WOYWW..Happy 6th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary WOYWWers!  Congratulations Julia for creating and nurturing this wonderful weekly blog hop. It's been wonderful getting to know so many crafters from all corners of the world, peeking into their creative process, and it's amazing how quickly time flies.

And the peek at my desk….this Wednesday morning (actually since Monday night…) is actually pretty tidy!  Pretty funny since at one point I texted a friend saying it was like I had Crafting ADD. I had 3 projects going, all in various drying stages. I started an online class called Inventive Inks: Colorful Mixed Media Effects, and had work going for 4 of the lessons. I started my Compendium Challenge piece, and was working on a birthday card I remembered to move from the picture! 

What you see is the butterfly for the class using the Shattered Stain’s technique.  It’s a little darker than I planned.  The box is for the compendium challenge, using Eroded Metallic technique…sort of a fail there…still need practice.  The tags are various samples from the first 2 lessons of the Inventive Ink class, all waiting for some kind of finishing.  I have paints, stains, gesso, a jar of tiny flowers, tools, and a stamp set all to get put away. 

The post before this shows my start at the art journal.  The butterfly may end up there..so stay tuned.  I still have a week, so the little box may not make it to the challenge, depending if I can work up a more successful attempt. 

My ATC’s for swapping are already at work ready to get mailed…As some have already been posted, and I royally messed up a few others mid-design, I only have one spare homeless one (not including the one for my designated *person) so leave a comment that you’d like to adopt it, and I’ll randomly pick someone.  And who knows…maybe I’ll risk the red paint/molding paste disaster and make up a few more!

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone! 

My Foray into Art Journaling and Mixed Media Techniques

I will admit I am fascinated with art journals; I can lose myself on Pinterest and YouTube on other peoples journals, so last year (or so…maybe 2?) I bought Dyan Reavely’s Dylusion’s Journal…when she only had the large one…I do love the feel of the paper in there!  But it is big…clean…scary…did I say big…

It took a while, but I actually got one page done. Then I was fascinated with her new paints, acquired them, and got a second page done.  But I’m still more than a bit intimidated. So when I heard about the Crafty Online Class with Marjie Kemper, whose work I find fascinating, I had to join in.  So here are a few samples from the first 4 (well 5 actually, but I missed #4 in my downloads, and will go back to that) lessons of Inventive Ink: Colorful Mixed Media Effects.

Marjie uses a lot of the Tim Holtz products, like me, so for a change, I don’t have to buy any supplies! (both good and bad! LOL) And some of the techniques I’ve done before either from his classes, Compendium’s or blog.  But she has tips that helped with the journaling aspect, as well as using multiple stencils on a piece.  Here are a few projects I started on. 

Here is my first Journal Spread…still in progress.  It pretty much combines all of the first 2 lessons (7 chapters total).  The color blending is not nearly as seemless as I’d like, but that is a huge page!!! My arm was getting exhausted!  And I use my blending foams unmounted, which probably doesn’t help. I do love how adding layers of texture over more layers really does create such depth and richness.  Stay tuned as I intend to finish this page up proper; this weekend was just getting the basics under my belt.

Here is a tag I thought overdone, but it is growing on me.  This is from the 3^rd lesson, using distress inks for a Wrinkle Free background.  I do think the background stamping should be lighter, but it is rather bold! So doesn't match the saying! LOL!

This technique is also from the 3rd lesson...another work in progress...but I love how the stenciling added some interest to it.  

Thanks for stopping by and witnessing my entry into the art journaling/mixed media front.  It is good to finally start using that big scary book! LOL!

WOYWW #311

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

Ok, yes, I did forget yesterday was Wed., but I also did get into the craft room last night…so this is my last shot as I headed down…

I was working on my Compendium Challenge Piece over the weekend, and loved playing with the alcohol inks for the Ombre background, that I decided to do a few more cards for my two Nephews, one who just Graduated college, and the other who just broke both (yes..both, 3 bones total)  arms…great start to the summer! And then I made a few spares for craft shows….

So you see my bin of Alcohol inks...of which I will now need to expand (Did you notice how many more colors there are??? I’m still on the old original Adirondack colors..only have 3 of the lights!

My various inks, stains, and other tools from the ATC’s I finished…but still haven’t put away.  The stamp cleaner..which in this case is one of those edge/molding painting pad replacements which I use for larger stamps.  And the Penny Black stamp I used for My Mother in Laws card and challenge, which started this whole flurry. 

 

And here are the 3 cards….

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!

CCC#3 # 28: Alcohol Ink Ombre, Pg. 57

Welcome to another installment of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, Vol. 3, hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  This is the Twenty-Eighth challenge in where we work through the techniques of Tim Holtz from, you guessed it…his 3^rd Volume of the Compendium of Curiosities!!  As in the past challenges, we can’t give details on the challenge, so don’t ask, but do go get your own copy of Tim’s fabulous book.  Also, TheFunky Junkie Boutique has offered an extremely generous $25 Gift Certificate for all the even numbered weeks! So grab a copy, and join in to play!!  All the 

deets are Here on Linda's Blog!

I confess; I thought this challenge would be a breeze…and a perfect technique for a card for my Mother in Law.  And while the steps outlined in Tim’s wonderful Compendium are pretty straightforward, I realize my collection of alcohol inks is sorely lacking.  I started my collection “back in the day…” before they had lights and brights, and you needed a Krylon pen to “marbleize”…actually, I still prefer the pen sometimes to the mixatives…and have only added a few new ones—mostly the lights— over the years.

So coming up with my colors was pretty limited.  I ended up using Lemonade, Peach Bellini and Butterscotch.  My first attempt came out beautifully…no really!  I then stamped the tulip from Penny Black, and I knew I wanted to add color. So I heat set the Archival ink…just for safety..then used the alcohol ink blending pen to start coloring using Meadow AI..  Yup, you guessed it…it totally smudged the black ink…quite the mess!

So, take two.  This time I used colored pencils to color the tulip. (Still smudged a bit on the leaf)  Not as bright as I was hoping, but still it stands out. The Ombre effect wasn’t nearly as smooth; I probably didn’t take enough time with it…and I didn’t take a picture of the first one. 

Now that I’ve seen the new color palettes (Honey comb??? Yeah!)...you guessed it; I’ll be on the lookout for more of these beautiful inks…and I’ll start using them more often, because I really do love them!

Now go visit the wonderful Curiosity Crew’s work to see how they showcased the Ombre Effect! Have a great week everyone.

WOYWW #10

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

 What a difference a week makes…mostly because I had to “clear the decks” before working with the molding paste again; as it is I’m down to 11 ATC’s from 15.  I did flip them over so they’ll still be a surprise, and they are mostly done…just need to put on the finishing touches.  Phew!

Actually, looking back at the photo..not so very cleared! LOL!  I need to find a new way to store the markers, as with all the new Distress Ink 2015 colors, my nifty found shelving just won’t work much longer; as it is I can’t fit the Mermaid Lagoon in, and there is no room for the Twisted Citrus once it arrives..I might have to mix up the color families..Oh No!!!  I can’t remember why the X-acto knife is out..I don’t recall using it at all.  The craft sheet is drying off after scrubbing all the paint/molding paste off.  So, there it is…

Oh, and here is a rainbow I captured as I got home last night…of course by the time I took this as I got out of the car on the phone, then ran in, grabbed the good camera, got Dakota out, then got to the end of the porch where it should have been an outstanding shot over the field, it was gone…but the hawk is a nice touch.

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!

WOYWW #309

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

OK…I’m fine; there has not been a studio invasion…nothing has been ransacked…this is the aftermath of me panicking that I hadn’t started my Anniversary ATC’s yet.  I know…not pretty.

My craft mat is there drying…after an unfortunate incident involving red paint and the texture paste.  The Black ATC’s are there waiting to get put away..as the Tim Holtz Tissue over them just wasn’t light enough (in my opinion-it’s in the lower center there) to use as a background. First I have to inspect them to see if they escaped the unfortunate texture paste incident…The Poppy Stamps (lovely...still inked since Sunday..that will leave them stained/sigh) The manila ATC’s are waiting their shot to prove they are worthy..hopefully tonight! The blue paper is a mask I tried which may work, assuming I can find a way to avoid that unfortunate incident in the future, and the block front right is for the JustWrite Alphabet stamps..really tiny ones in this case…I wish they still sold these sets. I could use more fonts. And of course all the ink pads, tools, pens that just couldn’t make those stressful 2-5 inches to get put away.

Wow..I’ll be spending most of my evening just getting room to start again…

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!