Party Like It's Mardi Gras

Stephen's World of Colors book (from the Kindred Souls group) landed in my mailbox last week, and seeing his color choices (purple and gold) just made me think of the jewel tones of mardi gras.  I began by painting my page black, knowing that would make his colors pop.  Then came the search for images.  I'm sure many of you get Somerset Studios magazine.  You know those free art papers that they put inside for our use?  Well, I usually pull them out and save them in a folder, and that's where I found the two partiers.  Don't know which issue they were in, but the page is called Bohemian Souls.  I printed it in black and white and colored the characters with pastel crayons, inks, markers, stains, paint, etc. And altered the costumes a bit more with stencils and sparkly bits.   Here they are, dancing the night away with great abandon.

 

 

Before glueing them down, I decorated the black page with stencils and doodling, in various shades of gold and purple.  Then I found some sari ribbon for the "curtain" above.  The ribbons photographed kind of blue and brown, but they are purple and gold. 

 

The quote is a rubber stamp I've had for about six years or so....I purchased it at the first stamp expo I ever attended (along with a few MANY others), and sadly have no idea who manufactured it.  It was one of those unmounted inexpensive stamps you often find at those shows, piled together in a shoebox.  I've used it before, and have always appreciated the sentiment.

 

A closer look at the dancing duo:

 



 

The backs of the pages in this round robin are kept fairly simple, just containing our information.

 

 

 

Gold paper, and the rays are a Julie Fei-Fan Balzer stencil, with Wendy Vecchi's gold embossing paste applied over it.  More doodling with glaze pens, souffle pens and gel pens, a little bling in the center, and that's it.





Time For Love (And Ignoring A Mistake)

Rhea's theme in the Kindred Souls first journal round robin (now approaching the finish line), is Time For Love.  I was one of the last to receive her book, and it is full to the bursting point of gorgeous detailed pages.  Lots of clocks, hearts, steampunk embellishments, and other bits of beauty.  The bar had been set very, very high, and I put a lot of work into my contribution.  Oh, and I need to mention that by the time I received the book, there were no more blank pages, so I had to cut one myself.  (Rhea knew this would happen and said she'd rebind the book when it returned home).  And there was the origin of the mistake I would later choose to ignore.  I measured the page, even punched the holes, since Rhea had used her Cinch and I have one too.  And proceded to create.  And after all was done I noticed.....my page size was correct, but the way I oriented it was not.  So, this is how the page will look when inserted in the book:

 

 

Yep, it is sideways.  And I just didn't have the heart to start all over again.  Don't bother craning your neck; this is how it should be viewed.  I sure hope Rhea doesn't mind:

 

 

 

And from this point on, we ignore the mistake and procede as if it never happened.  :)

 

The background was done (pretty much in this order) like this:  paint and glaze, Wendy's gold embossing paste through a stencil, and Dyan's stamps with black archival ink.

 

Instead of a clock (Time for Love, remember?), I used Tim's Picture Wheel die; it conveniently has 12 slots, so I turned it into a clock.

 

Lastly, some metal and wood embellishments, colored uniformly with more paint and glaze (thank you, Finnabair!), and a Wendy stamp and sentiment.

 

And the back (which IS oriented correctly):

 

 

 

And since the current challenge over at EWV (Everything Wendy Vecchi) is to use a die cut along with at least one Wendy stamp, my page, mistake and all (oops, I said we'd no longer mention the M word), works for that too.  So there.

 

 





Spray (and paint and stamp and draw) AND Paste

The Mad Scientist, Part II

I just couldn't stop....wondering how Wendy's metallic embossing pastes would look over some more of my favorite coloring media.  And of course the wondering led to the experimenting, which led to a whole lot of colorful sample pages.

Row 1:  Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels, applied dry.
Row 2:  Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels, applied wet.
Row 3:  Ranger Distress Markers.
Row 4:  Ranger Distress Ink (applied with ink pad direct to the paper).
Row 5:  Ranger Distress Stains.

Stencil:  Michelle Ward for Stencil Girl.

 

 

Then I decided to use Ranger's Color Wash sprays again, but this time stick to some deeper, darker colors.  I didn't expect to be wowed by the results, but I was.

 

 

Stencil:  Circle Explosion, The Crafter's Workshop

 

 

I had a few misters full of homemade sprays.  These were made with Distress Reinkers and Perfect Pearls.  Don't ask me which colors, because I didn't label them and made them ages ago.

 

 

Stencil:  Stencil Girl (one of the the March stencils from the Stencil Girl monthly club)

 

Before hanging up my lab coat I decided to see how the pastes would react when applied over paint.  And I do have an awful lot of paint.  I narrowed my sampling down to the ones I tend to use the most.

 

 

 

Rows 1 and 2:  Ranger Distress Paints

Row 3:  Ranger Claudine Hellmuth Acrylics

Rows 4 and 5:  Golden Fluid Acrylics

Row 6:  Your garden variety store brand acrylic, the kind you find under the Dick Blick, Utrecht, or Cheap Joe's brand, to name a few.

 

 

Stencils:  I have no clue.  They are very pretty border stencils, but the manufacturer is not printed on them and the original packaging is long gone.

I thought I was finished, but went back and filled a page with Derwent's Inktense Color Blocks.  These are highly pigmented inks in stick form, and when water is added they produce intense yet translucent colors.  And when they dry, the color is permanent.

 

Stencil:  Daisy Cluster, The Crafter's Workshop

 

I just had to try the pastes over alcohol inks.  First I coated the page in my journal with Ranger's glossy glue n seal to create the nonporous surface the inks work best on.  Then I applied a variety of inks the usual way, pouncing them on with the felt covered tool.

 

 

 

Stencil:  Diamonds by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer for The Crafter's Workshop







Have I come to any conclusions?  Well, in my opinion, these metallic pastes look great over everything I've applied them to.  My personal preference is the gold....most of the time.  I just think the underlying color comes through a little better with it than the silver.  Also, a lighter coat of paste (usually) reveals more color than a thicker coat.  I've noticed exceptions to all these observations, so bottom line:  just go for it, have fun playing, and honestly, I doubt you'll be disappointed in any of your results.















Spray 'N Paste

Yesterday, Lori (list mom of Everything Wendy Vecchi) shared a link that really inspired me.  Britta Swiderski did a video of her technique of applying Wendy's metallic embossing paste over a background of Dylusions spray inks.  There is an interesting reaction between the two, and the results are just gorgeous.  Just click on Britta's name to see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, Lori decided that the new challenge at EWV would be to use that technique on a project.  First I pulled out my great big, nearly untouched Dyan Reaveley journal, and decided that this would be where I'd do my experimenting from now on.  With no worries about the finished product.  So far, it's working for me.

Here are a few of my experiments.  First, a background with some of the green Dylusions and a Michelle Ward Stencil Girl stencil with gold embossing paste.  Then, another part of the same background, same stencil, but this time I used the silver paste.

 

 

Next, I used Wendy's stripes stencil.  First I applied the gold paste holding the stencil so the stripes are vertical.  After it totally dried I repositioned the stencil right over the vertical stripes, this time holding it horizontally,  and applied the silver paste.  Before removing the stencil I very lightly pounced over the paste with a paper towel for a little extra texture.  This isn't the greatest photo; it's really striking in person.

 

 

 

Then I decided I should try the technique with different colored backgrounds.  Again, these do look way better in person.  First, some deep purples/blues with gold paste, followed by pinks/reds with silver paste.  And the stencils I used are Wendy's layered flowers. 

 

 

 

Before leaving the experimental phase and actually using this technique in a project, I started to wonder how it would work with a different spray.....namely Ranger's Color Wash.  Now, generally, the Color Wash sprays are darker and earthier than the Dylusions, so I just used the brightest that I had.....butterscotch, terra cotta, and red pepper.  And I didn't bother with a stencil.  I just scraped some gold paste over the dried ink with an old credit card.

 

 

 

I think the Color Washes work well, at least the shades I chose.  The next time I decide to play mad scientist I'll try this with some of the other colors.  And while I'm at it, I'll see what happens when the paste is applied over other sprays, ink pads, crayons, chalks......

 

Here is the journal page I did for the challenge.

 

 

 

The gold paste was applied over Wendy's lovely leaves stencil.  When the paste was nearly dry but still a bit soft I pressed a stamp onto the leaves (any old stamp; I wasn't trying for an image, just some texture).  I also used a stylus to make some dots. 

 

By the way, I keep a few sheets of deli paper on my table, and use it to blot off excess inks, paints, sprays, etc. After a day or two of blotting action, the paper is full of colorful goodness.  The two butterflies (Wendy stamps) were stamped onto one of those sheets, cut out, and then glued onto the page.  The page also has some random stamping, doodling, and little dots of paint.

 

**CAUTION**  If you're experienced in such things, this warning may seem as obvious as a take-out coffee cup announcing that the content is hot, but if you're new to all this, you'll be thankful.  WASH THE EMBOSSING PASTE OFF YOUR STENCILS AND STAMPS BEFORE IT DRIES!  I'm just sayin'.











This and That

This is what I've been up to lately.  I was too tired yesterday to blog, so I posted some of these on FB.  But, there is something new here.  :)

One of the many gifts from Elena at Keys4Art was the complete collection of Julie Nutting's whimsical doll stamps.  Even a confirmed old anti-cutenik like me finds them irresistible.  I used them on a tag and a card.

Stamped on Ranger's Specialty Paper, colored with distress markers, doodled on with glaze pens and souffle pens, and cut out.  The conversation bubbles were traced and cut from a template of various sized and shaped bubbles I've had for years.  The words are all bits of two different (and very old) Stampin' Up stamps.



 

 

The tag (from Prima's tag book, the perfect size for Julie's stamps) was inked a bit.  Instead of coloring all of this doll, I stamped the clothing (and headband) on various papers from Jenni Bowlin mini paper pads, cut them out and attached them to the doll.  I added the bouquet of flowers and the two flowers in her hair.  The sentiments are also old Stampin' Up stamps.

 

The challenge at Everything Wendy Vecchi was to use distress embossing powder and at least one of Wendy's stamps.  I did that and then some on a journal page.

 

 

 

The two striped flowers are Wendy's stencil, filled with her gold embossing paste.  The third flower is from Stencil Girl, and that was embossed with broken china embossing powder.  More distress embossing on the leaves, and the rest is stamping.....Wendy's and even a few I've cut myself.

 

Remember my polymer clay mouse from last weekend?  The oil paint we used finally dried enough for me to add some embellishments.  Striped stockings, polka dotted sleeves, and some pretty shocking shoes.  And you can't see it, but....I filled her crown with gold micro beads.  As befits a royal mouse.

 

 

 

I received another book in the Kindred Souls round robin.  This one is Deb's, and her theme is "vintage feminine."  I used one of my favorite images.

 

 

 

By using both Tim's regular sized and mini cabinet card die as an insert, I was able to create the frame, which was embossed with Cuttlebug's vintage wallpaper folder.  It was cut from a piece of Ranger's foil tape sheet, and altered with a mix of Ranger/Vintaj patinas and distress paints.

 

The flourishes on the left are not stamps....they're Tim's rub-ons.  The flowers (sprayed with perfect pearls mists) are Primas, and the stick pins were made by my friend Carla.....she gifted everyone with a set of them at Keys4Art.  The pearls and lace are from my stash.

 

So, I'm caught up again.....just waiting for the next journal delivery.







Merry Christmas

To all my friends out there who celebrate this holiday, have a very merry Christmas, full of love and many blessings.  Enjoy your family and friends, and do try to make time for some art.

As you most likely know, this past year Tim Holtz decided not to do the 12 Tags of Christmas; instead he did the 12 Tags of 2012.  Although this was enjoyed, many people, myself included, missed the Christmas tags.  The good folks who run ATT (All Things Tim yahoo group) put together a tag contest, challenging us to come up with an original Christmas tag, chock full of Tim's products and/or techiques.

21 members entered tags; all members could vote.  Only one vote per person, and the participants could NOT vote for their own tag.  Oh, and all entries were posted without identifying the creators, so it was really anonymous.  And we weren't allowed to post our work on blogs, photo sharing sites, FB, etc.  No, I did not win anything, and truth be told, I didn't expect to.  After viewing all the tags I found several I honestly liked much better than my own, LOL.  However, I did manage to scare up a few votes, which was nice.  A couple of the tags did not get any votes at all, and that made me feel sad.  Yes, some stood out from the rest, but none were poorly done.  This is why I don't care for contests in general, avoid reality shows (can't stand when people are voted off), and try to compete only with myself.

The voting being over, the results made public, so now I can share my tag, which I named Metallic Christmas.  Not as in heavy metal, but that everything on this tag sparkles and shimmers in some way.

 

 

The single snowflakes, snowflake border, snowman and joy are all Tim Holtz die cuts.  The background was embossed with aTim embossing folder and sprayed with several colors of Perfect Pearls mists.  The snowman was covered with a generous coat of Wendy Vecchi's embossing paste, and then sprinkled with distress stickles clear rock candy dry glitter (say that five times fast).  His hat was painted black, and while still wet covered with some generic gold glitter.  The trim on the bottom, origin unknown, has been lying around in my ribbon stash for ages.  I'm not positive, but I think the tinsel on the top is a Tim product as well.  It was out of its packaging, so I just don't recall. The word JOY was painted silver.  Then I dabbed it in spots with clear embossing ink and sprinkled silver powder in those spots.  I think that gave it a distressed, antique look.

 

Well, as the snowman is saying, may this holiday season, and the year to come bring you much JOY.

 



House Rules

Last year, while working on a totally unrelated project, I cut some extras from Tim Holtz's Artful Dwellings die.  I was playing around with them, and put them together to create a little three dimensional birdhouse.  And there it sat, always on or near my work table in it's unfinished state.  Until this week, when Simon Says Stamp and Show announced their latest challenge......house rules. Create a house, alter a house, stamp a house, do anything related to a house.  Also, on the Wendy Vecchi yahoo group we have an ongoing challenge to use Wendy's products on a holiday project, so this qualifies for that as well.

I'm happy I waited a year because now I have Wendy Vecchi's yummy embossing paste and Tim's equally yummy rock candy dry glitter, and I used  both to make the snow.

 

I love the texture of the embossing paste and the sparkle that the dry glitter adds.  The shingled roof was made from strips of different shades of brown cardstock.

 

 

 

The house was covered with some of Tim's tissue wrap, which was distressed with a few brown distress inks.  Before assembling, I cut the circle on the front piece and attached a stick (it goes through the opening and is glued to the back wall) to form the perch. 

 

The bird, the nest, the wreath and the pinecones were all found in various places that specialize in scaled down objects for doll houses.  That bird, by the way, was a horrid purple color, but a tiny bit of paint fixed that problem.

 

 

 

This is a bit blurry, but it's the only photo I have that shows what's in the bird's nest (besides the bird, of course).

 

 

Yep, my faux cardinal is sitting on some faux eggs.  Never toss your broken jewelry is all I'm saying.