Sisters Wall Hanging

One of my cousins asked me to create a wall hanging using pictures of her mom (my dad's sister) and our five other aunts.  I had never made anything like this before so I was excited, but also a little scared.  After some thought, I accepted the challenge and we met to discuss what she had in mind.  She brought the photos she wanted me to use (high school graduation portraits, for the most part) and we discussed a color scheme.  Other than that, I was free to do whatever I wanted.

I decided to use a 12x12 cradled wood panel as my substrate.  The first step was to scan and print the photos to size.  This took a loooooong time.  The original photos were different sizes and quality, and needed careful editing so they would look good once they were all together on the board.  One major issue was that five of the six were looking to the left.  This caused the composition to look a little lopsided, and it also drew the eye (meaning the eye of a viewer), off the left side of the panel.  Finally I decided that one of the photos just had to be flipped.  Once I had the photos the way I wanted them, I printed them on cardstock using a laser copier.

I covered the front and sides of the board with a patterned paper and scraps of sheet music.  I then dry-brushed titanium white acrylic paint over the entire surface and sponged on faded jeans distress ink, a light green acrylic paint, and faded jeans distress paint.  Next I added some stenciling using molding paste.  Once the molding paste was dry, I colored it with Gelatos.  I used several different colors of blue, green, silver and gray Gelatos before achieving the look I wanted.  I lightly stamped on some cursive writing using permanent black ink and spattered titanium white paint over the entire background.

I trimmed the photos and adhered them to the board.  And this is where I got kinda stuck.  My aunts looked like a bunch of floating heads!  I had to figure out a way to finish off the bottoms of the photos and integrate them into the background, but since I had already glued them down I was limited as to what I could do.  My eventual solution was to swirl on some modeling paste to simulate a row of flowers.  This is the only part of the project that I wasn't 100% happy with, but at that point I couldn't change it.  And I couldn't start over.  My cousin had been waiting patiently for quite a while and frankly, I was ready to be done with it.

Since the emphasis really was on the sisters' photos, my cousin was pleased with the final result.  And for the most part I was, too.  I learned a lot through the process and if there is a "next time," I know which things I would do differently and which things I would do the same.  But I don't think I'm ready to do another one quite yet!

Have a wonderful day!

Sing

Earlier this month I shared with you this card that I made for our friend Ron who had surgery and was in the hospital.  Well, that poor guy is still in the hospital following some unexpected complications and two more surgeries.  I'm sending him another card, but first I created this card to send to his wife, Jackie.  She is one of my mom's closest friends and she's been pretty open about how stressful the situation has been.

Sometimes we forget that when someone has a protracted illness or hospital stay, it takes a toll on the family, too.  My mom and I experienced this first-hand after my dad was diagnosed with cancer.  So I wanted to let Jackie know that we are thinking of her and sending our love and support.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but sometimes a simple little boost like that can help a friend make it through a tough day.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers from my scrap bin; bird stamp from Stampington and Company; Ranger Archival black ink; antique linen and gathered twigs distress ink; punchinella; Martha Stewart border punch; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; sing cut from an old book.

Cemetery Jaunt and Gravestone Rubbings

My friend Doug has been working on his family genealogy.  He discovered that his great-great-great grandfather, William Bales, is buried near his mother's hometown which is about 75 miles from where the two of us grew up.  When he came to Iowa last weekend for our high school class reunion, we took a little day trip to find the cemetery and the marker.

William Bales marker as found on Find a Grave.

The cemetery is a Friends (Quaker) burial spot, small and well groomed.  Still, it took us about an hour to find the marker.  We might not have found it at all had we not had this photograph (above) to help us, which someone had posted on the Find a Grave website.

William Bales marker as we found it.

As you can see, the marker has deteriorated since that photograph was taken.  It was covered with lichen and no doubt some erosion has occurred.  The name did not look like William Bales at all, and Doug had walked past that marker more than once.  However, the 1861 date jumped out at me and upon closer inspection, we realized we had found it!

Now I can't explain how or why I thought of this, but the day before I had asked Doug if he'd like to make a rubbing of the marker.  He was open to the idea but since neither of us had ever done one, I went online in search of information.  I found this document that was full of good advice and a supply list.  I pretty much had everything we would need in my stash, other than the wax crayons that are recommended.  However, oil pastels were mentioned as an alternative and I did have some of those.  We bought some graphite sticks as another option.

The first step was to clean the stone.  I had a spray bottle filled with plain water and Doug used a small scrub brush to remove years (a century and a half!) of dust, dirt and green lichen.  Once we did that, the details were more visible.  We wiped off the stone and let it dry a bit, and then we were ready to make the rubbing.

The newsprint paper I had was just large enough to cover the essential portions of the stone.  We taped it to the front using low-tack painters tape and made a rubbing with the graphite stick first.  It looked pretty good, but it was hard to define the middle of the letters because a graphite stick is not flexible.  It is also very messy!

The second rubbing was made using oil pastels, and it turned out fabulous!  Because the oil pastels are soft, we were able to get into all the little nooks and crannies of each letter and number.  I gave each rubbing a quick coat of acrylic spray sealant before we left the cemetery.  Once we got home, I gave them two additional coats of sealant.

I gotta tell you, I had the best time helping Doug find his ancestor's grave and making a rubbing of the marker.  It was a beautiful day to go for a drive with one of my oldest friends, and it was so gratifying to see that this marker has withstood the test of time.

Unfortunately, we saw many others that have not fared as well.  Some are horribly eroded or leaning at precarious angles because they were simply stuck into the ground without any kind of solid base to protect them from moisture.  This sweet marker for a Blossom Edwards was lying flat on its back.  The inscription reads, "O' rose of May, O' flower too soon faded," which is a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and I imagine that this marker was for a baby or perhaps a young girl.  It gave me comfort to find that her parents are buried in the same cemetery.

On the way home, we stopped at the cemetery where Doug's great grandparents and some other relatives are buried.  There is also a Revolutionary War soldier buried there.

This was the view from the back of the cemetery:  tall corn, blue skies, and fluffy white clouds.  Quintessential Iowa in summer!  We could not have asked for a more perfect day for our jaunt.

Thanks for stopping by, on what is the 7th anniversary of my blog!   I've never been able to keep a diary or journal going for very long, so I'm rather amazed at myself.  Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Get a Man!

Ha ha!  Not really.  I was just looking for a fun title for this blog post.  Besides,  I've never been one to tell anyone what to do with their life.  For all I know you already have a man, or a woman, or a chicken that makes you perfectly happy.  However, I created this card to send to a friend of mine who is single AND who just happens to own a gun, so I think she'll appreciate the sentiment.

I started by randomly stamping the Holstein cow pattern from Artistic Outpost on a scrapbook paper that looks like an old newspaper.  My cowgirl (also from AO) was stamped on vanilla cardstock and colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils.  For her background I doctored up a patterned paper with white acrylic paint, a crackle background stamp and distress inks. The decorative border is a piece of Dresden trim.  Originally it was glossy white, so I sponged it with gathered twigs distress ink to make it work with my design.  It looked almost like a subtle gold in its final state.

This entire card was made with paper scraps from my bins.  Although I'm happy to be putting those scraps to good use, one card here or there is not the most efficient way to tidy up my art room.  Drastic measures may be required.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; miscellaneous patterned papers (unknown); stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger watering can ink; pumice stone and gathered twigs distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; crackle background stamp; Dresden trim; punchinella; Derwent light charcoal pencil; Colorbox white pigment ink.

Pip Pip! Get Well Card

A good friend of my parents just had surgery, so I created this card to send him some cheer.

I'll tell you a little secret:  all of the papers (except the brown cardstock I used for the base) came from my stash of paper scraps.  I rummaged around until I found four pieces that kind of went together, and then sponged on distress inks to further integrate the various designs.  I stamped the Union Jack collage onto the rust-colored paper to start my background.  For the focal image, I stamped the London/Queen's Guard collage image onto a light-colored paper with black ink (all stamps are from Artistic Outpost, by the way), and used wild honey, barn door and walnut stain distress ink to tint it.  My dapper gent was stamped in black on the same light-colored paper, tinted with old paper distress ink, and fussy-cut.

The sentiment was stamped with rusty hinge distress ink and heat embossed on the same paper that the gent and the London collage were stamped on.  It was mounted on a scrap of the rust paper, distressed, and accented with two antique copper brads before being adhered with foam tape.  It's been a long time since I used a brad, but in the past they were practically a given on my cards, especially those made for guys.  That touch of metallic just reads masculine to me.

Have a great day!  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; four various patterned papers; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; wild honey, old paper, rusty hinge, barn door and walnut stain distress inks; Ranger potting soil ink; clear embossing powder; border punch by EK Success; foam tape.

Take the Scenic Route - Tag

This project grew out of some paper scraps that were simply too pretty to throw away.  They weren't quite big enough for a card, so I decided to make a tag.

I started with a black tag purchased at a craft store.  After adhering the patterned papers, I dry-brushed titanium white acrylic paint all around the tag and sponged on some pumice stone distress ink.  I stamped on the white spatters using pigment ink.  Then I went in search of a focal image.  I settled on this photograph which was in an envelope of old snapshots gifted to me by a friend of my mom's.  She found the photos among her mother-in-law's things when she passed, and sent me the ones of people they couldn't identify.  I like the looks of this couple:  he with his fuzzy caterpillar mustache and she with her dandy fox stole.

I made a copy of the photo and trimmed it with a deckle scissor.  Next I selected the Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker and the vintage postage stamps.  Before adhering everything, I amped up the background by stenciling on dusty concord distress ink through a piece of punchinella.  Final touches included rubber stamping and outlining.

I covered the back of the tag with a road map of France.  It wasn't a particularly old map so I aged it a little with white gesso and pumice stone distress ink.  I added a border of silver leaf and tied a length of dyed seam binding through the hole to complete the tag.  Before I send it, I'll be writing a short message to the recipient.

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Have a great day!

Supplies: 
Black chalkboard tag from Michaels or Hobby Lobby; miscellaneous patterned paper; vintage sheet music scrap; titanium white acrylic paint; pumice stone and dusty concord distress ink; Ranger Archival watering can ink; Colorbox white pigment ink; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; script stamp unknown (Stampington?), round French postal cancellation unknown (Hero Arts?); vintage postage stamps; Tim Holtz word sticker; Derwent lavender tinted charcoal pencil; black Stabilo All Pencil; Golden white gesso; Krylon silver leaf pen; seam binding.

Honor Flight Thank You Cards

The U.S. Postal Service should be loving me today:  I dropped 25 pieces of first class mail into the system!  No, I didn't take their advice to mail early for Christmas.  Instead, my dad and I are finally sending thank you cards related to our Honor Flight experience in May.

At the World War II Memorial with the young man from the U.S. Army Band who sang the National Anthem for us.

The majority of the cards went to friends and family who responded to my Honor Flight Letter Project prior to the trip.  They really came through for me, and my dad had a big stack of mail to open on the flight home.  He wasn't expecting anything, so was he surprised!

At the World War II Memorial.

I had a special thank you card to send to my friend Julia in Washington.  She, her husband, and their twin sons were among the group of locals who met our flight when it landed at Reagan National Airport.  It's one thing to be greeted by a cheering group of flag-waving people.  It's another thing to have your name called out and to receive a big hug from a lovely woman! 

At the Lincoln Memorial, with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background.

We also wanted to thank the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight staff and volunteers who did a phenomenal job organizing and executing this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  They really know what they're doing.

At the Marine Memorial.

I kept the cards simple.  I had Dad select several photos from that day and printed them on lightweight photo paper.  I bought dark blue cardstock for the base, but I had enough red scraps in my stash for the mats.  I decorated the envelopes with patriotic images stamped in blue and red ink and used U.S. flag postage stamps.  (I forgot to take a picture of the envelopes.)

I'm glad to have these cards completed and in the mail.  It reminded me of how grateful I am that Dad had the chance to participate in the Honor Flight, and that I got to experience it with him.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day.