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.















On A Roll

I discovered the secret to getting everything on my creative to-do list done, and done without procrastination.  I must also have a long list of  non-creative things I really should be doing first.  Bingo!  Of course the artsy list gets priority. 

At any rate, I have been checking off items on a daily basis (I do love making and completing lists), and have two more journal pages for Kindred Souls round robins finished and ready for mailing.

The first, for Mary-Beth, completes her "Illustrated Phrases" book.  I came upon a lovely sentiment, and knew instantly I had an image that was perfect for it.  Those of you who visit here regularly will doubtless recognize her.  I found her on the internet ages ago and have used her A LOT. 

 

 

The background is a 7 Gypsies paper that I altered a bit with a whitewash to mute it, and some stamping with clear ink and embossing powder. The frame is an old Stampin' Up embossing folder.  I cut the opening by hand, so to hide the wonkiness, ball chain was glued around it.  I know at least one of the flowers is from Prima, but the rest are just anonymous ones found in my stash. 

 

 

 

The next page is for Mary-Beth's World of Colors journal, and her chosen palette is blue and green.

 

 

 

The background consists of many layers of stenciling and pieces from a decorative napkin.  The focal image of the pear (a Tim Holtz stamp) is something I did for a card a while back, but never used.  The paper leaves are a Dyan Reaveley stamp, and the metal leaves above them are mostly of unknown origin, though I know a few are from Tim's idea-ology collection.

 

I am now all caught up with my journals....until the next one arrives, and I've been told that will be very soon.  Good!  I need another excuse to avoid that other "stuff."



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







Finn-tastic!

I've been admiring the work of Anna Dabrowska (AKA Finnabair, or Finn) for years, and literally jumped at the chance to take a class with her at Michele's studio.  It took place on Thursday, and it was easily one of the best classes I've ever taken.

In case you don't know anything about Finn, she's from Poland, she designs for Prima and Sizzix, amongst others, and she is super talented, warm, funny, and a great teacher.  Just click on her name above and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Back to the class.  It was an all day event.  And when I say all day, I mean we started at 9am and finished up a bit after 6pm.  Michele provided lunch, so no one even left the studio for food; we just kept working.  Why do we say working?  It's really playing.  SO MUCH FUN!

So many goodies included in our class kit. Most are Finn's creations for Prima.   This isn't even the entire haul:

 

 



 



We used a Prima journal (Finn's design), took it apart and started decorating the covers.

 

 

In addition to all the embellishments Finn brought, we also could add our own favorite bits of grunge, so some rusty, crusty odds and ends from my stash found their way onto my journal covers.  In the above photo the covers had scrapbook paper glued on, the elastic closure was protected with masking tape, and we were ready to embellish.  I don't have any step by step photos, but here are some works in progress from around the room.

 

 

Marjie really isn't bored.  She's just waiting for glue to dry.  Click on her name to see the gorgeous pieces she created.

 

 

My friend Seth, dabbing his embellishments with Silks glazes (the most delicious colors in the world!)  If you don't already follow Seth's wonderful blog, The Altered Page, well, click on his name and get over there! 

Diane showing off her autumn colored beauties.

That's me in the middle, putting my journal back together.  In the back, Kelly, Karen, and Finn.  One of the (many) reasons I love taking classes at Michele's studio is the opportunity to create in the company of so many like-minded peeps in such a warm and inviting place.  Trust me, not all venues are so welcoming.

 

Finn, demonstrating a technique:

 

 

 

 

Aren't those sleeves the coolest?  They keep the paint and glue off her arms (and in the winter, off her shirt sleeves).

 

Marjie took this photo of me with my finished cover.  The color is a bit off, but I have more accurate pictures coming up.

 

 

Here are my front and back covers.

 

 

 

You can see how color unifies such a bunch of diverse elements.

 

The covers took all morning to complete.  In the afternoon we worked on some pages, and each double page layout featured different techniques.  All deceptively simple.  Deceptive, because they look like they took forever to do, and they really went very quickly.  Most people brought photos to use.  I didn't.  I brought some of the images I've collected.  I'm not even sure I'm going to insert them into this journal.  I like them well enough to mount and frame them. 

 

Finn taught three layouts, but by the third I was done.  Exhausted.  Happy, but exhausted.  So I only have two to show.

 

 

I love the technique of using scraps cut into squares and rectangles to create a graphic background.  Quick, easy, low-tech, low-cost, and very effective.  We also used stencils, sprays,shading with soft pencils,  and some stamping.  In the third layout, the one I didn't do, Finn demonstrated adding fibers and embossing to the pages.

 

Great picture of Michele and Finn:

 

 

 

And as always, we ended the day with a group photo.

 

 

 

Finn will be teaching in the US and Canada all summer.  If you can get to one of her classes, do it!  Here is her schedule:

 



















Twirly Swirly Dresses and Lacy Girly Pages

I had a very artful weekend, which is always a good thing, but especially when here in NYC it went from sweater weather to 90+ overnight.  Yuck!  Not that I need one, but it was a great excuse to stay indoors and get messy.

On Saturday I went downtown to Michele's studio for yet another great class with Sue Pelletier.  Spending time with my artsy friends, creating a special canvas......priceless!  We altered little dresses.  They were gessoed, painted, embellished, and stiffened.  And then they were attached to canvases we covered with dress pattern paper, tissue paper, and assorted other items.  I used a wide gallery wrap canvas, which allows for more decorating opportunities on the sides, and best of all, it's ready to hang when you get the piece home.

I didn't take a photo of the dress I chose before altering, but I think it was a light blue with tiny dark blue polka dots.  I also used the back of the dress as the front, because I liked the opening.  Well, enough blah blah blah, here it is:

 

 

Me and my peeps, and our swirly twirly masterpieces:

 



 

Is that fun, or what?  And yes, that is a pink bow in Pat's hair.  In case you were wondering.

 

And that's not all I did.  I received two art journals last week, both from the Kindred Souls round robin.  Carol and Gloria both requested a vintage look, with Carol also asking for an inspirational quote.  So I had two opportunities to bring together fabric and paper and sweet embellishments.  First up, Carol's page.

 

 

Carol supplied grungeboard pages, and I covered mine front and back with kraft paper that first received a faux leather technique.  I originally saw that last year on Anita Houston's blog.  Click here for all the details.

 

Over that went some torn strips of printed fabric, and then the focal image, which was printed on cotton and has some batting underneath.  It is attached to fabric cut with the Sizzix Doily Frame die, and surrounded by a bunch of little Prima flowers. 

 

 

 

I made some stick pins and added them.  If you look above the pins you can see the word "timeless."  I actually used metal letters for writing on leather.  I figured, hey, leather, faux leather....let's see what happens.  It worked!

 





 

 

And the quote:

 

 

 

The back:

 

 

 

Gloria requested vintage shabby chic.  I treated my focal image just as I did for Carol:  printed on cotton and backed with some batting for added poof.

 

 

 

The background paper is by Prima (the Melody collection), and it was enhanced with a lot of sparkle, thanks to my Sakura clear stardust pen.  I outlined just about everything. 

 

 

The butterflies were cut from scraps from the same Prima pack, using my Sizzix Embosslits Beautiful Wings die.  I covered them with Glossy Accents for a different texture.

 

 

 

Two more handmade stickpins.

 

 

And a few more Prima flowers, sprayed with some Perfect Pearls Mists.

 

The back:

 

 

 





















More Prima paper, more butterflies, and more doodling with the Sakura pen.

 

All in all, in spite of really sucky weather, a pretty great weekend.



Heading East

Last weekend, with a to-do list longer than my arm, I abandoned everything I was supposed to do in favor of what I wanted to do.  I recently signed up for an ATC swap at Little Bird Creations, something I haven't done in years.  I literally have hundreds of these little works of art from years ago swaps, but have rarely done any since I've gotten into art journaling and collage.  Anyway, the theme is Japanese/geisha, and since I have a ton of related supplies, I decided to go for it.  They're not due until June, but you know how it goes with me and my stubborn muse....strike while she is hot or she will run away and hide.

I began by covering a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock with some Japanese text.  I remembered a trick I'd read for getting 10 ATC from one such piece of paper, and cut them out.  Here's this handy tip:

1. Cut two lengthwise strips 2 1/2" wide, leaving one strip 3 1/2" wide.

2. Cut the strips crosswise: the 2 1/2" strips will be 3 1/2" wide, and the 3 1/2" strips will be 2 1/2" wide.

Then I added some texture with this embossing folder (I was able to do two ATCs at a time):

 

 

And then some transluscent color with these paints:

 





So much for the background; now onto the main image, which I got from this:

The above is 8 1/2 x 11", so I only used the head and shoulders, and that pretty much filled up the ATC.

All of this resulted in:

 

 

To color the images, I used my favorite cheap-o art supply:

 

 

 

And to decorate the colored kimonos, I used some of my favorite pens.  Because the Portfolios have a waxy surface, not every pen will write well over them.  I've ruined many a good pen learning this, but my Sharpie poster paint pens, Molotow acrylic pens, and Sakura glaze and souffle pens glide over the Portfolios with no problem.

 

 

 

Although the design is identical, the decoration changes from ATC to ATC.  And though it wasn't my intention,  even the faces all look different.  The face on the original image was very faint, so I had to go over the lines with a pen.  Even the slightest difference in my drawing changed the expression.  I'm not complaining, just explaining.  And of course I totally enjoyed coloring and doodling on the clothing, using varying colors and patterns on each.

 

 

 



 

 

 

I used very narrow red German scrap for the hair accessories.  The flowers are tiny Primas over small Stampin' Up blooms, with a dot of platinum stickles in the center.