Bird of paradise

This is the image Art Creations Friday have given us this week. It's a lovely picture so I decided to leave it intact but to make it a bit livelier! I used some elements from Crowabout's  (Deviant Scrap) kit 'Borders and Bits' and some overlays by Ruby Rynne.

Two journal pages

I am showing these two pages together because, although they may look very different, the backgrounds were actually made at the same time. The black areas on both pages are actually stamped off some scrap paper that was used as protection whilst spraying another piece. The paper was very wet and so produced the big black splodge on the first page and the more delicate black area on the second. I used two masks on the first page - the flourish and the flowers. Immediately after spraying over them I turned them over and stamped them on the adjacent page to produce the orange and turquoise patterns, thus using up the spare paint. Waste not, want not!

Victorian

That's the theme that the Three Muses have given us this week. I do so enjoy their challenges, and last week I was lucky enough to be one of three lucky people to win one of their mail art envelopes - can't wait for it to arrive. My envelope caught Rosie's interest and so we have arranged a swap - so I'm expecting two decorated envelopes through my post box. How lucky am I?!

Anyway, back to this week's theme. Here's my digital collage.

Credits: T Baxter @ SBG & R Rynne

It all depends on your viewpoint

Another journal page, very different to the last!

Credits: Sherrie JD @ Deviant Scrap

Coming up roses...

A journal page.

The central rose is \ctually part of a napkin that I glued onto the page. The smaller two are stamps that I then coloured to match. The script is a Paper Artsy stamp. Double-click on the page for a better view

Wrinkle free distress

This is the Compendium of Curiosities challenge this week (see page 33 of Tim Holtz's book to see how to do this). I decided to use three different colours of blues. Once the background was dry, I used the Elusive Images stamp of the bird singing. I stamped over this with two Paper Artsy word stamps and went over them with a glaze pen.  To finish, I highlighted some edges with a white gel pen and then added the ribbon. Even my husband said he liked this one - high praise, indeed!

Distress and sand

No, I'm not upset because I've been near a beach! These are the techniques Simon Says Stamp and Show want us to use this week. So I have set to and this is the result.

I started with a piece of corrugated cardboard. I lightly sanded it and distressed the edges. I swiped Vintage Photo Distress ink over both and then sprayed some Tiger Lily Glimmer Mist over it to colour some of the grooves. (Tip: I then stamped the excess off the corrugated cardboard onto a piece of scrap paper. This produces a great striped pattern that can be used at a later date.) I took two pieces of thickish orange paper and embossed them using my Texture Fades. Once again I sanded the surface, distressed the edges and added Distress ink. I took two more pieces of card - one from Tim Holt's Lost & Found Stack and the other a Paper Whimsy Image - and distressed the edges of these as well. I crumpled the one with the boy, straightened it out again and then swiped Distress Ink over it to make it look even more distressed. Just before assembling, I coloured a piece of lace with Leather Glimmer Mist and assembled a flower, both to give additional interest to the final piece.

Autumn glory

That's the theme from the girls at Sunday Postcard Art this week. Here's my (digital) postcard.

Credits: T Baxter @ SBG

Canvas

I have been working on this piece for a while. It is a 12 x 10 inch canvas. Having applied gesso, I started  by using spray paint and stencils. Then came more stencils, this time in the shape of letters and using black acrylic paint. Various layers of different colours of acrylic paint then followed, applied using stencil waste, baby wipes and cup rims to create additional interest. It then sat for several weeks until I decided what I wanted in the foreground. The tree and silhouette of the figures come from Tangie Baxter at Scrapbook Graphics. I printed them on paper, applied them to the canvas with matte medium and then added more colour to them.

I have to say I am very pleased with the finished result. Let me know what you think!

Itinerary 38

The seasons are this week's Art Journal Caravan theme.
Here are my mixed media pages.

And here's my digital page.

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Alcohol Ink Agate on Grunge

The Compendium of Curiosities Challenge this week is to turn to page 53 of Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities book and use his alcohol in agate technique. I decided to go for bright and cheerful!

Art Creations Friday 88

This is the picture ACF gave us this week:

This is what I did with it.

Credits: Elements from Rosey Posey's Discovery kit & Studio Manu's Sentimental Journey kit, both @ SBG

Mail art

The Three Muses have challenged us to make an art envelope. Couldn't resist this one, so here it is:

I started by stamping on some images, words and patterns (all Tim Holtz) and then coloured some of these with acrylic paint. Using Glimmer Mist, I sprayed some additional colour over the envelope, having masked off a small area for the address. Unfortunately the picture doesn't really show the sparkle, but believe you me it is there! I then highlighted some of the images with metallic gel pens.

Now, what shall I put in it and who shall I send it to?

Grunge tag

Simon says Stamp and Show has challenged us to produce a piece in grunge style. I decided to go for a tag.

I applied some light layers of Broken China and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks to the tag and then embossed it. I then went over it again with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I die cut the film strip, sprayed it black and glued it to the tag and then distressed two different pieces of Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper stack and attached these over it. I coloured the Grunge Board bird, letters and flourish and once dry added these to the tag as well. The ribbons were the final touch.

1950s pin up

That's the new theme from Sunday Postcard Art so, of course, it had to be Marilyn!

Credits: All elements from B Kerr's 'Femme' @ SBG

Grunge Board book

I have been having fun playing with some of my Tim Holtz stuff. The pages are made of Grunge Board and the embellishments of Grunge Board, Grunge Paper and ordinary paper, with some Tim Holtz tape and tickets thrown in! The transparent pages are pieces of packaging from Tim Holtz Sizzix dies that I have embossed and coloured with Glimmer Mist. Here is the end product.

Feeling lost

Art Creations Friday gave us this picture to play with this week for their 87th challenge.

I altered it digitally to create this:



Credits: Other elements from T Baxter's Tossed Tempest kit, @ SBG

And before you ask, no I wasn't feeling sad today. The words just seemed to fit the mood of the picture!

Printed word

Here is my digital piece for the Three Muses this week.

I created the background by using many different layers and filters. I layered the script over it (by Studio Manu @ SBG) and then added the lady and the crown (courtesy of Birgit Kerr's kit 'Femme', also of SBG). Hope you like it!

Going to the ball ...

A digital collage.

Credits: Paper Whimsy for the architecture; Dover for the couple (originally black & white).

Itinerary 37

Castles in the air is the topic from Art Journal Caravan this week.
First my mixed media pages:

And now my digital page:

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Feelin' blue

Well, I couldn't not use this opportunity to use a Jester! Sunday Postcard Art's theme this week is 'feelin' blue' and jesters had the function of cheering others up, even though they might be feeling blue themselves.

This is my digital piece.

Credits: jester - T Baxter@ SBG; newspaper background - Miss Vivi @ SBG; frame Ruby Rynne.

Good girl, bad girl ...

Art Creations Friday gave us two pictures to play with this week. A photo of a woman and a book about murderers.

This how I used them - it's quite a dark piece, wondering whether this woman is actually one of the people the book is talking about!

Credits: TotallyWildDezinez @ Deviant Scrap, & Gypsy @ SBG

In a scrape

This month GPP Street Team is getting messy with paint. The suggestion is that we scrape paint onto our pages using old credit cards or the like; definitely no brushes! Now, when I have tried this previously it hasn't been too successful so, clearly, it was time for another go. This time I am quite pleased with the results - I used a different type of paper and also, and I think this is what made the big difference, applied the paint onto a layer or two of gesso. Here are the results. 

  

  

Let me know what you think!

Itinerary 36

This week the prompt from Art Journal Caravan is about memories we have from childhood, and  subsequently, that involve food.

Here are my mixed media pages. To start I tore up four pieces of paper that I stuck to the pages with repositionable glue. I left these in position until I had finished all my painting, gluing and stamping. I then removed them to leave four plain areas to write on. As the theme is about food, it seemed very appropriate to use paper napkins to create my background. These provided some of the patterns that you see. I stuck them on with matte medium.

This is my digital page - view it better by double-clicking on the little girl.

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Numbers

That's the challenge from the Three Muses this week. Here's my digital collage.

I started with a vintage postcard off the little boy, which I bought on holiday in Tavistock Market, Devon. Having scanned it, I have added some texture and ink blots, together with the words and numbers.

Credits: Studio Manu @ SBG for the words.

Holiday journal pages

Here are some journal pages I created on holiday. Well, you didn't expect me to leave everything at home, did you? It's amazing what one can do with a glue stick, an old magazine, some collage fodder, a few paints and pens, all of which fitted into a small bag.