Always...Love

I created this Valentine to send to my buddy Ron.  I'm sure he would prefer a real pin-up girl, but he'll have to settle for this paper one.

I started by creating a patchwork of patterned papers on the background.  I muted the tones by scraping on white gesso using an old credit card.  The raised letters and numbers were achieved by applying modeling paste through a stencil.  After the paste dried completely, I laid the stencil down again and sponged on some distress ink.

I ended up using a lot of Tim Holtz products on this card: the patterned papers, the film strip, two stencils, the ticket, the photobooth cutie, a rub-on and of course, distress inks (one of my all-time favorite art items).  I love the muted palette of this card which gives a nod to Valentine's Day but isn't overly feminine.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Red cardstock by Bazzill; Tim Holtz products: photo booth image, patterned paper, film strip, ticket, alphabet stencil, burlap stencil; festive berries, stormy sky and gathered twigs Distress Inks; paper flower by Prima; antique copper brad; love die cut by Little Yellow Bicycle; heart punch by Marvy; Golden modeling paste; white gesso; titanium white acrylic paint.

Love Heart - Postcard

I've created several versions of this Valentine postcard to send to friends.  I like the bright, modern colors which are not always easy for me to work with.  But add a little black and white polka dot washi tape to the mix, and the final result makes me very happy.

I started by adhering torn sheet music and book pages to 140 lb watercolor paper, then gave it all a whitewash using gesso.  Some background stenciling was added next, using distress inks.  The heart was stamped separately on white cardstock, cut out and adhered to the background.  The washi tape was added to ground the composition before adhering the die-cut word.

Have a great day, and Happy Chinese New Year to my Chinese colleagues!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; old sheet music and book page; Golden white gesso; Tim Holtz and The Crafters Workshop stencils; festive berries, peacock feathers and pumice stone distress inks; heart image by Dina Wakley; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Faber-Castell silver metallic gel stick; love die cut from Little Yellow Bicycle; miscellaneous washi tape; Stabilo black All Pencil; titanium white acrylic paint.

You're Just My Type - Valentine

Like I mentioned previously, I usually don't go for puns.  But I like this one because of the subject matter.  I found the stamp at Michaels in the dollar bin and thought it would work for Valentine's Day as well as on other occasions.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
White cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; focal image from Michaels; Ranger Archival black ink; spun sugar and tattered rose distress inks; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; corner rounder punch.

Samizdat - Mini Moleskin Journal Page

This three-part journal page was inspired by an exhibit at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library titled Samizdat: The Art of Czech Resistance 1968-1989.  Samizdat (literal translation: self-published) is a Russian word that refers to underground publications that were circulated secretly under Communist rule.

Samizdat

The exhibit includes self-published books, journals, artwork and even bootleg recordings of banned bands.  Let me give you an example that really stood out for me:  George Orwell's novel 1984.  How many of you were required to read 1984 in high school?  I was. Yet in Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia, this book and many others were banned in any language.  It was sobering to see the large stack of copies of 1984 that people had painstakingly translated and printed for distribution in defiance of the government.

Typewriting sample

Some of the self-published books were instruction manuals with diagrams on how to create your own printing press.  But many people used manual typewriters and carbon paper, which apparently are now so foreign to younger generations that the exhibit includes a typewriter for people to try.  I was lucky enough to snag a piece of typing paper that had been used already and set aside.  I felt a little guilty about taking it, but I figured it would just get thrown away since it was not part of the official exhibit.  It was interesting to see what people had typed: everything from "Thanks for the opportunity to see this" to obscenities in Portuguese.

Pozor: Kontrolovane Korespondence

This final part of the spread is my favorite.  It is hidden inside the accordion fold of the typewriter paper.  The triangle image on the right is another thing in the exhibit that stood out for me.  Apparently it was used to warn others that someone's correspondence was being monitored.  There were similar images to warn people that a house was being watched or that a phone was bugged.  The original images appeared to have been made with a hand-carved stamp; I drew my own on cardstock.

The same weekend that I visited the Samizdat exhibit, I saw this post on Creative Lenna's blog about her tiny Moleskin journal.  The combination of these two disparate things really clicked for me.  I've been trying to get into the habit of keeping an art journal for at least a couple of years and have not been successful.  Seeing Lenna's tiny Moleskin (3.5 x 5.5 inches) convinced me that I needed to work in a smaller journal.  I went right out and bought my own tiny Moleskin and had a fabulous time creating this first spread.

I hope I didn't bore you with this post, but I felt so compelled to share the impact that the Samizdat exhibit had on me.  If you've read this far, thank you very much!

Photo Booth Valentines

I'm making a variety of Valentine's Day cards to send around the globe, literally.  The first batch of cards features some sweet photo booth images from Tim Holtz.

The background is a patterned paper that I toned down with acrylic paint and distress ink.  I layered the photo and a scrap of sheet music over a paper lace heart.

The sentiment was stamped on cardstock, punched with a scalloped oval and sponged with distress ink.

Valentine's Day was so much fun when I was a kid (back in the Dark Ages).  We'd decorate a shoe box to take to school, and come home with it full of sweet and "punny" little Valentines from all our classmates.  Sometimes one of the icky boys would surprise you with one that made you wonder if he secretly liked you, but really, it was all very innocent and just for fun.  I like being able to recreate that feeling now as an adult.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Red cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by Authentique; titanium white acrylic paint; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; festive berries, tattered rose and gathered twigs distress ink; paper heart from Michaels; vintage sheet music from my stash; photo booth image by Tim Holtz; sentiment by Hampton Art; Ranger Archival black ink; scalloped oval punch from Stampin' Up; corner rounder punch.