A Parade of Butterflies!

This piece started with a desire to incorporate some fabric into a mixed media piece.  I created this by starting in the center and working my way out.   The green, pink and yellow pieces behind the center heart are fabric.  Both above and below the fabric are some pieces of ribbon.  The ribbon and the fabric were 'collage pauged' to a piece of dictionary paper which I gelli printed a few weeks ago.

Before I added the butterflies I put this under my sewing machine and stitched with some yellow thread.  The paper behind the heart is a torn scrap of gelli printed deli paper.  I decided to frame what I had so far with some coordinating washi tape and then added the layered butterflies.  The butterflies were cut using a combination of Sizzix dies and paper punches.

 I think it could be fun to add a little jewel to the center of each butterfly.  Or maybe some Liquid Pearls dots.

Thanks for visiting!

A Birthday Card With a Large Foil Flower

Both of my daughters have birthdays in April!  So I figured I'd better get to work on their birthday cards.   I bought some Heidi Swapp flowers and this beautiful mint colored foil at my local Joann's.  I did not buy the Heidi Swapp Minc Foil applicator machine because it was $150!!  However, a month or so ago I bought a small $20 laminator that Jennifer McGuire recommended in this post.  Guess what?!  Heidi Swapp's flowers and foil worked in my little inexpensive laminator!  I was so excited!  This is the package of flowers that I bought.  They are card stock with black toner (I assume) and when you run it through a laminator the foil adheres to the black areas.  Very cool!

The package of Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal plaquettes happened to have the number 17 and the number 14.  Perfect!  A card for my almost 14 year old is next on my list.  I also loved the opportunity to use my new Make A Wish candles die set from Memory Box.  These candles come in sets of 3 in three different sizes.

Here's a close-up of the foiled mint flowers that I layered to create one large flower.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!!

Remnant Rub Butterfly Tag

I recently stumbled upon the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #24.  You can read about how it works here.  Basically, every two weeks a new technique is chosen from Tim Holtz's A Compendium of Curiosities, Volume III book.  Then anyone interested can refer to that technique in their book (you have to have your own copy of the book - their are no instructions included) and create something using that technique.  There were tons of great photos of tags and other art that the Curiosity Crew had created and I learned of quite a few new blogs I will be following. You can read about the CC3 Challenge 24 here and see some of the fantastic remnant rub projects.  So, being the little eager beaver that I am, I ran (okay drove) to Doodlebugs in Sequim to grab a copy of the third volume of A Compendium of Curiosities.   Here is the tag I created with the Remnant Rub technique on page 51.

Here is what the tag looked like after I used the remnant rub technique and before I started embellishing it:

I really like this technique!! I especially like the white showing through.  Here are some more photos including a few close-ups:

A big thank you to the folks at The Funkie Junkie Boutique for sponsoring this challenge!  

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great day!

Art Journal Spread With Julie Balzer Stamps

Julie Balzer's new hand carved leaves and hand carved flowers stamps were fresh in my hands when I created this layout in my large art journal.  It's definitely green and spring-like.  I really love the addition of the little yellow Perfect Pearls dots that I added to the center of the flowers.  It's always exciting to me how just adding a few little details here and there can bring a page together.  

There are also a few things that bug me about this page . . . the middle flower is a little too tall and I wish I would have included a poem or message of some sort in the space to the right of the flower on the left page.  I guess I could still go back in and add a poem or quote.  It's kind of fun to be able to go back and add to pages days, weeks or even months later.

Below you'll find a few close-ups of this spread.

Thanks for visiting!!

Red and Orange Background With Alcohol Ink

This month at Doodlebugs, my local paper crafting store in Sequim, WA, the product challenge is to use alcohol ink.  I don't think I've used alcohol inks in my art journals so this was a new experience.  I   wanted to give it a try.  I applied a matte medium to the background and let it dry before starting in with the alcohol inks.  I used the felt applicator and squirted/dripped drops of alcohol ink onto the applicator before brushing the ink onto my art journal.  Next I used some modeling paste through a stencil to create the vine like look.  When the modeling paste was dry I put the stencil back down and applied some green paint.  The circles were cut out of some gelli printed deli paper.  I also got to use one of my new Dina Wakley stamps from her Scribbly Flowers set.

These aren't my usual colors but they're warm and bright with a tad bit of my favorite green.   The quote is a reminder to myself that often good things (perhaps growth and wisdom) come from disagreements.  And that conflict is a part of life . . . not something to be feared and avoided.  I can always use some enlightenment!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs and a Bright Tag

On Sunday I was experimenting with my small little gelli plate and doing some gelli printing onto tags.  I used some blue and green acrylic paint and a few stencils with my gelli plate first.  Then, when that was dry, I used my neon yellow Hero Arts Ink dauber to color the rest of the tag.  I also had this new stamp called Hugs that I got from Paperbag Studios.  The bright tag seemed to call for these beautiful sisters hugging each other so lovingly.  Or is it a mother and a daughter?  Either way, as a mother of two teenage daughters, when I saw this stamp I new I must have it.   This was a pretty simple tag to put together and I really like the pop of the hot pink.  The hot pink flowers at the top of the tag were stamped using one of Julie Balzer's new stamps from her Hand Carved Flowers set.  The girls hugging were stamped onto newsprint with Watering Can Archival Ink.  I then used my Inktense pencils to do some coloring.  I cut the corners off (to make it fit better onto the tag) and mounted it on some pink paper before adhering it to the tag.

Here's a close-up of the flowers and leaves at the bottom.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dina Wakley Inspired Art Journaling

In January as I was drooling over Dina Wakley's art, (created with her newly released masks, stamps and stencils) I decided to make a list of all the things she does - techniques and components -  when creating a page or a tag that make me love her work.  I was particularly inspired by her posts and the art included in these posts from January 7th, January 9th and January 13th.  Check them out!  I know that one thing I love about her art is how she puts colors together.  Beautiful!  I don't have her paint but wish I did!  I also love that her style is somewhat messy and thrown together but also intentional and expressive.  So here's my list:

So, as you might have guessed, I set out with this list and began to create my own art journal spread incorporating the things listed.   It was fun to create with a sort of recipe but still with a lot of freedom to choose colors and stamps.  (I didn't have her newly released stamps at this time or I would have used them.)  Check out this post to see how I did incorporate some of her new stamps using much brighter colors.  And this post too!  Here are some more photos of my art journal spread.

 It was really fun to incorporate pieces of paper bag, fabric and some stitching.

It's not the easiest thing in the world though to get your art journal in position to stitch with a sewing machine.

One thing I didn't write on my list but that I see Dina Wakley do, is to leave some white  space showing.  I did leave some white on these pages.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great week!

Green Leaves and Golden Yellow

This page started with some ink or paint from a stencil I'd cleaned off.  Then I did some gelli printing directly into my art journal over what was already there.  This provided a nice starting background.  First I collaged some pieces of gelli printed papers and some torn dictionary pieces down over the paint.  Then I tried to mellow the sharp contrast of the golden yellow paper pieces by stenciling some light green paint over them.  I recently purchased some of Julie Balzer's new stamps which I used on this spread.  I also used a new (to me) Carabelle Studio set of stamps designed by Birgit Koopsen called Leafs.

I don't usually do much journaling in my art journal because I keep a separate journal that is specifically for writing in.  Some would call it a diary but I call it my journal.  But I must say that I really like the look of writing or journaling on the pages of an art journal.   So even though I already wrote in my journal this morning I decided to journal a little about my darn allergies on this spread.  As Spring is almost here the pollen has really been making me sneeze which then triggers my nose to run.  And it's miserable to be caught outside with no kleenex when the sneezing gets the best of me.  

Here are a few close ups of this spread.

I am a sucker for leaves and flowers!  I especially love the stamp or stencil with multiple leaves on a stem.    Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

An Art Journal Page: Portholes Into Blue Skies and Butterflies

For this layout I was eager to try my new Hazel and Ruby stencil-masks in the confetti pattern.  I started by laying down some aqua paint and then adding some Tim Holtz tissue paper.  Then I stenciled some green, yellow and blue paint through my Nathalie Kalbach Art Deco Wallpaper stencil.  This is where I laid down my Hazel and Ruby masks.  

 After the masks were down (they are sticky and stay in place quite well) I continued to lay down spray inks and do some stenciling through a chevron stencil with green paint. I also used white paint and stenciled some white dots.  The last thing I did before removing the confetti masks was to trace around each circle with my black Stabilo-All pencil.  As you can see I had some fun with a white pen and a neon pink Liquitex paint pen.  I also laid down a few pieces of tissue (washi like) tape.

When I look at this I feel as if I'm in the dark green sea looking up through portholes at blue skies and butterflies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aged Silver Embossing Enamel Over Texture Paste . . . Very Cool!

Tim Holtz posted a great tutorial for his 12 Tags of 2015 for the month of March.  Here's a link to this fabulous tutorial.  I had fun using my distress paints and tissue tape in the background and creating my own version of a Tim Holtz style tag.  I used Stampendous Aged Silver Embossing Enamel over texture paste with Tim Holtz's  Flourish stencil.  I love the look and the texture of this.  I added some ribbon, flowers and other embellishments to complete this tag.  

I just discovered a great blog called A Vintage Journey.  A Vintage Journey is a challenge blog  for those who love to make vintage, shabby, mixed media, journaling projects AND who are strongly influenced by the work of Tim Holtz.  Check out A Vintage Journey blog here.  The title of this month's challenge is "Anything Tim".  Here are a few close-ups of my Tim Holtz influenced tag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Artsy Birdhouses and Flowers

I finally found some time to play with some Paper Artsy JOFY stamp sets (collections 15, 22, 24 and 26) that I purchased a while back.  I love these birdhouses, the birds and the flowers.  I stamped the images with my black Archival Ink Pad and colored them in with Inktense pencils and a water brush.  The background was created a few weeks ago in my attempt to use up some left over paint.  I simply grabbed the stencils I had closest to me.  The reddish pink flowers were stenciled with a Tim Holtz layering stencil called Blossom.  The green leaves were stenciled with a Donna Downey stencil called Leaf-Stem Trio.

I was liking this layout . . . but what really made me love it was the addition of the Liquid Pearls.  Those little yellow dots on the flowers really bring some dimension and excitement that add to the whole thing.  I ought to use my Liquid Pearls and Stickles more often!

 The lime green birdhouse kind of feels like it needs a bird.  I might have to add one.  But even without the birds the flowers and the birdhouses have me smiling.

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Journal Fun with Dina Wakley's Woodcut Stamps and a Scribbly Bird

The joy and fun I've experienced working in my art journals the past three days is immense.  I'm having a blast!  The weekend was beautiful and I did get outside, but some days I think the joy I experience from creating is even more than that which I experience on a trail run.  Maybe I should just say they are two completely different joyful and satisfying experiences. (One burns a few more calories than the other!)  Here is a spread I worked on on Saturday.  I love how the magenta color looks over the blues and greens.

The hearts and the leaves on a branch are from Dina Wakley's Woodcuts set of stamps.  The bird is from her Scribbly Birds set.  I incorporated some stitching and some fabric into these pages.  I also used some new washi tapes.  For the background I stuck down some Italian music paper before scraping on some blue, green and teal paint.

Thanks for looking!