Carte a Jouer #9

The subject for this challenge is Baby and the Shabby Chic Technique shown on Isa's blog http://carteajouer.blogspot.com/. shabby chic items are chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, minimalistic, and feminine feel is emphasized to differentiate it from regular vintage decor; hence the "chic" in the name. I chose my paper to be pink for a girl baby, the only link to the baby subject I'm afraid. I wanted to focus on the feminine and antiqued side of the challenge.

The cardstock is embossed and attached to the playing card with decoupage medium, thin watery shades of pale pink and ivory acrylic paint are brushed lightly over the whole card. The embossed stems and flower petals are then highlighted with a dab of white acrylic paint to make them stand out more. I edged the card with ivory cord with beads and punched a heart out of the original cardstock and again brushed lightly with watery pink paint. The "ADORE" saying was stamped with pink acrylic paint and attached directly onto the heart. The heart is placed at an angle on top of the corded edge. If you click on the image you can see the detail better.

Carte a Jouer Challenge #8 - Picasso's Nude

The latest challenge on Isa's Carte a Jouer (see link to the right)is to use crumpled paper in some way that is highlighted and a nude. I don't want to offend anyone who doesn't like the nude art form so I chose a painting that I love by Picasso and I drew her in chalks and mounted her by a stream made of crumpled onion skin paper torn at an angle with the edge burnt and scrunched up to make raised areas. The water and grass I coloured with chalks in shades of blue and green paying particular attention to the raised areas of the onion skin paper. The shimmer in the water is sprinkled crushed gold glass.

Carte a Jouer # 6 and 7

I am so far behind with my crafting work that I have missed the deadlines for these two playing cards. Still I carry on and try to catch up. The challenge #6 was Christmas and melted plastic. I tried lots of time to get a melted shape that I could use on my card. Some plastic was too thick to punch with my blunt punches, I tried embossing them first and the impressions melted away when heated with the heat gun, but finally I found a piece of oval plastic that was already 3 dimensional and when heated gave the look of a bevelled glass window. I embossed the back with white powder to give the look of snow and highlighted the raised parts of the window with silver ink. Dark blue star paper stuck on the back and the window was then mounted onto corrugated paper highlighted with rub-ons to look like striped wallpaper. A band of crochet silks was wrapped around the window to frame it and a small piece of a carol stuck underneath.

Challenge #7 was snow and a method to teach. I embossed a piece of cardstock with my cuttlebug, then painted it white with acrylic paint and then a layer of blue highlight Lumiere paint. When heated with the heat gun the paint bubbled to give the look of snow falling. Stamped and embossed snowman, letters and edging were then added.

New Year, new enthusiasm

Having spent the last two months of 2010 creating nothing but Christmas cards and travelling round the country I thought it was time to get going again with my craft hobby. I made the following tag book for the group Art 'n' Soul. The only stipulation was that it be 4 tags with button/buttons on each side.

The front has "If my words had wings" saying stamped on this pretty paper then a button flower added with stems made of wire and the leaves filled with green tissue paper soaked in collage medium, I will use this technique again the result is great. The stamped butterfly clear embossed and cut out and is mounted on foam squares to give a 3 dimensional look. The edges of the tag are rubbed with metallic rub-on. the rest of the saying "they would fly to you each day" was stamped and clear heat embossed on the reverse side. The bird stamp I inked with felt pens so that I could get a red breast to the bird, and clear heat embossed. The next tag used a beautiful paper that needed little to embellish it, so I added some flower buttons threaded with corded ribbon for stems and tied together into a bouquet with contrasting ribbon. the diamond shaped paper on the next side was dry embossed and highlighted with rub-ons. A paper flower made from cut and twisted contrasting papers and clear button was added to the center. For the next side a bee on this stamp represents summer in the middle of a this snow storm of gems, rub on snow flakes and silvered buttons. The sand and sea tag has muslin net inked with aqua and shells, seaweed and starfish are trapped within it. For the next side I stamped and stencilled this pretty paper tag and mounted an ink coloured wooden tree with buttons for oranges. The back tag is stamped and heat embossed with clear powder. A frame lined with lace was added and stickers, stamps and tiny scissors coloured with silver rub-on placed around it. I fastened the tags together using a charm leash threaded with beads.