Off the beaten path

Yesterday was a day for just playing around.  I'd seen 2 ideas on the Internet and wanted to recreate them.  So I did. 

Up first is a wood project.  Fortunately a neighbor is building a new house so I was able to scrounge around and get my lumber free.  Hey, it's only scraps but I still want to save money and be green.

Here's a link to the original idea; the one I saw done by an on-line friend was similar but I didn't care for the real clean and bright look of either of them.  So I dirtied mine up with a watered down brown acrylic paint wash.  I did learn a construction lesson when screwing the pieces to my base (I didn't pre-glue)-start with the shortest piece first so you can get the blocks to sit tight on the base.

Idea #2 was a bit crazy but with a dr, nurse, med student and public health student in the family, I know this will be a big hit to their funny bones.

Created my own label (Ranger Crimson archival ink) using a computer-generated label.  We have plenty of medicine bottles on hand so that wasn't an issue.  I created the stool from a wood disk and a dowel that I cut to length.  Glued the legs on (Ranger's Matte Multi-Medium) and painted the stool brown.  I also glued the stool to the bottom of the bottle (RMMM).

Hope you have fun making some crazy art this weekend!

Fall into fall

Here in the U.S. the first day of fall was Saturday.  And a gorgeous day it was here in central Illinois.  Because of the drought and heat I doubt we'll have much of a show of color in our trees.  So I thought I'd make up for that with this entry for the challenge hosted by Frilly & Funkie.  They are offering a $25 gift certificate to their store as well as a chance to have your project named best in the competition.  The challenge closes Oct. 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Autumn is my favorite time of year...I love the color palette of browns, golds, oranges, greens and the dark reddish-purples.  I don't mind raking leaves but would prefer to scuffle through them on my morning walk.   Our flowers have pretty much gone to seed which make the birds very happy.

So, on with the show!  Up first is a completely (gasp!) naked 3" chip brush.  I found a 12 pack of them at the big box hardware store so I'm sure another one will show up every now and again.

Here's the back of the finished brush...you can see what happens when you cover it with Antique Linen distress crackle paint and a wash of watered down brown acrylic paint with a touch of Coffee archival ink rubbed along the edges.  It looks so old and beat up!

And here's the finished brush!  I really didn't know when to stop adding flowers and leaves.  A number of Kraft core'dinations strips were cut using Tim's Tattered Floral Garland and Autumn Gatherings alterations dies.  Before removing the die cuts from the strips I sanded them.  Saw that Tim had done that and I really like the effect; plus it's way easier than trying to do it on a fragile petal or leaf stem.

The petals were misted with water and formed with a ball roller or just my fingers.  Ditto for the leaves...floral and from the trees.  Some of them were smudged with distress inks.

The flower centers are small wood beads I colored with Ranger's archival inks in several colors.  Some took the color better than others but I guess that mimics nature.

I used some torn burlap around the top of the handle.  From it dangles a Maya Road canvas tag that I dipped in some distress stain and distress ink.  The word 'autumn' was stamped in Jet Black archival ink and is from Stamp Camp.  Mist, wad, heat.  Love it!

Perhaps I should add a pot or 2 of mums to my front stoop...the pumpkins, gourds and leaf garlands look kinda lonely without some flowers sporting their fall wardrobe.

Ranger's Snow Cap Pigment Ink

Hey, the fabulous Wendy Vecchi has created a video tutorial using this ink pad in a really cool way.  You can check it out here.  There are only a few days left over at Simon Says Stamp where Stamptember is still happening!  Check out the videos and art that all the special guests have made just for the occasion.

I used stamps from It's More Flower Art, Card Essentials and Love To Make Art.  There were too many distress markers used here; it would probably be easier to let you know which ones I didn't use.  lol  I also discovered that my ink pad was too dry for this technique to really show off the effect but I love the look I did achieveon the kraft tag...guess all is not lost.  Tarnished Brass distress stain was used on the edges to frame both ATCs.  I tried to make them as much the same as possible so you could see how this technique works on the black as Wendy used but also the kraft as she suggested later. 

A re-inker will be ordered asap so I can try this again.

Riveted Patchwork

I'm not really into the steampunk look and that's what this technique reminds me of.  So I decided to put my own spin on it...again.  You can see my earlier example when I used it on my crazy quilt tag not too long ago.  Even though this was also the same technique Tim featured on his September 2012 tag, it's the current challenge over at Studio L3.  The technique can be found on p. 57 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities Book, Volume 2.

The sponsor of this week's challenge is The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Up for grabs is a $25 gift certificate from the shop...I'm sure you'll be able to find something to buy there...I had no problem a few weeks ago.  lol  The challenge ends Thursday, September 27 at 8 pm MTD so you still have some time to try your hand at this unique technique.

Stamps:  Apothecary, Mini Halloween 3

TH/Sizzix embossing folders:  Halloween spider, Halloween background, Christmas border (snow as blood)

Ranger:  Black Soot distress crackle paint; Ginger, Sunset Orange, Pitch Black alcohol inks; Jet Black archival ink; brown and Black Soot distress inks

#8 tag, white shrink plastic, button, chipboard bat, ribbon

I did start out like Tim suggested but then cut apart my tag so it would fit the portions of the specific embossing folders I wanted to use.  Once they were embossed, I adhered them to another tag.

The bright orange and black grosgrain ribbon was inked with some brown distress stain, tied into a bow then heat set.  Because the black running thread must have some meltability, the whole thing curled like this.  Cool, huh?

So don't you think that snow border works as blood?  I do!  And get a load of that gold tooth!  I just had to do it.  : )

Blending your stains

Outside the art world you wouldn't dream of blending your stains.  They are usually hard enough to get out of clothes, etc. on their own without combining them.  lol  But in the art world, blending is very much accepted and often desired.

The 21st CCCv2 challenge hosted by Linda at Studio L3 is Blended Stains and the details can be found on p. 45 of Tim's 2nd book.  Simon Says Stamp is offering a $25 gift certificate to a randomly chosen winner.  Thank you!  So let's start staining and not worrying about the mess!

Sizzix/TH:  Thankful background embossing folder, Mini Acorn & Pumpkin mover & shaper dies

Stampers Anonymous/TH:  Thankful Silhouettes

Ranger:  Coffee archival ink; Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Fired Brick, Rusty Hinge, Old Paper distress stains

Advantus:  grungepaper

Misc.:  raffia, burlap

Can you believe the first day of autumn is this Saturday here in the U.S.!?!?!?!?!??

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

The Jewish new year starts at sundown tonight.  We'll start the evening off by dipping apple slices in honey with hopes for a sweet year ahead.  This card features an apple and my favorite color palette..fall!

Ingredients: Bazzill cardstocks, apple stamp (Anita's) stamped using TH distress markers, apple text (A Stamp in the Hand) stamped using Ranger's Jet Black archival ink

L'shanah tovah!

Our house...is a very, very nice house....

with 2 cats in the yard.  Okay, I'll quit singing now.  And correct myself...our cats don't go outside.  This tag was created for the 50th challenge on the EverythingWendyVecchi Yahoo group.  It's based on the technique Tim Holtz shared in his Stamptember video for Simon Says Stamp.  I loosely followed along; but that's what makes each person's art his/her own.

Stampers Anonymous/Studio 490 stamps:  Homemade Art, The Essence of Art

Ranger:  Jet Black, Coffee archival inks; Pumice Stone, Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves, Crushed Olive distress inks; Tarnished Brass, Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive distress stains

Sizzix frame (was light blue and leftover from a previous project); Micron pen (journaling on frame); cat punch (drew around the image)

And guess what?!?!?!?  Wendy is giving away a new stamp set and a package of Art Parts to one lucky artist!  Got my fingers crossed!!!

P.S.  The challenge ends at midnight 9/18 central time.

Enameled Stamping

8 p.m. MTD tonight is the deadline for the latest StudioL3 challenge from Tim's 2nd Compendium book - Enameled Stamping and it's explained on p. 44.  I opted for fall colors and a Halloween theme.  The owl piece features the technique, the rest is just ad libbed.  Spider webs were embossed, gone over with white ink and glitter, some stamping done using pigment inks, how about a bit of blood dripping across the top of the tag?  It's hard to see but IRL it looks real!

Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz stamps"  Haunted Mansion, Apothecary, Mini Halloween 3

Sixxiz/Tim Holtz:  Mini black cat movers & shapers, wordplay dies; Mini Spiderweb, Halloween background embossing folders

Ranger:  Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Seedless Preserves distress inks; Crimson (discontinued), Sepia archival inks; Purple Twilight, Lettuce, Snowcap pigment inks; Watermelon alcohol ink; Glossy Accents

Misc.:  Micron pen, white Sharpie, Sakura jelly roll glitter pen; black, green, purple, glossy cardstocks

I am so ready for fall!!!!

Crazy quilt metal tag

Tim Holtz's September tag features a "cool industrial faux riveted metal look" that has been part of his recent class "Heart & Soul" as well as shown in his 2nd Compendium of Curiosities book.  His tutorials are clear and concise; his photos and videos easy to understand.

Every time I see this technique I immediately think of a crazy quilt and all the different stitching techniques that can be found around the fabric patches.  I tried to replicate the look of the crazy quilt by using sewing stitches around my metal tape pieces.  A little bit of faux lace at the edge adds a nice border.

Tim's stamp sets:  Haberdashery, Artful Flight

Ranger:  Jet Black archival ink; Watermelon, Raspberry, Sunset Orange, Clover, Stream, Purple Twilight, Espresso, Ginger alcohol inks; Inkssential Foil Sheets; Walnut Stain distress ink; Brushed Pewter, Antiqued Bronze, Tarnished Brass, Picket Fence distress stains

TH/Sizzix:  Vintage Lace alterations strip die, Sewing Room Bigz die

Advantus:  Grungeboard

Misc. gold cording, chipboard alpha letters, gold Sharpie, ribbons

Can't wait to look at all the inspiration that others have linked to Tim's blog!

Fun and funky art

Under the tutelage of the ultra fab Wendy Vecchi, I made the Three Star Crayon Box (constructed from Art Parts and metal edges) and the Funky Art Angel (lots of Art Parts and Blossom Bucket items).  Lots of Ranger ink mediums and loads of Studio 490 stamps were provided.  Other than general construction advice, the class used whatever color combos and stamps we wanted to put our own spin on the project.  It's too bad we didn't have an angel fashion show; there were loads of great looking gals!  And one was created by a guy who'll be teaching a neat class at The Scrapbooking Studio early next year called the Four Seasons Tower.  Can't wait!

Here are the 2 projects from Saturday's class.

Lady Luck was with me...I won the door prize during the first class!  The package consisted of a package of Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper, a package of plain alpha grungeboard letters in 9 complete fonts, a large bottle of Glossy Accents and a set of Curio Knobs from Tim Holtz' Idea-ology line.  It was all tied up with a beautiful gold mesh bow.  The fella in the class not only won the 2nd door prize but the store's door prize.  Talk about luck!

Wendy will be teaching this class next Saturday in the Moline location.  Hope you have as much fun as we did getting inky!

Got to see Wendy's art journal...she'll be teaching a similar class at the store November 3rd.  It sounds like it will be very informative and lots of fun. 

Read all about it

It's Stamptember over at Simon Says Stamp and Shows blog.  One of the challenge themes is reading, words, books, etc.  I chose to alter a fuschia composition book that can be found at most office supply stores for about $1.  In my journal I'll be logging in all the winning moments I can remember...in and outside the art world.  Some of my friends were teasing me about how lucky I was last month, so this prompted me to really think about this.  And yes, I really do seem to be pretty darned lucky, especially when it comes to random drawings. 

The following items were used:

Studio 490:  For The Arts (gentleman); Brick Wall (stencil)

Ranger:  Brushed Pewter d. stain; Sunshine Yellow, Lemonade alc. inks; Tattered Rose, Antique Linen, Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Mowed Lawn, Iced Spruce, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Rusty Hinge d. inks; Purple Twilight pigment ink; Pale Ochre, Venetian Orange, Olive, Jet Black archival inks

Tim Holtz:  tissue tape, grungeboard, Idea-ology

Dyan Reaveley:  Around The Edge stamp; stencils

Sizzix:  Leaf stem, shamrock, Holiday Lamppost (TH), Mini Bird (TH)

Misc.:  Lasting Impressions stencil, Dreamweavers embossing paste, watercolor paper, Yes glue, cellophane, Micron pens, olive Sharpie, paint chips, washi tape

By the way, in honor of the blog hop the randomly chosen winner gets a $100 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp!!!!!   Even if you're not able to meet the challenge deadline (09-09-12 at midnight EST), just by leaving a comment on the blogs within the hop might find you winning a $25 shopping spree!

How can you resist???

That's the name of a challenge issued by the Frilly and Funkie blog.  I chose to use two resist methods on my journal page:  rubber cement and Tim Holtz's alpha masks.  I'm pretty sure I used every medium available by Ranger on this page and quite a few colors in each.  There are some Dylusions stamps and Hero Arts alphas.  Micron markers and a white Sharpie were used for a tiny bit of doodling..a very tiny bit.

I love the brushed look at the end of the swipes when using the rubber cement.  I think I'm going to use that more often.

The leaves look a bit disjointed since they're no longer joined together.  But since we're nearly into fall, I'll just pretend they're dropping off my trees one at a time.

Some other ways to resist are to use resist ink (well, duh), white pigment ink, tapes...I'm sure there are others but at the moment my gray matter just won't churn any more out.  If you haven't played with a resist technique in a while, isn't it about time you did?

Almost forgot..there's a $25 gift certificate at stake and a competition for the best project.  I do believe there's a blinkie for your sidebar if you get this honor.  The challenge closes at 11:59 ET on Tuesday, September 4 so you have a bit of time to try your hand at resist!