Thursday, April 28, 2011

Day in day out

“It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.” Jenny Craig
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Bit of an usual choice for a quote from me but I liked the message. Another Friday and yet another sky, am enjoying the weekly hunt for something new in our skies to stop and enjoy and share with fans of Sky Watch Friday. A moody and changeable sky, with something interesting in the late afternoon light.
That time of year when we need so many cards for many extra special occassions.
Looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Creative Block, stop by for a chat and say hello.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Light and tomorrow

"Light tomorrow with today" Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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Happy Easter everyone.  Am down the coast for a long weekend with family and friends.  Maybe even a little photo hunting to share with my friends in Sky Watch Friday where bloggers from all over share their own view of the sky.
The Easter bunny brought me the most delicious news about Helmar Adhesives Design Team and I am super excited. Guess they liked the looks of this altered project (published Scrapbook Memories) that included all kinds of vintage finds, fabric, metal buttons and trims which needed their Fraystop, Gemstop Glue and Acrylic Sealer. Looking forward to working with the Helmar team and finding new things we glue together.

  

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Hopes

"Hope is the thing with feathers....that perches in the soul" Emily Dickinson
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A quiet morning sunrise at the marina is always a pleasure to see, you never know what the day might bring.

Linking to Sky Watch Friday with all the wonderful views other bloggers have the share and Sarah’s Good Life Wednesday for celebrating the simple joys in life.
A thank you card for Candy Rosenberg for helping us research an article on the topic of Steampunk published in this month’s edition of Scrapbook Ideas magazine.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Every day moments

"Every day is my best day; this is my life. I am not going to have this moment again." Bernie Siegel
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Board riders waiting for the perfect moment in the early morning surf is an every day occurrence in our part of the world. That is the Gold Coast city sky line on the far horizon.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what other 100s of bloggers from all over have found  to share with us this week.
Playing with some new color combinations on a tropical themed project with Tattered Angels paints, click the link to see the rest of my post for this month's team challenge. What do you think of hot pink fishes?
Fabulous colours in this project by Wendy Senger for the Color Connections workshop at the end of May in sunny California. Wendy has a little comp going for a free ticket to what looks like a wildly colourful creative day.
And another give away link for a She Art Workshop

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Boards, Moods and Bulletins

This is the story of a little bulletin board that grew. Creative folks like to call our boards ‘mood boards’ because that is where you stick bits and pieces of inspiration until the mood strikes up an idea.

Living by the bay it was a natural that our board would take on a coastal mood.  As a bric-a-brac collector it seemed to just grow and grow.
Natural textures are the theme for a real beach worn style.  What do you think of a little faux panelling? Big lengths of wood are too heavy to mount on the wall and did a bit of creative painting instead.
Working on faux leather masking tape got me to thinking, hmm with the right colours this could almost look like strips of wood. You can read more about my faux leather on Gaal Creative. 
And it is one of the few times when the cheapest tape gives the best result. I used Sello brand from the local dollar store, the trick is to find the lightest weight tape but in a wide width of 2 or 3 inches or 6cm+.

It was really easy too. Simply cut cardboard to fit the inside of the frame and run the masking tape in long lengths up and down your ‘board’. It is ok if the tape is not completely flat or you get small wrinkles in the tape, this adds to the texture and authentic feel. Leave a little gap .5 cm or 1/8inch between the tape to create groves and a bead board effect.

Paint the grove between the tape with a glaze paint to create a resist, and you know I recommend Tattered Angels Sugar Cane or Cowboy. Before cleaning your brush, wipe it against the raised wrinkles and a couple of light brush strokes up the panel to add texture. When the dries it is time to paint your beadboard.
Using multiple colours will help build up your faux wood effect. Randomly mist splashes of Yellow Daisy in places and before that can dry, wipe down the length of your panels letting the colour catch on raised edges.

A broad sponge brush with a thin light coat of white or cream paint is next. Depending on the level of moisture in your paint and thinness of the tape you may already see bubbles lifting. Let that dry and add a second coat of paint. You will see bits of the darker glaze peeking through in the grove and variations of colour in the wood panels that give you a presto bingo there you go – faux wood panelling.
The Tattered Angels design team is celebrating this month with a peek into our craft rooms follow the link to see what other creative projects are on show.  Linked to Sarah's BC Good Life Wednesdays and Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday.
Thank you Maya for featuring my mood board on Completely Coastal.