Altered Cabinet Cards

Jeri is hosting a deco book swap on Paper Traders using altered cabinet cards and the theme "Time".  For the backgrounds, I trimmed around the people in the photos and then layered in papers from DCWV's Tattered Time paper stack.  Since the theme required to use a timepiece in some manner, I layered wings behind various clock faces and attached spinning clock hands with a brad; each card also features a grandfather clock.  These are pretty simple paper collage - no fancy techniques - but I think the end result is still good.  Once Jeri receives pages from all the participating artists, she will take one page from each and bind them into books for us.

Assemblage Art: Time Heals All Wounds

I have been waiting for weeks to be able to show you my newest steampunk creation.  The Gingersnap Creations blog challenge for this week was to use gears, cogs, and watch bits so I created this assemblage, which was a lot of fun!  I may have found a new art addiction  =)   Stay tuned because I have another assemblage to show you next week...

The Gingersnap Creations challenges are fun and anyone can play along so come and join in the fun!

Scavengering for Art Supplies

Yesterday, I spent the morning at the swap meet and then checked out some of the local thrift stores... all in my search for cool stuff to use in my art.  I'm trying to come up with something for a Valentine Steampunk Assemblage swap we're doing on Paper Traders.  I found this store called Architectural Salvage that is awesome!  Most of their stuff is too pricey for my pocketbook but it sure was fun to browse  =)

Asian Charms Box

Just wanted to quickly share a photo of the box I made for my 16 color charms...

The wooden frame that I used for the base was a dollar store find!

In the Spirit of Crayola

Liz is hosting a token/charm swap in our Paper Traders group.  Her theme is the 16 colors that come in a box of Crayola crayons: red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, violet, red-violet, carnation pink, brown, white, and black.

I gave mine a common theme by using various asian papers for each one.  I got the idea from vintagepix' button charms that I saw on Flickr.  It took a little trial and error but I finally figured out the secret for doing these without too much mess...

I adhered the paper behind the clear buttons (which I got from Stampin'Up!) using crystal lacquer (diamond glaze, papier glass finish, etc.) but I had trouble with it oozing out through the buttonholes when I pressed them together.  My solution was to cut the ends off of some cheap cotton swabs that had plastic stems (like tiny straws) - they fit perfectly in the holes and the excess glaze oozed up inside the straws instead of all over the front of the buttons... then I placed my finger over the top of the straw when I removed each one, creating a tiny vacuum that sucked out the excess goo!

All I need to do now to finish this project is to make a cute little storage/display box...

Altered Puzzle Pieces

I am hosting an altered puzzle piece swap on Paper Traders - the theme is Four Seasons and these are my entries.  I followed Barb & Bevlea's technique and it was a ton of fun!  I love the glassy finish you get from the Dimensional Magic - pretty cool  =)

Check out KC Willis...

KC Willis Studio offers on-line workshops where she teaches the basics of her techniques and inspires you to new creative heights: www.collagecamp.ning.com

There's also Mixed Media Mania where you take what you learned at Collage Camp and in these workshops KC teaches Altars and Shrines, Altered Books, and Works on Paper: www.mixedmediamania.ning.com

And for those of you already making art and wanting to know how you take it to the next level and get yourself a regional or national audience, she also has the super exciting Marketing Mindset: www.marketingmindset.ning.com

And if video workshops aren't your thing, how about KC Willis Live! You can take a multi-day class with KC in her very sweet Victorian studio house in Longmont, Colorado. Check it out at www.studioretreats.ning.com. (I'd really love to go there!)

(Okay, so if you've checked out KC's site, you'll see that this shameless little promo is my way of getting my hands on one of her FABULOUS hand-crafted creations... but I really am a fan of this gal's work =) Check out her blog, Lipstick Ranch, here: http://www.kcwillis.blogspot.com/

Cool Clip

The other day, while taking out the trash, I noticed this clip laying on the ground near the dumpster. I don't know exactly what it is for but I thought it was cool so I snagged it. If you have any clever ideas for what I should do with it, I'm open to suggestions... otherwise I'll just add it to my art stash until some future date when the perfect project presents itself =)

Anniversary Shrine

Every year around this time, our Paper Traders group makes a special project to swap. This year we are constructing mini matchbox shrines. Because this is our fourth anniversary, the theme was to use the number 4 in some way - mine, obviously, is Four Seasons. The "leaves" on the trees are made using FlowerSoft - such a cool product! The text paper I used for the background came from an old book I got at a local thrift store that was printed in 1796. I love how they used an "f" instead of an "s" like we do now.

Birthday Box

I waited a little while to write about this because I made it as a birthday gift for a friend and I wanted her to receive it before I showed it to everyone. This is just a simple little cardboard box that I decorated and filled with lots of goodies. This puzzle angel is another piece from that larger puzzle I broke up earlier this year (you can see what else I've done with that on my previous post). On this box, the ribbon looks so dark but it's really a soft green, like the paper quote... but it has a sheen to it that turned black in the camera flash.

I really haven't had much time for art lately - long, busy days at the office have sent me home feeling drained for the past several weeks. I did manage to get my studio MOSTLY cleaned up and the remnants of many previous projects sorted, if not all put away. Sometimes it's easier to find inspiration when all your goodies are spread out around you, however my art space is tiny so there isn't a lot of room for clutter - it takes over my work table until I just have a small spot to work in and it piles up on the floor around me so that it's a maze to get in and out of the room. For the most part, I manage to keep it confined to that one room... otherwise it might take over the whole house!

Altered Box completed

Finally, here is the photo I promised of the box I altered. The above photo is the outside lid and the photo below is the inside lid. This puzzle section was a great find at Goodwill - I have several different angels from this puzzle, which I shared with my mom. One of my favorite little things is the birdie attached with a wire so he's literally flying above the box. Also, if you look closely, you'll see some text showing through the background tissue - I had something entirely different planned when I started, but this project just evolved into something else and I actually really like how the text peeks out here and there. I love it when art takes a creative turn on its own =)

I live for weekends

I'm probably just like everyone else - dragging my way through the week, anticipating having two whole days off to do the stuff that I want to do. They always seem to go by too fast. For me, working on art is almost always on the top of my list... I even squeeze my other errands in during the workweek just so I can stay home in my jammies and do art.

This weekend, I altered a wooden box for a swap on Paper Traders. My camera batteries are dead so I can't post a photo just yet but will get one up soon. I started it on Friday night and stayed up to the early morning hours because I was on a roll! Eventually, I forced myself to go to bed but, after not enough hours of sleep, I was up again finishing the box. I also worked on some domino charms for my RAK project... that was a funny adventure because I managed - not one, not twice, but THREE times - to superglue my fingers together (and once to the table - LOL!)

Yesterday, I did manage to leave the house for a few hours... I met my friend Stephanie and her daughter for some ice cream (I had sorbet - I'm lactose intolerant) at Cold Stone. Her birthday was last week and it was a fun treat for all of us =) I had planned to go to an ATC swap downtown but didn't really have enough time to get down there before they were supposed to close - hopefully they'll do another one soon. I haven't met many local artists but maybe I can connect with some others soon.

Earlier this week, one of my clients and I got to talking about art and he mentioned a store up in Fort Collins that he thought I would really like. I haven't made it up there yet but am hoping to stop by next month when I will be driving home from visiting my family. I checked out the store's website and it looks like it's just the sort of place I've been searching for - a store actually tailored to the mixed-media/altered art genre - too bad it's so far away! http://www.theartistsnook.net/

The Great Escape by Holly Hinkle

On my way home from work today, I stopped by a downtown boutique that was displaying art by a local mixed media artist, Holly Hinkle. I thought her work was absolutely lovely! It's on display all month at Terra Verde on Tejon, if you live in the area and want to stop by:
http://edificegallery.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=32&year=2009&month=06&day=05&Itemid=48&catids=24

Mini Giveaway

Check out these awesome little bottle charms... if you hurry, you might be the lucky winner of one:

http://bullesdorees.blogspot.com/

Altered Dominoes

I made both of these altered dominoes for a swap on Paper Traders. Both of the images were sealed with crystal lacquer and then I dropped the gold items into the wet lacquer to attach them (the key, bow, and gold micro beads). The pear one has pretty little rub-ons around the edge while the key one has a ribbon glued around it.