Cat Nap

This week's theme on Simon's Monday challenge blog is Little Critters and I found myself pouring through my "stamp book" (I keep a record of all my stamp images in a 3-ring notebook) to look for one.

One benefit of participating is you end up doing or using things that you might not otherwise consider.

My tag was made by stamping (vintage Stampin' Up, circa 2001) on a notecard made by Prima, tinting it with colored pencils and a bit of Distress Ink, placing dots around the edges with black Scribbles (3D fabric paint) and using a few Remnant Rubs.

No Reminders

Good to be back posting and SO grateful that more time is trickling in to spend crafting. Being away for awhile, it felt curiously awkward to start in again (some of my paints had even begun to dry).

I used this week's theme (Things With Wings) from the Monday challenge blog at Simon Says Stamp as inspiration for my tag.

I collaged two photos (a butterfly and a ballerina) on a background made with paper from the Idea-ology Etcetera stash.

I've used the butterfly before (see here), it's called a Luna Moth and I just love it's long, drippy wing span. I added a phrase from the Idea-ology Clippings Stickers which describes perfectly how I've been feeling lately.

I enhanced the values with colored pencils and Distress ink.

I'm also sending a Happy Birthday (No. 3) wish to A Vintage Journey where they are celebrating "Tag Friday" with a special gift and link-up.

Ponder

pon·der

pändər/

verb

think about (something) carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.

Stressful times and too many responsibilities have made me keenly aware of how, under these circumstances, I lose my patience and control and can be down-right mean to others.

I took a desperately needed day off yesterday to ponder my situation and produced a journal page that was very therapeutic. I can't change my ways overnight but plan to make a real effort to manage this. 

Click for larger, lightbox view

I enlarged a photo from the collection I inherited from my great aunt Esther (that's her on the right) and cut out the background. The image on the left was found on the net. I tore it into strips, pasted it down then tinted it with colored pencils. I finger painted the background of the page, added some stamped masking and washi tapes and journaled around the border.

It felt really good to have this time to play and I can't wait to get back to the quiet and solitude of my studio. It's a luxury I cherish more than I ever realized.

Snapshot

Behold my most favorite Tim Holtz stamp (Memoirs). It's a bit tricky to get a good impression but once mastered, I think the rewards are massive. I'll never tire of using it and I'm delighted to share it with you today (this image is also my favorite Found Relatives photo).

I've used it for this month's 12 Tags of 2016, though I've strayed a great deal from his watercolor resist and word layer techniques. Still, his post inspired me and this is the result.

The manila tag support and ephemera already had a vintage tint so I only used a few Distress stain colors--primarily Tea Dye and Bundled Sage with just a touch of Victorian Velvet thrown into the mix. To create more depth in the stamped image, I used an Indigo colored pencil in the background.

The ephemera frame is actually a windowed envelope that contained souvenir photos like this example.

The butterflies were stamped onto Tim's Plain Tissue Wrap then cut-out and pasted on. I also used words from a Remnant Rub and machine stitched along the tag edges.

La Cucina

(Per Schiassi e Scarpelli)

My cooking skills have improved with practice over the years but in the early days of my marriage I felt like a child in the kitchen. My husband is Italian and no one cooks like his Mama!

The stamp used for this tag was found at a garage sale and seems very old (I think it may date back to the 1970's) and while I wasn't sure I'd ever use it, I was drawn to the image (perhaps because of my history?) and the price was right so I bought it.

With this week's theme of Food and/or Drink at Simon's Monday blog challenge I thought now would be a great time to use it.

I began with a page from an old cookbook which is now hard to see due to the many layers of distressing I used to make the walls look like old plaster. The floor, window and sign were hand-drawn, the bird was stamped and I placed a bit of washi along the sides of the window for trim.

Buon appetito!

Hold On

At the bottom center of this photo are the words "Bird's Nest" (click to enlarge) and it was pure coincidence. The star, cut from the index pages of a very, very old cookbook was made before I even thought of using a bird (Thrift-shop Ephemera) to carry it and even then, I didn't make the connection until it was pasted down.

The stamped background was made using Tim's Dots & Floral stamp set with red and grey archival ink then tinted with colored pencils after applying a light white wash. A bit of machine stitching, gelly roll dots, Chit-Chat stickers and washi were used to complete it.

I'm linking to this week's Monday blog challenge at Simon where, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, the prompt is Use Some Lucky Stars.

The Red Chair

The journal page I share today was prompted by Simon's Monday challenge, Take a Leap Into the Unknown, and it was all that and more!

I took several photos of each stage so my post is longer than usual but I hope you'll enjoy seeing the process. As always, you can click on the individual photos to see a larger version.

I found this lady's image on the net and know nothing about her but wanted to give her a bigger presence because she is so captivating.

I took a leap and cropped out the frame, reversed the image, then printed the photo in a larger size than I normally work with so she'd fill up the page.

I applied polymer gel medium over my trimmed laser-printed photo, placed it on the page and once dry, began the process of rubbing off the paper to transfer the image.

I penciled-in a scene then went over the lines with a black paint pen.

The next photo shows how I used various stamps with black archival ink to create a pattern for the walls, an orchid for the window sill, and a face and frame for the picture on the wall. I also filled in her dress using black and gray paint then took a leap and decided to add bits of tissue paper to her skirt to give it more interest.

Then I took another leap and decided to use oil pastel crayons to tint the window because I knew they would be easy to smear and help create the look of vintage glass.

I used chalk pastels to tint the wallpaper and brown acrylic paint on the wall base and floor. The orchid was tinted with colored pencils because the design is so small a paintbrush wouldn't be practical.

The wall base looked too plain so I stamped a row of images using brown archival ink. My last color decision was the chair and yes, I took a leap, and painted it with bright red acrylic.

I wasn't too happy with the lady's skirt so I dug out some black tissue paper which I added in strips and then finally opted to trim the skirt with washi tape.

Here's one more look at the final outcome (so you don't have to scroll to the top) and in case you're wondering, my journal is the large format Dylusions by Ranger (each page measures approx. 8" x 11").

To learn more about my image transfer technique, click here for a post that further explains the method I use along with some tips. Maybe you'll take a leap too?

Renegades

The joy of play and uninhibited creative expression is the reward for keeping an art journal. The pages are not meant to be "works of art." Instead, the freedom to explore (and learn) elevates it to a much higher plane and the confidence gained may carry-over to more serious pieces. So I say, get busy and be a renegade!

Click to Enlarge

A new set of Gelly Roll pens, exposure to a couple of technique videos and a cool new song by X Ambassadors called Renegades fed my inspiration for this journal page spread.

First, the technique videos merit reference in case you want to watch. One is by Piarom (blog link, video link) and the other is by Jeanne Oliver (video link, requires creating a login to view).

Both artists use figures cut from magazine pages which they transform in different ways. Mine didn't go in quite the same direction but their videos did inspire me to try.

I also used some other magazine scraps along with paint pens, colored pencils, stencils, a Tim Holtz scroll stamp and some of his tissue paper.

I'll close by saying that I love, love, love my new Gelly Rolls (called Souffle). They write over anything including fluid mediums and waxy colored pencils and are waterproof. So useful!

I think I'll link this to Simon's Monday blog challenge - this week's theme is anything goes (mine will be entry #521 - whew!).

Papillon

I splurged this week and bought a set of Gelly Roll pens and experimented with them on this tag.  They are called "Souffle" because they're pastel-colored and can be applied thickly for a 3D effect. They write on anything, including acrylic mediums, which is a big deal for me.

I began by distressing my tag with inks and paints then applied an image transfer to create the background and also added some stamping of grass near the bottom. I fussy-cut the girls (inking the edges with a Pitt pen) and pasted them on top.

I played around with the gellies to add color directly to the surface and also by diluting with a water brush. They are very opaque and also waterproof when dry. So, where I felt there was too much color, I used an Exacto knife to scrap bits of it away. In some areas, subtle color changes were made with colored pencils.

Click to Enlarge

This isn't the best example for illustrating how the new pens can be used but I'm very happy to have them in my arsenal of supplies and know you'll see lots more of them in future work. Stayed tuned ;)

I'm linking to Simon where this week's theme is anything goes.

Merriment

Torn scraps of pasted papers left-over from other projects became the background for this tag along with tints from acrylic paint, colored pencils and walnut ink-stained edges. The lady and flower are image transfers and I used a stencil to break-up the background with just a few tiny squares.

I painted the area just behind the lady's face with off-white paint before transferring the image to keep the background from showing through this transparent layer.

Here is Now

An image transfer on an old postcard is the main feature of this collage tag which I embellished with a tiny figure, some Remnant Rubs and stenciled dots.

The bottom border was cut from the back of a Found Relative photo. The tag was tinted with colored pencils and the edges were distressed and dotted with a Gelly Roll pen.

I made it for linking to Simon where this week's theme is coffee or tea.

Swimming

Click to Enlarge

The daytime temps here in the desert have been hovering between 105 and 110 degrees for the last three weeks.

So, the only way to get outside and stave-off cabin fever is to find a swimming pool!

You have to park your flip-flops right at the pool edge because the ground gets so hot you can't walk barefoot.

I'm posting this journal page to celebrate a favorite summer pastime which was prompted by this week's theme at Simon Says Stamp.

The ladies are an image transfer and I used a variety of stamps, stencils, acrylic paint, colored pencils and ink pens to make it. My hubby calls my hobby "coloring" and the term really applies here because I did feel the joy of creating like a kid with this one.

I inscribed the words from a song by Loudon Wainwright III called "The Swimming Song" to decorate my pages and thought I'd post the lyrics below since you can't read them too well in the photos.

This summer I went swimming, 
This summer I might have drowned 
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet and I moved my arms around, I moved my arms around. 

This summer I swam in the ocean, 
And I swam in a swimming pool, 
Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes, 
I'm a self-destructive fool.

This summer I swam in a public place and a reservoir, to boot, at the latter I was informal, at the former I wore my suit, I wore my swimming suit. 

This summer I did the backstroke 

And you know that's not all 

I did the breast stroke and the butterfly 

And the old Australian crawl, the old Australian crawl. 

This summer I did swan dives 

And jackknifes for you all 

And once when you weren't looking 

I did a cannonball, I did a cannonball.

Tea Zen

The day I discovered the Irish Breakfast variety and learned to add a spot of cream to it, was the day I fell in love with tea. Mind you, I still take in my two or three cups of Joe every morning but there's something about an afternoon tea break that's every bit as satisfying.

So here's my tribute to favorite beverages inspired by this month's 12 Tags of 2015 by Tim Holtz.

The stripes on the bottom-half were created with a hand-made stamp and acrylic paint.

The top half was stamped with an image from Stampers Anonymous called Math Border using Ranger's cobalt archival ink.

The paper bits were cut from Tim's new paper release called Correspondence.

The tiny teacup is another Tim Holtz stamp from a set called Tiny Things that was cut from paper along with a teapot (maker unknown) and tinted with Distress inks.

I used Picket Fence Distress stain to lighten-up several areas and created shadows with a colored pencil.

I added a bit of burlap ribbon for accent along with some Remant Rubs text and used a white Gelly Roll pen to bring out highlights on the flower in the foreground.

I tried to create a sense of depth by using larger images in the foreground along with light and dark colors (value) and diagonal stripes. This bit of "fooling the eye" is a challenge I really enjoy. Along with my favorite hot beverages, of course!

Thanks

For Simon's Monday blog challenge, where this week's theme is thanks, I thought I'd share a design I've used on many occasions. It's quick to put together (especially when I need more than one) and eliminates any excuse for putting off a thank-you that's due.

I stamped (and embossed) the PaperArtsy bottles (tinted with Distress inks), an assortment of tiny flowers (tinted with colored pencils) and the sentiment. The stems and the border were made with a fine line permanent marker. That's it--done! No cutting or pasting either, since I stamped directly onto the card front.

I really like the details in the bottle stamp and it's fun to try and mimic the old glass effect. I use this stamp quite often. Did I mention I collect old bottles? Perhaps that has something to do with it. ☺

Devil or Angel?

My entry for Tim's May tag features a snapshot from the Idea-ology Photobooth strips along with pieces from the vellum Expedition ephemera pack, a metal number brad and the School House stencil.

I thought I'd share a few tidbits regarding my distress techniques rather than provide a step-out since Tim's got that covered.

Click to Enlarge

I distressed the photo by peeling off the back so it would be thin enough to scrunch then flattened it out, pasted the backing back on and inked the edges.

A liberal amount of water was used with red brick and iced spruce to tint the texture paste and background. Naturally, the tag warped a bit so I flattened it out with some heavy books overnight.

There's adhesive-backed metallic mesh behind the photo and I used text rub-on's for the question marks. I also wanted the hole reinforcement on the tag to show so I cut my background papers around it.

I used a typewriter for the text on the shield. To insert it into the machine, I used washi tape to temporarily fix it to a larger piece of paper.

I distressed the shield with sand paper and tinted the edges with colored pencils.

I removed the tabs from the number brad then flattened it out with a rubber mallet. I darkened the numbers a bit with a fine permanent marker.

To tone down the color of the arrow which was originally a very bright orange-red, I used a colored pencil in a complementary color, blue-green (which is opposite orange on the color wheel).

This is a good trick to become familiar with when going for a distressed look because adding a color's complement is a proven way to tone down the original hue by reducing it's intensity.

To paste the arrow, I marked off where it would be then scraped away the stenciled letters underneath so it would lay flat on the background.


Well, I think that's everything and once again, I enjoyed the challenge of this month's tag.  Tim sure did pull out all the stops this month and I hope you are inspired to create something too!

Freestyle

I have finally tried out the last of the six flowers you get in the Tim Holtz Flower Garden stamp set. I think it's another Peony and it's been altered somewhat (more about this later).

Click to Enlarge

I call this tag Freestyle because that was the attitude I had while making it. I had no plan--I just starting doing stuff.

A bigger bottle would've been better (to keep the proportions right) but it was the only one I had and, anyway, a bigger bottle might mean a bigger tag and then where would it end?

I rather like the overall appearance though and discovered some interesting techniques that are sure to be useful in another project.

I thought I'd share exactly what I did so fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

1. I covered the tag with a page from an old dictionary.
2. I stamped the bottle, flower and stem with black archival ink keeping ink off one of the large petals near the base to make the flower smaller.
3. I used colored pencils to create a rainbow-effect in the background.
4. I used off-white to paint over the text inside the flower petals with a tiny brush.
5. I stenciled some large script on a piece of deli-paper with black paint.
6. I laid the deli-paper over the tag, traced the outline of the bottle and flower, cut it out, then pasted the remainder on the tag (leaving the bottle, etc., exposed).
7. I used a harlequin stamp and archival ink on the background by using the cut-out scraps from my deli paper as a mask.
8. I softened the edges of the impression with a bit of hand-sanitizer (which works great as an archival ink eraser on non-porous surfaces).
9. I tinted the flower with dye ink and a water brush and added a light wash of white to the bottle and stem.
10. I used black and white gel pens to make dots for accent. The black ones didn't dry so I used clear embossing power on them to speed things up and keep them permanent.
11. I used my Exacto-knife to scrape the edges of the tag, wet them with a brush and then applied black dye ink.

Perhaps a word about deli-paper is in order. I use it for all kinds of things and it makes great paper for collages because it is thin and durable. It reminds me a lot of the same type of paper Tim uses for his tissue wrap.

Now that I've used all the Flower Garden stamps individually, I guess it's time to plant a garden but I'll definitely need to use something larger than a tag. I think I see a journal page in my future!

I'm linking to the Wednesday blog challenge at SSS where this week's theme is make your own background.

Explore Life

Tim's March tag for 2015 is a lesson in masking and using embossing powders with texture paste. I have three tags in the trash that just didn't pan out but believe me, I tried. My failures may be related to not having the right mediums so I just had to do things differently.

I don't usually step-out my techniques but, in this case, I thought it would be useful to demonstrate my process (click on the images for a larger view).

I began by pasting a paper from Tim's Crowded Attic paper stash onto a manila tag. They are images of vintage stamp pads and one of my all time favorites.

Sometimes it's hard to visualize where best to place a stamp so I made an imprint on some acetate that I used to try out different arrangements.

I stamped the image using Perfect Medium and clear embossing powder because I wanted to create a resist.

Then I applied a coat of Seedless Grapes Distress Stain and let it dry followed by a second coat of Vintage Photo stain.

As you can see, the embossed image resisted the stains perfectly!

To remove the embossing, I used a hot craft iron and absorbent paper (newsprint is best). The iron re-melts the embossing and the paper absorbs it. Make sure to pull the paper off immediately after you heat the image otherwise it will cool and the paper will stick.

Tim calls this next technique "stamp-to-stamp." I wanted to fill-in the bird so I stamped a library stamp onto the bird stamp then re-stamped the bird onto my tag (whew!).

Hopefully, the photo will help to explain what I mean.

No rocket science for the next step which was simply a matter of sponging paint through Tim's Burlap stencil.

I went over some of the stenciled areas with Black Soot Distress Ink to provide a variation of color.

Tim always says, "it's in the details" so my final touches include a Remant Rub over homemade tape, a touch of Peacock Feathers on the raven's body, a gel pen for the black dots, a black colored pencil to outline one edge of the bird and a white gel pen to bring out a few highlights.

I admit I didn't follow along very well this month but I really like Tim's composition and the idea of using a large bold stamp along with the stencils. I think part of the appeal of his tag is the strong contrast of lights and darks which I tried to aim for.

The monthly tags always make me push my boundaries and try new things which must be the reason I enjoy it so much.


Here's a link to more information on the emboss resist technique from one of Tim's tutorials that explains it perfectly.

And here's a video from Tim that demonstrates the stamp-to-stamp technique (skip to the 6:45 minute mark to by-pass the embossing folder info). I kind of wish I had watched this demo before starting my tag. I would have done things differently but will definitely try this technique again.

Stamp credits: Stamper's Anonymous Scratched Raven and Library