Tuesday 28 February 2017

Twelve Month Challenge Winner

Twelve Month Challenge Winner


Morning all!

I cannot believe that today is
the last day of February.  It
has been such a busy month and
maybe the is why it flew past 
like a rocket...............!

While you are all here, thought 
I'd give you a quick heads up 
that there's blog candy coming
especially for our loyal followers.
So if you are not already a
follower, now might be a good
time to become one

Right.  Back to the business
of the day, which is of course
announcing the winner of
the February Challenge

We had thirteen entries this
month and very well done to
all of you.

The Random Generator was
given all the numbers:


and the winner is:

No 7


Congratulations Julia!

Please contact me at
mickiecraftbarn@gmail.com
so I can send you your prize

Commiserations everyone else 
and good luck to all of you for
next month

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx



















Sunday 26 February 2017

Wishing Well



Wishing Well


Hallo Again!
and
Welcome back
to the Wishing Well

Today is Part Two of Helen Chilton's
super article on Brushos:

"Watercolouring with Brushos:


These fine crystals are basically a watercolour. 


Sprinkle into your palette or on your craft mat 
and spritz to activate

Then just paint.



You can mix the colours and do any 
watercolour techniques you want.



Drippy colouring:

Sprinkle powder onto your craft mat 
(couldn't find mine so used some plastic instead!) 
and spritz.


Then dip in your card to pick up the colour.





Stencilling with Brushos:


Lay stencil over card and sprinkle over your Brushos.


Spritz and....


Hey Presto! There you have it!


Don't waste the colour on the stencil, 
flip it over and press down onto card.


You get a reverse image of the stencil


Here you can compare the two.




Stamping with Brushos:


Ink up stamp with an old VersaMark ink pad 
(not your brand new one!).



Sprinkle on Brushos - I tend to work in colour blocks, 
but you can also mix them up.


(You can see what I mean by an old VersaMark inkpad here 
- don't know why I say 'old' - all mine look like this! 
Sandy won't let me near the ones in the studio!)

Rub in...


Spritz about 3 times...


.....and stamp. 

You can stamp several times without 
adding more Brushos, just respritz every 
other impression.

These are just some of the techniques 
you can do with Brushos - there's lots of other 
exciting stuff that I can't fit in here. 

Make sure you have a look at all the blog posts
 when we do Brushos week! 

I just love these little pots of magic!"



Super tutorial Helen, thank you
and like you I am looking forward
to Brusho and Vintage Stamps
in a couple of months time!





So everyone, don't forget to let us know what 
you would like to see explained in the Wishing Well.
Don't be shy - just email me

mickiecraftbarn@gmail.com

Remember, you will not be the only
one to have bought a mystery item -
how do I know that?................!!


"Til next time

Mickie xx








Saturday 25 February 2017

Rice Paper


Rice Paper

Hi there!

Today is the last day
in the Rice Paper set.
Hope you have enjoyed these
projects as much as I have

Today's project will take
your breath away...........

Here is Hazel Harler to
talk you through her
gorgeous project:


" I needed to make a thank you card for a neighbour
 and thought it would be nice to make a tea light card.


I searched the internet for a template and
 found one made by Crafters Companion. 
I cut the card and box from green card



I covered the card and box with a some pretty rice paper
 and attached some ribbon and lining to the inside of the card, 
then I die cut a window in the top of the box.


I glued a piece of acetate insideof the window 
and glued the box to the card 
leaving the opening for the tealights at the top


I lightly dry brushed some white acrylic paint 
on the front of the card being careful 
not to cover the birds. 

The two flowers were stamped onto tissue 
paper with black archival ink


I stamped some script onto the cover and then 
cut out the flowers and glued them to the card.


I coloured a tag with watercolour and stamped the flower. 
I'm going to write a note on this for my neighbour.
 The box was filled with tea lights."




Many thanks Hazel.  I'm sure your neighbour
was delighted to receive such a lovely Thank You


This would make a really nice card/present
for every occasion.  

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx


Friday 24 February 2017

Rice Paper


Rice Paper

Hi There!

We have Craftyfield with us 
today and she is going to talk
us through some up cycling 
to make a beautiful piece of home
decor - to be specific Bathroom
decor......................


 "I wanted to decorate this cylindrical box 
and give it a feminine feel so that 
I can display it proudly in my bathroom. 

A quick and easy way is to cover it 
with a printed Rice paper (Imagination Crafts).



 My "box" is a modest Pringles can so this 
works out as a very cheap storage option!

I first gesso'ed the can and chose 3 sheets of rice paper. 
In the end, I only used 2

 Using a wet paintbrush, draw around 
the bit of paper you want to use 
and after a few seconds tear the piece apart 
from the main sheet. 

This way the sides are feathered 
which is much more pleasing once collaged.



To glue the paper you can use any type 
of acrylic medium, matt or glossy, 
or even some of the newer Tim Holtz mediums 
such as "Crazing" or "Vintage" to add a little something...

I used a matt medium and applied it
 with the purpose built Collage brush.

Alongside the papers, I filled in with some paint and stencilling. 
I load my brush with several colours of paint at the same time 
to give a stripy look, echoing one of the Rice paper.s



I will be applying a matt varnish, 
I love using the DecoArt Soft touch for these projects, 
it has a matt aspect and, 
as the name implies, a soft feel to the touch.

This is a picture of the finished can, showing all 3 "sides" next to each other.



Had my can been a little bit smaller, I think I might have 
just used the paper as is, they are so beautiful, it doesn't 
seem right to tear them apart!"

Items used:

Collage Brush:
Fresco paints (Lavender, Dolly Mix and Cheesecake):
Stencil Carabelle Weft Fabric and Numbers:
Tim Holtz Layered Stencils (Wildflower and Flourish) :
Varnish Soft Touch:


Thank you Craftyfield a lovely way to
get affordable storage colour 
matched to your home and you could even
 use up any bits and pieces left over from
a previous project.

I love the up cycling aspect of this
project too.

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx














Thursday 23 February 2017

Rice Paper


Rice Paper

Hallo There!

The year seems to be already
picking up speed.................
Here we are almost at the end
of February   

Beginning to wonder if the 
addition of an extra week 
wouldn't be such a bad thing.......................

Really? Yes of course, I'm joking!

Here's Helen Chilton with some
lovely rice paper:





Choose your designs. I've gone for 
one black and white collage design 
and then some coloured images for my focal point


Stick some of the black and white paper 
to the front of your canvas using a decoupage glue


Rub out any air bubbles with your fingers


 Cut out the focal image roughly and stick to card. 
When dry trim to make a tag.


I've used Gelatos as a colouring medium 
and have taken my colours from the dress form image


Rub and blend them with your fingers.


You can also pull out colour with a wet brush.


Add some extra colour to the dress form tag.


Then use a baby wipe to remove colour and make highlights


Finally rub some white Gelato over the back of a stencil 
and rub into the canvas. 


Finish with a brad, stickles and some ribbon.



Materials used:


Thank you Helen 

Isn't that gorgeous?
Amazing what can be 
achieved with these papers

They're so affordable and
come in so many designs
do give them a go

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx