ART FROM THE ROAD: Getting reacquainted with alcohol inks!

I recently was pointed toward a video on YouTube and, well, you know what happened. I was there for hours! By chance, I came upon one of Tim Holtz's early videos introducing alcohol inks and their versatility. I remember becoming immediately enamored of these inks that came in bottles and, of course, bought many, many shades of the liquid jewels. When I found them yesterday, the bottles were dusty! Not daunted by a bit of dust, I set them out on my craft table and went in search of the wooden applicator (blending tool) and those little felt pads (remember?).

My task for the day was to create a card for someone who is getting buried with family stuff. She needed a bit of uplifting and these alcohol inks were about to do just that!

Without consulting my color wheel, I chose three inks that I thought might look good together--Pool, Stonewashed (blues) and Purple Twilight. I loaded up the blending tool and started pouncing color on a piece of Ranger Specialty Stamping Paper. I wish I had taken pictures of this process (was not thinking about blogging at the time) because I had forgotten just how BRIGHT these colors are. I remembered that I used to use a blending solution to tone down or even remove color. Found it! I was able to soften the colors a bit to the point where I liked them much better.

Without admitting that I am still buying art supplies, I will share that I recently "acquired" a set of 7 die cuts of weeds. Yes, weeds! I chose some green paper, got out my Big Kick and cut away. I also recently "acquired" a box of photo frame cards and decided to use one of those for this card. With a bit of adhesive, I nestled the stems under the "frame" at the bottom and extended some of the tops of the weeds over the sides. I intentionally did not adhere all of the blooms to the card and bent them forward a bit (not easily visible here). Here's the result:

I adhered other images that I cut onto the inside of the card on the left. That's a nice touch that I will remember in the future.

Thanks for visiting today and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both inspired me!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE ROAD: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (07-29-18)

It has been a couple of weeks since I have had the necessary time and that all-important electricity to be creative and to participate in the Sunday Postcard Art challenge! Marion is hosting this week and has chosen the theme of Stripey Legs which, for most of us, will mean ZETTI inspired.

SAY WHAT???

Zettiology is explained in a great article authored by Susan Luke. You can find it here. In a nutshell, it is the artful combination of the real with the unreal--or the playful mix of reality and fantasy, most often combining human and animal parts usually accompanied by text. I did my best at putting these elements together with the helpful stamps of both Wendy Vecchi and Dyan Revealey. Not especially my favorite style of art but I will admit that it was fun to create this one!

Thank you for stopping by today and especially for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both serve as inspiration for me.

Cheers!

ARTIST COIN SERIES FEATURING JANE DAVENPORT ART

Still seem to be finding great joy in creating (and in both trading and giving away) Artist Trading Coins! This series was created with images punched from a paper pad of Jane Davenport's artwork (American Crafts) and paired with "Small Talk" stickers by Tim Holtz (Ranger). 

Thanks for stopping by today and especially for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both are important to me!

Cheers!

COIN SERIES IN BLACK AND WHITE

I continue to find great pleasure in creating Artist Trading Coins, those 2-1/2" circular pieces of art which most artists are finding quite addictive! Here are the first 5 in my black and white collection:

The top left image is one of Wendy Vecchi's stamps paired with a sticker from Tim Holtz' "Small Talk" sticker book, cut to fit.

The top right coin shows a stamped image from Stampotique Originals called Little Frida accompanied by more "Small Talk" stickers.

The bottom three coins include stamps created by the up-and-coming stamp designer Carol Porter. Carol's stamps can be purchased in her Etsy shop called NaysWorld. The text with the first coin was created on my computer, the other two are more stickers from "Small Talk."

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking a minute to leave a comment. Both are important to me!

Cheers!

ARTIST TRADING COINS

Making Artist Trading Coins has become a favorite pastime of mine! I have cut bunches of 2-1/2" circles out of scraps of paper--some as ready-made backgrounds and others as backing for the "coins" to give them a bit of strength. I keep a pad of Tim Holtz' "Small Talk" stickers on my craft table and I can create a coin in just minutes. Remember, crafting is cheaper than professional therapy!

The coin I made today is for a Stampotique Designers Challenge and features Bowtie. If you want to have a bit of fun, check out the challenge here.

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both are important to me!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE ROAD: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (07-08-18)

Good afternoon and Happy Sunday! This may be only the second time in history that I have created my Sunday Postcard Art on Sunday! We are given the theme for each challenge a week ahead of time and then are given another week within which to submit it. I hope you will find some time this week to participate in the DOLLS challenge at the Sunday Postcard Art site. You will find submission directions there.

Google is pretty generous about sharing free images and that's where I found this beauty and her doll. The original image had a very bright and white background and I had wanted something more subdued. I used my ink blending tool to darken the background by using Distress Oxide inks in Vintage Photo (brown),  Faded Jeans (blue), and, last, Peeled Paint (green). By staying away from the focal image, I was able to create a halo effect around her. I used a text stamp from Stampotique called Quiet Place. Finally, I edged the postcard with black Archival Ink from Ranger. And, done!

Thank you for stopping by today and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both inspire me!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE ROAD: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge ( 07-01-18)

I am delighted that Mandy Chilvers has invited me to host the Sunday Postcard Art challenge this week. I have chosen SHOES/FOOTWEAR as the challenge topic and hope you will take some time this week to play along. You will find the details here.

To create this postcard I began by cutting a scrap piece of designer paper to the required size of 4x6". Next, I used two stamps from Stampotique Originals, Vintage Postcard and 1879 Postmark. My focal image is from Stampendous! (called Heels). I stamped this image on a piece of "wipe-off" paper (a piece of paper used to wipe off paint from a brayer) from another vintage project, then cut it out and adhered it to my postcard. I did not use the text that accompanied this image but, instead, used one of Dyan Reaveley's quirky text stamps from Stampers Anonymous. And done! A simple project but not without a bit of attitude!



Thank you for stopping by and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both inspire me!

Cheers!

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART CHALLENGE: 06-30-18

Anne is the challenger this week at Sunday Postcard Art and she has chosen ASIAN as her challenge theme. I just happened to have a family of Asian women (Kokeshi Dolls), digital stamps that I had purchased from Vera Lane Studio some time ago. I have used four of the five ladies, Keomi, Megumi, Sakura and Akimi as the mother.

I began with a scrap piece of designer paper which I thought had a bit of an Asian flare. I cut it to 4x6". I resized the images on my computer and printed them off on buff paper so that I didn't have to fuss with their complexions. Their kimonos were created by printing the images onto scraps of paper cut to size and inserted into my printer tray. I then cut the kimonos out. The hair and ornaments were colored with Copics. The ladies were then "dressed" and adhered to my postcard.

I did an internet search for quotes about mothers and daughters and finally chose one for the project. 

I hope you will take time to visit the Sunday Postcard Art website, where you will find the details of the challenge. Artwork submitted to the challenge should be in by Friday each week.

Thanks for stopping by and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both your visits and comments inspire me!

Cheers!

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART CHALLENGE: 05/20/18

It has been quite a while since I have been able to participate in the Sunday Postcard Art challenge but here I am as the guest host! Thank you, Mandy Chilvers, for extending the invitation!

I have chosen the theme of CLOWNING AROUND! Anything and everything to do with clowns.  My focal image is from Stampotique Originals (by Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney) and is called Bowtie. The text stamp is also a Stampotique image.

I hope you will carve out some time this week to participate in this fun challenge. You can find the details on submitting your work here.

Cheers!

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART CHALLENGE: 11/05/2017

I have been asked to host the Sunday Postcard Art Challenge this week and I chose the challenge theme of feathers. I hope you will carve out some time this week to get crafty and participate! You can find details here.

My husband and I began our journey from New England to the Desert Southwest on October 10th. We have had only short stops until we arrived in Colorado Springs last week. We will be here for three weeks, giving me time to get out my art supplies and play a bit. Colorado Springs is home to Simple Treasurers, a rubber stamping, scrapbooking and papercrafting haven! One of my purchases was a set of Prima cling stamps which included...you guessed it...a feather stamp!

I began this project by rubbing a bit of color from two new Ranger Distress Oxide inks, Cracked Pistachio and Worn Lipstick, onto my craft mat and spritzing with water.

I then cut a piece of Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper into a 4 x 6" postcard. I continued "dipping" that in the inks until I was satisfied with the look.

While the inks were drying, I created my text on my computer using a quote about feathers found on an internet search. Next step was to put the postcard into my printer tray and print the quote directly onto the postcard. Once done, I stamped the feather image twice onto the postcard. (I didn't need to create a "mask" since the images were, well, feathery!)

Here's the finished postcard:

Thanks for stopping by! It really means a lot to me when you take a moment to leave a message, too!

Cheers!