Hey Crafter's
How has your week been so far?
Great to see so many "happy mail" posts on our Facebook Group and Jamie Rodgers' new Collection landing with you. If you are anythung like us, you will be crafting like there is no tomorrow lol!!
With that said.... let me share some more inspiration with you!
Today's ideas are from Alice In Wonderland and how being different, is just being unique :-)
Step 1
I took one of Jamie's new 8"x 8" Pebble Grey card blanks.
I cut out two mats using my Double Stitched Sqaures Die Set; one in Potion Purple and the other in Polar White.
Next, taking my purple mat, I went three die sizes down and placed it onto the mat and secured it with low tack tape.
I put it through my die cutting machine to create my frame.
Pop this aside for later.
Step 2
Now it's time to have fun and get messy :-)
Using my Make Art Stay-tion, I put down my white mat and using a blending sponge, I covered it as close to the edges with Seedless Preserves Distress Oxide Ink.
✅ NOTE - There's no need to be precise with the edges, as we will be putting our frame over it later. Excuse my bad photography 📸 lol
Next, I used my small water spray and several squirts, dabbing with a piece of kitchen towel as I went along. It will leave nice spots (see below 📸) and also pull some colour from big sprays.
This all adds to the magic and beautiful effect.
I used my Heat Tool to help dry it off a little.
✅ NOTE - Remember these get super hot, so use cover your work surface / or use a special protective mat.
I wiped my board clean ready for the next step.....
Step 3
I put my pink mat onto my board and placed Jamie's gorgeous Floating Bubbles Stencil on top.
✅ TIP - Keep it level so there is a border was all the way round.
Secure with some masking tape, as well as using the magnets I started the next part.
Using a palette knife, I spread my Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Glaze (Lilac Lustre) over the stencil, making sure all was covered.
To add that little extra detail (optional for you), I sprinkled some Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powder in Vintage Golden Green over the stencil so it would stick to the Glaze.
I then slowly peeled off the stencil and set aside to dry.
✅ TOP TIP - Wash your stencil and tools in warm soapy water straight after using your products.
Step 4
Next I took the purple frame from earlier and put a layer of Jamie Rodgers new foam tape all the way around and then stuck this to my fresh pink background.
Using double sided tape I attached the front to my card base.
Now... I admit that I didn't how some of the areas had turned out, especially the two big dots, so my plan was to cover these with my flowers.
Taking one of my new favourite die sets.... a genius idea that works for literally everything.....
Using the Straight Lines die, I did one pass with Raven Black card and used all 8 strips around my purple frame.
I did one at a time, snipping the ends off ready for the next piece.
I used my Stix2 Ultra Fine Tip Glue bottle as this job is quite fiddly.....
✅ TIP - Tweezer Scissors are great for tasks like this one :-)
Step 5
Making my flowers....
First I took a sheet of A5 Yupo Paper along with my glass mat as this is a messy process.
Now here is a little info for those of you who are new to this, and think YUPO is just paper right?? Wrong!! Yupo is amazing fun to work with for both beginners and professionals (and artists too).
What Is Yupo Paper
Designed to be waterproof and non-absorbent, Yupo is a smooth synthetic paper which resists buckling. Therefore it is perfect for alcohol inks and dyes, as it lets colours sit on the surface until they dry. It can also be used with watercolours.
Using a blue /purple ink, I dropped a few drops onto my paper and then added some blending solution on top. With my balloon tool (or you can use a straw), I blew the fluid around my paper until I was happy with the effect. (I left a little section at the end of the paper for my next colour.)
I then added a little Gold Alcohol Ink and then used my Heat Tool to help with the drying process.
Using the end section of my paper, I used an orange ink and did the same process as above.
I ran the flower die through my machine with the purple paper and then cut up the orange to cut out the stamen part of the die.
This is what I ended up with.... I didn't use all the elements, but best to have more incase.
Step 6
Now make up the flowers as you desire.....
I used my moulding mat and embossing tools to add some creases in my petals.
Step 7
Next I cut out Jamie's new Gracious Leaves in Polar White card, and used a blending brush along with Forest Moss Distress Oxide Ink to colour my leaves.
Each of the leaves has a crease; so I just have them all a little squeeze to give definition.
Using a wet glue, I added the flowers and leaves to my card front.
I remembered to cover the areas from earlier which I wasn't happy with.
Step 8
To finish....
I cut out two of the large butterflies from the Elegant Butterflies die set in white card.
Taking one die cut, I coloured in a section of one wing with five colours of my alcohol markers.
With the second butterfly, I cut off the wings and added one to the top left wing and the other to the bottom right wing. This just gives extra strength to the butterfly.
I coloured the body in black.
Glue this to the card front on the left.
The final piece is the sentiment, a Sue Wilson Mini Expression "Be Unique" cut in black card.
Add this to your card to complete.
I hope you've enjoyed my blog and it inspires you to try out the Alcohol Ink techniques....
Thanks for joining me and hope you will create some wonderful creations - Don't forget, I'd love to see your ideas so be sure to share with us on our Facebook Group - Create With Craftmania And Jamie Rodgers.
See you next week guys and enjoy your week!
Take Care
Ian x
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