To The Bower They Came - 6x4 Collage

I've been itching to make a simple paper collage; that is, one with no other media such as inks or pencils.  And I wanted to use original items, not photocopies.

I started by selecting a photo from my stash.  I chose this one in spite of its poor quality.  Well, that's not entirely correct.  I chose it because of its poor quality.  For one thing, even bad photographs tell a story and merit our attention.  Secondly, the photo is not precious to me so I don't feel remorse about using the original.  Besides, I don't know the couple in the photo.  A friend of my mom's gave me a bunch of old photos and this was simply one in a pile.  The poem ("Oenene") by Tennyson came next.  The stanza I chose describes a bower, so I leafed through an early 1900s natural geography textbook until I found a photo with trees.  The colorful strip is a scrap from an old atlas.

I like this collage very much.  The vertical elements in the individual segments work in contrast to the landscape orientation to keep your eye moving.  The sepia tint of the photo pairs well with the color of the old book page (something that isn't apparent in a scan, I'm afraid).  And I love the photo corner remnants!

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

With Deepest Sympathy

A stamping friend of mine has suffered the worst tragedy:  her youngest daughter passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last week.  They have determined her cause of death to be cardiac arrest due to a severe asthma attack.  She leaves behind a husband and 7 year old daughter, not to mention a lot of questions: she never regained consciousness after being found.  The only thing giving the family any solace at all is that Brandi was an organ donor who was matched with at least two recipients.

I'll be honest, I don't know yet what I will write on the inside of this card.  I can't imagine the level of grief my friend and her family are feeling right now, and there are few words that will give them comfort so soon after their loss.  I stamped "My thoughts are with you" and will figure out the rest when I sit down to address the card.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Supplies:
Tan and white cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; butterfly stencil by Tattered Angels; vibrant turquoise Dylusions spray ink; sympathy sentiment by Stampabilities; Versamark ink; black embossing powder.

Mini House-athon Notecards

I like to make notecards to protect any ATCs, or in this case, moo houses, that I send through the mail.  They help to prevent any mishaps when the envelopes go whizzing through the postal machines.

Since I needed to make several, I kept them pretty simple.  Each one was a variation on the same theme:  a mail carrier image stamped onto an old book page that was matted with maps from an old atlas.  I turned the mail carrier into a "postage stamp person" by adhering an old postage stamp over his head.  I added faux postal cancellation stamps to finish the tableau.

The mail carrier was stamped using blueprint sketch distress ink.  In this group photo, the card on the right gives a better representation of how deep the color is in real life.  And here is a link to Deep Red Stamps, so you can see what the mail carrier looks like with his original head.  He's part of a great stamp set for anyone who likes to make or send mail art.

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a great weekend.

No. 1 Shamrock - Moo House with Inchie Garage

These two items were actually the very first and last things I made during the recent Mini House-athon.  I created the moo house first, to use as an example before the -athon even started.  I created the inchie garage at the end in order to complete a trade for someone else's two-piece set.

The clovers were clipped from a business insert in our local paper.  I adhered them to a patterned paper that had been sponged with picked raspberry distress ink.  I used vintage book text to cover the roofs, and the butterflies, numbers, stars and diamonds are all rub-ons.  The edges were lined with a Krylon gold leafing pen.

Have a fantastic day!

Performance Poppies - Moo House with Inchie "Garage"

As the Mini House-athon was winding down the other night, I was rushing to complete two more moo houses for potential trade.  Things were going along pretty well until I decided to add some rubber stamping on top of my collage images.  I will let you learn from my mistake:  don't try to rubber stamp over two images that create a "valley" between them, no matter how shallow that valley is.  You won't get a complete image and if, like me, you used permanent ink, you won't be able to remove it.

So, what do you do when life gives you lemons?  You make lemonade! Or in my case, I just lopped off my stamping mistake and turned that moo into an inchie!  Once I added the roof, I decided it made a cute little garage for the other moo house.  It's not as great as my original design, but at least I was able to salvage something.

Thanks for dropping in and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Outrageous Owls - Moo Houses

My blog posts this week continue to highlight the moo houses I made during last weekend's Mini House-athon on ATCs for All.  I gotta say, I love this size art!  It's a challenge to work this small, but so rewarding.

These two owl houses were completely unplanned and unexpected.  Other participants were making houses with owls, so they were obviously a desired theme for some but they were not on my radar, if you know what I mean.  Then, I rediscovered these clip-art owls in my stash (when I was returning some other unused ephemera to its place).  I had purchased a collage sheet of owls from ArtChix Studio quite a while ago, and had not yet found a use for them.  It really was serendipitous that they came to my attention during the -athon.

I started with a scrap piece of green patterned paper. I dry brushed it with titanium white acrylic paint, then adhered the clock and compass rub-ons.  After adhering the owls, I colored their eyes with a yellow marker and added some rub-ons along the bottom of each house.  For the roofs, I used a scrap of patterned paper that looked like an old newspaper.  That layer got mostly covered up with another rub-on that had teeny-tiny text and random black splotches.  The numbers 13 and 14 are also rub-ons.  I sponged seedless preserves distress ink and Adirondack potting soil ink around the edges to finish them off. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Have a great day.

The Fisher Kings - Moo Houses

For these two moo houses, I combined two of the optional themes set for the Mini House-athon:  Monopoly and All Things Green.

I started with the Pacific and Pennsylvania Avenue deed cards from my $3.00 Craigslist Monopoly game.  The Pacific reference reminded me that I have some German scrap fish and seashell images in my stash.  Most of the images were simply too large for a moo house, but I was able to make these two fish work by adhering them at a sharp angle.  I first doctored up the backgrounds with some grungy (distressed style) rub-ons.  The roofs were cut from the same Monopoly cards and doctored up with rub-ons that I colored with a yellow ochre marker.  The small crowns were on the same sheet of rub-ons and I thought they would be rather whimsical, so I added them.  The scan doesn't show this well, but the jewels on the crowns were colored red with a marker.  The red was just the small amount of complimentary color that these houses needed.

These mini houses look super cool in real life and have so much detail, it's almost mind-boggling!  I'm happy to say that they will be staying together

Have a fabulous day!

Life is Good, Long Distance and Second Prize - More Moo Houses

This next trio of moo houses is what my mom would call a "Duke's mixture."  By that I mean they're a real hodgepodge of ideas and themes, completely unrelated to each other.  That happens when you're digging through your stash and using whatever grabs you at the moment.

"Life is Good" started with a rub-on of a large fork.  I adhered it to a salmon-colored paper that I dry brushed with titanium white acrylic paint.  The text is a word sticker by Tim Holtz.  The gingham check paper used on the roof reminded me of the tablecloths often used in diners.

"Long Distance" features another RCA Victor dog from a 1947 Life magazine ad.  A friend of mine whose husband loves old radios did some Googling and found out that the dog was named Nipper.  In this image Nipper is wearing a jaunty Scottish-style hat.  The number 9 and the long distance dialing information at the bottom are rub-ons.  I really like to use rub-ons on small pieces like this because they don't cover up everything.

"Second Prize" developed out of one of the optional themes set for the Mini House-athon: Monopoly.  The game was in the news recently because it was announced that the iron has been retired in favor of a cat.  In addition, March 19 is World Monopoly Day.  I've made mini houses before using the Monopoly property deeds (you can see my posts about them here and here), so this time I decided to use one of the Community Chest cards.  The hardest part about this house was fussy-cutting the image and the text.  Thankfully everything I wanted to use fit just perfectly.

I hope you're enjoying my moo houses.  Thanks for stopping by!

Dream Weaver and Watch - Moo Houses

I've continued to make mini houses this weekend.  They are so much fun!  It's also a good way to use up those smaller scraps that are just too precious to throw away.  And because I was using scraps, I ended up making a bunch of single moo houses rather than coordinating pairs or trios.

These two started out with the same background paper, but then diverged.  No. 6, Dreamweaver, was made especially for someone who requested a woman in "my style."  I used one of my favorite images from Artistic Outpost that I colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils.  The 6 is a rub-on and the word on the roof is a word sticker from Tim Holtz.

No. 7, Watch, features a watch stamped on tissue paper.  It was adhered to the background using matte gel medium, which dries clear and allows the background to show through.  The eye and number 7 are both rub-ons.  I added color to the eyelid using a marker and Prismacolor pencil.  The word watch was cut from a reproduction 1900 Sears and Roebuck Catalog.  You wouldn't believe how cheaply you could buy a nice pocket watch back then.  Plain ones cost as little as 98 cents, while the most expensive men's watch, gold-filled, was only $9.60.  A fancy one made with Alaskan silver and featuring a "corrugated" pattern on the case cost $2.65.  I wonder what they would be worth now?

I still have more moo houses to make, so I better get cracking!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In the Doghouse - Moo House Diptych

This pair of moo houses turned out so cute, I wish I could keep them for myself!  But I derive great pleasure from sending my art to others, so I will trade them during the Mini House-athon if someone asks.  That's how the marathons work, after all.

The yellow background is from a monoprint that I made using a Gelli Plate.  I adhered it to watercolor paper to give it some heft and stamped on the brown splatters.  The little dog was clipped from an RCA Victor ad in a 1947 Life magazine.  The numbers are rub-ons and are added not only for interest, but to help me keep track of how many mini houses I make during the marathon.  The roofs feature a patterned paper adhered to watercolor paper, a red cardstock star, and a miniature black brad.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Gelli plate print; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; Adirondack potting soil ink; clipart dog from 1947 Life magazine ad; patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; red cardstock; black mini brad; rub-ons by 7 Gypsies.

(S)heroes - Moo Houses

I created this trio of mini (moo) houses for a marathon on ATCs for All this weekend.  A mini house is simply a "moo" (a piece of art that is 1 x 2.75 inches), with some type of roof on top.  The optional theme for the first day of the marathon is Women, so I selected these three women from the She-roes plate by Artistic Outpost.

For my substrate, I adhered Tim Holtz patterned paper to 140 lb watercolor paper, dry brushed it with titanium white acrylic paint, and stamped on a crackle pattern.  The women were stamped separately on vanilla cardstock and colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils and distress inks before being cut out and adhered.  Additional papers and scraps of book text were layered on to fill in the composition.  The roofs feature the same patterned papers and rub-ons by 7 Gypsies.  The edges were all tipped with tarnished brass acrylic paint.

I really enjoy making these little houses.  The small size is definitely a challenge, but they can really pack a big punch if you do them right.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend. 

Supplies: 

Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; patterned papers by Tim Holtz; titanium white acrylic paint; crackle background stamp by Stampin’ Up; gathered twigs distress ink; women images from Artistic Outpost; very vanilla cardstock; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Derwent light charcoal pencil; vintage book text;  rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; tarnished brass acrylic paint by Ranger.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

My dad's birthday is coming up and he gets to spend the day with his pals doing one of his favorite things:  playing softball.  It's tournament time for their senior league in Arizona and even though their team isn't in contention this year, I think the guys still enjoy themselves.

Dad's birthday card started with a background of patterned papers by BoBunny and a scrap of German book text.  I sponged frayed burlap distress ink on all the edges, roughed them up with the edge of my scissors, and added a splatter pattern using black ink.  The little boy, Extra!, and the text on the oval are stamps from the Paperboy set by Artistic Outpost.  They were all stamped on solid papers from the same BoBunny collection, and the boy was colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils before being cut out and adhered with pop-dots for dimension.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; true thyme cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned paper by BoBunny; vintage German book text from my stash; Paperboy stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; Adirondack watering can ink; frayed burlap distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; pop-dots.

And So the Adventure Begins - Altered Rolodex Card

Last month I started a conversation with my mail art group about altered Rolodex cards.  Several of them make and trade Rolodex cards (aka "rolos") and I wanted to pick their brains about what style of Rolodex file they have, what they like or don't like about it, etc.  After deciding what style I preferred for myself, I figured I would start cruising the local second-hand shops in search of one.  I wasn't in any hurry, but just in general conversation I mentioned it to my mom.  There are a lot of thrift stores where my parents spend the winter in Arizona, so I asked my mom to keep her eye out for Rolodexes (but not to make any special trips).

My "new" Rolodex Petite Address/Telephone File

Sounds pretty laid-back, right?  Well, not for long!  The very next afternoon, my mom was sending me pictures from a thrift store that had two or three different Rolodexes.  Almost simultaneously, my friend Barb posted in the mail art group that SHE had an old Rolodex that she was willing to gift me!  GAAHHH!  What to do?  At one point I was on the phone with both women simultaneously!  In the end, I decided that Barb's Rolodex was exactly what I wanted, and so I graciously accepted her gift and was not disappointed when it arrived in the mail a week or so later.  It's a "petite" Rolodex with a smoky case and attached lid, and it's in excellent condition.  Barb even included some used cards and old (interesting!) business cards she had in it.

Because the original Rolodex cards are lightweight, I learned that most artists make their own cards on heavier paper.  There are die-cuts and punches on the market that can do this for you, but I decided to wait a while before deciding whether I really needed one or not.  So for my first rolo, I simply used one of the original cards to trace the shape onto a scrap of watercolor paper and then cut it out by hand.  It wasn't hard at all, but if you try to cut out those little holes after you've layered on more papers, it's more difficult to get a clean cut.

The petite rolo cards are just that (4 x 2 inches), so it doesn't take much to cover them.  I dug through my scrap bin and pulled together a piece of old book text, some leftover patterned papers and this adorable couple.  I've used them before and had printed several wallet-sized copies of their picture, which was the perfect size for my rolo.  I added a vintage postage stamp and faux postal cancellation but felt like it needed something more, which led me to the Tim Holtz word stickers in my stash.  "And so the adventure begins" felt right for both this couple and for my first altered rolo.

Thanks for popping by.  Have a great day!  

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; vintage book text; patterned papers by The Paper Studio; vintage postage stamp from my stash; faux postage cancellation by Stampa Rosa; Tim Holtz stencil; frayed burlap and black soot distress ink; frayed burlap distress paint; Derwent charcoal pencil.