MIXED MEDIA CANVAS - GRAD GIFT

The daughter of a friend graduated from college last week.  After much deliberation (with myself) regarding gift ideas, I decided today that I would create a piece of art for the daughter's new apartment.  She is a go-getter . . . a high achiever . . . a hard worker . . . and her sights are set on beginning a career in the big city . . . the really big city . . . New York.  Her major was journalism so, for the mixed media canvas, I knew that I wanted to incorporate patterned papers with text that resembled newsprint.  My favorite inclusion of this is the skyline, which I created by cutting strips of paper and

 coloring them with a black Faber-Castell Gelato.  A black Pitt marker was used to outline the strips, and depth was achieved by slightly smudging the inked outline.  I might should have layered the "buildings" for my skyline so they wouldn't end up resembling a row of books, but a row of books isn't such a bad thing.  ;-)  The "she was" image is from a Christy Tomlinson stamp, and I love that the image has "she was a daughter of God" printed on the skirt.  While coloring the image with a few layers of paint and ink, the word "daughter" kind of disappeared, so I created a replacement for that.  The figure was given two rows of jewels (adhesive trim that I found in my stash), and I used the Pitt marker once again to outline and smudge the image to not only give it depth, but to give it prominence.  Because every mixed media canvas needs texture, I used Texture Paste and the Tim Holtz Flourish stencil on the left edge.  Portions of the texture were colored with ink, paint, and Inka Gold, and I left some of the areas uncolored to add a little brightness to the piece.  I don't know about everyone else but, when I work with a canvas, I hardly ever end up with what I thought I was making.  ;-)  That's always okay with me because the process is an evolution . . . starting in a direction and ending up with something even better than what I had envisioned.  As long as I can incorporate the elements that I want to be present, it's all good.  I just hope the graduate will love it.

 

WEDDING TABLE DECOR & CARD

Butterflies, roses, diamonds, and gold glitz make this table decoration and card extra special for a summer wedding.  The Something Borrowed suite from the Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog makes this project a snap to pull together.  Change the sentiment on the card, and the ensemble is perfect for a bridal shower, tea party, or wedding anniversary.  It’s also a fun Stamp Camp project!

You can tell from the sneak peek photo that this ensemble, which was designed by Buffy Cooper, is simply stunning!  The tutorial, complete with step-by-step photos, can be found at Craft Project Central.  Have you subscribed yet? 

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY" . . . AND FREE CRAFT PROJECT CENTRAL SUBSCRIPTION

One of my favorite things about paper crafts is boxes.  I ♥ learning new ways to make them, and this self-closing box is quite a gem--literally with its faceted design.  I'm cheating a little by presenting it for my Make-It-Snappy-Monday project, but it's not too much of a stretch because it is quite easy to make.  I scored the 6" x 8-1/2" card stock at 4" and 8", rotated the card stock, and scored again at 1" and 5".  The diagram below shows the 1" scored lines that were made at the 2" and 6" measures, as well as the diagonal scoring (dashed) and cut lines (solid).  I love that this box can be fully decorated and set aside until ready to fill since the washi tape and twine do not interfere with opening the box! 



Winner, Winner, Winner!

In my May 7th blog post, I promised to give a FREE one-month Craft Project Central subscription and would draw the winning name from those who left a comment HERE.  The winner is Kimberley Morris, who wrote, "What a fun class! I also love the detail on the envelopes, I think I’m gonna have to CASE."  Kimberley, if you'll email me at randari at Hotmail dot com, we'll get your subscription started.

ADVENTURE BOUND SQUARE CARD PACK

This pack of eight 4-1/4” x 4-1/4” square cards features the gorgeous photo-realistic paper from the Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper Stack. The cards cover a wide variety of occasions and sentiments. Each card has a custom made envelope, and they all fit neatly into the card holder with a tag just ready for gift giving. This pack would make a fabulous gift for Father’s Day, as well as a great class or club project.

The tutorial for this awesome set of cards, which was designed by Yapha Mason, can be found at Craft Project Central. 

"SWEET LAUGHTER" FOR SKETCH CHALLENGE #47

Each month, there's a new Creating Pretty Cards - Sketch Challenge at Craft Project Central, and I always look forward to participating.  It's always good to try a new layout for a card and, if you're like me, you are always glad that you tried something new and different.  As I was working on this month's Sketch Challenge #47, I don't know how many double-takes I did . . . surprised at how many layers there were and making sure I got the "overs and unders" placed correctly.  ;-)  I didn't realize how many layers were on the sketch just by looking at it, but Julie Beltramo did a great job of designing this month's challenge.  She even has a tutorial that you can follow HERE.  Following is the sketch:

And this is the card that I designed:

The colors that I used are Wisteria Wonder, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake.  Yes, that really is Crumb Cake, even though it looks darker in the photo.  The stamped image was colored with an Aqua Painter.  I apologize for the poor photo quality but, after taking too many photos, I just chose a non-blurry one that made the Wisteria Wonder look somewhat close to its actual color.  I hope you'll follow Julie's tutorial and create a card for this month's Creating Pretty Cards - Sketch Challenge #47.  Did you know that for every ten cards submitted, a winner will be selected (at random) and given a FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central?

REMINDER!!!!!

On Monday, May 11th, I will be giving a FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central.  To be entered in the drawing, all you need to do is leave a comment on the project that I designed this month ("Just Kidding" Greeting Card Set) HERE.

 

 



"JUST KIDDING" GREETING CARD SET

Today I'm excited to share the greeting card set that I designed for this month's edition of awesome Craft Project Central tutorials.  Following is the introduction that I wrote for my project:

Create a fun set of greeting cards and coordinating envelopes with a pleasing color palette, and package them neatly in a Takeout Box with a decorative slip-off band.  This project features the fun Just Kidding Stamp Set, which has images and sentiments that are sure to put a smile on someone’s face.  Each of the cards in this ensemble have a colorful, trendy design—the envelopes even have a little decorative flair!

 

On Monday, May 11th, I will give to a lucky winner a FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central.  To be entered into the drawing for the subscription, all you need to do is go HERE and leave a comment on the post where my project is featured.  Be sure to visit my blog on the 11th to see if yours was the winning name.  It's that simple! 

BIRTHDAY BASH ENSEMBLE

This cute birthday ensemble includes a birthday party invitation, a special pop-up box card for the birthday girl or boy, and a party favor box that will hold little goodies and treats for each guest. All three projects are made with the Celebrate Today Stamp Set, Balloon Framelits Dies, and Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper. The party favor box is made with the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies, and has a little balloon-shaped window that gives a sneak peek of the items inside. 

Did you look closely at the sneak peek photo?  This ensemble, which was designed by the talented Christy Fulk, is amazing!  The tutorial, complete with step-by-step photos, can be found at Craft Project Central.  

 

ALTERED ASSEMBLAGE CLOCK & MOON LIGHTS

Moon Lights, wonderful Moon Lights . . . another product being offered until May 6th from Seaside Crafts.  I chose to place them inside a Tim Holtz Assemblage clock for a night light or anywhere that a soft light presence can be enjoyed.  This clock looks very pretty on my mantle with the lights on at night.  The pictures don't do the lights justice, but they shine (and stay cool) perfectly behind the layer of embossed vellum card stock that I used for the front of my clock-less clock.  Across the front, I "ribboned" one of my favorite quotes, which seemed appropriate for the clock project.

The treble clef was die-cut from grunge board and then colored with Hematite and Green Yellow Inka Gold.  You might never know that the underlying color of what began as a very, very smooth silver clock is dark brown.  After brushing Gesso all over the clock, I used the palette knife to apply Texture Paste (quite lumpy in places), and then it survived coats of acrylic paint, more Gesso, ink sprays, more Gesso and acrylic paint, and--finally--covered with Green Yellow Inka Gold with accents of Hematite Inka Gold.  

Even though my clock wasn't to be used as a clock, I decided to give it hour and minute hands.  A Spellbinders die was used to cut the two clock hands, which I placed in a vial and hung with twine from one of the bells.  In the photo below, you can see that the Texture Paste really added a lot of texture to this clock, which was originally very smooth.  The paste dries exactly as you leave it, and all of my working and re-working (and believe me, it was a lot) didn't compromise the texture at all.  You can see traces of my dark brown acrylic paint, but notice how the Hematite Inka Gold gives the appearance that the Green Yellow Inka Gold has worn off in spots over time.  I love that!

And in the photo below, the Moon Lights are on.  It's not easy to tell, though.  :-(  They really do produce a bright, soft light to any corner or space that needs it.  The lights are powered by battery, and the compartment for the battery is quite slim and easy to hide.

MIXED MEDIA ROCK

Last October, we purchased some property in the NC foothills and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time there.  It is so quiet and peaceful with a view of Table Rock Mountain.  There are a lot of rocks on the property, and I've been bringing a few of them home, thinking that they would make an interesting mixed media canvas.  This particular rock will be in our home there, a reminder that it is, indeed, our escape . . . get-away . . . happy place.  Printed tissue paper was (carefully) colored with acrylic paint and then applied to the rock with Gel Medium.  I used Texture Paste and a Tim Holtz stencil (Rays) to create the dimensional sun rays.  A Pitt marker was used to add accent lines around the rays as well as to define the "mountains" in the center of the rock and highlight the pitches of the torn green paper along the bottom.  Turquoise Inka Gold was applied to the edges of the rock to mimic clouds at the top and a waterfall along the edge.  Inka Gold (Turquoise and Old Gold) were used to color the gumdrops in the center of the flowers, and I used Old Gold and acrylic paint to color the Texture Paste "rays" when dry.  An electronic cutter was used to cut the text from vinyl, and rhinestone jewels were used to dot the i's because . . . well . . . my teensy weensy vinyl dots flew into oblivion.  Some of the products used to create this project are from Seaside Crafts, which is a Bulk Buy group.  Let me know if you'd like more information about the group or how to get the products.  The current Bulk Buy offer will end on May 6th and includes Gel Medium, Texture Paste, Inka Gold, a selection of Tim Holtz stencils, and a few other items.

FLOWER FRENZY GIFT ENSEMBLE

Spring into Summer with this beautiful gift ensemble.  You will be ready to celebrate any occasion with this bouquet of floral projects.  They will bloom forever, no watering or weeding needed!  This project is perfect for Mother’s Day, teacher appreciation, graduation or just because!

As you can see from the sneak peek photo, this ensemble has a striking color palette, and those flowers look amazing.  The tutorial for this project, which was designed by Carol, can be found at Craft Project Central.