Saturday, 21 March 2015

Winners of the Springtime challenge

It's time to announce the winners of the Springtime challenge.


Congratulations to Lula


Congratulations Lula, please email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk to claim your prize. 

On to the top 3 








 Congratulations ladies, please email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk for your top 3 badge.

Enjoy your week end.

Sue

 



Monday, 9 March 2015

Changes to the ATP blog

Hello everyone 

Firstly I want to thank the outgoing design team for their fabulous work over the last six months, and there dedication to the team and blog.

I have decided to take the blog forward in a different direction which better reflects what Artist Trading Post is about and the wider range of products that we sell, as well as mixed media, we do lots of products for journaling, traditional art, furniture up cycling, jewellery making, and we have one of the largest ranges of stencils in the UK.

Don't worry we will of course continue to have challenges, but not as frequent and these may be prizes rather than just vouchers.

We will also be having guest designers to showcase new and exciting products, posts telling you what's going on, information on when the latest products are available, inspiration posts to get your creativity flowing, blog post sharing with our customers and........probably the most exciting thing, exclusive interviews and information from well known artist and designers!

I'm very excited about this new direction and I hope you will find the blog an inspiring place to visit. 

Saturday, 7 March 2015

Winners of Alphabet Soup !

Hello and welcome to Saturday ! It's time to reveal the winners of the Alphabet Soup challenge, and boy was it another tough decision ! But, as always, there can only be one winner......

Congratulations Pamellia  ! 


We loved Pamellia's card, there's so much detail and depth to the design !
Congratulations Pamellia if you could email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk to claim your prize and also get your winners badge. 
 
So, now on to the top 3: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All truly beautiful projects ! 
Please email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk for your top 3 badges.  
 
Thanks to everyone who entered the 'Alphabet Soup' challenge, your projects were all gorgeous! 
'
The current challenge is Springtime and is open until 20:00 on the 18th March so you've got plenty of time to join us ! 
 
Enjoy your weekend ! 
Sue
 
 
 
 

Thursday, 5 March 2015

Springtime !

Hi everyone.............Annie here with the new challenge, which is Springtime. For this challenge I would like to see the colours of 'Spring' in your Mixed Media projects. You can include flowers/birds if you wish as long as you have a fresh colour palette.
Please remember we are a mixed media challenge and there also needs to be some stamping included on your project. No digis !

You may remember that in my ATP Exchange post...HERE.........I kept you in suspense regarding the alteration of my third bottle.....well here it is :-)...sort of a Paris in Springtime theme !!!  In real life it looks as though the bottle has been hand painted.
For more details you can check out my blog HERE. Similarly you can view the project details of my uber talented DT sisters by clicking on their names, which takes you to their blogs. 
  As always there is a £10 gift voucher for the challenge winner, which you can spend at Artist Trading Post Online Store.
Looking forward to viewing your crafty makes!




Thursday, 26 February 2015

Altered Bottles

Welcome to followers Old and New here at ATP Exchange .....it's great to have you join in with us. Annie here with this fortnights Exchange Post and I thought I would share some altered bottles using Decoart Chalk Paints and Crackle Medium, as well as texture paste and lots more goodies
of course:-)
I really enjoy altering bottles and there are so many gorgeous shaped ones, which make it a difficult choice.
This post is pretty picture heavy so I have included a recipe of products used at the bottom of the page. All items can be purchased from Artist Trading Post online store or at their shop in Wirksworth, Derby.
Grab a cuppa and let's go :-)
2 Gin bottles and 1 rum bottle and I am still creating !! Hiccup!!
Both of the round bottles were prepped with Gesso, prior to the application of the Decoart Chalk Paints. I did not remove labels as I don't mind them, but it is an option some may prefer. You should also clean your bottles of any finger marks etc as this may interfere with the Gesso and paints, but its not a huge problem. You can just cover any areas with more paint :-)
 We will stick with the textured bottle on the right  Decoart Heritage Chalk Paint, which is like a pumpkin colour) You can see below that I added texture paste and lace to the front and back of the bottle.
Once the paste/lace had dried I applied a small frame and some metal flowers using texture paste to adhere them.
First coat of Decoart Chalk Paint in Heritage
I also applied some Decoart Crackle Medium to the neck of the bottle. (think you can just make it out)  Then I covered it with ribbon!! Don't you just hate covering backgrounds you really like ?
 Vintage Photo Distress Ink was applied over the  Decoart Heritage paint to give a more aged appearance.
At this stage I applied some Treasure Gold Gilding Wax in Renaissance to the raised areas of texture, lace as well as the gorgeous flowers and frame.
Some embellishments were added  using old pieces of jewellery from my stash and a Tim Holtz photograph was placed in the frame. I also painted some of Tim's Gum Drops to add to the centre of the flowers
Some chain, charms and more ribbon to complete the look. To adhere the ribbon I used Power Tape. The flowers were adhered using Cosmic Shimmer Glue
Below is the back of the bottle, with a little key and some clock face charms.
The bottle below was Gessoed and then Whisper Decoart Chalk Paint was applied. 
(2 coats because I did not clean my bottle !!)
 The Steampunk bottle  in the photograph below was NOT prepped with Gesso as I wanted to see how the chalk paints adhered to glass. I was not disappointed ........the Rustic Decart Chalk Paint adhered perfectly. Below you can also see that I applied Decoart Crackle Medium, which I love. The crackle looks fabulous and appears immediately.
 When the Crackle Medium was dry I applied Whisper Decoart Chalk Paint on top and once dry I inked it with Vintage Photo DI. Doesn't the crackle look great ? Very distressed ...love it !!

Decoart  Matte Varnish can be applied over the paints/crackles to seal them. 
Now for the decoration..........Using Tim Holtz Faux Suede technique I took some kraft card and die cut it using  Sizzix Tim Holtz Cabinet Die.   The rectangle was also die cut using Tim Holtz Rectangle Movers and Shapers Die Set. You can find this technique on page 40 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities Book 2.  The DI colours I used  are Vintage Photo and Black Soot. There's a little tear, but that will be fixed with some  Ranger Glue N Seal.
 More Glue N Seal was applied to the suede/leather look pieces and adhered to the  4 sections of the bottle.
To decorate I used  numerous Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Pieces, adhering them with Glossy Accents.
( I just layed the bottle on its side, raising it up at the top with several DI pads, waiting until the embellishments on each section had dried before I turned it over for more decoration.)
You can see the various sections below....mmm.....lots of delicious metal Idea-Ology....Fabulous!!!
I also stamped Tim Holtz  Steampunk gents on Grunge Paper, using Archival Ink in Jet Black. Applied Vintage Photo DI and then fussy cut the stamped images, before applying around the lid of the bottle.  The grunge paper is so soft and easily wraps around the bottle top. Some Idea-Ology Sprockets and Gears were also adhered to the top of the lid.
Thank You for sticking with me through this long post................and I can hear you say "But there's 3 bottles ?"
Well........I am keeping you in suspense!!
You will have to pop back over to our next challenge to see how it turned out :-)
Hope you have found this Exchange  Post beneficial.  You can also create the painted and textured backgrounds on other substrates...not just on glass. But I do love an altered bottle and you can create/decorate in the style of your choice.
Now for the Recipe of all the products used :
Gesso
Ranger Texture Paste
Decoart Chalk Paint in Rustic
Decoart Paint in Heritage
Decoart Paint in Whisper
Decoart Crackle Medium
Sizzix Tim Holtz Cameo Frame
Sizzix Tim Holtz Rectangle Magnetic Die Set
Compendium of Curiosities 2
Kraft Card
Ranger  Ink Refresher Spray
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Black Soot Distress Ink
Ranger Glue N Seal
Idea-ology Locket Keys
Idea-ology Philosophy Tags
Idea-ology Pen Nibs
Idea-ology Sprocket Gears
Idea-ology Game Spinners
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamps- Steampunk
Glossy Accents
Power Tape
Grunge Paper
Archival Ink - Jet Black

Don't forget to check out Ruth's Alphabet Soup Challenge, which runs until  the 4th March. It would be great to have you join in and there's a voucher for the winner to spend at Artist Trading Post online store, also badges for the Top 3.

Have Fun and Crafty Hugs
Annie x

Saturday, 21 February 2015

Winners of Love is in the air !

Happy Saturday everyone ! I hope your weekend has started off well ! I'm back today to announce the winners of the Love is in the Air challenge. Such beautiful entries, but as always there can only be one winner..........




We loved Etsuko's canvas, so much wonderful mixed media goodness !
Congratulations Etsuko if you could email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk to claim your prize and also get your winners badge. 
 
So, now on to the top 3:









All truly beautiful projects ! 
Please email carringtons22@yahoo.co.uk for your top 3 badges.  
Thanks to everyone who entered the 'Love is in the Air' challenge, your projects were all gorgeous! 
'
The current challenge is Alphabet Soup! and is open until 20:00 on the 4th March so you've got plenty of time to join us ! 
 
Enjoy your weekend ! 
Sue





Thursday, 19 February 2015

Alphabet Soup !

Hi Ruth here, I'm sure we all have alphabet stamps or maybe you have some chipboard letters that need using up. This time our challenge is about using letters or numbers in some way other than making a word or marking an anniversary with them. Maybe random stamping or use of die cuts to make a collage background, borders or do some pattern building with them? 

You can make anything mixed media style, just as long as somewhere on the project you incorporate some letters or numbers....and remember you must include some stamping and no digi images. For the winner there is the usual £10 voucher to spend in Artist Trading Post.
  
To help inspire you please take a look at the wonderful creations the DT have come up with.







I've altered a wooden book drawer unit.






Now it's over to you ! Remember to check back on Saturday to see if you're a winner !