Thursday, January 29, 2015

Sea!

Here we are with the fast approaching weekend and I am ready for it! How about you? We will be going out for Super Bowl and that should be fun! Now I am doing a little DT duty using one of the New Release single stamps from Artistic Outpost, "Sound of the Sea." I just think this is adorable and dreamy and this is what I did. Being this is new and freshly inked :-), I am linking this over at Inspiration Journal's "Fresh Start."

I stamped the image in Black Archival, and wiped away the black in the netting and sea shell area and patted on some Sepia. When that was good and dry, using a water brush and Stampin Up markers of Bashful Blue for the "SEA," and her dress, Creamy Caramel her hair and the seashell she is holding, Blush Blossom for her skin. The ocean behind her and the land were colored using chalks. Shaded the edges with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain. Once I was happy with the colors, I gave a it a spray of matte sealer to set. Matted on black and distressed the edges.

I stamped and cut a second set of Seashells to add a little dimension using Sepia Archival, watercolored and shaded in Walnut Stain and Black Soot as was the image and sentiment from "Boardwalk."  For the background, I stained a piece of cheesecloth using Antique Linen stain and Vintage Photo, tore off a little extra to wrap partially around the focal image. This was adhere using gel medium as were the little tiny seashells in the corner.


This is also being shared at Artistic Outpost, so if you would like to stop by for a visit, that would be lovely. There is also just a wee bit of time left to join in the January "Show Us Your AO Art." Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Transportation Destination at Artistic Outpost!

It is a "Transportation" blog hop at Artistic Outpost and all of the DT has some amazing art to share and here they are! Tracy, Terry (Me), Lisa, Shari, Gerrie, Kate. If you missed the AO new release, you have to check it out right HERE and I will be sharing more of that during the next few weeks.
I do not journal, so this is a first and I decided to go with "Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Bicycles" for my journal cover and just maybe I will do something inside! Now I am open to any suggestions as this is new territory for me. Inspiration Journal's challenge is "Fresh Start" with no restrictions, so we go there.
To start, I cut a piece of Bristol to fit my cover, applied white gesso, white paint and then added Distress inks to get an idea what colors I might want to use before painting with Acrylic Paints, very light tans, browns, burnt umber and black to finish. I applied paint using a brush started with the lightest color in the center and working my way to the edges in the darkest, never cleaning my brush and working quickly. I did use a baby wipe to lift off color where I did not want it and finished by blending with a large stencil brush. Stenciled in the TCW Clock and later decided I needed a little more texture so added more stenciling. As you can see I was playing with my layout, before painting. Highlighted the raised stenciled areas using Treasure Gold, White Fire and Indigo and to finish I flicked on some of the paint.
Going in line with the movie, but with a bicycle twist, the plane from Industrial Backgrounds was stamped in Black Archival, inked over in Antique Linen, shaded with Vintage Photo and of course fussy cut.
The SteamPunk Train and ticket stamped on a die cut ticket was also inked as above. The green and blue on the arrow is not quite that bright. For some reason the camera just decided to be generous with color. Oh I did get a new camera, so having a little fun there!

I added bits of Route 66 map, which was stamped on tissue paper and decided I would go with the Automobile from Gatsby. The Bicyclists from Hat's Off were stamped directly on the painted background using Black Archival and heat set.
All the metal bits were gessoed, and then painted with the mix on my craft sheet and the I gave them a spray with Dylusions Cut Grass and London Bus, dabbed off a little and then highlighted with Treasure Gold and now I have a journal to keep my journey in check.

Thank you for visiting me today and have a wonderful day!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Love Is In The Air

"Love Is In The Air" at A Vintage Journey and the theme has been chosen by that artfully talented, Astrid! Oh but the talent and great art does not stop there, so please stop by and see what the rest of the team has for you. Don't forget to join in the challenge with your Tim inspired projects for a change to win a store voucher from our sponsors at Country View Crafts.
This tags background was a labor of love and took a lot of patience waiting for gesso, paints and crackle to dry! First I cut my corrugated cardboard tag and torn away some of the areas. This is such fun, but a little hard on the hands! Next I applied white gesso and let dry.
Paints were applied as follows, first I brushed on DecoArt Desert Turquoise and then with a dirty brush (lightly wiped off), applied some Peeled Paint, Fresco Finish Haystack and around the edged Vintage Photo. Again we wait for the drying.
I applied two varieties of DecoArt crackle, One Step and Weathered Wood in the center. This took a good two hours to dry and cure, before I applied thinned stains of Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo using a paint brush. Once I liked this, I gave a little splatter of Fired Red paint and also applied this on the edges. After this again dried, I have it a spray with matte sealer.
The hearts and cupid were die cut, covered in gesso and then white paint. Inked over in Brushed Corduroy, shaded with Walnut Stain and a little Black Soot here and there. The "Love" sentiment is an older text stamp of Tim's and this was inked up with Coffee Archival. Had to give cupid a little stenciled heart!
Well there you have it and I hope you have enjoyed your visit which I am very thankful for!  

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Artistic Outpost New Release!

Talk about a great way to start of 2015 with a New Release from Artistic Outpost, which will knock your Hat's Off and a Blog Hop with prizes!! Prize details and blog links to follow, but first let me share a couple of the projects I completed with more to follow! I have to say I loved the entire New Release and had a blast creating and ideas are still flowing! Nothing like the smell and touch of new rubber and then add the incredible design elements!
It was hard to decide what to share today, so I went with the two projects I completed and number #1 uses Hat's Off and Hats Background. The background panel was cut to 5x5 and then inked with Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Pumice Stone and Brushed Corduroy. Peeled Paint was used to shade the brown areas and Walnut Stain on the green areas. Edged lightly with Black Soot and flicked on some good old water and then stamped the Hats Background in Black Archival and then distress the edges. Added a couple more layers of paper for the final card base of 5 1/2 x 5 1/2.
After I stamped and colored this gentleman with Brushed Corduroy, Shabby Shutters and Tattered Rose, I lightly inked over the entire image with Antique Linen. I did cut two hats as I was going to prop him up a little and I wanted more stability on the hat edges.
Next I stamped, inked and cut apart a sentiment from Hat's Off and placed on the film strip, added washi tape, glued down some ball chain and added a few more bits. Love all the stamps in this set!
Pretty cool aren't they??
My second feature today is a single, Winter Walk with the sentiment from Skating Emporium. Right about now I am pretty sentimental where dogs are concerned and this reminds me so much of the bond between humans and their dogs.
The image was stamped in Black Archival and water colored using Tumbled Glass, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Fired Brick, Tattered Rose and Peeled Paint. I added a little snow texture to the snow covered ground and roof top by thinning some white acrylic paint and added Rock Candy glitter and painted it on with a liner brush and finished with photo corners. For the background I applied paint to the snowflake stamp from Skating Emporium and stamped this on white paper. Once dried I inked over with Tumbled Glass and shaded with Vintage Photo. The sentiment also from Skating Emporium was stamped inked and cut apart and placed along the snowflakes.
Here is a little looky at the rest I will be sharing over the next few weeks and hope you have enjoyed my part of the New Release Blog Hop and thank you for stopping by. Now be sure to visit all of the DT during this blog hop for three random winners will be chosen and awarded a $15 gift certificate to the AO store of rubber goodness. The winner will be announced on the AO Blog January 24, 2015 and you have until January 23, 2015 10:00 PM EST to leave comments on participating designer blogs, so get hopping! Here they are!

Tracy - Shari - Terry - Kate - Gerrie - Lisa

Thank you for visiting today and have a lovely week!


Sunday, January 18, 2015

Tag Monday or Sunday for AVJ!

We are having a little TAG fun at A Vintage Journey, so stop on over and have a look at all the talent up on display! There is still time to join in the current challenge, "Use A Portrait" as well.
The background first started with a tag being covered via my fingers with white gesso and when dried I randomly applied Distress Paints Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo. Gave this a mist of water and let the colors run together. Next I used a gorgeous Bird and Bird Cage die that Chris had sent me over Christmas, embossed and highlighted with Pigment Brown Ink.
Next I used Tim's Lattice stencil and applied crackle through it and leaving the Bird Cage untouched. After the crackle dried, I inked over with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain. The bird was covered in Alcohol Inks and the flowers from my stash were distress with Vintage Photo and highlighted with Treasure Gold as well as touched some of the raised areas of the stencil. Added a crackled branch from Tim's movers and shapers.
Thank you for visiting me today and I have a new camera, so bear with me while I learn all the tricks! I was in a hurry to take this and the outside light was a little bright! Enjoy the week!


Monday, January 12, 2015

Steampunk!

Today was a day I needed to go hide out in my craft room and so Artistic Outpost came to the rescue! I have been looking around at different blogs and challenges stressing "New" or "Fresh Start" as with Inspiration Journal's new challenge. I realized that I had never used the Train from the "Steampunk" collection and thought it was about time to apply some fresh ink to that Train. Will also link this to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, "Backgrounds." For those of you who have Artistic Outpost stamps, January's "Show Us Your AO Art" is waiting for you to join the challenge for a chance to have your AO Art showcased and to win a store gift certificate.

The background behind the Conductor and the Train was inked over using Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap and then shaded along with touches of Black Soot. The Train Station was stamped using Stazon Dove Grey. I wanted a very subtle background. The Conductor was stamped in Black Stazon, inked with Vintage Photo and Tattered Rose, then a little water coloring using Fired Brick and a paint liner. The moving Train scene was stamped in Black Archival all areas were watered colored using paint brushes and Distress inks Faded Jeans (Sky), Crushed Olive, Shabby Shutters (Trees), Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap (Ground), Black Soot and Weathered Wood (Train) and then shaded. I always give a spray of matte sealer when I am finished. Added a few sentiments and that was that.

Oh a very sad note, our Molly has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. She will be deeply missed and we so wish things could have been different. We tried as best we could and my hubby took extra time off from work to spend with her and in hopes her condition would improve, but it did not. She did have a lovely day and we fit in another trip to the park and she has lots of her favorite foods and treats. As I know many of you have gone through and are still, the pain we feel when we lose a beloved pet family member is overwhelming, but the love and care we give them stays with them. Thank you for all of you who have asked and sent me messages about my old girl. One day I will tell you all about Molly.

Have a wonderful day!


Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Crazy Enough

Thank you for taking the time to visit today and I hope you are doing well. Did you make New Year Resolutions for 2015? I am always curious about that as I will make a few and then somehow I put them on the back burner! Inspiration Emporium's January's challenge is "Fresh Start" with the sky is the limit and no restrictions and so we are taking are first AO inking of 2015 over there!


I wanted this to be all vintage and masculine, so went with all neutral colors and of course mostly brown. The images I used are from Generation Redux, Secretary Pool, and Chalkboard Wisdom and were all collaged together.


Making backgrounds for focal images is always something I enjoy doing. Using the background (dots) image, I stamped this on ivory colored paper using Black Archival and then inked over with Vintage Photo and shaded with Black Soot and then I distressed the edges and torn in a few places. The Alpha Block background was first stamped using more of the dots and clear embossed and then the Alpha was stamped using Coffee Archival on to a lighter colored kraft card stock, then a few more dots and numbers using Black Archival.


The gentlemen were stamped in Black Archival and then inked over with Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, shaded in Black Soot. Added the photo corners and cut apart the Chalkboard sentiment and there you have it. The January "Show Us Your AO Art" challenge is up and running and waiting to see your AO creations, so come on and play along!


Have a most wonderful weekend!

Monday, January 5, 2015

Tim's January Tag of 2015!

Hello to all of you and I hope you are enjoying the New Year! Tim's first tag of 2015 worked out so well for me as I have a grandson with a birthday, so pretty much following the instructions given by Tim, here is my take on January's Tag. I will also be going the current challenge at Frilly and Funkie with their "Anything Goes."
The paints I used on the tissue wrap were Fried Brick, Chipped Sapphire and Peeled Paint as directed. Now I did not use the Alpha chips, but used some Chipboard pieces of Tim's that I have had for ages and they contained the elements I wanted. I did flick on my gold and white flecks using a paint brush. When all was finished, I sealed the entire tag.
Hopefully the birthday boy will enjoy his tag! Thank you for stopping by today and have a wonderful week.
For those of you who have asked and thank you for your thoughts, there has been no improvement with our Molly. We just keep her as happy as we can with the fact she has no use of her back legs. It is not easy, but we have lifted her into the car and still take her to lunch and let her have a little time at the park. We will keep doing as much as we can in hopes, but we are happy we have had so many years with her and that she did have another Christmas with us and celebrated the New Year!


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