Anything but Cute - First Anniversary - Celebrate Your Style - Guest Designer!

I was surprised,  honored and scared thrilled when Pamellia e-mailed me and informed me that I had been voted one of their favourite artists of the year and asked if I would like to be a Guest Designer for the Anything But Cute First Anniversary challenge - Celebrate Your Style.

  I am rather new to Mixed Media and tend to be clean and simple in my designs.  I absolutely LOVE books - reading them, holding them, shopping in book stores for them and making them! So I created a little 4" x 5" x 1 1/2" book for my project today.

 It all started with Eileen Hull's Passport Die from Sizzix.  I cut it out of Little Sizzles Black Matboard.  Then I die cut the same pieces (covers and binding edge) out of Natural Sticky Backed Canvas and adhered the canvas to the front of the black pieces.

 Next I stenciled the covers with two Stencil Girl Stencils using WV Black Embossing paste.  I used Talaya, Goddess of Rain stencil on the front cover.

and Eve, A Modern Woman stencil on the back cover

The next two steps I forgot to take photos of.  After the embossing paste dried, I painted over the covers with Black Acrylic Paint.  

(I learned this black cover technique (without the crackle) in a Wonderlust Class led by Kate Crane - see that book here)  

When that dried I covered both covers with Deco Art One Step Crackle and they ended up like this.

I just LOVE the subtleness and texture of the embossed stenciling when it's all black.

I cleaned the stencils by putting them on a piece of computer paper and wiping off the embossing paste with a baby wipe -  and look what I ended up with!   I've saved this to perhaps use on a journaling project some day!

I wanted the book binding piece to be a different color than the covers so I painted it with Nutmeg Folk Art Antiquing Medium.  When that dried I added a coat of the DecoArt One Step Crackle.

Now onto the pages for my little book.

I die cut the pages out of white cardstock using the same Passport Die and sprayed them with a variety of Ranger Distress Spray Stains - mixing Salty Ocean, Tea Dye, Carved Pumpkin and Wilted Violet.  These 3 pages fold in the middle (see the holes for threading them into the book in the centers?) and create 6 pages or 12 surfaces - as I sprayed them on both sides. You could add at least twice this amount of pages to the book if you wanted.

Then I gathered several stamp sets from a variety of designers and started stamping.  Here's how they looked before I bound them. 

I later added Small Talk stickers to many of them - you'll see them in photos below.

On these two pages I used stamps Rusty Cog, Scale, and Vintage Clock from Finnabair/Prima, Let the adventure Begin and circle stamps from Eclecticia3 Everything Art, She believed she could from Scribbly Women/Dina Wakley, Impression Obsession/Birds on Trees and Handwritten Thoughts -Tim Holtz/SA.

Don't forget to Fly and Flowers Collect Moments mug are Finnabair/Prima, Use Your Wings from Dina Wakely Scribbly Insects,  blocked sentiment from Dyan Reaveley The Right Words,  Stay Kind from Handwritten Quotes by Dina Wakley, lace and bodice stamp from Eclectica3 Everything Art CCA01/Paperartsy

Butterfly and oval shapes from Eclectica3 Everything Art CCA02 from Paperartsy, sentiment "Adopt the pace of nature - her secret is patience." Emerson, from One with Nature/Simon Says Stamp, Industrial Lamps from Indigo Blu, You radiate beauty from Face in the Crowd/Dina Wakley.

Woman and You Are Enough from Face in the Crowd/Dina Wakley,  Stay Strong from Handwritten Quotes/Dina Wakley, lace from Eclectica3 Everything Art CCA01/Paperartsy

I wanted to be able to tie my little book shut - so I added a piece of Idea-ology Trimmimgs Lace. First I glued the edge of a spray-stained piece of cardstock (I used on the inside of the covers)  onto the edge of the binding piece.  Then I glued the lace over the liner and adhered the cover over that (being sure I had the designs right side up as I added each cover!).

A little tricky to explain but hopefully you get the idea from the photos.  Here's one cover together with the lace going over the binding.

And repeated the process with the other cover.

I used clothespins to hold the edges while the glue dried.

Then I tied each signature into the book using Jute String in the colors of the stains I used on my pages. 

 The Passport Die instructions show to adhere the overlapping edge of the binding over the cover - but I didn't want to cover any of my stencil - so I adhered it under my cover pieces.

I tied each piece of Jute String in a double knot and added my initials using Idea-ology Type Charms.

Here are photos of the pages in the book - where you will see  I added some Small Talk Stickers to some of the pages.   

My overall theme in images and sentiments is affirmation and being positive, strong women as we go through life.  The sentiment across the butterfly stamp says "be where you want to be"

Here, you can also see the result of adhering the edge of the binding piece inside the cover - it covered some of my stamping (I should have stamped on it after putting it all together!) - I added a little strip of spray-stained cardstock on top of the edge so it blended in with the inside cover a little better!

Small Talk sticker - today is full of possibilities.  

I drew around each sticker with a black Stabilo pencil and then rubbed over it with a wet finger to smudge.

Small Talk sticker - everything has beauty

Small Talk stickers - we are fearless, independent and original.

Small Talk Stickers - leave a little sparkle wherever you go.

Small Talk Stickers - be your beautiful self,  fall in love with as many things as possible.  I added the sentiment "Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air."- Emerson from One with Nature/Simon Says Stamp on the last page.

 So I hope you have enjoyed seeing my little Mixed Media Book.  

Please join us in the Anything But Cute special First Anniversary challenge and Celebrate YOUR style!  You'll find the challenge, all the details and some very inspiring projects from the Design team here.

And I wish to express again - my appreciation and thanks for being invited to be one of the Guest DT's for this auspicious occasion!!  Thank you Pamellia and the rest of the team!!


I'm also linking my project to the following challenges:
STAMPlorations - Stencil Sunday

Country View Challenges - Use a Stencil

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stencils

 

Stamps:  Handwritten Thoughts - Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, Industrial Lamps - Indigo Blu, One with Nature - Simon Says Stamp, The Right Words - Dyan Reaveley/Dylusions, Birds on Trees - Impression Obsession, Don't Forget to Fly, Collect Moments mug, clock face, Rusty Cog, scale face - Finnabair/Prima,  Handwritten Quotes, Scribbly Women, Face in the Crowd, Scribbly Insects - Dina Wakley, Eclectica3 Everything Art EEA01 and EEAO2 - PaperArtsy.

Paper:  white - PTI, Little Sizzles Black Matboard - Sizzix, Sticky Back Canvas - Ranger.

Ink:  Ranger Distress Ground Espresso (sponged over covers and pages)  and Black Soot (sponged over binding)

Accessories:  Passport Die - Eileen  Hull/Sizzix, Wendy Vecchi Black Embossing Paste, palette knife, One Step Crackle - DecoArt, Nutmeg Folk Art Antiquing Medium, Large eye embossing needle, Idea-ology Trimmings Lace, Jute String, Type Charms, Small Talk Stickers, Ranger Distress Spray Stains Salty Ocean, Tea Dye, Carved Pumpkin, Wilted Violet, Zutter corner rounder, Talaya and Eve Stencils - Stencil Girl,

A Vintage Journey - April Tag Friday - Imagine

Whenever there are 5 Friday's in a month we have a Tag Friday over at A Vintage Journey.  Several of the Creative Guides signed up to make tags in April - including me!

I wanted to use my brandy-new Tim Holtz Gadget Gears #2 die and also try a 'rusting' technique that I saw somewhere on a blog (and I'm sorry - I neglected to write down where I saw it so please tell me if it was you!)  I die cut the gears out of kraft card, brushed them with Black Gesso - and when they were dry, I painted on Twinkling H2O's in Chestnut Brown and Spiced Pumpkin.

Here's a closer look at the rust effect.

I die cut a piece of striped Paper Stash paper using Tim's Tag and Bookplates die and adhered it over a #8 Manila tag. I sponged the edges with Ranger Distress Ground Espresso.  I added some ephemera, also with sponged edges, stapled on a strip of  Tissue Tape and a piece of Film Strip Ribbon.  I added one Chit Chat Sticker at this point.

Then I started layering on my gears using foam tape and added Orange Glitter Gem Stickers to the centers of the gears (like Tim's gumdrops but cheapies from Michaels!). I sponged Distress Ground Espresso ink over the tops of the gems to dull the shine a bit.

 Next I added more Chit Chat Stickers -  Imagine a different, beautiful, new world.  I drew around the stickers with a black Stabilo pencil and rubbed over them with a wet finger to smudge the lines. I wrapped some heavy carpet thread around a pen nib that I colored with Adirondack Alcohol inks in Butterscotch and Raisin. 

To finish the decoration of my tag - I added 3 wood veneer stars.  I cut a piece of black card slightly larger than my tag and adhered the tag to it - punched a hole in the top - looped 3 different pieces of Trimmings through the hole and tied them with another piece of heavy button thread.

If you'd like to see several more inspiring tags -  please hop on over to A Vintage Journey Blog!

Paper:  Manilla #8 Tag - Ranger, Kraft, True Black - PTI. Tim Holtz Paper Stash - Regions Beyond.
Ink:  Ranger Distress Ground Espresso, Adirondack Alcohol Inks Butterscotch and Raisin.
Accessories:  Gadget Gears #2 Bigz Die, Tag and Bookplates Die - Alterations/Tim Holtz, heavy black button thread, black Stabilo Pencil, Wood Veneer Stars - Studio Calico/American Crafts, Idea-ology Ephemera/Thrift Shop, Regions Beyond Tissue Tape, Film Strip Ribbon, Chit Chat Stickers, Pen Nib, Trimmings - Natural/Black/Cream, Mini Attacher - Ranger, Black Gesso - Dina Wakley, Glitter Gem Stickers - Michaels.

Fusion Card Challenge - April 28 - Sweet Orange Blossoms

There's a new Fusion Card Challenge up today!  Sweet Orange Blossoms -  can't you just smell that delicious scent??

 I was inspired by the orange flowers and decided to use the beautiful Queen Anne's Lace flower from the Meadow Greens set from PTI -  I LOVE this flower stamp!  

(It reminds me of when my sister and I were little and we would go camping in Maine in the summer.  When we walked down to the state park store we often saw Queen Anne's Lace growing along the road and our mother showed us how the root looks like a carrot - it really made me remember the name of the flower!)  

I paired it with a really old sympathy sentiment from Close as a Memory by SU.  I bought the Meadow Greens dies when I bought the stamps (of course!) so I die cut and layered one of the flowers.  I used a little poetic license with the colors as the only color I've seen real Queen Anne's Lace in is white. I added a rhinestone to the center of each bloom.

 I can't wait to see what inspires you on this week's Fusion Card Challenge - the photo, the colors, the sketch? or will you do a Fusion and combine it all??!!   You'll find the link for your creation as well as tons of inspiration from the Design Team here.

Stamps:  Close as a Memory - Stampin' Up, Meadow Greens - PapertreyInk

Paper:  White, Simply Chartreuse - PTI

Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Orange Zest, Bright Buttercup, Simply Chartreuse.

Accessories:  Meadow Greens Die Set - PTI, Rhinestones - Kaiser.

Brave Intuitive Painting

Today I'm sharing something very different from what I usually do in my creative life here on the blog!  I made these two abstract contemporary canvases for a Wanderlust Class called Brave Intuitive Painting taught by artist Flora Bowley - and I must say I feel very brave in that I actually created them but not sure how intuitive it was!

Flora used really big canvases 36" x 36" and she hung them on her wall to work on them -  I used smaller 9" x 12" canvases that I had on hand and worked flat on my work table. 

First we were to chose just 3 colors for each canvas.  Three warm colors on one and three cool colors on the other.

Then we were to add 2 cool colors to the warm canvas and 2 warm colors to the cool canvas.

For the next layer we were to add some white

and then some black - I think I over did the black (!)

and finally we were to add one color to each that we 'felt' we wanted to see on the canvas. 

I also added a little bit of a golden yellow color  and a little more white to each canvas.

So here they are all done and in the light of day (finally!)

Flora suggested we turn the canvases around as we were working on them as they can look quite different when looking at them one way or another.

So here is the 'cool' blue one, one way and then turned upside down

and here is the (warm) magenta one in both views

I may or may not ever do something like this again - but I'm glad I stretched myself and gave it a try!  I think if I did them again I'd get better at using a greater variety of brush strokes and not cover up the layers beneath quite so much!

Guest Designer for Merry Monday Challenge!

I'm excited to share that today I'm the Guest Designer over at the Merry Monday Challenge!  I was invited after Colleen chose this card two weeks ago as the winner.   Here's the lovely inspiration for this week.  Use purple, white and silver.

Even though the image is of ornaments - somehow I immediately thought of using the lovely Nativity stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp that I purchased last year (and only used once!) 

 I die cut the Holy Family, stable and star from white card stock, silver embossed the images over the pieces and then sponged over everything (accept the star) with Ranger Distress Wilted Violet Ink.   I left the baby Jesus a little lighter than the rest and added a clear rhinestone for his head.

The silver really shines IRL - not so much in the photo!

I'd like to thank the Design Team at Merry Monday for inviting me to join them this week - it was an honor and a pleasure!   We hope you will join in as well -  so come along and get one more Christmas card done!  You'll find the challenge here.

I'm also linking my card to:
Happy Little Stampers Christmas - use Die cuts

 

Stamps:  Nativity - Simon Says Stamp

Paper:  White, Plum Pudding - PTI

Ink:  Versamark, Ranger Distress Wilted Violet

Accessories:  silver embossing powder, heat tool, foam dots, rhinestones, Holy Couple and barn Dies - Simon Says Stamp.

 

Fusion Card Challenge - April 14 - April Showers

Just in time for spring - there's a really fun new Fusion Challenge posted!   We seem to have had lots of rain already in March in my corner of the world so hopefully we can just move on to the flowers for April!!

I was inspired by the umbrella and the rainbow colors this fortnight.  I did a watercolor wash background by brushing water over a panel of Arches Watercolor paper and then brushing on watered down red, orange, yellow, green and blue water color paints.

I dried the panel with my heat tool and then stamped the umbrella and sentiment from Scattered Showers by PTI.  I added Tiny Twinkles to the umbrella where there were little circles on the stamp and scattered 3 enamel dots.

I layered the panel to a white cardstock base.

What inspires you for this week's Fusion Card Challenge?   The photo, the colors, the sketch or all of it??!!  You'll find the challenge details and link here as well as lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team!  We'd love to have you join us!  We also have a new April Guest Designer - Bonnie Sharp - so let's give her a warm welcome!

Stamps:  Scattered Showers - PTI

Paper:  Arches Watercolor Paper, White - PTI

Ink:  True Black, Stormy Sea, Green Parakeet - PTI

Accessories:  Tiny Twinkles - Taylored Expressions, home made enamel dots, watercolor paints, paint brush, water.