Amethyst Lily Designs

 Hello Crafty Peeps,

It's time for another challenge at The Paper Shelter and this week our theme is MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND.

I was going to make a card but decided on a canvas, using 'The Incantation'

I wanted to give my fairy bright colours that I don't usually use when I colour fairies.

Thank you for stopping by today. Your kind comments are always appreciated.

Please come and join in our challenge this week and remember, you can use any image but if you use a Paper Shelter image you are eligible for a higher value prize!

You can also share your creations over in our Facebook Group.

{Crafty Hugs}

 Hello Crafty Peeps,

It may be Spooky Month but MerMay flew by quickly, and I didn't get anything done outside of my design team commitments. Maybe I will change it to MerTober for a while!

I have been slacking in using the newsletter freebies from Sweet November Stamps, but I had to do something with this super sweet duo "Dolphin Hugs".

I made the shaker part ready to go on a card but my daughter said I should put it on my gallery wall, so I grabbed a canvas and did a mixed media piece instead.

I used Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath The Sea papers and embellishments, so I kept all the other colours to that scheme..

The base layer is Distress Inks & Oxides to give all over colour to the white canvas. 

You just can't get the amazing shine from this front-on photo, so I've added more below to show you how it looks in the light.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, your kind words are always appreciated.

{Crafty Hugs}

 Hello Crafty Peeps,

I couldn't resist the new Haunted Manor Portraits images from Sweet November Stamps. I grabbed 'Count Dracul' and 'Marchioness Serpentina' to play with, as I love vampires and snakes!

At this time of year I am usually making myself a new Halloween decoration, so because these are portraits, I decided to make a canvas to look like a manor wall.

I started off with the images, adding woodgrain detail to the frames using pencils over the marker.

Count Dracul is in traditional colours and I added some 'blood' stains to his cravat, as he is quite overzealous when he eats, haha.

Marchioness Serpentina definitely needed deadly snakes, so I turned them into coral snakes. Her outfit colours and the snake colours mirror those of Count Dracul.

I wanted more of a haunted. spooky vibe, so I made my own 'blood' using clear glossy texture paste and red food colouring. It was a great experiment that turned out really well.

{Crafty Hugs}

 Hello Crafty Peeps.

I was honoured to be chosen as Guest Designer for Mirtillamente this month. Their challenge has already gone live, so you can head over there and join in, This is a brand new company to me so it was fun being able to choose something from the store.

I love Steampunk, so had to use 'So'Getta Steampunk Gears' for a canvas.

I coloured the image in sepia tones

It's not so easy to see on here, but the different fonts of the sentiment are printed in different colours.

{Crafty Hugs}

Hello Tiddly Peeps,

Spring has finally hit Saskatchewan and I am typing this with the windows wide open and the sun shining in!

For today's inspiration I have used 'Pirate Jane'. She is a fantastic image to spark the imagination and even comes with a couple of maps.

When I think of pirate maps, I always think of them being rather old and worn. To achieve the effect I wanted, I printed mine onto Kraft card then cut around the outline. Next I rubbed some Distress Inks in, sprayed with water and scrunched it up. Once it was dry I took a lighter and set light to all the edges, plus a couple of areas in the middle. That part is always fun!

For my canvas, I started by adding Distress Oxides to the areas that the map wouldn't cover. Then I added some wavy lines of texture paste and used some Frantage to act as seafoam. To finish off, I covered everything with a layer of texture paste, using a brush in wavy motions to complete my sea.

At the bottom right corner of the canvas, I added another layer of texture paste in a 'pile' shape and sprinkled thick gold embossing powder over to give the effect of a pile of gold. Once I added Jane, I also used some gems to complete the treasure.

For Jane herself, I coloured her in what I consider to be traditional pirate colours.

I used some glue and 3D foam pads to add my map and character, then a piece of twine across the back for hanging and my canvas was complete!

Have you ever made a canvas? I would love to see over in our Facebook Group.

{Crafty Hugs}

Products used:

• Blank canvas
• Kraft card
• Distress Inks & Oxides - Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Mermaid Lagoon, Cracked Pistachio
• Ranger Texture Paste - Clear Gloss
• Stampendous Frantage - Aged Ivory & Chunky Gold
• Papermania Gems
• ProMarkers - Burnt Sienna, Cinnamon, Tan, Dusky Pink, Black, Cool Grey 5. Caramel, Cool Grey 1-3, Poppy, Umber, Walnut, Red, Crimson, Sunflower, Yellow, French Navy & Azure
• Prismacolor Pencils - Black
• Posca Paint Pen - White
• Sakura Gelly Roll - Metallic Gold

I am entering my canvas into the following challenges:

1. World Wide Open Design Team - #5 ATG
2. Let's Craft & Create - #171 ATG/No Patterned Paper
3. Get Creative Challenges - #101 ATG
4. Digi Choosday - WK19 ATG
5. Cute Card Thursday - #686 Embellish
6. Creative Fingers - #208 ATG
7. Crafty Creations - #421 ATG
8. Crafts Galore Encore - #87 ATG
9. TTCRD - WK 11 May ATG
10. Classic Design Challenge - #5 ATG