Bowing out

My last DT piece for Left of Center, at least for the time being.  I need to take a break and relieve the pressure a bit, so I'm stepping down.  It's been the most enormous fun and my teamies are a very talented bunch, so do hop over there and see what they've created.

This week's theme (yes, LOC challenges are now weekly!) is "Fairies", sponsored by Delicious Doodles.  I've used Steampunk fairy - I love the look on her face!  She's been printed on tissue (no, I'm still not tired of the technique) coloured on the reverse with alcohol markers (Promarkers in this case) and then glued onto a painted wooden coaster with Mod Podge.  I gave her a coat of Crackle paint but wasn't thrilled with the look so I put gloss Mod Podge over the top - and got this rather interesting texture.  Happy accident time!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my projects for LOC and that you'll continue playing.  I'll still be around blogland - so if you see me, say hi, OK?

xxx 

Keren

LOC Spring Fling

Spring is in the air and it's time for a new challenge at Left of Center.  Our theme is "Spring Fling" and we are sponsored by Delicious Doodles.  I'm using Rosie.  I've coloured the digi using Photoshop and cropped it into an oval shape before printing onto tissue.  While I was at it, I printed out a small size oval as well (and a few spares in both sizes - I may make more projects later!)
Applying the image to the candle by heating with a heat gun (using baking paper to keep it in place ) is so quick and easy.  Hope you like it.


Crafty hugs,

Keren

Left of Center Challenge- My favourite book

There’s lots going on at Left of Center at the moment – as well as the latest challenge, we are celebrating our first year as a challenge blog by sharing a project every day for the month and introducing the new sponsors who have generously agreed to offer a prize for future challenges.  Keep visiting LOC to make sure you’re up-to-date with the latest news.Today, though, our challenge is sponsored by one of our favourites – Delicious Doodles – and our theme is “Favourite Book”.  I’m using “La Rosa Muerta” to illustrate J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s story “Carmilla”. 

If you haven’t read “Carmilla”, it’s a real Gothic vampire story, full of mystery and imagination;  it was written before “Dracula” and may have given Bram Stoker some inspiration. I’ve coloured the digi with alcohol markers (Spectrum Noirs this time) in shades of brown and gold to try to mimic the look of old, faded colours, and mounted it on the cover of a mini-album, constructed out of chipboard and covered with brown card.  I’ve tried to mimic the look of leather by brayering PVA over the card.  I’ve tried this technique with a number of media - gel medium keeps its texture well as it dries; PVA flattens out a bit but the end result is like a fine-grained leather (if you try this, make sure you have a bowl of water handy to clean the brayer immediately, or be prepared to spend some time picking dried PVA off the roller.)  I embossed the card after I cut the oval for the picture out of it, and rubbed a tiny bit of gold wax over the surface to pick up the texture.

Inside, I covered the book with marbled paper which I’ve had in my stash for a long time – it was from Joanna Sheen but I don’t think she sells it any more (sad face) and added pages using Laura Denison’s “Stack the Deck” method.  Now all I have to do is decorate the pages ...

I do hope you like the mini album – and we’d love to see your projects.  There’s a prize from our sponsor up for grabs at LOC, and joining in the fun is easy.  See you there!

Crafty hugs,

New Year - New beginnings

Hello blog friends!  Time for a  new challenge at Left of Center, and as we've just arrived in 2014 the theme is New Year - New Beginnings.  This challenge is brought to you by Delicious Doodles, and I've combined two of Teri's digis in this project.

I used Gothic Bride & Groom and Romantic Clock Frame  and made a faux book - 

The cover is black card with gel medium brayered over the surface - it does a great job of imitating leather and is very, very easy to do!  The heart embellishment is moulded out of cold porcelain which is my latest favourite thing -  you can buy it ready made or, the best bit, make it at home from PVA,Cornflour, baby oil and vinegar or lemon juice.

I've made a how-to for the insert - you can find it here.  

I do hope you enjoyed your visit and will join in the fun at Left of Center.  Your project can meet the criteria of the challenge OR be "Left of Center" or both - and there's a prize from our sponsor up for grabs as well.  See you there?

Crafty Hugs

Keren