Autumn Wheat - Creative Artiste Sept

 Good Morning everyone

Its the first Friday of September so time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste where the theme is anything mixed media goes

MIXED MEDIA

Use at least 3 different mediums

Ive gone for a full on autumnal wall hanging with sheaves of wheat

Approx size 5.5x7.5" (14x20cm)

Photos below with a step by step.

Once i had made my wheat i added some of the same gilding flakes to my background in places to tie it together.  I then got arranging my wheat using pinflair glue gel, as i had curved the wheat with a ball tool i could add dabs of pinflair behind them, building up a nice full arrangement....just counting ive used about 20 stems.

I then tied a bow using several loops of garden twine for a nice rustic natural feel....it stayed like that for a long time but i kept thinking it needed something and on looking for something else i came across some printed chipboard shapes and in the set was a turquoise heart which was the perfect colour...i added a nice thick layer of glossy accents to it which adds another finish to the project............

I love adding different finishes to alot of my projects so that the light plays on them at different times of the day, always adding a different look and feel depending on which angle you are looking at it and whether its in sunlight or artificial light at night.  

You can see the light hitting the guilding flakes more here

I love how the wheat turned out from the messy painted background to lovely ombre of autumnal colours giving them more depth than a flat single colour and so simple to achieve - see below 

I used garden twine for my hanging for a rustic feel and added a few beads to match the colours of the wheat

I stamped 'Autumn' onto a scrap of kraft card with dark brown ink and tore it into shape and added into place.  I found a turquoise chipboard heart in my stash which i covered in glossy accents and added to the twine bow.

I cut a piece of corrugate cardboard box to size and peeled off some of the top layer to reveal the corrugations.  I then dry brushed with soft blue white acrylic paint which i also used to stencil on some foliage.  I then used grit texture paste through a brick stencil, it is a duck egg blue colour so a nice contrast to the oranges of the wheat.  I then dry brushed on some soft teal over the whole panel and edges.

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How i made the wheat

I covered 2 sheets of scrap A4 with autumnal coloured acrylic paints - just sponged them on randomly- the messier the better here.  Once dry i added the dreaded gilding flakes - i hate these things so they hide in the back of the cupboard, but i decided to try them this way and found it much better for me as i could just take one flake out at a time so they didn't quite get everywhere.  I just added dabs of mod podge randomly and dotted on the gilding flakes - this is a mixed colour of copper, silver & gold.  Once dry i rubbed off the access.

 

Yes this sheet looks a mess however once its die cut into shape its takes on a completely different look and feel.........see below

I die cut them with my very old IO wheat trio and you get a more natural look with the variegated colours on each head and flashes of the gilding.  Its an easier way to colour die cuts and use up old scrap paper/card as well.  I mostly used folkart matt and pentart chalky paints.  

Items Used

Impression Obsession (IO) wheat tri die set

aall&create stamp set 'seasons'

Cosmic shimmer 'Andy Skinner' matt chalk paint 'Ice Blue' 

FolkArt matte paint - 6459 ocean blue, 434 berry wine, 2560 bark brown, 

954 fresh foliage

Pentart dekor chalky paint - sun yellow, orange, red

Cosmic shimmer guilding flakes

Foliage stencil

Brick stencil

garden twine

cardboard box

beads

I hope you all have a wonderful September and enjoy the splendour of the Autumnal season. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://craftingfromtheartchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/08/august-challenge-2026.html

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https://die-cut-divas.blogspot.com/2026/09/an-ai-event-art-impressions-for.html - Ive recycled the backing panel from a cardboard box and used recycled Kraft card 

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/09/fall-season-september-2026.html

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https://addictedtostamps-challenge.blogspot.com/2026/09/challenge-525-diecuts-andor-stencils.html

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https://lilredwagon.blogspot.com/2026/09/challenge-874-hayloft.html

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https://cinspirations.blogspot.com/2026/09/september-challenge-hello-autumn.html

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https://tolanythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-outlawz-anything-but-card-september.html

 

Flower fairies tri-fold card

Good Morning Everyone

Today im sharing a card i made for a craft friends birthday.  She loves the Tim Holtz paper dolls so I know they won't be wasted on her! I use them sparingly as they are pricey but also most don't appreciate the moody vibe most of the dolls have which of course most photos of this era are the same as they had to hold their poses for so long for the wet plates of the cameras to capture the photo.

Anyway I wanted to use some holographic acetate butterflies I had for wings and turned them into little fairies.  The wings are green so I found a paper that was a floral vibe but not full on flowers so found this purple and green one which dictated the colour choice.

Its a nightmare to get a good photo as the camera never likes shimmery things and ive used glitter card, pearl card, pearl texture paste and of course the holographic of the wings

I die cut the base card from purple pearlescent card using an old tattered lace A4 tri-fold card die set, when folded up the finished card is 8x8" and then die cut the papers using the layering dies in the set. 

I then die cut the foliage from ombre glitter card backing with a very soft sage green card.  

Sentiment die cut from the sage green card, matted onto soft pearl lilac card and a larger grey and added to the middle pop out section with glue gel.  

I added the wings to the back of 3 tim holtz paper dolls and adhered among the foliage with pinflair glue gell.  Adding a few die cut flowers using more lilac pearl used for the sentiment and adding gel dot centres which pick up on the colours in the ombre glitter card. 

The ombre glitter card i chose is mainly yellowy, peachy, pinky which is a nice contrast to the background but sadly the photos don't do it justice 

You can see their wings a bit better here, they have a beautiful green holographic shimmer

Before using the paper i used 'Stamperia Halo paste' which is a clear texture paste with a coloured mica shimmer which you can make out better here. I used 2 pastes, one with a purple hue and one with a green hue to pick up on the colours in the paper.

Items Used:

Tattered Lace Tri fold die set

Tim Holtz paper dolls

Holographic butterflies ebay find

Stamperia Halo Paste 'green #K3P70B' & ' Violet #K3P70D'

Studio Light Stencil Jenine's Mindful art 'Wallpaper pattern' #JMA-ES-MASK76

Ombre Glitter card 6x6 from The range

12x12 patterned paper from The works

Birthday sentiment die

Simon Says Stamp die 'leaf cluster' #112057

Purple & Lilac Pearl card

Sage Card

Gem dots

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you all have a great last week in August - where has the month gone too, its scary. 

Id love to enter the following:

https://secretstamper.com/creative-creases-118-august-7th-through-september-3rd/

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https://paperfundaychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/08/august-2026-challenge-90-anything-goes.html

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https://unicornchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/08/challenge-123-layer-it-up.html

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https://inkspirationalchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/08/inkspirational-challenge-374-word.html

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https://lovethoseprettypapers.blogspot.com/2026/08/love-those-pretty-papers-august-2026.html

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https://craftingacutabove.blogspot.com/2026/08/august-challenge-with-twist.html - dies used for everything apart from the fairies 

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WLS Aug#2 - Summer blooms

Good Morning everyone

Time for some mid month inspiration over at We Love Stamping where the theme is 

SUMMER BLOSSOMS

or if thats not for you we always have the anything stamping goes option and always a prize for the lucky winner

A5 white card blank

I first stamped the flowers and foliage onto smooth white card, coloured with alcohol markers & cut out.  I stamped the flowers with teal ink and the foliage with green ink so much softer than black.  I then found a suitable patterned paper in my stash - this blue felt like a summers sky to me but to soften it down a bit i stencilled a pattern with a blue tone white and where i wanted the acetate vase i dry brushed on the blue white to both help the vase stand out more but also the effect you get when looking through glass vase filled with water - it softens and blurs what you can see it.

I matted the paper onto fuchsia pink holographic card and lilac pearl card picking up on the colours in my flowers and then the card base, rounding all the corners as i went - the rounded corners pick up on the bulbous flowers.

I then got arranging the flowers, some adhered flat and others with pinflair glue gel, to make it more realistic i cut the heads off some stems and added back at different angles so that you haven't got them all going the same way...this makes one single flower stamp much more versatile and no one would ever know.  As i wanted some of the stems to be longer and look better in the vase i stamped more stems, cut out and hid the joins behind others and where the sentiment would go - this again makes it much more realistic. 

I added the acetate vase with pinflair glue gel adding it behind where i put the sentiment and some of the flowers.  Sentiment die cut from more pink holographic, lilac pearl & white card and adhered with glue gel.

I don't often colour with alcohol markers as don't have the patience but here i stamped with coloured versafine clair inks and just coloured straight over the top and outside the lines with my marker pens so super simple.  As the stems are so fine i have cut outside the lines to make them studier and hold up better.

This just shows the difference the light stencilling with the ice blue chalk paint made - on the right is the paper as it came, on the left with the stencilling, it just softens it so that it really allows my flowers to stand out.

Items Used:

Paperartsy stamps 'JOFY14', 'JOFY11', Kay Carley 'EKC03'

?Sentiment die?

Studio Light Stencil 'Jenine's Mindful collection' 'Wallpaper pattern'

Andy Skinner chalk paint 'Ice blue'

12x12 Paper from the works

Acetate PET vase

Pink Holographic card from Aldi

Versafine Clair Ink 'warm breeze' 'green oasis'

Alcohol Markers

We have a fabulous pennyblack prize this month from buddlycrafts so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in and be in with a chance of winning

Thank you all for stopping by once again.  Its scary how fast the weeks and months are passing and already the summer holidays are flying by. I hope you all enjoy the rest of August. Emma

Id love to enter the following:

https://beautifulblossomschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/08/beautiful-blossoms-challenge-anything.html

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2026/08/neglected-stuff-august-2026-challenge.html - well over 2yrs since used the flower stamps and acetate vases

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/08/ellibelles-garden-party-no-18-anything.html

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https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/08/challenge-279-anything-goes-woptional.html

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https://paper-rocks-scissors.blogspot.com/2026/08/august-19-challenge.html - used paper for the backround and scissors to cut out all the flowers and foliage

 

Creative Artiste - butterfly shadow box

Good Morning everyone

Its the first friday of the month so time for a new challenge over at 

Creative Artiste where the theme is anything goes 

MIXED MEDIA

using at least 3 different mediums

Ive made a bijou project this month, a little 4x4" butterfly shadow box.  I had these little wooden boxes which came with little wooden shapes in them that my nieces crafted with but i kept the boxes as thought one day they would be useful.  I found both them and my pack of acetate butterflies at the same time while looking for something else and thought they fitted together perfectly. 

Kind of like the old butterfly collections but thankfully in this case no butterflies have been harmed!

Box size approx 4x4" (10x10cm)

See below for how i decorated the box with photos.  To finish the box i edged the front of all the slots with gold - which sadly the photos don't pick up but really shimmers in the light.

I then added a butterfly to some of the slots, bending them in the middle and adhering with pinflair glue gel.  I went through a large pile of aall&create chat stickers until i found some i felt suitable - these are pre-coloured, i matted onto charcoal card which i edged with the same gold used to gild the box edges.  These i added into place again with glue gel so they stand proud.

We should all RESPECT nature and help it to THRIVE for it brings us SERENTIY & FREEDOM 

You can make out the gold edges a bit better here

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and onto the box

The pack of butterflies are predominately green in colour with flashes of yellow and orange, so for the box i went with a bright green, teal, yellow, orange and splash of pink in random areas.  I did coat the box first in white gesso to stop the wood absorbing too much of the colour. 

Then i toned it down by dry brushing on off whites...here you can see what a difference it makes.  You might say its a waste, but if i just used pastel paints they look completely different, whereas using the brights and then knocking back you still get the true colour coming through rather than a muddy pastel....dry brushing on the white just softens it all into the background so that my butterflies stand out....if Id kept the colour so intense you wouldn't see the focal point.  I used a matt/chalk based white acrylic so you only need a very small amount.

For some interest I added some torn pieces of texted washi tape once the paint was dry

You might want to click on this photo to make it full screen to really see the difference.........Id decided it needed something more and as the sections are too small to get in with stencils or stamps i decided to doodled with paint pens - well i didn't much like that and thought 'what have i done' but as is usually the case with artwork - its a process and never finished until its finished.....i added a very light layer of white over the doodling which helped blend it into the background a little and made a massive difference - photo on the right is after ive lightly dry brushed on the white and its just softens the doodling.

Items Used:

4x4" wood box

Acetate butterflies

Acrylic paints

Plaid Folkart - 515 vintage white, 455 med yellow, 628 orange, 2553 lime,

99257 mystic turquoise

Andy Skinner chalk paint - Ice blue, cool mint

Marabu Crea - Fuschia Pink

Cadence Dora Paint - Rich gold

Posca Paint pens

Aall&create chat sticker

Black card

Hop over to Creative Artiste to join in with all your mixed media creations be the little or large, atc or home decor, anything goes with mixed mediums.

Id Love to enter the following:

https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/07/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-something-with.html - things with wings

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https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2026/08/tb-august-2026-challenge.html

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https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2026/08/make-it-colourful.html

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https://tolanythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-outlawz-anything-but-card-august.html

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/08/summer-season-august-2026.html