New Home canvas

Greetings!

Today I'd like to share a 6'x6' canvas made for my co-worker who just moved in to her new home.

The base layer is scrapbooking paper by Basic Grey from the Sweet Threads line. Next is a piece of Melange Tissue Wrap by Tim Holtz for idea-ology. The butterfly is colored with Faber Castell Pitt India Ink markers. Rubber stamping with inks and paints, rub-ons, ink through stencils, etc all add to the layers.
The canvas is 2" deep and here are some pictures of the edges:

 and this is the bottom and the back:

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments!

Ripple Effect

Today's share is a commissioned project for the massage therapist where I work. This piece is 24"x36". I have never worked this large and probably won't again! Just not my thing. Anyway, she requested colors of teal, a ripple to go with the lyric, butterflies, glitter. I think I achieved that! The lyric she requested is from a song by Natasha Bedingfield.

The bottom layer is music sheets from "The Mennonite Hymnal" copyright 1969. Then comes a layer of swirls die cut with Sizzix dies from K&Co paper. Next layer (color) is tissue paper. Then the usual paint, ink, stamps, image transfer, etc. The writing along the edges of the ripples is done with a Signo Uniball white pen. The words written along the ripple edges are the lyrics to whatever songs were playing on the Christian radio station I listen to while creating. The butterflies are cut from napkins by Caspari. The circles are cut from Tazo tea bag sleeves.

The medallion is done with Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 White Embossing Paste through a stencil by Americana. This embossing paste is completely awesome and I use it a lot. It is buttery smooth and just the right weight. (it also comes in black, gold, and silver)  After the paste cured, I placed the stencil back over it and then applied Mod Podge Extreme Glitter over it. Of course, the camera does not pick up the glitter but it adds the perfect touch. A half pearl in the center finishes the medallion. The saying is printed on plain white computer paper and colored with Faber-Castell Pitt markers. There is a final finish of Prima Color Bloom Soft Teal Spray Mist over the whole piece which has a pearl finish.

 I must say this is not one of my favorite pieces but the girl who commissioned it loves it, it is exactly what she wanted, so that is perfect!

A New Blog Friend and a giveaway!

Greetings friends! 

Long time no blog - oops! If anyone is still out there, I wanted to let you know about a new friend I made and a giveaway (by me!) on her blog!
Recently, at a boutique near my home I sold some of my artwork and a sweet lady named Bevy purchased this cutie for her laundry room:

She bragged about it *here* on her sweet blog, we messaged back and forth, and discovered we live near one another and have a mutual friend! Small world!
Anyway, she requested a small piece of my work for a giveaway on her blog and today's the day to go comment and enter for an opportunity to win this:

It is just a wee little 4"x4"x 1 1/2" piece of mixed media fun for decor.
Comment on this post and then pop on over *here* to enter. Be sure to spend some time browsing through her blog - it is just lovely, and there is a link to her Etsy shop with her beautiful handmade items!
Before you go, be sure to click on the "Mixed Media Art for Sale" tab above and pick out a piece to purchase for yourself or someone you love!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Pretty Girl CCH class project

Greetings!

Today I'm sharing with you the last of the three projects I taught 

at the Mixed Media Weekend at Cozy Crop House

We learned techniques for making a girl on canvas starting with a collaged paper base.
Here she is!

This is how the process begins with torn paper. We used scrapbooking paper by K and Co.

Start building layers with bits of tissue, book paper, misc ephemera.

And then completely forget to take any pictures till you are finished!
Suffice it to say we added lots of layers of paint, ink, ephemera, rub-ons, and Mod Podge! We used household items, stamps, and stencils to apply our mediums.
The girl is free hand cut by me. I traced her and made a pattern for the students to use.

I printed 4 pages of miscellaneous quotes and bible verses I have collected for each of them to choose their own words for their pieces. It was fun to see how differently each one came out.

Here are a bunch of close ups for you. These birds are cut from a piece of scrapbook paper by Prima.

We had a very fun weekend creating at Cozy Crop House. The other 2 projects I taught are in previous posts so if you missed them, scroll on down and have a look!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I truly appreciate your comments!

project bags

Greetings!

Here are the project bags I decorated for the girls who came to the

Cozy Crop House Mixed Media Weekend.

Everything they needed to make their altered book and their girl on canvas was in the bag along with some take home goodies.

These started out as plain white handle bags I purchased in a pack of a dozen at Michaels. I used Mod Podge to layer on dictionary paper, napkin, music paper, doily, and ledger paper on which I stamped each of their names. A pretty layered flower with a brad in the middle finished it off. It was a fun way to put together the project supplies and a pretty take home for them to use as is or cut up and put on a new project of their own!

The current challenge at Eclectic Paperie is to "do something with a bag" so I am entering this post there.

Thanks for stopping by!

altered book for tags

Greetings!

Today I am sharing the altered book project I taught 

at the Cozy Crop House Mixed Media Weekend.

We altered an old Readers Digest Condensed book to hold 4x6 photo sleeves which are perfect for holding #8 sized technique tags!

We started by deconstructing the book then coating the outside with Golden Gesso. We played with stamping into the wet gesso to add texture. While it's nearly impossible to catch this with the camera, here I've tried to show you. It is a nice subtle effect. (click on photo to enlarge)

After our gesso was dry we applied Distress Paint in "mowed lawn", "broken china", and "mustard seed" using a makeup sponge. We proceeded to layer various background stamps and more paint using bubble wrap and other household applicators. On the front a mask made with a Spellbinders die was used to mask off the center section while Staz-on gray ink was rubbed against the edges to form the frame. Further ink was applied through punchenella to fade out to the edges. 

The bird is cut from chipboard with a Spellbinders die, inked with a nondescript script stamp in brown then coated with Inkssentials Crackle Accents. The word "create" is chipboard I ordered from Want2scrap and is painted with Silks Acrylic Glaze in Sky Blue. The fern is Distress Stain in "peeled paint" mixed with Golden Extra Heavy Gel and applied through the "3 flourishes" stencil by Wendy Vecchi.

On the inside we used a sheet of washi paper by We R Memory Keepers applied with Mod Podge over and under to strengthen the spine. I left the inside covers of my book blank but the girls were having so much fun with the stamps and paints that they proceeded to decorate the inside too!

After punching holes in the back cover we installed album posts to hold the pages. Initially I was going to use rings to hold the pages and I had punched holes in the front of mine as well. Since I decided not to use this method I just put ribbon in the holes of my book. The books the students made do not have the holes in the front.

Now I have a pretty place to keep my technique tags I make and will be able to quickly reference them.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

I'll be sharing the third project I taught in a few days - hope you'll stop back!

Ready to share!

Greetings!

Well, the first Mixed Media Weekend at Cozy Crop House was lovely! Lots of creative, fun time! Now I can share the three projects I taught. Today I am giving you this little sneaky peaky at all three piled up together. We created an ATC, a girl on canvas, and an altered book. I'll share the ATC project today and the other two over the next few days! 

We started with this quick warm up ATC project just to get those creative juices flowing and build the excitement:

We took playing cards coated on one side with gesso, added Tim Holtz Distress Paint to them, spritzed with a little water and moved the paint around using bubble wrap as our painting tool. Next came stamping with background stamps then stenciling with punchenella using Archival and Staz-On Inks. We stamped a fern on then trimmed a butterfly out of a paper napkin and decoupaged it on. After drying came shadowing with the Faber Castell Big Brush Pen in Cold Grey and highlighting with the Scarlet Lime Permaball Pen. Documentation of the event was adhered to the back of the card and all edges were inked in coordinating Staz-On ink. It was a fun warm up and great little token to remember the weekend by!
Here are some of my altered playing cards that were the inspiration for this project. 

On the backs I share an inspirational Bible verse and my blog address.
Eclectic Paperie is having an altered playing card challenge this month so I am entering these there!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll post the other two projects from the weekend over the next few days so I hope you'll stop back.

Mixed Media Weekend

Greetings!

I wanted to let you all know about a Mixed Media Weekend that I will be teaching at. Have you heard of Cozy Crop House in Lititz Pennsylvania? It's an adorable retreat house set up for crafting in an amazing space complete with yummy meals and cozy sleeping accommodations. 

The weekend of February 14-16, 2014 they will hold a 

jam packed Mixed Media Weekend. 

We'll jump right in on Friday with a little ATC project just to warm up, then after dinner will be the first workshop! Saturday there will be three workshops and one on Sunday. If you are able to stay a little later on Sunday a bonus workshop is being planned. I told you it was jam packed, right? You will learn a lot of techniques and go home with finished projects.

The first workshop I'll be teaching will be an altered book:
DESCRIPTION: In this workshop we’ll deconstruct a vintage hard cover book then decorate the cover with paint, gesso, and ink using masks, stencils, stamps, and household items. We will then re-constructing the book placing sleeves in it that hold #8 sized tags. (bonus - you get to keep the vintage book paper!) Now you will have a place to store the technique tags you create when taking online courses!

The second workshop I'll be teaching will be a collaged canvas: 

DESCRIPTION: Let’s make a beautiful 8x10 canvas to keep for yourself or give as a one of a kind gift! Create the background using ephemera, patterned paper, paint, and ink. Learn to create layers with stamps, texture mediums, stencils and rub-ons. We’ll add a girl and a phrase to make your canvas unique. 

Kate Rothacker will be teaching a Mixed Media and Metal Elements workshop.

Tami Howse will hold a Gelli Plate workshop:

DESCRIPTION: Have fun learning how to use a Gelli Plate, which is all the rage in mixed media and paper crafting. Make your own one-of-a-kind monoprints with custom colors using acrylic paints, stencils, masks, and a variety of other texture tools. We will learn a variety of techniques with the plate and use them to make altered tags. You will go home with a 6x6 Gelli Plate, several prints, and a stencil.

Tami will also be teaching a Canvas Banner workshop. Here is a link to Tami's blog where you can check out her amazing work.

Sounds like fun, huh? 

If you'd like to join us, please email Kate at  
 cozycrophouse@gmail.com 

for more information.

 Contact her soon as we are keeping it "cozy" at just ten students 

and the weekend is filling up fast! 

You can check out Cozy Crop House at this link.

Hope to create with you there!

JOY! on special paper

Greetings!

Today I have a 6"x6" canvas to share with you 

that I made for my sister-in-law Carole for Christmas.

(Click photos to enlarge and enhance)

Look closely at the background paper.
All 4 of my husband's sisters as well as his mother, grandmother, and aunts on both sides of his family are or were teachers. In cleaning out his Aunt Sandy's home we found a couple of grade keeping journals dated 1958-1960 from when she taught in Frenchtown New Jersey. I just knew my sister in law would appreciate a piece made using this special family treasure.

I tore strips from the journal pages about 3/4" wide and inked the edges. See all the little numbers that look like leaves on trees? 
Well, that's what they look like to me anyway :)

The word JOY is made with the Grunged Alphabet Stencil by my friend Tami. You can find her stencils for sale in her etsy shop here and see her amazing artwork at her blog here. I used Studio 490 White Embossing Paste through the stencil. The little wooden bird is by Maya Road and is colored with Faber Castell India Ink. Here is a nice shot of the dimension the embossing paste gives through the stencil:

The sides 

The back 

If you'd like to see more of my work, scroll on through my blog, or check out the pieces that I have for sale by clicking the "Mixed Media Art for Sale" tab at the top of the page.

Thanks so much for looking!

I truly appreciate your comments!

Christmas gift tags

Greetings!

Wow, no posts since September. Unfortunately no creating either :( 
Suffice it to say other things have taken priority. Thank you to any of you who have stopped by and to Dana D for wondering about me. Be sure to look in the right column for updated pics of my sweeties and the new addition to our family. 
Today I wanted to share the Christmas gift tags I made. When I saw this very colorful gift wrap at Kohl's I knew it would be perfect for my family this year. Jacob and Quinn are super in to what every one's favorite color is and this paper contains them all! Last night Quinn punched snowflakes while I used the Coluzzle to make the tags. A little inking, stamping, glueing, and matching baker's twine and my tags are ready to go. 

It has just started snowing - how appropriate! I'm off to do some wrapping!

Thank you for stopping by my blog, 

please leave a little love - it would really help me a lot!

eclectic Paperie Birthday Blog Hop

Well, Hello there!

Welcome to eclectic Paperie's 

Belated Birthday Bash!

Today we're celebrating the (belated) one year anniversary of the store's new ownership! It's been an amazing year, full of inspiring projects, wonderful classes, and many, many new products!!  eclectic Paperie wouldn't be where it is today without the ongoing support of our customers and as a BIG thank you you'll have an opportunity to lots of great prizes!  eclectic Paperie will be giving away the following prizes!  You have until midnight tomorrow (9/20) to comment. 

A full set of Tim's NEW Distress Paints

6x6 Paper Pad Bundle

Dylusions Stencil Bundle

A set of NEW Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks

Crafter's Workshop Stencil Bundle 

To be entered into the prize drawing, please be sure to comment on the eclectic Paperie blog and on each of the eTeam blogs.  Check out all of the thumbnail links below to view the rest of the eTeam projects!  Enjoy the hop!

I've created this sweet 8"x10" canvas to share with you today
(click on pictures to enlarge and enhance)

Here are some step-outs and product links for you:

I started with an aeronautical chart for my base. (you can get a similar one here) 

Applied Tim Holtz Distress Paints in "peeled paint", "seedless preserves", and "spiced marmalade". Spritzed the paint with water and moved it around some then dried it.

 

Added Tim Holtz Ideology tissue wrap in "Melange" over the whole piece, colored in the butterflies with Faber Castell India Ink Markers. Used Wendy Vecchi Stencils for Art "Dots and Stripes Borders" and Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste in Metallic Gold for the dots and in black for the stripes.

The white rub-ons used are by Basic Gray and the black rub-ons are Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs "words".

My darling girl is made with the Prima Julie Nutting "Riley" Mixed Media Stamp. Stamped once on book paper for the girl and once on a scrapbooking paper by K and Co for her dress with Ranger Archival Ink in "Coffee". I painted her skin lightly with Golden Acrylic Paint in "Titan Buff" and added pink highlights with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Acrylic Paint in "Painterly Pink". Her hair is colored with Faber Castell India Ink Markers and highlighted with Silks Acrylic Glaze in "Ginger Peach".

Stamping was done with Wendy Vecchi's awesome new stamp "Vintage Mesh" and awesome new Archival Ink "Watering Can".  White paint dots are a stamp by Hero Arts with Liquitex acrylic paint. The crocheted butterfly is by Martha Stewart.
Here are the finished edges and back: 

Schweew - that's a lot of product and a lot of layers! 

I hope you think she's sweet - leave me a comment and let me know!

Here are the linkys for the rest of the eP designers in the hop:

Thanks for stopping by today!