Silent

A small collage to share today with a link-up to Simon, the theme this week is "Feminine."

I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder (Roses) and distress ink on pink paper which, after embossing, was made flat again by running it through the press.

The lady is a Paper Doll made thin by peeling off the backside and rubbing off as much paper as practical. She was tinted with a Pitt Artist Brush pen.

A butterfly stamp (Prima) on tissue paper was applied along with torn scraps of a business envelope.

The text was cut from a book and the background paper came from an old issue of Somerset Studio.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Postcard

 

A postcard (from the edge?).... Expressing my feelings about events of the world we find ourselves in makes me appreciate the motivation behind artworks from other tumultuous times.

I took the back of a vintage postcard, added image transfers (window, birds), clipped Found Relatives, stamping (Tim Holtz Mail Art and Correspondence), tinting with markers and typewritten text.

 

If you're not familiar with my image transfer technique, here's a step-out I posted for your reference.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Beautiful Day

Sharing an unconventional greeting card today--its support is a small vintage portrait folder with layers of papers--prompted by Simon's Monday challenge.

The flowers were fussy-cut from a paper pack called "Let Your Soul Bloom" (Moda Scrap 2019) grounded by strips of scrap paper, some delaminated cardboard and the backside of a really old envelope.

A bit of machine stitching and Nuvo Crystal Drops along with a Remnant Rub were used as embellishment.

As you can imagine, pasting all of this would have been a chore but I used a spray adhesive which makes it easier.

I'm sending this one to my good friend, Thelma, and it will need a padded envelope to survive the journey.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Brainstorm

  

 

A stripped layer of cardboard, a fussy-cut page from the Ephipany paper collection (Prima 2014), a vintage portrait (also fussy-cut) and my favorite book paper all tinted with inks and colored pencils are the ingredients used for this tag.

 

 

If you're inclined to use book paper in your art, may I recommend you search for a high-quality, very old book and you'll find that the paper will be strong, thick and tough enough to handle mixed-media techniques. Mine was an investment ($10 at a book fair), it has a leather binding and the pages have mellowed to a lovely color but are not friable.

The typewriter text was inspired by Simon's Monday challenge, this week it's using weather for inspiration. I looked inside instead of out and came up with "brainstorming."

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Lambeth

Another "recycle" tag to link up with Simon's Monday challenge--this one was made using the cardboard back of a notepad, an image transfer and inks for tinting.

I've discovered a new way to add text to my collages and am slowly perfecting it. I print (must be laser not inkjet) my words on plain white paper, cover them with clear medium, let it dry then rub the paper off the back using my fingers and a bit of water. I'm left with text on a clear thin surface that can be pasted wherever I want.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Heart Bird

 

 

 

 This photo was my inspiration to sketch and stamp a tag.

 

 

First I drew the bird then covered it with white gesso and created a mask before stamping the background (Tim Holtz Dots & Floral) with a medium blue archival ink.

The rest of the color and shading was done with colored pencils and the text is a Remnant Rub. The trick with colored pencils is to use a light touch and layer the colors as most are transparent.

I'm linking up with Simon, the Monday challenge this week is to recycle--where my plain manila tag becomes a tiny work of art.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Mr. Hegemony

 

Here's a tag with a background made from paper that came free inside a Somerset Studio magazine. I printed then hand-cut this vintage image, pasted it to the background and applied subtle shading with a water-soluble pencil. The newspaper text, Green Eggs Be Damned!, was added via an image transfer technique.

As a child, Dr. Seuss was the first author I became of aware of and I dearly loved his books and read them over and over again. I don't know what country I live in anymore where certain books are now banned. Isn't this what Hitler did? God help us.

I am grateful I can use my art to express my feelings and I'm linking this post to Simon's Monday challenge, this week's challenge is to use something green.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Hallmark

 

It's been ages since I made a journal page and thanks to a prompt from Simon's Monday challenge this week, another page in my large Dylusions Journal is complete.

I used a ruler like this one to place my lettering with a black permanent marker.

Then I applied an image transfer which was a challenge due to its large size. It's hard to get them perfect but the imperfections are embraced for the vintage-quality they impart.

I used colored pencils to tint the background, craft paint and Design Tape (Tim Holtz) for the border.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Splendid Things

 

I'm posting this just in time to link up with Simon's Monday challenge. This week's theme is to make anything but a card so it was a fine time to make a tag.

I've noticed a new greeting card format that's long and skinny and happens to be the same size as a #8 manila tag (obviously without cut corners and a hole on top ☺). I've sent tags through the mail before (I make a custom envelope) but I've never used this format to make a card and plan to try it.

The background for this tag is a scrap from the Abandoned paper stash (Tim Holtz) and the flowers (Simon's Beautiful Flowers) were stamped on kraft paper and tinted with colored pencils before fussy-cutting. The kraft paper gave the flowers a nice vintage vibe.

I used a strip of Design Tape (Tim Holtz), some text cut from a book and there's a tiny bit of Nuvo Crystal Drops along one side of the tape.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Non-Zoonotic

This image of a cactus was altered after printing by outlining the stems with a black ink marker and adding hints of yellow-green before it was fussy-cut. Then it was pasted over a thinned-out page of Abandoned paper stash and mounted on one-half of a vintage portrait folder.

The edges were distressed and it includes stamped text and postmark (Correspondence), a vintage postage stamp and typewriter text.

I'm linking up with Simon's Monday challenge "Add Some Texture." Nothing has more texture than a gigantic cactus--am I right!?

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Uniformity

  

Inspired by a quote, this tag was made with a fussy-cut vintage image pasted on a scrap of Paper Stash tinted with inks and colored pencils; the text is from a typewriter.

The "B" on their uniforms--pure coincidence ☺.

Sent On This Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone gets a giant box of chocolates, a big bouquet of flowers plus a big fat hug from someone you love.

I'm sharing a card made for the occasion (and my dear friend, Thelma) that started with a prompt from Simon's Monday challenge to use a "resist technique."

A heart stencil was clear embossed over a scrap of Paper Stash and covered with off-white paint that was wiped off the raised embossing before it dried. Then I ironed-off the embossing (here's a link to the technique) which gives it a mottled appearance I rather like.

I cut the heart out and pasted it on more Paper Stash, added a stamped strip of polka dots, a Paper Doll figure, book text, and fussy-cut butterflies.

I admit an obsession with 3D paint dots and used them to embellish the borders. I may need to seek treatment for this disorder ☺.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

True Love

A week away from Valentine's Day and a milestone wedding anniversary for yours truly, doesn't mean big preparations are underway at my house (just having each other is more than enough) but it does signal the sharing of a card made for the occasion.

This one embraces a mixed media feel starting with a book page tinted with Distress ink and white-washed a bit. The heart was cut from a business envelope and I originally planned to use the other side. But after tinting, I liked the back better and made the printing part of the design (even though it's slightly askew).

I stamped the words "Special Delivery" (Tim Holtz Correspondence) and "True Love" is an older Remnant Rub.

The flowers and postage stamp were fussy-cut from Authentique scrapbook paper after using a bit of water and my fingers to rub off the backside to make the paper thinner (easier to cut and pastes down nice and flat). I always encase delicate pieces like this with clear medium to protect them for handling.

I darkened the border with more Distress and drew lines with a fine-tip marker. I was lucky to have a piece of paper that matched my heart to frame it with. It's "dollar-store" variety children's construction paper, it's super thin (which for me is an asset) and I use this stuff all the time--it's perfect for collage.

Finally, it was mounted on black card stock and I'll insert a lighter page on the inside for personalizing.

I'm linking to Simon's Monday challenge this week, the theme is Love and/or Hearts.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.