Marc Mono Mini Map

Click to enlarge

Marc Lescarbot made a map of Canada during the late 15th century that is full of miniature depictions of plants, houses, sea monsters and ships along with land masses and shorelines.

I have an old book called The Discovery of North America that contains a copy of this map. I cut out the little ships along with the symbol that denotes the measure for distance and the map's title which was found in a strip at the bottom of the page.

The chair is from Claudine Hellmuth whose book, Collage Discovery Workshop, got me interested in paper crafting many years ago.

Other stamps used are by Inkadinkado (left side) and 7 Gypsies (right side).

I've linked it to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is the letter M:

M for Marc Lescarbot

M for monochrome color scheme

M for miniature ships

M for map

all dished up on a Manila tag!

Monarch

This week's Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is the letter M. Hopefully, the title of my blog post illuminates the connection.

I decided I must use a stamp this week since that is the store's emphasis and my link-ups tend to drift away from that more often than not.

So out came the most expensive and most frustrating stamp I own.

It was an impulse buy, designed by Lynne Perrella for Paper Artsy, and the cost made great due to shipping from England to the USA. What I failed to take into account when I chose this stamp is the large expanse of dark area and detail too fine to show up well when stamping.

It's challenging to add color and I've been most successful by stamping onto tissue paper, tinting the backside then pasting it on. I learned on this go around that my archival ink pad needs re-inking since this is a large stamp and it was difficult to get good coverage. I've also tried using detail inks and special stamping paper but seldom get a look I'm happy with. I expect I'll keep trying to master this monarch and was glad for a challenge that prompted me to revisit this love/hate relationship.

The background paper is by Bazzill and it's called Antique Script. The butterflies were cut from an out-of-print Graphic 45 release called Botanicabella. Distress inks were used and torn bits of tissue tape from Idea-ology. Now, pretend there's a hole cut in the top because I forgot to do that when I made this tag (oops).

Cabbage Salad

Click to enlarge

I stumbled upon a person who collects images of women's fashion from the Civil War era and I've begun to follow her board. This discovery has prompted me to create collages using similar images. I hope to work out a series and this tag is my first go at it.

I'm also curious why, in many vintage photos, the subject looks so serious. Did no one say "cheese" when the photo was taken? I expect the grumpy face on this lady is why I chose to use her.

I began with a variety of papers including store-bought scrapbook paper, pages from a dictionary, a vintage cookbook and sheet music which I cut into small pieces and pasted on the tag.

After printing the lady, she was added to the tag using my image transfer technique. A homemade stencil was used to trace the outline of a frame with a fine tip marker and several areas were tinted with colored pencils to provide color and contrast. For framing, I cut thin strips from black and white striped paper and pasted them along the edges.

Why Cabbage Salad? For one thing, it's her expression and her face is rather round. And, if you look real close, you'll see that the cookbook's menu page has a listing for cabbage salad aka cole slaw.

Natasha

A pretty Russian ballerina on a starry background surrounded by a Russian banknote is the tag I made for the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is the number five. It was made by simply printing, cutting and pasting and then adding a bit of distress ink along the edges.

I like using this old Russian money because of the intricate frames and was lucky to find one in this denomination. I used a similar note a few months ago which you can read about here.

When I use photographs of people, I pay attention to the light source and try to work it into the composition. Here, I featured the ballerina's back lighting using paper left over from an altered book project. Sometimes I think it's silly to save all my scraps (I kept this one six years) but today, I'm glad I held on to it.

Calling Card

The month of May brings a mosaic-type layout for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014 and here is my interpretation. I don't have much in the way of "cool trinkets" but I do have the Wallpaper stash and it's full of goodies that can be fussy-cut which I used here.

The bottle-cap frame I used for Timothy's portrait was found on the street during a recent stroll around the neighborhood. It was already rusted and flattened-out and I was lucky to find it just in time for this month's tag.

Tim's tutorials are the very best and this month's demonstration was so informative. I'm amazed by all the gadgets that can be used in paper crafting and I look forward to seeing the ShadowPress equipment put to use by others participating in this month's link-up.

Jaune

Not So Mellow Yellow is the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp, so...

I went looking for ideas on Pinterest, did a seach for yellow and found this house. I knew immediately that I must use it and remembered another image I had of a woman and brought the two together by way of an image transfer and a fussy-cut.

I really didn't do anything that technical but today but I thought I'd share the step-by-step process just in case anyone is curious.

1. I have a toner-based printer (versus ink jet) and printed the house image using Photoshop in the size of the tag after reversing it.
2. I stamped french script (Darkroom Door) on top of the tag with archival ink.
3. Working quickly, I coated the front side of the image with polymer medium (gloss) and placed it on the tag front-side down, smoothed out any bubbles and let it air dry.
4. I put a small dot of water on my table and dipped my finger in it to apply water to small areas of the image so I could gently rub the paper away.
5. To avoid over-wetting/over-working (which weakens the medium), I kept moving to different areas on the photo and continued dipping and rubbing until all the paper was removed.
6. Then I printed my woman after guessing at a size and cut her out of the photo using an Exacto knife and cutting mat.
7. I used a brown waterproof brush marker to ink the edges which helps to blend them into the collage.
8. I pasted the woman in place using Mod Podge.
9. I didn't like the balance of values (lights and darks) so I added a strip of white tissue paper stamped with script to the bottom using a glue stick.
10. I used gray acrylic paint to tint the strip, the sky, and most of the dark green values.
11. I mixed a very transparent batch of lemon yellow acrylic paint and used it to tint the woman's dress.

I appreciate the skill of artists using photo-editing software to create digital imagery. I suppose I could learn how to do it and then create a tag like this one using only a computer and printer. But I really enjoy using my paint and glue and creating the old-fashioned way. I do admit, however, that I would be lost without my printer.

If you have any questions about my process, feel free to contact me, my email address in on the side bar.

Big Flower Little Bee

Still playing around with big stamps, this tag was made with a Jumbo Peony (Stampendous) and a bumble bee stamp from the Tiny Things stamp set (Tim Holtz), hence the title:

Big Flower Little Bee.

I also used another big stamp by Dark Room Door which is one of the largest I own, called French Script.

All I did was paste some canvas on a tag, stamped the background, the flower and the bees, tinted it with acrylic paint and oil pastels, distressed the edges and pasted on a strip of deli-wrap stamped with script.

I intentionally painted over most of the thick lines on the flower to give it a softer appearance.

I'm linking it to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp (entry #3) where this week's theme is Big Stamps.

Apollo

This tag is courtesy of an Inkadinkado 3½" x 5" stamp called World Map and I made it for the Monday Blog Challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme this week is Big Stamp.

Apollo was cut from an old history book on the discovery of North America and I also used some Melange tissue paper.

What's unique here is the background and the tag itself.

A while back, I recycled some 300 lb. watercolor paper by covering it with gesso then put it away and forgot about it.

So today, when I began to apply watercolor to it (after I cut it into a tag shape), the watercolor wasn't sinking in because of the gesso. Duh!

So I sanded it down while it was still a bit damp and the edges became nicely distressed. Then I used watercolor which now absorbed into the paper more randomly than if it were a pristine surface. The blue color compelled me to use Apollo and the World Stamp because of the cloud and sea effect and, as they say, this tag is history.

Subway Shuffle

Using BIG stamps is this week's theme on the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp. Some themes really resonate with me and I'm motivated BIG time.  I just might break a record this week with the maximum number of entries!

The BIG stamp used here is called Subway by Tim Holtz which I stamped on a manila tag using Weathered Wood distress ink. I used an image cut from a magazine, some red balls cut from a Trader Joe's shopping bag, a piece of a Journaling Ticket (Idea-ology), and a very thin strip of scrapbook paper. I added a few 7-Gypsies number stamps to balance out the top right corner and trimmed the borders with a red gel pen and Black Soot distress ink.

Winged Things

A long, long time ago, when I was just a kid, me and the boy next door used to run around with butterfly nets, all summer long, because they were everywhere and it was fun to try and catch them. Thankfully, our aim was terrible and most escaped our grasp. But I rarely see butterflies anymore.

It's sad to think that today's children may be missing out on this adventure. Perhaps too much black pavement and too little green is the cause.

I made the butterflies using alcohol inks on a transparency, stamped with Archival ink, cut out and pasted to book paper then edged with Stickles.

The background is black gesso; the leaf layer made using paste medium with a hand-made stencil then tinted and distressed with acrylic paints.

The white marking was done with a very fine brush and white acrylic paint, a gelly roll made the text.

I've linked it to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is Winged Things.

Giselle

I was inspired to create this collage after visiting Paula Cheney's blog where she recently posted two excellent mixed media tutorials (Wonderful Adventure and Layering with Happy Colors). I love her artwork, she cuts right to the point in her tutorials and she talks about the "scary" parts. The end result has you reaching for a brush--fearlessly!

Aside from acrylic paint and paste medium, I used Melange tissue wrap, a Kaiser Craft stamp (flourish), a Crafter's Workshop stencil (mini tiles) and a hand-made stencil (frame corner). The lady was a gel medium transfer.

The Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Winged Things, so I'm linking it there for a chance to win the weekly drawing. And I must do a shout out for design team member Andrea Ockey Parr whose creation for this week's theme is just charming!

I'm also linking to A Vintage Journey, where the theme is A Little Bit French, n'est-ce pas?

Washi Paint

Before and After

I linked this tag to the Wednesday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is Easter.

But, I didn't like it that much and it really didn't reflect this week's theme.

So, I peeled off the tape and washed over it with gesso and started over.

And this is the new tag:

After applying gesso, I traced the outline of the cone flowers (originally applied with a stencil) using pen and ink then traced the outline of a bunny photo. I used oil pastels for tint and applied washi tape on a few of the petals.

Click to enlarge

I really like the washi tape I used on this version. It's bright white and has good sticking power and I favor it over other brands. Here's a link if you want to know more about it.

So hopefully, I've learned a lesson here.

When I am less than satisfied with something, and it can't be rescued, then I must learn to listen to that voice inside my head and just start over.

So Far Away

I've always said, "if I won the lottery, I would travel to far and exotic places and seek out every corner of the world."

For now, I must be content to travel in my dreams and hope that, someday, I'll be able to journey somewhere farther than the grocery store.

My tag is thanks to an outstanding image, the artist unknown to me and the original source lost in the tangle of the Internet.

After printing, I made a cut-away which was pasted to a background that was stenciled and stamped.

Bundled sage, spun sugar and dried marigold Distress inks were used as tints.

I've linked this tag to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp, where the theme is journey.

Shabby Chic a la Morocco

I love a good challenge and Tim's tag for April was just that. Not using a die cutter means working the hard way but it forces me to think outside the box and makes for more original artwork. I always try to incorporate whatever technique he highlights but make a point to put my own spin on it.

This tag went through many transformations (thank goodness for gesso, the great cover-up) and I'd be hard pressed to say exactly how it was made. But the ingredients were corrugated cardstock, a modified stencil (courtesy of Lowes), an Exacto knife, various tissue tapes, acrylic paint, Distress inks, sand paper and a fine-tipped marker. My flower was made using a technique from Clare Buswell and the leaves were cut from watercolor paper.

I really enjoy Tim's monthly feature and had so much fun working on this tag. I am grateful for his inspiration as well as the opportunity to link up and I always look forward to seeing what others will make. Thanks for stopping by!

Sing Spring

I live in the desert and we have two seasons, hot and not hot and I miss Spring (and green). So I made this tag to honor the season and I'm linking it to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

The background began with an image transfer of a page from a magazine then I stamped on a butterfly (Martha Stewart) and some lace (Anna Griffin). I added a strip of Melange tissue wrap to the side and bottom and cut out a piece of a flower from the same magazine page and pasted it near the top.

I used acrylic paint to fill-in the butterfly wings and bring out some of the colors of the flowers then distressed the edges with ink.

Emily Carr

It's been too long between posts and I have no excuse. I got distracted and when I looked at the time over 20 days had past!

I made this tag to link up with the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp. The theme is transparent so I used an acrylic medium transfer technique because it has a "see-through" quality.

First, I printed an image (Emily) on a page from the French Industrial Paper Stash and cut it into the shape of a tag. Then I printed a separate image (flowers) and used acrylic medium to transfer it to the tag. I used an Anna Griffin stamp to fill in a blank spot near the bottom. I used a bit of blue acrylic paint to push back the flowers near her head and a touch of white paint to bring out the ruffles of her dress.

All it takes is a visit to two of my favorite places for inspiration and I get my muse back. Thanks Berengia and Aputsiaq!

Slate-colored Junco

I've got a thing for tags and make a lot of them. I also make greeting cards but I guess I feel more liberated working on tags and I like the challenge of this odd-ball format.

The long and narrow space used to feel confining but it doesn't bother me anymore and the manila cardstock is tough and can take my abuse.

For this tag, I cut birds from an old book, used book text for the background and a 12" x 12" stencil from Crafter's Workshop called Branches. It's a favorite of mine and I highly recommend it. There are two versions, a positive (208) and a negative (251). The leaves were stamped and filled in with colored pencils.

I made it so I could link up to Tag It, the Wednesday challenge theme at Simon Says Stamp, for a chance to win the random drawing.

But I can't let this challenge theme go by without sharing my all-time, most favorite tag.

In his September, 2012, tag post, Tim Holtz did a demo on an embossed metal background and I used this technique to make a steam-punked version of my cat, Howie (click to enlarge it). His goggles were made from polymer clay and the scarf was made from cheese cloth. It was crazy fun!

Tick Tock

Some vintage photos ask to be understood more than others, it's a quality that draws me in and was especially true with this one--the couples' expressions and clothing tell a story I long to know.

I was inspired to use it because of the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp which is Tick Tock. The tag was an exercise in image transfers and this is what I learned:

A page of clocks from the Lost and Found paper stash was used for the background. Since transferred images can become transparent, I thought the background might be too dark so I put a thin coat of gesso over the clocks. But since the photo had a lot of solid dark areas, I really didn't need to lighten the background and if I hadn't, the clock images would have been more pronounced.

If you're wondering how I tinted the photo, it was "glazed" with acrylic paint. Glazing is just adding a clear medium to paint to give it a transparent quality. Best results are achieved with pigments that are naturally transparent and I avoid using chalky craft paints for this technique.

Royals

Is it just me or, are some of what seems like the easiest of Tim's monthly tags deceptively difficult? It took four tries to get a similar effect but it was great practice just the same. I'd either get a stamped impression that was too dark or too light or when I rubbed, it would smear too much.

I followed each and every one of his steps except I pounced ink through the stencil instead of using a spritzer, I didn't use a metal word band and my twine is a gold ribbon cut in strips and pasted on. I used stamps (PaperArtsy and Prima) with a similar format as the feather and the nest, my stencil was hand-made.

The text came from lyrics in a song called Royals by Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor aka Lorde who's from New Zealand. This song has received a lot of play time here so that's why I thought of it.

As always, I'm really looking forward to this month's link-ups and aren't we lucky that Tim provides such great tutorials (and products) and a forum for sharing our work! If you've never participated, I encourage you to try--it's really great fun.

let it go

e.e. cummings is the poet who inspired the text on this tag

(you can read the poem here)

I'm new to using paste medium and since I need the practice , I've made another tag for link-up to the Simon Says Stamp Monday blog challenge (a second-chance to win the prize drawing can't hurt either).

I just jumped in this time, spread medium all over the tag and pressed in a bird cage stencil. After it dried, the uneven texture made me think of hills and valleys so I used some acrylic paint and a landscape was born.

Since the impression on the side of the cage was messed up, the idea of birds escaping came to mind (déjà vu) and I found a Tim Holtz stamp that worked. Due to the surface's uneven texture there's no way I'd get a perfect impression so a few areas were filled in with a marker.

All in all, it was a good lesson. To be an artist means letting go, right? By treading new territory I've learned how this stuff works and see its possibilities.

Now I just need to figure out how to photograph it!

My cat will help.

Make a Bird Cage Stencil

First I found an image I liked
(thank you Graphics Fairy).

Then I used Photoshop to posterize it
to remove small details and thicken
the lines and then I printed it.

I taped the print-out on some
stencil paper (I like using Yupo).

Then I used a black marker to
highlight the areas I would cut.

The cuts aren't perfect but I
like the hand-made appearance.

The end result works as both a positive or negative image. The left image was made using the normal stenciling technique. The right image was made by inking the stencil then rubbing a piece of paper over it (like a collagraph).

Houses are for People

Paste medium and a stencil were used to create this tag but it fought me every inch of the way!

The stencil was hand-made and the paste emphasized the space between the bars and gave it a funny dimension.

So I scraped off most of the paste and re-inked the bars by hand.

Thank goodness I coated both sides of the tag with gesso before I started, otherwise, it would never have held up to the abuse.

I plan to make another bird cage stencil (this one's worse for the wear) and I'll post the steps I take so you can see my approach.

I'm linking this tag to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is Paste. The background is Idea-ology tissue paper and the birds were made with a stamp from Stamping Bella.

Sig and Gracie (in Print)

Have you heard that song by Pharrell Williams called Happy from the movie Despicable Me 2? It's nominated for an Oscar and topping the Billboard charts right now. It's a catchy tune that makes you feel happy when you hear it.

Well, that's how I feel today because I just received a magazine in the mail called Somerset Studio and the editors published my artwork in the Readers Expressions section of the March/April 2014 issue.

They regularly place calls for submissions and when the theme was "Le Cirque," I created Sig Sautelle and Gracie the Elephant and sent them in. If chosen, you receive a complimentary copy of their magazine. Here's a link to the current calls if you'd like to know more about it and maybe submit something of your own.

To Have and to Hold

The best part of a challenge? For me, it's exploring a subject that's not part of my normal repertoire like Weddings or Anniversaries, which is the theme for Wednesday's blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

I started by finding a great vintage photo of a bride and groom and thought I'd turn this lovely couple into a wedding cake topper. The cake was decorated with washi tape, acrylic paint and a fine tip marker. Distress inks, acrylic paint and a hand-made stencil were used to create the background.

Since I do a lot of "fussy-cutting" I thought I'd share a tip, especially when using figures from photos: After cutting, take time to ink the edges as this will help to blend them into your collage.

Making this tag was a lot of fun and a great excuse to play around. I never decorated a wedding cake before and I got to know this couple a little better. But why didn't the bride smile and what did the groom need gloves for?

Money Dance

I'm linking yet another tag inspired by SSS's Monday blog challenge, Making a Cameo Appearance. I've never entered multiple pieces in a challenge before but for some reason this cameo bit has really resonated with me.

I printed an image of foreign money (courtesy of Amy Barickman) and used gel medium to transfer it to the tag for an aged appearance. The center was cut out and filled in with paint to make a sort of frame for the dancing ladies. I used black and white fine tip markers and also a touch of violet watercolor to make the scroll work and background stand out a bit more. The bottom strip was cut from a gold doilie that I darkened with acrylic paint. I went back later and added some copper Stickles to the frame edge and just above the doilie.

When I was done I thought, wouldn't it be nice if, instead of boring old politicians on the face of money we could have dancing ladies instead?

Then I did a search for money art on the web and found that altering money is not a new idea. There are many collections including Pinterest and Tumblr boards and also bloggers who specialize in it. Then I wondered if it was legal and, in the United States:

Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
So when I alter my next $100 bill, I'll do it anonymously.

Miss Emma

Still inspired by the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp, my dear Miss Emma is Making a Cameo Appearance on this tag. She's a silhouette image I found on the web, cut-out and pasted on Idea-ology Paper Stash and tinted with Distress ink. I used a stencil to create the oval and made a frame from paper covered with black and copper Scribbles (a 3-D paint). The flowers were stamped and cut from old book paper then some were painted black.

I can't say where all my creative energy is coming from today (maybe it's remnants from the full moon). I seem to be "on a roll" and sure hope it continues because I am having a blast. If it's contagious, I hope you catch it!

Mrs. Wheeler

A Cameo Appearance is the theme for Monday's blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp and I am inspired!

This tag was made from a Claudine Hellmuth chair stamp, a vintage photo, some scrapbook paper and a bit of colored pencil.

Mrs. Wheeler (making a cameo appearance on this tag) is a good example of how I'm interested in exploring composition, balance and the use of negative space.

She's not traditional
but very original
and perhaps
even one of a kind.

Got Rubber?

I can't explain exactly what the attraction is. Sure, rubber stamps are easy to use, the variety is mind-boggling, and they come in handy for all kinds of things. I think they have magical powers because they put a little voice inside my head that whispers, "you know you love me, buy me."

The Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is "We Love Stamps," so to show my love I've used a total of 15 stamps to create this tag. They are all store-bought except the cat and the box he's sitting on.

The "got rubber" stamp came in a bundle I bought on E-Bay. I've had it maybe three or four years now and this is the first time I've officially used it. It's not too versatile (for obvious reasons) but given this week's challenge theme, I think it's most appropriate.

Birds of a Feather

click to enlarge

Here is the valentine I made this year for Thelma (my good friend who introduced me to card making). I always push the envelope when making something for Thelma as she's somewhat traditional but has begun to let her creativity run wild after a bit of inspiration.

I stamped directly onto kraft paper card stock using a rainbow ink pad and the French script stamp from Dark Room Door. I tore strips of washi tape to make a border then blotted on Picket Fence Distress stain. The hearts were cut from deli-wrap that was stamped and trimmed with acrylic paint. The birds were made by stamping (Tim Holtz, Birds on a Wire) on the back side of some glitter paper then cutting out and pasting the front side up. I edged the border with dots and lines using a fine-tip marker.

The inscription on the inside will read:

Birds of a feather stick together!

Happy Valentine's Day

It just so happens that the Wednesday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is "Get Krafty" so I'm linking it there and then it's off to the mailbox so Thelma will get it by Friday.

Cupid Is As Cupid Does

Simon Says Have a Heart so the Wednesday blog challenge inspired this tag.

The background is book paper stamped with hearts using ink and powder (to create a resist) and tinted with Distress. After removing the embossing with an iron, I pasted on a heart made of fibrous paper and embellished the border with ink and paint.

Cupid was cut from the monthly Trader Joe's flyer, I added a stamped bird and also some paper strips.

I believe it was Forrest Gump's mom who said, "Cupid is as Cupid does." I sure hope mine brings me a box of chocolates.

Love Notes

The Simon Says Stamp Monday blog challenge is "Love Notes" and that was my inspiration for this greeting card design. Fashioned from various collage papers and rubber stamps (Paper Artsy), I used sewing machine stitching and painted dots to add interest along with a branch cut from scrapbook paper.

Heart Candy Love

Just a simple tag inspired by Tim Holtz using his Kraft Resist Paper Stash for a background, a paper punched strip and some hearts, embellished with sewing machine stitching, white Scribbles and a black fine-tip marker.

The love script is a store-bought stamp, the postage stamp frame was hand-cut. To get a chalkboard effect, I mixed white and clear embossing powders together after stamping with white pigment ink and used a white charcoal pencil to cloud the background.

To see more detail, click to enlarge...