The Butterfly - image transfer technique

In our Paper Traders group, we're doing one-for-one canvas swaps based on a specific technique.  This month, the technique was to use an image transfer (of any kind).  I made this canvas using the gel medium technique to apply my butterfly over a torn paper background and embellished it with my white Sharpie paint pen.  Then I layered a gold-printed napkin with orange flowers over the top and embellished with doilies and german scrap.  Lastly, I rubbed metallic colored waxes over areas of the canvas and applied some colored mica in select areas to add more texture.  I think it turned out nice and I hope my swap recipient likes it!

Live Life to the Fullest

I wanted to play with my new bottle of Goosebumps spray some more so I used it to make the background for this pretty little ATC.  Such a simple card with a not-so-simple saying...

If you're like me, there's never enough time to do all the things I need to do much less try to squeeze in more of the things I want to do.  I realize that I'm becoming somewhat of a recluse and am letting life bog me down.  I'm trying to take baby steps to change this - not staying at work so late, cutting down on my Facebook usage, scheduling time to work on my art, etc.

This weekend I took a huge step and am spending most of my holiday weekend at a church Single Adult Conference.  It's been very uplifting and I've even made a few new friends.  Yesterday was a tour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography followed by an amazing keynote speaker, Robert O'Brien.  Then we had some terrific workshops and I even learned how to play Bunco  =)

Today, I'm looking forward to more spiritual edification with church services and a fireside.

Mardi Gras Masquerade

I recently hosted a Mardi Gras themed ATC swap in our Paper Traders group.  I made my backgrounds by using blue and purple alcohol inks on aluminum foil, then overlaying that with a piece of iridescent punchinella. They're really much more colorful and shiny than the scan shows.

Imaginary Garden

This is the last spread for the current round in the Paper Traders Round Robin Journal swap.  We'll be starting a new round after the first of the year.  This last book that I worked in belongs to Heather and she chose a beautiful theme: Imaginary Garden.

For this page, I used the watercolored paper she had included in her book, sponged ink around the edges, and glued a printed floral napkin over the top.  I then added dimensional aspects with silk flower petals and punched paper flowers.  Finally, I used my fingertips to spread glitter glue to highlight certain flowers.  The butterflies and birds were actually rub-ons.  Since hummingbirds are a rare thing for her to see up in Canada, I think she thought it was a real treat to have them in her book.

Bleached Background Papers

Unfortunately, these did not scan very well but they're really quite pretty.  I made these background papers for another swap in our Paper Traders group.  We stamped images onto black cardstock using bleach, then added color back in using various inks, and touching it all off with some metallic stamping - a really easy and fun technique!  You'll have to test your paper before you get started as not all cardstocks will yield good results.  I tried several (some of which didn't bleach out at all) and finally bought a few pages of Bazzill paper, which worked well.

Beeswax & Butterflies

So, these are boring.  I was having trouble regulating the temperature of my beeswax and the layers not building and I'm not thrilled with the results.  BUT, I am hoping to learn how to do this technique properly and then maybe I can stop fighting with the medium long enough to let my creative muse out to play... next time.  Moving on...

Quilties!

These are my first attempt at "quilties" for a swap on Paper Traders. I know the machine stitching is a bit rough - as I intended it to be - but my exacting self is cringing at it now! It was a fun project, although I found it challenging to combine the paper with the fabric. It was a good experience for me to try something new and I hope the recipients will like the results.

Butterfly Arches

I had to make an extra set of arches for the swap I'm hosting so that each of the participants could receive six unique arches in return for the six they submitted. This is the set I made this week... I used Bernie Berlin's foam shapes technique using two colors of green acrylic paint. The variation in the paint really didn't show up in the scan - it looks a lot better in real life.

In the Rose Garden

These are the arches I made for a swap I'm hosting on Paper Traders. The theme is "In the Rose Garden." Below are the backs of these arches and some butterfly charms to go along with each one. The challenge was to include a textured background... for these I crinkled tissue paper and then rubbed distress ink over them. The images on the fronts are from a vintage Kate Greenaway book on children's games.

Cutie Two Shoes

These are the paper shoes I created for Connie's "Cutie Two Shoes" swap on Paper Traders. Don't you think these would make adorable Christmas ornaments?

Contributing Hands

This is the sign-in page for my "Hands" round robin journal. I put a butterfly on the first hand to emulate the butterfly on the corresponding page. This one also has wings that lift up off the page.

Discovering Hands

This is the first spread in my "Hands" round robin journal for Paper Traders. This one is called "Discovering Hands." I really wanted the hands to be a little more prominent but I just loved these images and just had to use them! The photos of the children came from a recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens. The child's hand with the butterfly is from ArtChix, as well as the butterfly on the vellum - his wings lift up off the page so that he appears as if he could flit away at any moment. The discover stickers are from Colorbok. The vellum lifts up off the page so that you can see the image underneath: