Day of the Dead

This theme isn't really my cup of tea, but let's not say I am one who will ignore a challenge. So here is my, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, piece for Sunday Postcard Art.

Credits: all elements from Studio Manu's Bootiful Nght kit @ SBG

Roses on my Table

Purely by accident, I stumbled across this wonderful site. It is run by Cristina Zinnia Galliher (see link on right-hand side). There is a video about textures where she demonstrates the creation of a journal page. I used this as inspiration to create this page.

The background is actually material onto which I have layered the paper images, sari waste, wool, lots of different types and colours of paint, some tape and the paper flowers.

A new life

A journal page ...

Double-click on the page if you wish to read the words.

Art Creations Friday 93

This week, ACF have given us this Mucha picture to do with what we like.

This is my creation using it. Double-click on the bird to see it properly.

Credits: other elements from T Baxter & Sherrie JD's Thankful Heart kit, @ SBG 

Hats

I decided a grey Wednesday morning required some humour, so here is my piece for The Three Muses who challenged us to create something with hats.

Credits: R McMeen & T Baxter @ SBG - all elements are from their Audrey Roo kit

Double-click on any of the birds to see it in greater detail.

Itinerary 43

The prompts from Art Journal Caravan this week were about preconceptions and experiments. Here are my two pages. First, the mixed media page that has lots of layers of paint. I have been trying out techniques recommended by Traci Bautista. Can you tell?

Secondly, my digital page, which concentrates on the need for experiments.

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Apologies if I am not around as much as usual, I have come down with viral labyrinthitis so I can only blog when I don't feel dizzy!

Art Creations Friday 92 & Sunday Postcard Art

This week ACF gave us a picture of toadstools to play with and the theme at SPA is witches, so I've combined the two. As I'm not really into witches, I decided to use a picture of a girl dressing up as one. This is my finished piece.

As you can see, I decided to go with colourful grunge! The little fairy is from Lisa's Altered Art and the girl dressed as a witch is from Dover. All the rest is created from layers of my own mixed media work, which I scanned and used in digital form. Double-click on the cat for a better view.

Things with wings

That's the challenge from The Three Muses, so I decided to use an angel, courtesy of Dover, to decorate my piece. The statue and key are from two of my own photos, the background from Art Creations Friday and the overlay from Nancy Rowe Janitz.

Itinerary 42

The prompt from Art Journey Caravan this week was to think about what we may be haunted by. First my mixed media page and then my digital page. Double-click on the pictures to see them in greater detail.

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Back to Back 4

Here is the fourth background I played with:

For the first piece, I made a collage using a torn page from a telephone directory, some white tissue paper and some of the image transfers I showed you in July. Having stuck on the word 'star' I then doodled around the various elements.

This second piece was created using stencilling, Tim Holtz tape and journalling.

And lastly, another hand!

Dark and scary fairies

Fairies aren't normally my thing and I usually avoid dark and scary but, hey, a challenge is a challenge! So here are dark and scary fairies especially for Sunday Postcard Art.

Credits: large fairy - Terri Kahrs; small fairies - Lisa's Altered Art: overlays Nancy Rowe Janitz @ Deviant Scrap; words & wings T Baxter @ SBG

Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Metal

So here it is!

I started by embossing some brown metal using a Ten Seconds Studio mould.  Once finished, I rubbed alcohol ink gently over the top - this removes the colour from the metal and tints the raised areas with the colour of the alcohol ink. I tore the metal to the desired shape and decorated the outside edges with  wheel tool.

For the background, I used some corrugated cardboard, pulling off some of the top layer and spraying it with Glimmer Mists. I added the Tim Holtz tape and then attached the embellishments. The flower was made from Grungepaper with text glued over it and coloured with Distress Inks. The ticket was die-cut and then stamped and coloured.

Art Creations Friday 91

This week we were given the figure of the lady carrying the water jug to use in our pieces. The weather has  definitely turned, so I decided to go for an autumnal piece (I'm a bit worried about her bare feet!).

Credits: elements from collaborative kit Mansion Masquerade @ SBG (artists T Baxter, Britt ish Designs & Sahlin Studio)

Vintage

Credits: Overlay Studio Manu @ SBG; butterfly - Totally Wild Dezinez @ Deviant Scrap; scene - Stampington

This is my digital vintage piece for The Three Muses. Double-click on it to see all the details.

Back to back 3

Can you tell that I am loving this crusade set by Michelle at GPP Street Team? Here is the third background that I used:

For the first piece, I glued on a strip of tissue paper and then added a stamp to the four corners. Remember that piece of Lutradur I created in August, well the colours were just right so, after sticking it onto a piece of vellum, I stuck it onto the left hand side of the card. To finish I added the word stamp from Paper Artsy.

To start the second piece I stamped on the numbers. Then I added the strips of Tim Holtz tape - it's ideal as it has a transparent quality. I then added the large words and edged them with a grey pen.

For the third piece I again stuck on a block of tissue paper. The rest is all stamping - in black and teal.

Itinerary 41 - creating

As well as following Art Journal Caravan I have just started a short online course by Traci Bautista. One of the techniques she suggests if to make a background by painting circles, another doodling. You can see my first attempt below in my mixed media page.

My digital page:

Credits: T Baxter & A Sexton @ SBG

Sunday Postcard Art

If yiou don't like clowns look away now, as this week our postcards have to feature a scary clown! I only had nice clowns, so I had to alter him quite a bit to get the desired effect!

Credits: elements by Sahlin Studio, Britt Ish Designs and T Baxer from the Masquerade Mansion kit @ SBG

Back to Back 2

Same principles as the previous post, but this time using this text background.

I couldn't resist doing a hand again (although it didn't work as well as the first!).

For the second one I started by stamping all over the background -blue decorated circles and blocks of three red squares. I then dry brushed yellow acrylic paint in between the stamps. To finish, using a large stencil, I sprayed on the word 'art'.

For the third piece I collaged on four pieces of patterned tissue paper. Once dry I sprayed on some orange letters through a stencil and painted orange acrylic paint through some sequin waste. I then added the image of the lady (c/o Sherrie JD @ Deviant Scrap) and the German Scrap.

Back to Back

The task set by Michelle at GPP Street Team this month is make color copies of an existing prepared background and finish it in two or three different ways.  What fun!

This is what I started with (you may remember seeing this background before as is was created for a previous GPP challenge).

Here are my three finished pieces. For the first I sprayed black ink over a mask and stencil. I then added a rub-on and some words, followed by some yellow paint.

I used collage for the second piece - some paper torn from an old book and a doilly that I had previously used as a mask. I used a stencil to spray on the people and then added the words.

The third piece is a direct copy of one of Michelle's samples, as I liked it so much! I drew around my hand and then cut it out to make both a mask and stencil. I first placed the mask onto the paper and sprayed around the top side of the hand. I then removed the mask and placed the stencil over the area I had just sprayed, this time spraying inside the hand on the lower side. Isn't that effective?

Itinerary 40

I am rather late posting this as the prompt for week 41 of Art Jounal Caravan has already been released. Nevermind, better late than never!

This week, the observant among you will notice a change - a different shaped journal. Until now I have been using a watercolour Moleskine, but I have now finished this. I liked the paper but I realised I don't like the shape of the pages for journalling, so I have moved on to my square journal. This means that the remaining itineraries will be mixed up with my other journal pages, but I don't suppose that matters. Any way, here it is:

And my digital page:

ACF 90 - love

Art Creations Friday gave us a gorgeous background to play with this week. This is how mine ended up.

Credits: elements from Roben-Marie & Tangie Baxter's Art Stomp kit @ SBG

Say it with music

Credits: Words & elements from Studio MGL's 'Bring on the Music' @ SBG

It's Wednesday once more and so this is my piece for The Three Muses. It's a digital collage that I created by building up several layers and applying different filters. Let me know what you think.

Shadow box

Simon says Stamp and Show want us to use numbers in our piece this week. A while ago I bought a deep canvas in a sale with the idea of making a shadow box and so I decided to use it for the challenge this week.

To start, I painted the frame of the canvas brown. I then applied some of Tim Holtz's adhesive tape around the back edges of  it to form a frame. Into the cavity of the frame I put in part of a sheet of Tim Holtz's Lost & Found paper stack and added some words onto it. Then I made the various embellishments to decorate the frame - an assortment of grungpaper flowers, a bottle coloured red with alcohol inks with old paper stuck into it, the pins at the top stuck into an old cotton reel stuffed with kitchen paper and painted brown and the film strip. Then came the metal frame in the top right corner, the numbers and words using cork letter tiles. Double-click on it to see all the details. Hope you like it!

Journal page

I created this journal page whilst watching television. Obviously I wasn't concentrating enough because at some point I turned it around and forgot to turn it back, so I ended up with my pages upside down!  Undeterred, I put text both ways up. This photo shows how it looks when the page is turned, but it is better the other way around! Next time I shall have to pay more attention. Please don't  hurt your neck by twisting too much!

Dark Marie

This week the Three Muses have challenged us to create a dark version of Marie Antoinette. Here is my piece. Double-click on it to see the details.

Credits: Background - Art Creations Friday; Marie - Elegia;
glasses - B Kerr @ SBG; word strips - T Baxter @ SBG