His Timeless Story

This collage was created on a 5x7 canvas panel for my partner in this month's altered envie exchange.  It wasn't long ago that she sent me a marvelous painted canvas panel in lieu of an envelope, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to reciprocate.

The panel started off routinely enough, by my adhering an old book page using gel medium.  However, when I adhered my photo, I "boogered it up."  It couldn't be saved so I set to removing it by rubbing it lightly with a damp sponge.  In the process a lot of the old book page also came up, but because I had used gel medium to adhere it, I ended up with a transfer of some of the text!  This was one time where a mistake resulted in something better.

In this closeup shot you can see the transferred text as well as some of the grungy texture that resulted from removing the original book page.  In spots where I rubbed harder with the sponge, you can see the canvas peeking through.

The strip of washi tape along the bottom set the color scheme for the rest of collage.  I added blue and red stenciling using distress inks in addition to an old French postage stamp and some rubber stamping in black.

On the address side, I adhered another book page, muted it with white acrylic paint, then added the same type of stenciling and stamping that I had done on the front.  I sprayed both sides with a matte acrylic sealant before adhering the postage stamps.  I chose stamps that coordinate with my artwork, including one of my coveted Inverted Jenny stamps.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Supplies:
5x7 watercolor canvas panel (Hobby Lobby); old book page; Golden soft matte gel medium; laser copy of old cabinet card; titanium white acrylic paint; Liquitex burnt sienna acrylic paint; vintage photo, black soot, chipped sapphire, pumice stone and barn door distress inks; vintage French postage stamp; punchinella; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; Tim Holtz washi tape, ruler stencil, star stamp and word stickers; dark charcoal pencil.

Shadow Man - ATC

Remember these graphic backgrounds I prepared a couple of weeks ago?  Well, I used one of them last night to create this mixed media ATC.  It's interesting how different the card looks from its original state; you can't even tell that some of the background papers were a deep red.

I started by painting on white gesso and wiping most of it off.  Next I stamped a crackle background using black ink and added more white gesso using sequin waste as a stencil.  I adhered a scrap of paper with the number 04 on it; it fell out of a recent purchase so I think it refers to the inspector who approved my item.  After sealing these layers with gel medium and letting it dry, I added my shadow man (a laser copy of an old cabinet card) using the gel medium transfer method.  The final step was to grunge it up further using black, silver, and pearl acrylic paint stenciled through more sequin waste, some star-shaped, some round.

It was just serendipity that the man's one eye is clearly visible.  I think it gives this card an eerie quality.

Have a great day!

Supplies:
Strathmore white ATC blank; miscellaneous scrapbook papers; white gesso; antique crackle background stamp (Stampin' Up, I think); black Stazon ink; punchinella (sequin waste); soft gel medium; laser copy of old photo; Adirondack black, silver, and pearl acrylic paint dabbers.

Hydrangea Beauty - ATC

I love old photographs.  When I see a basket of old pictures at an antique store, the first thing I do is find a place to sit down.  I know myself:  I *have* to look through the entire basket and I'll want to buy at least half of them.  But that's not really practical, so instead I sit down and take my time looking through them all, finally choosing only the ones that speak to me for some reason or another.  Once I get the photos home, I can scan and make copies of them in whatever size I want for my artwork.

This lovely young woman caught my eye because she is not only beautiful, but she is wearing a gorgeous evening gown with beaded straps and a halo of tulle around her shoulders.  Normally the women in photographs and cabinet cards from the early 1900s are wearing rather plain dresses with collars buttoned up to their chins.  I know that you can't see her outfit in this ATC, but at some point I will use the entire photo because she is just too stunning to keep hidden in a drawer. 

I used a laser copy of the photo and gel medium to transfer the image to a collage background.  The dried hydrangea blossoms are from my garden.

Thanks for dropping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
White cardstock ATC base; Tim Holtz stickers; sandpaper; distress ink; soft gel medium (gloss); laser copy of old photograph; Adirondack gold acrylic paint dabber; dried hydrangea blossoms; mini white pearls.

Youthful Days

I started working on this mixed media canvas last May or June, then ran into a roadblock while choosing the embellishments.  I tried a lot of different things but nothing seemed quite right due to some issues I had with the overall composition and spacing of the piece (things I couldn't change as they were already glued down).  Since I wasn't in a real hurry to complete the project, I simply set it aside for a while. Then this past week I did a major cleaning of my work table and actually had room to display a few items; this collage was one of them.  It made me think I really should finish it.

I started by painting a 4x5 inch stretched canvas with a dark chocolate acrylic paint.  I aged the paint by dry-brushing on some white acrylic paint, sanding away some areas, and using a heat gun to "bubble" up the paint.  Next I adhered a piece of green scrapbook paper and a scrap of 1870s sheet music.  I sealed the papers with gel medium, then used gel medium to transfer the photo.  The vintage lace and buttons were also adhered with gel medium. As a final step I covered the back of the canvas with a pretty scrapbook paper.

This sweet-looking young woman was a friend of my parents.  She passed away earlier this year and this is the photo the family used on the memorial cards.  I would love to keep this collage for myself, but I think I will send it to her daughter to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stretched canvas (4x5 inch); chocolate and white acrylic paint; Walnut Ink antiquing solution (Java color, by Tsukineko); Golden soft gel medium; green paper by Basic Grey; old sheet music; vintage lace and buttons.

Czar Nicholas II - The Man

This is the third and final card in my ATC series "The Romanovs."  I created these cards for a swap where the cards are to use a book page (text only, no pictures) as the background.

A book page in Cyrillic, a gift from my friend Barb, formed the background for this card.  After coloring the page with distress inks, I used gel medium to transfer the Kremlin image.  I think this is my favorite card of the three in the series; the colors (which are more vibrant than this scan might indicate) work so well together.

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC base; Cyrillic book page; faded jeans, rusty hinge and vintage photo distress inks; Kremlin and Nicholas II images from the internet; Soviet postage stamp; Golden soft gel medium; postal cancellation rubber stamp from Stamp Francisco; postal cancellation clear stamp from 7 Gypsies; Stazon timber brown ink; Adirondack gold acrylic paint dabber.

Czarina Alexandra ATC

This is the second ATC in my three-card series "The Romanovs."  I created these cards for an ATC swap featuring book page backgrounds.

After coloring my Cyrillic book page with distress inks (the colors are much prettier in person), I used gel medium to transfer the Kremlin image to the page.  Alexandra was the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Imperial Russia.



Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC base; Cyrillic book page; bundled sage, Victorian velvet and vintage photo distress inks; Kremlin and Alexandra images from the internet; Soviet postage stamp; Golden soft gel medium; postal cancellation rubber stamp from Stamp Francisco; postal cancellation clear stamp from 7 Gypsies; Stazon timber brown ink; Adirondack gold acrylic paint dabber.

Nicholas II - The Boy

I missed a fun blogging opportunity last week because I forgot to take my camera on my "Wacky Wednesday" outing with my mom.  Rats!  On this particular day we were joined by my mom's best friend from high school.  (Imagine Lucy and Ethel from I Love Lucy, and you'll have an idea of their personalities.)  After I gave Ethel, I mean Janet, a lesson on jewelry making and made her a new bracelet and earrings (another missed photo op), we headed to Kava House Cafe for lunch.  From there we hit the road toward Amish country where we visited the Kalona Cheese Factory and Stringtown Grocery. (Sorry, no website; they're Amish!  They don't even have electricity.)  On the way home we stopped at Sisters' Garden and The Rug Cottage.  It is always a treat to poke around in these shops, as they both sell a variety of antiques as well as new decor items. 

At Sisters' Garden I found some Soviet postage stamps and the light bulb went off!  I could use the stamps and the Cyrillic book pages gifted to me by my artsy friend Barb to create some ATCs for the book page background swap I signed up for.  Here is the first card I completed in my Romanov series.

After coloring my Cyrillic book page with distress inks, I used gel medium to transfer the Kremlin image to the background.  The handsome young chap is Nicholas II, the last czar of Imperial Russia.  I know I'm mixing my time periods here (Imperial Russia vs. USSR), but it's only art, after all!

Stay tuned over the next couple of days as I post the other cards in the series.  Thanks for dropping by!

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC base; Cyrillic book page; stormy sky, wild honey, and vintage photo distress inks; Kremlin and Nicholas II images from the internet; Soviet postage stamp; Golden soft gel medium; postal cancellation rubber stamp from Stamp Francisco; postal cancellation clear stamp from 7 Gypsies; Stazon timber brown ink; Adirondack gold acrylic paint dabber; gold Dresden trim from ArtChix Studio.

Scrabble Tile Magnet

Since I still had my bag of Scrabble tiles out, I decided to make a magnet with one.

I adhered a scrap of sheet music to the tile, then transferred a rose image using gel medium.  The word was cut from an old novel.  Some gold paint around the edges and a top coat of Glossy Accents finished the tile.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Scrabble tile; vintage sheet music; rose clipart from ArtChix Studio; word from a 1920s novel; Adirondack gold acrylic paint dabber; Golden soft gloss gel medium; Glossy Accents; small magnet from the craft store.

Daddy's Girl ATC

I made this ATC in order to practice a gel medium transfer technique and am pleased that the image transferred so well on my first attempt.  I hope this will give me the courage to transfer an image onto a canvas.  Do you ever need to remind yourself that many of the art supplies we buy really aren't that expensive (in the grand scheme of things), so we shouldn't be afraid to "ruin" them by experimenting?  I do!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Supplies:
White cardstock ATC base; patterned paper from 7 Gypsies; main image from Mary Green of Green Paper Packages; Golden soft gel medium; letter stamps by Hero Arts; Stazon black ink; dusty concord distress ink.