Blog hop with a difference

The one and only Renee Iveson has invited me to a blog hop (find her wonderful blog here)! So come on right in and have a sticky beak at my place.

1. What am I working on right now:

Next week's class. The hardest bit is done and that's picking the papers. Not sure what I'm doing yet. I try and plan my home classes so that it can be done with any paper, because everyone brings their own. Do you remember saying "I won't buy anymore papers till I use what I have"? Here you can use what you have. You will have to wait till the next blog post to see what I came up with.

2. How long does it take to create a project:

I actually do better with a little time pressure. Usually I put a layout together in one day, a bit here and a bit there. Monday is my planning day, so I can show next week's project to my Tuesday ladies.

3. What are my fave things I love to create with at the moment:

Right now I love wood grain paper,circles and feathers in any way, shape or form. At least I keep coming back to those.

4. How does my writing/creating process work:

It doesn't! I write when I have something to say. If not, then there is no journalling. I am not the type who gushes over her children and "share if you love your kids with all your heart" type of Facebook posts make me think "they're still alive, that's proof enough". I do like to write a little about travel photos, so we remember what we did. All very last minute-style.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired:

I check out what others do and try out what they've done. Magazines, Pinterest, blogs are all great ways to find inspiration. And a glass of wine doesn't hurt.

6. What is my signature style:

I think it's not too messy, but a bit structured. Comes from having to measure all the time and tell the ladies in class what to cut. I like to try out all sorts of styles, but mixed media is not my thing (I'm too impatient), but I still like to dabble sometimes, just to keep it mixed up. 

I like to make my own embellishments, because it's better for the budget and we can then replicate it in class. So you will end up learning lots of techniques in my class, too.

Talking of class and just to prove that I can do messy, this class project has been pretty popular and I want to show you how to do some chunky embossing:

Take a stencil and some embossing powders, texture paste, micro beads and a dark cardstock:

 Spread the texture paste over the stencil (I used sticky tape to mask off the feathers I didn't want)

 While the texture paste is still wet, add some embossing powder, straight on the top.

 To get the gradual look, hold you paper up at a slight angle and pour a little of the purple powder over the bottom of the feathers. Gently tap off the powder so it falls down the bottom of the page. Now add a little pink powder and let the rest fall off the bottom of the page (clean your tray first of course) It won't stick to the purple. Repeat with as many colours as you want until all the feathers are covered in embossing powder.

 Now let it all dry. If you heat the texture paste while it is still wet, it will bubble a lot. Don't worry bubble-fans, it will still bubble a little when it's dry!

Does it look dry? Don't touch it! Now you can heat set it with a heat gun.

 Depending on your embossing powder, they can look smooth or chunky, it's all good! I ended up with a bit of both. 

Now heat the bottom of the feathers once more and when the powder is melted once more, sprinkle a few micro beads on top (careful! they love to jump!). Give it another blast with the heat gun to settle them down.

 Stamp with a background stamp around the area where you photo will sit:

 To add a few splashes, take the top off your spray bottle and dip in a brush.

 Tap the brush over the cardstock to get some random splatters. By tapping the brush with your scissors, you get fine spots, by shaking it, you get big blobs. It's all very random. Embrace random!

 Now you're ready to add your photo and embellish away. Have fun!

The next stops on our blog hop will be:

1.) Tracy Kielty

I first got to know her when she picked me for her DT and we later discovered that we were twins! Born a couple of years apart, but that doesn't matter. It's funny how we were born just about as far apart as possible on Earth (Germany-New Zealand), but we are so alike.
Tracy is the owner of the my2angels online shop and the queen of embellishments. She makes all sorts of cool things and is always so generous with sharing how-to's and ideas. 

Check out her blog here.

2.) Marilyn Rivera

I love admiring Marilyn's work because it is so very different from my style and is always fabulous. She loves folding paper and there are many little treasures hidden on each of her projects. A real feast for the eyes.

Find her blog here