SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

I loved colouring Holly by REBECCA SINZ for our blog hop so much I chose to colour her again.  This time I wanted to use more colour creating a different feel and attitude to the stamp.

I am forever trying different skin colour combinations and techniques.  I'm afraid I wasn't really confident of where to stop and so thought I may have over coloured the face!  I used the blender pen on the skin to help tone-in and I thought the hair was too flat so lifted some ink off with the blender pen which is now my most used pen!

I thought I would make another book as this is my favourite thing to make at the moment and to be honest I am always writing things down so I guess note books are added to my list of GIRL MUST HAVE THINGS!

I've struggled this week with my back and so I wasn't able to start my project until this morning.  As I am running in the wind - as to speak - I have not been able to bind the book to show you.  However, if time allows tomorrow I will finish and add another photo.

Nearly forgot Rebecca Sinz's Holly is available here as a single stamp or part of a plate of four stamps.  Eight new stamps have also been released by Rebecca here.

More details are available on my blog here.

Best wishes,

Variations Week : Sharon's View

 This week's chosen stamp is DREAMING OF AQUAMARINE TIDES by Katerina Koukiotis available here.  There is also a plate featuring this image and 3 others available here.

 My inspiration was limited by several things.  Firstly I have slipped some discs in my back and at least one of them is trapping a nerve so I am also suffering from Sciatica - hence any crafting has been very limited and things have had to be done a lot quicker than normal.  I usually like to play with ideas before finalising on the one I like the most!

I started my project by colouring the image and thought I'd go black and white for quickness - thinking that black and white would work with any papers - so would be able to save time by not spending hours sorting out colours etc.

Firstly, I coloured the skin tones with the Cool greys which looked OK and quite like a black and white photograph.  Then a day or two later I thought I would use the Warm greys for the eyes and lips - which I did.  Having coloured the eyes and lips I was unsure the cool greys worked that well so I decided to use one of the palest warm greys and completely cover previous colouring - warming the skin tones to work with the eyes and lips.

Still unsure I deliberately left the shell and girls nails white.  I decided to keep the contract and just add a little stickles glitter glue to the shell edges.

Feeling the image still needed something but not sure what - I decided to add some PVA pearl glue for faux pearls, adding these to the girl's eye lashes and hair strands.

Having finished the image I was left with the dilemma of WHAT NEXT!  Well I thought about making a note book using a tag and various connotations of this idea.  Having not been able to decide all day what to do I decided to leave.

This morning I remembered I had partly re-covered my telephone/address book but had left the project uncompleted as it just didn't work with anything I was working with at the time.  Today, I decided that I was going to make it work after all black and white would work with anything!

OK, not quite convinced plodded on regardless.  After re-attaching the index papers back to the cover it was just a case of decorating!

Hope you like it!  Overall I quite like it although I would have made the frame a bit more prominent.

The variations is the photo's are because some where taken on top of the photo tent and others in the tent!

For more information please check out my blog here.

Best wishes,

MARLON TEUNISSEN

For today's project I thought I would use these fabulous stamps from MARLON TEUNISSEN'S COLLECTION to create a PASSPORT cover.

The stamps are available singularly or as a plate here.

The Pilot
Steam Angel

To make this cover I used an empty Cereal box, covered both sides and then used a sewing machine to edge.  Unfortunately I didn't check the stitches before starting so the stitching isn't set on the proper tension but the effect is OK.

I then finished colouring the images and cut the die cut shapes - having another mishap - the die slipped whilst embossing but again I quite liked the effect!

To strengthen the spine I gilded and decorated with PVA glue faux pearls.  I decided not to add too many embellishments as I wanted the cover to remain quite flat.

Further details can be found on my blog here.

Best wishes,

SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

Just as you think you've got thing under control!

Earlier this week I tried to address an eye problem I'd been suffering with for the last couple of months.  Decided it was time for action so I set about armed with tea bags, creams, lotions and potions.  Well what can I say eyes felt wonderful until the next morning when I woke up to find I couldn't open them!  

Glad to say that after treatment from the Doctors and a box full of medications my eyes are not only feeling better but looking good!

Unfortunately, just as I resolved one problem I suffer another one and managed to twist my back carrying the hoover down stairs.  Since then I managed to stretch and injure my back even more!  I am now awaiting an appointment to fix my slipped discs so in extreme pain and totally immobile!

Guess that's no crafting for the next few days!

However,  back to this week's inspiration.  I made a Journal type booklet - due to my incapacity I was more random with my design than I usually would be - but overall I quite like the effect.

I used Anna Marine's Spider Web available here.  (Available as a single stamp or a stamp plate of 4 stamps).

More details can be found here on my blog.

Best wishes,

...... COPICS?

Last week I coloured the same image with watercolouring pencils.  Which do you prefer?

For my first project back after being AWOL for a couple of weeks I have chosen one of the gorgeous new stamps by Elisabeth Bell.  This one is called STARR and she's just the cutest.

I've seen some wonderful projects demonstrated by my DT colleagues using this image so I hope I've done her justice.

I've had the skin tones coloured for some time so just needed to decide on a colour scheme and finish colouring my image with my copics markers.  As I'm in the middle of re-decorating the whole house my crafting room has become a total mine field so I have been limited as to what is available to use.

I don't know if everyone is as dis-organised as me but I have crafting stuff stored in every room. At the moment I am re-decorating the smallest bedroom and have even taken off the door so that the bed can be moved and the room opened up.  All the crafting bits from this room are littered on the landing, and the second bedroom - thankfully I have kept ours free of any crafting bits.  So to make life easier I just took the top paper pad and decided to make my project around these colours.

I struggled a bit with the design - funny how quickly you can lose your flair or creativity!  I think that it's the design that has me stumped the most at the moment.  I usually fine the first project the most difficult after having a break away from crafting no matter how short!

Best wishes,

WATERCOLOURING OR .......

I used watercolouring pencils to colour this gorgeous stamp from Elisabeth Bell called STARR. For this stamp or any of the other Elisabeth Bell collections click here.

I coloured this some time ago and then decided I didn't like my colouring  - but having not seen it for some time I've quite forgotten why I didn't like it!  Maybe it's just a case of stepping back sometimes, working close up and personal you just start seeing mistakes and problems!

I do definitely remember having one disaster after another which probably added to my growing disatisfaction.   Having coloured the tail I decided I didn't like the effect so I covering with stickles glitter glue thinking that would add texture and subtly cover the colouring/colour!  Not so, once the image had dried I hated the stickles - it had dried flat and lifeless - so I scraped it all off.  

In removing the stickles with a knife the tail got damaged but I really like the distressed look - adding texture to the fin.  I had seen a Watercolour painter distressing his painting with a knife to achieve the surf on the water and also distressing rocks in the same way to add aging and texture - so idea was not completely my own!

I used liquid chalk for the sky and was unsure about the result achieved.  The fantasy hair colour was a new one for me and definitely took me out of my comfort zone.

I hope I have encouraged those of us out there who are very critical to go back and take another look at your projects - you may be surprised by want you see!

More information can be found on my blog here.

Best wishes,

SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

Today I am sharing a card front made using Karen Middleton's Rag Dolls collection called  LITTLE DAISY. (This stamp is also available as a plate of four stamps, Sheet 2, Plate 114.  I have to admit that the card I had planned to make was one using the gorgeous new Mermaid stamps from Elisabeth Bell but I just couldn't find any papers I liked to make the card having coloured the image first.  May be that will be next week's post!

Back to this project I coloured the image with Watercolouring pencils and used stickles glitter glue to highlight the wings and daisy.  I have just made the card front as I am thinking of making into a Trinket box and hadn't got any heavy duty cardboard to make the box.  So will show the finished box and a future posting.

The papers were from Bo Bunny probably an old collection as I found them buried in the back of a cupboard.

Check out my blog here for more details.

Best wishes,

SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

This is another first for me I thought I'd try colouring with pencils (Polychromo and Prisma) on Brown card.  Nothing special about this card just used some recycled card  - a little course but I quite liked the natural bits in the card.

The image I used was another Karen Middleton stamp called simply FACE 3.  There are three stamps in this series, Face 1, Face 2 and Face 3 although there are many other stamps by Karen Middleton featuring female head and shoulders - all quite different and beautiful is their own rights.

Best wishes,

TREASURE BOX

2013 is fast becoming the Year of Water Colouring for me.  I used (Watercolouring Pencils) Supra Color Soft Pencils to colour this gorgeous image from Elaine Cox called BESS.  

BESS is also available as a plate of four rubber stamps - all of which are my all time favourite images from Elaine.  Stamps can be found here.

Originally I was going to make a box to house our telephone book and message pad but now I'm thinking maybe something a bit more girly!

Hope you like it, more information can be found here on my blog.

Best wishes,

SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

Today I wasn't sure what to make and not wanted to make a card I wondered what would suit this gorgeous stamp from Anna Marines Art Collection called SPIDERS WEB I have to add she is still one of my all time favourites from Anna.

Anna Marines Sheet 3, Plate170 or as a single stamp here.

Well I have to say I love note books and writing things down so I thought I'd have a go at a book mark.  I have in the past had a go at making a corner bookmark but then found I didn't have an images that work that well for me so it never got completed.

I have to admit my inspiration has come from one of my team member's Milo, I liked her bookmarks made using a Key lock.  Hence my inspiration point!

I also had another go at Watercolour last week and having gained a bit more experience I thought I'd have another go.  This time I kepted the open spaces white and regularly dipped my brush so that I could kept the light and dark ratio.

Hope you like this simply bookmark which has been weighted down with fairly heavy charms.

For more information of dies etc used check out my blog here.

Best wishes,

SWEETPEA DT INSPIRATION

I haven't got a project to share with you but I do have a couple of images coloured by my Niece a while ago and now hanging on my Fridge/Freezer.

This first one was probably done when she was 4 years and the later one was done a little while later.  She's now 5 years old and her colouring amazes me as she is very good at colouring within the lines.  I didn't have a Sweetpea image to share of her latest colouring but the reason I thought I would share it to show how young children don't have the restraints we have when colouring they don't spend alot of time deciding what colours work best together etc.  I love her freedom to use any colour and just enjoy.

Stamps:  
1   Elisabeth Bell's A Warm Fuzzy Hug and Be My Valentine - available here
2   Victoria Wade's Snow Buddies - available here

Best wishes,  

Sharon

Variations Week: Sharon's View

This week is Variation Week at Sweetpea and we have all been sharing our inspiration using the same image.

The image is called HELLO BIRDIE and is by Valerie Wade and is available here.

I decided to make a tag - hope you like it!

For more information you can check out my blog here.

Best wishes,