It's a Floral Infatuation at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome! Today I'm focussing in on flowers for the latest Frilly and Funkie challenge. Nancy Dynes is our wonderful host for this one and has chosen the theme 'Floral Infatuation'. Here's what she has to say about it; "Our theme, Floral Infatuation, celebrates the beautiful blooms of the season. The guidelines are super simple: create any vintage or shabby chic project with flowers as a focal point."

At the end of the challenge the team will choose their top four picks. Our first place winner will be invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie. Three additional talented participants will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and adheres to the challenge guidelines will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

This canvas all started with the background, a feast of layering and colouring to produce the look of aged vintage damask. If you are interested in finding out how this was created here's a guide.

Check out How to Create a Gold Embossed Rich Damask Background by Jenny Marples on Snapguide.

So now on to some close up photos so you can see the finishing touches in more detail...

Busy backgrounds don't need much embellishment so this just needed a simple scattering of flowers to finish it; some are gorgeous Petaloo blooms and some I cut using Tim Holtz Sizzix dies. They all were treated to touches of paint, alcohol ink, Distress Stain and for the leaves, embossing powder to create a more cohesive blend, sitting atop a Tarnished Brass painted Ornate Frame and some of the delicious lace ribbon Linda stock in The Funkie Junkie Boutique. And since Tim Holtz has a way with words I let his Chit Chat stickers do the talking to complete the canvas.

So that's my contribution to the collection of gorgeous 'Floral Infatuation' creations from the Frilly and Funkie Design Team. Make sure you hop on over to see their fabulous makes, by which time I'm sure you'll be inspired to join in the fun and be in with a chance to win!

Thank you for joining me today. Whatever you're up to for the rest of the week have a good one and take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Final Stop - August Destination Inspiration at A Vintage Journey

Hi everyone and welcome! It's my turn to create magic with the travel bag ingredients over at A Vintage Journey today. Here's a sneak peek of what's in store when you head over there for a closer look...

There's a tutorial included in my post you'll be pleased to hear along with a quick recap of the other fabulous projects created by my fellow Creative Guides with the travel bag ingredients this month.

See you over there! Have a great week and whatever you're up to take care of yourselves. Jenny xxx

Steampunkesque for IndigoBlu

Hi everyone and welcome! So here we are at the end of August already with the days and weeks whizzing by. Thank you to everyone who tuned in and snapped up the bargains on my sell out shows for Hochanda last Saturday. This weekend sees the launch of some brand new stamps and mixed media papers from IndigoBlu, with Kay Halliwell-Sutton appearing on our screens tomorrow at 2pm and 5pm. Behind the scenes the team have been creating lots of fabulous samples to inspire and delight you and I'm sharing one here today as an 'appetiser' for what's to come...

Altering this little black sketchbook was so easy using the new Steampunkesque mixed media papers, all of which coordinate perfectly with the A5 Steampunkesque stamp set. I carefully burned the edges of the paper before dry brushing over with white gesso to create an aged look before adding them to the front, back and spine of the book.

Adding layers of lace is such a quick and effective way of including texture and interest to projects, especially if you add a dash of gesso to highlight the patterns. The blue 'scrap' is an example of what can be done with black stamping card, FlitterGlu, one of the Teeny Backgrounds and the new Luscious pigment powders. Finally the Steampunkesque flying man has been stamped onto a base of Goldfinger acrylic paint and the sentiment added below him (I love the quirky, humorous words Kay has included in this set!) In case you're wondering, the little key is a self-moulded one, transformed with coordinating acrylic paint to give it some age.

Make sure you tune in to Kay's shows this weekend to see more Steampunkesque creations from the team.

I'll be out and about and back on your screens in the coming weeks (see the sidebar for more details) and there are lots of scheduled DT posts to come so stay tuned! Thank you for joining me today. Whatever you're up to this weekend have a great one and take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

It's a Small, Small World at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome! First of all, thank you for all your lovely reactions to my Creative Chemistry 103 homework; it was very much appreciated. Today it's all about beautiful things coming in small packages for the latest Frilly and Funkie challenge. The fabulous Cec Wintonyk is our host for this one and has chosen the theme 'It's a Small, Small World'. Here's what she has to say about it; "Create or alter something small in a shabby chic or vintage style. Your finished project can be anything from the size of an inchie, matchbook or domino to the size of a playing card or note card, which means anything from 1 inch to 4 inches and it does not have to be flat. Be creative and let us know in your post just how small your project is".

At the end of the challenge the team will choose their top four picks. Our first place winner will be invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie. Three additional talented participants will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and adheres to the challenge guidelines will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

Many possibilities came to mind for sticking within the 4 inch limits but I settled on this Tim Holtz Village Dwelling which comes in exactly on 4" x 4" x 4"! How's that for planning. There are two main elements to this house; the walls and the roof/base. The former was created from Distress Woodgrain Cardstock, coloured using the Paint Resist technique from Creative Chemistry 103 and lots of Distress paints and inks (listed below).

The roof and base were created using the Paint Resist technique again - yes, that blue and orange 'paper' is in fact stamped/inked card using the Tiles and Mosaic background stamp set! The blue floral came from the Correspondence Tim Holtz Paper Stash and matches perfectly with Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink. The flowers scattered at the bottom of the walls, across the porch and on the roof are Tiny Tattered Florals created using coordinating Core card stock and Brass Liquid Pearls in the centres. 

Time for some close ups - feel free to flick through as quick as you like (click each image for a closer view);

some people like to see the details and others just want the edited highlights so it's over to you!

There you have it - my contribution to the collection of gorgeous 'It's a Small, Small World' creations from the Frilly and Funkie Design Team. Make sure you hop on over to see their incredible makes, by which time I'm sure you'll be inspired to join in the fun and be in with a chance to win!

Thank you for joining me today. Whatever you're up to for the rest of the week have a good one and take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 - Day Six

Hi everyone and welcome! So I admit it, I hadn't read everything on Day Six of the Creative Chemistry 103 course; Tim has challenged everyone to use the techniques learned on different substrates. Never one to refuse a challenge here are my final two cards...

Texture Paste Embossing on Burlap Textured Surface with Shadowpress Embossing on Substrate Sheet, Paint Resist on Woodgrain Cardstock and die cut Textile Surface

Paint Resist on Woodgrain Cardstock with Alcohol Ink Faded Texture on Metal

Phew! Made it! and how good to experiment with different surfaces. That, I promise, is it! Several other things now need attention so for now playtime is over. It's been enormous fun whilst it's lasted. Thank you for sharing in my journey. Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 - Day Five

Hi everyone and welcome! Phew! Here I am at the end of Tim Holtz' Creative Chemistry 103. The lessons may only have been six days long (one saved for product info, hints and tips) but boy were those days packed to the rafters with homework!!! I've finally made it to the end with a much greater knowledge base, lots of techniques banked for future use and a full card box for those family birthdays!!!
If you've missed my previous posts you can find them here;

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

And now to Day Five which focused on Alcohol Inks and Yupo paper;  it has to be said this was my trickiest day. One of the things reinforced is the fact that I'm a control freak when it comes to artwork and I had a great deal of difficulty just letting the inks 'do their thing' in ways I did/didn't want. Indeed on the landscape sample I had to employ a paint brush to achieve the look I wanted. On the flip side I now have a favourite technique (you can guess which one by the number of samples) using these media and will definitely be using it on my canvases in future to create alternative focal points. Here are the results of my endeavours on the final day of technique lessons...

Alcohol Ink Stamped Resist on Yupo (sample one)

Alcohol Ink Stamped Resist on Yupo (sample two)

Alcohol Ink Texture Resist on Yupo

Alcohol Ink Faded Layers on Yupo

Alcohol Ink Painting on Yupo

Alcohol Ink Liquid Landscapes on Yupo

Alcohol Ink Splattered Floral

Well, I can honestly say it has been a blast and I have no hesitation in encouraging anyone who hasn't yet joined in the fun that is Creative Chemistry to do so. And a huge thank you to Tim, and everyone behind the scenes who have worked so hard to make this such a wonderful experience.

How will I fill my days now?! Oh, there's plenty in the pipeline to keep me out of mischief don't you worry. Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to look through these creations and leave some love, either on the blog or on FB/Instagram. Your lovely comments are really appreciated.

Whatever you're up to for the rest of the week take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 - Day Four

Hi everyone and welcome! As promised yesterday I'm back with my creations based on the lessons learned during Day Four of Tim Holtz' Creative Chemistry 103 course. Distress Crayons take centre stage during Day Four and we have been treated to an array of techniques. ideas and technical information. Having taken it all in carefully here are the results of my studies...

Distress Crayon Smudge

Distress Crayon Gesso Fresco

Distress Crayon Textured Resist

Distress Crayon Watercolour Resist

Distress Crayon Blended Background

Distress Crayon Layered Colouring

That's it for the lessons on Day Four. I'll be back to share the results from Day Five and a course round up tomorrow. Don't forget, the course remains 'live' until August 12th and, no matter when you sign up, stays open for a lifetime of access to the materials and lessons. I recommend it highly of course!!! Until tomorrow, take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 - Day Three

Hi everyone and welcome! As mentioned in my last post I've been taking part in Creative Chemistry 103 and enjoying all the tips and techniques Tim Holtz has been sharing along the way. Day Three is all about Collage Mediums and Textures (definitely my comfort zone!) Here are my results...

Distress Layered Collage

Texture Paste Colouring

Texture Paste Embossing

Texture Paste Resist

Now this one's a bit different and to be honest what happened next blew me away; I looked at the sample for this technique and thought "I've done something like that before"... and then as the video began... THE Tim Holtz announced that he had been inspired by lil' ole moi!!!!!!!!!! No surprise I replayed the video MANY times, squealing with excitement every time! It is a real mark of the integrity of Tim Holtz that he has been crediting the artists he's been inspired by along the way and I'm incredibly grateful to him for truly making my month. With time pressing and my continuing endeavours to create new cards with all the other techniques I hope you'll forgive me if my sample is the original project I posted a while back...

Distress Grit Paste Grunge

That's it for the lessons on Day Three. I'll be back to share the results from Day Four tomorrow as behind the scenes here I work on finishing up Day Five - it's just as well the classes remain live until August 12th! See you in the classroom! Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 - Day Two

Hi everyone and welcome! It's the second post in one day and the reason for the fast pace is that it's been an exceedingly busy week in the world of all things Distress. As mentioned earlier today I've been taking part in Creative Chemistry 103 and enjoying all the tips and techniques Tim Holtz has been sharing along the way. Here are the results from Day Two...

Distress Paint Resist

Distress Paint Lifting

Distress Stain Rub Resist

Distress Luminous Mica

Distress Marker Spritzed Watercolour

That's it for the lessons on Day Two. I'll be back to share most of Day Three soon as behind the scenes here I press on finishing Day Four and Five - it's just as well the classes remain live until August 12th! See you in the classroom! Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx