Magazine Collage Canvas

Cathy is hosting a magazine collage canvas swap in our Paper Traders group this month.  The challenge was to use a magazine image in your work.  I had saved this image of a silhouetted girl with an umbrella and applied her to my painted and stamped canvas.  I used flower-shaped die cuts to mask the paint and used a stencil for the green vines.  I added details with my white, green, and gold paint pens.

White-on-White

I know my blog posts lately have been sporadic at best.  I really have been working on several things recently so I will try to get them updated here soon to show you.

This past week, I finished my spread for Cathy's tip-in journal in our Paper Traders group.  Her theme is White-on-White so this is what I came up with... let me just say that it was somewhat challenging to place that tulle on the page using gel medium!

New Year Inspiration

I'm hosting a tag swap over at Paper Traders this month and the theme is to use an inspirational quote for the new year.  After reading my latest issue of Somerset Studio, I loved the technique used by Cat Kerr on her mini canvas necklace (page 52) so I decided to try applying this method to my paper tags.

I started with a plain manila tag to which I added a light coat of gesso.  Then I used gel medium to adhere different textured items to my tags - some tulle, a piece of woven straw ribbon, some extra chunky mulberry paper, and a few paper flower cutouts.  I covered everything with a layer of green acrylic paint and let it dry.  At this point I was thinking the green was way too ugly and I didn't know if the textures were pronounced enough, but I added a coat of Mod Podge and braved on with the next step...

I adhered my chipboard quotes and then, following Cat's instructions in the magazine, I watered down some dark acrylic paint (I used navy blue) and spread it over the top of everything.  I crossed my fingers, waited a few minutes, and started wiping the dark paint off again.  Cat recommended using a baby wipe but I found this took too much of the paint off (probably because I was working on paper with very thin textures) so I just rubbed with my fingers, cleaning them often so I could pick up more paint as I went.

Once everything was dry again, I used some colored buffing wax to highlight the textured areas.  Cat recommends Rub 'n Buff but I used my Metallic Rub-Ons by Craf-T in brass.  I added some random bright blue accents using my oil pastels and then spattered everything with some off-white acrylic paint.  Lastly, I added white accents with my Sharpie paint pen.

As a final touch, I added the brass butterflies and some glitter accents on my drawn flowers.  Finally, I used a little extra colored buffing wax (in golden white) to lighten the edges of my tags for more dimension.  I sprayed everything with a coat of fixative when I was done.  I also mounted printed cardstock to the back of my tags to reinforce them.

About half-way through this project, I thought I was going to have to scrap the whole thing because it looked u-g-l-y ("you ain't got no alibi!")... but I am so grateful I followed all the steps all the way through because I think the end results are phenomenal - there's so much color and texture and I really learned a lot about how to combine different mediums for a beautiful finale.

In Stitches

We're doing a stitched canvas technique swap in our Paper Traders group this week.  This was a bit of a challenge for me because I really hate to sew.  My stitches on this piece are not very good but the overall effect is nice and the loose threads give it a shabby chic look.

Graven Angels

Over at Paper Traders, I am managing the current round robin journal project but was disappointed that I couldn't commit to actually participating this year.  Working 50-60 hours per week at my two jobs has left precious little time for making actual art.  What time I do have is spent doing more management type work for the group, although I have been trying to host the occasional ATC swap.

Even though I did not participate in this year's round robin, I did make a spread in my mom's journal which has the theme of Graven Angels.  Everyone's work so far has been lovely but they tend to be dark and somber - no surprise, really, given that it's all about cemetery statues!  Yet, death has never felt like a dark spectre to me so I wanted to make a page that was lighter and more introspective...

...in fond memory of George, Grandma Betty, Jennifer, Grandpa Holso, Alyssa, Uncle Ronny, Danny, and Aunt Joyce.  I love and miss you all and I'll see you someday soon!

Springtime Glory

I made another piece for the Hello Spring! blog challenge over at Paper Traders.  This little ATC is going to be my entry in the March winner-take-all ATC lottery.  The beautiful background was created by Suzi Blu - it was a scrap of paper I picked up at her garage sale last year... isn't it pretty?  I layered a floral image over the top and painted each petal with Gleams to give it some shimmer, then I touched the centers with some coppery glitter glue.  I also used my Pan Pastels to add shadows behind the flowers for some extra dimension.  Lastly, I sketched some lines around the edge of the card with my superfine Pitt pen.

Help me embrace the springtime spirit by joining in the fun of this month's blog challenge.  Head on over to Paper Traders for some inspiration!

Blog Challenge: Hello Spring

I watch these online videos of mixed media artists just throwing stuff onto their paper and coming up with these fabulous creations.  Come on... who really does that?  It's certainly not me as I am way too much of a control freak to just toss things about willy-nilly.  Then, recently, after watching one of those annoying yet wonderfully amazing videos and feeling completely lost as to what to make for the upcoming blog challenge over at Paper Traders, I decided to give it a go.  What could it hurt?  It wasn't in a precious journal that I was afraid to ruin or for a specific swap that I would have to send to another artist to judge.  No, it was just for me and if I truly hated it, I could toss it in the trash and try something different.

When we were discussing what the theme for the March blog challenge should be, I was leaning toward "luck" since St Patty's Day falls right in the middle of the mix; but the other moderators were really itching for Spring to get here and so the theme this month is "Hello Spring!"  I decided to take my "lucky" idea and incorporate it into the Spring theme with some purple flowering clover - fresh greens and pretty lavenders and a touch of shiny gold.  I started by layering torn vintage text over my cardboard canvas and then I smeared the paints around... ... ...Did you know that purple and green when mixed together make a kind of ugly brown?  Well, they do and it was icky and I already hated it and ALMOST threw it in the trash secure now in my knowledge that all this creative slinging was a bunch of hooey!  But I grabbed my paper towel and blotted and wiped most of the brown gunk away, then slowly and CAREFULLY placed more greens and purples on my page, gently sponging them on instead of smearing them around.  Ooh, now this was kind of pretty... maybe a little more of this, a little more of that, some white paint touches, some black stamped text... yes, yes, I can see this might not be a totally wasted effort.

Once it was all dry, i almost chopped it up into ATC backgrounds.  But, in digging through my stash, I found a few coordinating treasures and the following canvas was born:

(One of my favorite little secrets about this canvas is that the green lined journaling paper with the distress inking on it came from Suzi Blu's garage sale - actual paper that one of my favorite artists inked and chopped herself.  I feel somehow connected to her by using this little treasured scrap in my work  =)

Now, my next adventure in messiness will be a test to see if this was just a fluke... or maybe a whole new creative approach for me!  Stay tuned...

...oh, and don't forget to join in the blog challenge at Paper Traders.  It's easy, lots of fun, and you might win recognition for being the month's Trader Treasure!

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.

My Stuff, Your Stuff

 We held a really fun swap on Paper Traders this month.  It was a "stuff" swap and we sent our swapping partner an envelope full of random ephemera; then their challenge was to make one ATC using some of the items, sending the finished card back to the person who's stuff they used and keeping the extra ephemera for themselves.

Well, I was having so much fun, I couldn't stop... and I ended up making THREE ATCs from the stuff I received.  I forwarded the top two shown here back to my swap partner and am entering the card shown below in this month's winner-take-all ATC lottery.  (For this last card, I added the picture from my own stash.)

Live in the Sunshine

My friends and family are having a chilly Spring but here in San Diego it's mostly sunshiney and getting warmer all the time.  Soon the heat of summer will be here (ugh!) but until then, I am enjoying the pretty blooms all around me and the mild weather of the season in Southern California.  Happy Spring, everyone!

Spring is here

Baseball is starting, the weather is warming up, the ice plant is blooming, the rain is tapering off, everything is green everywhere you look... Spring is here!

To get into the spirit of the season, we had a pennant banner swap on Paper Traders.  Here is a picture of the one I made (which is now winging it's way to Linda)...

... and I was the lucky recipient of Darlene's beautiful creation which I will be hanging up in my studio to get my creativity blossoming  =)

One World One Heart offering...

http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart-1.html

Welcome to my stop on the One World One Heart worldwide blog event!

This blog is my "home" on the worldwide web... Here, I share a little of my personal life and a lot of my artistic one.  I am a member of Paper Traders, an online artists community and most of the projects I do are for swaps with my fellow group members.  Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope you will come back soon!

For my offering, I will be giving away one book to each of TWO lucky visitors - either The Wreath Book or Making Decorative Fabric-Covered Boxes.  Just leave a comment on this post and I will select two random winners on February 17th.  If you have a preference for which book you would like to receive, please indicate that in your comment.  Also, make sure I have a way to contact you if you win!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED... WILL BE ANNOUNCING WINNER SHORTLY...!

Fabric ATC

Connie is hosting a Fabric ATC swap on Paper Traders and I made 5 cards like this one. Originally, I had thought to sew a lantern that was puffy but damask fabrics have such a tendency to ravel that I settled for a flat version attached with Stitch Witchery fusible webbing instead. The scan really doesn't show the richness of the colors and the shiny nature of the fabrics - much prettier in real life, I promise!

Happy Birthday to ME!

This is the pretty e-card I got from my Mom for my birthday today. When I got up this morning, I was feeling a little bummed that I am so far away from all my friends and not having anyone to celebrate with... but then I found gifts and cards in my mailbox, received several phone calls today, and my email and facebook were filled with well wishes - I love all my friends and think they're so awesome for remembering me across the miles.

Today, on my way home from work, I took a drive through the Garden... it was so nice and relaxing. I noticed that some of the trees are losing their summer greens already - I'm excited for Fall to get here!

Today it is very hazy here and they said on the news that it's due to smoke from the California wildfires - my eyes are dry and burning and my throat is scratchy. Having experienced the Alpine and Cedar fires of San Diego and working in the insurance industry as well, I have a lot of sympathy for those who are facing this fearsome enemy... my thoughts and prayers go out to them - I hope things improve soon!

Scrapped Out

I just got home from an arts/crafts-filled morning. My friend Stephanie and I stood in line for an hour to get in to the Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook Expo today... I had heard they were giving away tote bags to the first 50 people and my mom said that the last time she went to one of these shows, the bags were filled with goodies... Well, these bags weren't - they were just the cheapo bags that you get everywhere as an eco-friendly alternative to grocery bags, and the free gift was a teeny tiny acrylic stamp worth about 25-cents.

Despite that, we did enjoy the show. There were lots of booths to browse through... many were having free make-&-takes. Several tables had clearance items for super cheap so we did pick a few cute things here and there. But my favorite find was this stuff called "Flower Soft" - oh my heck, it is so cool! It's a kind of fluffy product that you can glue on to give dimension like tiny little leaves or flowers and such. They had tons of colors and varieties to choose from but I only bought one (Heather) to start with. I've never seen this anywhere before. Most of the other booths had products similar to what you can find in other art/craft stores but it was still nice to have so many all in one place.

After that, I took my coupons to some other scrapbooking stores in town and spent more money... yeah, I'm officially broke again until next payday; but at least I have plenty of stuff to play with for now. After all that standing and walking, my feet sure do hurt... I'm looking forward to an afternoon recuperating at my art table =)

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 =)

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.

Soul Journal Inchies

Continuing on with Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling prompts... Going back to yesterday's page, I trimmed out my soul armor with a gold foiling pen - it's a lot of bling, but I'm worth it =)

The next exercise was to search magazines for specific images... some were generic items, like "a bird" or "a flower" whereas others were more personal, such as "eyes the same color as yours" or "something you want (which is NOT the picture of money - LOL)"
Actually, one of the prompts was "something comfortable" which I couldn't really find any picture for... so I picked the money as "something I need to be comfortable" because, well, don't we all?

First, I made a wash of some dark purple acrylic paint (which turned out pretty light once I watered it down), then I spread it around and blotted with paper towels. When that was dry, I pasted on the inchies and applied another wash of a lighter colored paint (ochre). Lastly, Sarah had us add some words and draw around some of the inchies.

A few personal things here? Well, the "40 September" was my last birthday, the beautiful mountain scene is from right here in Colorado where I live now, the snowy branches are my "something you have" since I really appreciate having winter seasons again after living in California for twenty years. The banana bread is one of my favorites and reminds me of my grandmother; the hand represents my current round robin journal which is still winging it's way around the world; the aspen leaves are another Colorado specialty; and the purple swirl represents my favorite color (hence the purple background, too!)

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.