Flowers in Your Hair - Envelope Mail Art

By now my April partner should have received the altered envelope I sent to her, so I've decided to share it with you all before my memory fails me.  I started with a handmade #10 envelope on which I had painted an abstract design using acrylics.

On the back I stamped this large (5x8 inch) female image by Prima Marketing.  I applied white acrylic paint over it to obscure my painted background (which was quite busy), but I could still see a faint outline.  I then used Prismacolor Premier pencils to color the image, using odorless mineral spirits to blend the pencils.  I was happily surprised with how well the pencils and mineral spirits worked on top of the white acrylic paint.  I added some outlining and the song lyrics with a black Sharpie pen.

On the address side, I drew a simple tulip, painted it with white acrylic, and then colored it with pencils using the same technique described above.  You can see more of the original background on this side.  I love how fun and "springy" the colors are; it's a change of pace from the muted, vintage color palette I tend to use.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great Friday.

Supplies:
Strathmore bristol paper; Golden gel medium; "Jing" stamp by Prima Marketing; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Sharpie black pen; mail art stamp from Red Lead.

Adventure is Worthwhile

Hello All!  Sorry for the long absence.  I haven't had much time for creative pursuits this month due to obligations on the home and work fronts.  Now that things have settled down a bit, I'm trying to get my artistic mojo back on track.  I started by creating this card for a male colleague who is retiring.

I selected the focal image by Artistic Outpost and some patterned papers by Cosmo Cricket that I bought at Tuesday Morning a while ago.  (Tuesday Morning is a great place to find name-brand craft supplies at rock bottom prices!)  I decided the papers were a little bright so I worked my magic on them and ended up with this very vintage-looking design.  Since it's unclear exactly what my colleague plans to do after he leaves our organization, I think the adventure theme is appropriate.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Gray cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Cosmo Cricket; vintage book text; stamped images from Artistic Outpost; titanium white acrylic paint; gathered twigs and black soot distress ink; Ranger Archival black ink; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Derwent peat charcoal pencil; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; crackle background stamp (unknown); oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; foam tape.

Not Quite a Twinchie - Work in Progress

A couple of months ago I used some bright acrylic paints to create a background for an altered envelope.  I squeezed way too much paint onto my palette and didn't want it to go to waste, so I randomly swiped the leftover paint onto a piece of smooth Bristol paper using an old credit card.  The colors were not my usual (bright orange, for starters), so I neutralized them a little with some white paint stamped on with a stencil.  I decided I would use this "paint paper" to create another envelope.  After cutting out a #10 business envelope, I was able to get some smaller pieces (one ATC and several moo cards) from the remaining paper.

And then there was just one little scrap remaining, and boy, did it speak to me!  It had a fabulous white space that said, "I'm a flower just waiting to bloom."   So I grabbed a black Pitt pen and drew a quick flower.  And then I got stuck.  I can't decide whether I want to add anything else or how I want to use it.  It's a small piece: only 2 inches by about 1.5 inches.  I mounted it onto a piece of black cardstock for now and will stash it somewhere safe until an idea comes to me.  It could become part of a journal page, a larger collage, or perhaps even stand alone on the front of a notecard.  A lot can be done with something so small.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a wonderful day.

School Picture Day - Moos

Raise your hand if you have at least one embarrassing school picture from childhood.  Come on, admit it.  Everyone does!  I have one from elementary school, 2nd grade if I remember correctly, where my mom set my hair in rollers and then styled it like hers.  I think I look like a strange version of my dad wearing a lady's wig (because I take after my dad quite a bit).

The kids on these moos don't look as scary as that, but their pictures (from a scrap of Prima Marketing scrapbooking paper) did remind me of school picture day.  I was supposed to be cleaning but decided to make a couple of quick moo cards with some scraps left on my table.  The background is a Gelli Plate print and the geometric designs along the bottom are washi tapes.

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb Bristol paper; Gelli Plate print; images from Prima Marketing; various washi tapes (unknown); Derwent peat charcoal pencil; Tim Holtz rub-ons; Adirondack white acrylic paint dabber.

Be Silly - Scrap Card

As a stamper and card maker I always end up with a variety of paper scraps.  Cardstock, patterned paper, old book pages and sheet music, you name it.  If I were smart I'd use those scraps right away to make another card or something.  But I'm not, so I don't, and I've just decided to accept this fact about myself.  On the bright side, when I come across these scraps during one of my cleaning and decluttering phases, I'm inspired to create something.

I bought these patterned papers by Prima Marketing because of the education theme and the fun black and white photos.  I added the "be silly" sentiment from Artistic Outpost for a quick and cute card for a friend of mine who teaches first grade.  I decorated the envelope with another photo and an envelope wrap that was a gift from my friend.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a fantastic day and don't let anyone play an April Fool's joke on you!

Supplies:
Gray cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by Prima Marketing; sentiment from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; oval and scalloped oval punches from Stampin' Up; pop-dots; envelope wrap by We R Memory Keepers.

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.

Men in Hats - Moos

After spending quite a few hours cleaning in the basement on Saturday, I was ready to sit down and play for a while.  I decided to make a trio of moo cards using paper scraps left over from other projects.

I started by adhering patterned paper to watercolor paper cut to moo size (1 x 2.75 inches).  I altered the background by dry-brushing on titanium white acrylic paint and adding a background stamp.  My three gents in hats are by Artistic Outpost.  I stamped them on smooth vanilla cardstock and colored them with Prismacolor pencils before adhering them to the background.

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with my gents.  I'm thinking of mounting them on a solid substrate such as the cover of an old book.  And I may use the dictionary page that I used to make this scan, because the page has some fun words including cranky and crapulent, which means sick by intemperance (i.e., drunk!).  I just love old dictionaries.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb. watercolor paper; patterned paper; titanium white acrylic paint; wild honey, gathered twigs, pumice stone and vintage photo distress ink; French script background stamp by Stampin' Up; scratched grid background stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms; antique crackle background stamp unknown; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; men in hats images from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Tim Holtz rub-ons; Adirondack espresso acrylic paint dabber; Derwent peat charcoal pencils; vintage book text.