Flower Power

No!  Don't go away....this is not a post about the 60's, though I'm certainly old enough to write about those days.  It's about the latest Making Art! challenge going on at the Wendy Vecchi yahoo group.

Every week our fearless leader Lori posts a challenge based on a project from one of Wendy's books.  This week, the original piece was a wall hanging, it contained MANY grungepaper flowers, and one non-floral piece that had been "perfectly pearled."  That is all the information required to join in.  You don't even have to own the book.  Though you really should.

Now, I'm not really all that much into flowery stuff, though I do enjoy assembling grungepaper flowers, but I do like this one, and think that in spite of all the vegetation it isn't overly girly.  And no disrespect meant towards those who like girly.  I love diversity.  Diversity is my middle name (well, actually it is Ruth, but you get my point); diversity is a good thing.  In art and in life.  But, as usual, I digress.  Here is my wall hanging, inspired by the beautiful work of Miz Vecchi:

A few details:   The base is chipboard from Stampin' Up.  The bottom section was gessoed, then colored with fired brick distress stain, then stamped with a Wendy floral border in coffee archival ink.

The top section (what makes it look like a gear) was also gessoed, colored with vintage photo distress stain, then covered with rock candy crackle paint.

As for the flowers, the top one was cut with Tim's tattered florals die, inked with wild honey and fired brick distress inks, and then stamped in black archival ink with one of Wendy's backgrounds.  Below it are two grungepaper roses.  The larger one was done using Wendy's technique of first covering the GP with white pigment ink and then inking with distress ink, which creates a new, more pastel shade.  It was then inked with another background stamp.   The smaller GP rose was inked with fired brick, stamped with another background stamp, then covered with some rock candy distress stickles.  The last flower, the small one with the leaves, was stamped on GP (Wendy's stamps, of course), colored with distress ink and cut out.  Some small idea-ology foliage pieces are in the center.

The butterflies are from Tim's new mini dies (movers and shapers) and they were both inked and then sprayed with a perfect pearls concoction (vintage photo reinker + heirloom gold perfect pearls + water).  I attached little keys for the bodies.

The sentiment is also a Wendy stamp; I just cut the words apart so they would fill the space better.



Resident Artist

There are so many new stamps, embellishments, dies, etc. I've seen previewed for the upcoming CHA, and the problem is (besides the economic problem, that is) that I already have SO MUCH STUFF.  So, I've decided to try to at least use some of the four boxes of "leftovers" I have on and around my work table.  You know, the odd bits of paper, the solo brad, the unused piece of background made for another project.

I recently received this paper, though I don't remember if it was a RAK or an order that was wrapped inside it.  But it went into my "too good to throw out, but not sure what I'll do with it" pile.

So, I used it to cover a cardboard die cut (Stampin' Up's Bigz Top Note die).
Also in my stash are random lengths of ribbon.  All the fabric flowers you'll see were made with them....just pleating them around a circle of super sticky double sided adhesive.
Well, let me show you the finished pieces and then I'll explain some more.

Most of the ribbons were colors I didn't love, so all were sprayed with various colorwashes and perfect pearls mists.  In the center of each is either a brad or (in the one right above) a plastic rose from SU.

The sentiment on top is a Wendy Vecchi stamp, and I love to include it in anything I make for an artist friend (hint at where these are going).  It is stamped on the banner from Tim's Regal Crest die, as are the small leafed vines.  The large satin leaves are by 7 Gypsies.

The background paper has been inked and bits of it were highlighted with glaze pens and sepia accents.  The curly vine in the last one was leftover from an old project.  It was made by wrapping florist wire with Tim's tissue tape, then twisting it into whatever shape you like.

I think these would look great hanging on a wall in a studio.  What do you think?





Creative Exploration to Canada & New England - Bar Harbor

I've never been here before, and it is just the most charming place; it absolutely screams New England.  Cruise ships are way too large to dock so we had to take a tender over.  These are some pictures I snapped on the way.

We wandered around, going in and out of shops, building up an appetite.

Which we were happy enough to satisfy with this great lunch special:  NE clam chowder (which we slurped down before a picture could be taken), lobster roll, fries, and blueberry pie for dessert.

We even managed to find a sweet little scrapbooking/quilting shop, where I bought some fabric, a couple of die cuts for my journal, and an old wheel that I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I had to have it.

Tucked away on a side street was an antique store that had lots of old books, including some from a "Little Leather Library."  I picked up an Alice in Wonderland and an Edgar Allan Poe short stories.

Back on the ship, Pat and I wandered up to Dizzy's Jazzy Lounge to check out a beading class.  Didn't stay for the class, but I met another man of the strong and silent type.

At dinner we saw another amazing sunset.

And then it was time for our evening class with Tim.

Tim showed us three different ways to create flowers, and we made a tag to showcase each technique.

On this one we used Tim's rosette die to create the cool flower.  I'm very excited because my die will be waiting for me when I get home. 

This next tag has a fabric flower.  Now, I've made many of them, but Tim's had something I'd never done, and it gives the flower so much more body and dimension.  You can't really see them, but in between the fabric layers are some of grungepaper.  I'll be doing that from now on.

On this last tag, we learned how to use the tissue tape, attaching it to a circle, pleating as we went around, to create a very original looking flower.  Love that tissue tape.   (And don't you love those little banners we used for the word on the top?  They're from Jenni Bowlin and they also make great tabs in the journals.)

Tomorrow the boat will be in St. John, but don't look for any photos from me.  I've been there before and wasn't all that impressed, so I'm thinking it will be a great day to stay on board and work in the studio.

Tomorrow afternoon is "Tim Time," an informal get together with Tim where we'll get to ask questions.  Looking forward to that. 

**And in real time....this weekend I'm taking two workshops with Lynne Perrella down in the village.  (That's Greenwich Village for you non-New Yorkers).  Am I lucky, or what?

Compendium of Curiosities, Week 13

Grungepaper Flowers

This week's CCC.....making Tim's fabulous grungepaper flowers.  Click on the link above to see Linda's wonderful entry, to read all about the challenge, the AMAZING prize this week (courtesy of Tim and Mario!), and links to those entries already posted.

I used a few different techniques to make my flowers.  Some were covered with old dictionary paper, some were inked then stamped, some were inked and embossed and inked again, some were inked, covered with clear embossing powder and heat set, and some were even covered with fabric.   And, I confess, a couple were actually made from grungeboard instead of paper.

OK, flowers made....what to do with them?  I tried a few ideas, but wanting to include all the flowers I made led me to the conclusion that all the projects I had in mind looked too busy with all those florals.....and yet, I didn't want to exclude any.

So, I wound up doing this:

I covered some floral wire I've had lying around for years, doing nothing but taking up space.  Not a lot of space, but space just the same.  What did I cover them with?  Tim's tissue tape.....fab use for it, I must say.   All the flowers have brad centers, and I used the brad's legs to hold the wire in place.  I arranged my bouquet in a jar and anchored the wires with a handful of sea glass.

Don't know if this exactly qualifies as a project, but IMO, it makes for a pretty cool centerpiece.

The Evolution of an Idea, or.......

......how my mind works (hmmm...you've been warned), or.....how I get inspiration from jumping around from blog to blog.   Here's how it all started.  Wendy was blogging about the newest wonderful additions to her product line....art parts.  Chipboard frames, shapes, other goodies, perfect to use with her stamps.  One in particular caught my eye....a kind of pedestal thingie....looks a bit like a mini cake plate.  You can see it here.  Things started spinning in my head.....

A few days later, I'm visiting Linda Cain's blog and she's busy making spools.  I love old wooden spools; thread these days comes wrapped on plastic mostly.  But I digress.  Linda is whipping out these fantastic spools.  Made me think back to Wendy's pedestal.  After all what is a spool but a cylinder and two circles.  Different sizes and proportions, but the same elements.  See Linda's beautiful spools here.

As if that wasn't enough, Linda supplied a link to the blog that had inspired her to make the spools, so of course I visited there, watched a video tutorial, and hatched a plan.  If you really want to follow my journey, click here to see it too.  (even if you aren't interested in following along, you should click there because it will take you to a really interesting and creative blog)
 
Now, let me make it clear that I am NOT trying to tell anyone that they shouldn't get Wendy's art parts.  Hell no!  I'll be first on line to buy some.  It's just that I had this notion and I have no patience, so how could I wait for the weeks, maybe months before these beauties hit the stores?  So, I had to make a version of my own, just to try out my idea.
Following me?  (remember, I did warn you!).  I bet about now you're wondering if I'll ever show you a photo.  LOL!  Yep, here goes.  I found the components to make my squat pedestal (or I suppose it could be a giant sized spool, now that I think about it).  (the proportions of Wendy's art parts pedestal are waaaaaaay better and more elegant, trust me!)

Very high tech....a paper towel roll and two chipboard circles.  I cut the roll down and covered all three parts with some Graphic 45 paper and glued them together.  Of course I did some artsy stuff to them...sanded the edges, distressed them with some ink.....

This is the idea I had when I first saw Wendy's blog post.  I wanted to make a little display stand, but one where I could change out what was being displayed very easily.

I have some of these plastic thingies:

I'm sorry I don't remember where I got them, but they're meant to display an ATC.  (there's a little slit in the middle for the card to slide in).  Not too gorgeous, but when covered with some of the same G45.....

Much better.  Now, a long time ago, back in March in fact, I was visiting Hels' blog and saw her tutorial on faux porcelain flowers.  I made some then, but never used them.  They're the right color, so I thought they'd make a nice decoration for my display pedestal.  (I also added some lace and fiber to the bottom of the cylinder).  The plastic thingie and the flowers were all adhered with glossy accents, by the way.

And although at first I thought this would just be a good place to pop an ATC, I discovered that it can hold a greeting card, a postcard, an altered coaster.....just about anything.  It could also be a place to put a work in progress as you contemplate the next step.  And I just think it is so much nicer than those little easels that are always falling over on my work table.

I'm having another thought for a future project....what if I pierced the rim of the top circle with a bunch of little holes, all the way around....wouldn't that be a fab way to store/display a collection of danglie earrings?

Birthday Cards, Studio 490 Style

In case you don't know, Studio 490 is the name of Wendy Vecchi's line of stamps for Stampers Anonymous, and I love them.  Lately I've been reaching for them more and more when I need to make a birthday card.  I've done two recently that I'm pleased with, one for my SIL, and one for Irene from EWV, who has an early August birthday. (We have a birthday club going on there).

 This is the one for my SIL, and I think she should have received it by now.  I stole borrowed the idea of using bingo numbers from Miz Wendy herself.  Can you tell the birth date is July 26th?  Clever, huh?

Don't know how much you can tell from the photograph, but I really threw it all at the bottle to make it look more glass-like.  First I applied rock candy crackle paint.  That didn't seem to be doing it, so while the paint was still kind of wet, I sprinkled on some UTEE and blasted it with the heat gun.  I think it's fairly glass-like.  Although.....today Wendy had a sneak peek on her blog of a brand new product that will make achieving the look of glass really easy. 

I used the bottle once again, this time in green instead of blue.  I skipped the crackle paint and went straight for the UTEE.  I doubt if you can see it, but I bent the bottle after it cooled for that cracked glass look.

The background is some Core'dinations paper run through my Big Kick in Tim's Dot Matrix embossing folder.

The two very cool brads in the flower centers are brand new from Stampin' Up.  Love the tiny one especially; if you look closely you'll see the two little holes, so it looks like a button.

Something else that Wendy previewed recently has been on my mind, and I've been experimenting.  Maybe tomorrow it will be ready to share......

Flowers Everywhere

I was reading Suze Weinberg's blog post about seeing flowers everywhere, and it's the truth.  In fashion, in jewelry, in home decor, in scrapbooking supplies....flowers and the stuff with which to make them are everywhere lately.  I even got an email from West Elm today regarding an installation of the work of designer David Stark....flowers and flower-related items, all made from the pages of old books.

Last night I met with friends to share some techniques and make some art, and without pre-planning, we all brought flower projects.  Heidi showed us how to make some floral embellishments (I'm thinking they'll make great pins) made from twisting and rolling strips of fabric....just like the old fashioned rag rugs.  Instead of sewing, though, we used a glue gun.  Check these out (the first two are mine, the rest are pieces Heidi made for me as a gift

The great thing about this project, is you can use up some ugly fabric, because after all the rolling and gluing, we sprayed the flowers with Glimmer Mist, which totally transformed them.  Then we embellished them with leaves, feathers, and assorted other bling.

I was watching this week's Taco Tuesday video on making metal flowers and was inspired to bring this project:

It couldn't be easier.  Strips of Ten Seconds Studio metal are loosely folded, accordian style, and manipulated to form a flower shape.  A bottle cap is glued to the center.  Using a 1" circle punch, cut some paper for the inside and then cover it with a layer of Glossy Accents.  Add a pin back  for a brooch, or a magnet to dress up the refrigerator, or use it to decorate a special gift package.

And now for a sneak peek of the upcoming Technique Tuesday for the PID blog.  No directions yet.  You'll have to visit that blog this week for that.  But all these flowers are made from circles cut from a variety of papers.  

Like I said, flowers are everywhere.