Devon County Show 2018

On Friday, I was delighted to feel well enough to go to the Devon County Show with my hubby and this year we took a neighbour as well. He had got tickets some time ago and when I was so ill, it was something to aim for and a real incentive to get better as quickly as possible! It was a long day but I held up remarkably well, sitting on my buggy all day. The weather was glorious and we had a really great time – for me it’s one of the best days out of the year, with so much to see and do, and being part of a large crowd of people all out to have a good time, producing a really happy atmosphere.

I took simply loads of photos as usual, and can’t show them all but here is quite a large selection.

A general view as we arrived.

 Judging the alpacas. They are pretty creatures with such sweet faces, and incredibly soft fleeces.

Inside the alpaca tent, showing some of the products on sale, made from their fleece.

Judging the cattle.

We are always amused by the seriousness of it all, with the farmers in their white coats, and how clean, groomed and polished the beasts are for this annual special day out! Some of the comments made by the judges made us laugh too, all done with the rich Devon accent, “This is Daisy… had her second calf… a fine, firm little udder… there’s a good dairyness about her…” – not a word we’d come across before!

Moving on to the angora goats, inside the tent we found Jan Tillett with her stand. She usually makes an appearance, and at the craft shows too. She is a textile artist and I always enjoy her work.

Here are some of the angora goats, which produce mohair.

One of the finest local herds is the Corrymoor herd, which usually carries off all the prizes, but I was told that this year they haven’t done so well. This is because their competitors have recently bought in new blood from South Africa and have been producing larger animals. The number of herds in the UK is small, and every now and then it is good to introduce new blood to prevent inbreeding, but Corrymoor have to take special precautions to avoid compromising their organic status. They said that not winning for two or three years was a small sacrifice to make in order to maintain their integrity. They always have a stand selling their socks, and I have frequently added to my collection over the years – they are simply the best socks I’ve ever worn and I never wear anything else now. They are soft but incredibly hardwearing (I bought my first pair years ago and have worn and washed them countless times and they have not worn out), warm in winter and cool in summer, and they come in such a huge variety of colours and I have pairs to match all my outfits!

As usual, we visited the blacksmiths’ tent where we again saw some amazing pieces of wrought ironwork that they had made, including this elegant chair.

This beautiful mirror surround won first prize and reserve champion.

For the first time in my experience, there was an example of the blade maker’s art on display. I am very interested in this, and was particularly thrilled to see that it was a Damascus blade. On the photo on the right, you can see if you look carefully, the patterns made by the folding and refolding of the heated billet (a stack of different steels which are forge-welded together) – several hundred folds are made. Some blades end up with an intricate pattern which is quite beautiful, and the technique makes the blade extremely strong but flexible, and able to maintain a keen edge.

Going into the large craft and flower tent, we saw a similar display to last year’s, with the knitted poppies everyone had made to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. They were selling quite a few of these poppies this year, in aid of the Haig Fund, this year marking the centenary of the end of WWI.

Incorporated in the display was a display celebrating the work of the Women’s Land Army during WWII. I was very interested in this because my mum was a Land Girl and she often spoke about it and how she loved her time in the Land Army, serving her country in time of war by doing farm work in the absence of the men who had gone off to fight.

In the craft tent there was a new display for this year, of fabulous hardwood kitchen boards. I was sorely tempted to buy one… The loaf of bread at the front was made of plastic!!

This was our favourite board, made of English burr oak, and the texture of the edges, and the grain were stunning. The cracks had been filled with copper and resin, and the whole surface sanded smooth. If it had not cost £350 I would have bought it!

I loved the little laser-cut wooden tag attached to it as well – here’s a detail shot.

It was made of two identically-cut thin slices of wood with a thicker border piece sandwiched between, so that you could see through the laser-cut holes. I thought it might be possible to make something similar in card. It was so attractive, and would make a very pretty hanging decoration.

Having looked at the website before coming, I knew that my favourite watercolour artist would be there – Karen Thomas. I first met her at an art exhibition where a friend had some paintings, and we had a nice chat then, so I was keen to look her up again. I’d seen her at other events in between as well.

I love her bright vibrant colours, and her skilful use of white space, and the spattering technique she so often employs. She has written a beautiful book, and I really wanted to buy this for my hubby as an extra birthday present to thank him for all he’s done for me in recent months, and for all the anxiety he suffered on my behalf recently. The trouble was, he wouldn’t go away! I desperately wanted to get rid of him so I could buy the book without him seeing, and afterwards he said he thought I was staying too long and wanted me to leave! Eventually he wandered off and I conducted a super-quick transaction which also included Karen signing the book for him, all in the nick of time before he reappeared! My heart was thumping! Karen and I exchanged amused glances as we left.

Another new addition this year was the Moth Man. His name is Andre Daniel, and his flier states, “Andre Daniel is the creator of the unique Devon Moths. Each moth is individually crafted from English hard woods and occasionally other native timbers, polished to enhance the beauty and variation of the grain.” Each moth is unique. The wings of each, being sliced from the same piece, are mirror images of one another.

I thought these were absolutely exquisite. Again, I wondered whether it would be possible to create something similar with hand-embossed card… Ideas racing through my head!

The central display in the tent was again provided by Lifton Farm Shop. Again they carried off all the prizes, including Best Exhibit in Show. Last year’s was on the theme of Shaun the Sheep and was the best ever (see my blog post here for photos) and this year the theme was Peter Rabbit and several other Beatrix Potter characters.

The dry-stone wall was made entirely from potatoes!

Here is the angry gardener, Mr. McGregor, having caught poor Peter Rabbit (Peter gets away in the book). I remember my mum reading us the story (and many others) when we were little.

Mrs. Tiggywinkle, another character – she was a hedgehog, and her spines were represented here by asparagus spears! Here she is, doing the weekly wash. I love the use of gypsophila (one of my favourite flowers) to represent the soapsuds.

Mrs. Tiggywinkle’s house.

Another character – the Foxy Gentleman. He was NOT what he seemed. He inveigled poor innocent Jemima Puddleduck to his lair, ostensibly to share afternoon tea with her, but in fact his aim was to eat her. Fortunately she escaped this awful fate.

Here is my hubby laying a protective hand on the head of Jemima, safely out of harm’s reach!

At the further end of the tent were the flower arrangements. This is always a stunning display. I can’t arrange flowers to save my life, and am in awe of those who can.

This was my favourite one in the class “Country Garden.”

In the miniature class entitled “Lullaby,” I simply loved this delicate little arrangement with the single frond of fern gently curving over the top of a tiny cradle. There are some tiny rolls of music underneath. It won 2nd prize.

Another in the same class, this time winning 1st prize. There are tiny little music notes cut from music paper, hanging from the branches of the little tree, and the little cradle is made from music paper too.

I loved this one in the class “Strings and Things.” Unfortunately the judges didn’t agree with my choice and they did not award it a prize!”"

The display of arrangements in the theme “Wind Chimes.” Some very clever ones.

There were lots of displays of beautiful flowers, including this one of sweet peas, one of my favourite flowers.

A bit of fun – “Plants with Modified Jeans” lol lol!

My hubby rushed me out of the tent just in time to see two people on stilts, dressed in costumes made entirely from silk flowers! They were stunning. They moved so elegantly and the effect was dramatic.

You never know what you are going to see at the County Show. I nearly had a heart attack as I narrowly escaped being exterminated by a dalek! You can see the man behind, speaking through a special device to alter his voice. He was able to operate the radio controls to make the dalek move.

Outside the Young Farmers’ tent was the usual display of altered objects done by the different Young Farmers’ groups. This year the theme was altered benches. My favourite was this really fun cow – she has a fluffy tail on the left, and just look at those wonderful pink udders. That judge would surely say, “Great dairyness there”!

Around the walls of the tent were the usual displays done in boxes by the Young Farmers. This year the theme was Magic and Mystery. Here are a few of my favourites, the first being Alice.

Narnia!

They had to incorporate various elements such as cooking, fabric work, use of foliage, etc.

Judging the sheep.

Finally, we met the Exeter Morris Men and walked with them on their way to the Beer Tent, outside which they were going to do their display. Such lovely chaps and we so enjoyed this traditional display of an ancient English custom.

I took some video footage of the Morris Dancing, too.

The day was too quickly over, so filled with lovely things to see and do. A perfect day, and I’m so thankful I did not have to miss it.

Second Felt Making Class

Last night was week 2 of the felt class, and this time we were taught how to make a picture in felt. I went with the idea of creating a mountain and lake scene with a sunset, but as it turned out (time mostly) I ended up just depicting a sunset over water. I had originally planned to frame it with trees either side, and my finished piece is wide enough to accommodate this if I choose to add some needle-felted trees later on. I asked whether it was possible to add more wet felting after the piece had dried, but our teacher told me it was not, because the new felt would shrink, and draw up the old felt which was already shrunk. Common sense really!

During the class, I did manage to take some photographs of the work in progress, but a couple of times I forgot (so caught up with what I was doing!) so there’s a bit of a gap in the photographic record. During the initial rubbing stage, when the wet material is between the pieces of bubble wrap (the most strenuous stage) my arms did give out a bit, and our lovely teacher, bless her, offered to rub my felt for me for a while so I could have a rest! If I was doing this at home, I would be able to go off and leave it for a while, but of course at the class, we have only two hours so we have to get on if we are going to complete the piece.

Before the class began, the teacher showed us the Youtube video I’d sent her the link for – I found this the other day and was highly amused and thought we’d really got off pretty lightly considering! After all, we weren’t expected to round up our sheep and shear them, and neither were we expected to bring a horse along to the class! Lol! Watch this and see!

She also warned us about buying wool rovings from dubious sources and said that she had had some recently that were full of moths! Not at all nice, and not at all what you want to bring into your house!

Anyway, to work… I was really hacked off with myself because my lovely parcel of dyed Merino rovings arrived in the post today, in time for the class, and I left them at home!! Duh… Anyway, I had enough to be going on with. (I decided to buy some ready-dyed stuff because it’s a lot of work to dye my own, and I was having problems with it felting in the dye bath.)

Here is my first layer of fibres being laid out on the bubble wrap. I decided to use undyed rovings for this, as last time I used up all the avocado-dyed stuff I’d done, just for the back of my piece!

You can see that, as instructed, I am laying the pieces down in a horizontal direction first, and overlapping them slightly.

Here is the second layer complete, this time laid in a vertical direction.

The third layer is the picture layer, with the pieces being laid predominantly in the horizontal direction again, but with the opportunity to lay small amounts in different directions to create the picture. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph this before I’d wet it, but here it is at the next stage, ready for felting.

You can see that I have created a sky which is very dark blue at the edges, and gradually lightening into the centre where the sunset is. It was amazing, blending the colours, and being able to lay down very small amounts – it was almost like painting with the fibres. I continued the sun colours down into the water (which was also blue, but with the addition of a small amount of green), adding some vertical fibres to create the illusion of a reflection. Small amounts of white were added to emphasise the sun, the horizon, some whispy clouds, and a suggestion of ripples on the water.

The next picture shows the top layer of bubble wrap laid on top of the wet fibres. The underside of the bubble wrap was wet with the hot soapy water, and more of this was added to the top surface.

The rubbing has to be done very gently to start with, or the fibres will move about and spoil the picture. As the fibres begin to felt, one can get ever more vigorous with it, and it was at this stage that my poor arms started to suffer! It is probably easier if one can stand up and have more downward pressure, but it was very hard work from a seated position. Teacher to the rescue!

The felt after the rubbing state, and ready for rolling. You can see how it is all coming together.

The piece was squeezed out to remove some of the water, and thrown down a few times onto the table to aid the shrinking process, and then the felt on the bubble wrap was put onto the towel, the top layer of bubble wrap replaced, and the whole thing was rolled up around  a rolling pin, and the forward and backward rock-and-roll movement began – 100 times in one direction, and then the felt turned through 90 degrees and then a further 100 times in the other direction. This was another stage I forgot to photograph!

Now for the photos of all our finished work, laid out on the table together. Our teacher is so encouraging, and said how thrilled she was with our work, and had not seen nicer pictures, even in a book! Although many people said they wanted to embellish their pieces further, she said that in many cases, they could stand as they were, and needed no further work.

Because we had a bit more time this evening, she asked each person to speak a bit about their work – what the inspiration was, how we felt about it, and what, if anything, we would have done differently or wanted to add later on. Some very interesting things came out.

The grey and brown one in the foreground was inspired by the design of the settee in a Gustav Klimt painting. The lady who made it said that she was disappointed how blue the grey wool turned out to be, but this was an illusion caused by the proximity of the brown – an interesting effect. We were all intrigued by the tassel-like pieces extending beyond the edge of the felt – she was worried about them not being sufficiently attached, but our teacher said they could be secured with some needle-felting.

The piece beyond was full of colour with the flowers beautifully depicted. She had added some brightly-coloured dyed wool nepps – little knobs of compacted fibre – to imitate small flowers, which was very effective.

The piece just above the Klimt one depicts the sea with a sea wall, and there are going to be some felted beach huts added, which will be a lovely pop of colour. I love how she’s depicted the waves.

The picture above shows a wonderfully vibrant piece – those gorgeous brightly coloured flowers are beautifully set off against the very dark background. She said it was inspired by the work of artist Yvonne Coomber, who now lives locally. I have seen some of her work in the past and the colours and shapes remind me of Kaffe Fassett’s designs.

Others had introduced some bling into their work, in the form of sequins etc. – easy to use if they are anchored down with a thin layer of wool fibre over the top. People also added texture in the form of nepps, and curly fleece – again, taking extra care so that they are anchored securely with a fine layer of fibre over the top.

Here is my finished piece after rinsing and drying. A Sunset Over Water.

Altogether a very interesting and productive evening. We are being well taught; there are group times and lots of individual attention. Having a relatively small number in the class really helps, but there are enough of us to provide plenty of interest as we share our different inspirations and expressions in our pieces.

WOYWW-ers – Please scroll down to see my WOYWW post.

Creative Blog Hop

I have been invited to take part in the Creative Bloggers’ hop by my friend Lucy. We first met online, through the Thyme Machines forum we are both on, for our Cougar cutting machines, and soon discovered we lived fairly near each other, and then my hubby and I moved, and now live just up the road from her! We both suffer from M.E. and this restricts our activities quite a lot, so we don’t get together as often as we might, living so close.

Hop over to her blog:

http://loopylass2010.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/creative-blog-hop.html

to see what she gets up to. She is very skilful indeed in her use of markers to colour digi-stamps, and is a master at shading. Have a look, also at the work of her chosen nominees.

This is a continuous blog hop that will be every Monday, with lots of amazing and talented crafters and artists. Everyone who takes part answers four questions about their creativity. Here are my answers to these questions.

1. What am I working on?

Several things, as usual! (I am either a highly creative person or completely undisciplined…) The main project at the moment is a small album made entirely from recycled materials, and I have now got to the stage where I am decorating the pages with mixed media. I am also doing miniature Zentangle drawings on the marks left by drying teabags on watercolour paper, and am currently making a bereavement card which is a fairly complex project (no blog post yet, but watch this space!). I am busy saving and drying teabags ready for when I’ve got time to begin teabag art in earnest. I also have a major knitting project on the go. There are always videos of my work waiting to be edited, and I consider this part of the creative process, too.

2. How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Impossible to answer that literally, because I don’t have any particular genre! This means that whatever genre I choose to specify as my own, I am different from others in that genre because I have many other genres as well. I have been told that I have a lot of patience, and attention to detail, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I also like to think outside the box and mix my disciplines, and use materials from other genres, and from outside the art world altogether – I get great satisfaction from getting equally good results from products from the building trade, for example, which are a lot cheaper, or free if you know the right people! I enjoy the challenge of recycling and upcycling and using materials that don’t cost anything, and which might otherwise be thrown away.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Simple answer: I can’t help myself. I have a hunger to be creative, and more ideas than I will ever have time to bring to fruition, even if I lived to be 300! Some projects have to be made out of necessity – I am not a card maker by choice, but have to make them when the need arises. I get the greatest enjoyment from simply playing – trying different techniques and materials, and asking, “What if…?”

4. How does my writing/creative process work?

I often get ideas out of the blue, or when I am feeding my Pinterest addiction, and from other sources online. When we go out and I get the opportunity to visit studios or galleries, I come back bursting with inspiration. I have even had ideas for projects, or solutions to problems, in dreams! Most ideas go on the back burner because I am determined to finish a few projects before embarking on new ones. That being said, I am the worst hoarder of UFOs (Un-Finished Objects). When I start a project I often spend time mulling it over, and I don’t rush, so that ideas and plans have a chance to mature, and after sleeping on it, I am often more certain how I am going to achieve the desired result. I tend to make rather ambitious projects that take a long time to complete. As for my actual work, I am rather an untidy worker because I find that tidying up interrupts the creative flow. Because of this I waste time looking for things that have got lost under heaps of other things. I am not always able to think far enough ahead to avoid making mistakes, but as they say, “In mixed media art, there are no mistakes – just more layers!”

 

Here are the three wonderful bloggers whom I have chosen to take part next week, and who have graciously agreed to participate. Each one has inspired me in one way or another, and I am grateful for that, and also for their friendship and encouragement. My hope is that this blog hop will expose their blogs to a new audience, who can be as inspired as I am! I have deliberately chosen people outside the card-making and papercrafting genre which my limited explorations into this blog hop so far, have revealed are the dominant themes – after all, the blog hop is a “Creative Blog Hop” and this could include all forms of creativity, maybe even extending to gardening, cooking, music, dance and the dramatic arts! Who know where this could take us?

1. Diana

Diana is a professionally trained mixed media and textile artist and photographer, living and working here in the UK. She normally works with very subtle colour blends, often in unusual combinations, and her work has a delicacy that is quite entrancing. She loves moths and butterflies and has an extensive vintage collection, which she incorporates into her work. Lately, she has been working on the “Index Card a Day” (ICAD) challenge, creating miniature works of art on index cards, and she has chosen to explore the theme of “decay and repair” which coincides nicely with her love of moths; she has used pieces of damaged antique lace, embroidery etc. She has a unique style which she has made her own. Whatever she does, I always find Diana’s work totally inspiring, and it touches me at an emotional level beyond words. She is a faithful follower of my blog, and has proved to be a lovely, supportive friend, and has frequently encouraged my own faltering approaches to mixed media art!

My other two nominees are from Australia.

2. Judy

Judy is a highly prolific textile artist delighting in the use of rich, bright colours and the variety of objects she creates – dolls, puppets, stuffies, flowers, mobiles, masks, bags, banners, you name it… I am bowled over by the level of her productivity – she must have tons of energy! She creates pieces for sale in her local museum shop, and has a couple of elderly relatives living in residential care for whom she makes beautiful things to brighten their rooms. Some time ago she and I did a flower swap; I made a collection of paper flowers for her, and in return she sent me a marvellous wallet full of glorious fabric flowers with dangly beads and sparkles – for some time I did not know how to use them to their best advantage, and then decided to incorporate them into a mixed media project I was working on – decorated spoke guards for my wheelchair! These provoke comment wherever I go, and I always point out the wonderful flowers made for me by a friend in Australia! (Have art, will travel lol!) Once I have completed my current major project I am intending to get my new sewing machine going, and I have to say that Judy is a major inspiration for the plans that I am mulling over for the future. Poor Judy has been experiencing awful problems with her blog recently and lost a whole lot of followers, so I am sure she would appreciate some new ones!

3. Vonny

Vonny is a self-taught watercolour, oil and acrylic painter who is inspired and influenced by the sea life where she lives in Brisbane. Like Judy, she delights in bright colours, and wants her paintings to make people happy – they certainly have this effect on me! She also paints the most amazing birds – parrots and other exotic species, which are so lifelike I am surprised they stay on the canvas. She is often amusingly self-deprecating about her work, but the results are always stunning. I always appreciate the fact that she gives us the whole process of a piece, including the bits that don’t work so well – this is a great encouragement, and shows the creative process at work, and how one can remedy even the worst disasters! Like my other two nominees, she is a prolific worker and leaves me in the shade! Vonny also works in polymer clay, creating unique jewellery pieces, often in the form of sea life.

 

My blogging and creative life has been enriched by these three highly talented ladies, and I feel privileged to have met them online and been able to see their work at close quarters. I could have chosen any number of nominees who have influenced and encouraged me – there are so many! I hope my choice will inspire others to explore their own creativity, and maybe to start thinking outside the box.

I am blessed with a beautiful ARTHaven studio, fitted out to my own specifications, with a continuous, curving work surface around three of its walls. When I designed it, with different work zones for different disciplines (paper art, mixed media, textiles, etc.) I had no idea that the fluid layout would be so condusive to the blending of all disciplines. I would encourage everyone, even if they are not as fortunate as I am in their creative spaces, to push the boundaries of their creativity and spread their wings. I hope my choice of nominees for this blog hop will help them to do just that. Please sign up to follow their blogs and leave some comments to encourage them!

Thank you, Lucy, for inviting me on this exciting blog hop.

Angelina Moth Card

Last week I made a card for a friend’s birthday. I had a plan for it which unfortunately did not work, but I was able to use the pieces in a different way and ended up with a pleasing result, even if somewhat different from what I originally anticipated!

Materials and Equipment

Distress Inks in Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet and Walnut Stain

Distress Stain in Picket Fence

Versamark Clear Embossing Ink

Clear embossing powder

Distress Crackle Paint – Clear Rock Crystal

Adirondack black archival ink

Ranger sepia archival ink

Angelina Fibre (Fantasy Fibre) “Soft and Sweet” in Pink

Fantasy Film in iridescent gold colour

Perfect Pearls: Dichroics – Berry Twist, Interference Violet, Plum

Perfect Pearls: Colours – Blue Smoke

Perfect Pearls: Metallics – Perfect Copper, Blue Patina

2 stamps from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection, Bitty Grunge

Tsuki CM-B5 moth stamp from Designs by Ryn

Happy Birthday stamp CHSH 238E from The Stamp Barn

Prepared inked background from my stash

Basic white cardstock

Hand embossing tools (large and small)

Fun Foam

Light mauve mottled paper from my stash

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Pinflair gel glue

ATG double-sided tape glue

Here are some still photos and details of the construction of this mixed-media card. (These pictures are stills from the video, as I forgot to photograph each stage as I did it.)

I began by creating an inked background from one already in my stash, using Distress Inks in Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord and Victorian Velvet, finishing off by distressing the edges with a small amount of Walnut stain.

Using the moth stamp, I heat-embossed a couple of moths off the edge of the card using clear embossing powder. This emphasised the colour of the inks underneath.

I added a little Distress Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Crystal to the opposite corners for a bit more texture.

I then took some Angelina Fibre and spread it over the moth stamp. Laying a piece of non-stick baking parchment over the top, I proceeded to iron this to fuse the fibres where there was contact with the stamp. I have had some success in the past with this technique, but when the stamp is as detailed as this, it does not work very well as not enough definition is revealed, and some colours of Angelina Fibre work better than others. In general, this technique works best with larger, less detailed stamps, or with wooden printing blocks.

I did not reject the piece, even though it wasn’t good enough for my original plan, but set it aside to use later. In the meantime, I tried the same technique using a piece of Fantasy Film (made of the same stuff as Angelina Fibre but coming in sheets rather than fine threads). Although the pattern of the moth was clearly defined on the film after ironing, it was too flat, and didn’t look right. Again, I set this aside to use later, after cutting the moth outline out of the sheet of film.

I took a piece of white scrap card and stamped the moth, using black archival ink. I cut this out with fine scissors.

I experimented with layering this with the Fantasy Film and Angelina Fibre moths but none of it looked right.

I decided to put the stamped moth on the top, with the other pieces underneath and showing around the edges, and used Perfect Pearls to colour the moth image, to provide an iridescent, glowing effect.

Some time ago, I made up a palette of Perfect Pearls by mixing the powder with water in a Tim Holtz palette – this makes them very much easier to paint with, as you just treat them like normal pan watercolours.

I used as combination of three dichroics (which produce two different colours according to the direction of the light) in Berry Twist, Interference Violet and Plum, and Blue Smoke from the Colours range, and finally, Blue Patina and Perfect Copper from the metallics range. Here is the finished moth.

I laid the moth face down on a piece of Fun Foam and hand embossed it using two different embossing tools, one large and the other small.

The completed moth, with the wings slightly lifted, and curled gently over the handle of a paintbrush.

Layering up the moth on the inked background card. The Angelina Fibre moth went down first, after I had pulled away some of the excess fibre around the edges, and then the Fantasy Film.

Finally, the stamped moth went on, so that a narrow border of Fantasy Film showed around the edges, the the Angelina Fibre gave a fringed effect below that. I originally tried sticking down the first two layers using 3M spray adhesive but this did not take, and the layers began to lift very quickly, so I used Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive instead. The top layer was adhered using Pinflair gel adhesive applied with a cocktail stick onto the reverse of the embossed parts, to help it keep its shape.

It shimmers in the light in a very pleasing way against the darker, mottled background which has its own, subtler shimmer from the clear embossing powder and Crackle Paint.

The next step was to mat the piece onto some gold mirror card, leaving a very narrow border which enhanced the sparkle of the piece.

I have some pale mauve mottled paper in my stash, which is obviously not strong enough to support the weight of a card, but it suited the project so well that I decided to use it. I distressed the edges with Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord Distress Inks.

I took a second piece of this paper to use as the card liner, and stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in the centre, using Dusty Concord Distress Ink.

I then stamped with the moth stamp and Versamark, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, with the moth images going off the edges of the paper.

Heat embossing the moth images.

Then I distressed the edges of the paper using Dusty Concord Distress ink, and the clear embossing acted as a resist, showing the untreated mottled mauve card beneath, and adding a bit of shine.

The heat embossing completed.

To assemble the card, I stuck the card liner inside with a line of ATG tape glue, and then added the paper cover in the same way, sandwiching a piece of plain white card stock between, to give the required rigidity and support.

Finally, I stuck the mounted moth piece onto the card using ATG tape glue.

The finished card.

Here is a detailed shot of the moth, showing the painted Perfect Pearls, the narrow Fantasy Film border, and the loose Fantasy Fibre strands projecting from underneath.

A detail shot of the card liner showing the sentiment stamp, and the clear heat-embossed moth on the mottled card.

Here is the video I made of the whole project.

I decided to leave in the failed experimental parts because it’s always good to share one’s learning curve, and it may help someone else making the same mistakes.

This is the first video I have made using my new camera and improved camera set-up in my new ARThaven. It is also the first project I have completed in my new creative space, and it marks a special new beginning for me – I so enjoyed being creative again after such a long break when I had to concentrate my efforts on our house move.

I hope you have enjoyed this project.