FAIRIES ARE THE KEEPERS OF THE FOREST

Over the past few weeks l have been having a sort out. Like us all l think we buy things then use them the once or twice maybe and then put away into the stamp collection and move onto the next NEW SET. So l wanted to do a project where l re-visited some old stamps and did something new with them. So l went back to Prickley Pear Called: 50’s Bodice, Lady Bodice, Asian Bodice and Celestial Bodice. I also dived into the stamps that were part of the collections that came from that MUST HAVE STAMP SETS by Dylusions designed by Dyan Reaveley. I have taken elements from several of the collections just to show that they can all work together and not just like a lot of stamps 'Stand Alone' they are not the cheapest in the crafting world but they are made from the best rubber, made to last and will work with each other as if they were just one set of stamps For this project l used DOOLALLY DORRIS - LOVE STRUCK LUCY - TALLULAH TRIPP and HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW. All these and MANY MANY MORE are available from THATS CRAFTY ON LINE STORE.

I also highly recommend that if you enjoy this form of a project a good set of  Grungy/Typeface Alphabetic stamps is added to your collection. They make up all the headings that you will ever want.

MATERIALS USED:

12" x 12" Cheap Canvas Board + Gesso + Butterfly Napkin [optional see below]

Selection of Distressing Dyes [I have not said a colour. Its a case of buying what you want to add to your collection. Pick colours that will work for you]

Selection of  Crafters Workshop 12" Templates [Add to your collection as you can. They are tool that can be used in every project]

Archival Ink Jet Black [Waterproof ink pad]

Collection of Water coloured Based Marker Pens - AquaMarkers/Tim Holtz Distress Markers

If your using Alcohol Ink Pens Pro-Markers/Spectrum Noir to colour then use Adirondack Pitch Black Ink Pad.

Silver Boarder Peel Off [ I know we have used a Peel Off! what ever next?]

Good pair of sharp tipped scissors

Craft Knife with a new blade [Be xtra careful when using this]

Craft Mat - Cutting Mat - Heat Gun - Baby Wipes - Mister/Spray Bottle [filled with water] - Tweezers - Selection of Royal and Langnickel Brushes

Black waterproof Marker Pen

Post-it Notes

Good White Stamping Paper/Card

Mod Podge - Matte

Selection of Acrylic Based Paint Mediums I have used Claudine Hellmuth Paints here. However l have just bought some PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints so will show you how they look in the coming projects later next month.

Selection of Distress Inks plus a Blending Tool [Use what you have add to your collection as and when you can].

LETS MAKE A PROJECT:

Just A Quick Word First...

Speaking for myself l  understand that you may not have every item that l use when making my samples. That's why l have not said use this template or that colour. I don't want to make fellow crafters feel they cant do this kind of project because they don't have this colour or that template. The main imagery is a given and l hope that in time you will understand just how versatile the stamps are from Dylussions. Like l have always said they are not the cheapest on the block but if you look at what they can do and how they can cross pollinate then they are worth every penny. They are also timeless and can be used for  Male - Female - Young and Old, so to me are worth every beans on toast that l had to have after buying them lol

I would also take this opportunity in buying wonderful 12 inch Templates that are on offer @ Thats Crafty. I have snapped up a few and added them to my template stash while this great offer is on. So l highly recommend you have a look and hopefully find a few coins behind those cushions and at the back of the sofa so that you also can add them to your crafting stash.

Now then letg make a project. We have to as in all our project ... Project Management  This is where we look at what we are going to do and break it into sections so that we are not hanging around but getting involved in the work.

Part 1; Prep work The canvas As we are going to be using Acrylics then we have to put a layer of Gesso onto our canvas to help with the movement and depth of colour that they are going to give us.

Part 2; Prep work Stamping out our imagery so that we can build up the story. We are going to have to do some masking here. The main body's are the Bodies stamps and then using the post-it 's we use the other elements from the various Dylussions stamps that we have selected. Don't worry about getting it 100% spot on. That's why we have the black Waterproof  Pen [0.5 size] so that we can join up and correct any small misplacements. I also used the pen to add some simple arms. nothing special and there was no real definition. and the hands were just circles. If your not comfortable just getting on and doing this then use a pencil and lightly draw the lines. You can always take a eraser to these lines after you have drawn them in. After they have been constructed and coloured just take a Light Grey pen go around the image and then using the sharp tipped scissors cut them out. Again don't get serious about this , don't worry if your cut lines are not .03547 mm away from the stamped edge. All we aim to do is cut them away from the rest of the paper. Take a closer look at my cutting its not perfect.

Part 3; Colouring The Canvas

Part 4; Colouring our Stamped Image

Part 5; building up our story.

Parts 1 and 2 are self explanatory. Part 3 building up the canvas is where we can have lots of fun. In my minds eye l divided the canvas into 2. The sky and the ground and I laid down colours reflecting this division. Using baby wipes and your mister bottle you can dictate how much colour is laid down. By using good quality acrylic paints this gives you this freedom. Also you don't have to use a lot of them so they last. Don't go thinking that cheaper is better when your doing this type of art/crafting. After each layer is dry l added another one. Using my templates to leave lines and marks, then building up over these marks using a watered down colour. Baby wipes can be your best friend in helping you remove paint and to help spread it around. If your not happy then Gesso it and start again. This form of art doesn't have rules, its about your freedom of expression my sample is just hopefully here to switch that light on like mine was when l went to a show 6 months ago. When l saw something it turned my crafting world upside down. I cant speak for the rest of the D.T but like me all we want is to light that spark and help you to maybe try something new.

Now then the PEEL OFF yes its there l thought it would make a wonderful garden fence while not looking like a garden fence [did that make sense? lol]

The next part of this project is to colour in our stamped imagery, again have fun your not going to have to make skin tones look like real skin on this project as we are going for Flat which is completely different from the built up background.  I did try to keep the 'fairies' into colour themes as it would be fun to have a Pink Fairy.. Yellow Fairy etc.   This also goes with the birds have some fun use those pens. close your eyes and just pick up 3 pens while they are shut. That way your not going to worry that this colour will not work with that. . The name of the game IS TO HAVE SOME FUN.

Lets build this project up. We have our background I did make an error that's why at the 2nd to last moment  l added the butterfly's from a napkin that l had bought. I wasn't going to start all over again so after a few moments of panic l remembered that l had this so the day was saved. Using the Mod-Podge l started to secure the stamped images onto the canvas. First after l had placed the items down dry l secured the Mushrooms at either side of the canvas followed by the wings of the central fairy, followed by the body and hat, then now as l had given the dimensions for the rest of the images l started to secure down. The Birds were then secured down, lastly followed by the flowers at the edge. I allowed the flowers to over hang the edge.

There you have it a project thats made up of stamps that were a mix and match, just to show that you can re-visit old stamps and mix it up with newer stamps.

If you have any questions then please send me a message and l will get back to you a.s.a.p.