Aunt Dee is Unsupervised - AGAIN!

That crazy Aunt Dee!  She just can't resist shouting to the world how happy she is to be on the loose.  And since she loves to travel, she doesn't mind at all that I'm sending her to visit friends.  This time she's off to see Stella, who happens to be the person who gifted me this sassy Dyan Reaveley sentiment.

I used ripe persimmon, peacock feathers, and scattered straw distress inks on bristol vellum paper to create the background.  Aunt Dee was stamped separately on white cardstock and colored with markers before being adhered.  Similar to this postcard, I embossed a plain piece of bristol vellum with a postcard folder by Sizzix and adhered it to the back, then finished off the edges with a washi tape. 

TGIF!  Go grab some unsupervised time for yourself. 

Supplies: 
Strathmore bristol vellum paper; ripe persimmon, scattered straw, and peacock feathers distress inks; spray bottle of water; Aunt Dee image (unknown manufacturer); Dylusions sentiment by Dyan Reaveley; Ranger Archival black ink; Staedtler pigment ink pen; Tim Holtz stencil (Bubbles); white jelly pen; washi tape; postcard frame embossing folder by Sizzix.

Aunt Dee Says - I Am Exhausted

It's been a trying week.  What with the election and the trauma of catching a burglar trying to break into our house, Aunt Dee and I are both pretty exhausted!  A little irreverent art therapy is just what the doctor ordered.

A friend of mine recently gifted me a set of Dylusions (Dyan Reaveley) stamps with snarky comments, and they pair perfectly with good ol' Aunt Dee.  I decided to make a couple of postcards to send to friends who are similarly exhausted this week.  I used picked raspberry, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks to create my background on a piece of bristol vellum paper.  Aunt Dee and the sentiment were stamped separately on white cardstock and cut out.

For the address side of the postcard, I cut another piece of bristol vellum the same size and embossed it with the postcard frame folder by Sizzix.  (The embossing did not show up well in the scan, so I darkened it a little for you.)  I glued the front and back together, and sealed the edges with a polka dot washi tape.  This was a fun little project that lifted my spirits and will no doubt do the same for the recipients.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Strathmore bristol vellum paper; picked raspberry, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks; spray bottle of water; Aunt Dee image (unknown manufacturer); Dylusions sentiment by Dyan Reaveley; Ranger Archival black ink; Staedtler pigment ink pen; washi tape; postcard frame embossing folder by Sizzix.

He Never Wrote - Altered Cabinet Card

I was catching up on my blog reading the other night and you know what a rabbit hole that can be (but in this case, in a good way).  After following a few links and going back in time, I stumbled upon some altered cabinet cards.  This is something I've been meaning to try, and seeing these particular samples was just the impetus I needed.

Since this was my first attempt at one of these, I chose a rather plain cabinet card that didn't have any advertising on it.  Usually the photography studio put its name and location on the bottom of the card, and some have quite ornate graphics on the back.  But this particular card had none of that and therefore it didn't feel as precious to me, giving me the courage to just jump in and go for it.

"Before" picture

The first thing I did was to make a copy of the card and cut out my gent to use as a mask while I worked on the background.  I sponged some distress ink around the edges, but because of the photograph's slick surface I knew it would not stay.  So I dry-brushed titanium white acrylic paint all around my gent to give everything else something to stick to.  Along the bottom I adhered a scrap of vintage text, a piece from an old atlas and a strip of washi tape before brushing on more white paint.  The border is also a washi tape.

Then I started to fill in the background.  I stamped a crackle background, splatters and some handwriting using various colors of permanent ink.  I sponged gathered twigs distress ink around the edges and through a Tim Holtz stencil.  I lightly colored around my gent with a tinted charcoal pencil and smudged it with my finger.  I had already found the "He never wrote or received a letter" in an old book and with a bit of irony, decided to add a couple of vintage postage stamps.

I don't know who this gentleman is.  I rescued him from a box of old photos at an antique store and in return, he helped me to get over my fear of "ruining" him.  When he sat for this photo a century or more ago, I'm sure he couldn't even imagine that one day someone would give him new life in this way.  Makes you think, doesn't it?

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day. 

Supplies:
Vintage cabinet card; titanium white acrylic paint; peeled paint, antique linen, and gathered twigs distress ink; vintage book text; vintage atlas page; Tim Holtz washi tape; crackle background stamp from Stampin' Up; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; handwriting stamp by Hero Arts; postage cancellation stamps by Stampa Rosa and Deep Red; Ranger Archival watering can ink; Stazon saddle brown ink; Derwent forest pine charcoal pencil; Tim Holtz bubble stencil; vintage postage stamps.

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.

The New Art! Bah! Envelope Mail Art

This is the altered envelope I sent to my September partner.  I thought the quote from an old novel was fun so I built a collage around it using random items from my stash.

The base is a 6x6 red envelope by Bazzill made out of textured cardstock.  I gave it a thin coat of white gesso and then removed some of the gesso by laying a honeycomb stencil on top and wiping with a baby wipe.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

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.

May Birthday Postcards

Since May is my birthday month, I decided I should get my act together and send RAK postcards to the other members of our mail art group who are also May babies.  That ended up being five other people!  I knew the only way to accomplish this in a reasonable time period was to make five similar postcards.

I started with a piece of 140 lb watercolor paper cut to A2 size (4.25 x 5.5 inches).  I stamped the word and number collage image using permanent ink (it just happened to have a prominent number 5 in its design, which is appropriate since May is the fifth month of the year).  I then spritzed the card with bubblegum pink Dylusions spray ink and sponged on some wild honey distress ink.  Also in the background is a strip of alphabet washi tape, some sheet music, additional stamping, and white acrylic paint applied through a piece of punchinella.  The birds and the butterfly are both Tim Holtz rub-ons.

The lovely lady's name is Nita.  I bought her picture in a paper arts store that caters to mixed media artists.  I scanned the photo and printed it small enough to make it look like a photo booth photo, although originally it was more like an over-sized wallet print.  To help Nita stand out against the wild background, I matted her on small bits of patterned papers from my scrap bin.  The last touch was to add circles using silver acrylic paint.  I have four different sizes of my mom's old plastic hair rollers; they make great paint stamps!

I had so much fun making these postcards.  I hope they reach their destinations without any problems.  One has to go all the way to Slovenia, so keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Dylusions bubblegum pink ink spray; wild honey, vintage photo and black soot distress ink; Ranger Archival black ink; alphabet washi tape by Cavallini and Co.; pen and ink background stamp from A Stamp in the Hand; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Tim Holtz alphabet stencil; clock image stamp by Tim Holtz; rub-ons by Tim Holtz; Stabilo black All Pencil; Adirondack silver acrylic paint dabber; white acrylic paint; punchinella; patterned paper scraps; vintage sheet music; vintage photo; Sharpie fine black permanent pen.

Poire Jolie - Mail Art Postcard

The fun and talented leader of our altered envelope group is celebrating her birthday this month.  She does such a fabulous job of keeping the group going, and her artwork is amazing!  Take a moment to visit her blog, A Mynah Production, and you'll see what I mean.  She likes mail art with a lot of layers so I created this postcard to send to her.  Now that she has received it, I can share it with you.

The background started with lime green Dylusions ink sprayed through a chicken wire stencil.  I drew the pear on a separate piece of cardstock that I had colored with distress stains.  After cutting it out I stamped on the numbers.  The red letters have some dimension to them thanks to modeling paste that was applied through a stencil using a palette knife.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Crafter's Workshop chicken wire stencil; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Tim Holtz wild honey and festive berries distress stains; black and white Stabilo All Pencil; Derwent white and natural charcoal pencils; vintage sheet music scrap; script stamp by Inkadinkado; numbers stamp from Red Lead; Ranger Archival black ink; Tim Holtz letter stencil; Golden modeling paste; Tim Holtz rub on; washi tape; Tim Holtz reinforcer sticker.

Gelli Print Pear

My friend Mary is celebrating her birthday this month and because she is an artist, I wanted to create an extra special card for her.  This was the perfect opportunity for me to use one of the monoprints that I made during our Gelli Plate play date last year.

My monoprint was about 9x12 inches in size (I regret I can't show you what it looked like before I cut it up, but apparently I never took a scan of it).  I chose a section where there was a light and dark patch next to each other, and drew a pear.  By doing this, my pear instantly had a shaded side and a lit side.  After cutting out the pear I stamped the numbers using white pigment ink and heat embossed them with clear powder.

The background consists of the rest of the monoprint adhered to a piece of watercolor paper for support.  In order to help the pear stand out, I lightened the background by adding Dylusions white linen spray ink through a stencil and then additional shading around the pear.  I completed the collage with a scrap of sheet music, washi tape, stamped script writing, some distress ink and textured (modeling paste) embossed stencil letters.  Oh, and a Tim Holtz rub-on and a reinforcer sticker with a dewdrop in the center!  Not to mention some titanium white paint stamped on using a piece of punchinella.  Whew.  I think that's all.

After my collage was dried and pressed, I adhered it to a black cardstock base.  My birthday message will go on the inside on white cardstock matted on a purple that coordinates with the colors of the collage.

Have a great day!

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; Gelli Plate print; Stabilo black and white All Pencil; Derwent medium and white charcoal pencils; washi tape; script stamp by Inkadinkado; Ranger Archival black ink; vintage sheet music scrap; seedless preserves distress ink; Golden modeling paste; gold embossing powder; number stamp from Red Lead; Colorbox white pigment ink; clear embossing powder; washi tape, Tim Holtz letter stencil; Tim Holtz rub-on; Tim Holtz reinforcer; blue Dew Drop; titanium white acrylic paint; punchinella.

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.

The Bird Sings

A friend of mine turns the big 4-0 today and we're having a celebration at a local winery this evening.  I bought her presents several weeks ago (including this cute little book), and had an idea for the perfect birthday card to go with them.  Well, I procrastinated and wouldn't you know?  The card was not coming together for me AT ALL.  As the night turned into the wee hours of the morning, I decided I better just switch gears.  And boy, did I!

I started by die-cutting a piece of watercolor paper and using orange and red Dylusions sprays with the honeycomb stencil.  (The honeycombs on the bottom half of the card look rather orange in this picture but are actually a color called postbox red.  There's something about red that is difficult to scan or photograph accurately.)   After adding the torn strip of sheet music, I stenciled on the letters and numbers using black soot distress ink.  The bird and sentiment are from Red Lead Paperworks.  My friend is a professional vocalist so any reference to singing is a good thing.

This card is very different from my usual style, so I hope my friend likes it.  I'm personally thrilled with it!  It reminds me of the art journal pages I see but have never been able to pull off myself, and I can't wait to make more things in this style.

A warm welcome to my new followers!  Thanks for popping by and have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Nestabilities Grand Labels 1 by Spellbinders; white cardstock by Bazzill; vintage sheet music scrap; bird and sentiment from Red Lead Paperworks; Ranger Archival black ink; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Heidi Swapp honeycomb stencil; Tim Holtz schoolhouse stencil (letters and numbers); squeezed orange and postbox red Dylusions ink spray; black soot, salty ocean and mustard seed distress ink; Adirondack white and black acrylic paint dabber; punchinella; washi tapes; Gelly Roll white pen; Derwent white and peat charcoal pencil.

Over Sexed - Moo House

How's that for a blog title to start the week?!  I bet it got your curiosity up.  And to think I found the words for this moo in my go-to vintage novel from the 1920s.  It has been a veritable treasure trove of words for my artwork.

The background and the roof are watercolor paper covered with washi tape.  The pin-up was a transparency, so I had to mount it on white paper and then again on black paper to give it more definition against the background.  Because of the extra depth that added to her, I should have built up the back of the rose so that it was the same thickness. Oh well.  Live and learn.

 
Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
140 lb watercolor paper; washi tape (unknown); rose and pin-up clipart from Artchix Studio; book text; clear rhinestones (Recollections brand at Michaels); Golden matte gel medium.

Darling Heart - ATC

I decided to make an ATC using some of the same supplies used to make yesterday's Gothic arch: my red and yellow stenciled background paper, washi tape, and a Dina Wakely heart stamp.

This is one of those pieces that just wouldn't scan well, mainly due to the abundance of silver paint on the heart.  I tried adjusting the colors with my software, but even that didn't help much.  You'll just have to take my word that this looks better in person!


TGIF!  I hope you have fun plans for the weekend.

Fly - Stampington Style

I recently splurged and bought myself some new art and card supplies from Stampington and Company.  I was just in the mood to try something different, know what I mean?   I'm also always looking for ways to combat my tendency to over-analyze (and thus over-work) my projects.  I love the easy, breezy, shabby-chic look that the designers for the Shoppe at Somerset are able to achieve, so I decided to try it myself. 

I'm pleased with the results!  I applied gesso to an old book page then stamped the birdcage with Stazon.  The bird was stamped and clear embossed for shine and texture.  I wanted to use the faux wood turquoise washi tape (one of my new purchases), but went with a complementary red color for the bird and mat.  I really like how it turned out, and it didn't take me all night to make it.

Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Black and turquoise cardstock by Bazzill; red cardstock unknown; page and text from two old German books; birdcage and bird stamps from Stampington and Company; alphabet stamps by Nostalgiques; ColorBox chianti pigment ink; Stazon black ink; clear embossing powder; turquoise washi tape by Hambly Screen Prints.