Hi folks, hope you are all well and looking forward to the run-up to Christmas? I have a feeling the shops must already be fed up with the whole thing by now, as their Christmassy products were on display around the end of August!
Anyway, this month's theme "Blast from the past" will be a great one as you can use any theme from previous Challenges, so the possibilities are endless!
I chose to create a piece of artwork using the "Stencil" theme from Challenge 32 back in October 2015....and of course for me, it had to be a Christmas/New Year card - I think this one would be great for either occasion sporting baubles, glitter glue & stars.
And this month, this card could be yours if you win the Clarity Challenge!.....Along with your £50 Clarity Voucher of course!!
Ingredients:
7x7 piece of Stencil Card
Stencils - Fairy Lights Wreath, Framer Shapes Aperture, Mini Stars, Large Stars
Deer from the "Oak & Deer + Mask" and small baubles from the "Christmas Tree + Mask" Stamp sets
Grunge Paste & Spreader
Selection of bright coloured Distress & Artistry Inks for the lights, Coffee Archival Ink for the deer & mini baubles
Blending Tool, Make-up sponge & Clarity Stencil Brushes
Perfect Pearls Mist (the colour I used is "Perfect Pearl" it has a lovely shimmer)
Colouring Pencils. White Pen, Stardust Clear Sakura Gel Pen, Posca Marker Pens, contrasting Promarker
Decoart Glitter Glue & small paint brush
See links to the Clarity website below for some of the above products
Firstly tape the Fairy Lights Stencil to the Stencil Card and use the spreader to drag grunge paste through it - make sure that you have a bowl of water to wash the stencil & spreader immediately after use.
Allow the grunge paste to dry completely, then replace the stencil so that you can add the inks with the blending tool to the lights. The brighter the colours, the better! (Ignore the Perfect Pearls spray in the second photo as I took the photo before I decided what I was going to do next - I used it later in the project).
Stamp the Deer in Ranger Coffee Archival on the Stencil Card and mask the stamped image. Take one of the Framer Shape Stencils, (I chose the wiggley-edged one), use low-tack masking tape to attach it, then using a make-up sponge, lightly shade around the deer with the Artistry Wild Bilberry ink, then brush outwards from the stamp and around the edge of the stencil with the Clarity Brush to add colour to the background. (I didn't worry too much about the ink on the Fairy Lights as the next stage sorted that out). Place the mini star stencil over the centre and brush randomly through it highlighting a few stars here and there. Before removing the shaped stencil, spray the Perfect Pearls in the centre to give a nice sheen.
Remove the deer mask & stencil and start colouring and shading the artwork.
Enhance the colours of the Fairy Lights with contrasting colouring pencils and gently underline them just under the grunge paste with a black colouring pencil - take it easy as you don't want to disturb the grunge paste. Use a white pen & Sakura Gel Pen to highlight some of the stars and the upper part of the deer's antlers.
Place the Large Star Stencil over the whole piece and lightly swirl around the edge of the artwork with the Stencil Brush with Wild Bilberry to compliment the smaller stars in the centre.
Trim down the artwork.
Use the make-up sponge again to soften the edge of the work by using a circular movement, then use the chisel end of a blue Promarker to frame the piece.
I mounted my work onto a blank greeting card using a glue runner, but thought the Deer needed a little something to make him a bit more festive, so I added a few of the little baubles from the Christmas Tree stamp set (launched last month on HOCHANDA). I coloured the little baubles with Posca Marker pens, and painted those and the Fairy Lights with Decoart Glitter Glue for that little bit of extra sparkle - I've found it's easier to add the glitter glue after you have attached the artwork to the base card as it can sometimes get flattened when you run the glue runner over the back.
The glitter glue is so easy to brush on, a great effect and the glitter stays put, unlike normal glitter flitting off everywhere!
I tried to capture the glitz in this photo.....
Have fun creating something for this month's Challenge, and don't forget, not only do you get a £50 Clarity Voucher if you are randomly selected as this month's winner, but also this card as a helping hand towards your Christmas card creations.
Look forward to seeing which theme you use and all your creative work on the Challenge Blog throughout the month.....Good luck!
Take care all, Carole xxx
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