A Lady Never Reveals...Altered Envelope

Years ago, we were at my grandparents' house for something and it just happened to be my great aunt's birthday.  Someone asked her how old she was and her reply was, "A lady never reveals her age."  I had to kind of laugh at that.  I mean, we all knew she was 80-something.  Did it really matter whether she was 82 or 83, or even 87?  I would think she would be proud of having lived a good, long life.  But in generations past, it was not considered good form or even prudent to reveal a woman's age.  Women who were not married by "a certain age" were labeled spinsters and looked down upon, even pitied.  Married women whose children had left home, or young widows, were disparaged if they were youthful and vibrant or tried to have a life of their own.  Even today, age discrimination still exists for women far more than for men.

But enough serious discussion.  I only brought it up because it relates to this altered envelope I created as a birthday RAK.  I found the paper and this clip-art image in my stash (both were freebies in a Stampington magazine), and wanted to come up with a snarky caption related to birthdays.  And for some odd reason I remembered my great aunt Emily telling me, "A lady never reveals her age."  But what else might she not reveal?  Hmmm, how about the amount she spends on art supplies?!

I used a We R Memory Keepers envelope board to turn the patterned paper into an envelope, inserting a lightweight index card inside before gluing it shut (for added sturdiness).  I adhered my lovely lady and printed my snarky statement on the computer.  I added the white dots, black zigzags and mini stars using a black PITT artist pen and white gelly roll pen.  A birthday greeting and the recipient's address went on the other side of the envelope. 

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by. 

Supplies: 
Patterned paper and clip-art photo from Stampington and Company; We R Memory Keepers envelope board; computer generated sentiment; Sakura white gelly roll pen; Faber-Castell PITT artist pen.

Icelandic Poppy No. 4 - Altered Envelope

Inspiration can come from just about anywhere.  In this case, it came from a forgotten monoprint that I found in my stash.  I made the print into a 6 x 4.75 inch envelope using my envelope punch board, then sat and studied it until I finally decided what my next step would be.

Since my partner likes poppies, I decided I would try to paint one on the envelope.  I did a practice sketch on a piece of scratch paper first.  Once I was happy with the size and shape of my design, I transferred it onto the envelope and outlined it with black Stabilo All Pencil.  I then painted inside all of the pencil lines with white acrylic paint.  Some of the Stabilo pencil smeared a little when it got wet, but that actually worked well with my design.

I continued to add color and details to the poppy by painting on lemon zest Dylusions ink spray, peeled paint and antiqued bronze distress paint, more white acrylic paint, and more black and white Stabilo pencil.  This was such a fun process that I never wanted it to end.

I added the No. 4 with a stencil to signify that this month is the Envie Addicts' fourth birthday.  I stamped a flourish border but left the back fairly plain, mainly to prevent any confusion at the post office.

I just love participating in this altered envelope exchange every month.  It's a fun and talented group and I have received many beautiful pieces of art through the mail.  I've also learned a lot and have been motivated to try new things.  For example, my first inclination was to add some stamped images to this envelope.  Instead, I drew my own poppy and am quite pleased with how it turned out.  I hope my partner likes it!

Have a wonderful day.  Thanks for dropping by.

Supplies:
Homemade monoprint using white cardstock, Liquitex acrylic paints and Gelli Plate; We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board; black and white Stabilo All Pencil; titanium white acrylic paint; Dylusions lemon zest ink spray; peeled paint and antiqued bronze distress paint; Tim Holtz stencil; black Staedtler pigment liner; flourish stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms; Ranger Archival watering can ink; squid ink Gelatos.

Hello

An art friend of mine has had a pretty miserable summer: she's been doctoring a couple of different ailments that started with a fall over Memorial Day weekend.  It has been a while since I sent her something (one of these Love Bird cards back in July), so last night's mission was to make a card that can get popped into the mail quickly.

This card started with Authentique patterned papers from my scrap bin.  Luckily I still had some uncut sheets from the original 6x6 bundle to complete the card.  I stamped the young girl from Artistic Outpost onto a gray paper from the collection and lightly tinted her with Prismacolor pencils.  The "hello" wasn't showing up against the background, so I layered a die-cut banner underneath it.  The Kaisercraft paper flowers are also from my stash.

I must say I'm having a lot of fun using my scraps.  I can't bear to throw them away when I know I can make something pretty with them.  Thanks for dropping by.  Have a beautiful day!

Supplies:
Espresso cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Authentique; focal image by Artistic Outpost; die-cut sentiment by Little Yellow Bicycle; Ranger Archival black ink; pumice stone distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Martha Stewart border punch; oval, lacy oval and banner die-cuts by Spellbinders; paper flowers by Kaisercraft; antique gold brad.

May I Smoke? ATC

It has been ages since I made an ATC.  And then, while looking for something else, I stumbled across this sultry photo of Marlene Dietrich that I had printed ages ago.  And in the same pile of leftovers was this one-sentence book text scrap that seemed perfect for the photo.  I don't remember if I originally planned to use these two items together, but my muse was telling me to do so now.

I started by adhering two patterned papers to a cardstock ATC base and dry-brushing on white acrylic paint.  I then stenciled on the flourish pattern using molding paste.  After the paste dried, I tinted the flourish with wild honey distress ink and outlined each section with a very fine pigment pen.  I used a charcoal pencil to add a shadow around the photo, and stamped a splatter pattern before adhering the book text.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a fab day.

Supplies:
Strathmore blank ATC base; The Paper Studio patterned paper ATCs; titanium white acrylic paint; Tim Holtz stencil; Golden molding paste; wild honey distress ink; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; Adirondack watering can ink; Staedtler black pigment liner; Derwent charcoal pencil; photo of Marlene Dietrich; found book text.

Boats Against the Current

Hello and Happy Labor Day to you U.S. folks!  I hope you are enjoying a relaxing day.  We often grill out on Labor Day, but it's supposed to rain and my brother is here from California so we're having a big family dinner.  Turkey and mashed potatoes will make the meal look a little like Thanksgiving, but fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden will be screaming summer.  Personally, I think it's going to be a yummy combination!

I found a little time this weekend to play with my papers and inks.  One of the items I completed was this card for my friend Doug.  We had a great time together when he came to Iowa recently for our high school class reunion.  We also hit the open road for two quick day-trips.  One trip was to southeast Minnesota, to visit his uncle who is in hospice care.  On the way back, we drove down the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River and took in some gorgeous scenery (which reminds me, I should write a blog post about that and share my photos!).  The next day, we headed to southern Iowa on a genealogy mission.  You can read about that day here.

Doug's visit, which kind of had a theme of the past, made me think of this F. Scott Fitzgerald image by Artistic Outpost.  To jump-start my creativity, I chose Sketch Challenge SC597 on Splitcoaststampers.  I modified the sketch a little by using an oval rather than a circle, simply because the circle was not the best choice for this focal image.  All of the papers were from my stash or scrap bin.  I aged them by dry-brushing on white acrylic paint and sponging on gathered twigs distress ink.

Normally I wouldn't put a flower on a card for a guy, but I think old F. Scott (and Doug) can handle it.  I aged the flower and the leaves by dry-brushing on white acrylic paint and then sponging on distress inks (gathered twigs on the flower, peeled paint on the leaves).  I added a piece of Tim Holtz film strip ribbon to complete the look.

Thanks for popping in!  Enjoy your day.

Supplies:
Black and Kraft cardstock by Bazzill; various patterned papers from my stash; Great Gatsby stamp from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival jet black ink; titanium white acrylic paint; gathered twigs and peeled paint distress ink; Tim Holtz film strip ribbon; flower from Prima Marketing; leaves from Recollections (Michaels); oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; foam tape.