Art ATC

For my ATC I've done one a bit differently to how I usually do them.

I started off sticking some plasterers tape, book pages and texture paste through the ~{Dotted Star Mask}~ randomly on the ~{ATC}~ then gave everything a good thick coat of gesso. The best thing about the ATC's is that you can load them up and they don't curl up like card does.

I then added little hints of colour over the base using the Pitt Big Brush Markers, my newest love.

I've painted 2 leaves from ~{Mini Leaves 2}~ and ~{Mini Leaves 3}~ and a heart from  ~{Mini Hearts}~, then dabbed white acrylic paint over the top to make them paler.

I then stuck flowers onto the ATC with gem middles and added lots of white paint over them. Once everything was dry (and it took a while as I'd really put it on thick) I added a couple of drops of spray ink using the stem of the spray and added a tiny bit of water to spread the colour out a bit.

Finally I added a little bit more pen and blended it out and some lettering.

Kaz xxx

July week 5

It's Wednesday again so head over to the Challenge Blog to see a recap of our DT pieces for this month. You have a few days left to join us.

We have PRIZES!!

ATC WEEK!

Gosh!  its been a while since I made an ATC!!!  But it is nice to go back to something I used to do a lot of :-)  Tando sell chipboard ATC's (amongst a host of other items) which can take a lot of abuse!!!!  Here is my effort...

The base has been painted with mauve paint and then PaperArtsy Crackle applied before the coat of blue.  I just love this crackle as it works every time!  The branches are from Tando's MINI BIRDS & BRANCHES pack and have been painted up and stuck under the JOFY birds.  Some doodling and trimming finishes it off.

I use these little birds a lot in my crafting, they are fabulous to have in your stash...

By the way the product links are for our new RETAIL SITE, so grab a cuppa and have a browse ;-)

Thank you for popping by, Karen xxx

ATC WEEK

This week we are concentrating on the FAB atc blanks that are produced by Tando creative.  Today its my turn to share with you my take on the theme:-

product used:-

ATC blank

mini flowers

mini leaves

Pop on over to my blog for more details.

Don't forget to pop back during the week for some more ATC's.

TFL

Free For All - Vintage Arch

Hi Tando fans! Dana here today sharing an arch that I created with some of my favorite pieces of chipboard for the Free For All theme this week. I usually split apart the Arabian-Style Layered Arch Frame and use the individual pieces separately. I do so here and used an outer frame for the base of my piece. I filled the back of the frame with patterned paper and then piled a vintage image, stickers, ribbon and chipboard on top. I dressed up my chipboard with stamps, acrylic paint, clear and crackle glaze, paint and ink.

I paired the vintage image with a favorite Anne Taintor quote. I love my girls, but I'm only half way through Summer break and I'm beginning to miss my 30+ hours of alone time each week! I know I have said this line more than once and I'm sure to repeat it before school starts again. ;)

You can pick up all the pieces I used here from the Tando Creative Retail Shop. Also, there is still time to submit applications for the Design Team Call!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Free For All - July - Stencilled Heart

We are so excited to introduce you to our latest Design Team member....Caroline Scattergood.  Caroline has been crafting for many years and as well as being a very talented paper crafter she is also fantastic at working with fabric.  She will be working mainly with our masks and stencils to show you all the amazing things that you can do with them.....but not necessarily on paper.....we can't wait.  (Don't forget there is still time to apply for 2 more positions on our design team to join our super talented crew.  There is a page at the top with all the details....closing date is 31st July).....I'll pass you over to Caroline now :)

Hi there!  This is my first DT post for Tando Creative and I am concentrating mainly on the Tando Masks/Stencils, although I am sure to wonder on over to papercrafting from time to time!  I love working with fabric and I love home decor so combining the two is just wonderful!  I also love dressmaking and have a ton of garments ready to be altered.  I also really like wood engraving - stencils are useful for this too -  its a bit noisy but I love it.  I also have a thing for beads and buttons and whilst I might make the odd jewellery item I do love incorporating them into my fabric creations.

I have three children, if you can call them that, Abi is 21, Jake is 19 and Cam is 16.  And I must not forget my very fluffy and furry friend Sam, our border collie dog.  He is my daily companion.  He pretty much follows me everywhere.  But he's not allowed near my fabric, lol.

For my first DT project, and for the July Free For All I made made this heart using the Bird and Branch mask.

How to:

• Find some scraps of fabric to make your heart - my finished heart is approx. 18cm x 16cm and I used some blue cotton and calico.
• Take your chosen stencil and using ink stencil out your design - I used some Maya Road spray which I've had for a while.  If you are making something like this which won't need to be washed then you can use pretty much any spray ink.  I do recommend heat setting it with an iron to give it more stability.  Its advisable to test whatever sprays you have onto fabric first though, some may bleed more than others. After heat setting the ink on this heart is quite stable, I did test it with sprays of water and it did stay put but it wouldn't be suitable for a full-on wash!  Obviously, if you are stenciling onto fabric which will need to be washed then you need a fabric ink or paint.

Pop it into a hoop to keep the fabric stretched

• Once you have happy with your stenciled design you might like to add some stitching and beads - I did some free-motion stitching along the stems and leaves and a few of the flowers.  I then did some hand-embroidery along the main branch adding in beads as I sewed.  I added a couple more beads to the centre of a couple of flowers too.

• Cut out your design into a heart shape - I used a Fiskars heart template and drew around it with a pen.  I then cut out another two bigger heart shapes in the blue fabric.  

Use an air erasable pen

•  Place the stenciled heart on top of the blue heart and stitch.  With right sides together stitch this heart to the remaining blue heart.  Leave a gap for stuffing and if you want it to hang then its at this point you add ribbon too.  I then added further beading and buttons and bits along the top of the heart for further decoration.

♥

Note Holder / Pen Pot Set

Helloooo!  I just love it when Di at Tando brings out a new 3D kit as I tend to be the one that tries them out!!!!  Now that's a good thing hahhaha!!!!!  Recently launched is the new NOTEHOLDER/PENPOT SET which is fabulous with 2 drawers, a deep section for your pens and then 2 open sections on the top....extremely useful I think.  It comes flat packed and is incredibly easy to put together (there are good instructions).  It is in 2 sections so that you can choose whether to have one large unit or 2 smaller ones.  I chose to attach mine to make a large one...

I used patterned paper and acrylic paints to decorate it.

The handles on the drawers are made from scraps of leather attached with strong brads.   You can see the different compartments in this pic...

Like all Tando 3D items its amazingly sturdy!  Check out more 3D items *HERE*. 

Karen xxx

July week 4

It's Wednesday again so head over to the Challenge Blog to see who is showcasing their project. 

We have PRIZES too!!

Here's a sneak peek!

Also, Tando will be at the Sincerely Yours show at Leigh at the end of August :)
Come along and say hello....we will have so many Tando goodies there.

Then a week later we are in Thetford for the Sincerely Yours show :)

Free For All - Making Stamps with Chipboard

For this month's Free For All I've done something a little different - I've made my own stamps using some chipboard. It produces a lovely sketchy result. Here's a finished card before I tell you how I did it:

I used the ~{Tornado}~ mask and it's the diamonds that are the stamp.

I've used ~{ATC's}~ as the base so I've got something firm to start with and stuck down some pieces from the new Grid ranges using Glossy Accents:
~{Grid Rectangle}~ I also used part of the grid as another stamp,
~{Gird Round}~
~{Grid Diamond}~

I had a play with various different products to add as a seal to the chipboard so it will stamp rather than absorb the ink. Glazing fluid, gel medium and Mod Podge all work, but acrylic paint works just as well so I've painted that onto the surfaces and trimmed the edges down to make positioning easier:

I then used the inside of ~{Karen's Frame - Gothic Arch}~ and cut an arrow from it. You can use a scalpel or a strong pair of scissors to cut it down to size, and I also used one of the ~{Mini Arrows}~. I've stuck EZ Mount onto the back of the ATC's to attach to the acrylic block:

Here are a few images of the resulting stamping:

As my journal is quite lumpy and bumpy (just how I like it) the arrow didn't stamp perfectly, so I just filled it in with a pen:

I've been using them quite a lot as they are exactly what I wanted from them! You can use inkpads or paint and you can just wipe them with a baby wipe afterwards.

I then went on and made some more a few days later and these are my most favourite yet. I used all the snippings and little bits to make a more random wall effect and I used the Crop o Dile to punch holes through the centres of some of the Grid Rounds.

Kaz xxx

Free for all with Irit for July

Hello my dear crafty friends and welcome to our Free for all week

This week I am going to show you a lovely tag made with leftover papers and Tando fantastic Flowers with stems from the Grab Bag.

I painted those flowers with Faber Castell DMC Gelatos and then added as bit if glossy accents to make it shine.

Also added to this piece are three Die Versions dies: as a background, the title and the red border.

And this is our adorable grab bag with a lot of gorgeous flowers for you to alter

Washi Tape Storage

For my Something Useful, I have actually made something that takes a bit of time to make!! And I really enjoyed doing it!! I must confess before I start that I didn't actually put the boxes together. I was sat next to Di as she made them and took the step by step photos that come with them. When they were done, they found their way into my possession!

I've used the ~{Noteholder/Pen Pot Set}~ and used it to keep my washi tape in order. I stuck the two parts together before I started.

I gave everything a coat of gesso and then Mermaid Fresco paint. When these were dry I added paint with my fingers randomly, stamped a bit and then gave it all a coat of watery white paint and dabbed bit of it off so the colours showed through.

I painted the insides white and lined the floors with patterned paper.

I used ~{Grid Round Mask}~ all over the side panels and wiped some off with a baby wipe, then doodled away.

I've used a stamp onto the raised parts and doodled over that too.

I added alpha letters and a knobby thing to the front.

I've got 63 rolls of tape in this!! And there is room for 7 more!!!

I've also put my fave doodling pens, pencils and waterbrushes into the pen pot part. At the moment it is making me want to keep my desktop tidy because it's new, but I'm not sure how long this will last!!

Kaz xxx

Making Something Useful

Hello, just because something has a purpose and is useful and practical doesn't mean that it has to be dull :-D  I have used lots of bright colours on this project and it will make me smile every time I reach for a pen!!!!  Especially as it will sit on my craft desk!  I have decorated the new-this-year TRIPLE BIRDHOUSE/DESKTOP STORAGE (look *here* for my project this week....

This has all been coloured with acrylic paints.  On the end roof pieces I used the SEQUIN MASK with paint through.  But I do see that I forgot the inside orange roofs...ooops!  I also added 3 little painted hearts from the TANDO MINI HEARTS bag and lots of doodling to finish the houses off.

Thank you for looking, have fun in what you do, Karen xxx

July Challenge - week 3

It's Wednesday again so head over to the Challenge Blog to see who is showcasing their project.

Paper holder with book cover leftovers: useful art

Hello my dear crafty friends! Irit is here again and this time to show you my project made from  Tando leftovers  and a lot of imagination. 

So please welcome my ready to use card holder made with some pieces left from my previous book cover project. As you can see I glued the chipboard  panels I didn't use (I used just two of them) to this really cool useful piece of art.

The panels were painted , stamped and inked and then I used a regular hot glue gun to connect the pieces.

Hope you like this project and see you soon again!

Desert Arch - Black and Brown

Hi Tando fans! Dana here today wrapping up the Black and Brown theme this week. I started with an Arabian-Style Layered Arch Frame and created this nighttime desert scene with some of my favorite song lyrics and a camel stamp. I added lots of sparkle with iridescent gold paint and several colors of glitter glue.

I used a portion of the Neil Walker Geometric Book Cover Kit for the sand and added a Mini Star to the night sky.

The lyrics are written by Chris Cornell for the Soundgarden song Burden in my Hand and read:

So follow me into the desert as thirsty as you are. 

Where the moon is glued to a picture of heaven...

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Dana

Black and brown with Irit

Hello my der crafty friends and welcome to our Black and Brown week. 

Actually my art book cover has some green  and a lot of metal colors, but then the overall look is a kind of brown and it's a totally Tando creation made with a gorgeous  Ancient book cover  kit.

The background is stamped, heat embossed and painted over the embossed metal pieces and the front  chipboard panels are painted and then heat embossed over the edges. This color combo is great for vintage pieces and metal are very trendy now, mostly bright gold and copper.

Hope you like my  art cover and will try some similar with Tando delicious book kits.

July challenge - wk 2

Its Wednesday again pop on over to the challenge blog and see who is showcasing their piece this week.  See you there.

Brown and Black card

This colour week was a real challenge for me as it's black and brown. It seems I don't have any brown paint!  I could have sworn I did, but I couldn't find it so I had to improvise to make this card:

I started off with my new favourite stencil ~{Grid Round}~, then painted 2 leaves from ~{Mini Leaves 2}~ and a  ~{Mini Butterfly}~. I've stamped the leaves with  white paint and the butterfly with a text stamp. I added more paint over the text stamp as it was too bold.

The tag has been assembled with text paper and a flower and stuck over some washi tape. I then went mad with white and black pens and a greeting stamp.

Kaz xxx

Brown and Black

The first full week of a new month which means this weeks theme must be Black and….

BROWN

and today its Carol kicking off the week with this media board:-

Tando products used:-

large media board

mini flowers

mini leaves

for more details pop over to Carols blog.

Tfl