Tuesday 23 June 2015

Still wishing for the seaside!


Yes, I am back in my seaside themed comfort zone again - get used to it - I might be there until the end of summer!!! The background is basically a gesso resist with Distress Spray Stains - described in detail below if you want to know more.

Today's creation is going into a few challenges that inspired it (gotta love a challenge when you need some ideas to get you started).

- Art with Heart June Challenge - Summer with Sizzix
(I used three Sizzix dies - Cobblestones, Tattered Pinecone (foliage) and Sand & Sea)

- That Craft Place - Layers 
(Many MANY layers - check out my info below)

And last but not least...

(I used Distress Spray Stains and Cosmic Shimmer Mists, plus a Prima texture stamp (Finnabair), and shell and quote stamps (Rubber Dance New Retro Beach set).

Here's a little more info about how I made it.

The background is layered up as follows:
1 Torn pieces of book page, Sizzix Cobblestones die cuts (torn into pieces) and net ribbon.
2 A loose coat of white gesso - the coverage is incomplete.
3 Distress Spray Stains in Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, Salty Ocean and Evergreen Bough. I added a few layers, drying between. The gesso resists the ink and the book page is more absorbent than the background, so you get paler and darker areas of each colour.
4 Circles created with texture paste through a stencil (Tim Holtz), then painted over with a wash of Distress Paints in Salty Ocean and Evergreen Bough once dry.
5 At this stage I added a touch more spray here and there and stamped speckles around the edge in Potting Shed Archival.
The background is mounted onto torn corrugated card which has been lightly gessoed.


The decor was created as follows:
1 Seahorse: Die cut and sprayed with two colours of Cosmic Shimmer Mist - dried and then inked with Wild Honey and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. Then spritzed with a Distress Marker Spritzer and a Frayed Burlap Distress Marker to create the speckles.
2 Foliage: Cut from the Tattered Pinecone die, inked with Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint Distress Inks and stamped with the same Prima texture stamp for detail. Glued only on the central stem to allow it to to be bent upwards to simulate movement. The chipboard foliage is Tando.
3 Sea Bed: Pieces of torn sandpaper, driftwood, a real shell and stamped shells inked to match the real one.
Many of the elements are glued with Pinflair for dimension.

Took a fair old while to make this but I think it was worth the effort :).

Thanks for popping in!

Katy xxx

14 comments:

  1. WOW, Katy - this is so beautiful!!! I love all the layers upon layers, and your choice of colours is awesome! Love the pieces of real driftwood, too!

    So happy to see that you've used my shell stamps and the lovely sentiment. Thanks!!

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  2. This is outstanding. I'm going to save this so I can use it to inspire me when I do a seaside scene. I have some new stamps that I've been wanting to try and your project lights my fire.

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    1. Thank you so much Tricia - your comment made my day!

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  3. this is just gorgeous! I am totally in a sea-themed groove right now too. =) Thank you so much for sharing with us in the Art with Heart Challenge!

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  4. This is fabulous! All the delish texture and color and extras...mmmm...love.

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  5. Gorgeous Katy, just love all the details and color palette...makes me want to go to the sea. TFS

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  6. Such a fabulous creation! The colors and all the embellishments are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. :)

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  7. Gorgeous, I love the background and those perfect colours. The Seahorse is gorgeous and I adore the little touches of driftwood too. Thanks so much for joining in the Eileen Hull Art with Heart Challenge Katy. Tracy x

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  8. So pretty Katy- thanks for joining the challenge this month. Feel like I need to visit the beach!

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  9. Katy the textures are amazing and so many layers make up this absolutely stunning piece of art! Thank you so much for joining us at Art with Heart!

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  10. This is so gorgeous Katy! Love the textures, colours and pieces of wood. Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!!

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  11. So gorgeous!!! Love all of your amazing layers. The Mist and Stamp challenge was perfect for your piece. What a vibrant background for all of the natural elements of wood and shell. Beautiful. Congrats on your well-deserved win at Simon Says Stamp!! -- Mary Elizabeth

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  12. Really pretty! Congrats on the spotlight!

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  13. A brilliant project Katy..love the textures and colours and the added dimension with the shells and driftwood...gorgeous.

    luv CHRISSYxx

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