Hi again - hope you're enjoying the springtime, isn't this just the best time of year?
It's given me an idea for my second inspirational piece.....Hands up those that have started sorting out their wardrobes to see what summer gear they've got?
Well this is not exactly about what we've got, but who wouldn't like a nice snazzy pair of shoes...and more's to the point...who doesn't just "LOVE SHOES".......???
Ingredients:
Piece of watercolour card 6"x6" & a second piece 7"x7"
An 8"x8" blank greeting card
"Clarity Style" Stencil & Unmounted Stamps & a couple of shoe masks made from post-it notes
Woodpress Letters Alphabet & masks
Unmounted Daisies stamp set & masks made from post-it notes
Black Archival Ink
Selection of dye based inks - I used Adirondack Mountain Rose, Tin Holtz Festive Berries, Peacock Feathers, Scattered Straw & Weathered Wood, make-up sponges and blending tools
Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens
Watercolour pencils
Charcoal pencil
Glossy Accents & ribbon to finish off
Start by placing the shoe innie onto a post-it pad and draw round it and cut two shoes (don't forget that the stamp will face the opposite direction and don't do what I did and cut them back-to-front!).
Decide where you want your pair of shoes and remember the first one you stamp will be the one in the front of the artwork. Use Black Archival ink as this gives you a permanent image that won't bleed when you add the dye-based inks later.
Mask the first shoe and stamp the second one slightly offset so that it appears behind. (Post-its are better for masking when stamping as the acetate is a bit thick for this purpose)
Next, place the stencil over the front shoe, tape it down, (and cover the dress so that there's no chance of getting ink through that part), and sponge Festive Berries through the aperture.
Once dry, place a shoe mask over the inked area and move the stencil up and repeat the process on the second shoe
Next,mmmmm, what to say....Well as I said, who doesn't "Like Shoes"....
Stamp the Woodpress letter boxes onto tracing paper (thank you for the tip Barbara) and decide where you want to place them on your artwork, then go ahead and stamp the first set of boxes and mask them before continuing. Apologies for the sideways photo, but I couldn't rotate it - hope you don't get a crick in your neck looking at it!
Leave the letter box masks in place and replace the shoe masks, then stamp & mask the daisies around the edge. Once these are all done and masked off, using the blending tools and your ink selection, lightly colour the card using the blending tools.
Remove the daisy masks as you want the flowers to appear behind the letterboxes & shoes, then add some shadow using a grey-tone ink with a make-up sponge to add depth to your artwork round the letter boxes & shoes.
Colour in the daisies using the Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen, I used "Macaroon" from the Vintage Hues set as that matched the shoes perfectly.
Stamp the letters into the boxes and once dry, colour in the boxes with a yellow watercolour pencil
I also like to add depth to the shadowing using charcoal - looks fab on watercolour card as it picks up the texture really well.
And just because I like a bit of glitz & sparkle, I went over the daisies and the shoes with a clear Sparkle pen - you get one in each Spectrum Noir set, I love 'em.
Add a few black speckles with a black Micron pen to the middle of the daisies and finish off using Glossy Accents in the centre.
Using the same colours that you blended for the shoe background, blend them on the larger piece of card, and using a circular motion with the blending tool, edge both pieces with Festive Berries.
I flicked some water at the artwork and blotted it to add a bit more interest.
Mount the small piece onto the second and before mounting the larger piece on the greeting card, put ribbon round and secure on the back with a small piece of cellotape.
Tie a bow and stick on in the middle and that's it finished!
Well I think I'd better start sorting out my summer clothes as I'm off to New York at the end of this month...one thing's for sure, I definitely won't be taking any high-heeled shoes with me!!!!
There's already some lovely entries to the Challenge, but if you haven't entered yet, you've got until 30th April, so come and join in the fun!
Look forward to seeing you back here again soon xxx
