of Cov-19 vaccine and then the three of us will all be on the safe side and relaxed. So we are all well and safe - I hope you and your loved ones are too! 

I am sharing a flower still life with a video tutorial today - done for StencilGirl and with their wonderful stencils of course. If you hop over to their StencilGirl Talk blog, you will learn about what subconsciously influenced my painting - I was amazed myself how much I am obviously visually influenced by my new home and surroundings! 

The ten-minute video shows the whole process and also offers hints on composition and other helpful information on paints and tools used - so I hope you will like it! Enjoy your summer! 

Stay safe!

Claudia xxx

Two Rusty Crusty Tags for SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges

 Hi, servus and welcome to the start of a new challenge over at SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges, dear friends! 

A new two months long challenge is waiting for you to be faced and with my inspirational project for May and June I decided to get rusty again! 

I was given some delicious chipboard pieces to play with by lovely Glenda from boozybear - one of our two prize sponsors: two cool gentlemen from the "Canes" set, the beautiful "Umbrella" set, a fine selection of awesome cogs and gears and the fabulous "Stacked Suitcases"! 

Of course these had to be used with some steampunk/industrial style travel theme tags! 

I started with die cutting two #8 size tags from old packaging cardboard using my "Tag&Bookplates" die designed by Tim Holtz - one of the very first dies I bought and still one of my most often used ones. 

I ran them through my BigShot using an embossing folder from Carabelle Studio and another from Spellbinders (I think). 

Then I added a base layer of red-brown acrylic paint - which already gave a great rusty appearance. 

I enhanced that by dry brushing the dried tags with Carbon Black acrylic paint and adding sprinkles of a very dark grey that I mixed by adding a tiny amount of white acrylic paint to the black paint left overs on my palette. I also painted the chipboard pieces with that dark grey tone. 

The hat, shoes, umbrella and suitcase handles were heat embossed using black embossing powder. The buckles got painted using DecoArt Extreme Sheen "Vintage Brass". I also added sprinkles of that to the tags before I fixed the finished pieces in place. The umbrella man and suitcases got a bit of shading with a detail brush and black acrylic paint for more depth and dimension. 

To fix the elements in place I used some chipboard left overs that I glued to the backs. 

The second gear was heat embossed with Ranger "Rust" embossing enamel. 

I found the umbrellas needed to be painted over with Yellow Iron Oxide acrylic paint - as this tone has a bit of a green-ish touch it makes the orange rusty tones pop even more and it also forms a great contrast. 

The quotes were stamped using Tim's "Noble Gent" stamp set. 

Some detail shots: 

I hope you like my two tags! I made these in my new (and not yet fully equipped) studio in our new home in the countryside! I love this spot so much and moving in kept us busy during the last months - so this was one other reason for my being absent for quite some time (besides struggling with break down, exhaustion and depression after an obviously too long struggle with health issues and many nasty side effects from tried out medications...but I won't bore you with that now). 

Here's a first view of my new creative spot at Lake Atter! So far I've managed to put together a base equipment that allows me to play whenever time allows and creativity comes by for a short visit (which isn't too often at the moment, but it is slowly returning). 

Two thirds of the shelves are still empty - and I guess these will only get filled slowly as it is a slow process to find out which things I want to keep and use in my Vienna studio and which ones in our country home. The room also serves as a guest room - therefor the sofa which can be turned into a comfy bed. 

I intend to buy less new crafting stuff, but one item had to bought again - the BigShot. I found I couldn't do without one in either spot! I remember when I got my first one...I was a bit sceptic if I would use it a lot, but I found it really took my creativity to another level and I wouldn't want to miss it now. 

And here's a first picture of the lovely view from my studio window - taken several weeks ago when winter came back for a short but hefty surprise visit after spring had already set in. 

But back to our steampunk challenges! The team and I are waiting for your entry over at our challenge blog! I hope to see you play along with us soon!

Hugs, stay safe and happy crafting! 

Claudia

xxx