Little Boys - Altered Envelope

Now that my altered envie partner for May has received her envelope, I can share it with you here.   I returned to my roots and created a mixed media collage using a combination of old and new items from my stash.

I started with a "yard sale-bought" (as opposed to "store-bought") envelope.  A relative found a box of 250 Georgia-Pacific envelopes at a yard sale for the bargain-basement price of a quarter, and bought it for me.  The envelopes are good quality, but I inserted a piece of lightweight cardstock inside in order to give it a little more heft.

The little boys on the front were a postcard-sized piece of clipart I received with one of my Somerset Studio magazines.  I cut away some of the background so I could create my own using a vintage music lesson, washi tape, and patterned papers from my scrap folders.   To blend all of the papers together, I first dry-brushed white acrylic paint across all of them and then dabbed on pumice stone distress ink using a stipple brush.  The yardstick and alphabet images are stencils by Tim Holtz.  I also used a piece of punchinella (aka sequin waste) to stencil on the small, solid circles.  The larger, open orange circles are acrylic paint stamped on using the end of an old plastic hair roller.  I dry-brushed more white acrylic paint on top to age the orange paint a little.

On the back, I adhered a piece of sheet music from a small vintage music textbook.  The paper boy from Artistic Outpost was stamped on tissue paper and adhered with matte gel medium.  I sponged mowed lawn distress ink around the edges and added the same stenciling that I used on the front.  Because distress inks are water soluble, I sprayed both sides with an acrylic spray sealant before mailing (and before adhering the postage stamp).

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Georgia-Pacific A6 ivory envelope; little boy photo clipart from Stampington and Company; miscellaneous patterned paper scraps from my stash; vintage sheet music; washi tape; Fig. 5 rub-on; titanium white acrylic paint; orange acrylic paint; pumice stone, mowed lawn and rusty hinge distress ink; Adirondack black ink; white Gelly Roll pen; orange fine tip Sharpie; paperboy rubber stamp image from Artistic Outpost; yardstick and alphabet stencils by Tim Holtz; punchinella scrap; Derwent medium charcoal pencil; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; authentic mail art stamp from Red Lead Paperworks.

The Joys of Growing Your Own - Altered Envelope

For several years now we've had a small garden in our back yard.  Last year we grew tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and cabbage.  We also have a separate patch for rhubarb and last year we planted four red raspberry plants that are leafing out nicely this spring.  I just love having fresh produce throughout the summer, especially tomatoes.  You just can't beat home grown.  Since it's another month or so before we can even plant our tomatoes, I decided to make them the subject of my March altered envie.

An old gardening manual purchased at an auction was the source for the clipart I used.  Besides illustrations of a variety of plants and produce, the manual also included several reproductions of vintage advertisements, such as the one for Johnson Seed.  (Ol' Mr. Johnson probably bragged, "My seeds grow tomatoes bigger than your head!")  I started by making my own envelope out of a sheet of art paper that came in one of my Stampington magazines.  I stenciled on the flourishes using (what else?) potting soil ink.  Mr. Johnson and his giant tomato were fussy-cut and carefully adhered to the envelope.

For the address side, I adhered a cherry tomato image (wow--was that fun to fussy-cut!), and some text from the manual.  And luckily, I was able to coordinate the postage stamp with my design this month!  I love when that happens.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

If You Won't Sing in the Car with Me - Postcard

Every year I buy a large wall calendar for my home office.  My first choice is a calendar that features corgis; I think they're just adorable and looking at their happy faces makes ME happy.  But sometimes a corgi calendar is hard to find and I have to select something else.  Last year I ended up buying a calendar that featured classic automobiles, for the sole reason that I knew the car images would make great collage fodder!

With 2016 behind us, I started to cut up the car calendar and then didn't waste any time using one of the images, a 1955 Ford Thunderbird.  After trimming the car closely, I went in search of a driver and found this serious gent in an 1890s magazine.  Doesn't he look like the kind of guy who buys himself a convertible during a midlife crisis?  In reality, he just happened to be the right size and orientation to sit in my car.  I made a horizontal slit along the dash board and inserted my driver so it looks like he's driving the car (use your imagination).

For the background, I started by gluing an old road map to a 5x7 piece of watercolor paper.  I swiped the map with white gesso, then added stenciling and the yellow border using distress inks. The illegible text and gray "blobby" images are rubber stamps from Artistic Outpost.  The double circle image was made using an empty roll of scotch tape.  Because distress inks are water soluble, I sprayed everything with a workable fixative before proceeding.

I computer generated the text on my computer and printed it on cardstock.  I also computer-generated a new personalized license plate for my gent (the recipient will understand).  After adhering the car, I added some outlining using a black Stabilo All-Pencil.  Because the All-Pencil is also water soluble, I sprayed the completed postcard with acrylic sealer once I was finished.

I kept the address side very simple.  And because of all the wet weather we've been having across the country, I popped this postcard into a clear cellophane envelope for mailing.  My real postage stamp, which was adhered to the outside of the envelope, was large enough to cover up the faux Abe Lincoln stamp on the postcard.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 140 lb watercolor postcard; old road map; Golden white gesso; calendar and vintage magazine images; harlequin and bubble stencils by Tim Holtz; text and blob stamps by Artistic Outpost; spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon, mustard seed and peacock feathers distress inks; Ranger Wendy Vecchi watering can ink; black Stabilo All-Pencil; postcard header stamp from Artistic Outpost; Abe Lincoln stamp by Deep Red Stamps; authentic mail art sentiment by Red Lead; hand stamp by Tim Holtz; Ranger Archival jet black ink; Stazon blazing red ink.