at a recent event, i conducted a demo to show a group of scrapbookers a fun technique for combining heavy body acrylic paint and spray mists to create a lovely textural background on the cover of a small 3"x5" blank board book. on my sample above, i added a few strips of painted papers and a key-shaped brad.
so tonight i took it a step further and painted the cover of a 12"x12" blank board book. i went a little crazy with it, combining paints, inks, spray mists, and metallic embossing powders into an abstract design. i embellished it with little metal washers, and 3 plastic rings that i painted with alcohol inks and then melted a little with a heat gun to warp them.
the heavy body acrylic paint that i started with was iridescent white, which gives the mists sprayed on top a nice shine. i also discovered that the paint bubbled when i held the heat gun close, creating even more cool texture. fun stuff!
last week i played more with altering dominoes, trying to get just the right look with the alcohol inks. i'm also trying different kinds of glazes and sealers, and so far haven't found one that goes on smooth and also prevents the ink from being scratched off when i wrap beads and wire around it. probably going to have to go with the epoxy that cures in sunlight. it's a lot more expensive than the other glazes i've been trying though.the technique i used for the batch on top is just patting and blending colors with the cotton pad, the more you pat while it's still wet, the more splotchy and marbly it gets. for the batch on the bottom, i start with rubbing on a pale color all over, then squirt drops of ink and let the drops do whatever they do. sometimes i allow colors to bleed together and push each other's borders around while wet, other times i let a drop dry before dropping another color on top of it.soon these will make lovely pendants!!
i submitted this mixed media piece to cloth, paper, scissors magazine for their sailors' valentine challenge. it's supposed to be a round or octagonal format, incorporating shells and a sentiment.
i sliced a page out of a circle blank board book to use as a canvas, it has such a great smooth surface. i painted the scene with color wash, distress inks, and acrylic paints. the clouds and sand are accented with embossing powder and i embellished the pier with flower soft petals. i added a cluster of sea glass and agate beside the pier.
i won't know until mid-september if my piece will be considered for publication in the january issue....exciting though!
i'm teaching a new class this fall called scrapbooking with an edge. we start with a 6x6 blank board book and then we go to town!acrylic painting, chalk inking, punchinella, grungeboard, spin art, lutradur, heat stamping, spray misting, gold leafing, carving, gluing pages together....scrumptious!
these pics of me are from just some of the many days in my life that i cherish...being a bride, living in san francisco, sailing on the bay, hairstyles of the 80's, beachcombing, and disneyland.
this class costs $30 for two sessions of two hours each, including some supplies. it will be at joann fabric & crafts in concord, california:• saturdays, september 12th and 19th - 11am to 1pm or• wednesdays, october 14th and 21st - 5:30pm to 7:30pmcall or visit the store to sign up, or email me for details!
this is a scrapbook i started for my young friend ryan, to commemorate her birthday. it's a blank canvas book, painted and stamped with irridescent gold, purple and dark green liquitex soft-body acrylic paints.
i doodled on the cover with paint markers around her face, which is an inkjet photo transfer using liquitex matte gel medium, then i illustrated her hair with a black paint marker and a gold leafing pen. across the bottom is an older pattern of 7 gypsies' gaffer tape.
on the left side of this inside spread, i did just the first half of the photo transfer process, which is applying the gel medium and pressing the photos (which are printed on inkjet transparencies) down on top. i did not peel away the transparency to actually transfer the photo on to the canvas...instead i just allowed the medium to act as an adhesive. i really like the contrast of the glossy photo against the texture of the canvas. i painted, stamped, and embellished all around the pictures.
on the right side, i put in a no-sew 4" zipper with fusing tape, and sealed the bottom with little metal pinch clips, creating a cute little pocket to put birthday cards or extra pictures from the party.
there are still a couple more blank pages, but i am waiting to scrap those with ryan, the next time she comes to my house for a crafting day.
this is little chubby dubby.first i drew her (or his) outline on paper, then scanned it in to my computer and "handpainted" him (or her) using artrage, then printed her (or him) out on to sticky-back canvas. i adhered the canvas to the circle board book and edged it with chalk ink and inktense pencils, then dabbed peaks of white acrylic paint around him (or her).now to continue the story...once i decide if chubby dubby is a boy or a girl...
our first atc club is this saturday. we'll be working with lutradur, inks and paints. the challenge will be to make cards using only solid color papers...allowing the lutradur, ink or paint to add the texture.
at each club meeting, we'll try new techniques, work with new materials, and incorporate one challenge into our cards.
we'll each make two cards, one to keep and one to swap. i'm so excited, we're going to have so much fun!!
this was a little 5" square experiment with combining markers and watercolor. i used copic and aquapro markers for the flower and border lines, with lefranc & bourgeois watercolor for the bright yellow background.
i really love the batik effect you get with the copic blender pen (seen in the brown stem and blue center). i also like how you can use a wet brush to pull color out of what you draw with the aquapro pens. and the vivid color of the l&b makes me want to play more with watercolor!
my poor blog was sadly ignored the whole time i was at cha...i was posting more to my facebook page and my work blog. but now i'm back, invigorated and inspired after seeing so many new products, techniques and projects.
thought i'd start by sharing two little things i made there. this first piece is a pendant i made in a class taught by judikins, using their new curing epoxy that sets up to a smooth glass finish in only 15 minutes with exposure to sun or a uv light source.
first i stamped a piece of paper that had been painted with mica-infused inks. i cropped and clipped the image to size and taped it inside the pendant. then i added texture by pressing into the paper with the tip of a pen. then i poured in a thin layer of the epoxy, put it under the light and done! i added a little gem on top.
the tag was a make-n-take project at the clearsnap booth. they were showing off their new colors of smooch paints and a new smooch mist coming out in another couple months. i painted and misted the black tag and white flower, then added the dahlia stamp and embossed it white. I added the ribbon, crackle medium and flowersoft sprinkles at home.
got lots more ideas wantin' to bust loose now!!
at a recent event, i conducted a demo to show a group of scrapbookers a fun technique for combining heavy body acrylic paint and spray mists to create a lovely textural background on the cover of a small 3"x5" blank board book. on my sample above, i added a few strips of painted papers and a key-shaped brad.
so tonight i took it a step further and painted the cover of a 12"x12" blank board book. i went a little crazy with it, combining paints, inks, spray mists, and metallic embossing powders into an abstract design. i embellished it with little metal washers, and 3 plastic rings that i painted with alcohol inks and then melted a little with a heat gun to warp them.
