Make It Monday #115 with Bugaboo Stamps

 

Hello and Welcome!

 

It's time for another linky party at Make It Monday and we're eager to see your creations fill the gallery once again. Our wonderful sponsor this week is the fun & whimsical Bugaboo Stamps and I've used JJ Calendar Months-February on my mixed media art journal page. It's been a while since I've had time to play in my art journal but this image seemed a perfect fit for this type of project. Before I share how I created this page I would like to congratulate our winner from last week's linky party and thank all of you for the wonderful inspiration you share each week.

 

 

I love this blue butterfly & fun rub ons from Hambly Screen Prints.

A Dymo label maker spells out my new motto. ;-)

 

Flowers in all shapes & sizes create texture and visual interest.

 

 

The grasshopper, ladybug, butterfly, and black flower are rub ons.

 

 

Now for the deets, I used ink sprays by Dylusions in London Blue, Cut Grass & Pure Sunshine. After spraying my page in puddles of color I spritzed it with water (as Dyan does), let the colors run together and dabbed the excess with a paper towel. To add dimension I applied modeling paste on top of my flower stencil in random places and carefully lifted it leaving the raised impression. After it dried I decided to add pops of color by painting the petals of my flowers with acrylic paint and adding bling to the centers. Black flower rub ons add depth to my background and pretty butterfly rub ons add color. A MS butterfly was punched out of red holographic paper and a trio of yellow pearls was added to create a 3D butterfly fluttering about on my page while paper flowers add to the 3D effect as well. I'm a big polka dot fan so I added some in various places by stenciling over a piece of punchinella and using Christy Tomlinson's She Art rub ons. The sun was hand cut from a dp in Christy's She Art paper collection by Pink Paislee which I outlined with a black doodle pen and rub ons add visual interest. About this time I decided on the words I wanted to journal for this page and everyone has heard this phrase, I'm sure. For me personally I am at a point where I need to heed what they say and be content right where I am. ;-) As for JJ, she was printed onto Choice Snow White by TE and colored with Copic markers. I fussy cut her and outlined the edges with a black Copic marker, applied Mod Podge to the back and brushed her on. A black Faber Castell Pitt pen was used to shade and sink her into the background so she looks like she's been there all the time. Mixed media is so much fun and if you've never given it a try I encourage you too!   

 

 

 

 

 

Pick of the Week

#61 Tracy MacDonald

I love everything about this card from the mix of fab patterned paper to the amazing coloring on this sweet little chef and her towering birthday cake. Tracy is quite the Copic artist I'm a big fan of her signature style. To see more of this wonderful card click on her link and leave her some love. :) Thanks Tracy for sharing your talent with us at Make it Monday!


 

Sponsor

 

We are very excited to have again our fun sponsors Bugaboo Stamps! Everyone loves these fun and sweet digis!

http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

 

Bugaboo Stamps are offering a very generous prize of winner's choice of 7 single digis!

 

 

 

 

Before I close I want to wish veterans here in the USA a "Happy Veterans Day" and thank veterans everywhere who have teamed with our Armed Forces in protecting the freedom of all. It is a day to remember the fallen and the sacrifice they made on behalf of freedom. Everyone has the right to live free and none should have to live in tyranny or oppression. Most of you know that my son, and daughter-in-law, are currently serving in the U. S. Army. I am grateful that everyday new people volunteer to serve this country and defend it by joining the military. May God Bless all veterans and those currently serving to protect our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy!

Happy Veteran's Day!


Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to pay my teamies a visit to see what they came up with to whet your creative appetite. Click the links on my right sidebar or visit the Make It Monday blog.

Have a wonderful week!
Lisa

The Giving Tree

Hello and welcome, so happy you dropped by! I have another mixed media piece for you today and this one is close to my heart. I was visiting my friend's blog, You Made Me Ink, the other day and she made four cards that tugged at my heart strings. The images are from Nicecrane Designs and I immediately fell in love with them. The owner, Ignacio, offered me a free image and I happily obliged. Thank you so much Ignacio for your generosity!!! I chose this little boy because he reminded me of a very special boy, my boy. He's grown now and in the Army but he'll always be my little boy. I have precious memories of us reading his favorite book,  The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. When he was 5 we bought him the book and I ran across it recently while cleaning. It stirred something in me and when I saw this image I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to create something to capture that moment in time. This is how I did it...

The tree in the book was an apple tree so my tree is as well. I used a kaleidoscope circle stencil to create my sun with texture magic and rub ons, stamps, acrylic paint, & Faber Castell markers were used to create my background. I colored this sweet image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. The tree was made from a Studio Calico paper pad I received in a kit from Scarlet Lime. Christy Tomlinson is the artist/owner and she does a video featuring the new kit every month. She made a tree but nothing stirred me so I put it up thinking what am I going to do with this. It's funny how things will come back to you in an instant because when I saw this image from Nicecrane I remembered the video and the book. So here it is and I plan to hang it where I can see it and remember.

If you haven't delved into the world of mixed media I encourage you to. You can create so much with so little, you do not have to buy a lot of expensive products to create with. Acrylic paints are inexpensive and can be found (in U. S.) at every Wal-Mart and most are under a dollar for a 2 oz. bottle. No fancy brushes are needed & Plaid's Mod Podge is probably the most expensive thing you need to buy. Hope you'll give it a try sometime. I created a wall hanging a few posts ago and did a tutorial. You can see my step-by-step process there (click on Tutorials tab) and I'll be creating more soon. Any questions just email and I'll be happy to share what I've learned. Good luck and happy crafting!

I'm linking this up at the Old Back Porch & Make It Monday #98 challenge where anything goes. I'm in a hurry to get out the door so if I find more challenges to enter I'll link up later in the day.
Edit: I'm back and I'm also going to play along with the Stampin' Royalty #133 Anything Goes, Divas by Design Challenge #44-Anything Goes, and The Paper Shelter Challenge #73-Anything Goes, Crazy Amigo Challenge-Free Theme. So happy to find some new and exciting challenges!  

Thanks again to Ignacio at Nicecrane Designs for the free image, the inspiration I always receive from Lisa M. and to all of you for your support and encouragement. I do hope you'll click on the Nicecrane Designs link to view all of Ignacio's wonderful images and collage sheets. You will not be disappointed, promise. Also, pay Lisa M. a visit and leave her a sweet comment, she loves for folks to visit. As for me, your comments always brighten my day!!!
Hugs,
Lisa

Baking, Doilies, & Poppies

Bakin' Beauties inspiration at OCC

If you are looking for my Top Tip Tuesday Design Team post click here.

Wow, what a combination. I'm playing along with  Our Creative Corner's Bakin' Beauties Challenge where Kristin challenged us to make a creation based on these delish looking treats and the catch was to use something you would use in baking in your creations. How fun is that! As it turns out, a lot of fun!!! The next challenge I'm playing along with, City Crafter Challenge 116-Hello Doily, asked that you use a doily but NOT a paper, crochet or die-cut doily. Rather, they wanted to see stamps, doily embossing, or doily patterned paper on your project. The third challenge, Moxie Fab World-Tuesday Trigger, features this beautiful china plate with gorgeous poppies and the color combo is my trigger.

Moxie Fab World -Tuesday Trigger
Image Credit: http://wunderschoen-gemacht.blogspot.com/2012/05/poppies.html

So, how did I combine the three...

and a close up of my sparkly heart...

I'll start with the OCC challenge first because you have to explain your ingredient(s) so here goes. I used Sparking Sugar Cherry Pink crystals and they provide color {poppies} & texture. To adhere them to my die-cut heart cardboard I used a combo of meringue powder, sugar & water which is used a lot in baking to crystallize flowers for cakes or cupcakes. The meringue powder is a great substitute for egg whites and I placed a thin layer of medium gel mat to the cardboard heart. A cake palette knife helped me spread the mixture and I sealed it with Plaid Mod Podge which I applied with a nylon brush. Happy to say it worked like a charm but I was a sticky mess afterwards. :) In case it isn't obvious the inspiration I drew from OCC photo is-heart shape cookies, icing colors & sprinkles. I applied rub on doilies (yes I know, not on the list but they are not on the NO list so maybe I can squeak by, hope so) and burnished them with a bone folder. The colors are from the Moxie Fab Trigger as I previously stated and I hope I achieved the requirements for all three challenges. One thing is for sure, I completely and totally enjoyed making this project. To me, that is what crafting is all about. If you'd like to know how I made this project just click the tutorial tab at the top and view the pictures. :)

I am also entering my mixed media wall hanging in two *new to me* challenges, The Crafty Bloggers Network: Monday Challenge #1 Anything Goes & Tuesday Alchemy: Challenge #21 Anything Goes.

Have a super day & Happy 4th of July to those celebrating in the USA! We would not have the freedom we do without the sacrifice of those who have fought and died for this country. We continue to experience freedom because of the men and women in our Armed Forces and I join my husband in thanking you for your service and selfless sacrifice. May God bless you and the United States of America!!!
Hugs,
Lisa xx


Supplies:
Ink: Shabby Shutters Distress Ink (T!m Holtz/Ranger)
Accessories: salvaged cardboard; Pro Art gesso; Apple Barrel & Folk Art acrylic paints; acrylic paint dabber-watermelon, (Adirondack/Ranger); Mister Huey's Pretty Pink & Read Red Color Mists (Studio Calico); Christy Tomlinson She Art rub ons (Pink Paislee); Timeless Doilies rub ons (Kaisercraft); motifs-transferts stylises rub ons (BG); Spellbinders Cl. Heart & Cl. Scalloped Heart; doily lace edger (MS); leaf green ribbon (Ribbon Boutique); Mod Podge-Matte (Plaid); India Tree Sparkling Sugar-Cherry Pink; Wilton Meringue Powder; sugar, water, Ateco cake palette knife; ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever; eyelets & original Crop-A-Dile (We R Memory Keepers)

Precious Memories

Hi there, I'm back with a mixed media journal page I created for the current Our Creative Corner : '10' Challenge and I'm also playing along with the MIM #95 Linky Party where anything goes. OCC's DT member, Kristin, challenged us to create something with the #10 on it or to use ten of the same items. I chose to use ten wood die-cuts on this page and for good measure I stamped No. 10 in the lower right corner. It was fun to create and the photo gives it a scrapped feel as well. Here's how I made it along with a few close ups.

I used a *new to me* technique that I found on a recent Inspiration Wednesday video by Donna Downey featuring transfer images, computer copy paper, gesso and gel medium. It worked like a charm and she included a link to download the butterfly sheet that you see in the background of my page. To add some overall color I sprayed Mister Huey's Forever Blue in random spots and added texture through bubble wrap, stamps, rub ons, tissue tape, dimensionals and acrylic paint. I painted all of the wood die-cut pieces with a base coat of acrylic paint and 'dance' received a second coat of picket fence crackle paint. Mister Huey's Pretty Pink color mist was sponged randomly on the letters and adds a pop of color. The small butterflies were dusted with pinkie fairy dust to make them sparkle and pearls add a touch of elegance. A magnetic date stamp records the date of my daughter's ballet recital on a distressed tag. Lace & a punched border help anchor the photo of my little ballerina to the page. A handmade chiffon flower was made using a tutorial by Mona Pendleton at Cupcake's Creations and I added a blue brad to the center. A fun little flower to make and I hope you'll check out both the video and tutorial for some crafty fun. :)

Welcome to my new followers and as always I truly appreciate the support and encouragement your comments give me. They make my day! Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone is having a great week.
~Lisa xx

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal; Butterfly Download Sheet (Donna Downey); Antique White & White Acrylic Paint (Apple Barrel); Baby Pink Acrylic Paint (Folk Art); Mister Huey's Forever Blue & Pretty Pink Color Mists; Distress Crackle Paint-Picket Fence, Antique Linen & Black Soot Distress Ink (T!m Holtz/Ranger); Pinkie Fairy Dust (Sulyn Industries); Studio Calico Die-Cut Wood Butterflies; Expressions Wood Shop-Timber (Pink Paislee); Tissue Tape-Sketchbook (T!m Holtz/Advantus); MS Swirling Lace Border Punch; 2MM White Pearls (PS); Numero Clear Stamps (7 gypsies); Magnetic Date Stamp (Making Memories); blue brad (MME-Market Street)

She was a daughter of God

I'm back today with my third She Art Girl from the online class, She Art Workshop, that I took earlier this year. In this three week course mixed media artist Christy Tomlinson introduces her students to art products, how to add texture & depth to your canvas, create backgrounds & scenes, and of course her signature She Art Girls. Her relaxed style is infectious and I learned a great deal from her which is why I signed up for the follow up class, She Art Workshop No. 2. This class focuses on details like eyes, noses, mouth, hair, clothing styles, and incorporating She Art in home decor and gifts. I'm using the second class to expand on the first one plus it has led me to other mixed media artists that I want to share with you as well. But more on that in a minute...

This girl {the third in the series}is based off PDF patterns Christy designed and includes in the class. I love her pant-a-loons and the colors are specific to the recipient. ;) I always enjoyed paper dolls as a girl so this has been serious fun and it has led me to branch out in an area that I really love. One of my goals in creating this blog last fall was to find out what I was passionate about and it is mixed media, I could honestly stay here forever! That is why I'd like to share links to some mixed media artists that are popular in the papercrafting world and all of these ladies (except Julie) have their own line of stamps which can be used for cards, scrapbooking, etc.. I like versatility so here's a sampling of a few that have caught my eye with their own distinct style. 

Christy Tomlinson

{be sure to click on the Scarlet Lime badge in my right sidebar for more creativity}

Donna Downey

{totally want to attend one of her inspired weekend workshops}

Donna Salazar

{she offers a free Inky, Painty, Glitzy, Grungy newsletter full of ideas & awesome e-classes}

Claudine Hellmuth

{author, illustrator, papercrafter extraordinaire, collage artist}

Julie Nutting

{discovered her through a mag subscription to Somerset Studios, love her couture girls!}

Dina Wakley

{she loves bright, bold colors and has a signature style all her own}

Stampington & Co. 'The Studio'

{a plethora of creativity and you can view projects demos by Christy, Claudine, Julie & Dina}

In addition I encourage you to visit Etsy and search mixed media artists because there is serious talent to be discovered there as well. The above reflects but a few in this wide pool of creative people and there's no way I could include everyone so from time to time I'll share more of my personal fave's. I also want to share the Design Memory Craft site with you where you'll find more ways to use those fabby Faber-Castell Pitt Pens & Gelatos and the awesome Dick Blick Art Materials site which offers everything an artist needs at great prices.  Here's a quick Top Tip for you: After applying rub-ons to your canvas give them a light coat of Mod Podge to seal them so they don't rub off before you can finish. 

Long post today but hope you have fun exploring and let your creative side go wild, lol. I'm entering this in the Make It Monday #86 Challenge & Tip Top Tuesday #75 Challenge. Thanks for stopping by and a big welcome to my new blog followers. I love it when people join because it gives me an opportunity to visit and enjoy their creativity. Have an awesome day!

Hugs,

Lisa

Supplies Used: 6x12 canvas, Liquitex Professional Acrylic Inks, Faber-Castell Pitt Pens, Caran d' Ache Neocolor II Artists' Crayon-salmon, (Dick Blick Art Materials); sewing pattern from thrift store; various acrylic paints from Wal-Mart; Master's Touch paint brushes (Hobby Lobby); rub-ons (Kaisercraft, MME, Glitz & Christy Tomlinson She Art by Pink Paislee); black Pilot Permaball pen & Zephyr Rollagraph Stamp Wheel (Scarlet Lime); black pearls (Kaisercraft); orange trim (Webster's Pages); paper flower (Taylored Expressions); Saddle Brown Staz On ink

Happy Anniversary

Hi there and welcome! I have another mixed media project to share with you today that I made to give as an anniversary gift. I Google'd love quotes and this one by Jeremy Taylor just seemed to fit the couple who will receive this piece of art. I love it and I truly believe friendship is the basis for a wonderful, happy marriage!

I used an 8x8 canvas and a musical background paper from The Paper Studio to start off. A recent trip to Jo-Ann's yielded a die cut paper with these gorgeous flowers and they were the inspiration for this piece. I fussy cut them and used a Faber Castell Pitt Pen {Dark Sepia} to shade the outline of the flowers and the page tears. My butterflies are cardstock stickers by Kaisercraft and I used Ranger's Perfect Pearls on the wings to add some color and visual interest. The metal key is from Making Memories and the tiny type alpha's are from Cosmo Cricket. I was too impatient to print the author's name so I wrote it out using my Pilot Permaball pen from Scarlet Lime {love that pen}. A trail for my butterflies was created from a bling swirl from Recollections that I disected and I added pearls, snatched from a Prima Say it in Studs embellishment, to my flowers for more dimension. Acrylic paint, more Faber Castell pens, and a few rub-on's completed my project. To ensure everything stays intact I applied a coat of Mod Podge by Plaid  and I have a close up for you. 

I'm entering this in the Tip Top Tuesday Anything But A Card Challenge and the Make It Monday #86 challenge. For now I'm off to run errands but tomorrow I plan to share my third girl from the She Art Workshop by Christy Tomlinson plus links to fabulous mixed media sites and stores. Have a fantastic day everyone and a HUGE thank you for all of the encouraging comments everyone left on my previous post, you really blessed me!!
Hugs,
Lisa

She Lived a Happy Life

Hi there, I'm back today to share a mixed media project with all of you. By now you know I am a huge fan of Christy Tomlinson and She Art, what you might not know is that she owns an online store that carries products for mixed media artists and monthly kits. I decided to give the mixed media kit a go last month and it featured products from her new She Art line by Pink Paislee. Here's a link to her online store, Scarlet Lime, and you can view her working with this kit on You Tube. Just type in her name, look for March Mixed Media Kit and have fun.

I created my canvas using dp's from the 6x6 Petite Paper Pack and the Paper Dolls Bits & Pieces which were part of the kit. The rest is from my stash and I loved creating this 8x8 She Art scene. Next time I think I'll work on two canvases in tandem so I can shift gears and create one "light" and the other "dark." I'm partial to black shading for some reason but I really want to lighten things up a bit so maybe next time, lol. If you've never given mixed media a try I encourage you to do so because there are no errors, just cover-ups. ;) I plan on entering this in the Make It Monday Challenge and I hope you'll check out the wealth of inspiration there!

Thanks for stopping by and a big welcome to my newest follower, Michelle. I also appreciate all of the kind comments and emails that everyone sent my way concerning our son leaving for basic training last Sunday. He arrived in Oklahoma on Monday and we are all looking forward to his graduation in late June, especially his mom. :-) Have a great week and I'll be back with some challenge entries, my pansy project, and more mixed media.
Hugs,
Lisa

She Art Who???

Hello, I'm talking about Christy Tomlinson, the creative genius behind She Art girls. I discovered her work  through Mona Pendleton's blog,  Cupcakes's Creations, and I was hooked. I enjoy mixed media and decided to take the plunge and sign up for She Art 1 & 2, and I'm thrilled I did. I really enjoy Christy's down to earth style and there's so much content to these classes. Fun, fun, fun-you can't help but have fun because Christy doesn't take herself too seriously and you learn mistakes are easily fixed or you simply improvise and move along. In the end, it's all good!


Today I'm sharing my first She Art girl and I used the PDF patterns for the head, arms, legs, dress and boots which Christy designed for the She Art 1 class. I actually watched all of the videos but took her advice and I'm going to go in order so that I can learn step by step and not tackle everything at once. This is the basic She Art girl and I made mistakes but it just gives me an opportunity to keep improving and having fun. :-)

My canvas was created with an old sewing pattern for my base and acrylic paint was applied in shades of blue, green and yellow while Faber-Castell pens and Liquitex Professional Inks add color and shading. Rub-ons & stamps add depth and whimsy and a NeoColor II Artist Crayon (love these) added a rosy tint to her cheeks and skin tone. My daughter wanted her cheeks to be more rosy so I added more color and here's a fuzzy close up, sorry. The camera and I are not on speaking terms these days and it is way past time for it to go into retirement so I am shopping for another. The lotus flower cabachon is from Webster's Pages and everything on the canvas is something near and dear to my darling girl because this one is for her.

If you are interested in learning more check out Christy's blog, Do What Matters Most, and click on the Workshops tab for more information. She also has a great online shop, Scarlet Lime, where she sells mixed media products, monthly kits and much more.

I'd like to extend a big welcome to my new blog follower, Sandie, from Australia. She has a wonderful blog where she shares her enormous talent with all of us and this lady has a way with flowers. She recently posted a wonderful tutorial on how she makes her exquisite flowers and you can view it here on her blog. That's all for me today, thanks for stopping by & always leaving a sweet comment for me. It makes my day!
Enjoy today,
Lisa