Creative Medium Butterflies

I have a thing for butterflies. I have complete admiration for a creature that goes through an extreme metamorphosis to become something delicate and beautiful. For me, butterflies are the epitome of Mother Nature's magic. My inspiration for this card came from an afternoon spent at the butterfly exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. I no sooner walked into the exhibit when a butterfly fluttered near only to land on my hand. It stayed there for the next 45 minutes while I walked around admiring the foliage and the various species of butterflies flitting around. Definitely magical.

I began this project with a 4 x 5.25 piece of purple cardstock. Using a stencil and a sponge dipped in silver Delicata ink, I created the square maze for the background.

Stencils are so easy to use and offer up so many possibilities in the crafting world.

I love the shimmer that the silver Delicata ink lends to the background. It's a rich, thick ink that really stands out.

Next, I used a different stencil and Imagine Crafts Creative Medium in iridescent purple. I used painters tape to mask off parts of the stencil to avoid accidentally stenciling where I didn't want to.

Creative Medium is wonderful stuff! It's and acrylic medium, about the consistency of peanut butter, that spreads on easily with a palette knife.

Once done, I carefully lifted off the stencil and there were three iridescent butterflies!

I let the butterflies dry and then repeated the stenciling process using the stencil, my palette knife, and the Creative Medium. You can see how the butterflies have begun to dry and really show that iridescent sheen, while some of the wet circles still look a little more like paste.

I wanted to give the piece movement, so I made another butterfly to give the piece some air. I began with an old scrap of sheet music which I spread very lightly with the Creative Medium to carry that same iridescent shimmer.

When it was dry, I stamped it with a butterfly using StazOn Gothic Purple ink. 

Then I cut out the butterfly and attached it to my background piece.

All that was left to do was to mount the piece on a card backing and send it flitting on its way to brighten someone's day.

This card took a couple of hours to complete, but only because of the drying time needed. Actual time spent making it was about 20 minutes. This is something that a beginner could easily do!

Imagine Crafts / Tsukineko Products Used

• Creative Medium - Iridescent Purple
• Delicata Ink Pad - Silver
• StazOn Ink Pad - Gothic Purple
• Palette Knife

Other Products Used

• Stencils by The Crafter's Workshop
• Sponge
• Purple cardstock
• Sheet music scrap
• Beacon 3-in-1 Glue
• Butterfly rubber stamp by Finnabair

In Vino Veritas

I was so thrilled when Gina's Designs came out with the Wine Shape Set! I was waiting for a visit from my family and knew that we'd be going to a couple of wineries while they were here. And we did! So, I didn't have to dig deep at all for inspiration for this piece.

I had also recently received some of ColourArte's Silk Acrylics and Twinkling H2Os, and they paired with Gina's Designs; like... wine and cheese.

For the background of this piece I began with a 9 x 12" canvas on which I slathered blue, green and purple acrylic paints and some of the Silk Acrylics. I got one of my Twinkling H2Os good and soppy, dipped a wet brush in it, and then flung the color onto the canvas. I followed up with a french script stamp using StazOn Claret.

For the bottles, I painted them (and all the other pieces) first with gesso. Once the gesso was dry I painted on Silk Acrylics Olive Vine. I love the way they shimmer when the light hits them!

For the glasses, I used Silk Acrylics Iridescent Blue. I free-handed some wine in the glasses using Sharpie Markers. Then I gave both glasses a coat of Judkins Diamond Glaze to make them look like glass.

For the grape vines, I colored in the vines with a brown Sharpie, the leaves with a Distress marker, and the grapes with a combination of StazOn colors. Then I smooshed Distress Stickles around on the leaves. To give the grapes a little more depth, I dotted on StazOn Studio Glaze and Stickles.

I glued everything where I wanted it and have a piece that will find a happy home hanging over someone's wine bar. Plus, I got to revisit a couple of wonderful days wandering the countryside and trying some delicious wines.

Gina's Designs Products Used

Wine Shape Set

ColourArte Products Used

Silk Acrylics

Twinkling H2Os

Other Products Used

StazOn Inks

Acrylic Paints

Distress Ink

Sharpies

Stickles Gesso

French Script Stamp by Artistic Outpost

Winner Announced - Gina's Designs Birthday Blog Hop

Gina's Designs Mermaid Shape Set

Congratulations to the Winner of the Gina's Designs Birthday blog hop! My winner is Caroline Cain, who won the Mermaid Shape Set that I am giving away here on my blog. Congratulations, Caroline!!! Please follow the steps below to claim your prize!

The Grand Prize winner has been announced over on the Gina's Designs Blog which you can find here: ginasdesigns.blogspot.com

1) Please email Gina at Contest@ginasdesigns.net
2) Place "Birthday Blog Hop Winner" in your email Subject line
3) Please state what blog you won on and the shape set you won
4) Please provide your mailing address

*****If we don't receive your email by Friday June 5th at 5pm CST a new winner will be chosen****

Thanks to everyone who hopped along with us, and stay tuned for more from Gina's Designs Lasercuts!

Gina's Designs Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to Gina’s Designs 3^rd Birthday Blog Hop!

The Birthday Blog Hop will run from today, May 22, until May 29 at 8pm CST.  You should have just come from Angela - A Crafty Blether. If you didn't, don't worry! Just pop over to Gina's Designs Birthday Blog Hop post and follow all the blogs in order.

We are having two great giveaways associated with this blog hop.

The first one is the Birthday Prize Giveaway!

The Birthday Prize package includes:

Filigree Frames Shape Set , Dressforms 1 Shape Set, Butterflies & Dragonflies, Grape Vines, Feathers Shape Set, Dressforms & Wings Shape Set, Steampunk 2 Shape Set, Clockwork Penny Farthing, Garden Fairies Medium, Garden Fairies Large, Damask Singles, Button Shape Set, Skylines, Landmarks, Collage Border Splash, Mermaids Shape Set, Stackable Labels Shape Set, Steampunk Shape Set, Vintage Ladies Silhouette, Dressforms 2 Miniature Shape Set, Candelabra Set, Dressforms 1 Miniature Shape Set, Barbed Wire Deco Frame Square, Barbed Wire Deco Frame Rectangle, Alarm Clock, Layered Border Victoria Small, Flourish Frame Sienna, Flourish Set Amanda, Wishing Well, Butterfly of Gears, Longstem Rose, Grape Vine Frame, Barbed Wire Frame Circle, and a Brush Caddy 

To be entered into the Birthday Prize giveaway, you need to:

1. Stop at all 15 designers’ blogs for a secret word.

2. After you collect all of the 15 words, create a sentence.   

3. Email your answer Contest@ginasdesigns.net for a chance to win the Birthday Prize! 

This is why you will want to make sure you stop at each blog. That prize package is fantastic!

The second giveaway will be done on each of the designers' blogs. 

The shape set I am giving away is the Mermaids Shape Set.

This is a fun set with so much potential! You'll see what I did with it when you reach the end of this post.

To be entered into my blog's giveaway:

1.  Subscribe to my blog. 

2.  Leave a comment on this blog post.

That's it! So easy!

So many great ways to win some fabulous chipboard pieces!
My word for the Birthday Prize giveaway is MY.

The next blog you will want to visit is Melissa - Ribbons, Lace, and Good Intentions.

If you get lost along the way, here is a list of all the blogs you need to visit to collect your words.

Kim - AngelDream Crafts

Angela - A Crafty Blether

Barb - In the Studio With Barb

Melissa - Ribbons, Lace, and Good Intentions

Mary B - The Damsel of Distress

Shanna - Shanna's Designs

Kathi - Kathi's Creations

Amy - Amylove Crafty Kingdom

Kim C - Kreations by Kimber

Lynne - Scrappy Squirrel's Nest

Dianna - Diana's Crafts Blog

Nichola - Pixie Hill

Carla - Carla's Creations

Deann - CraftDee1

Mary - The Craft Hoarder

 

Here is what I did with the mermaid set using and 8 x 16" canvas panel, acrylic paint, Imagine Crafts Iridescent Purple Craft Medium and Alcohol Inks.

Experimenting with Creative Medium

I have to tell you about the fun I've been having! A week or so ago, I got a big box of happy from the fine folks at IMAGINE Crafts. They carry all manner of Tsukineko products as well as their own relatively new line of acrylic mediums, inks, and sprays, etc.

One of the things I've had fun playing with is their line of Creative Medium. Creative Medium comes in a variety of metallics and iridescent colors. It's a somewhat thick consistency that works well for adhering paper bits when making collages, or it can be slathered on with a palette knife like thick paint, with or without the use of a stencil.

For this piece, I used Creative Medium in gold and a stencil by Tim Holtz. I simply placed the stencil on my canvas (in this case, a 5 x 7" panel) and spread the Creative Medium over the top just like soft, creamy butter! I carefully scraped the excess off of my stencil and then, just as carefully, pulled the stencil away from the canvas, resulting in the image you see below. The stencil cleaned up easily with soapy water and a rag.

Once the Creative Medium had dried, I went to work giving it all the abuse I could think of. I really wanted to test this stuff and see what it could do. Boy, am I ever impressed with how it holds up! I dripped ink (from re-inker bottles) on it and spritzed it with Ink Potion No. 9 to make it blend and drip and run. Once it dried I dribbled more ink on it and spritzed it with Windex (which gives it a more puddled, mottled look). I let everything dry well and smeared white acrylic paint down the "blank" side to mute the color a little, and then stamped* gear images and wording and butterflies on it.

For the butterfly, which comes from Gina's Designs: Butterfly of Gears, I used IMAGINE Crafts' line of irRESISTible Pico Embellishers. I colored the gear side with gold and the wing side with bronze and the butterfly body with Tuxedo Black. I traced the wing on clear acetate and used StazOn Studio Glaze in Gothic Purple to color it. While it was still sticky, I simply used the glaze that was already on it to adhere it to the wing. As you can see a little bit in the picture below, when the light hits it right, it has a stained glass effect. I did use a spacer to adhere the butterfly to my background just to give it more air and light that would highlight that stained glass effect.

As you can no doubt tell, I had all kinds of fun playing with my new goodies! Here is the background for another piece that I did. This will give you some idea of how absolutely striking the Creative Medium iridescents are against a dark background.

I began with a canvas (again a 5 x 7") to which I applied various colors of blue, green, and white acrylic paint. I let it dry and cure thoroughly over night. Then, same as before, I used a stencil (this time from Stencil Girl) and my palette knife to spread on the Green Iridescent Creative Medium.

I let it dry overnight and... Voilà! As you can see, the "white" paste magically dries to a beautiful, shimmery green against the dark background.

I wish I had a way to show you how much the iridescence makes the piece "move" depending on how and where the light hits it. You'll just have to take my word for it... it is gorgeous!

This is only the beginning of all the things I can imagine doing with my IMAGINE Crafts products. So, stay tuned, because I have all kinds of other things I want to show you.

Until next time... here's to wild imaginations and crafting!

*Stamped images are: Gears by Stampin Up! and Butterflies and Curiosity Definition by Tim Holtz

Gearing Up!

Howdy, howdy!

I know it's been a while, but I was dealing with some different stuff that needed my attention. I know, I know... what could need my attention more than this?! Truth be told, nearly two weeks of my absence was spent watching everything Netflix had to offer while I lay on the sofa, snuffling and wheezing away a cold. For some reason it's difficult to feel creative when breathing is an issue.

Anyway! I have been and am a Guest Designer this month for Gina's Designs. Gina's does all kinds of really cool laser cut things, such as the gears pictured above. If you haven't followed me around on various social media platforms, here are the links:

When Whippoorwills
and
We Danced

Less than a year ago I fell madly in love with Gina’s Designs laser cuts. I was introduced to them via Rubbermoon when I was on their Design Team. Ever since then I've been a little addicted to using them in my projects. I find that they fit perfectly with my collage style of art work. As with so much of my work, I love to give chipboard that aged, distressed, vintage feel. For me, that’s part of what makes it so much fun to work with - the fact that I can use layers of stuff and multiple techniques and the chipboard stands up to my “abuse”. So, when Gina asked me to be a Guest Designer, I was thrilled.

But not quite as thrilled as I am today, 'cause... guess what?!

I just found out that I'm going to be a more permanent member of the Design Team for Gina's Designs! I actually found out the other day, but I couldn't tell anyone until they'd announced it. So, I've been giddy with excitement and just about exploding from holding back the news. I'll be posting every Monday on Gina's Design's blog, so save the link and check back. In the meantime, check out what my fellow crafty Design Team friends are doing over there, because they are one freakishly talented bunch!

The quick tutorial for today is me telling you to play. Just play!

I started with the Gears Shape Set, which, like all the other laser cuts, comes in plain old kraft brown. See?

I wanted them to look like well used metallic bits, so I got out every metallic-y substance in my arsenal and started playing... sponging, spraying, slopping, glopping. I'm tellin' ya, that's where the fun is.

Just play. You'll be amazed where it takes you. And here's the other thing about that. I hear all the time from people who tell me they try doing something, get frustrated when it doesn't go where they want it to, and give up. Well, if you're just playing, none of that pressure is there. You're freed to just let it happen the way it wants to happen, which is where all the very best art of any kind comes from.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to play.

Triangle Treat Box

Triangle Treat Box

First of all, a little business. I'm sad to say that my stint as a Design Team member for RubberMoon has come to an end. It was a wonderful whirlwind of a few months and I still stand by their product as being something fun and different in terms of style, as well as excellent in terms of quality. I got to be good friends with the owner and my teammates. Kae Pea, said owner, is going to allow me to guest post on occasion. So, at least I won't be very far away.

One of the wonderful connections I made on that Design Team was with a woman who helps run Gina's Designs. Gina's Designs does all kinds of crazy good fun lasercuts. Until I was given some as a sample to play with, I kind of poo-pooed the idea of them. For a rather intelligent lass, I can be sort of ignorant sometimes. Because... SO much fun! Now I have a difficult time visualizing my creative life without them.

Which leads me to... I have been asked to be the Guest Designer for March at Gina's Designs, so you'll be seeing a few posts here that feature their nifty products. As part of that, I hooked up with their Facebook group where I'm finding all kinds of kindred crafty spirits and some pretty stinkin' amazing inspiration.

Which brings us to... the picture of that pretty little triangle treat box featured at the top of this post. One of the leaders of the group had received a gift box of different teas for Christmas. She thought the triangle shape of the boxes was too cool to simply toss them. I agree, and I love knowing another person who looks at "trash" that way! Anyway, she offered up a challenge to the group and I jumped at it. Here's a picture of the pile o' fun stuff that she sent me to play with.

Pile o' Fun Stuff

Here's a better angle on the triangle box.

I won't tell you everything I went through to put this box together. For one thing, you'd be sitting here reading all day which means I'd be sitting here typing all day. Ain't nobody got time for that! Plus, a girl can have some secrets, can't she? I will tell you how simple it was to take Gina's Designs Garden Fairies and make them sparkle. I used bright pink acrylic paint for the "glue" and while it was wet, dusted it with pink glitter.

For the overlay on the roof (which I initially painted with the same acrylic paint as the fairies), I used Gina's Designs Texture Sheet in Diamonds.

The rest was an afternoon's worth of playful experimentation. It's been quite a while since I "altered" something.

I leave you with views of the other sides of the triangle box, and with the admonition to look at "trash" through a crafter's eye. Can it be re-purposed in any way? Save it! If you're not a crafter, offer it to a friend who is. It took me a year to convince my beloved to not throw away anything that was the least bit interesting. Our relationship has flourished ever since.

Now, I'm off to fill the treat box with chocolaty goodness and send it on its way to a friend.

Whereupon my photography skills took a nose-dive.

When fairies daydream, do they daydream of other fairies?

Close-up of the fairy in the top picture

Eye to the Telescope

It's a new year. The holiday decorations are put away. The house is quiet. The laundry is done. Something warm is burbling away on the stove, scenting the house with dreams of dinner stew.

These are the good moments in life. The ordinary moments for which we often forget to be thankful. But this is it... real life. And right now it's pretty damned good.

So, I'm thinking about love. Sure, the card maker in me is thinking about Valentine's Day, but my inner aesthete brings it back to love.

This is a technique that I like to use. I call it telescoping, but I've heard it called by other names. It's a simple technique, but I like how rich it feels.

I began by printing out two each of Fitztown's Valentine 1 and Valentine 12. You'll see the second finished card at the end of this post.

I then cut one each of the two different images that I'd be using for my main background and set it aside. (It doesn't matter what size the other two "working" images are.)

I stamped "Love" on the main image using a stamp from Stampin' Up! I also used a sponge to lightly ink the outside of the image.

I used a blender pen and ink pads to color in just a portion of the "throw away" image. There was no need to color everything since I only needed a 1 1/4" circle.

Moving on, I used a 1 1/4" punch for the image, and a 1 3/8" punch for the contrasting cardstock layer, and punched out both of those. (I love saying I punched something out. "What did you do today, Honey?" "Spent the afternoon punching out stuff." And that's how I get control of the TV remote.)

The only thing left to do was glue the layers together, being careful to line up the circle image to the background image.

Here's the other card that came from my telescoping adventure. This one I edged in Delicata gold ink and used the Anais Nin quotation stamp from Stampsmith.

The Whimsical World of Art

There is a word that I love (just one of many, if you know me at all).

That word is:

whimsical
/adjective

1. spontaneously fanciful or playful
2. given to whims; capricious
3. quaint, unusual, or fantastic

It's a word that doesn't get used nearly enough.

In the art world, in my humble opinion, it's a concept that doesn't get used nearly enough.

Don't get me wrong. I admire "serious" art, and especially the skill it takes to produce it. However, as someone who appreciates art, it's always the more whimsical stuff that draws my eye.

After all, where else in our lives can we completely give ourselves over to whimsy if not in art? In art, it's acceptable to have a chartreuse sky, swimming camels... anything that doesn't quite belong in all the most amusing ways.

Truly, art should be spontaneously fanciful and playful. Art should be capricious and given to whims. Art is at its best when it is quaint, unusual or fantastic. Art ought to be whimsical.

So it is there that my love of RubberMoon's stamps is based. They make it easy to wander the whimsical path.

The card above was made using RubberMoon's Squeak, "Oh, Rats!", and Black Cattitude stamps, along with Tim Holtz's clock stamp.

The concept behind this card perfectly, yet oh, so whimsically captures my behind-the-eight-ball frantic feeling with regard toward getting everything done between Halloween and Christmas.

Hey, what day is it? Wait. What time is it?! Oh, rats!!

The rats race around the clock (rat race... get it?) as if trying to keep up with time, capped off by the wry look on the cat's face as one of the rats gets away.

Here I am at my last post on this blog for 2014, with holiday presents made and gifted, cards made and sent, cookies made and eaten, well-wishes bestowed upon beloved family and friends...

...but for this final wish...

May you have a very 

Happily Whimsical New Year!