Guest Post - The Fairy Glen by Shelagh Metselaar

Our guest blogger this week is Shelagh Metselaar who has combined the delicate October Fairy set with the ever popular Steampunk Butterfly. A great 'in depth' step by step here, so have fun.

Materials needed

• Chocolate Baroque – October Fairy, Steampunk Butterfly
• Inkpads – Staz-On Black, Versamark,  Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Inks – Mowed Lawn,    Mustard Seed, Iced Spruce, Festive Bough, Picked Raspberry, Festive Berries
• Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder
• Gilding Flakes
• Gilding Adhesive
• Watercolour Paint (in tubes):- Light Yellow, Light Green, Brilliant Red, Phthalo Blue.
• Artists’/Canvas Board
• Acetate; Double sided sticky sheet.
• Gold glitter
• Button
• Cardstock:  black, kraft card

Instructions

1. Ink ‘October Fairy’ stamp with Staz-on black and stamp to the bottom left of the Artists’ Board. Stamp fairy twice more, again using Staz-On onto acetate. Allow to dry.
2. Take the piece of double sided sticky sheet and peel off one protective sheet. Sprinkle with clear, holographic fine glitter. Set aside.
3. Cut out a complete acetate image. Now from the other stamped acetate image; roughly cut out the wings. By partially uncovering the sticky side of the glittered sheet gently place under the stamped acetate wings and cut out. Set aside.
4. Now for the fun!
5. Using Light Yellow and sparingly, Brilliant Red and Phthalo Blue, repeat on and around image from top of wings an
6. Squeeze pea-size spots each of Light Yellow and Green on and around the stamped image, starting from the foot of the board.
7. d around head upwards towards the sky.
8. Continue with Phthalo Blue, repeat to the top of canvas.

N.B. At this point, I left a couple of areas of canvas blank to form clouds.

1. With a medium flat paint brush, gently spread the paint over the entire board. Dab gently without ‘muddying’ the colours too much.
2. Allow to dry for a few hours.
3. Pool a spot of water over the top image. With kitchen roll, blot the watercolour paint to reveal the stamped image. Repeat over the other images. This can be continued over the whole board if you wish. (This is the magical part for me. There is no indication of the colour mixes until this point!) Warning – this is messy and lots of absorbent kitchen roll is required. Try not to rub or dab as this will lead to a muddy blend.
4. Allow to dry again. You will now be able to see where you can further adorn your canvas.
5. Lightly distress around the canvas with Festive Berries.
6. Attach the cut-out acetate image of the fairy using a small glue dot. Attach the glittered wings over the image using another small glue dot.
7. Apply ‘Duo Embellishment Adhesive’ to the leafy image from the October Fairy set with a piece of foam and stamp at the right hand side of the canvas to suit. Gently gild with gilding flakes.
8. On a piece of super smooth paper and with Versafine Black Onyx, stamp the large leafy swirl and emboss with clear detail, enough times to fill the page. Stamp the calligraphy butterfly from the Steampunk set in the same manner; cut out and set aside.
9. To a blending mat, add Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Iced Spruce and Evergreen Bough. Using foam or a blending tool, colour the leaves to suit. Cut out and glue onto image to suit, bending and shaping each frond as you go. Clean mat.
10. Using the same technique as at 8), stamp the flower three times and gild. Colour one image with Festive Berries and two with Picked Raspberry as in 9). Cut each out, cut into petals and curl to suit. Layer up to form a flower. Glue a button to centre. Colour the butterfly with the remaining ink on mat and add to suit.
11. Mount onto matted and layered black and kraft card.

Love the getting messy part Shelagh!  A big thank you from us for designing this wonderful card and for mixing the two themes so well. Shelagh doesn't have a blog right now so please leave your comments here and hopefully this may encourage her to start one - I'm know we'd all like to see more of her work.