I've decided to try Art Journaling and get back into Mixed Media

I have just started getting into mixed media, actually getting back into it.  I did mixed media 10-15 years ago but got distracted by the card making craze.  I have to say I don't know why I ever stopped, I am having so much fun.  Best part is my muse who has been missing for way too long is back and my passion to create has returned.  It was the first thing I thought of when I woke up this morning and the reason I jumped up out of bed.   I needed to check on something I started late last night, what a great feeling!

So far I've not done much with art journaling, only created one page and a few mono-print background but it's a start.  I also pulled background papers I'd previously created with inks directly on paper and never used.  I am putting all my backgrounds together in a folder then when I'm ready to create something my backgrounds are together and ready for the next layer, all I have to do is pick one.  My plan is to make individual journal pages and then when I have enough I will bind them all together, time to dust off that BIA that I've hardly used.  This way I can use a variety of surfaces and tailor their use to the medium I'm in the mood for that day.  I hope you follow along with me on this newest creative adventure.

Here are a few of pictures of what I've done so far, like I said I'm a beginner so not much to show yet.

This is an ink and stencil background, if you look closely you
will see larger yellow squares as well as the little ones.

These mono-prints I did with acrylics on a Plexiglas surface.  I used cheap
craft paint that I already had on hand and I think they came out great
considering the paints were not only cheap but ancient old.

Here is the first page of my journal and except for the background page and a few stamps
was created entirely from things already out on my desk.

The above started with a background from my stash that I had added inks and acrylics in splashes directly to the paper.  I decided to glue bits of tissue paper that had been painted with H2O's here and there then I stamped a large script stamp to cover the whole page.  Next I stamped a corner stamp in opposing corners and my Live, Love, Laugh stamps randomly all over then just started gluing stuff onto the page.  The smile image is a left over from a swap several years ago that I almost used on a card recently but didn't.  The glitter was at the bottom of the dish I had my tissue pieces in, as well as some tiny die cut leftovers.  You know those bit you get when you cut a larger die and think, I should save those I might be able to use them on something.  Can't believe I finally used some of them.

There isn't any actual journaling on this page but it will be the introductory page anyway so that was okay with me.  I'm hoping the "live, love, laugh" stamps I picked will inspire me to do just that when I'm creating pages and remind again to do so once it's been bound into a book so I did sort of have a journal thought on the page.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my first steps into art journaling and come back often to see what I'm creating.  In case you are wondering, there will still be plenty of stamping; the "thing" I jumped out of bed to look at this morning was a stamped image I watercolored very late last night.  Wonder if it will end up on a card or journal page, hmmmm.

Virtual Convention coming to RSC May 3 - 7 2012

Do you like attending rubber stamp conventions?  All those companies gathered in one place, selling everything needed to create paper crafting "master pieces".  What's not to love right??

Except maybe the long drive if you don't live close by or maybe there is a scheduling conflict that keeps you from attending.  How about the standard convention food, of which the best stuff always sells out before you stop to eat.  Would you like to not have tired feet when it is all said and done, maybe even do your shopping in your pj's...

When the Rubber Stamp Chat forum was started years ago, Amy aka XrayAmy the owner started a tradition called the "Virtual Stamp Convention".  It was a new concept where a special area was temporarily opened up at the forum for stamp companies to sell their stamps and other supplies at special RSC member discounts.  The convention usually lasts for one weekend only but you can shop around the clock, until you drop.

Each company that signs up to participate has a thread on "the convention floor", that they can list what they sell, explaining discounts and specials they are offering RSC members that weekend. Their thread usually includes links and special discount codes, some have even created a special web page that can only be found/accessed thru the RSC convention. 

There is also a place for members of RSC to start discussions about what they have purchased or anything else convention related that they want to "Chat" about.  We been known to start virtual "happy hours" where we pretend we are actually together in one place enjoying margarita's or something and discuss the snacks we are eating while we shop online.   Virtual food is calorie free you know so worries about blowing that diet you are on.  Basically we just get plain silly and have fun enjoying each other's virtual company!

Oh yeah, the comment about shopping in your pj's.   Well certain members really have been know to stay up all night surfing the web in said pj's, checking out all the vendors attending the convention with a credit card at the ready.  So come check it out Thursday May 3rd - Monday May 7th.  Just don't say I didn't warn you when you shop in your jammies!!

Easter Card and a preview

This is the Easter card I made for my son this year, nothing cutsie.  It's simple, masculine and full of love.  He is after all a young man now and not a little boy, sigh.  I used Versafine Sepia ink, Spellbinder dies, a Cuttlebug Embossing folder, foam tape, white cardstock, handmade (but not by me, lol) cardstock and stamps to make his card.  The bunny and eggs stamps are from Eureka Stamps and the sentiment is from After Midnight.

This is a preview of my "how to" post for next week....  Hope you have a great weekend and be sure to check in next week for more about the above picture.

Coloring on Black Cardstock

A friend over at Rubberstamp Chat started a thread/list of techniques that can be done with black cardstock recently.  I had seen articles about using white or other very light colored pencils as a base that you then color over using the actual color you want in stamp magazines a few years ago and have even seen it talked about in non stamping colored pencil how to books.  According to the books even dark colors that would usually disappear on the black cardstock will show up this way.  I mentioned the technique which of course then resulted in a request for the above example.

As you can see not only do the colors you try to color with but the quality of the pencils can make a difference as well.  You can however use even cheap (Crayola) or a mid range priced (EKS-E K Success) pencils to enhance your stamped image.

After making the example chart I decided to make a card with this technique and my Prisma pencils.  I stamped my images in white ink and let them dry completely, do not emboss your images.  After the images are dry go over everything with a white pencil, redrawing all lines and filling in with white where needed.  You will notice that I did not fill in the flower petals and leaves on this example completely.  I wanted to keep the spiral detail of the stamp image and coloring in the whole thing would have resulted in solid petals and leaves instead. 

I selected this flower image so you could see the difference the white pencil underneath made.  It also is a reminder to think ahead before you color everything in white, don't get carried away and lose the detail of your image. 

You can really see the difference the white makes on the leaves and grass.  I used darker colors for both of those and without the white underneath the greens really do dissappear.

One other trick I learned recently.  If you place a textured surface underneath your cardstock when coloring in, you can get some wonderful results.  Not only can it emboss the paper but the color you use "skips" across the surface instead of filling in completely.  If you want to get the texture without the embossed effect then use the side of the pencil and a very light touch instead.  You will still get the appearance of texture without pressing in the surface of your paper.  I hope on the picture below you can see not only the bumps but the flecks of turquoise on the dragon flies wings where it colored only the raised parts of the wings.

Here is the finished card:

The flower is from DMD-Creativity Inc and the dragonfly is from Beeswax.  The bright happy colors I used help balance out the darkness of the black cardstock.  I smile and think Spring whenever I look at this card.  Hope you give coloring on dark cardstock a try and be sure to let me know what you think once you have. 

Have a great day!!

One of those "hard" cards to make

One of  my least favorite and most difficult cards to make is for someone with a serious illness such as Cancer.  I never know what to say in these cards other than so sorry and/or thinking of you and that seems so inadequate.  When someone is going thru treatments and the outcome is unknown though, it really is all you can say.  It always seems to be enough however, once the recipient opens the card.  To them it is more about your caring enough to take time for them.

I just found out that my new next door neighbor is going thru Chemo for lung cancer and this is the second time he has had to do so.  He was given only 6 months 3 years ago.  Each day since has been a gift for the couple but the news that the cancer was growing again was quite devastating none the less.  The fact that I haven't gotten to know them yet makes card made even more difficult.  Thankfully inspiration struck and the above card is what I came up with.  It's simple and pretty to look at, without being too feminine.

I used a damp sponge to applied diluted distress inks on hot press watercolor paper.  The colors I used are Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive and Peeled Paint.  Once the ink/paper was dry I stamped an image from Stamp Oasis/Rubbernecker called Forest Cathedral with a Versafine Vintage Sepia ink pad.  The image is actually larger than I wanted so I then trimmed some of the image off and used only the center portion.  I use only a portion of images a lot.  I cut part off or I ink up only the section I want using the corner of an ink pad.  It is a great way to get more use out of the stamps you have.  You might want to keep that in mind next time you are stamp shopping, great way to stretch your $$$$ and get more use out of those stamps.

You will notice I cropped the top corners only of both the image and the green CS I matted it onto.  This visual "trick" helps enhance the archway or Catherdral effect of the stamped image.  I also used a white gel pen to color in the doves at the top of my image, they looked odd speckled in colors of orange & greens.  That is the only coloring I did to the image though.  I then glued the matted image onto white cardstock that has vertical line texture.

Next I stamped the bible verse from Stamp La Jolla in the same Sepia ink I had used already.  I cut  it out leaving a very small margin of white all the way around.  While it was drying I cut a Spellbinder Fancy Tag 2 die.  The bible verse is longer than the die so I cut the tag in half and glued the halfs on to the the back of the bible verse.  I added the bible verse tag to my card using foam tape.  It slightly overlaps the stamped image and this eliminated that visual conflict.  It also helps with the feeling of going into the forest.

Lastly a simple Thinking of you stamp (by a company no longer in business)  using Sepia Brown again for the inside and it was ready to deliver.

So next time you need to make "one of those" cards don't get overwhelmed by the task.  Making a card by hand is what they will remember, not what the inside of the card says.  Lastly a big thank you to my RSC family for helping me work thru that same feeling of "what to say" and reminding me to just keep is simple.  Y'all are the best!!

Just a couple of tags I made

These are tags I made one evening while trying to get my creative muse going again.   I use white cardstock on both of these but the one on the left is on glossy cardstock and the one on the right was made using regular CS.

The tag on the left:  I first took the Cuttlebug Script embossing folder and inked the side where the images are depressed ( pushed in) with Old Paper Distress ink and ran it thru my Big Shot.  This gives the background color and leaves the embossing the original color.  The three flowers at the bottom are a Sizzix die.  I added glitter glue that matched the fairy image I wanted to use on my tag.  The fairy image was a RAK, so I'm sorry I cannot tell you who makes it but came with areas already accented with glitter and using the same silver glitter on the rest of the tag ties it all together nicely.  Next I cut out an oval using a Spellbinder die and used Old Paper distress ink around the edges, leaving the center white.  I then stamped the sentiment from Innovative Stamp Company using Marvy Pink sentiment.  Then I stamped the flower clusters which is a peg stamp from Rubber Stamp Tapestry using the same pink ink pad.  I added silver glitter to the centers of these flowers like the once at the bottom of the tag.  I then  decided to change things up just a bit and added a white iridescent glitter to the edges of the oval.  This way it matches the rest of the tag because it has glitter on it but the difference in color is slight enough to help draw attention to it.  To reinforce the tag hole I added another  Sizzix flower die that I added the same glitter color as the oval since it would mostly be covered up by that oval and I wanted it to blend into the background.  I used foam tape the adhere the oval so it was slightly raised above the fairy graphic.  The rose at the bottom was cut from a tissue box.  I then use colors of glitter glue that matched the image.  Once dry I glued it to the bottom of the tag from the back side.  A bit if ribbon and done.

Tag on right:  I first stamped a face stamp from Lost Coast using Tattered Rose Distress ink color.  I then masked that image and most of the tag before stamping a script stamp from Rubber Necker using Old Paper Distress Ink.  Other images used on the tag are: Stamp image and paint brush are both by Lasting Impressions with Panache using Tea Stain and Broken China ink; Wizard by Lost Coast was stamped with Old Paper and the girl at bottom (also from Lost Coast) was stamped multiple times with Tea Stain; lastly the rose and leaves are Rubber Stamp Tapestry images and were stamped using a very old green pad from PSX and a reddish color called Henna by Ancient Page.  Once everything was dry and all masks had been removed I used Old Paper ink around the edges of the tag and then colored the images using chalk pastels.  I sealed the tag to keep the chalk from rubbing off.  Lastly I added fabric strips (scraps really) and embroidery floss for ribbon.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Remember Me

I am so sorry to have abandoned you.  I should have known that trying to start a blog my son's senior year would be tough.  In addition to that I have been in a major creative slump, ugh!!  Stress of everything that has been/is going on had been nipping at my heels for a while and caught up with me finally I think.

I do have a few pieces to share including my Mardi Gras doll but in the mean time I hope you like the ATC I made in way of an apology.  Notice the texture in the Tree trunk, I used a Fiskar texturing plate.  The tree is from Eureka stamps and the fairy is 100 Proof Press.  Colored with chalks except for the fairy's wings which I used irredecent Twinks on.

I have also been doing some major cleaning/re-organizing of my crafting room because of this:

An all stop, while I looked for new shelving definitely was a priority before everything came crashing down but weeks later I'm still at it.  What a mess!  Here are a couple more before pics: I'll take some pics of the now over the weekend and post them next week.  Just remember the room is still a work in progress. 

Later y'all, it's trash day and I need to do some more "work" in my stamp room before they get here.....