Friday 1 May 2015

Yay!!! Its craft o'clock

Well I don't know where the month of April went.  Its time for a new Claritystamp challenge already.  Thanks to all of you who took part in last months challenge using the fabulous wee folk.

I was so excited when I knew that this the theme for this month was "clocks" and knew straightaway that I wanted to produce a piece of artwork for my blog title.  However, what I was actually going to do was another story altogether....



Ingredients
For the background
A4 and A3 canvas boards
Vintage book pages
Mod Podge
Paperartsy Fresco paints
Distress inks
Clockwork/cogs stencil
Chinese lanterns stencil
Curly wurly stencil
Harlequin stencil
Sunburst stencil
Dotty wave stencil
Grunge paste
Embossing powder (I used a Frantage one)
Letterbox stamp kit
Fine wire

For the embellishments
Madeleine stencil
Fob watch stamps
Pretty petals stamp kit
Funky foliage leaf stamp
Medium lamp post stamp
Sizzix love cogs die
Versamark ink pad
Distress embossing powder
Detail gold embossing powder
Grungepaper
Gelli card
More Paperartsy Fresco paints
Spectrum Noir pencils
Small metal cogs
Glass accents
Ball chain
Glossy Accents

Be warned;  this post could turn out to be longer than "War and Peace."  It certainly took me a long time to finish it!

First job was to cover the A4 canvas board with squares cut from vintage book pages.

 
Next job, add some colour by 'walking' the brayer around the board using the Paperartsy paints.
 

 
Add some extra colour round the edges with Distress Ink.

 
After spending time figuring out the right mix and layout of the stencils, I dragged grunge paste through each of the stencils in turn, and roughly and unevenly sprinkled on some Frantage embossing powder    This had to dry naturally before I could melt the embossing powder.  Once this was done, I sponged some more ink onto the exposed areas of grunge paste.
 



 
There!  Stage 1 complete.  This was when I went a bit crazy and kept coming up with new ideas for how I wanted the finished project to look.
 
Firstly I roughly painted book pages with Paperartsy paint, allowing some of the print to show through.  Then I stamped and embossed the bunting and letters before cutting out.  These were then threaded on fine wire and glued into position.
 

I cut out cogs from gelli card and embossed some using just detail gold powder (2 coats needed for a nice glossy finish).  The rest, where I wanted a rougher and more textured finish, I used distress powder for an uneven base coat, then a second coat of detail gold powder.
 

 
 Next, I stamped a load of large and small fob watches onto gelli card with archival ink and aged them a bit with distress ink before cutting out.  Glossy accents was added to the large watch faces, real glass accents were added to the small watch faces as they fitted perfectly.
 

 
After painting some grungepaper, I pulled grunge paste through the Madeleine stencil.  Once dry, I coloured her with spectrum noir pencils.
 
 
Then I had a messy session making some background papers ready for the flowers.  I tried out a few colour mixes with my Paperartsy paints;  splodging and spritzing them on my craft sheet and picking up the paint with some gelli card.  This was a technique we used at Maria Simms' last workshop;  thanks Maria!  These were then used to stamp the petals for the flowers which were assembled using the fob watches for the centres.
 
 
 
Now it was time to assemble it all together.  You can see some of the details below.
 
 
 
 
 

 
Finally I decided to give Madeleine a necklace, using the rest of the fob watches and the lamp post stamp (I did trim a couple of bits off when cutting these out!), and added a scrap of ball chain to finish.
 

 
Phew!  Are you still there?  If you've made it this far, I hope you like the finished piece and that it will give you a bit of inspiration for your own project.  There's some more great work and ideas from my design teamies.  Looking forward to seeing all your ideas too.  Till next time.  Xxx
 

 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




31 comments:

  1. Fantastic Barbara. I really love the clock flowers xx

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  2. This is a stunning piece of art work I just want to keep coming back to look at it. Xx

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    1. Thank you. Glad you like it Carol. Xxx

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  3. Amazing piece of timeless elegance, Barbara. It may not be as long as War and Peace but it's a whole lot more inspirational. Brilliant! Xx

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    1. Thanks for your kind words Jeanette. If I've inspired you just a little bit, I'm very happy. Xxx

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  4. One humdinger of a project, Barbara and a great explanation, too; I'm sure many Clarity followers will be inspired to try out your various techniques and come up with their own take on your canvas. ;~}

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    1. Thanks Shelagh. I was conscious that this was a big project and tried hard to keep the blog brief with plenty of pictures. It would be wonderful if it inspired others. Xxx

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  5. A stunning piece Barbara and filled with Clarity goodies and lots of ideas and inspiration...just brilliant.....have a great weekend...hugs...xx

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    1. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement Jo. Yes the evidence of my Clarity stash is there for all to see! I had great fun just letting the ideas take over what I'd planned to do. Xxx

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  6. I loved it the minute I saw it, stunning. A truly beautiful piece of Art, inspirational. xxxxxx

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  7. Well you have certainly inspired me. You have outdone yourself on this one Babara. I have always been a fan but I love your attention to detail, your mix of techniques and your execution of them. A truly fabulous piece and I now wish that my blog was called "it's Craft o'clock" so that I could claim it from you. Hugs xx

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    1. Thanks for the lovely compliments about this piece; you are too kind Emma. I'm very glad, but can't quite believe how much you like it. Xxx

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  8. Well what a lot of work went in to this lovely piece of work love the blog xx

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    1. Thanks Julie. Glad you enjoyed the blog too, as I was worried it was too long. Xxx

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  9. Barbara - what can I say - it is truly amazing what you have come up with. How does your brain work? A truly inspiring piece - so many techniques and what a beauty you have created I love it x

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    1. What a compliment Linda... not really sure what went on in my head with this one. Once the background was done, I kept leaving it while I decided what to do next. No wonder it took me so long. Xxx

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  10. Wow what a piece of art and your step by steps are excellent, a very inspirational project xx

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    1. Thank you Julie. I'm glad to hear you liked this piece and that you found the step by step helpful and interesting; it makes it all worth while. Xxx

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  11. Barbara this is a stunning piece of artwork - and obviously a labour of love with all the steps it took. xx

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    1. Thanks Angela. As I wanted this piece for my blog title, it was always going to be a labour of love, and have a very special place in my heart. Xxx

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  12. Fantastic, Barbara. So many different techniques but they work together really well. Your canvas is my favourite project from the design team this month. x

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    1. Thanks Lesley. We all bring our own unique take on each months theme, and thats what I love about it. All different, but all wonderful in their own right. Xxx

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  13. This is brilliant Barbara - I've never read War & Peace, but I bet it's not a patch on your version - I was captivated to the end!
    I didn't think it was long at all as you've shared so many great ideas and techniques. I thought those cogs were actually made of metal and the watches were real parts that you'd found - you did such a great job embossing them! A fab canvas to adorn any wall....I think I'd be loathed to give it away.....maybe you could find somewhere to display it in your new conservatory?
    Have a lovely w/e xxx

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    1. Its nice to know you didn't think the blog was too long, as I tried very hard to keep it as concise as I could because there was just so much in this project. This one is definitely a 'keeper' as I created it for my blog title, but not sure where it will be going yet. Xxx

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  14. this was definitely a labour of love as it seems like it took a lot of work. has a very finnabair feel to it xx

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    1. Thanks Theresa. I have recently discovered Finnabair on facebook, and have to say that I am loving their artwork. Hope I have put enough of my own 'Clarity' spin on it. Xxx

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  15. This is just incredible Barbara, I absolutely love it!!! I just want to get a canvas out now and play xx

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  16. Oh Miss Maria, I'm very glad teacher likes it! Thank you for such a generous compliment. I'm sure you recognise some of your techniques mixed up in there. Xxx

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  17. Thank you for your lovely comments on my April entry, I am not sure psychedelic is quite right, possibly more psychotic, especially with the shortage of time. xx Maggie

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