What to make...

...of these?

I am sure you have plenty of ideas on how to use these wonderful Calico Craft Parts! But if you want to know what it is that I made with them you have to hop over to the Calico Craft Parts Blog to find out. ;)

Have a great start into the week!

Claudia

xxx

Fireworks and Sparks at Emerald Creek Dares

Servus to round two of this month's challenge over at Emerald Creek Dares where it is all about

"Fireworks and Sparks"

If you have missed round one at the start of the month I highly recommend you check that out too!
A $50 voucher to spend on the most amazing embossing enamels, stamps and embellishments waits for one lucky winner - so don't miss the chance and play along! ;)

When I read the challenge theme for the first time I immediately thought about the "creative spark" we all love and need so much and feel lost without when it just won't fuel our imagination. So I decided to create a tag-diptych with two opposing tags that show both states: with and without creative spark.

Emerald Creek products used: 

EC St. Paddy's Day embossing powder

EC Easter Parade embossing powder

EC Chinese New Year embossing powder

EC Tangarine Orange Sparkle embossing powder

EC Moss Stone Green embossing powder

EC Mercury Rising embossing powder

EC Burnt Copper Leaves embossing powder

other products used available at EC:

Emboss It - clear embossing pad

Distress Spray Stain - gathered twigs

Distress Crayons - Set #3

I also used Distress Oxide inks to create the tags' backgrounds, a Stampers Anonymous "Classics" stamp set, a spray sealant, an Andy Skinner stencil (the swirls) and the gorgeous clouds stencil by Echo Park and DecoArt matte Decou-Page to create my tags. 

Here's a quick how-to:
(click on the images for a larger view)

Die cut two tags from manila cardstock and use Distress Oxides to create the background. Then stamp the head from the #11 Classics stamp set onto both tags using black archival stamping ink. I added gathered twigs spray stain to the "without spark" tag and created drip lines. Then I sealed both tags with matte clear acrylic varnish to prevent the inks from being re-actived. 

I masked the clouds stencil with masking tape and also fixed it to the tag before I applied clear embossing ink with a piece of cut'n dry foam. I did each cloud separately and heat embossed with the dark embossing enamels like Mercury Rising, Moss Stone Green and Burnt Copper Leaves. Then I painted the eyes white using a white gel pen. I repeated the stencilling and heat embossing process with the other tag too - this time using bright and sparkling (!) embossing powders (Chinese New Year, St. Paddy's Day, Tangarine Orange Sparkle and Easter Parade). The "creatively sparked" head was given some bright shading with the tumbled glass Distress Crayon. 

Whereas the un-sparked head got a shading with walnut stain Distress Crayon. I also used that tone to blend the tags' edges by drawing a thin line and smudging it with my fingertip. I added some "creativity" to the left head and a lot of "questioning blanks" to the right one using black permanent markers. I finished the tags off by adding some word stickers. 

To create my tag-dyptich I die cut two more tags - this time from heavy packaging card. 

I cut two short strips off a spool with grey linen ribbon and glued it in between the tag and the backing card tag using matte Decou-Page. 

I started with the left tag first and once that was dry I repeated that step with the right tag.

Done!

Some close-ups:

(this one showing the embossing enamels' texture and sparkle)

(this one showing a detail from the Distress Oxides I especially like)

(and this one showing a close up of my handwriting and Distress Oxide patterns)

***

I hope you like my "with or without creative spark" - tag-dyptich and leave creatively sparked and ready to create your own! ;) 

Hope to see you play along with us over at Emerald Creek Dares soon! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Sun, Sea & Sand

...is the title of today's project that I am sharing over at the Calico Craft Parts blog. It's only "sun" and sand from sandpits over here as the sea is too far away, but we have our beautiful Austrian lakes instead and I am fine with that too (even though I miss that I cannot walk along a sandy beach and collect shells there...but hey - you can't have it all...lol).

These are the single pieces and some of the products I used to create my "Sun, Sea & Sand" project (isn't that beach hut shrine kit just genius?). If you want to find out what the finished project looks like you simply have to click HERE to get to the Calico Craft Parts Blog.

Hope to sea...erm...see you over there!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

The Moustache Metal Mystery

Servus, hi and welcome!

Yes, it is "Every Other Monday Time" today for me over at Calico Craft Parts and I would like to invite you over to their blog where I am sharing my latest project for your inspiration.

If the title of my post made you wonder what on earth "Moustache Metal" might be, I can only tell you that you have to hop over to the Calico Craft Parts Blog to find out. ;)
And I can already give away you that you will find some steampunk fun over there (who would have guessed ;).

Oooh, that looks like corrugated card, doesn't it? Curious now? Good! I hope to see you over there! Simply click HERE to get to the project post and how-to. Have a good start into the week!

Hugs and happy steampunk crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Guesting at A Vintage Journey

Servus, hi and welcome! Today I have the very special pleasure and honour to guest over at A Vintage Journey where I am sharing a little canvas - especially created for their wonderful "Canvas" challenge hosted by lovely Nikki Acton!

Nikki says: "Let's work with canvas this month in our vintage; shabby; mixed media, art journalling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk style.  It doesn't matter how as long as some canvas is a dominant feature of your project. Perhaps you may use a canvas in the traditional way or use the reverse to create a shadow box? Canvas boards are fabulous to work on or perhaps you have some canvas sheets which can be cut and adhered to another surface."


I did not only use a canvas to work on as my substrate but also a strip of canvas in a very special way to create some extra interest and dimension.

On this piece some of my favourite materials and media to work with came together - raw canvas (which I have learned to love being part of the Canvas Corp Brands design team), some cool steampunk MDF wood shapes from the fantastic and wide range of Calico Craft Parts and of course some of my beloved DecoArt media as well.

My goal was to create something precious or "worthy" by partially using gilding flakes on the MDF parts and in some other spots on my canvas) and then partially "stain" and/or "hide" them - which in a way draws even more attention to them. (we often only find out what things (or persons) mean to us when we find them being taken away from us or in danger of being damaged or stained, right?)

And I have recently promised myself to have more faith - in myself, my body, and life in general (seems I have lost a good deal of that during the last years of struggling with bad health).  But sometimes things happen - unexpectedly - that make us aware of the fact that we have just quit trying again or believing that things can get better).

Hence the gilded wings - to remind me to be more daring and try to fly again without fear of falling or not even getting off the ground.

So this is the motto of my canvas - one that definitely is worth being lived by and that I hope to never forget again.

If you want to find out more about my little faithful canvas and the how-to, simply hop over to A Vintage Journey. I would love to see you there!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx