Sunsets are proof that…
Welcome on my first blog post!I was prompted to do so by my presence in the design team, where I am expected to convey inspiration in this form. This is an experiment for me as from various sources I receive news that no one reads blogs anymore. Is this the way it is? I am very curious about your opinions on this matter. Do you read blogs? Do you review the content there regularly? Do you take an active part: do you comment, share, or leave any sign that you read or saw the post? Or maybe you write your own blog? I suppose there are some writers who treat the blog as their archive of thoughts, portfolio or for their memories… What do you think?
This is my first inspiration for Australian chipboard shapes’ producer – Dusty Attic. It is a great honor for me, to find myself among such talented creators, but it is also an amazing challenge. When, out of curiosity, I looked at the profiles of my new colleagues from DT – what I found there gave me chills for a moment. What I’ve done?! Why did I apply there and why did they accept me?! How am I going to cope with this task now?… That’s what I thought in October! Two months have passed and I got used to the fact that I have no choice but to start creating really good projects. Sounds too bold? Sure! However, I do want to believe that this will be the value of adding my participation in the promotion of the Dusty Attic brand which I’m pretty proud of. There is no way to create something ugly when you’re working with such amazing shapes! Ok – I’ll try to be less excited about their products although it can be quite hard. :)And now I invite you for details:
The first thing to do is selection of proper craft papers for the January Dusty Attic mood board. The colours are stunning, just look at this sunset. Why not take the Mood Board challenge as well? All you need to do is add your art work to the comments section of the Dusty FANattics Facebook group for your chance to win one of two amazing prizes of $50 (AUD) on purchase at the Dusty Attic Store. I can’t wait to see your creations in our Dusty FANAttics Facebook group! Good luck and have fun creating.
The project that I am showing you today is unique – this is a new form of art for me, because so far I have mainly done handmade greeting cards. My artistic output in scrapbooking includes: 230 unique cards, 3 decorative boxes made from scratch, 12 tags, 7 photo albums and only 5 layouts…
I’ve decided to go for the 12’x12′ sheet from the Margaret Papers Design collection. I cut it into rectangles, sewed it chaotically on the machine, distressed the edges. Then I used the Sizzix Textured Impressions 3D – woved embossing folder. I inked the edges of the papers with Versa Magic – Ocean Depth ink and then again with Vintage Photo. I glued the papers with cardboard to obtain a 3D effect by gluing them to the corrugated cardboard base. The whole art is additionally stiffened with a chipboard sheet 12’x12′. I used two Dusty Attic masks on the prepared background: Threaded Beads and Sunburst Stencil. The effect of the masks is emphasized with Distress – Dried Marigold and Victorian Velvet ink. Then I emphasized the rays of the sun more by applying charcoal bright glitter by Cosmic Shimmer.
Then I prepared these awesome chipboard shapes. The main element of my design is this incredible gorgeous moon designed by Nuneka. I gave it colours with the same inks as before and emphasized the outer edge by hot embossing it with Midnight Teal & Obsidian – Moon Glow. I stuck it up with peach colored paper. In the recesses I used bright glitter from Cosmic Shimmer. Then I gave color with embossing powders: Judi Kins on beautiful mystic flourish and Cosmic Shimmer (pink peach blaze) on the word “Sunsets”. The wisteria flowers are black by using pro marker. The rest of my gorgeous shapes: quote, leaves and the plaque were colored with Victorian Velvet ink. Finally, I added an inscription.
Another reason for the uniqueness of this project is the fact that I made it especially for my husband for our 10th first meeting anniversary and this is my modest gift for him. I met my husband on December 2010, the proposal was made a year later, and the wedding was in May 2012. We live in England now, we have two daughters and when I’m writing this post is still December 2020 – 10 years later. The central part of the art work is our photo from 10 years ago, from the time we met. It is cut with a Tattered Lace die and stiffened with cardboard. The edges were aged by Vintage Photo ink, taped the bottom with a sea-coloured gauze, and placed the whole thing on a cardboard distance on a larger circle. The orange circle is covered carelessly with gauze (Adirondack by Tim Holtz: Butterscotch), I glued an old chain around the photo and in the space between the circle and the moon there is a whole bunch of tiny caviar balls in a matching shade.
The thing remained to do was to arrange the composition. This part of the job always takes the longest. I keep putting things from place to place until I am finally satisfied with the effect. Thus, after a while of moving the elements around, a floral arrangement was created, enriched with paper and cardboard leaves, pieces of decorative lace, acorns collected and dried in autumn, sheep’s wool found in the meadow and halfpearls. There are also metal decorations on the work: a deer head, a clock, a key and tiny flowers. My last activity was splashing here and there.
Dusty Attic’s products used:DA1535 – Threaded Beads StencilDA1487 – Sunburst StencilDA1413 – 300 x 300mm Chipboard Sheets 1.8mm
DA2731 – Big Moon – by NunekaDA1747 – Mystic Flourish
DA1717 – WisteriaDA1802 – mini Tabs #5DA1834 – Mini Captions #11DA1121 – mini Branches #2
DA2664 – Sunsets are proof…DA1785 – Wordpl@y #1 BLACK
Thank you very much for visiting. And now get to work yourself, because handicraft is getting back into favor, more and more people are aware of the value of a personalized and handmade item especially for a given person. Do you have your blog? Write me in the comment, I will be happy to visit you. If you have questions about any of the activities described above, let me know – I’ll be happy to answer them.
I cordially invite you to the next entry and see you soon!
Ankarika Craft (Fb)Ankarika Craft (IG)
PS. English is not my mother tongue, please forgive me all mistakes and errors. I promise to write better every time! 🙂