Die cuts - LOC - Stamping Chef

It’s time for a new challenge at  Left of Center.  I’m working with Skull and Flowers from the Stamping Chef, one of the new sponsors who are supporting the challenges.

I wanted an olde-worlde inn sign to show off this happy little skull, so I gave a bit of chipboard a weathered wood effect (something I learned from an Andy Skinner online course – I am sworn to secrecy as to how it’s done!) and then die-cut it (Sizzix Alterations Cameo Frame).  I coloured the image digitally as my original thought was to get it printed out on a laser printer and use an image transfer technique – but it went a bit wrong L so I shifted to plan B, which was to print it out on Safmat.  I went looking for some suitable sentiments and found one I liked so I printed that out as well. And that was it, job done!  

We'd love to see your work at LOC, and joining in is easy.  You can either follow the theme – which this time is Die Cuts – or go Left of Center (Goth, horror, Manga, Steampunk etc) or do both.

Tic Tac Toe at Ikesworld Challenges

It's Team B's turn to take the stage at Ikesworld Challenge blog, and it's a Tic-Tac-Toe grid this time.

I've taken the top row- that's glitter, flowers and embossing, using Candle Poe - I've coloured it in digitally, using brown shades.  The digi looks a bit odd until it's coloured, but when it is, it is really effective (Ike is a GENIUS!)

The embossed frame - which looks so much like leather- is, in fact, kraft card that has been treated with a water and glycerine mixture.  (See Sheena Douglass's YouTube demonstration to see how!)  The heart is covered in Distress glitter - I love Distress glitter, it's glitter for grown-ups!  

The Time Machine

Here's my project for SanDee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge blog this month.

The theme is a Steampunk Time Machine and my project is inspired by the George Pal version in the film of H.G. Wells's story.

It's based on a Sizzix Cabinet Card movers & shapers die cut.  The brass effect on the platform is gold foil paper given a coat of matt gel medium  - I was very happy with the way it came out.  Once it was embossed and assembled, I gave it a wash of black acrylic with a bit of transparent yellow iron oxide mixed in to get the sooty effect.  The console is a cotton reel, painted and covered with gold vinyl and bits of peel-off, held up with bendy bits of bendy straws and some dew drops coloured in alcohol ink glued on.

The back is made from a plastic dome coloured with Pebeo Vitrail and Moon fantasy paints - the pattern is cut, using my Cameo, in gold vinyl.  The clock face is a chipboard embellishment and the chair is made from foam board, covered in faux leather (see Sheena Douglass's YouTube video for the method)  I do hope you like it!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's twelve tags...February

Time for the second of Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2014.   As usual, I've tried to keep faithful to the original and I think I've done an OK job.  I love that chalkboard technique!

This month, however, I'm doing a twofer.  I don't often run out and buy EVERYTHING that Tim uses on his tags (...because I already have most of it...) but this time I had to have that stamp - I love that song and that sentiment is just beautiful!  It was just perfect for my husband's Valentine (yes, I am a big soppy old thing!)

If you've been following this blog, you've probably guessed that I painted the MDF heart gold and applied Kroma crackle, which I coloured with Dylusions sprays once it was dry, then stamped the sentiment onto tissue and dolloped on some gel medium to adhere it to the base.  The rest of the embellies are bits and bobs from around the place - the picture in the heart pendant is one of our wedding photos, covered in clear UTEE.

I do hope you liked it - thank you for visiting!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

You handsome devil!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Valentine’s day at Left of Center!

Our challenge them this time is “Demon Lovers” and we’re sponsored by Rick St Denis. I’m using Amulet.

The sentiment on his chest reads “To a devil from a devil – who the devil sent it?” (It’s one of those things that we used to write on Valentine cards when I was a girl, you know, like “Roses are red, violets blue, a face like yours belongs in a zoo”. Come to think of it, I never did get many romantic Valentine cards...)

The digi is a simple print coloured in with Promarkers and cut out. It’s sitting in a “Popping Box” card. The template for this came from a Robert Addams CD, which comes with several pre-
designed styles but also some blank templates, and I based my card on one of these. They are really, really easy to make. (You can download the pre-designed sheets from Rob’s website for a very modest 99p each). I did my eyesight a power of no good at all by printing the template onto black card – you could just see it, and once I’d made the box I cut panels from Hunkydory card (in my stash). Easy-peasy!

Hope you like it! We’d love to see what you’ve made – so come on, share with us at LOC! (There’s a prize from our super sponsor up for grabs!)

You blood-red roses

Our boots and clothes are all in pawn,

Go down, you blood red roses, go down!

It's mighty drafty round Cape Horn.

Go down, you blood red roses, go down!

All you pinks and posies,

Go down, you blood red roses, go down!

I've had this sea shanty in my head ever since starting work on my projects for Ikesworld Challenge Blog's DT entry in the Smeared and Smudged  My Bloody Valentine blog hop.  I admit to being an old folkie from way back, and loved the rousing harmonies.  So it's the inspiration for my third blog hop piece - red roses signifying love and all that smooshy stuff!

I've used two of Ike's digis on this - Candle Poe and Gothic Window.  Well, seeing that Poe-sies are mentioned in the shanty (sorry!)  Master Poe had to get in there somewhere!  The Rose stamp was a free covermount from Craft Stamper magazine - it's a small version of one made by Visible Image.  The card is a pocket sleeve pop-up - it folds flat to fit in an envelope but stands up nicely when the tab is pulled.

PS - I'm entering this in the Quoth the Raven challenge - How doth I loveth thee?

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Here's my heart

Day 2 of the Smeared and Smudged My Bloody Valentine Blog Hop as part of the Ikesworld Challenge blog DT.  Today it's a nice simple card from me..just a bit of lettering on a background of red with black hearts...

until you pull on the card edges and then...

up pops the heart!  The great thing about digi stamps- this one is "the Tell-Tale Heart" - is that they can be any size you like.  I enlarged this one quite a bit - it's only a tiny bit of the whole digi.  The card is a "waving flag" card- you can find the template and instructions here.

And as this is rather anti-Valentine, I'm entering it in the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers blog challenge!
Thanks for visiting!

xxx Keren

Love lies bleeding

Here we go with the Smeared and Smudged My Bloody Valentine blog hop, and the Ikesworld
Challenge Blog Design Team is joining in the fun!

The blog hoppers (you can see them here) are linking up for three days, today, tomorrow and
Friday. My piece for today is “Love Lies Bleeding”. I used the “Vamp” digi stamp from Ike’s new releases (SOOO lush!).

 I’ve had the heart plaque for a while – I bought it from the supermarket for £1-50 – it originally had “Home Sweet Home” printed on it but I soon changed that with a coat of black gesso! I gave is some texture with spider web net, painted it red and added some texture paste through a
Tim Holtz stencil then coloured it again with Dylusions sprays. It’s a substantial size – about eight inches from top to bottom – so isn’t it great that digital
stamps are easy to resize (and flip horizontally as well?)

The Vamp I printed out onto tissue paper (the kind you pack things in, not Kleenex) and I painted white acrylic over the back before I coloured the front with alcohol markers. (I’m still not tired of this technique!) The next bit was a happy accident. I probably should have given the Dylusion’d bit a coat of sealer before I stuck the tissue picture to the base - it became a lot redder than I'd planned!  But I decided I liked it...

Last of all I die-cut the letters from cardboard and painted them black.  Once I'd stuck them down I gave them a light rub with gilding wax.  And there he is!

See you later!

xxx Keren