Welcome to Velvet Paw Creations - Design Team Projects by Leigh Snaith-Brunton - The Sharpie Domino Queen & owner of LeighSBDesigns Art Stamps!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

We Won! Go Team Smeared Ink :0)

 photo TeamDominationChallenge2_zps87f4cc55.jpgWoohoo!  My first Design Team Throwdown and we WON!  Team Smeared Ink rocks ;0)

Congrats to all the design teams who participated in round 2, everyone totally brought their A-Game!

Check out my team mates creations here, mine here and the other teams here!
 
Round 3 starts Sunday March 31!  Team Smeared Ink will announce the new challenge theme by noon!  Do you dare to go up against us?  We challenge your design teams to enter the ring for the next DT Throwdown!  Read all about it here!
 

 
Happy Easter and as always Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * Smeared Ink * About Art Accents

Friday, March 29, 2013

Smeared Ink Design Team Throwdown - Faux Finishes!

Hello Everyone!
This is a belated post coz for some reason my blog would not post, just kept getting an error message to fix a page problem...urrgh!  Anyway, thank goodness it's back to it's normal buggy self and I'm not tooooo late with the news!

Ancient Stone 'faux finish' Dominoes

So without further delay...here's the scoop!
Smeared and Smudged forum is now hosting Design Team Throwdowns where Design Teams from around the globe get to compete against each other in a friendly and fierce bi-weekly competition!  The first Throwdown was won by Haunted Design House and as the winners the team then got to pick the theme of the next Throwdown.  They chose Faux Finishes and this time round I'm battling it out with 2 of my fellow Smeared Ink design team mates!  You can see their Faux Finish creations here!

The Design Teams have entered their Faux Finish creations and the voting started yesterday so you've only got today to dash over, check out the absolutely amazing art and cast your votes!  Of course, we'd LOVE it if you choose us to win, but we encourage you to vote for the projects (team) that you think are the best!

This is what I came up for the Faux Finish challenge, an Ancient Stone technique for dominoes!

NOW PLEASE GO AND VOTE :0)  You have until midnight tonight EST to get them in!  You do have to be a Smeared and Smudged forum member
to participate and vote, but it's free and very worth signing up.

Now for my Ancient Stone 'faux finish' Dominoes!
 This is a faux finish technique that I invented back in 2003 on my DominoART Yahoo Group while I was experimenting with ways to create a faux Scrimshaw technique for dominoes.  It's probably fair to say it's a semi-faux technique coz it does involve clay ;0)  It looks like it could be a hard one but it actually isn't and the worst part is waiting for it to dry so you might want to make a lot in one sitting for semi-instant gratification!
 

Raven collage rubber stamp from the Quoth the Raven set by Smeared Ink
cream 15/16 inch x 1.75 inch Spinner domino
super-sized 1.5 x 2.5 inch white domino
white DAS Air Dry Clay
Ancient Page dye ink:  Coal Black, Chocolate and Sienna
Dremel or a Drill
Heat gun
brown suede cord
white craft glue
paper towel
toothpick
Krylon matte spray sealer or Artist's Workable Fixative
sunlight and patience ;0)

This is a great technique if you've got any messed up dominoes hanging around.  If you want to make a pendant with one of the smaller dominoes then use a Dremel or a drill to drill a hole large enough to thread a piece of suede cord through.  Stain the sides of the domino by pressing it directly onto the Sienna Ancient Page ink pad, then randomly onto the Chocolate and smear and blend the inks with paper towel.  Keep messing with it until you like the effect and then heat set the inks. 


Smear white glue around the surface of the domino and squish some small chunks of white DAS air dry clay on top while it's still wet.  Be as rough and random with the clay application as you want and leave some of the cracks and rough spots.  Be generous coz you'll lose quite a bit during the stamping process where you'll have no less than about a 1/8 inch thickness on the smaller domino and about 1/4 inch on the super-sized.  For the larger domino above I inked up the rubber stamp with a Ancient Page Sienna with a bit of Chocolate mixed in.  For the pendant domino below I added a touch of Coal Black to the mix too.  Press the domino down firmly onto the rubber stamp and really apply a lot of pressure.  The clay will bulge out to the sides beyond the edge of the domino.  Carefully remove the domino from the stamp and gently press the clay surface on the domino to make sure it didn't lift or pull away and scrape away the excess.  Leave the edges very raw looking and let parts of the surface break away so it looks like it has crumbled or worn away over time.  On the larger domino above I added more dimension to the impression with a toothpick and don't forget to poke a hole through the clay if you're making a pendant!  Leave the dominoes to dry for a day or put them out in the sun for a few hours.  Apply more Sienna, Chocolate and Coal Black ink to the sides of the domino and to the raw clay edges, blend and rub away with paper towel until you're happy with the result.  Protect the surface of the dominoes with a coat of either Krylon Artist's Workable Fixative or matte sealer spray.  Thread the suede cord through the pendant and knot for the ancient stone pendant and adhere a magnet to the back of the larger domino and you're done :0)  Cool hey!


Thanks for visiting and if you try out this technique leave me a link to your project in my comments, I'd love to stop by and check them out!!

Have a fabulous Easter weekend and Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * Smeared Ink *  About Art Accents

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Delft Blue Bunny Card with matching envelope for Blockheads!

Hello Everyone!

As a ceramic artist I love to paint in the Delft Blue style Holland is famous for.  I thoroughly enjoy translating the style over to my paper art as well and today I'm sharing an Easter/Spring card with a matching envelope I created for Blockheads Paper Arts just using Memento Ink and Copic markers.


Blockheads Paper Arts stamp sets used:
Easter Full Sheet and Love and Romance.


Make a square card that measures 5 x 5 inches from Copic friendly cardstock, I use Neenah Solar White.  I like the square size coz it makes the finished piece look like an authentic ceramic tile.  Stamp the large bunny from the Easter set in the center of the card in Paris Dusk Memento Ink (dark blue).  Then stamp the heart flourish from the Love and Romance stamp set around the edges, building up the design using just the one stamp.  I like to eyeball as much as possible for a non-perfect look but if that's a challenge for you then I suggest using a stamp positioner.  I'm partial to a Stamp-a-ma-jig which I did use when it came to stamping a portion of the Easter Lily (Easter set) onto the body of the bunny with a bit of masking magic. 


Colour all the images with a combination of B23, 26 and 32.  I like to start with the darker of the 3 which is B26, then B23 and finally laying in B32.  Work over all the areas with a Colourless Blender to blend, blur and give variation to the colours which replicates the look of authentic Delft Blue painting.  Stamp the smaller bunny and a portion of the heart flourish onto a matching envelope and give it the same treatment for a fun matching set.  The monochromatic colour scheme makes this a perfect card for guys and of course the bunny makes it a great one for girls too ;0)
Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * Smeared Ink * About Art Accents

DominoART Challenge #1 Rick St Dennis Easter/Valentine Domino Books!

 DominoART Blog's first challenge - Rick St Dennis Easter/Valentine Domino Books closes March 27th!  The Domino Book Kit and Prizes are sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digital Stamps! You can still get the kit on sale in Rick's Etsy store!
Come join the fun before it's too late!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

"Kensi Pram" 3D Gift Box

Hello Everyone!
Today I'm sharing a super cute 3D pram gift box that I made for a friend who recently had a little girl named Kensington.  So I'm calling this cutie the 'Kensi Pram' ;0)


 I used my Silhouette Cameo and Designer Edition software to die cut out the 'Baby Buggy Bag' from the Bundle of Joy SVG kit by SVGCuts.  I used white cardstock for all the pieces so that I could rubber stamp them with the following Blockheads Paper Arts stamps:
Nature Medallions , Painted Butterflies, Verses (full sheet)


Stamp the main body of the pram with the flower medallion in Pixie Dust VersaMagic ink.  Apply Tea Dye Distress Ink to the edges with a foam ink applicator.  Stamp the other side with wishes for the new baby - I chose the words 'Love', 'Dream', 'Create' and 'Inspire'.  Apply Spun Sugar Distress Ink to the cardstock with a foam ink applicator while the words are still slightly damp so that they blend and smear a bit to create a dreamy effect.


 Stamp the hood sides with the small blossom in Pink Petunia VersaMagic and the main hood part in London Fog Memento ink.  Apply Spun Sugar Distress Ink to the edges.  Stamp the hood accent piece and the frills with the flourish in Perfect Plumeria and apply Spun Sugar DI to the edges too.  Stain the large wheels with Tea Dye Distress Ink and the wheel center circles with Perfect Plumeria VersaMagic ink.  Assemble and adhere everything with Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive.  Embellish with pink buttons and add dimensional pearl accents with a Magic Transparent White Viva Pearl Pen or use Liquid Pearls instead.

click to enlarge the photos
To complete my creation I made an oval gift tag and stamped it a few times with a tiny pram in Pixie Dust VersaMagic ink and edged it with Tea Dye Distress Ink.  The word 'Congrats' is stamped with Rick Cocoa Memento ink (both stamps are from a CardMaker set).  Cut two pieces of pink ribbon and attach them to the tag with a tiny white button brad (Recollections).  Add pink tissue paper then sit a baggie full of pink jelly beans for the new Mom inside the pram.  So cute!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!
I'm entering this one in the following challenges:
 Stuck On Us Sketches - Baby Stroller Die Cut Challenge
 Divas by Design - Babies and Toddlers
 Paper Craftink Journey - Ribbon or Lace
 Charisma Cards #11 Die Cuts
 Jelly Park Challenges - Pretty Pastels
Hot Shot Craft #15 Anything But a Card
Crafting for all Seasons #48 Anything But a Card

Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * Smeared Ink * About Art Accents

Friday, March 15, 2013

Week 2 of the Easter Bonnets challenge over at Third Coast CreativeChallenges!

Hello Friends!
Lots going down in the challenge world today!  We're now into week 3 of my first DominoART blog challenge and I introduced the 2nd member to my new DominoART design team too so pop over to the DominoART blog and check everything out!   We're also into week 2 of the TCCC#14 Easter Bonnets challenge over at the Third Coast Creative Challenges Blog!  Here's my inspiration for this week...another super cute vintage chic bonnet wearing fancy feline!   She's so adorable in her bonnet and matching outfit!  
 

I'm looking for creations featuring bonnets or hats in some way or form for this one!  So put your best hat on and come join the fun!  The end date for this challenge has now been extended to April 3 instead of March 20 because starting with TCCC#15 Spring Steampunk I'm going to host a new challenge every 4 weeks instead of 2.  You've now got lots more time to play and enter each challenge!


Third Coast Rubber Stamps used:  Henrietta DT-256-M and In Your Easter Bonnet WS-107-C

All stamping was done with Onyx Black Memento ink onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and die cut out with Spellbinders dies.  I used the following Copic Sketch markers to colour the kitty:  E41, 43, 44, Y11, 13, G21, YG06, 09, 85, B34, 37, RV10, 13 and the Colourless Blender.  I also stamped the hat portion and Kitty's bow onto a piece of scrap and fussy cut out just the flower and the bow then coloured and adhered to the main image with a dab of clear Create and Craft silicone dimensional glue.  New Sprout Memento Ink was applied with a foam ink applicator tool to the oval panel edges and I used a Spellbinders Mega Oval metal die to die cut the panel and as a stencil for the ink to preserve the white border and also applied to the edges of the sentiment panel.  All the decorative paper is My Mind's Eye (I finally made myself use some of this huge stash of gorgeous paper) and die cut out the scalloped mat with a Spellbinders Mega Scalloped Oval die and a Quickutz Lacey Rectangle die for the sentiment.  The sheer white ribbon is from Michaels and I made a tall folded card from black cardstock and adhered everything to it with craft glue.  I completed my card by adding White Magic Transparent Viva Pen pearls to all the scallops, the 4 corners of the sentiment and to kitty's pearls too then added a dash of diamond Stickles glitter glue to the flower centers.


 Thanks for stopping by to check out today's project!  Please visit my DominoART blog to join in my altered game art challenges!  D'ART#1 is Domino Books sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digital Stamps.  The domino book kit is now on sale in Rick's Etsy store!  Hope to see you all over at DominoART and Third Coast Creative Challenges too!

I've entered this one in the following challenges:
 Use Your Stuff #75 - Our Four Legged Friends
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Chic to be Shabby
Card Maniac Challenges #16 - Lots of Layers
Stamp and Create - Fur or Feathers
Tuesday Taggers - Hats and Easter Bonnets
Creative Card Crew #31 - Ribbon
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * About Art Accents

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Vintage Travel Booklet with Tags - upcycled paper towel tube!

Hello Friends!


The Blockheads Paper Arts design team are doing Travel themed projects this month and I'm really pleased with my project I'm sharing today!  I've upcycled the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towel to make the page pouches for my mini travel booklet!  I love the travel worn vintage feel of the completed booklet with the shipping tags tucked in to each pouch!


My travel booklet is perfect for a 6 day trip!  You can journal about each day on the tags and write either the name of the location or the date inside the red arrows.  You can glue photos or clippings to the pouch covers and stash all sorts of things like tickets inside the pouches too! 


I used Blockheads exclusive stamps from the following sets on the cardboard pounches:
Household Notions,  Backgrounds for All Occasions, Vintage Light and Form, Greco Roman, 123 Backgrounds and Vintage Portraits

and the following stamps on the shipping tags:
Greco Roman and Urban Journal 1.

Flatten two paper towel tubes and cut into 6 pouches with each one slightly longer than the previous one.  Cut the right hand side of each pounch to form the letters T R A V E L.


Apply Tea Dye Distress Ink to each pouch with a foam ink applicator.  Apply the ink heavier around all the edges and along the ovelapped sections.  I also like the way the ink went darker and looks distressed along the lines where the paper towel was glued!  Stamp some of the images with Tea Dye Distress Ink, then others with Black Soot and also stamp the two kinds of postage images with Rocket Red Brilliance ink.  Decorate both sides of each pouch and edge with a metallic gold paint pen.  The finished pouches look like tatty passport pages and vintage postcards.  Clamp the pouches together to hold them secure while hand-drilling holes through them with a pick tool.  Glue the left ends of each pouch closed with some glue to ensure the pouch contents don't fall out and bind the pouches together with black elastic cord.  Knot the ends of the cord and fray and add some glue to make sure they don't unravel.


Cut 6 shipping tags to fit into each pouch.  Stamp them all (front and back) with the scroll design from the Greco Roman set with Tea Dye Distress Ink.  Use the same ink to distress all the edges too.  Stamp the circle and long rectangle Urban Journal 1 stamps randomly on both sides of each tag with Black Soot Distress Ink.  Then stamp the arrows from the same stamp set with Rocket Red Brilliance ink.  Attach vintage gold ribbon to each tag.


Thanks for visiting with me today and I'd just like to remind you all about the DominoART Challenge #1 that is currently underway on my DominoART blog!  The theme is Rick St Dennis Domino Books and the prizes, 3 of them!!! are being sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digtal Stamps too!  So come and join the fun :0)
 
I've entered this one in the following challenges:
Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * About Art Accents

Monday, March 11, 2013

Kitty Sitty Pretty In Her Blue Easter Bonnet

Hello Friends!
 

 I kicked off the new challenge, TCCC#14 Easter Bonnets, on Friday over at the Third Coast Creative Challenges Blog with this super cute vintage chic bonnet wearing fancy feline!  It's she adorable in her finery!  I'm looking for creations featuring bonnets or hats in some way or form for this one!  So put your best hat on and come join the fun!  I've got another Bonnet Feline card to share that's a front view kitty and she's gorgeous so come by on Friday to see her ;0)


Third Coast Rubber Stamps used:  Cat in a Hat (backside) DT-254-O and In Your Easter Bonnet WS-107-C

All stamping was done with Onyx Black Memento ink onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and die cut out with Quickutz dies.  I used the following Copic Sketch markers to colour the kitty:  E0000, 41, 43, 44, Y11, 13, 17, G21, 85, B32, 34, 37 and the Colourless Blender.  I also stamped the hat portion onto a piece of scrap and fussy cut out just the flower and the bow then coloured and adhered to the main image with a dab of clear Create and Craft silicone dimensional glue.  Pumice Stone Distress Ink was applied with a foam ink applicator tool to all the panels edges and I used the metal die on the kitty panel as a stencil to preserve the white border.  All the decorative paper is My Mind's Eye (I finally made myself use some of this huge stash of gorgeous paper) and sheer white ribbon is from Michaels.  I completed my card by adding White Magic Transparent Viva Pen pearls to all 4 corners of the card, kitty's pearls and also to the flourishes on the hat plus a dash of diamond Stickles glitter glue to the center of the flower.


 I'd also like to remind everyone that my first DominoART challenge is underway!  Please visit my DominoART blog to join in my altered game art challenges!  D'ART#1 is Domino Books sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digital Stamps.  The domino book kit was only a freebie for 2 days last week but now it's on sale in Rick's Etsy store!  Hope to see you all over at DominoART and Third Coast Creative Challenges too!

I've entered this one in the following challenges:
 Use Your Stuff #75 - Our Four Legged Friends
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Chic to be Shabby
Card Maniac Challenges #16 - Lots of Layers
Stamp and Create - Fur or Feathers
Tuesday Taggers - Hats and Easter Bonnets

Happy Stamping!
 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * About Art Accents

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Rick St Dennis Domino Book Kit Now Available on the DominoART Blog!

Hello Friends!

DominoART's brand new Challenges launched on Friday March 1st!
DominoART Challenge #1 - Rick St Dennis Domino Books
 The freebie Domino Book Kit and Prizes sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digital Stamps

THE PRIZES!
For the challenge launch there will be THREE WINNERS!  Each will receive 3 digis of their choice from Rick's Etsy store!  How absolutely awesome is that!

The Domino Book kit is NOW available for you to download on the DominoART Blog!  Rick is providing the kit free for TWO DAYS ONLY, Wednesday March 6, 7am PST, until midnight March 7!  The freebie is for your use only, please DO NOT share the images on your own blogs!

To enter the challenge please click HERE 

For your inspiration I'd like to share my "Love is Magic" domino book featuring both book cover images and the Valentine pages from the digi kit.  See my project on DominoART for more info!

 

 I look forward to seeing all your wonderful entries :0)
    Happy Stamping!
     THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
    I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * About Art Accents