Metropolitan Magazine Mortals - Artist Trading Coins

I created these four artist trading coins for a swap, but just wasn't thrilled with them.  These were my first attempts at artist trading coins, and there was a learning curve (literally and figuratively!).  Each one had a problem or two that bothered me enough that I decided to start over.  (I ended up submitting these calendar car coins instead.)  I do like the guy in the top right corner.  He reminds me of a young Omar Sharif.

I cut the people out of a late 1890s Metropolitan Magazine, which was a New York-based monthly periodical with articles on theatre, literature, business and well-known "high society" residents of the day.  I bought a bound book of them at a garage sale and have enjoyed reading some of the articles, but it's the pictures I really wanted.

This guy's head is just a little too large for an artist trading coin, and I wished I hadn't added the brown stenciling on the right side.  I do like the green and purple color scheme.

I chose this woman because of her fabulous hat and determined look, but I had a mishap gluing her onto the coin (120 year-old paper is pretty fragile), and her head got ripped off.  You can see the "scar" across her chin where I tried to glue her back together.  In addition, I didn't get the text scrap on the right knocked back enough, and the brown stenciling is too prominent.

This one isn't too bad. I just wish the original photo had been a little darker.  Also, I didn't get that scrap of music in the background obscured enough for my liking.

This last one was my favorite of the four.  I like the composition and how the background pieces work together.  The stenciling frames him nicely without being too prominent.  The quality of the original photo is better, and let's be honest, he's better looking than the other guys!

Since I didn't use these coins for the swap, I'm not sure what their fate is.  The Omar Sharif lookalike may become a bookmark for my daily journal.  That way I can moon over him every day!  As for the others, they may get put onto a greeting card or get used in an art journal. 

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Have a great day.

Vintage Birds - Altered Envie

My altered envelope for this month's exchange started with an "a ha" moment.  As I was going through my paper stash looking for a piece of 12x12 cardstock, I came upon a package of Graphic 45 patterned paper that I bought a while ago at Tuesday Morning (a small discount store).  I love Graphic 45 designs and I thought I was getting a great deal on a collection of patterned papers.  Imagine my disappointment when I opened the package and discovered not the collection, but 25 sheets of the same design!  I thought, what the heck am I going to do with 25 sheets of the same design?

Yep!  I bought 25 sheets of this two-sided paper.

Well, I shared a couple sheets with a fellow crafter, and then the packet went back into my stash until this month when I stumbled upon it again and had that "a ha" moment:  this paper would make a great envelope!  It's quality, heavy cardstock and the side with the text provides a neutral background.  So I used my We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board (another Tuesday Morning purchase) to create my envelope, then dug through my paper stash for items to build a collage.

The front of the envelope started with a vintage bird illustration from an old natural history book.  The yellow flower was fussy-cut from the same book.  I added an envelope wrap, a scrap torn from a reproduction Sears and Roebuck catalog, and a vintage postage stamp.  The final touches involved some rubber stamping.

The reverse side of the envelope features another bird from the natural history book, scraps of vintage sheet music and book text, rubber stamping, and the other end of the envelope wrap.  See what a great background that dark Graphic 45 paper makes?  I'll have no problem using 25 sheets of that!

Here's hoping you have many happy "a ha" moments yourself.  Thanks for reading my blog, and have a fabulous day!

March to the "Beet" of Your Own Drum - Mini Moleskin Journal Page

The best thing to do after a long hiatus is to simply jump in with gusto, so without further ado I will share with you the collage I created at last week's Art Journal Junkies Hangout at our local library.

This collage is in a mini (3.5 x 5.5 inch) Moleskin and features vintage book text and sheet music, an illustration from a "Big Dollar Stamps" book, and some S&H green stamps.  The beet was cut from a 1970s gardening book, and I selected the postage stamps to color coordinate with the beet.  The only non-vintage item on this two-page spread is the dark ocher washi tape.  I decided not to add any wet media, so this collage is what I call glue-book style.

I'll be honest; I've struggled to find my niche when it comes to art journaling.  But I think I've had a revelation.  Spending five weeks at another person's house this summer with limited art supplies taught me that I don't need to have my entire stash of ephemera, rubber stamps, inks, paints, stencils, pens, whatever.  I don't need (or desire) a ginormous art journal in which to experiment with the newest product or to practice the latest technique flooding the internet.  And finally, I don't want to write any deep thoughts on my art journal pages!  That is just not me.  This mini Moleskin, my beloved vintage ephemera, and some simple adhesives are all I really need to express myself and, more importantly, enjoy myself.  I'm just going to march to the beat of my own drum and see how things go.

Whew!  It feels so good to get this first blog post out of the way.  In time, I'll work backward and get caught up on sharing the things I created this summer while I was away from home.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

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.

G is for Gymnast

Sometimes I agonize over a collage for far too long and still am not happy with the results.  Other times a collage comes together as easily as hitting a home run.  What?  You don't think it's easy to hit a home run?  OK, maybe it's not.  And yes, I know I'm mixing sports analogies here.  But if you've ever played baseball (or softball), or even just watched a game, you know almost instantaneously when that bat has connected perfectly with the ball.  The batter's swing appears to be effortless.  The ball takes off at an optimal arc.  And you just know that baby is going over the fence.

This collage was kind of like that.

It started with the perfect pitch:  an 1897 magazine article (with awesome photos) on the training of professional gymnasts.

The magazine images connected perfectly with a "G" card from a 1938 game called Quick Wit.  G?  Gymnastics!  Anything with legs?  My fabulous gymnast doing a one-armed hand stand.  (I didn't get a scan of the complete "G" card I used, so here's a sample of an "O" card.)

An effortless swing through my vintage ephemera netted a graphic from a 1942 math textbook.  It showed a group of children playing a bean bag game (G!  Game!).  Turned upside down, the circular image made a perfect mat for my gymnast to balance on.  And hey!  More legs!

Finally, to put my collage over the fence: a bingo card with the exact same yellow and red tones as the other images.

Home run!

As I leisurely round the bases, I have time to tell you that the style of this collage was inspired by Randel Plowman, collage artist and author of The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired.  It's one of my go-to collage art books and never fails to energize me.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go out there and swing for the fences.

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.

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. 9 Children of Kildare

Tonight's ICAD features a mixture of vintage and modern papers, treated in my signature way to bring them together to form a cohesive, vintage collage.  Well, I don't know if it's accurate to call it my "signature" way, and I certainly didn't invent it, but it is a method I use often.

The focal image and wrapping paper are both new.  I adhered them to an old novel page with some sheet music, plaid patterned tape and a strip of Cookie Jar savings stamps.  I just received these in a give-away package from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.  I assume they're comparable to S&H Green Stamps, but I've never heard of them and a quick search on the internet didn't turn up any information.

After dry-brushing on titanium white acrylic paint and sponging on pumice stone distress ink, I used a tinted charcoal pencil to add some shadows and depth.  The title of this card comes from a song in a 1936 school book of music for children.

Thanks for popping by!

Supplies:
4x6 index card; page from an old novel; little girls image from Red Lead Paperworks; wrapping paper from my friend Barb; vintage sheet music; text from old music book; Cookie Jar savings stamps; green plaid patterned tape; titanium white acrylic paint; pumice stone distress ink; Derwent natural tinted charcoal pencil; Tim Holtz alpha stencil.

One Dozen - 4x4

Over the weekend I tore into some new vintage ephemera (meaning new to me) to create this 4x4 collage.  I started with a page from a 1942 math book for elementary school children that has adorable and colorful graphics.  I got the book for a mere $1.50 at an antique shop.  It was labeled "as is," but the book is actually in great condition for its age so I snatched it up.

I started with a section from the math book about how to write numbers and how many items are in a dozen.  I added a list of words from a 1935 spelling book; next to the words someone had made check marks in blue ink.  The piccalili recipe is from a 1942 cookbook purchased at the same antique shop.  I love the tiny yet crisp font.

I then started digging through a box of old postage stamps that I bought last week, trying different colored stamps until I found two that I liked (the blue postage stamp matches the blue in the dozen eggs graphic, and the blue of the check marks, almost perfectly).  It wasn't until after I had them adhered that I realized the stamps added up to 12 cents!  What serendipity, since I was planning to call this collage One Dozen.  With the theme now firmly set, I went back to the math book and found additional text relating to the number twelve or the word dozen.  I outlined the text and the postage stamps with charcoal pencil and rubbed on some distress inks to integrate all of the pieces together.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Chipboard coaster; vintage text: 1935 spelling book, 1942 cookbook, 1942 math book; vintage sheet music; red polka dot scrapbooking paper (unknown vendor); vintage postage stamps; medium charcoal pencil; antique linen and frayed burlap distress ink; a blue distress ink (stormy sky maybe?).

Bingo Pod - ATC

I felt like being creative this afternoon, but I was tired so I didn't want to work on anything too detailed or precious.  So instead I just putzed around making this ATC with bits from my scrap bin.

The bottom layer started with a paper bingo card, small scraps of vintage papers, and the postage stamp.  After blending this layer with white acrylic paint, I added the pod image and the dusty concord distress ink (I like the green and purple combination).

Then I went a little crazy adding dots all over with a black Pitt artist pen and a white gel pen.  Doodling is soooo therapeutic.

Happy Presidents' Day!

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC blank; paper bingo card; vintage sheet music; vintage text and ledger paper; vintage French postage stamp; pod rubber stamp from Stampington; black Stazon ink; white acrylic paint; dusty concord and faded burlap distress ink; Cut n' Dry pen nib; Pitt black artist pen; white gel pen; Adirondack silver and black acrylic paint dabbers; old credit card.

White Paper #4 - 4x4

I don't use a lot of bright colors in my collages, but I generally use some color.  Thus it was a real challenge to create a collage featuring mostly white.  Or in this case, off-white.

All of the papers are from the 1920s and earlier.  I started with the handwritten ledger paper, then pulled the other pieces from my scrap bin.  I added a little pumice stone distress ink around the edges for definition.

I hope you're having a great weekend!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
4x4 chipboard coaster; miscellaneous vintage papers; torn Flinch card; pumice stone distress ink.