Little Bird Blue Ornament and How to Pickle a Tart Tin

My mom liked her bird tart tin so much that she asked me to make one to give as a hostess gift to her friend Jackie, who she was going to visit.  Since I had only bright, shiny tins left in my stash, and I like a grungier look, I started by "pickling" or aging my tart tin.

Unaltered tin on left.  Pickled tin on right.

I used a mixture of mostly hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, and kosher salt to pickle my tart tin.  I put the three ingredients in a small plastic container and stirred them until the salt was dissolved.  (I didn't measure anything so I can't tell you any amounts or ratios.)  I swished the tin around in the mixture, shook off any excess, and set it on a paper towel in a glass dish to dry.  (Some folks on the internet suggest using a spray bottle to apply the mixture, but I didn't have one handy.)

As the tin dried, I turned it over every so often.  I repeated this process several times over the course of two days, until I liked how the tin looked.  Basically, I wanted to reduce the shininess of the tin but I didn't want a lot of heavy, orange-colored rust.  Once I had the amount of patina I wanted, I sprayed the tin with a matte acrylic sealant.

Jackie's finished ornament

Without further ado, here is Jackie's completed tart tin!  Doesn't that bird look adorable sitting on her little nest?  I love how the white berries really pop against the darker background, and the bows on top are so sweet.  I was super pleased with how everything came together.

Since I had just finished my mom's tart tin ornament and the steps involved were still fresh in my mind, Jackie's tin was easier to complete.  In case you're interested (and for my own future reference) here are the steps I followed.  I don't take step-out photos as I create, but I have inserted some closeup photos for you.

1.  Dab matte gel medium around the rim using a plastic palette knife.  Sprinkle on chunky glitter.  Let dry completely (overnight).  Spray tin with acrylic spray sealant, paying special attention to the glitter, and let dry.

Closeup of die-cut sheet music and leaves on Mom's tin

2.  Attach a piece of vintage sheet music to cardstock and die-cut with a scalloped circle die.  Sponge distress ink around edges.  Cut smaller circles out of chipboard and adhere to the back of the sheet music.  The number of additional circles needed will depend on (a) how deep the tin is and (b) whether your bird is small enough to fit down in the tin or has a tail that will extend over the outside edge.  Adhere the entire sheet music 'stack' to the center of the tin and let dry.

3.  Adhere "nest" to bottom of tin and let dry.  Amount needed will depend on size of bird.  Make sure it's packed in tight and adhered well.  I used regular matte gel medium.

4.  Adhere bird to nest and let dry.  Make sure the nest and bird are centered so the sheet music behind them is level.

Closeup of die-cut leaves on Jackie's tin

5.  Adhere vintage book page to cardstock and die-cut several small leaves.  Tint leaves with distress inks, and use fingers or craft tools to shape and bend them.  Trim leaves as needed to fit, dip ends or backs into adhesive (I used matte gel medium), and tuck them behind the bird and into the nest.

6.  Trim berries as needed and adhere behind bird, tucking stems into nest if possible.

View of jewelry bail and cord for hanging Mom's tin

7.  Adhere jewelry bail to back of tart tin (I used E6000).  Make sure the bail is centered with your bird so that he's sitting level.  Dry completely (overnight).

Closeup of ribbon on Jackie's tin

8.  Choose lace and/or ribbon(s) to make a bow.  On a larger tin, use wired ribbon so the bow will maintain its shape, like I did for the first tart tin I made.  For Jackie's tin, I used needle and thread to sew together two pieces of white lace to form a foundation bow, onto which I sewed the blue bow made of dyed seam binding.  Adhere bow to top of tin, making sure it is centered (I used E6000).  Let dry completely (preferably overnight).

9.  Adhere pine cones using E6000.  (You can't tell from the pictures, but there are three super cute, super mini pine cones on top of the blue bow.)  Let dry.

Closeup of bail and cord for hanging Mom's tin

10.  Cut piece of twine, ribbon or cording and thread it through the jewelry bail so you can hang the ornament.  One thing I discovered is that my tins wouldn't hang straight, because the weight of the bird made the front dip a little.  This isn't too big a deal if you plan to use the tin as a Christmas tree ornament, because you can usually tuck the ornament into the branches to steady it.  Or forget hanging the tin, and just set it on a small easel to display.  I may try to figure out a different way to add a hanger on future tart tins, or I may not.  Usually a problem like something not hanging straight would bother me, but for some reason it isn't in this case.

Another satisfied customer

And finally, here is Jackie with her tart tin!  She was thrilled to receive it and because we also got an easel for her, she can display it immediately (straight or not!).

Just two final notes I want to share about these tart tins.  First, quality adhesives are essential when you're adhering items made of different materials.  I recommend Golden brand matte gel medium (regular or heavy) and E6000 industrial adhesive.  Second, these tart tins require a lot of drying time after certain steps to ensure that pieces are firmly attached before adhering the next ones.  Give yourself plenty of time to make one of these, especially if you're not keeping it for yourself.

I hope you found this post helpful.  I know for myself, I found it useful to write down the steps and some of the little hints I had forgotten since I made that first tin.  And if someone else can benefit from them, even better.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fab day.

Chickadee-dee-dee Tart Tin for Mom

Last December I made this tart tin ornament for an art exchange, and was super pleased with how it turned out.  My mom really liked it, too, and has been waiting for me to make one for her.  Well, Mom, your long wait is over!

This tart tin is smaller (only 3.5 inches at its widest point) than the one I used for the goldfinch, so I used a smaller bird which looks somewhat like a chickadee.  My mom wants to display this throughout the year so the sheet music in the background is not a Christmas song, and I used darker berries that will go well with her furnishings.  The steps to create this ornament were pretty much the same as the first one I created, with minor adjustments needed due to the size of the tin (for example, the ribbon and pinecone are smaller).

I've started to prep more tins, because now my mom wants me to make one for a friend of hers, and I still need to make one for myself!  Stay tuned...

Have a beautiful day, and thanks for reading my blog.

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.

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!

All I Ask - Postcard

I had a birthday RAK to make this month and didn't have any plan in advance, other than that I wanted to use a certain set of stamps.  So I just sat down and started playing, and ended up with this.

For the base I used a piece of watercolor paper that I had already covered with leftover sheet music and book text, swiped with gesso.  I had made this a while ago from scraps during one of my clean-up sessions, stuck it in my big dictionary to press, and just stumbled upon it earlier in the day.  I stamped a variety of London-themed images from Artistic Outpost on the prepared background using Ranger watering can ink.

Big Ben was stamped on a blue patterned paper by Crafty Secrets using the same watering can ink.  My vintage beauty was stamped separately on white cardstock, trimmed, and lightly tinted with distress ink before being adhered.  I added the strips of washi tape to ground the composition.

Thanks for dropping by!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; vintage sheet music and book page; Golden white gesso; stamps from Artistic Outpost; blue paper by Crafty Secrets; Ranger Archival jet black and watering can ink; Stazon blazing red ink; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; pumice stone, tea dye and black soot distress ink; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; Derwent peat tinted charcoal pencil; washi tape.

No Beauty Shines Brighter - Door Hanger

Now that my partner has received her "weirdy mail" for February, I'm able to share it with you here.

I covered a chipboard doorknob hanger with book text and patterned paper, then muted the colors by swiping on some white gesso.  I added rubber stamping and distress inks to the background.  The pictures didn't really pick up the faint blue tint on the top part of the hanger or the soft yellow behind the flowers.  We've been having a lot of cloudy days here and I could not find a doorknob anywhere in the house with good lighting on it.

The hearts and grass were painted on using a mixture of acrylic paint and molding paste for texture and dimension.  For the stems, I dipped the short end of an old debit card into the molding paste so I could get just a thin line.

The edges and the back were painted a soft yellow hue. I then sprayed the entire hanger with two or three coats of acrylic sealant.  These doorknob hangers are super fun to make and I think I still have three left in the package, so you will probably see more of these in the future.

Happy April 1 (no fooling).  Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Chipboard doorknob hanger; vintage book text; patterned paper; Golden white gesso; tumbled glass, scattered straw, black soot and gathered twigs distress ink; Stazon saddle brown ink; Golden modeling paste; Liquitex Basics acrylic paints; Pigma Micron pen in sepia; Tim Holtz word sticker; vintage postage stamp; cancellation stamp from Artistic Outpost; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; script stamp (unknown); Glossy Accents.

Dienstmarke Tulip - Postcard

I love tulips and each spring I can hardly wait for them to push their way out of the ground.  It's a sure sign that spring is just around the corner.  We have early variety tulips that first appeared around February 21 this year and whose buds opened last week on St. Patrick's Day.  These tulips bloom so early that they have even been snowed on, as this picture from March 2009 shows.

Don't the red flowers look pretty against the white snow?  This clump of tulips is still going strong which tells you how hardy they are.

Since I have tulips on the brain right now, I decided to make one the subject of a mixed media postcard.  The look I was going for was a vintage botanical print.  I painted my tulip on 140 lb watercolor paper and used a brown Prismacolor pencil for outlining and shading.  However, I didn't like the way it looked so I stood over the sink and sprayed the paper with water until a lot of the paint and some of the pencil ran off, leaving a muted version of the tulip which I then reworked with more watercolor, colored pencil, distress ink and a sepia-colored artist pen.

I added a scrap of vintage book text and a German postage stamp from the 1920s, then sponged scattered straw and gathered twigs distress ink around the edges.  The Berlin cancellation was stamped with black soot distress ink, which is just about the same color as a real cancellation mark.  The final step was to stencil additional distress ink through a piece of punchinella.

This postcard was popped into a clear envelope and is now en route to a very special person.  It's my way of sending a bit of Midwestern spring from my house to hers.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Spring!

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 hot press 140 lb watercolor postcard; Schmincke Horadam watercolors; Prismacolor Premier pencils; Pigma Micron sepia pen; scattered straw, gathered twigs and black soot distress ink; vintage book text and postage stamp; cancellation image by Stampa Rosa; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; punchinella.

Love Heart - Postcard

I've created several versions of this Valentine postcard to send to friends.  I like the bright, modern colors which are not always easy for me to work with.  But add a little black and white polka dot washi tape to the mix, and the final result makes me very happy.

I started by adhering torn sheet music and book pages to 140 lb watercolor paper, then gave it all a whitewash using gesso.  Some background stenciling was added next, using distress inks.  The heart was stamped separately on white cardstock, cut out and adhered to the background.  The washi tape was added to ground the composition before adhering the die-cut word.

Have a great day, and Happy Chinese New Year to my Chinese colleagues!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; old sheet music and book page; Golden white gesso; Tim Holtz and The Crafters Workshop stencils; festive berries, peacock feathers and pumice stone distress inks; heart image by Dina Wakley; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Faber-Castell silver metallic gel stick; love die cut from Little Yellow Bicycle; miscellaneous washi tape; Stabilo black All Pencil; titanium white acrylic paint.

Distant Shores - Envelope Mail Art

I created a postcard for my partner this month. The front features a photo of an actor cut from a magazine from the 1890s (amazing what one can find at a garage sale!), part of a vintage map and two old postage stamps.

On the back, I combined some new ephemera (the butterfly and the red label), with some old ephemera ( the postage stamps and the book page), and some rubber stamping.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Test Yourself - Mail Art Postcard

I created this 5x7 postcard for a mail art friend who likes my collages that include vintage photos.

For the background I used pages torn from old textbooks.  The cute graphic on the left is from a math book, and there's also part of a spelling book lesson and a geography book map under there.  The young woman in her cap and gown is my Aunt Sarah.  (I've used this photo before because it's such a classic.)  I used various stencils, stamps and washi tapes to create layers and to tie everything together.  As a final step, and to bring more color into the collage, I outlined the photograph with a blue Gelato and rubbed it with my finger. 

This postcard has to go all the way to Portugal so I'll be popping it into a clear cellophane envelope for protection and sending it on its way.

TGIF!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 watercolor postcard; pages from vintage textbooks; alphabet stencil, Harlequin stencil, music washi tape and clock rub-on by Tim Holtz; clock stencil by The Crafters Workshop; clock stamp by Graphic 45; black soot and mustard seed distress ink; alphabet washi tape unknown; black Stabilo All Pencil; Faber-Castell metallic blue Gelato; reprint of family photo.

Locomotive Inspection Report

I enjoy making masculine cards.  And since I have brothers and several male friends, I get to make quite a few cards for guys.  I created this one for a buddy of mine who is celebrating his birthday this week.

I purchased a stack of vintage Locomotive Inspection forms at an antique shop a while ago.  The forms had not been filled out, but someone had used the backs (and like in this case, the front) to calculate something akin to those awful word problems in math class: "If a train leaves Chicago at 5:00 a.m. heading west at 75 mph, and another train leaves Denver at 4:00 a.m. heading east at 62 mph, at what time will the trains meet at Grand Island, Nebraska?"  I suppose nowadays the engineers simply plug all this information into a computer, but back in the dark ages they had to figure out this information on their own.  And we poor pupils were tortured with figuring out the answer the old-fashioned way, even though the likelihood of us working for the railroad was pretty slim.

But I digress.  One portion of the inspection form became the background for my card.  Another portion was used for the ATC-sized focal image. The paper was fragile and had a nice patina, but it still needed something so I used distress inks and acrylic paint to grunge-it-up a little.  My dapper gent from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a piece of vanilla cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils before being adhered.  I used acrylic paints to add some age to the copper gear pieces before adhering them.

The old cancelled postage stamp (still clinging to a piece of envelope) was in my stash. I had so much fun making this card, and I know that Ron will enjoy inspecting all the interesting bits and pieces.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Supplies:
Espresso and dark green cardstocks by Bazzill; vintage railroad inspection form; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; stamps from Artistic Outpost; compass stamp by Stampabilities; splatter pattern background stamp by All Night Media; Ranger Archival black ink; forest moss, vintage photo, pumice stone and black soot distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; titanium white acrylic paint; Ranger Adirondack acrylic paint dabber (espresso); Derwent charcoal pencil; Martha Stewart border punch; punchinella; metal gears unknown; vintage postage stamp from my stash.

The Fish That Ate Wales - Mail Art Postcard

I've had several pieces of mail art come in, so I better get cracking on sending some out!

This clip-art fish was the perfect size for a postcard.  I adhered him to a vintage map and added the bubbles using watercolor pencils and acrylic paint.  The sea-themed sentiments are from Red Lead Paperworks.

I'm usually not one for puns, but the title of this postcard basically wrote itself thanks to the map I chose at random.  It reminded me of a letter a friend wrote to me from college (many moons ago).  In that letter she told me that she was thinking of studying abroad in "Whales."  She misspelled Wales several times in her letter, and the thought of it still makes me smile.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
4x6 index card; vintage geography book map; clip-art fish from a Stampington magazine; sentiment from Red Lead Paperworks; Ranger Archival black ink; faux post mark by Inkadinkado; black soot and tumbled glass distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Derwent watercolor pencils; naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; postcard image by Tim Holtz.

ICAD No. 50 No One Can Stop Me

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper; Golden gesso; Golden fluid acrylics; black India ink; calligraphy pen; vintage book text.

Together We Were Determined - Trifold Envelope Booklet

The idea for this project came from my mail art friend Mel.  I'm going to direct you to her blog, A Mynah Production, for instructions on how to make the basic booklet, as those are the instructions I followed.  The main difference between mine and hers is that mine has only one pocket, due to the bulkiness of the item I created to go inside.  I simply sealed up the other pockets with washi tape.

I used three 6x6 cardstock envelopes by Bazzill.  These are nice, heavy envelopes and they've been in my stash for quite a while.  After assembling the booklet, I reinforced the seams with postal-themed washi tape.  I then searched my stash for patterned papers to coordinate with the envelopes (a color called red robin) and made two collage backgrounds that include vintage sheet music, white acrylic paint, stamping and stenciling with inks and paint, and a rub-on flourish.

I adhered my photos (copies) and word stickers to the collage backgrounds and then to the envelopes.

I have used these photos once before, on some gluebook pages that I shared back in 2011.  In that post I mentioned my theory that the father had been killed in a tragic accident.  For this project, I took that idea one step further and wrote a short story for the center panel.  My handwriting is rather large so I typed my story on the computer, chose a font that resembles cursive writing, and printed it on vanilla cardstock.  I further aged the paper using distress inks before adhering it to the middle envelope. The story and more information about my writing process are provided at the end of this post.

The final step was to create something special for the pocket.  After much thought I decided a photo of the father would tie everything together.  But, I had no photo of the little boy's father.  Although I have a few photos of World War I soldiers in my stash, none of the fellows looked enough like the boy that anyone would believe he was the father (you'll understand why this was necessary, after you read my story below).  So off to the world wide web I went.  After much searching I found a photo on a blog called Portraits of War.  I saved it to my computer, cropped and resized it, and printed a copy on photo paper.

I decided to make the photo look like something the man's wife would have kept in a locket.  I die-cut the photo and mounted it on a piece of black cardstock that I distressed with acrylic paint and ink.  Since a holder similar to a real locket would be too bulky to fit in an envelope pocket, I searched my stash for ideas and found a bag of mica tiles.  Perfect!  I glued the photo to the bottom piece of mica and attached the top piece using two eyelets, then tied seam binding through the top eyelet.  Not only does this finish off the piece, but the dangling ends are the "clue" that something is hidden in the pocket.

 I didn't decorate the outside much.  I already had the washi tape on the seams and had to leave room for the recipient's address and a few instructions on how to open the booklet.

I'm a little nervous about sending this through the mail naked, but I'm going to do it.  After all, that's a major part of the fun of making mail art!  Now, let me share with you my story for the center panel.

I wrote the story as if it were a diary entry written by the mother in the photo.  Based on the estimated age of the photograph, I knew I wanted to set this story in the mid- to late-1910s.   The United States entered World War I in April of 1917, so I chose June 29, 1917, as my story date.

Then off to the internet I went to do more research, such as what day of the week would that have been?  What were suitable names for young boys and grown men at that time?  I thought about what a young mother and her son might do on a summer day.  Did drugstores have "soda fountains" then, and would Coca-Cola be a logical drink to order?  How many people had automobiles in 1917, and what were the models called?

It also took several drafts to get the language to sound as if it were written in 1917, not in 2015.  I think I did a pretty good job because after my mom read it, she asked me where I found it.  I told her, "I didn't 'find' it; I wrote it.  I made up the entire story myself."  By the look on her face I'm not sure she entirely believed me!  Here is the full story and you can judge for yourself whether it sounds authentic to 100 years ago.

29 June 1917

A Friday.  After breakfast Charlie and I walked to Mr. Webber’s.  He has agreed to take payments on the photos so I may post them to James right away.  The sitting was fine and Charlie never looked as much as his father as he did today.  Even Mr. Webber remarked as such.  After the photos we walked to the drugstore for a Coca-Cola.  Mrs. Porter offered us a ride home in her new touring mobile, which I was grateful as the day had become quite warm.

In the afternoon I set about darning Charlie’s socks. That boy is so hard on socks!  

Evening.  The boy has gone to the Millers for little Albert’s birthday party.  I am glad he was not home when the telegram arrived.  When the knock came I knew instantly that my beloved James was gone.  Deeply regret to inform you…killed in action…I shall wait until morning to tell Charlie so as not to spoil the party.  Oh my dear heart!

So, what do you think?  I would love to hear your comments about my story as well as the entire piece!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

ICAD No. 1 Purple Coneflower

In my attempt to get my mojo back, I've decided to try the ICAD Challenge (Index Card a Day) this year.  The concept is simple enough: create something every day on a cheap index card.  As the hostess says, "The challenge is about the DOING and not the KEEPING or PRESERVING or ARCHIVING. It is the process of creating each day that matters."  This is exactly the kind of challenge I need right now.  So I bought some unlined 4x6 index cards at an office supply store and away we go!

The theme for week one is drawing and doodling with pens, markers and ink.  The prompt for day one is chevron.  All themes and prompts are optional, but in this case they did give me an idea.  I drew a simple coneflower and colored it using Derwent watercolor pencils and a water brush.  I then stippled on distress inks through a chevron stencil and a piece of punchinella.

More information on ICAD can be found here.  It just started today but you can join anytime.

Happy June 1!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
4x6 unlined index card; Golden white gesso; Derwent watercolor pencils; Niji water brush; Ranger wild honey and dusty concord distress ink; chevron stencil by Studio Calico (Huey's Masks); piece of punchinella Staedtler pigment liner pen; vintage sheet music; Tim Holtz number stencil; date stamper.

Arab Scarab #2 and Artistic Notecard

I've been working on some things but I can't share them with you yet because I don't want to spoil a surprise.  In the meantime here's a picture of my second scarab ATC and a quick notecard I made to send it in.

I used more purple on this scarab in order to distinguish it from the first.  I just love this color combination.

For the notecard, I stamped the main image by Artistic Outpost on heavy cardstock then dipped it in some distress stains, being extra careful so the girl's face didn't get covered.  I added the small foliage images along the bottom to fill in the space, "stamped" on some faded jeans distress paint using a piece of punchinella and that was it!  These two items are going to an artist in South Carolina who requested the scarab after seeing the first one I made for the Spring in Egypt swap.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Winter Morning - ATC

I decided to participate in an ATC swap with a winter theme.  I'm glad I have to make only one card, because this is not an easy theme to do without it starting to look Christmas-y.  (Not that there's anything wrong with Christmas-y, I just didn't want my card to look that way.)

The Winter Morning sheet music image and the little girl are rubber stamps from Oxford Impressions.  I embossed the sheet music on white cardstock which I then tinted with distress inks.  The little girl was stamped separately and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  The snowflakes were created by stamping a splatter background using white pigment ink and then gently smudging each flake with my finger. I like how it kind of looks like she's peeking out of a frosty window at the snow falling outside.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC base; stamps from Oxford Impressions; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger Archival black ink; Versamark watermark ink; black embossing powder; Colorbox frost white pigment ink; stormy sky, pumice stone and dusty concord distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Derwent tinted charcoal pencils; titanium white acrylic paint; vintage book text; Adirondack silver acrylic paint dabber.

No Regrets - Mail Art Postcard

All work and no play makes Miss Iowa a very dull girl!  Fortunately, I got caught up with work this week and was able to reward myself with some art time last night.  I started a couple of different projects that I need to get in the mail soon.

I've had this particular postcard in mind for a couple of months, ever since I did my Bogey and Bacall postcards.  However, this time I was inspired to use more colors and additional stenciling in the background.  I like the juxtaposition of the bright, contemporary colors with the vintage image.  The butterfly and the sentiment are rub-ons.  This postcard will be sent in a clear envelope with an address label on the back so that everyone can enjoy Mae West along the way.  I think she would like that.

TGIF!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; vintage Russian sheet music; picked raspberry, ripe persimmon and peacock feathers distress inks; Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp stencils; computer-generated photo; Derwent lavender tinted and medium charcoal pencil; Ranger Archival black ink; Tim Holtz and 7 Gypsies rub-ons; Lumiere silver metallic acrylic paint; Adirondack silver acrylic paint dabber; Gelly Roll white pen.

The Bird Sings - Mixed Media Postcards

I created two postcards last weekend but since they were going to folks who now read my blog, I waited until after they had been received to share them with you.  It's the two year anniversary of the "Envie Addicts Unite!" group, and I wanted to surprise the hostesses with a piece of mail art.  Not only do they do a phenomenal job of organizing the swap every month, but they keep the group going with lively conversation.  They have created a community of artists that is truly a pleasure to belong to, and I have had so much fun and learned so much in the few short months that I've been participating.

I was so happy with Marylee's birthday card that I decided to try to replicate the look for my postcards.  I started again with 140 pound watercolor paper, stencils and spray inks.  I wanted to try different colors though, which led to a happy discovery:  the Perfect Pearls Mists I had bought long ago and never found a good use for (especially the sunflower sparkle) were perfect for this project!  I'm not typically a glitter girl but I love the subtle color and shimmer that this spray ink gave to the postcard.

On the other side, I created a bright and festive collage featuring a cupcake by Inkadinkado with two candles (drawn by yours truly).  The postcards are 4.25 x 5.5 inches so they fit into the standard A2-sized clear envelopes that I already had.  I purchased mine from Stampin' Up but I'm sure there are other sources for them. 

Thanks for popping in!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb cold press watercolor paper; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Ranger sunflower sparkle Perfect Pearl Mist; Ranger scattered straw, black soot, ripe persimmon, spun sugar, dusty concord and seedless preserves distress inks; Heidi Swapp stencils; Tim Holtz stencil; Tim Holtz patterned tissue paper; vintage sheet music; bird and sentiment stamps from Red Lead Paperworks; washi tape; Gelly Roll white pen; Adirondack black and white acrylic paint dabber; punchinella; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Adirondack Archival jet black ink; Georgia Pacific white cardstock; Derwent white and lavender charcoal pencil.