Monday 2 July 2012

First Project Time by Hels - Darkroom Door London Vol 1

Hellllooooo!!! I am soooo happy to be here! This is my very first Design Team post - I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Val & Don for allowing me to be a part of their fab team - I am honoured to be a part of such a great team with Gillian, Astrid, Lesley and Minxy. I am in very esteemed company :O)) So, this month the focus is on those gorgeous Darkroom Door stamps and I chose the London Vol. 1 plate to play with. My first project is a canvas oil board that I have covered with papers, blocking and layering them and then adding a gentle wash of Gesso over the top so the papers all blend together neatly. I added some shadowing using a charcoal type pencil, smudging the lines around the blocks to emphasise the layers. Once I was happy with tis look, I popped a nice thick layer of Ranger Glue & Seal over the top - this effectively seals the papers, making them waterproof and that way they will be protected when hanging on a wall.


I mixed some texture paste with Pitch Black Dabber and left the mixing marbled, so the black of the paint and the white of the paste weren't completely blended. I then spread this through a couple of different Crafters Workshop Stencils, using a random pattern onto the board so it didn't look too uniform. Once this had dried, I used my favourite applicator tool (my index finger) to smudge white Gesso over the textured bits so they pop a little bit more. In my head the larger circle of texture is the London Eye (I know, it looks nowt like it but it is artistic licence lol)



I stamped out the buses using Versafine Satin Red ink - this is a really lush red and worked perfectly with the bus images. I then used some Distress Markers to colour the rest of the buses and added a couple of silver brads to the wheels for hub-caps. Then I stamped Big Ben (I know, that is the bell not the tower but it is so well known as that :O)) using black Archival ink, adding some colour with Distress Markers and then folding it so it is dimensional. The buses and the tower were then popped onto some super cool Stix2 Clear 3d tape - this stuff is FAB, no sign of it peaking from underneath the images like the white stuff! I am sold on this, I need more already!!! I added on some bits of Idea-ology to make a hanging for the board - Hitch Fasteners with Charm Clips glued to them and some Bead Chain popped through, using the clasps to stop the chain slipping through the Charm Clips.



Thanks for looking... I will be back later in the week with my second piece using the fabby stamps. Have a great day and don't forget about the candy giveaway this month - all the deets are HERE, just leave a comment and you could win a set of these stamps, how fab is that!!! TTFN

Hels x

26 comments:

Redanne said...

Hels, you have done the most incredible job on this piece, it is stunning. Big Ben looks real!! Amazing job - wow. A x

Netty said...

Superb hanger, loving the theme and fab textures. Annette x

craftimamma said...

Woohoo~! Fabulous first project Hels! I love all the dimension created with the layering,texture paste and your 'Big Ben' is definitely inspirational. It was the first thing I noticed and thought 'How did she do that' ..... now I know! Your artistic licence with the circle mask paid off too because it does bring the 'Eye' to mind.

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Inkypinkycraft said...

This is a wonderful piece, the textures are amazing ! trace x

Ephemera said...

Stunning, amazing textures and colour, those stamps are fab. Xx

Deborah said...

Everything about this is brilliant!

Barb Cady said...

Brilliant Hels, I love the texture you have created and that really does give the inpression of The Eye! (Went on that once and I hate heights -how brave is that? lol,) Great to see your work here x

Helen said...

Just gorgeous, Hels!! Those buses are perfect!

Astrid Maclean said...

Welcome, welcome Hells, totally fab first project!!!! Big Ben did it for me too, so, so clever! There are so many things I love about this project, the striking red against the black, the textures, (yep it def looks like the eye) even the little crown on the top of the chain! Can't wait to see what your next project is going to be....

Elaine said...

Stunning piece - love the colour scheme and all the dimension you've achieved. The red buses are great too!!

Julia S-W said...

Simply stunning!
Juliaxx

Minxy said...

Yay, An official welcome to the team and boy what a way to start things off, This is Frickin Awesome missus.. I love everything, especially the dimensional big ben, genius idea {wish I had though of it lol} look forward to seeing the rest of your projects xxx

Artyjen said...

Love the 3 dimension to the tower.
xoxo Sioux

snazzyoriginal said...

What a start - black & white, textures & layers, gesso & ink, all the things that send me off to seventh heaven. This is just fab! xx

Anonymous said...

Honestly Hels, I do not have the words to tell you how stunningly gorgeous this is. Wonderful, amazing & jawdropping will just have to do.

Gabrielle said...

What a first project! Congrats to be part of the team and I know we are all looking forward to seeing what you do next! xxx

Craftychris said...

How fab that you have joined this fabulous team giving us even more ideas and inspiration - thank you! Brilliant project - love it! xx

whyducks said...

Totally stunning Hels, loving all the textures. Only wish I could see it in real life to have a closer lookie see!

Aquarius said...

This is a stunning first piece for snazzy. Such great effects and that could well be the London eye moving at super speed although wouldn't like to be riding it. Look forward to seeing your next piece.

Carole Z said...

Wow Hels this is amazing, awesome, incredible..well I'm used to seeing your stunning creations on your own blog, but I'm still lost for words! Carole Z X

rmccarth said...

Just got back from London and am in lurvvvv! Fabulous

Gillian .... said...

Welcome Hels ... and what an AMAZING 1st project, love love love all that texture, the black/white/red colour combo, the buses and Big Ben ... so that's pretty much everything lol.

Sooooo pleased to have you aboard this FAB DT:) xx

Maggie said...

Super fab hanging loving all the textures the buses look ready to take me touring London!

Maggie

Disco Queen said...

Hi Hels, Great 1st project. We must be on the same wavelength coz I see the London Eye thing too!

veronica said...

gorgeous Hels !

Hels Sheridan said...

Thanks everyone ... am very honoured to be here xx