Mixed Media Canvas - Life is About Creating Yourself.

I have to give credit to those who seem to be able to post often on their blogs and I'm sure their lives  are just as busy & full as mine.   It has been a challenge trying to find time in between 2 jobs, developing and teaching the odd class, trying to work on my own art, a downsize house move, and Dr's appointments with my husband who's just finished 10 rounds of chemo (which appear to be working well thankfully).   Unfortunately the blog had to be put on the back burner.  But, I'm going to try and squeeze in a few posts.  I just finished working on a mixed media canvas.  Texture is done with Golden's Molding Paste and Finnabair's Copper Crackle Texture Paste, painted with Golden Acrylics and various sprays.  Die Cuts:  Memory Box Riviera Corner and Tim Holtz Alterations Sewing Room.  The dress is made from a long strip of dyed cheesecloth that I folded up & down to create the folds, then wrapped the end around the waist & added a metal gear for embellishment.  The metal word band is by Tim Holtz idea-ology.  Sorry - no pictures of the work in progress.

Love, Wish, Dream

Can't believe how much time has passed since my last post. Had good intentions, but a change in my work schedule meant no time available for posting. But, I'd like to share a card I worked on recently.
BACKGROUND: Using the Ranger Distress Ink Pads, swipe Broken China, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire on your craft sheet (or freezer paper). Spritz surface with water. Press watercolour card onto inked surface and lift. Spritz card with more water if too dark and move card to create blending. Blot excess water from edge of card with paper towel. Press back into small wet dots of inked areas to create more colour texture. Let dry. Stamp Siren Dress-Formwith Black StazOn Ink Pad, and emboss with BLACK embossing powder. Stamp Love, Wish Dream with clear embossing ink, and emboss with WHITE embossing powder. Stamp Ruler with Dusty Concord along outside of card to create a border and emboss with CLEAR embossing powder. Stamp Spool Labels with Broken China and emboss with CLEAR embossing powder. To create extra texture, use a piece of drywall tape as a stencil and blend Chipped Sapphire onto card. To darken the outside border of the card, blend with Chipped Sapphire using a makeup sponge. Repeat if you want darker colour in the corners. Sew around card with metallic embroidery thread. Attach a flower embellishment with a button brad.

Explore, Dream, Journey

It's a good thing that the Use Every Stamp Challenge is not necessarily use one stamp every day, or even week!  But, here is my second card. 

I like to work on watercolour paper, so cut up a 9x12 sheet of Strathmore Watercolor Cold Press, 140 lb. paper to get five cards of 4" x 5".  I always have lots on hand with backgrounds already started like this one.   I'm pretty sure that I did this one by randomly stamping Broken China, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire Ranger Distress stamp pads on my craft sheet, spritzed with water, and pressed the card into the ink.  Lift up and let dry.  No two cards are alike.  Helpful hint:  use the smoother side of the card stock, especially if you are going to emboss.

Stamp a music background with Broken China.  Stamp butterfly and emboss with white embossing powder.  Gently sponge Faded Jeans around the butterfly, repeat with Chipped Sapphire in centre of butterfly.  Gently sponge Chipped Sapphire around outside edge of card.  Stamp sentiments Explore, Dream and Journey in black Archival ink and clear emboss.  Sew along outer edge with metallic thread.  Edge with Chipped Sapphire Distress Stain.  Attach small flower brad onto upper Butterfly body.  Use double-sided tape on back to attach to your card.

Stamps:  Penny Black Social Butterfly 30-116; Sentiments - KaiserCraft Life Sentiments CS763 

Use Every Stamp Challenge

A few weeks back, I decided to join My Creative Classroom's 2013 Use Every Stamp.  It's an endeavour on my part to try to use the many stamps I have acquired over the last few years.  It started with just a few, and now I'm afraid to count them all.  The challenge is also to organize them all so you know what you have.  While I can't say that I love all the stamps I have bought, I do like most of them and I think they all have potential.  They don't have any potential though, if they are not used.  I'm also using this challenge in an effort to start using all the different papers I have.  The end goal is to create more cards and art from my stamps and papers.

Here is the first card from that challenge and the directions.  Using a patterned paper as a base, stamp the left heart with  embossing ink and clear emboss.  Stamp the heart on a post-it note to use as a mask and cut out.  Mask the left heart and stamp and emboss again.  Sponge Milled Lavender Distress Ink over the clear embossed hearts, and repeat the process with Dusty Concord to bring out the design.  Sponge Dusty Concord  around the edges to create a shadow border effect, then edge with Dusty Concord Distress Stain to darken the border.  On a separate piece of white cardstock, stamp the Love sentiment with Plum Archival Ink, clear emboss, then tear the edges.  Ink the edges with Dusty Concord Distress Stain and dip the whole piece in clear embossing powder and emboss.  Attach with pop up dots.  Attach to white card.

The heart stamp is from Inkadinkado Hearts set 97637.  Paper came from Creative Imaginations.

Journal Covers

This is my current work in progress.  A painted canvas cover for a journal which is a gift for a fellow coworker's grandmother and the main word was to be "faith".  Used my scanner for the picture so it's not the best (slightly cut off - my camera is recharging). 

I used gesso on the floral stamp and stamped the canvas before painting with a selection of FW Liquid Acrylics.  Stamped "faith" using calligraphy letters from Quietfire Designs, "Blooms" and "love" from a couple of different Recollections alpha stamp sets and "precious" from Hero Arts.  Then I went over the words with calligraphy pens and different colours of the FW Liquid Acrylics.  The diamonds were stencilled in using Golden Fluid Acrylic Anthraquinone Blue and a Dylusions stencil.  Embellishments came next - beads, brads, buttons, charms, paper flowers, fabric hearts etc.  I leave a 1" border at the edges to fold over the book cover - remember that when you start adding embellishments - I did the beading on the front cover and ended up having to remove a bead (you can see the white spot) because it ended up right on the fold.  When it's finished, I'll use Yes glue to adhere it to the hard cover of the blank journal.  Hope she likes the end result...

Acknowledge Yourself!  We often do not take the time to acknowledge who we are and realize just how strong we can be.  I love the quote from Vivian Greene

Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass

It's about learning to dance in the rain...

And sometimes when we are feeling pain and sorrow, we should just run out in the rain and let our tears mingle with the raindrops.  When the tears have run out - swing your arms up, twirl and dance a little dance.

But if it's 3 am in the morning, I work in my journal instead, knowing that if I can do just one thing on the page I will have given myself a moment of solace.  Here's how my finished page looks.

Art washes away from the soul
the dust of everyday life.
PICASSO

Back into Watercolour

I cannot believe how time flies.  I have not had any time to devote to this, but am going to make a concerted effort to try to post on a regular basis.  Strathmore Papers have an online video class on watercolour journalling, and I have just watched Class 1.  (I had to scan it in and it should have been cropped, but I am having problems).  I'm hoping to be inspired to get back into watercolours.  Here is the result.