What's Black and Sepia and......

.....gorgeous all over?  Sox's World of Color journal (from the Kindred Souls group), that's what.  It arrived from Stephen's talented hands just two days ago, and I've already finished my page.  I was inspired by the journal itself (lace and fabric and paper and bling), as well as the pages already done.  I think that black and sepia is one of the most elegant color palettes, and I just dove right in.

First I filled my work table with everything (well, that's an exaggeration, so let's just say a lot) in my stash that supported Sox's colors, and gradually came up with a plan.  It began by covering both the front and back with different 7Gypsies tissue paper, because the patterns are printed in black on sepia paper.  Or so I thought.  It became clear that the sepia was really more like a gold, and that annoyed me.  I solved that problem by concocting a mixture of glaze medium and tan paint which toned down the gold and brought the background to a more sepia-ish look.  After that it was just a matter of layering papers, sewing them down, and adding some stenciling, stamping, and a tag as the focal point.

 

 

The tag itself is made of kraft cardstock.  The background was done by first layering on some tan, cream, and beige paints, letting that dry, then stamping (a Hero Arts background stamp) with black archival ink.  When that was good and dry a very thin layer of rock candy clear stickles was applied with a fingertip, which is what gives it a subtle sparkle.

 

The dress form was cut with Tim Holtz's Sewing Room die.  The phrase is a Wendy Vecchi stamp, and the dress form is covered with Claudine Hellmuth's sticky back canvas.

 

 

 

The buttons were sewn onto fabric that had been stamped with a tape measure stamp.  As for the thimble and scissors charms.....they dangle from Tim's memo pin.  They began life as a very cheap and garish looking gold, which was toned down by tapping them with a black archival ink pad.

 

The back of the page is much simpler, but there was just too much good stuff left on my table, so it was decorated a bit more than I had to.

 

 

 

Again, the tissue paper was treated with that glaze/paint mixture.  On top of that, archival ink (black and coffee) through two different Prima stencils.  Then I sewed on the fabric and paper that would hold a little tag.

 

 

 

The tag was created from some Graphic 45 embellishments, and on it, my information.

 

While searching for items to use, I came upon some Heidi Swapp designs printed on acrylic.  They must have been in my stash for years; she called them "clear extras".  I used a few of them.  I love it when something I bought and never used finally gets its chance.

 

 

 

I look forward to the next journal arriving at my door.















Vintage Ancestors - A Jilted Lover

Karen's Vintage Ancestors book begins with two lovers, separated by the Civil War.  Sarah and Lawrence write to one another, professing their undying love, until.....Elena gets her hands on the book, LOL.  Then, it's all about Sarah leaving Lawrence for his brother Timothy. 

As I continue the saga, Lawrence responds to Sarah's "Dear John" letter, and I do believe he takes the high road (while getting in a few well deserved zingers).

First, the two-page spread.

 

 

I used fabric and paper scraps to create what I thought a journal made by a young woman might look like. 

 

 

 

On the left, a pocket (a Tim Holtz glasseine envelope covered with 7 Gypsies tissue paper) holding the letter Lawrence wrote after receiving the bad news from Sarah.  Pinned to the fabric below is a bauble I had in my stash.  Yes, the heart opens, and yes, there is something inside.  A lock of hair, perhaps?  Too creepy?  Well, how about a lock of doll hair, then?

 

I did some research, and my friend Google found a photo of a Confederate officer.  Not a general (they all seemed so old); I think this one is a lieutenant.  And his sword is a Confederate foot officer's sword.  I printed it out and covered it with Glossy Accents and then cut it out with my trusty craft knife.  What I really liked about it is that the site where I found the sword said that it was made by a sword maker in New Orleans.  Karen's characters are from southern Louisiana.  Fate!

 

 

 

 

Although I have Tim's rosette dies, I made this one the old school way, by doing accordian folds.  I wanted it to look like it was made by hand, as I'm reasonably sure that Sarah did not own a die cutting machine.  In the center is a button from my stash.

 

The two brads on the cabinet card are from Stampin' Up, and I've had them for years.  I thought they kind of looked like the buttons you might find on a military uniform.  Speaking of cabinet cards.....the holder for the photo is not authentic; it is a replica, also courtesy of Mr. Holtz.  Because the back of the holder had cool stuff on it, I separated it from the front and will use it in another project.

 

And, lastly, here is the letter that broken-hearted Lawrence wrote.  If you have trouble reading it, click on it and it should get large enough to decipher.

 

 

 

Will Lawrence survive the war and find fortune and love in California?  Will Sarah and Timothy actually marry?  Will we ever even know?  Well, that all depends on those who receive the book after me.  They may continue the story or go off on another track.  And someone further down the line may decide to go back to the current story line.  That's one of the things I love most about this particular journal;  you just never know who might turn up in a family tree, and what they will be doing.



 







Eclectic Vintage Gentlemen

The title refers to the theme of Stephen's book in the Kindred Souls round robin.  NOT to my social life.  The book was waiting for me when I returned home from Key Largo, and in between posting about the retreat, I worked on my page for him.

The pages that were already done were so interesting and different (eclectic is the right word!).  I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and for a change it didn't take me too long to figure out how to accomplish it.  I wanted a steampunk feel and a bit of humor.  Oh, and it had to be easy to look at too.

So, here are the brothers Boeing, imaginary founders of Boeing aircraft, in the early days of air travel.

The background started with paper from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante line.  I liked all the hot air balloons on it, but the paper was very dark.  I lightened it up by scraping some Ranger picket fence distress paint over it with an old credit  card.  It was then light enough to add some stamping, stenciling, paint splattering, embossing, and so on.

The three gents are from a Tim Holtz stamp (embossed with walnut stain distress embossing powder). I did have to cut them apart and squish them together again to fit them into the basket.  Also from Tim is the compass (embossed with black powder), as well as the small images on the bottom right and the two balloons on the upper left. (All from the new Tiny Things stamp set).
The balloon carrying the brothers off is from Oxford Impressions, stamped on glossy paper, embossed with black powder, and colored with a variety of alcohol inks.  There are also some other balloons from Oxford Impressions, but I'm not sure if you can see them.  Both the balloon and basket are raised up off the page; the basket with pop dots and the balloon with a wiggly springy thingy.  It bobbles when you touch it!



The metal scallop border is by 7 Gypsies.  The balloon's basket is from me.  I just cut a shape, covered it with some scraps from my gelli plate print pile, and added some gold embossing.  The ticket on the top is also one of Tim's stamps.  Oh, and there is a tiny compass glued to the center of the compass stamp.  There are also two air travel related charms dangling from the page that you can't see much of in the photo.

The back of the page in this round robin is supposed to be finished, not highly decorated, and contain our information.  On the page Stephen did, he put Laurel and Hardy on the back, and everyone who followed did the same.  Who am I to argue with success?  I found an image from a film in which the funny men flew a plane.  Perfect!  And you can still see most of the Graphic 45 paper I used underneath.

 

 

 

If Stephen likes this even half as much as I enjoyed making it, I'll be satisfied.





Vintage Ancestors, Adventurous and Murderous

My friend Lee (who I hope to actually meet some day) from Australia has been a part of all the collaborative art journals I've done over the past five years or so.  I love the way she started off her Vintage Ancestors book, with a tale of two young sisters who somehow turn into the murderous seniors that Arsenic and Old Lace was based on.  All ficticious of course, but what fun!  Here are Lee's pages, which I will build upon to continue the story.

So, Lee asks the question, how did these young girls become killers, and what in their background led them down such a path?

I introduced their father, one E.J. Jones, who just so happened (according to me) to be the inspiration for another film character, the one and only Indiana Jones.  Boy, did I have a blast concocting this story, and the artwork that accompanies it.

 

 

This particular Dr. Jones was an explorer, working in rain forests throughout the world, in search of medicinal plants.  Along the way he discovered some poisonous ones as well.  Oh, and he was always accompanied by his two young daughters.  Hmmmm.....could there be a connection there to Lee's story?

 

Here are closer looks at the pages.

 

 

 

 

 

The backgrounds were made by first scraping several earth tone colors of fluid acrylics over the paper.  Then some stamping (stamps by Dyan Reaveley and Wendy Vecchi).  The photo of Dr. Jones is in a holder made from Tim Holtz's cabinet card die.  The leaves and birds were cut from a Sizzix decorative strip called Birds and Branches.  The label holder is a very old Stampin' Up accessory that started out in life a vanilla color, but was distressed to look rusty with nothing more than acrylic paint (black and shades of brown).

 

The story was printed on vellum.  I made the little envelope for the specimen (Specimen B stamp by Wendy Vecchi, by the way) from deli wrap.

 

I added the number tab (I believe it is from a 7 Gypsies set) because Lee had an index tab on her page, and I thought it would be a nice element to continue.

 

In mid January this book goes to Pat, and I can't wait to see what my creative pal does with the continuing story of the surprisingly (or not) homicidal siblings.

 







Getting Chunky

No, this is NOT a post about diet gone wrong.  It's about a chunky ATC.  If you don't know what that is, it's an ATC made of wood, and it is very dimensional and has not one, but SIX sides to decorate.  The "face" is the standard ATC size of 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", and the depth is 1 1/2", so there are many opportunities to embellish to your heart's content.

I completed mine a while back for a swap in my Kindred Souls group,  and just found out that I'm to send it to my great friend Elena, which is a relief, because the theme I chose, steampunk, is one I know she'll like.  So, Elena, you know the drill....if you'd like to be surprised, look no further!

I began by embossing two of Ranger's foil tape sheets with Tim's industrial look folders: diamond plate and riveted metal.  What's great about the tape is that it has a strong adhesive backing, so adhering it to the wood was easy.  Then I went crazy with the Ranger/Vintaj patinas I have come to love so much.  And then.....the real fun began.....finding just the right steampunkish elements to add to the piece.

Some gears and sprockets from Tim's idea-ology collection, including the newish mini gears, which I just love.  The focal image is from a stamp in his steampunk set.  I cut it and inserted it into whatever that doodad is (a 7 Gypsies doodad), filled the top with glossy accents, and surrounded it with some copper colored ball chain.  On the bottom, also cut from the foil sheet, a bit from Tim's washer border decorative strip.  The sentiment is also Tim...one of the word bands all patinaed (word???) up.

Here's a closer look of the main image:



On the flip side:

More gears, some from 7 Gypsies, and one I'm not sure of.  On the right edge, I used Tim's steampunk on the edge die to cut some real copper sheeting that my darling brother found and presented to me recently.  It's important to train all your non crafty friends and relatives so they know just what sort of junk will make your heart go pitter patter.  When I saw all the copper he'd found I definitely was on the verge of needing CPR.  It too, was altered a bit with the patinas.

Now, for the "sides" of the ATC:

The fellow with the camera is a Wendy Vecchi stamp, colored with distress markers, and enhanced with some glossy accents and a black glaze pen.  Behind him, some more of that washer border, and on top of that, a tiny lightbulb from my stash.  Here is a closer look of how I attached the bulb....wire and tiny copper nails (also courtesy of my bro).  Those nails appear all over this ATC!

Next side:

This side has a strip of metal, attached with more of those copper nails, and over top a piece of idea-ology with some scrap chain attached.

The top:

If you're wondering how I attached the watch key (so it would stay attached), this is what I did.  I first screwed it into the round piece of metal and then attached that metal to the top with a combination of strong glue and more copper nails.  I added the copper ball chain to finish it off.

No photo of the bottom.  Except for the metal it remains unadorned so that the piece will stand up nicely.  But I'm thinking of adding some little feet, if I can find just the right items to use for that purpose.

If you'd like to try your hand at a chunky ATC, all you need is a two by four from the lumber yard.  For some reason unknown to me (maybe it's a guy thing), the actual measurement of a two by four is

1 1/2 by 3 1/2".  So, all you need to do is make cuts on it every 2 1/2" and you have the exact right measurements for a chunky ATC!  Pretty cool, huh?















Cracked and Bricked

I'm happy to report that yesterday I managed to create a birthday card that is also OK for Grungy Monday Challenge 34, and the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge.
The lovely Linda Ledbetter of GM, asked us to do something that incorporates Tim's crackle resist technique.  And over at Simon Says, we're to do a piece inspired by a song title.

I know this is not a card for everyone, but I'm pretty sure its recipient will like it.  It's grungy and graffiti inspired.

It started with black cardstock, which I embossed with Tim's bricked embossing folder.  I then applied a coat of antique linen distress crackle paint, thick in some areas, thin in others, just like Tim demonstrated in the video.  While the paint was still wet I removed some around the bricks so they'd be more recognizable as bricks.  Then I just sat and waited for the paint to dry and the crackling to begin.

I added some shreds of 7 Gypsies tissue paper to look like the remnants of posters on the wall.  Adhered them with Ranger's Glue N Seal and being tissue paper, they really did kind of "melt" into the wall.

The writing, deliberately wonky (well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it), was done by dabbing black paint through Tim's stencil type.

The shadow of the woman staring at the wall is actually a Wendy Vecchi stamp, from her Regal Art set.

As for the song title.....are you old enough to guess, LOL?  Well, it's Another Brick in the Wall, by Pink Floyd, released in 1979.  And now you have a pretty good idea of just how old I am!