May mixed media technique

Are you creating mixed media calendar pages with Roni?  Here's my rendition of May.  The focus this month is all about rolling papers.  I've never done this and I wasn't sure I'd like it.  But what the heck, let's give it a whirl.

Sizzix Arch Frame; TH tissue wrap; Ranger archival inks (Tea Rose, Sky Blue, Buttercup...all new by Studio 490); TH Flourish Stencil; DecoArt Paper Perfect; Penny Black Brush Tulips stamp (2835K); distress markers; watercolor paper; book page scraps; EK Success border punch; Bazzill card stock

love,

Love,

LOVE

Wendy's new archival ink colors!!!!!!

Christmas is coming!

front

Have you seen this Merry Christmas Configuration Book by Jan Hobbins?  While perusing the aisles of my local Michaels recently I found a lone configuration book on the shelf.  Hmmm...why not give it a try?  I did use a lot of Jan's ideas but added quite a few of my own, including making my own candles.

I'll list the items I used but not the colors; I couldn't keep track of all that I pulled out and used.

spine

 

inside

close up of upper left

close up of upper right

close up of center

close up of lower left

back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sizzix:  Window & Window Box, Pine Tree, Packages & Bows, Christmas Bells, Tattered Poinsettia, Tattered Pinecone, Holly Branch, Victorian Carolers (Bigz); Stacked Words-Christmas, Holly, Beaded & Snowflake Garland, Festive Greenery (dec. strip); Branch, Bow, Deer, Cardinal, Pine Tree, Snowflakes (mini m &S); Snow Flurries, December Calendar, Textured Poinsettia (Alterations)

Idea-ology: Holidays Past Paper Stash, Seasonal Salvage Stickers, Grunge Board, Grunge Paper, Christmastime Remnant Rubs, Christmas Tissue Tape, Configuration Book, metal word bands, glass vial

Stampers Anonymous: Mini Holidays 5 (shrink plastic Santa)

Ranger:  Glossy Accents, Multi-Medium (glossy & matte), Rock Candy Distress Stickles, Clear Rock Candy Dry Glitter, distress paint, distress ink, distress stickles

Core'dinations: Adirondack, Kraft Core, Distress

Miscellaneous:  shrink plastic, wreath (bleached), made my own candles from tiny dowels & flame punch, Darice tiny silver bottle cap, Deco Art Glistening Snow Writer & Snow Writer & Snow-Tex, Floracraft Diamond Dust Twinklets, silk ribbon, button, metal sheet, fence (painted white), gold beads, brads, Provocraft embossing folder - Tartan

Now that my Frosted Film has arrived I can start work on my version of Tim's December tag for 2013.  And maybe participate in more challenges now that I have proper reading glasses (just 1.25 magnification...lower than the doc suggested but working just fine!) and can see what I'm doing.

Last of the 2012 tags

Tim recently posted the December 2012 tag and the delayed January 2012 tag.  I'm sad to see this end but hope he'll be able to do it again next year.  This schedule worked better for me than trying to do one a day for 12 days. 

Ranger: distress stains, distress inks, distress markers, archival ink, Stickles
Stampers Anonymous:  Autumn Blueprint
Sizzix:  Wordplay die
tissue tape, ribbon, crochet trim, watercolor paper, kraft core

Fall, my absolute favorite time of the year.  We have a large pin oak in our front yard so this leaf is perfect for the card.

Ranger: distress stains, distress inks, distress markers, Stickles,
Sizzix:  Stacked Words (Christmas), mini cardinal and branch dies, tree line (on the edge) die
Stampers Anonymous:  Mini Holidays 3
Journaling ticket, ribbon, tissue wrap, grungepaper, kraft core, DCWV

I used DCWV white core paper for the trees...once sanded the edges are immediately white, negating the need for additional snow on the branches.

Can you see 'memory' on the cardinal?  I had to finagle the die on the tissue wrap but it's there to celebrate the memory of my grandmother who loved cardinals. 

Thank you, Tim, for challenging us each month to recreate a tag in your style.  Sometimes I followed your lead quite closely, other times I took a different path.  I've learned a lot of new techniques along the way and found new ideas I hope to use in the future.

Winter wishes

Where does the time go?  I almost forgot about the 27th CCC v2 challenge...alcohol inks using the ink palette.  The instructions can be found on pg. 52...as indicated by the hostess with the mostess, Linda at Studio L3.

I opted to create an ATC...was pawing through my stash and had an 'ah ha' moment. 

As soon as I spotted this scrap from the Seasonal Stash of cardstock, I knew I wanted to run it through the embossing folder (Seasonal Stuff 2).  Green and brown distress inks were used to color the trees.  See, you don't really notice the writing, do you? 

A scrap of kraft resist gave me Tim's mini branch; it was inked up with brown distress inks.  From a scrap of red kraft-core core'dinations the mini cardinal was born.  DecoArt Snow Writer and some Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles Dry Glitter gussy up my wintry branch.

A snippet of red silk ribbon, courtesy of Martha Stewart, got some brown distress stain on it, misted it, wadded it up, then heat set. It is threaded through an Advantus holiday token (here's where the technique comes in - Clover and Espresso alcohol inks).

This piece of work came together so quickly I couldn't believe it.  And now I'm really glad I don't get rid of scraps until they are very small!

Chunky medium*

I used to love creating ATCs but after 7 3" binders were filled with art from around the world, I decided to cool my heels for a bit.  And then along comes the idea of making a chunky ATC.  A what?  It's a 2"x4" that really isn't 2"x4" at all.  It actually measures 1.5"x3.5" and if you cut a 2.5" length you have a chunky ATC.  I don't know who thought this up but it's lots of fun...4 sides and the top to decorate.  Guess you could include the bottom as another surface but since it's usually hidden from view I just use that space for my name and other pertinent info.

This month over on the EWV Yahoo group I am hosting a swap for this newer medium.  They needed to be received by the end of the month but I was waiting to get my hands on Wendy Vecchi's new brick stencil so I could create mine.  I was super lucky and won it on Wendy's blog last week so today I had to get my act together and get busy.

Without further ado, here is the one I will be mailing Deb.  The young lady in the window (from Tim's 'Lost & Found' paper stash) reminds me of Deb.

Front

Side 1

Back

Side 2

Studio 490 stamp sets:  Ticket To Art (leaf stem), Seriously Art (eyes), The Essence Of Art (side view, sentiments), Art Of Inspiration (woodgrain); brick stencil, Outdoor Art Art Parts (fence cut into sections), Scallop Trim (cut into sections)

Blossom Bucket:  door, window

Ranger:  Lake Mist, Sandal, Pebble paint dabbers (grout); Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint, Black Soot distress inks; Olive, Jet Black archival inks; Vintage Photo distress marker (used on door and window frame); Sticky Back Canvas; Picket Fence distress stain; clear embossing ink and powder; Antique Linen distress stickles (shingles); Black Enamel Accents; Matte Multi Medium

Tim Holtz/Sizzix:  mini butterfly die; Damask embossing folder

Ten Seconds Studio: periwinkle metal sheet (butterfly)

Misc.:  DecoArt Country Red Texture Magic (bricks), flower, shrink plastic (eyes, leaf stem), colored pencils (leaf stem), clear packaging (window on door, floor plans on side view), black cardstock, house number

This was the first time I had played with the Blossom Bucket pieces and it won't be the last!  They take color from Tim's distress markers so well...no need to leave them the original color.

It was hard to hold the stencil on the wood block so some of the brick paste got under the stencil - I'd make a poor bricklayer if this was my only opportunity to share it with the world.  Like using any other stencil, you need to apply it carefully.  The red really stands out if there's an 'oops'.  Heavy sigh.

*chunky medium sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it?  oh well.

Perfect Pearls Mist

So I let the deadline slip by for the CCCv2 #16 challenge (Perfect Pearls Mist, p. 54) over on the Studio L3 blog.  I really didn't have any idea for art so I was okay with it.  Not going to force an idea; I generally am not happy with my work when I do that.

Then I got an idea from some items laying around on my desk...more leftovers from other projects and decided to make a tag for my collection.  The flowers are lace glued with Matte Multi-Medium to clear Clearly For Art.  I saw this originally on my friend Wanda's blog.  I don't have the date when she shared the idea but you really ought to scroll through her blog anyway because she's another one with gorgeous art to share.

My black tag was embossed with the Damask Sizzix embossing folder and lightly painted with Picket Fence Distress Stain before hitting it with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.  There's a chipboard medallion that was painted black and some dotted background stamp was used with Gold Paint Dabber.  Some white and gold trims cross it.  The flowers I mentioned above were spritzed with Biscotti and Pearl Perfect Pearls Mists.  The buttons were covered with Black Paint Dabber then wiped off.  The leaves were cut from DecoArt's Perfect Paper and aged with green and brown distress inks then hit with one of the mists.

The Sizzix mini butterfly was cut from white cardstock (sprayed with Pearl PPM) and several layers of white tule.  The body has tiny Hero Arts gemstones; the antenna is an old Christmas ornament hanger. 

I am definitely not a glittery person but with just a touch of grunge I'm satisfied with the results.

Leftovers - it's what's on my art

So my good friend Lynne has a really cool technique tag up on her blog and I decided to see if I couldn't use it for inspiration. 

I started out with a 'plaid gone bad' tag and lots of leftovers from various playtimes and stuff on hand.  The stem is an old zipper, the leaves were cut from some PaperPerfect (DecoArt) that I had spread and let dry on my craft sheet, produce netting, chipboard belt buckle, torn paper scraps...you get the picture.

So next time you need some inspiration, check out some techniques on other blogs or websites and start pulling out stuff from the bottoms of your drawers...and get creative!

Is there anything that can't be used to make art?  Okay, besides pure garbage, medical waste, etc. and even then you could probably argue that given the right venue that, too, could be art.  Ick!

Day 8

I'm not a fan of steampunk and just don't get it so when I saw Tim's tag I nearly threw in the towel.  But I perservered and came up with this.  It works for me and that's really all that matters.

Stamps:  Pen & Pencil (Tim), Book Art Basics (Studio 490)

Ranger:  Glossy Accents; Jet Black Archival Ink; Picket Fence Distress Stain; Peeled Paint Distress Stickles; Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries, Stormy Sky, Tumbled Glass, Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap Distress Inks; Gold, Silver, Copper Paint Dabbers

Dies:  mini snowflakes, mini gears, mini holly, arrow, Steampunk (on the edge)

Misc.:  diet coke can, brads, fibers, garland, grungeboard

Creating a tag in Wendy's style wasn't any easier and she even has a set of stamps labeled 'Steampunk Art'.  Sheesh.  Oh well, I hemmed and hawed and slept fitfully on what to do.  This morning I just sat down and said 'do it and get it over with'.  Guess it's not as bad as I thought - will work.

Studio 490:  Dimensional Rose Art, Rose Art Part 2, Steampunk Art, Rubber Stamp Art, Book Art Basics, Card Art Essentials; Clearly For Art

Ranger:  Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries, Stormy Sky, Tumbled Glass, Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap Distress Inks; Peeled Paint Distress Stickles; Glossy Accents; Jet Black Archival Ink; Sunshine Yellow, Snow Cap, Gold, Silver, Copper Paint Dabbers

Tim Holtz:  Kraft Core; Grungeboard; gear; mini tree die

Misc.:  DecoArt Snow Writer, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter

Die + fun foam = stamp

This was another technique that wasn't new to me but always lots of fun!  I often create my own background paper then add the die cut as another element.  I have plenty of fun foam and in 2 thicknesses.  In the past I haven't made an acetate base but just used double stick tape on my acrylic blocks like I do my other unmounted stamps.  By doing it this way I can stamp either side of the image...a mirror effect.

Like Tim, I used his Snowflurries edge die.  It's a bit hard to see behind the reindeer that's been flocked.  I added the Townscape village at the bottom, coloring each house with pigment ink (Mushroom, Butterscotch, Denim and Bottle) then dabbed DecoArt Snow-Tex on the rooftops and the ground. 

Instead of using the decorative label that Tim used I opted to do a bit more recycling and ran a soda can through the Tag & Bookplates die.  I streaked Pitch Black alcohol ink across it to simulate the brushed look.  The word 'Christmas' is from the ATC stamp 'Reindeer Games'.  I inked it up with a marker then carefully stamped on cardstock that was cut to fit the label.



For my tag ala Wendy, I used a vintage kraft paper sack that looked like a newspaper ad page.  I've saved these for years and am glad to finally have an opportunity to use them on just the right project. 

I used a Sizzix mitten die for my new stamp.  Then, since it's winter, or feels like it anyway, I opted to stamp Wendy's garments from 'Fashion Style and Art' on grungeboard then flocked them.  Who wouldn't want a fur skirt and jacket for winter????

This label plate is also from a soda can but was treated to Ginger alcohol ink then distressed with the sanding grip.  No need for an inside label as there were words already on the tag that seemed to work perfectly.  I was going to use the word garment so might as well take advantage of what's already before me.

A trim of beige fur (okay, pretend, please!) and some red buttons strung on gold thread top off the tag.

Only one more day left of Tim's 12 tags of Christmas.  I'm sad to see these days have flown by but I now have an arsenal of cool things to try on future projects.