September 20, 2011

Autumn Kindness & 1st Blog-iversary

I would like to thank YOU for YOUR kindness!  Today marks my one-year blog-iversay!  It has been a wonderful and fun experience sharing my art and meeting so many fantastic artists through blogging.  I appreciate all your comments as you supported my artwork and the time you spent visiting with me in my studio. 
 

For this autumn thank you, Reverse Wonky Rectangles were used for the card base and layers.  Before removing the die from the water color paper, a variety of distress inks were applied to the exposed center frame.  Leaving the die frame in place, Paisley Outline was stamped on top with Vintage Sepia ink.  Don’t worry that the metal die is elevated and the stamped design does not fully reach the edges.  This creates a great fade-in for the pattern and another visual “level” within the inked space.  For highlights, random gel pen markings were added to the Paisley design.


Hand-pierced holes allowed the spacing and alignment for the sewing to be tailored to the shape.  Inked heavy-weight thread was then sewn around the design.  Laying the piece face up on a foam mat provided a soft surface to de-emboss around the stitching.  An embossing stylus or bone folder are great tools to use for tracing.


The sentiment is stamped on vellum with black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear powder.  The edges were torn before attaching the band across the rectangle.  (Hint:  Before wrapping vellum around a curved edge, trace the curve on the vellum with a stylus giving the paper a scored, curved line.  Then, as in sewing, from the end of the band cut one or two slits up to the scored line.  The slits will relieve the tension of the paper as it is wrapped around the curve and result in smoother wrap on the edge.)




The pot from Amaryllis was stamped twice on watercolor paper in black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear powder.  Color was added with Faber-Castell Pitt Pens.  While constructing the pot, the base image was curved and shaped creating side surfaces that would be flat for gluing.  A small piece of dimensional foam in the center of the pot (when attached to the card) helps maintain the shape.  The top of the pot was paper pieced for added dimension.  The flowers from Sun Days were created in the same manner and then “fussy” cut with scissors and a craft knife.

With sincere appreciation for all your kindness, smiles and hugs this past year....

Elizabeth

Supplies:
Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Blue Lagoon 09-003
3M Scotch: Dimensional Foam Tape
Canson: 140 lb. Watercolor Paper
Faber-Castell: Pitt Artist Pen Big Brush (Orange Glaze #113, Deep Scarlet Red #219, Cobalt Turquoise #153, Light Cobalt Turquoise #154) 
Mark Richards: Amber Gemstones
Ranger: Antique Linen Distress, Vintage Photo Distress, Shabby Shutters Distress, Fired Brick Distress
Sakura: White Gel Pen
Spellbinders: Reverse Wonky Rectangle Nestabilities (S4-307)
Tsukineko: Vintage Sepia VersaFine, Onyx Black VersaFine, Delicata Golden Glitz Ink, Sponge Daubers, Clear Embossing Powder
Other: Heavy Carpet Thread, Needle, Vellum