Marvellous Monday with Visible Image

Is it starting to feel a little cold where you are? Winter is on its' way. I have so far managed to refrain from getting too Christmassy (is that how you spell it? Spell-check doesn't like any of my attempts to spell it!) but this week I am showing you something I have made which could be a Christmas gift.

NEWS -NEWS - NEWS - NEWS -NEWS - NEWS - NEWS

New stamp release from Visible Image - pre-orders now being taken!

You are going to love this new selection of stamps from Visible Image, 

trust me I have seen them ALL and they are amazing! 

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I am partial to a bit of up-cycling as you know. Remember the little chalkboard cum key rack that I modified recently? Blog post HERE Well, this little drawer unit started out quite plain and uninteresting but I have decorated it using the Revolution stamp set from Visible Image. I picked it up in a charity shop and have had it in my stash for a few months now. I suspect the previous owner used it for storing cotton wool balls in as the inside was a little fluffy to say the least! Anyway, after some sanding down and de-fluffing I set about beautifying it.

I started by giving the whole thing a coat of matt varnish, one with a dye included. Not only did it liven up the dull wood but it also gave me a good base to stamp onto. I have found that stamping directly onto wood can be a bit hit and miss. It can sometimes 'bleed' into the grain and you get a blurry image. OK if you want that look but I needed this to be sharp and crisp as the script stamp is so detailed, I wanted to keep it readable!


Once the varnish was dry I stamped the script using black Stazon ink. Although this usually dries very quickly I left it for an hour before doing the next lot of stamping 'just in case'.

Next I stamped some of the decorative elements using black embossing powder. I admit that it didn't work as I wanted it to. It got lost on the background and so I re-stamped the elements this time using gold embossing powder. This turned out to be a good mistake as this gold over black gives a shadow effect which I really like. Lastly I added some red Stazon swirls.

As the piece is decorated with permanent stamp ink and the embossing is technically waterproof, I opted not to give it another coat of varnish. I was worried that there might be a reaction or that the varnish would cause the ink to bleed. It is obviously not a piece I would recommend to be used in any wet, damp rooms, like a bathroom or a kitchen but I would think this would be perfect for a bedroom for your jewellery, or make-up or even cotton wool balls!

Click HERE to find out how to enter the challenge

This month the theme is Your Favourite Visible Image Stamp.

Click HERE to go to the Facebook group.

Ask to join if you haven't already. 

Click HERE to subscribe to the Newsletter

Click HERE to go to the Visible Image blog to see

DT inspiration projects and check out the Gallery. 

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See you next week for another Marvellous Monday and in the mean time enjoy your week, get crafty and show us what you have been up to!

Happy Days!  Kim J

The Friday Feature with Visible Image.

Hello followers! Here we are again with the Friday Feature. Hope you all had a good week? 

As you know I have recently moved and I needed a little note board and somewhere to hang my keys. I also wanted something to hold letters that needed posting. I was getting frustrated because I would pop into town to get something and then realise I left the letters that needed posting on the table! I was thinking a shelf by the front door, with some hooks for keys and a cork board to pin things onto. 

Well, I didn't need any of that in the end! I found a great functional piece in my local supermarket that ticked all the above boxes, it was a good price but it wasn't the prettiest looking thing on the planet. Now, some may like the original but it really didn't suit me. So I went about altering it, and I am thrilled with the end result!

So here it is before I transformed it using Visible Image stamps. 

And here it is after. 

And here it is 'in use'

I used the lovely INKognito Flower and Bronte stamps.

  

Hope you like the transformation? 

I would like to remind you about the Visible Image Facebook group - HERE

The Visible Image monthly Challenge - HERE

The Visible Image online shop and inspirations gallery - HERE

and my Facebook page - HERE

Have a lovely weekend and I will see you again soon! Comments always read, please, if you have the time, tell me what you think.

Kim 

Monday Make with Creative Expressions - Lighthouse Box

Hello from Sunny St Dogmaels! Hope you don't mind me showing you a shot of me relaxing on the beach? Even us devoted crafters need some time away from our ink pads you know and I am lucky to have a beach as my venue for some 'time out'.  I am getting back into the swing of things now, my diary is filling up with things to do and my blog habit is returning! This seaside living is really suiting me. Maybe that is why my projects are all a little bit nautical at the moment. They might feature the same images but they are quite different in look and design. 

Hasn't it been hot these last few days? I do hope the thunder storms didn't affect you too much? Down here in Pembrokeshire we barely had any rain and unless I was unconscious, we didn't get any thunder storms either. Pity, as I was looking forward to a trip to the beach to watch the storm!

I wanted to do something 3 dimensional this week for my Monday Make with Creative Expressions products. You already know I have a penchant for boxes. I made sure before I moved that I stocked up on boxes to decorate; new ones, charity shop finds, car boot treasure etc, just in case I couldn't source enough boxes to work with. 

I decided to use a new wooden box for this project and started by removing the hinges and 'lock' to make decorating it easier. I then gave it a coat of white Gesso to prime it. The finished look I wanted wasn't smooth and sanded so I wasn't too careful about how I applied the Gesso. To be honest the rougher the better especially for the sides and a rough brush helped to give extra texture. I allowed this to dry completely.

Next I added some fibrous ribbon. Now I have had this 'ribbon' for years, I have no idea where I got it from but as an alternative you could use any textured ribbon, narrow strips of hessian, twine, or even strips of textured paper you have put through an embossing folder. It doesn't matter what colour of 'ribbon' you use as it is going to get painted anyway. I also put a row around the sides on the bottom half of the box. Then paint the ribbon. This covers any glue that may have oozed out.

I then went on to colour the box in various places with a selection of colours using dry brushes. I picked up the colour from the Tim Holtz Distress ink pads and lightly brushed colour on until I was happy with the result. Any areas that you are unhappy with can simply be painted again and re-coloured. I used Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood and a touch of Vintage Photo.

I then created the top panel using a piece of denim blue coloured card and Gesso. Using a very dry brush I swiped Gesso across the card to give the effect of white wash. Once this was dried I cut it to fit the top panel on the lid of the box.

I stamped the lighthouse image with black Archival ink directly onto the whitewashed card, followed with a couple of the seagulls. Using some more Gesso I added some areas of highlight to the lighthouse, rocks and seagulls. A bit more distress ink, this time some Black Soot,  around the panel and then it was glued onto the top of the box using Cosmic Shimmer glue. I then replaced the hinges and 'lock'.

This photo looks more grey than the real thing.
Hope it isn't a camera issue!!

I hope you like the project? If you have any questions please feel free to ask me by going to the comment form. I would also love it if you could leave a comment or simply say 'Hi!'

I shall be back next week with another project. Hope to see you again then? Kim xx