19 April 2017

April Showers at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome! It's Suzanne Czosek's turn to host the latest challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and she's called it 'April Showers'. Here's what she has to say about the theme; the weather by me is very unpredictable with plenty of wind and rain. The weather had me thinking about showers. For this challenge create a shabby chic or vintage project inspired by the word showers. Think rain, storms, umbrellas, baby showers, wedding showers whatever comes to mind and start creating.

The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, so there are plenty of reasons for joining in the fun.

I created another of my little handmade notebooks to match the theme, though I think the showers turned into full blown rain with this (as is so often the way here in the UK, and by the sounds of it where Suzanne lives too!!!)


When this theme came up I immediately thought of the Seth Apter 'Spot Lights' stamp set with it's rows of uneven dots and splats reminiscent of showers. The intention was to combine them all in some way but things took a different turn. Cutting two pieces of chunky card to 4"x 6" I spread a layer of Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste on the outsides then covered it all with white gesso when dry. Having then given it all a layer of Faded Jeans Distress Paint I waited until it was almost dry before wiping over with a cloth to reveal small patches of the white layer underneath. Then it was time for the stamping. Thankfully I'd treated a spare piece of card in the same way to test out stamping options and discovered that the original plan looked too messy over the distinct crackle texture, so I went with using Seth Apter's French Text stamp with Hickory Smoke Distress Paint. Over the top I added lines of the largest Spot Light strips using offset stamping with Picket Fence and Chipped Sapphire Distress Paints. Finally for the background I used drips of Rust Alcohol Ink over water to make the whole thing more aged and bring out those cracks even more.



To top a busy background I needed to keep it simple, so a double layer die cut Umbrella Man was covered with black gesso before Brushed Pewter Distress Paint was added. I got a great worn effect by adding water and more Rust Alcohol Ink as it reacted when I blasted it with a heat gun - little bubbles appeared and some of the black showed through! I finished him with some gears and found the perfect words in the Idea-ology Clippings sticker set (which were covered with Glossy Accents). To finish I cut the signatures and bound them together with the covers using coptic stitching.



I hope you like how this little notebook turned out. That's it from me for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge "April Showers" Do make sure you hop on over to see how my talented team mates from both the Frilly and Funkie sides of the Design Team have incorporated numbers into their creations. And remember to link your own numerical, shabby chic or vintage projects to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Behind the scenes I'm so busy with journals and writing, and will have a new video released for you to see very soon. Meantime, whatever you're up to for the rest of the week, take care of yourselves and have fun! Jenny xxx

35 comments:

  1. Your background is superb Jenny with the stamping and crackle and is the perfect backdrop for the rusty looking umbrella man. The aged and timeworn effects look amazing and I love the finished coptic bound signatures to finish off this fabulous notebook xxx

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  2. Wow Jenny! A truly fabulous notebook! Besides the brilliant crackle you got going there you have achieved an amazing colour and stamping combination! The rusty looking umbrella man looks at home here! Hugs, Chrisx

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  3. Fabulous Jenny - love everything about this - the crackle, the ageing, the rust xx

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  4. This is just texture filled with wonderful goodness!!!! Girlie, how did you stamp over the crackles?

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    1. Thank you Juli! It was easy to stamp over the crackle using the paints - give it a go! xx

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  5. Awesome Jenny! Your colors and textures are just fantastic. LOVE that crackle! And using the Seth Apter stamp was a brilliant take on the challenge theme. Your projects are always so amazing!

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  6. Oh, I am so glad for the close up photos of all that scrumptious texture, Jenny! This is just divine. I love how you used a fairly modern template (the dots) and gave it such a wonderful vintage vibe with pastes and paints and techniques. The binding is gorgeous, too.

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  7. This is really amazing Jenny! I adore the dots with the crackle and the simplicity of your man against this fabulous background. Perfection!!! I wish I had learned book binding somewhere along the way, as your stitching is a star on this crown of a project. Hugs, Autumn

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    1. Thank you Autumn! I followed a fab YouTube video - it's amazing what you can learn from there! xx

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    2. Here's the link Autumn; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue52htX3j0k

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  8. This cover is spectacular with all the texture and grunge. I love the binding and if you want to do a tutorial in your spare time (wink, wink) on how you did that I for one would be grateful.
    Hugs!
    Cec

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    1. Thank you Cec! I learned from YouTube xx
      Here's the link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue52htX3j0k

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  9. This really does have the wow factor Jenny, those bubbles and the crackle are fabulous! Umbrella man's slightly rusty apparel looks amazing. Love your binding too - fab-u-lous!! Anne xx

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  10. oh wow, I love it!! the crackle and industrial look is fabulous. I am a big fan of umbrella man. ;-)

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  11. WOWSER Jenny the crackle on this is amazing! I love this image too.
    Hugs
    Linda xxx

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  12. Oh yes please! LOVE umbrella man, and oh all that wonderful texture. LOVE this!

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  13. What a fabulous notebook Jenny. The details are perfect and I love the colours. 10 out of 10. Hugs Rita xxx

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  14. This is just gorgeous! I love how you captured the essence of a spring day with the gray's, blues and browns. Sometimes just gloomy and gusty! Stunning background and the man with the umbrella is so cool!

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    1. Thank you so much Suzanne. I guess that's the best thing about the rain, other than feeding the newly emerging plants, that it can rust up metal and give it a great look! xx

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  15. Stunning rusty crackle, and the finish on Umbrella Man is sensational - fabulous altered notebook, Jenny - these would fly off the shelves.
    Alison x

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    1. Thank you so much Alison. I'm having great fun making them and just may have to sell a few ;) xx

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  16. SENSATIONAL! The rusty, crusty crackle is what draws me to this piece, but the weathered umbrella man is the icing on the cake! I was just pulling him out to do a piece, and you have inspired me even further! Your binding is superb and the end result is notebook I'd want to be pulling out every day, if just to stare at amazement! Great work as always!

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    1. Thank you so much Sara! Those classic die designs are always winners to work with. So glad you've enjoyed seeing it xx

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  17. An absolute stunner! Jenny . The grungy colours, the choice of stencil and die ( my fave) the crackle make my heart sing. As for the book binding - superb!
    I have a thing for notebooks and this would be a 'no brainer' purchase for sure.
    x

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    1. Thank you so much Amanda! Must start selling them :) xx

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Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments - they are really appreciated and will be published when moderated. Jenny xxx

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