Hey Neighbor!

Howdy, Friends! Welcome to May 2014.  The start to another new month, boy how these months fly by!  I have a fun card to share with you today.  A scene stealer if I have ever seen one. i started out with a piece of watercolor paper that I had spritzed with several different Dylusions  Inks.  I cut it into smaller pieces to fit on the A2 size card base, so I have several different ones to pick from.

I then stamped out my parts of my scenery on Express Blended Card stock suitable for Copic coloring. I used the Thelma standing stamp from Deadbeat Designs, the Garden fence and bucket from Art Impressions, and the Bloodhound dog stamp from Art Impressions. I stamped the dog stamp first, and then masked it off, using a post-it note, before stamping the gate with bucket  Garden stamp. After coloring in the pieces with my Copic markers, I fussy cut around the dog and gate images leaving a small white border around the images. I also cut around Thelma after coloring her with the Copics, and then set the pieces aside to dry.  I then used my Cloud Stencil from Memory Box to stencil Golden Light Molding Paste in several of the cloud cut outs. As the clouds were drying, some of the Dylusion Inks bled up through the molding paste. I learned through my Art Journaling class I have been taking, that if you will be stenciling on your background, do that first, then apply the water based ink colors. 

This is what happened on this card. I applied the paste over the inks, and they re-activated with the wet paste and bled into the cloud shapes. So, to repair the clouds, I applied a layer of white Posca acrylic paint pen over the top of the stenciled cloud to make them whiter.

To complete the card, I die-cut a banner die, and then stamped it with a sentiment from the Howdy clear stamp set from My Favorite Things. I attached the fence and dog section with foam dots on the background to give it dimension.  I then placed Thelma behind the fence to look as if she was leaning on the other side of the fence. I attached the banner with foam tape to the right of the image, and glued a tiny gold star sequin for accent.

This card makes a great Friendship card, Thinking of You, or Welcome Neighbor card. I hope you all have a great weekend, and enjoy the beginning of May!

Art Journaling Class I am Taking

Hello Friends! I am in the process of taking an Art journaling class from Christine Urias on her blog;
Scrap Time;"More than just Scrapbooking"  and it is called "Exploring Art Journaling 3".  It is a 30 day class, each one concentrating on different media used for backgrounds and pages, with a different journaling prompt each day.

It is very interesting, and is helping me use many of the products I already have in my studio, to make amazing pages. I am posting a few of the ones I have completed so far in the class.

Some of them are two page spreads, and other's are just a one page spread.  I am doing them in my small journal from Dyan Revealy and Ranger.  If I really get into one specific technique or medium, I will do another page in my larger journal. The background for the Transportation page (above) is done in acrylic paints mixed with Gesso.

The background for the favorite TV shows page (left) is made with Lyra watercolor crayons.

And the background for the Daydreamer page (bottom) uses Stencils layered and then misted with Dylusions Sprays.

Most of my doodling and drawing is done with my Posca paint markers, and Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay India Inks.

I hope you enjoy seeing some of my Art Journal where I test out products and ideas, to see which I enjoy working with, and how they work together on a project. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a comment or question below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Have a Great Day!

I Love Texas Bluebonnets

Card #2 of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Weekly Challenge : Rainbows (or colors thereof). I used one of my New dies just received from Deadbeat Designs, the I Love Texas die, and two of my bluebonnet stamps.(Texas State Flower-starting to bloom now!)also from Deadbeat Designs.

I saw this technique done last week, and fell in love with it, and knew I must give it a try. I started by cutting an A2 size card front from Neenah white card stock.  I centered the Texas shaped die on the white card, and ran it through my Cuttlebug machine. I shook out the "innies" and set them aside. I then stamped the bluebonnet flowers on the card front, using colors the flowers are grown in;  blue(most common), burgundy, and white Memento inks. To highlight them, I used my twinkling H2O's and gave them a darker shade, and a little sparkle.  While the H2O's were out, I used the rainbow colors of  ROY G BIV (described in a previous post) to color each of the letters punched out by the die. Again, I put these aside to dry. I drew three lines of barbed wire through the images to look like fencing, and added some light blue dots across the top of the card to represent clouds in the sky.  I also used my white Posca paint marker to highlight several of the bluebonnet flowers.  

I trimmed 1/4" off two sides of the white card, so a small border of the Lapis Metallic base card would show, and attached the white panel to the dark blue metallic card. I then adhered the multi-colored letters back into the die cut image, as you would place pieces in a puzzle. To complete the card, I stamped the phrase "Mosey on over, friend!" to the lower right corner.

The following supplies, available in the Classy Cards N' Such online store were used to make this card:

TPC Stardream Lapis Pearlized Metallic Paper

Twinkling H2O- Basic Rainbow Set #H2kit13-28412

I hope you will pop on over to the challenge blog, and check out the inspiration, and maybe even submit a card or two of your own.  Enjoy, and I will visit again with you soon.

Mindy

Love is in the Air!

Today's card is one of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Challenge of the Week; Rainbows (and colors thereof).  I have combined the challenge with St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated early next week.

I have titled it "Love is in the Air" so after I painted my rainbow on the front of my card, with my PanPastel chalks, I stamped tiny hearts in coordinating colors on each stripe using Memento inks.  I didn't have a shamrock stamp, so I pulled out my heart shaped Fiskars hand punch, and punched out six hearts from white card stock.  I colored them green with Copic markers and then stamped a decorative heart design on each punched heart shape.  To assemble the shamrock, I glued the three hearts  to a stem shape using white glue from Art Glitter. Of course, it dries perfectly clear in 15 minutes or so.  I also stamped one of my favorite cloud stamps from Deadbeat Designs around the rainbow, then added a little white from my Posca paint marker.

For the sentiment banner, I stamped a saying from My Favorite Things on white stock, and then adhered to a stripped label.  Using foam tape, I adhered it to the front of the card and overlapped the shamrock shapes using foam tape and a 3D Zot Dot.

The following supplies used are available in the Classy Cards N' Such Online store:
PanPastels Flower Coloring Kit- #PP30115
Art Glitter Clear Adhesive-NM-DDCA

I used the color code phrase that most artists use when organizing and coordinating their colors to "build" my rainbow. It is: ROY G BIV. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) Early on, I was instructed to make a sign for my studio with that phrase, so that I could use it as a reminder when using color on my projects. I did as I was told, and it is amazing how many times a day I glance at my sign when creating.  Give it a try, and enjoy your Art!

Birds of a Feather Journal Pages

Greetings, fellow artista's! Thank you for joining me today for this double page art journal entry, where I used two of my Paint System palettes from Tattered Angels. I have been working on backgrounds lately, and ordered these Paint System sets to learn more about mixing colors and mediums successfully. The first system I used today was the Soiree Paint Collection that coordinates with the Soiree Paper craft collection from PinkPaislee. (I love these happy colors!)

The Soiree System consists of:  1.  Glimmer Mist- Marigold, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  2.  Glimmer Mist- Party Pink, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  3.  Glimmer Glam- Chandelier, a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter.  4.  Glimmer Glaze- Waterfall, a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.   I first sprayed the bird stencil/template with a coating of Deep Denim Glimmer Mist from the Daily Junque System. (this color is very dark) I then turned it over on to the page and gently pressed the template down onto the page and left in place for a few moments while the glimmer mist soaked in. With the template still in place, I applied the Waterfall blue glimmer glaze and Chandelier Glimmer Glam onto the image over the bird and on the background.  I then  removed the template  of the bird, and sprayed on the Party Pink Glimmer Mist.

Let the entire page dry.  When dry I stamped a Damask Background stamp across the top of the page with a permanent Archival Black ink.  I also highlighted around the edge of the page with Victorian Velvet Distress Stain from Tim Holtz.

On the right side/ facing page I used the same bird template from Tattered Angels, the Daily Junque Paint Collection that coordinates with the Daily Junque Paper collection, also from PinkPaislee. The Daily Junque Paint System consists of the following Mists/Mediums:

1.  Glimmer Mist- Aquamarine, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  2.  Glimmer Mist-  Dark Denim, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  3.  Glimmer Glam-  Organic Garden, a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter.  4.  Glimmer Glaze- Pewter, a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.

I again sprayed the bird template with Dark Denim Glimmer Mist and turned it over onto the blank page, paint side down. (Remember to flip your template before spraying so you get the reverse image.)  Again, press down on template so paint will begin to soak into the paper.  Apply the Organic Green Glimmer Glam over the template and across the page, leaving white space in the background. Let set for a few moments, then remove the template and apply Aquamarine spritz over the entire page.  Let entire page dry completely.

I again stamped a row of the damask background stamp across the top of the page with black Archival Ink,  and highlighted the entire page with Old Paper Distress Stain from Tim Holtz.


I then added my saying, "Birds of a Feather flock Together. . ." using my black Posca paint marker, and then highlighted the black marker with the white marker.  To add a little more interest to the pages, I adhered a row of fuzzy ribbon down the center of the page.  This also covered where the two pages (and paint) overlapped.  I also had to fill in some of the Dark Denim glimmer mist with a paintbrush on the birds, where the mist didn't print. I highlighted the openings of the template with the white Posca paint marker and dots, to add more texture.

I hope you have decided to pick up one or two of these wonderful paint systems.  They have helped me learn about combining colors immeasurably, over the last few weeks.  I have a few more color systems
 to play with over the weekend. Hopefully I will have a sampling to show you next week. Take care, and have a wonderful  Fall weekend!
Mindy

Journal Page Tribute to Our Prima Doll Stamp Blog Hop

I completed a page in my Art Journal today, paying tribute to my participation in my first ever Blog Hop. The Prima Doll Stamp Blog Hop was during the month of August, 2013. Each week, 5 other artists and myself presented projects on our blogs featuring the Prima Doll Stamps from Julie Nutting, celebrating the Four Seasons of our year; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

I saw this technique, Creating a Patchwork Background, on a YouTube video with Dyan Reaveley for RangerInk.com.  Using her creative Art Journal, I started by doodling on a page with my Pigma Micron black permanent marker.  You can then fill in the sections with solid colors, or filling in with Zentangle doodles in each section. Ever since Zentangle became popular, I have been engrossed in it. I love drawing patterns inside outlines to make cards or just intricate designs.

The next step is to add color to your designs. Dyan used her Dylusions Inks in water brushes in her video, but I used Marvy and Prismacolor markers to color mine in.

You can then use any stencil or template to make a design guide. I took two of my Prima Doll Stamps, "Riley" & "Olive" and traced them out on clear packaging plastic with a Sharpie marker.  You could also use StazOn Ink to stamp on the plastic, because StazOn is the only ink that will stamp on non-porous surfaces.  Then cut out your design with scissors.  The next step is to place them on your page where you want them and using Tim Holtz Black Acrylic Paint Dauber, or any black acrylic paint and sponge dab the paint around your figures and over part of the page. You can then take a paper towel or baby wipe to soften the edge of the paint where it meets your doodling. I used a matte black Patio Paint by DecoArt, and it made the dark background look like a chalkboard. Using black makes the colors of your designs more dramatic. 

When the acrylic paint is dry, outline your shapes with your black marker, and then outline the design with your White Gel Pen.  I then took my white Posca bullet tip paint marker and did a little journaling around the edge of the page. For details in the middle of the page, I used the white gel pen to journal about the other artists and their Blog Sites.

I had so much fun with this Blog Hop I wanted to remember the details by journaling about it in my Art Journal. So there is another use for the Doll Stamps, as stencils in an art project.  I hope you have enjoyed today's post as much as I enjoyed doing it.  Have a great weekend, and I will share with you again soon.

Mindy

Where there is Love. . . . . .

Today's post is another page from my art journal. This page started out as a color book page I printed from my computer to practice coloring with my Copic Markers. I have saved all my "colorings" that I may use for card fronts or journal pages, or in mixed-media collages.

I started by covering the page in my journal with black gesso, so that the color book page background would match the background of my journal page. Using Gel Medium as an adhesive, I adhered the color book page to the center of the journal page.  Then using my Posca paint markers by Uni, I continued drawing freehand in the border around the color book page, trying to match up the colors and designs from the scrap book page. I continued to doodle around the page adding images from the coloring page until I had completely filled the margins.  To complete the page, I added some sparkle from a clear sparkle gel writer pen, and some dots from both my white Posca marker and white Signo Gel writer pen.

This is a very easy way to do a memorable page with a saying or quote that you love or want to keep. When printing from your computer, you can keep the art around it, or remove it and use your own art.
I hope you all have a wonderful and exciting  weekend. Be sure and visit again soon.