Monday, August 8, 2011

Flowers with Attitude at Simon Says...

Monday Morning Greetings,
Sarah here (live from my Holland holiday home) with new creative musings for both you and Simon Says Stamp & Show, where it's all about Mr. T's techniques. I immediately dived into my Grungestuff goodies with a mission to prove Flowers can have attitude with my double layered Grungeboard cuff!
I love the versatility of  Grungepaper and Grungeboard. Strong yet flexible with an ability to take on colour and texture. So therefore an ideal substrate for some wearable art methinks! I started out by cutting a strip of Grungepaper with deckle scissors, inked it up with Brushed Corduroy and then embossed it with the Victoria folder. I emphasized the detail with more ink and a touch of Black Soot.

I cut a second wider strip of Grunge board and used a good dose of Rusty Hinge ink. I embossed it again but had a struggle to get a lot of texture which actually ended up looking just fine and a great contrast with the more detailed strip! I also ran a line of machine stitching along one edge and joined both strips together with four brass eyelets and some Glossy Accents.
The Tattered Florals flower is cut from Grunge paper. Firstly I inked it up with Brushed Corduroy, painted on Paper Artsy crackle medium and then applied a mix of white and tan paints from Claudine's Studio Line. I added a bit more Distress inks to the petal tips and stamped some script with a Wendy Vecchi stamp. Forgot to say the inside is painted with fabby Claudine's Traditional Tan paint for protection and the whole thing sealed with her Matt Medium.
The flower is finished off with an Idea-ology centre and an antique upholstery stud. You can just see the hitch fastener on the right which which is used to close the cuff. The cuff needed something extra to balance out the design and give it a it more oomph, so I salvaged a chain and tassel from an old necklace. I threaded it through the eyelets so it hangs in a curve and voilà! A tad more attitude!
 Here is a close-up of the flower where you can see the subtle crackles and colouring. I love the flower but also like the way the brown tones and metal keep it edgy. So there you go a serious piece of arm candy for Big Girls! Would you fancy showing it off this summer???
There are lots more fabulous Tim techniques from my talented DT friends on the Simon Says blog. I really hope you'll join in the challenge and share your arty makes! There's a $50 prize and the elite Top Three Tiara out there!

I hope you like the cuff and feel inspired to create your own. I'd love to hear from you so feel free to drop me a line.
Thanks as always for taking the time to be here. Enjoy your week...!

Sarah.

38 comments:

craftytrog said...

Fantastic piece of wearable art Sarah! Love it!!
x

Karen said...

Sarah, this is absolutely gorgeous!! Would proudly show it off all year long :)
xxx

Crafty Loops said...

Wow this is really amazing, I love it. I'll have to dig out my grunge paper and have a play. Thanks for sharing. Youre so talented. Lee x

Kaz said...

I'm a big girl and would seriously love to show this arm candy!! Love the double layer of grunge it looks so much like leather, The stictching is so cool too, fab work Sarah, hope to spk soon xx
Kaz x

Franka Benjaminsen said...

Great idea making something wearable. Love the whole grungy stile. Hope I gonna make some flowers of grungepaper. Well done!
xFranka

Candy C said...

Hello Sarah. Your arm band is awesome! I love it. It is girly...yet it's got some sass and attitude with it. Love it. The flower is beautiful. Glad you showed a closeup picture of it. <3 Candy

Angelnorth said...

Great cuff, love the leathery look!

Peggy Parker said...

Wonderful! Truly a conversation piece!

Lesley Edmonds said...

Wonderful Cuff! Very striking!

Marjie Kemper said...

LOVE this, Sarah. The flower is fantastic and the little bit of metal/tassle is a super touch. What a clever creation!

Kathy Eddy said...

This is just amazing! Who wouldn't love to wear that!

france papillon said...

this is absolutely gorgeous! totally my style ;)

Dragon said...

Such a clever creation, Sarah... love it!!
Frankie
xx

Nancy Wethington said...

You continue to amaze me with your beautiful artwork and imagination. Gorgeous!

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Love your cuff with attitude, great texture and a perfect way to use grungepaper. Inspirational. Tracy x

Mimi2six said...

Last week I made grunge bracelets with my grand kids. They were fun to make, adorable and a perfect craft for me to teach the kids. This week I am going to make a bracelet a la Sarah style. The white flower and the metal work wonderfully together. The bracelet is something I would wear year around, it is edgy, gorgeous and so grown up. I can't wait to make one for me, Mimi2sis. Thanks for sharing.

Lori said...

Oooo, this is really, really cool! Love this Sarah!

Lynn Stevens said...

Awesome cuff!!
Lynn

Art By Wanda said...

This is awesome!!!!

Ellen said...

I love it! I would love to make one myself as well. Hope youi don't mind.

Kind regards,
Ellen Brons

Gillian .... said...

Hi Sarah ... OMG this cuff is too cool for words, loving the contrasts in the layering of the cuff's, the textures,colours & stitching are fab and all finished of with a grunge flower ... what more could a girl ask for! x

Lisa :) said...

Amazing!!!! Love it!

Jo said...

Really love this especially how it looks like leather, areal 70's vibe! jo xx

Lynne Forsythe said...

Sarah......this is just AMAZING....LOVE every little detail!!

salamanda said...

I just love this - stunning piece of wearable art.

PsyPenguin said...

sooo cool! It really does look like leather and I love the finish you've got on the flowers.Really inspiring! xx

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

You amaze me week after week, Sarah. I hope I can be you when I grow up. You have such original and inspiring ideas. The apron a couple of weeks ago was totally incerdible - sorry I didn't get over to comment, but I certainly did drool. And this cuff is the coolest piece of handmade art I have seen in ages. I wish I could think out of the box like you do - I'm gonna work on it - thanks for this incredible inspiration!!

email: Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com said...

What a cool creation, Sarah! I love the tattered edges and the tassel, WOW!!

*mwah*
Steph
Simon Says Stamp!

Sophia said...

Θέλω και εγω ενα!!

Liz said...

Wow! I know this is WAY after the fact but I L-O-V-E this! Thanks for posting the tute! It makes my secret steampunk heart beat a little faster.

Liz

Bastelengel said...

WOW! That's absolutely gorgeous! I love this! Fantastic work!

Anneliese said...

OOOhh I adoer this !!! ..just bought a bag of leather offcuts .. me thinks I may NEED to have a go :D xx thanks for the inspiration x

Robin Panzer Art said...

I was over at your WOYWW post today and saw this beauty and had to come by and take a look. GORGEOUS!!!

Freda said...

Hi Sarah, I've just discovered your blog & your amazing creations through ShelleyHickox' Tim Tag 8 post. Your girly cuff is the best idea I've seen using Grungepaper! I would love to make one for a friend's daughter as a gift but how do u make the cuffs open and close? Do u use buttons? Velcro?

Sarah said...

Hi Freda,

Thanks for the lovely words! The fastening is a Tim Holtz hitch fastener on the under strap end which you push through a hole cut in the overlapping strap with a Crop-a-dile or any hole maker. But you can use anything you like...eyelets and a lace might be nice. Hope this helps...couldn't find your email address.
Sarah.

KayJay said...

Sarah, first I found your Steampunk shoe and now what to my wondering eyes should appear, but your beautiful bracelet! I must, once again, get my jaw off the floor (ouch!).
How did you do such fine stitching on the end without having the grundgeboard tear?
As I did with your shoe, may I post your bracelet to Pinterest with a link to your site? I believe I am entering into groupie status.
KayJay, Van Nuys/CA

Catherine SIWCZAK said...

oh I love this !

Anna said...

Thanks so much for the inspiration!! It was a rainy day here today and I spent the afternoon making one for my daughter. She was thrilled with it! Now I have to make one for me!