Extra! Extra!

The brother that is receiving this 4x4 chunky for his birthday will also receive this card.

I adhered patterned paper to a chipboard circle and colored it with distress inks to match the other patterned papers (all by 7 Gypsies).  The buildings were stamped directly on the background with black soot distress ink which helps to make them look like they're in the distance. 

The cute little paperboy from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a scrap of vanilla cardstock, colored with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out before being adhered.  I stamped "extra" twice on patterned paper and again used distress inks to tint them.  They are attached to each other with a garment pin from my stash.

I can't believe it's the last day of August already!  Make it a great one.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla and crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by 7 Gypsies; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; dried marigold, tumbled glass, walnut stain and black soot distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; punchinella; circle chipboard shape from Hobby Lobby; Martha Stewart border punch; Nestabilities lacy round die from Spellbinders; garment pin by Making Memories; pop-dots.

Test Yourself - Mail Art Postcard

I created this 5x7 postcard for a mail art friend who likes my collages that include vintage photos.

For the background I used pages torn from old textbooks.  The cute graphic on the left is from a math book, and there's also part of a spelling book lesson and a geography book map under there.  The young woman in her cap and gown is my Aunt Sarah.  (I've used this photo before because it's such a classic.)  I used various stencils, stamps and washi tapes to create layers and to tie everything together.  As a final step, and to bring more color into the collage, I outlined the photograph with a blue Gelato and rubbed it with my finger. 

This postcard has to go all the way to Portugal so I'll be popping it into a clear cellophane envelope for protection and sending it on its way.

TGIF!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 watercolor postcard; pages from vintage textbooks; alphabet stencil, Harlequin stencil, music washi tape and clock rub-on by Tim Holtz; clock stencil by The Crafters Workshop; clock stamp by Graphic 45; black soot and mustard seed distress ink; alphabet washi tape unknown; black Stabilo All Pencil; Faber-Castell metallic blue Gelato; reprint of family photo.

Happy Chunky Birthday

I created this mixed media chunky for my brother whose birthday is coming up soon.  That's his picture when he was just a little tyke.

I started by covering a 4x4 cradled wood panel with patterned paper and scraps from an old book.  I used blue, green and white acrylic paint to create a grungy background that is interesting but not too busy.  I stamped on some text and the splatters, then added texture by stenciling on the circles using modeling paste and a Tim Holtz stencil.  Once the modeling paste dried, I tinted the circles with distress ink and acrylic paint. 
 

For the pedestal, I used an old wooden drawer knob.  I painted it with acrylics and applied a crackle product, then played around with distress inks and a charcoal pencil until it looked similar to the background on the panel.

The porcelain knob has a funny family connection: it came off the laundry chute door in the bathroom of our childhood home.  We completely remodeled the bathroom last year and when my mom told me she was going to buy a new knob for the laundry chute door, I asked if I could have the old one.  It's not original to the house, but it does have a cute vintage look to it.

This project was so much fun.  I think I need to make one for myself!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a fabulous day.

Locomotive Inspection Report

I enjoy making masculine cards.  And since I have brothers and several male friends, I get to make quite a few cards for guys.  I created this one for a buddy of mine who is celebrating his birthday this week.

I purchased a stack of vintage Locomotive Inspection forms at an antique shop a while ago.  The forms had not been filled out, but someone had used the backs (and like in this case, the front) to calculate something akin to those awful word problems in math class: "If a train leaves Chicago at 5:00 a.m. heading west at 75 mph, and another train leaves Denver at 4:00 a.m. heading east at 62 mph, at what time will the trains meet at Grand Island, Nebraska?"  I suppose nowadays the engineers simply plug all this information into a computer, but back in the dark ages they had to figure out this information on their own.  And we poor pupils were tortured with figuring out the answer the old-fashioned way, even though the likelihood of us working for the railroad was pretty slim.

But I digress.  One portion of the inspection form became the background for my card.  Another portion was used for the ATC-sized focal image. The paper was fragile and had a nice patina, but it still needed something so I used distress inks and acrylic paint to grunge-it-up a little.  My dapper gent from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a piece of vanilla cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils before being adhered.  I used acrylic paints to add some age to the copper gear pieces before adhering them.

The old cancelled postage stamp (still clinging to a piece of envelope) was in my stash. I had so much fun making this card, and I know that Ron will enjoy inspecting all the interesting bits and pieces.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Supplies:
Espresso and dark green cardstocks by Bazzill; vintage railroad inspection form; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; stamps from Artistic Outpost; compass stamp by Stampabilities; splatter pattern background stamp by All Night Media; Ranger Archival black ink; forest moss, vintage photo, pumice stone and black soot distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; titanium white acrylic paint; Ranger Adirondack acrylic paint dabber (espresso); Derwent charcoal pencil; Martha Stewart border punch; punchinella; metal gears unknown; vintage postage stamp from my stash.

Bingo Birds - Altered Bingo Card

I had no idea what I was going to do for my altered envelope partner this month, so for inspiration I started digging through one of my art drawers that is full of vintage ephemera.  I found an old bingo card that I bought several years ago and decided to use it.

The sheet music and French postage stamp along the bottom are old but the other clip art images, including the birds, are new items.  I aged and blended everything using acrylic paint, distress inks and a "Distressed Effects" rub-on by My Mind's Eye that is so old I'm surprised it's not completely dried up.

On the reverse, I added a stamped postcard header by Tim Holtz. Although I could send this through the mail naked, I will probably put it in a clear cellophane envelope in order to give it some protection.  The bingo card is old and the corners, which are a little frayed, could easily get caught and damaged if sent through a modern postal machine.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Vintage bingo card and sheet music; vintage French postage stamp; bird clipart image from Stampington and Company; other clipart images from ArtChix Studio; titanium white acrylic paint; black soot, pumice stone and forest moss distress ink; Derwent light tinted charcoal pencil; My Mind's Eye Distressed Effects rub-on; postal cancellation stamp by Stampa Rosa; postcard stamp by Tim Holtz; Ranger Archival black ink.

The Fish That Ate Wales - Mail Art Postcard

I've had several pieces of mail art come in, so I better get cracking on sending some out!

This clip-art fish was the perfect size for a postcard.  I adhered him to a vintage map and added the bubbles using watercolor pencils and acrylic paint.  The sea-themed sentiments are from Red Lead Paperworks.

I'm usually not one for puns, but the title of this postcard basically wrote itself thanks to the map I chose at random.  It reminded me of a letter a friend wrote to me from college (many moons ago).  In that letter she told me that she was thinking of studying abroad in "Whales."  She misspelled Wales several times in her letter, and the thought of it still makes me smile.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
4x6 index card; vintage geography book map; clip-art fish from a Stampington magazine; sentiment from Red Lead Paperworks; Ranger Archival black ink; faux post mark by Inkadinkado; black soot and tumbled glass distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Derwent watercolor pencils; naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; postcard image by Tim Holtz.