SATURATED CANARY NEW RUBBER STAMPS

Hey guys,

As you may be aware the new batch of Saturated Canary rubber stamps were launched at CHA for the trade to order for their stores! So I wanted to do some cards/projects with the new stamps before they are available in the shops so you could choose your favourites ready for ordering in a couple of weeks time when they arrive!  This beauty is named 'Breeze' and she is stunning isn't she? I haven't gone overboard on the embellishments as I don't think she needs them, she is stunning in those colours without going crazy on the extras, so here she is, hope you like what I've done with her and hope to see you real soon, back here with the next S.C image
Hugs, Vick xxx

The full card in all its loveliness

   

 

The angled shot

WHAT I BELIEVE MIXED MEDIA TO BE

So how do I interpret Mixed Media?

I love the thought of making use of several different mediums and making a right old mess!!! LOL....so....lets be honest, its pretty much, grown up playing, with grown up tools and mediums!

Like paints, acrylics, oils, heat guns, hot glue, and ironing (I do need to interject here that no actual ironing of 'clothes' is undertaken, cause lets be brutally honest here, that would be totally criminal, yeah?)
It seems to me that mixed media is exactly what it says, mixed media! So pretty much anything and everything that you have in at that moment in time and want to add. So adding to the list above may be, wax, fibres, inks, stamps, paper, card, plastic, ribbon, lace, fabric, cheesecloth, bitumen, sand, metal, crayon, burlap/hessian, oils, embossing pastes & powders, whatever your heart desires. And add lots of layers, I've noticed that mixed media projects such as boxes, journals, book covers and canvasses have many layers on them, and I think this is to add colour texture and interest to the piece, or that's how&why I would do it! And also that a lot of work and personal artistic licence has gone into their making.
So, along with this and Altered Art, I love the precious time I spend around my arty, crafty things, and because of illness its a lot less time than I would want to have! however, the illness and disabilities were really the main reason why I got into this kind of crafting, in the first place, although I have always crafted in some form or another since the age of 6 when I was taught by my mum how to embroider.
I find that crafting eases my mind, slows my breathing and helps block out the constant barrage of pain I am in on a daily basis, its' my therapy, my saviour at times and my way of not becoming totally insane, well maybe there isn't any hope for me with the latter in mind, I think I was there a long long time ago!! But hey, crafting is fun! when it goes right! and if it doesn't? its what Bob Ross called a happy accident, and he was right!! I rarely throw away mistakes, cause I can always paint over them, rip them into something else, add something on top, whatever, cause I hate waste!! I am also the biggest skin flint miser going where my crafty stash is concerned, I hoard it all the time and have a vault the size of a house!!!!  LOL!!! I don't like parting with anything!
I don't know about you lot, but my projects very rarely turn out how I envisaged them in the beginning, that's if I actually get an idea at the beginning!!! the projects usually just emerge as I continue to 'play' and there is no rhyme or reason to it, it just 'is'.

So, on my pc hard drive and in my head, I've indulged into Mixed Media & Altered Art many moons ago, after discovering my favourite artist, in this field, Finnabair/Anna Dabrowski ( I do hope I have spelt that correctly, can't be bothered to check online)  you can find her amazing self and blog HERE
I have actually made little embellies and things that can be added to a project of that Mixed Media & Altered Art ilk but not actually made anything until now. There are so many great experts out there in blogland and on Youtube to watch and drool over, another mentor&idol of mine is a lovely lady on Youtube called MsLiberty25 (Miranda) she is absolutely awesome and I adore her, & everything she makes! She loves all things altered and her work is out of this world, she loves metal and can do things with it I would never have even thought of, let alone actually try! You can find Miranda's channel HERE

So, there you go, that's my thoughts on what Mixed Media is, and I hope one day, like me, you get the bug and try something new! If you do? make sure to drop me a line so I can check it out
Hugs, Blessings and much crafty love, Vick xxx

 

MY FIRST JOURNAL COVER

Hey there,

This is the first journal cover I have done and it will become a techniques/design journal, with all my ideas for creating projects!
I used Graphic 45 embossed Coredinations black card, backed with chipboard, I sanded it back and added gilding waxes, in 'Amethyst' and 'Vintage Plum' from Sam Poole's shop HERE I added my favourite colours of Aubergine and Purple, rose trim, flowers & embellies from my own stash from Wild Orchid Crafts..

***PHOTO HEAVY POST***
The full journal cover

Close up of my clay handmade key and crackled stamps

Close up of embossed wax background

close up of clay handmade key & frame

Close up of handmade cameo

the professional (haha) angled shot

The cameo, frame and key are all made by me from air dry clay, in my handmade silicone moulds from shop bought embellishments that I made myself. They are then painted with black acrylic paint, and then waxed with several different colours, 'vintage plum' 'pewter' 'lilac gold' and 'amethyst'. The metal corner isn't a corner at all, it is a square that I have bent over the corner and glued down with acrylic glue. Some of the flowers are made by me and the rest are shop bought and waxed from my stash.
I hope you like it, thanks for looking, hugs,

Vick xx

SHABBY CHIC TO A 'T'

And today children we will be playing with the letter 'T' LOL........hey there folks, a couple of weeks ago whilst at a craft fair with my best friend Theresa, we bought some bits and pieces of MDF shapes and some other goodies too, and Theresa, gave me this 'T' to decorate for her cause she wasn't sure how to go about it and knew I would do something nice for her so I took it off her hands and decorated it like it is below here!
I went for the shabby chic style as I love it im sure Theresa does too, but her favourite colour is blues and turquoises so I thought, go with a sky blue pink (shabby chic shades) theme.
So I painted the whole letter in cream acrylic paint and then mixed some Kroma Crackle that you can buy HERE with sky blue acrylic paint in one mixing pot, and the same KC with a pale pink, I then added them to the 'T' with a palette knife in a random fashion.
After that had got to the state of crackle that I wanted I added a clear acrylic seal (as this stops further cracking & protects your work by adding a seal) you can use your own but if you don't have any you can buy that too from the same place its called 'Slap it On' then when that was dry I sprayed over it with pink glitter spray and varnish spray.
I added cream satin ribbon to all the sides, and on top of that laid down a natural crocheted lace, i added my embellishments with my glue gun where I wanted them, and voila!! we have the loveliness below, I hope you like it, im sure my friend 'T' will, hugs x V

ROYAL NEWS!

Hey there folks!

How are you today? well here in the U.K we have Royal Baby fever, I and hubby have been glued to the News for the past couple of days since Kate went into labour and then waiting for the new Prince to come home with his mummy (Kate) and daddy (Will's) we are very laid back here but if you aren't familiar with their names, they are HRH's Prince (Duke of Cambridge) William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge, our future King and his beautiful wife, they have just given this country the future (3rd in line) king of England. Its been so exciting here and we are now letting them settle in with their new baby but we are still awaiting the naming of the Prince, I like William after his father, or Michael as first names! And hubby likes the idea of George, anyway, that is what I have been doing, being very patriotic, love it all!!!
Hugs for now, from Vick and the hubster xxx

INDIGO BLU FEST!!!!

Well howdy folks,

I thought I would say hi and show you the latest cards to come out of the madness that is Vick's crafty space, well, a corner of my small bedroom, lol......anyway, I thought I would make some cards out of some indigo blu stamp sets I have I hope you like them

**THIS POST IS PHOTO HEAVY**



 

 

INDIGO BLU STAMPS

Hi Folks,

Here is a card made from the brilliant Indigo Blu Stamps CLICK HERE where you will find outstanding value&quality red rubber stamps and top quality products that are such fun to play with! I had the stamp set 'Live Laugh Love' to play with, and play I did.  I made the card below into an 8x8 card and used one of the beautiful sentiments from the set and 3 different flowers from the same set, it's such a great all rounder, with images for men too! And the sentiments are in beautiful fonts that are so pleasing to the eye! Hope you like what I have created, if you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments and I will answer as soon as!!
Hugs, V x

the full card

a close up on the beautiful sentiment

the professional (hehehe) angled shot

and the beautiful bow

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients used to make this card

 

 

DP is 'Rose Garden' by First Edition Paper

Indigo Blu A5 stamp sheet 'Live Laugh Love'

Spellbinders Labels 4 & Grand Labels 4

Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles used for the Sentiment

Spellbinders Venetian sets

Black Leather effect card

Soft Gold Pearlescent Card

Crushed Silk Black ribbon

A sewn on Antique button from my stash

2 Ivory Heart hatpins from my stash

Melissa Frances ivory self adhesive Pearls

Dove in Das Air dry clay, handmade by me!

Cosmic Shimmer E.P in 'Ancient Copper'

Versamark Embossing Inkpad

and lastly

Metal corners rubbed with Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Wax in

'Cast Bronze' to tie them in (colourwise) to my project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

CRAFTERS.........CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

Through The Purple Haze Challenges: Christmas Competition for the crafter who enters a...: How about something to whet your appetite? Do you like competitions where you can win a lovely bundle of goodies? Well here you can!! ...

SATURATED SUNDAY!!

Hey there folks,

I thought I would join in the fun at Saturated Canary's fortnightly blog challenge HERE and its all about strange coloured hair! #44 "Hair that is different"  Even though brighter more gawdy colours are for the younger generation, we had a long tradition for years where elderly women would have something called the 'Blue Rinse' and it was a mix between a fabby lilac and sky blue, it was kinda cool!!
So as Blanche is one of the, lets say, middle aged stamps of the lot, I thought she would look snazzy with a 'Purple Rinse' so that is why she can be entered into this challenge, why not have a go and see what you come up with? I often colour my stamps in with strange coloured hair just to have more fun with them and usually they never make online and take a leap head first into my bin, but this time Blanche is here to stay........its not one of my best cards but I hope you like it all the same, Hug&Blessings, hope you have a great Sunday!!
V xx

MY FIRST SPECTRUM NOIR COLOURING

Hey there folks,

Well I am now the proud owner of my first 48 Spectrum Noir pens, and will buy 24 every month until I have the whole lot. But, today I had a play for the first time and did a pretty much 'ok' colouring with them, I will do a review on my findings, good and bad, as a video this week and will post the link here, but for now, here is my first colouring using the 'Speccies', as I have heard them affectionately called!! Hope you like it, and it cheers you up, cause its been torrentially raining all day here and its been grey and dreary, not a bit of sky has been seen, just thick, grey rain clouds!! so I hope this makes you smile, at the very least.......it will reach a card or project before the end of the week! Hopefully........Hugs & bye for now crafters ......Love, Vick xx

MY SATURATED CANARY VIDEO, GUEST SPOT & SHOUT OUT TO THE WONDERFUL KRISTA SMITH

Hey there people,

As you may know, as it's in my sidebar, I am the Team leader for the Design Team on YT of Saturated Canary, and another idea of mine was to allow the ladies on mine and Krista's design team (Krista, is the lovely Krista Smith, artist & owner of Saturated Canary, if you didn't know already, can't believe there's many peeps in the craft world who haven't heard of her) a guest spot once a week to showcase & share with followers what they can do with their stamps, digi or rubbah! as well as their videos that they do every week too, they are a lovely bunch of girlies and I love each and everyone of them, including our gracious & very unassuming Krista, whom in my opinion is not only a fantastic mama & business woman but an awesome human being who listens intently to my madcap schemes, allows them and has always pardoned this mad English woman who stalks her!! LOL.......
Anyway, she is very modest and will probably hate this blog post, upto now, but I don't care!! she won't blow her own trumpet and I understand that as I am the same but I will blow it for her, she is a blooming good 'boss' if I can call her that.........she'll hate that too.........(sticks tongue out) nah nah nah nah nah............lol

So, here is my guest spot project and also is my video this time, you can see the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqzqQQb7lQ  for Part 1 and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGnTcxEEAs for Part.2 the reason I made 2 videos this time was I thought now and again, it is nice to see how a larger project is made from start to finish and because of my channel I am allowed longer videos however, I still broke it up into 2 videos as the first one is 'how to do a crackle effect' Where I turn a boring piece of MDF into a vintage looking cracked piece of wood with normal PVA glue and acrylic paint. Now I have done this before a few years back but that was on my personal channel Vixcrafts here http://www.youtube.com/user/vixcrafts so that is why I made the project into 2 videos for people who already can do or know this technique and are only interested in the actual project. I made the 2nd video with 'warts an all' deliberately crafting 'on the hoof' so not knowing what I want it to look like in the end or what I wanted to use, with emphasis on the concept of composition, texture and colour combos!  for those that either aren't sure about these things or haven't done this before.

So, IF YOU ARE STILL WITH ME AFTER ALL THAT, LOL without further ado, here are my pics!!! Hope you like my project

OH DEAR M.I.A YET AGAIN!!! MAYBE I WILL STOP CRAFTING, NOT SURE

Oh I am so so sorry to all my blog followers, I know I haven't got many but the ones I do have I value so very much!
Recently my disabilities have stopped me from crafting altogether and I have made NOTHING. This has upset me as I love to craft, and even though I have just bought a meltpot and some pens (all yet to be delivered) I am of the mindset to sell everything I have and stop this hobby in its tracks, or not, as the case may be, as I feel I am not able to do it at all of late, it also hasn't helped that I have no dedicated craft area for some months now and not really anywhere to craft.
I have a video to make for my team channel Saturated Canary and haven't been able to do that either due to illness, but I have what I want to do all set up on a tray so it will have to be done today from my bed, a day late.........I do hope that my friends will remain me friends still, if I do not craft, just so that I can see what you are all making.
I have hardly been on Facebook/Twitter either and I love Facebook and all my friends, so I am right out of sorts, I do hope I can carry on doing that at the very least, anyway, I will post my video on here too when it is done, hope to chat again soon, take care, hugs, Vick xxx