Sunday 1 March 2015

Anything but a card

Well here we go again!  The beginning of another month, and that can only mean one thing:  its time for a new Claritystamp Challenge.  This month, we are asking you to make 'anything but a card' and we hope that our design team projects will give you plenty of ideas.  It was really exciting to see what the rest of the design team came up with, and I can't wait to see all your fabulous creations. 

Main Ingredients
Small drawer unit from Ikea
Americana Décor Chalky Finish Paint in Everlasting
Americana Décor Ultra-Matte Varnish
Golden Open Acrylic Paint in Pthalo Blue and Nickel Azo Gold
Black Archival Ink
Grunge Paste
Black Micron Pen
Glue Pen
Glamour Dust Glitter
Jo's Bubbles Stencil
Flower Stencil
Wee Folk Stamps
Word Chain Stamps

It was my youngest niece's 16th birthday in February, so I decided to make something special to mark the occasion.  A set of drawers for her dressing table to hold her make-up and other bits and pieces seemed perfect.  First job was to paint the drawer unit with white paint.  This needed a couple of coats.

 
Now for the fun part...  I did a rough layout of what I wanted to do before I started.  I often do this as I find its a great help when I need to visualise how the finished project is going to look.

 
The first task was to sponge and blend the blue and gold acrylic through the bubble stencil.
  
 
 
Now for the stamping.  In the end, I went for a combination of meaningful words chosen from the word chains and some of the little girls chosen from the wee folk.
 
 
 Then, little by little, I added in some flowers using grunge paste through the flower stencil, sprinkling on a little bit of glitter while the grunge paste was still wet.
 

I have to admit that at this point, I was feeling a bit unsure about how it was all turning out.  Somehow for me, it just wasn't coming together.  Still, I'd come too far now and had to persevere.  I sanded back the grunge paste to take away some of the bling from the glitter.  Then I did a little bit of doodling with a micron pen.
 

I felt that just this little touch made it look so much better.  I heat set the doodling before varnishing, as a trial piece showed that without heat setting the micron pen, the wet varnish made it bleed.  Phew!  that could have been a disaster.


Well, the birthday girl, Emily absolutely loved it.  Here she is with me, and my husband Martin on a family night out to celebrate.
 
 
Just as a little footnote, I thought you might like to see Emily's card too.  Done in a similar style, but brushing inks through the stencil to create a background rather than acrylic paint.
 

I'd love it if you could take the time to leave a comment and let me know what you think.  Now its your turn.  Clarity stamps and stencils are so wonderfully versatile, and I can't wait to see what you are going to come up with.  Its all so very exciting.  Till next time.  Xxx 
 
 

 



 
 
 

38 comments:

  1. Hi Barbara...This is just brilliant, What a great idea !

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Dave. Glad you like it. Xxx

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  2. Fantastic job Barbara, I'm not surprised she loved it! Xxxx

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    1. Thanks Mandy. I really appreciate your support and encouragement of my work. Xxx

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  3. Morning Barbara what a brilliant set of drawers just beautiful - a lot of work over a period of time I guess waiting for the grunge paste to dry before moving onto the next piece xx

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    1. It was quite a lot of work in stages; even just painting the unit white took a while, so I'm glad you like the finished unit Linda. Xxx

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  4. Very refreshing design it's great Barbara. Xx Sam

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    1. Thanks for all your support and encouragement Sam. Your kind words about my work really mean a lot to me. Xxx

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  5. Ooh these are fabulous Barbara. I have a small draw unit to put together and this has given me so many ideas. Lucky niece. Xxx

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    1. Glad you like it. Its nice to hear I have given you some inspiration for your own projects Dawn. Xxx

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  6. As usual it's fantastic !!

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  7. I love this piece Barbara. The doodling with the micron pens do set it off perfectly. Really well done. Hugs xx

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    1. Thanks Emma. I went through a bit of a love/hate thing with this project when it just didn't seem to be coming together as I planned, so its nice to hear that other people think it all worked out ok. Xxx

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    2. What's not to like! Lovely and refreshing design. xx

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  8. I love this it would just right to use in a craft room. Xx

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    1. Thanks Carol. Yes it would be lovely to be able to do something similar for a craft room. Maybe I will get round to it one day! Xxx

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  9. Great work, Barbara and good tips re heat-setting the micron pen and also sanding back the grunge paste. I have two new paper cabinets waiting for a space in my craft room so perhaps they should be decorated before being transferred upstairs! ;~}

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    1. Glad you like it Shelagh. I always like to share whatever I have learnt along the way, so its good to hear that my little hints might be useful to you. Looking forward to seeing 2 beautifully decorated paper cabinets: no pressure! Xxx

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  10. What great inspiration Barbara as well as some good hints and tips too. I'm pleased your niece loved it especially as she had a matching card too xx

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    1. Thanks for your support and encouragement Sazz. Its great to be able to share ideas and inspiration, and to learn from one another. Xxx

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  11. Absolutely gorgeous Barbara, I just love what you've done to this little set of drawers.mim not surprised your niece loved it too. Hugs xx

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    1. Glad you like them Angela. Giving the drawers an 'Emily' makeover was great fun. Xxx

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  12. Oh wow love it. That really is a labour of love.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words Pippa. Glad you like it. Xxx

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  13. This is beautiful, I love how your unit turned out. Thanks for all the tips and advice too, so helpful if I'm ever brave enough to try something similar myself.

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    1. I'm glad you like the drawer unit Judy. It would be lovely to know that I helped inspire you to try something similar. You should definitely go for it! Xxx

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  14. This is fantastic, I am sure the fact that it is made for her will be as precious as the gift itself! thank you for sharing and the inspiration x

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    1. Yes, Emily really loved the fact that it was specifically designed and made for her. Glad you like it Jan, and hope it inspires you to try a little altered project of your own. Xxx

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  15. Love this what a wonderful project and present xx

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    1. Thanks for your kind words Julie. Glad you like it. Xxx

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  16. I'm sure she was over the moon with this personal and beautiful piece as well as useful. Super blog, so glad you tested the doodling, great tip. Such a lovely piece. xxxx

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  17. Thanks Naomi. She was thrilled to bits with it, so that made it all worthwhile. I shall definitely make sure I continue to do little test pieces to make sure that inks, etc don't bleed. It takes such a short time, but can prevent a disaster. Xxx

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  18. What a fantastic present, ...no wonder she loved it...and a card to match too...I love them both...thank you for sharing them with us all...hugs...xxxx

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  19. Thanks for your support and encouragement Jo; it means a lot to me. Love your 'bubbles' stencil; its so versatile. Xxx

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  20. This is great Barbara. I love the way you have blended the blue and gold acrylics in the bubbles. I use gold acrylic a lot myself as I always think it adds a touch of luxury to a project. A wonderful present and matching card too. x

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    1. Thanks Lesley. Glad you like it. I was undecided at first whether to blend the blue and magenta, rather than the blue and gold. In the end, I chose these colours as they fit in better with the colour scheme of Emily's bedroom. Xxx

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