Monday 15 April 2013

Anything But A Card - April Showers - Very Late. . . . . .

Please note that this should have been posted yesterday but our internet went on strike which resulted in some unladylike behaviour from me whilst trying to fix it! An engineer is booked for tomorrow but my daughter rang earlier and said 'why don't you use your phone as a hotspot Mum?'. Er. . . .  Didn't know about such things but I followed her instructions and here I am, back online and feeling human again! What did we do before computers??

The new challenge goes live today (yesterday!) at Anything But A Card! Our theme, very aptly for the weather in the UK, is April Showers. This means you can choose to do anything with a water theme be it colours, images, materials or a host of other watery delights. You can make anything you like, using anything that pleases you as long as it isn't a card and it fits the theme for this fortnight. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

We have one or two surprises up our sleeves over the coming months so look out for some new inspiration at Anything But A Card. Today, we are introducing you to our newest recruit: DeeDee Catron of UmWowStudio and I'm sure you'll all make her feel very welcome. Good to have you on board DeeDee.

For my piece today, I had to drag out my little seahorse stamp because I just love him! I wanted to use the colours of the sea and decided to include this lovely image as part of the hanging I've made. I used a Tando Arch thingy (I can never remember the names of these things!), acrylic paint, inks, watercolour pencils, water soluble crayons, stamping, stitching and of course some crackle - at least you don't have rust this week!

Here's the little hanging I've made:

The completed underwater scene (not to scale!). The seam binding hanger was coloured with various distress stains to match the colour scheme.
The frame was given two layers of gesso, followed by a mix of soft blue acrylics. When dry, a medium was used to add larger than normal crackle (learnt in my Andy Skinner club!). A further layer of acrylic crackle paint was added and hey presto! Bigger crackle - thanks AS! To complete the shabby look, some treasure gold was added randomly.
The background was achieved by sponging card with distress inks in various blues. Water soluble crayons/pastels were applied straight onto the rubber stamp, spritzed with water then applied to the background. A white gel pen added some detail here and there.
The seahorse was stamped on scrap card and aged marine EP added. the spaces between the embossed areas were coloured with watercolour pencils and a waterbrush.
The shells were stamped onto an acrylic paint base and embossed with aged taupe EP. The shell to the right was stamped onto plain card and coloured with watercolour pencils and a waterbrush. Shading was added around the images to added depth (watercolour pencil again).
Some machine stitching was added to create interest on the background. You can clearly see the white gel pen here too and shading around the seahorse.
Mmmm. . . . . tension on that machine stitch is a little dodgy but it all adds to the fun doesn't it!

Hope you like my little hanging. It was great fun to make and when I get to use paint, ink and stamping it's even more fun! Now it's your turn. . . . . . . . . . .




31 comments:

  1. Hi Julia - Daughters - what would we do without them!
    This is fabulous. Love the large crackle, something I need to master - I usually end up sanding back!
    Love the embossing on the seahorse and shells, gives a sparkly/sandy texture.
    Hugs, Avril xx

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  2. Hi Julia
    What a time you've had!!!
    This has the most amazing watery appearance to it.
    Quite fabulous.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  3. how beautiful, love your distressed frame, the stitching, lovely textured effect on the shell and the sea horse.all of it really! lol

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  4. Hi Julia, this watery scene with the fabulous seahorse is gorgeous. I love how you did the wider crackle, it looks wonderful on your frame. The stitching adds great dimension and the shells look lovely in their embossed coats.

    Our internet was down for 2 days over the weekend - turned out to be Windows updating itself - we seem to be OK now. Hope you get yours sorted soon. Hugs, Anne x

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  5. ...oh my goodness Julia this is an outstanding piece of crafting, so much detail and thought has gone into this piece, the colours are vibrant and eye catching and love the stitching too, your one talented lady...Melxx :)

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  6. Wonderful work, Julia - and well worth waiting for!! Love the teal embossing on your enchanting seahorse, and fabulous crackle technique - another stunning project!
    Alison xx

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  7. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Julia tis is an amazing piece of art with a lot of greta details.
    Love it.
    Greetings Janny

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  8. The attention to detail is superb Julia. Love the stitched seaweed, those embossed shells, that magical seahorse, the bubbly background and of course the crackle. Love it, hugs Jenny x

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  9. Glad, you're pc is able to communicate with you again Julia :-)
    Your hanging is so nice...what an interesting details,great colours
    a lovely seahorse and shells...of course, a PIN again!

    hugs, Alie :-)

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  10. Absolutely gorgeous, Julia. I love that embossing on the shell.

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  11. A fabulous little hanging Julia. I love the watery background and those embossed seashells. Glad you managed to get back online - it's scary how much we rely on the Internet now. Xx

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  12. Awe Julia this is STUNNING sweetie. I adore the mahoosive crackle effect, whats the secret hey lol??? I treasure my little seahorse you know, so lovely to see it here too.
    Hope you are well my lovely??
    Huge huggles x x x x

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  13. This is so gorgeous... Love your embossing!!!

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  14. Another really beautiful make, the crackle is amazing! Love the stitched detail...anothercreally fab make...hope you saw Andy sharing a link to your rusty make a few posts back on facebook, go you! Hugstrace x

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  15. You are just amazing julia ! Stunning,Fabulous ,awesome...project !
    Congrats for your win at Technique Time Tuesday !

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  16. Always adore your little seahorse and the hanging is super.

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  17. Oh my goodness Julia!!!!! Another little treasure from you! This is just exquisite. I love the sparkle and the stitching on the background..well I love everything about it!!! I can't remember the name of the arch either and I should know hahahaha xxx

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  18. I knoew this was yours before I saw the name,the shells look great, is that the frantage embossing powder? and is that the large crack technique? ;) x
    good to see you at the show on sat.

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  19. Wow, that's a gorgeous hanging, fantastic details.

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  20. Beautiful work - what a wonderful wall hanging and I love your little sea horse! Better late than never I always say!!
    Sandy

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  21. How beautiful! The seahorse is totally gorgeous and I love the way you nestled the pretty shells together on your seafloor. Your unladylike behaviour was most definitely deserved... we bloggers are such slaves to our tech!

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  22. I am also delayed in catching up with posts! This is fabulous - I love the colours and the shape, a true little treasurer. The background is just fantastic.

    And thanks for the tip about the phone - a son will be sorting it out for me next time he visits!

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  23. This is beautiful Julia, I love the crackling on the frame and the lovely little sea horse.
    It was lovely to bump into you on Saturday.
    xxx Hazel.

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  24. Yep - I saw the Gothic Arch in The Craft Barn today (where I met Karen & Jenny) so just HAD to get one after seeing your lovely hanging. Just looking out for a seahorse now... BJ

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  25. This leaves me almost breathles ... what a piece of art, beyond awesome. Hope your internet problems will be sorted out very soon. Hugs, Suzanne xxx

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  26. A gorgeous hanging, Julia!

    Love every tiny detail of texture you created and the various surfaces are so beautiful - ah, if I only could touch them! *LOL

    Hugs,
    Claudia x

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  27. Wow! this is simply stunning Julia! hope your computer problems are sorted soon xx

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  28. This is gorgeous! I love the colors! The embossing and crackle look fabulous!

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  29. Oh I love this the colours just jump out at you its really beautiful ...once again! x

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Juliax