Friday 25 February 2022

Art Box by Bernadette

 




Good Morning Everyone,  Today I am showing you one of the new art boxes which will be showcased on the Craft Store during the Tando show on 4.3.22 at 9.00am.

When my art boxes arrived, I decided to put them all together first before I decided what to make with them.  They are really easy to put together with a good PVA glue. The boxes come in 2 widths and 3 sizes, this is the smallest of the boxes.

After gluing the box together, I measured the sides I was going to cover with cardstock and cut the card to those sizes.  

I used a mixture of distress oxide inks and sprays to colour the card: vintage photo, frayed burlap and walnut stain then ran the pieces of card through my die cutting machine in a Tim Holtz 3D embossing folder.


I then took some salvaged patina distress paint and dabbed it over bits of the embossed card using my finger.  Once the paint was dry, I lightly ran a clear embossing ink pad over the embossed letters and heat embossed some walnut stain embossing glaze.



When I came to stick the pieces of card to the box, I found that they were slightly smaller than the surfaces of the box because of the embossing so I painted the box with black gesso.  I chose black gesso so that when I glued the pieces of card to the box, there wouldn't be any gaps showing bare greyboard. Once the glue was dry, I ran a walnut stain distress crayon along the edges where the gaps were between the pieces of card to fill in the space.


I then stuck the pieces of card to the sides of the box and decided to use the die cut wings, a Tando heart and a clock face mould as my embellishments.  I painted the heart black mixed with some red to make it really dark but with just a hint of red.  I used my fingers to add some cream, brown and turquoise paint to the clock face which I had moulded using air dry clay.  I die cut the wings with a matte gold card then rubbed a distress crayon over the raised areas to give them an aged look.




I then attached the wings, clock face and heart to the front of the box using PVA glue.




I can't wait to get working on more of these boxes - they are so versatile!

Take care and have fun crafting.


Bernadette xxx


Thursday 24 February 2022

Using up some left overs - By Zoë Sanderson

This is not so much a project as a play with Tando bits and pieces.   Casting around for something, anything, to get inky and messy with my box of Tando provided some food for thought!   The end result is this journal page.   Which makes me smile every time I look at it, the bright bold colours and the naive style is very appealing.  Added to which it was a lot of fun!  If precise, neat and tidy is your thing then this is not for you.  But if you enjoy just messing around with no finale plan in place and prefer a more playful organic approach then you might find a few ideas here.


Having discovered the parts left in the Large Whimsical Birds kit (to be seen on TV 9am 4th March 2022) it occurred to me that they do not have to be legs and feet or cockerel combs but could also be plants/weeds/growing things.   So I laid them onto a blank journal page and added another Whimsical Bird to start my layout.



Pieces removed out came the watercolours and sprays to start a background.  Different shades of blue applied with a water brush and randomly brushed across the page.   Then the "plants" were put in place and strayed with yellow and white.



Then I started choosing colours to work with, in the end I used every single on in the picture below.   Strong Bright Bold Cheerful colours an antidote to the overcast wet and windy weather we have been subjected to recently.



By now some other Tando pieces had been pulled out, another Whimsical Bird Some Butterflies and a couple of Flowers.   Everything given a coat or two of acrylics right out of the pot.  It is not clear in the picture(s) but both of the Whimsical Birds and both flowers were given a top coat of the Interference paints.  These paints add a second tone that shows up as the page moves in the light.


When the "plants" were moved after spraying the masked areas of the page stood out bright and so I decided to offset the Tando pieces to allow the unsprayed parts of the page to peep through.  Everything attached with normal adhesive except for the now purple bird at the bottom of the page, on this one a glass gel was used on the main body which enhances the Interference further and gives the bird a very glass like finish.


To me there is something of an underwater world about this page but you might see it very differently.  Thats all part of the fun of an organic page like this.

Products Used

DecoArt Media Acrylics in Various colours
DecoArt Media Interference in Various colours

Watercolours, Sprays, Adhesives and Glass Gel all from my stash.

Tuesday 22 February 2022

Fly free Hexagon Wall Hanging

 

Fly Free Hexagon Wall Hanging


Materials

Embossing folders, swirly and honeycomb

Copper Sheet

Wallpaper

Distress oxide spray in Burlap and speckled egg

Creative Expressions metallic gilding polish in gun metal & copper or metallic Lustre's

Decorative image, Peacock

Strong Glue

Metal embossing tools

Vintage 12 x 12 scrapbook paper

 

Instructions

 

I began by adding Gesso to a selection of hexagons. I set aside over night to dry.



Once dry I split the hexagons into 4 piles as I had 4 techniques to do on them

 

Technique 1

I used a strong glue and stuck my hexagons to a sheet of copper metal. Once dry o carefully cut them out with a craft knife. I gently ran a paper stump around the edge to remove any sharp bits.


Next I put each hexagon into a embossing folder and put it thru my bigshot machine. I rubbed metallic gilding paste over the embossed part to take the shine of it and give it a aged look. I also took a metal embossing tool and ran it around the edge to give a border pattern.


Technique 2

Next, I covered a selection of hexagons in a lovely art deco wallpaper that was spare from my living room. I doodled around the edges and inked in black





Technique 3

I again covered some hexagons in wallpaper but this time I painted them with Gesso. Once dry I used gun metal gilding paste to give it a metallic feel. I rubbed copper gilding paste over the embossed pattern on the wallpaper to highlight it.




Technique 4

For the last technique I sprayed hexagons and frames with distress oxides. I layered the colours up and sprayed with water to give a variety of colours and speckled look.




Once I had all my hex’s decorated I added top frames that had been sprayed or covered in copper.

 




I also added frames underneath to give height to some of the hex’s



Next I cover a 12 x 12 board in patterned paper


I added a peacock image to the corner to match my living room theme. I ran copper gilding paste around the edges

 


Next I took a selection of Hexagons and started to add them to the base board. I played around with them, seeing what looked good next to what etc. Once happy with the layout, do take a picture as you will never remember what goes where, talking from experience here! I glued them on with a strong glue. I also used foam pads to add more depth and layers.

 


I added tiny painted hexagons and hearts into any gaps that looked bare



And there you go, a lovely bright hexagon themed wall hanging

 


Thanks for looking

 

Sarah


 



Monday 21 February 2022

          Twirly-whirly stand by Julia Baker


Glue structure together with PVA glue, keeping top circles to one side to decorate before gluing.

Paint with black Gesso.





Using Graphic 45 Kaleidoscope papers cut three circles to fit the tops.

Apply PVA glue to the bottom of each section, add beads and glitter.

Cut a small card to add to the top.  Edge with Prize Ribbon Oxide ink, add some stencilling to the inside and a couple of stickers.




Cut four pieces of card and glue to each end.

Stamp and cut out some Humming Birds and Hibiscus flowers 



Colour - I used watercolour.

Die cut some leaves from patterned paper, glue to the top with some of the flowers.

Add flowers and a bird to the card on the top.

Cut four 17 x 6cm pieces of white card, round the corners, fold in half and edge with Prize Ribbon oxide ink.




Ink through stencil and stamp on feathers.  Decorate with birds and flowers.


Add to stand, then finish with extra flowers and birds.

Hope you enjoy.

Julia x


Saturday 19 February 2022

Tando Twirly Whirly Art Stand No 2 by Art Angel x x

 


This morning i have another Tando Twirly Whirly Art Stand for you all to enjoy!
Again this one has a gothic theme but you can make yours whatever you want, the only limit is your imagination

The Twirly Whirly Art Stand is very easy to put together, it is also adaptable to accommodate lights. My last stand had lights in the bottom, this one is going to gave lights in the top


First, use a good PVA glue to stick all three rings together, and glue to base, oleave to dry and clamp if necessary or leave to dry under a heavy book



Of the two circle pieces with a hole in the centre, select the one with the largest hole and insert the bolt through the centre
Then glue that circle to the top of the rings leaving the bolt in situ

Di has done a very easy to follow video of the Twirly Whirly construction which you can view on the Tando Creative YouTube channel, my version differs slightly in that the spacers that go on top, i have used next, they need to be added and cant be left out, to get the correct tension, but i wanted a larger surface area to decorate in top, use first the smaller disc…


Then the larger


Construct your H pieces paying particular attention to the tabs and notches, the notches always face the top outside edge, whilst the tabs slot into the base. Glue securely to the large base circle ensuring all tabs are seated in the slots


This then slides over the central bolt and once located add the top cross piece making sure the tabs are securely located in the outer notches on those H pieces



I covered the floor if my stand in decorative paper, it’s a good tip to draw around the large circular base piece before construction, cut out then cut into quarters, remove roughly a centimetre square from the centre to allow to the central panel. Adhere with matte medium, sand edges when dry
I highly recommend decorating in this fashion rather than trying to cover the whole base with one piece as you do not want to obstruct the slots the H pieces sit in




Run 3mm red Liner tape along all outer edges of cross piece. I wanted lights on top of my stand too but didn't want the wires to run over the outer side edge so I  worked out, using a string of twenty lights would give me two bulbs for each inside wall, totalling 16 lights with four left over for the top
I needed to have the battery pack on top too so that it was accessible for switching in and off, so with the battery pack on top i thread the other end of the lights through the hole in the middle of the top circle and gently pulled  16 bulbs through


Remove tape backing and attach lights making sure that the bulbs just hang off the edge so that your top circle can still sit flush. 

Turn your paper covered circle over and glue to cross piece, avoiding the centre square that houses the bolt as we don't was glue to stop it spinning

 The top circle had been decorated in the same was as the floor, drawer round your circle into the reverse side of your backing paper, cut out, adhere with matte medium, leave to dry before sanding


I decorated the smaller disc too using paper from the same collection


I used sand texture past around the edge of the base so that it looked more finished and coordinated and used the same sand texture past through a stencil on top


I painted the bases of four candles with black gesso and dry brushed over with titanium white acrylic to give a wrought iron elect and painted the flame yellow
 I then ran red liner tape up over the front of the flame and down the full back of the candle, repeat the process for all four candles




I attached the remaining four lights, one to each candle securing the wire down the back





I then was able to decorate each cubby with ephemera, die cuts, trinkets and resin pieces


I used texture paste and paint to create a stone effect on tombstone and added these to the top


I used Stamperia Alchemy papers and Tim holtz Halloween Quotes for additional decoration


I securely the battery pack discreetly behind on of the tombstones


Hope you like the finished effect


Have fun having a go at creating your own

I have used

Sandpaper
Redliner tape 3mm
Magik Graphics Dark Arts papers
Magik Graphics Alchemist Memoirs stencil
Stamperia Alchemy papers
Tim Holtz Halloween Emphemera