Tuesday 11 December 2018

Luscious Christmas


 Hello, Kay M here today to share my simple luscious Christmas card using this year’s fabulous Christmas stamps(Christmas Spirit and IndigoBlu Bauble) from IndigoBlu.   


I used Cherry Lips, Fizzy Pop and Lavender Luscious Powders on an approx.15cm square of white card with water. 

When dry, I used a stamping platform to stamp with a waterproof ink, the border stamp as shown, then painted in the bottles with white Gee-Sso-Good.  TIP. Paint over the details in the bottles and jars but try to keep inside the outer lines.  Keep the stamp in place on the stamping platform for the next stage.

When the paint has dried, re-stamp. 

Then move the stamp on the platform to repeat to complete the border.

The card was trimmed to fit on to a 15cm square card blank with a black mat.  The lovely star border stamp was used to frame the card front, then it was adhered to the card blank. 

   I did add at this stage a little splatter of Cherry Lips Luscious powdermixed with water.

The sentiment from IndigoBlu Bauble was stamped in black on white card and cut out, edged with black ink and the Cherry Lips and added to the card to finish.

Thanks for visiting and you can catch up with Kay on Hochanda on 17th December at 11am and 3pm. 

Take care,  Kay M. x   

Tuesday 4 December 2018

Snowy Winter Foxes




Hello I hope December finds you well and happy. The time is soon approaching for us to think about decorating our homes. With this in mind I have made this winter forest scene using a collection of the gorgeous new stamps. It is easy and fun to make



I used a 25 cm square  box frame. I started by cutting  some card to fit the back of the frame and used Mulberry Bush paint to give it some colour. I heat embossed the snowflakes from the Alternative Christmas stamp set around the edges.



The tree stamps from the Tree Dressing stamp set made perfect forest trees which I coloured with Olive waistcoat, before fussy cutting them. Stamps can be very versatile, and you don’t always have to use  the whole stamp.  I stamped just the fox from the Willow and Fox stamp. I wiped away the ink on the girls hands before stamping. I used some needle felting wool to shape fluffy tails for the foxes.  


I kneaded some modeling paste into the bottom of the frame, and placed a wood slice into it which would later hold my chipboard hares. I stood my tree and animals up into the modelling paste. I also stamped the hare from the Guardian Angel  stamp so he could join in too. Stars  from the Tree Dressing set flew to the top of the trees, and I added strings of pretty pink beads to the trees and also as a decoration hanging  across the inside  top of the frame. 

The forest needed some snow so I applied  texture paste over the base using a palette knife. Then followed with a sprinkling of Unicorn Sparkles. I finished by adding a piece of a fir tree, small pine cones, chipboard hares, and a splatter of  white paint over the scene.

You could also create this scene inside of a recycled box or tin.

Have fun creating your winter decorations, if it is not too early I would like to wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas Season xx


Thursday 29 November 2018

Pour your Art out with Kay Halliwell-sutton and the BluBirds

Hello to you on such a wet and windy afternoon. Because its not nice out I decided it was the craft room for me and thought I would do a quick blog post to share with you with lots of photos and a couple of quick tutorials.


As you may have seen a couple of weeks ago, Kay shared with us on Hochanda another way to use the IndigoBlu Acrylic paints for Paint Pouring. If you ordered from her show you might be pleased to have a couple tips to inspire you to open those bottles and have a go! I have to say this is one of my favourite ways of using paint.










Kay has mixed up the paints with the Go-Flow pouring meduim along with a few drops of Cell-U-like and added each colour along with white paint to create a 'Dirty Cup'.




The cup of paint was then poured onto the prepared canvas set inside a foil tray to catch the excess paint from the pour.







With this pour Kay made little circle movements when pouring the paint from the cup, then tipped the canvas backwards and forwards until the paint covered all the canvas.




After a quick blast from the blow torch, more cells came to the surface and any bubbles were popped.




Kay then went on to show us that you can also do Pours over other objects like this bowl using the same method as above.




Below are some Video's I have made to take you through the first steps of Paint Pouring and mixing of the Paints and some easy fun techniques. The 2nd video shows you some different ways to do pours. I hope that they are helpful and you enjoy them.








Fellow Blubird Emma and I have put together a couple of quick tutorials for you to have a go out.

Emma Blake 1.To start with I used tiger Lilly, indigoblu, stroke of midnight and white paint.

2.I mixed up my colours using the 1:2 ratio and added a little water to thin the mixture down, I then added a couple of drops of the cell u like to the tiger Lilly and stroke of midnight.


3. I then poured each colour diagonally across the canvas.


4. Using a credit card I then made a wavy diagonal movement following the lines of paint.







5. I left the paint for a few moments to let the cells develop and went over with a blow torch and watched the rest of the cells pop up.


6. I then left the canvas on a flat surface to dry out. Its very important to make sure you do this.









Sue Ralph Quick Tutorial- Tree Ring Acrylic Pour




1. To do this type of pour, mix up your chosen paint colours (I used Aladdin, Welsh Slate, Olive Waistcoat and Lime Marmalade) and white GeeSoo Good with the Go Flow and a few drops of Cell-U-Like in the coloured paint in single cups then layer up the colours along with white in a separate cup to create a Dirty Pour Cup.


2. I choose to use a round Artboard with a stand for this Pour. I gave the artboard a couple of coats of white GeeSoo one side and when dry I used Masking tape to cover the back and the bottom part where it slots into the base so I could remove the tape and drips once the pour was dry.




3. Lay the artboard, without the stand on a cup in the foil container. Using the Dirty Pour Cup pinch one side of the cup together to create a spout to pour from. Using small circular movements, start pouring the paint into the middle of the board. Keep moving the cup in the same position and hand movement until the cup is empty or the artboard is covered.




4. Use a blow torch at this stage to pop any bubbles and to bring up more cells.


5. If you want to stretch out the rings gently tip the artboard in different directions. Now leave to dry out for a few days.


6. Once dry, take off the masking tape from the back of the artboard and paint that and the stand with white GeeSoo.


7. Leave to dry paint the stand and back of the board with Aladdin Paint. Now slot the two pieces together.


8. Wipe off any residue cell-u-like that has come to the surface of the pour, then Varnish to seal and protect your creation plus it also brightens up the colours again.








And so to finish off this post I would like to share with you some of the wonderful samples my fellow BluBirds created for kays Hochanda show. Absoulty stunning!




Samples by Julie Atkinson



Samples from Carolyn Lakin






Samples from Kay Molyneux









Samples from Emma Blake






And to finish off, a few more of my samples I made for the show.



Thanks for stopping by. I will be back soon with a few more quick tutorials and tips from Lou Withers Mxed Media Material IndigoBlu show . xx

Wednesday 7 November 2018

Lush Luscious

Hello to you, Sue Ralph here along with fellow BluBirds, Kay Molyneux, Julie Atkinson, Carolyn Lakin and Emma Blake bringing you some quick makes using the IndigoBlu Luscious Pigment Powders. 
Luscious are ground Artist grade pigments with mica and a natural binder, so can be used dry as a pigment or add water to create a watercolour paint. Mix with Slap-It-On Thick to create an glossy shimmering translucent embossing paste or mix with Fabric Slap-It-On for painting onto materials.
Below the DT have put together some quick and simple techniques for you to try.



Sue Ralph A quick and quirky card to make, using Luscious Powders, Kevin’s Gang & Kibble Kits Stamp Set.
1. Start by wetting down a piece of watercolour card with a large paintbrush or water sprayer. Make it really wet then wait until nearly all the water has soaked into the card. (Tip- wet the underside of the card as well to stop the card bending).
2. Mix up the colours of Luscious Powders with water and make the colours runny. Add dabs of colour all over the wet card.


3. The colours should start to merge together slightly. Leave the card to dry out.
4. Stamp out 4 of the cat images & saying and emboss with clear embossing power. Paint the cats with the same colours of Luscious Powders. When theses are dry, cut out. Cut the saying into two parts.
5. Stamp Kibble Kits onto your Luscious watercolour background. Trim to the size you want and mat onto black card. Mount this onto a bespoke white card blank. 


6. Glue down the ‘dog’ part of the saying towards the bottom of the Luscious panel and layer the cats over the top using foam tape on2 of the cats. 
7. Finish the card by gluing down the ‘Cat’ part of the saying on blank side of the card. Layer the last cat with foam tape over the saying.



Kay Molyneux A quick and simple card with Luscious Powders. 
1.The background(Notes dinky) was stamped in VersaMark ink and brushed over with Gold and Silver powders. 
2.The big Flutterby was stamped onto the card and again using a stamping platform onto white card both in black ink. Luscious powders were then painted onto the later. 
3.It was re-stamped in black ink and heat embossed in clear embossing powder and fussy cut. 
4.The wings were shaped and it was adhered at the body over the Fluttterby on the card. A sentiment was added to finish.



Julie Atkinson For this quick keepsake...
1. Cut a heart from grey-board, an old cereal packet will do if not. Cover with a patterned paper or paint
2. Cut another heart slightly smaller from watercolour cardstock. Stick the hearts together with wet glue
3. Take a large Slim Jim acrylic sheet and mix Steampunk Lilac luscious powder with water. Flick off the acrylic sheet onto the cardstock with a dry paint brush to create splatters
4. Mix Steampunk Lilac luscious powder with Super Thick Slap it On and apply through Postmark Stencil in desired areas
5. Take a small frame(mine was made using paper clay and a mould) and paint with the Steampunk Lilac luscious powder. Once dry use the Super Thick Slap it On to stick the frame in place
6. Take three clear cabochons and paint with Steampunk Lilac luscious. Adhere using the Super Thick Slap it On 
7. Stamp the words ‘Live, Love, Laugh’ from the Live, Love, Laugh stamp set and the ‘Dinky Flutterby’ Butterfly using a black ink pad. Cut out and stick the words using 3D foam pads
8. Add a little net below the butterfly and adhere with 3D glue gel
9. Create antennae with thin wire. Add a handle to the hearts, taking care to twist the ends in well to avoid any sharp edges



Carolyn Lakin :-Quick make Greeting Card
1.Stamp & embossed the big butterfly in dark blue onto watercolour card. 
2.Use blue and teal Luscious to create a wash for the background. 
3.Paint the butterfly with the same colours and add a highlight of orange Luscious. 

4.Stamp the saying with Stazon Midnight Blue. 
5.Draw a line around the edge of the card and mount onto a craft card blank



Emma Blake  Explosion of Colour project. 
Items used black card stock, fizzy pop, sherbet lemon, posiden blue and pink luscious, the IB shine bright stamp set a white gel pen spray bottle and silver ink pad.
1.I started by using a paint brush to sprinkle the Luscious onto the black card stick and then sprayed with water but not to much as I didn't want the card to blend to much when drying.
2.I stamped the shine bright sentiment with silver and ran the ink pad around the edges then mattered it onto more black.
3.Once the Luscious was dry I used the white gel pen to draw simple stars and dots and went around the edges of the card to give a broken boarder.
4.I found a old car light bulb and glued it on using slap it on and drew some lines coming from it.
5. Then I added my sentiment which I matted onto black card stock.


We hope you have enjoyed the blog post on quick and simple techniques using Luscious Pigment Powders. 
If you have any Luscious projects you would like to share with us please pop onto our Facebook Group 'I Love IndigoBlu' where we would love to see what you have been making.
See you again very soon with more ideas and inspiration'
The BluBirds (DT) xx

Tuesday 6 November 2018

Multi Pocket Card



What could be better than receiving a handmade card -  a handmade card containing gifts !  This card has two pockets on the front, and another pocket on the enclosed tag.



I used a 7 inch / 17.8 cm square blank card making sure the fold was at the top, as it will be better balanced that way. The  pockets will be filled with goodies.  

I cut a piece of card 7 x7 inch / 17.8 x17.8 cm and cut it diagonally, I also cut a strip of card 7 x 2 inches 17.8 x 5.08 cm  these would both become pockets. 



The lovely Christmas Spirit stamps were perfect to decorate the pockets.  I coloured them with Luscious Powders. I wrote some wishes and sentiments onto the tags tied around the bottles. You could also personalise them with names.

I used double sided tape on the diagonal pocket and adhered this first, followed by the  rectangle strip adhering with foam tape which raised the pocket to give it  more room to fill with goodies. 


Chocolate lollies can be a fun and yummy gift. I decorated this foiled covered lolly with a fussy cut snowflake from the Alternative Christmas stamp set. I stamped  it with versamarker  ink and it brushed over with Luscious powders. 

Other small gifts could be Indigoblu Stamps,  face masks,  gift cards, bookmarks, scratch cards stickers, pens etc.


I also made a tag with a pocket on the front to slip an extra gift card into.



Have fun creating your pocket cards xx




Thursday 1 November 2018

Guardian Angel


Evening All,

Carolyn here with you today slightly later than usual but hope its worth the wait. I've been busy creating new samples for Kay's upcoming Hochanda show next week. Plus I attended the IndigoBlu Secret Retreat last weekend which was extremely enjoyable. I can definitely recommend you attend one of these if you can, it is well worth it!

Kay's show will be all about paint pouring so if you haven't had a go it can be very addictive, so tune into Hochanda on Tuesday 6th at 10am and 2pm.

My creation today started with a canvas which I used the True Grit paste through the Woodgrain stencil. I then created a paint pour using the  Acrylic Pouring Alchemy Starter Kit with  Metallic Miss Moneypenny and White Gesso. The photo below shows the pour before it had dried so the stenciling doesn't show through.


I then mixed Porcelain Luscious with Super Thick Slap It On and spread this through the Starburst stencil. At the bottom on the canvas I adhered the Gold Junk & Disorderly Rocks.


For my focal point I chose the Guardian Angel which was designed by Aitch. This was stamped onto
Watercolour Card using my Stamp Platform.


I then painted this using Fire Cracker, Tiger Lily, Porcelain, Miss Moneypenny, Snow White, Ugly Duckling and Leather Corset


The Guardian Angel was fussy cut and adhered to the canvas so she looked like she was sat on the rocks and the starburst shone behind her. The saying was taken from the Mindfulness #1 set then stamped and cut from watercolour card. This was placed and stuck evenly around the angel. To finish this off I edged the canvas with Leather Corset to give it a darker edge.


Thank you for stopping by and hope you tune into Kay's show on Tuesday. The design team have created some fabulous samples for the show you wouldn't want to miss it.

Happy Crafting

Carolyn
x