Something.........Wedding

Hi there lovely friends (and hi to new friends too) xoxo

So in between all the un-packing of the dusty boxes and bags from the house move I've managed a little time-out here and there - about 2 days worth of lovely crafty time and oh I've enjoyed myself - as usual lol Can't wait till i'm crafting full time again.......soon, so soon - YeY!!! (just a few more boxes :-)

This card was a special order - I had total free reign and this was the result - I hope you like......

Ingredients

• Tim Holtz distress paint (for the chalky finished background)
• Tim Holtz layering stencils - hearts & doily (for the textured background)
• Tim Holtz elegant flourishes Sizzix die (also for the textured background)
• Golden fibre paste medium (for the heart stencilling)
• Amsterdam extra heavy gel medium matt
• Amsterdam metallic silver acrylic paint & Dina Wakley white gesso
• luminarte primary elements & luminarte bind resist (amazing shimmery paint effect - adds hi-lights)
• Tim Holtz Notebook Sizzix die (used to add interesting texture on the edge of the card)
• Tim Holtz Vintage lace Sizzix die (adds a little frilly texture)
• Tim Holtz Tattered flower garland Sizzix die (for the 2 tattered flowers)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous classics #9 (used script & pumice stone distress ink for background)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous mixed media (used honeycomb & white gesso for background)
• An old fav of mine - Tim Holtz 'Vintage Shabby' paper stash (for my machine sewn layered hearts) 
• Tim Holtz crinkle ribbon
• Tim Holtz festive foliage
• Finnabair metal - go to town on any of these lovelies x
• Assortment of chunky lace & linen
• Calico Crafts beautiful must have Rusty Tin heart and wire
• Own stash old yellowed book, pretty tiny pearls & other curio I can lay my hands on that I've saved for a rainy day
• Stabilo all pencil black (for shading)
• Signo uni-ball gel pen white  (for hi-lights and scribbles)

There a few close-up piccys for all the tiny detail.

I've used new stash I bought from my Fabulous workshop day with Finnabair aka Ania Dabrowska - that extra heavy gel medium sure does the trick Ania (thank you for sharing your art :-)  and I can't get enough of Ania's photo-shopping techniques - just love the Luminartes over the top of the Tim Holtz chalky distress paints - adds a little zest to my shabby-chic style.

So it's off to Cyprus with this little card - hope the bride and groom likes it.

I'm off for now too (not Cyprus - boo hoo lol - cuppa tea time now x

Thanks for popping by Kassa xoxo

'Overemotional' Workshop - An Amazing Day with Ania Dabrowska

 Hi there lovely friends (and welcome new friends) - WoW this weather, hot, hot, hot - hope your all happy with the weather down your way too.

A couple or 3 weeks back I joined some new (hi there lovelies xoxo) and old friends (mwah) over at Art From The Heart for a day with the truly amazing Ania Dabrowska - aka Finnabair......What a day - all I can say is if you get the chance to 'do' a class with Ania, then deffo grab it with both hands.

Anna's style is right up my street so I was incredibly excited before,during and after the class lol - still am lol - we got to use amazing stash and so, so much of it too and I just loved soaking up all her tips and techniques - can't wait to merge a little of 'Ania' into my shabby-chic style.

So Piccy time - first up the 4 hour morning canvas class followed by the 4 hour afternoon class canvas class, hope you enjoy :-)

25 piccys later lol - ohhh I did have a ball eeeek!

(did you recognise the 2 beautiful faces that I used in my creations?)

Right off to finish-up a shabby-chic wedding card - tis all white at the moment but a splash of colour (well just a sprinkle) is just round the corner :-)

Big smiles to you all - Kassa xoxo

SunFlower ATC Swap

Good morning lovely friends - WoW I can feel the heat from the sunshine this early in the morning (typing with my kitchen door open and the sun is flooding through - Sammy my Pug is laid basking in the warm rays)

SO........
.........my 2nd Stampotique 'Stamp It' ATC swap arrived safely yesterday. Now I can share my 2nd creation.

The same rules applied to this ATC as yesterdays - include a postage stamp alongside/within our Stampotique stamps.

Hope you like.........

Stampotique stamps used......

'Fleur Girl #3' (by Janet Klein)

'Splatter Long' (by Jo Capper-Sandon)

'Barcode Text' (by France Papillion) - (I have a little confession, cos this fabulous stamp flew off the shelves and I am now patiently awaiting it to come back into stock lol - Pat bless her stamped me a set of the words out thank goodness cos I'd already got these 2 ATC's sorted in my head - well sort of lol and these words were needed!!!  Thank you Pat xoxo) 

Can you spy the postage stamps...........

Yep I used a few of the golden coloured 1st class stamps picturing the Queens head.........

Yes they are there on the petals - fussy cutting is a love of mine.

Out came my.......
Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Ink Sprays
 Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists & Stickles
Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils
Natural string (dyed with Dylusions)
Rusty Wire
Stabilo All Pencil - black
Music score
Lace (dyed with Dylusions)

As usual I have really enjoyed the swap and can't wait for the next one now......why not join in the fun.......Tis an International swap, I have received Swaps from all over the World now created by very tallented artists/crafters who just like me simply love to share and have fun.......here's the link to the Stampotique FB page Click Here, go take a peep, you never know you may want to join us or simply love perusing the pages of beautiful creativity- Nikki Woodward is our lovely ATC swap host, she pops all the info for the swaps in the 'Events' section.....

Now then I'm offski and tis a hard decision - join my snoring (now lol) Sammy 'n' bask in the sunshine or a little crafty fun....too much of a breeze to take my craft table outside and get the best of both.....ohhhh decisions, decisions.......

Big sunny smiles to you all
Kassa xoxo

My Guest Post For Calico Crafts 'Boxed Menagerie'

BOXED MENAGERIE 

Hi there everyone, Kassa here, happy to be sharing  my recent 2nd Calico Crafts Blog Post - click on the link to feast your eyes upon the fabulous creationd by the regular dt and other guests - your in for a real treat.  And tis a must to go peep at the unusual and unique stash over in the Calico Crafts Web Shop - stash to suit every crafter's tastes, Altered Art, Mixed Media and much much more yumminess........

Firstly I would love to thank everyone for taking the time to pop by and peep at my last post 'LOVIN THE BEACH STILL', for all your fabulous comments and support you left over there on the Calico Crafts blog (click link to my actual post over there), My Blog and My Facebook Page - and like Tracy said (in her lovely message 'singing') yep I too am singing now thank you!

So.......

I wanted to create a little floral number, something a little different to my last post, what I had in my head had to be tweaked to accommodate my rather annoying Tennis Elbow - (acquired recently after a 3 week virus) - charming!))  And to add insult to injury the other hand lol believe it or not has pins & needles permanently in my pinky 'n' ring finger.  So fussy cutting it was and oh how perfect was Tim Holtz's new - amazing designs -  Menagerie 8-x-8 Paper Pad....

-out came the scissors and I was off.....cutting out all the delicious florals, fluffy feathers, plump eggs, that amazing nest filled with eggs, the beautiful birdies (I know not everyone is into birds so just leave them out and fill with more blooms-but I adores birds and these have soooo much fine detail in them how could anyone leave them out lol x  And of course the beautiful butterflies which make up my heavily layered hanging. (layer with Calico fabric, Jute Twine, ribbon, corrugated cardboard, tiny flourish piece with rusty wire attached, fussy cut eggs, feathers, twigs, fancy edged punched out strips of the Menagerie paper in contrast and blend effect - sew random edges leaving threads dangling and not forgetting the inky edges)

The shadow box - 7 Gypsies 12-x-12 Black Shadowbox/Tray is sooo deep it cries out to be filled with layer after layer of lush stash, it comes to you in a beautiful chalky black - and cos I wanted a peeled paint look I.......

............Gesso'd (white Gesso) the shadow box - left to dry 

-sanded down lightly with medium grit sandpaper......

-then randomly rubbed over the sanded gesso with a clear wax candle.....

-painted over the top of the Gesso 'n' candle wax with Matte Acrylic Paint (I mixed up a honey brown) - let dry 'n' sand and wax with the candle again......

-paint with your top coat of paint - let dry then sand - each time you sand you can see the wonderful peeled paint effect start to appear like magic.

iny blooms were created (bottom left) and the bloom garland hanging from the Rusty Wire - I simply soaked the Tando Mini Chipboard Flowers in water for a few minutes, then started to peel the petals layers slightly apart, shaped then left to dry.  I layered a couple of the now dry shaped blooms together and dusted the edges with inks but for the garland I, lightly Gesso'd both sides and pasted with DecoArt Modelling Texture Paste.  Once dry I sprayed with inks and pierced a tiny hole thro' their centres to fish the wire throu' - the Calico Fabric makes for lovely shabby ribbons. I attached the Garland to the wonderful Wood Flourishes, which had been given the peeled paint effect, but I popped some of the Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs - 'Elements' over the top of the dried paint, sanded to give that worn look and popped a little DecoArt modeling paste on too which I inked up and sanded when dry.  The tiny and very beautiful Butterflies on Tim's 'Elements' rubs can be seen peeping from behind the open wings on my shabby Butterfly hanging - there's eggs underneath the wings on the other side - (oh I do loves a little detail lol)

The birdies sit on Darice Mini Hearts (which act as little nests and make the birdies 'pop' forwards.  There are a collection of bits I find whilst out and about in there too, feathers (for movement), dried rose petals, twigs, hawthorn pieces and I've popped a little of the fabulous Natural Icelandic Moss  and Jute Twine in there too - just a little of each but it has a huge impact when all popped together, a detail fest lol.

Now I said I'd leave you a little flower tute, well I've told you about the mini chipboard flowers, the huge rose bloom are layers and layers and more and more layers of the tattered florals - (the new Jumbo die and Bigz die) -

   - the 'twirly' roses are simply created from a circle of your patterned paper.....

-take a sheet of the Menagerie paper, draw round a tea plate/side plate, tear out (not cut out)

-tear (starting from the outer edge) a spiral shape, leaving enough paper in the centre to pop your glue on.

-dust the rough edges of the spiral with inks

-starting from the outer spiral, preferred pattern face-up, and turn over the outer rough edges (only tiny edges) all the way to the centre.....

-now at this point if you like you can add extra's - pieces of thin Calico strips, Jute Twine, Lace, ribbon (anything that will add texture and detail)

-I have created the 'twirly' roses from the spirals without extra's.....

-starting from the outside spiral strip, (preferred pattern face up) form a small,tight spiral and as you work your way around the forming rose centre, start to carefully twist and turn your spiral strip as you wrap and twine it, as your rose grows your wrapping can become looser -

 -once you run out of spiral strip the last turn should fold under your formed rose, pop glue on this (hot glue gun preferably - be careful of burnt fingers though!) and push down 'n' hold rose in place - the centre of the rose may still spring out , just pop a little glue in there and pop centre back in place 

- these roses are sooo quick to create once you've practised and tweaked your method - you can create loose lush roses, tight crisp roses, try 12x12 papers and a dinner plate size circle, or tiny,tiny yummy sized fiddly roses...

There you have it......tis one finished shadow box full to the brim with the said wonderful stash.....the unique and unusual stash from Calico Crafts Web Shop - I have been lucky.....

-and I was thinking......maybe this is something you could create for yourself or as a FATHER'S DAY treat....I know my Dad would love it as he is a fanatical Gardner who loves to feed the birds all year long, ticking off which bird visits, when, how many times etc.....whatever you decide they (shadow boxes) are a real joy to create - immense satisfaction develops from within as your box grows layer upon layer.

 I'm offski for now - I have had a ball creating these pieces for Calico and everyone who stops by to peep.......either over on the Calico blog or over here on my blog or perhaps both blogs :-)

Kassa xoxo