Blue and Ochre with Oxides

Today, I took the wrappers from the Oxides! Scary, but they have been calling to me.

I did lots of smooshing and spraying and dabbing and adding distress inks. Kept layering and drying and using up lots of paper.

I learned by playing and really enjoyed myself.

I chose to use blues and ochres in order to play once again in the PaperArtsy challenge.

As you can see, some green crept in as I was introducing distress inks. 

Nevertheless, I was pleased with this background and used one of my favourite stamps from HP1005, stamping with BluePrint Sketch Distress ink, and a sentiment from ELB28.

I finished off with a bit of bling using Stickles. 

Thanks to Corrie Herriman for redirecting me to TH instructive video and to Alison Bomber for tempting me to buy the Oxides!

Blue and Ochre.

Over on the PaperArtsy blog, I am totally inspired by the "Blue and Ochre" theme. Fabulous colours that remind me of beautifully sunny days in the Mediterranean.

I began in a large journal by gluing a sewing pattern page down and framing it with manuscript pages.
I dabbed onto this some Pumpkin Soup fresco paint and blended it with my fingers. I aged everything with some Vintage photo inks.
Next, using some of my favourite stamps from PaperArtsy, of various faces, I stamped them around 2 edges using BluePrint Sketch Distress ink pad.
I then drew a face using Medium Brown Portfolio Pastel and a little black stabilo pencil.

I dabbed the Blueprint distress pad onto some Vintage lace and sprayed it with water and selected some blue and ochre buttons.

To finish, I added the word "Curiosity", from TH new Quote Chips.
The girl is looking wistfully back upon the people in her life.

I would also like to enter this piece into the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge of Buttons.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Hope is never lost.

Having found Ingrid's Mixed Media world recently, and being inspired by the mood board and the fabulous samples from the designers, I decided to join in.

I began by gessoing a page in my Girl's Annual and using crackle paste through a snowflake stencil.

When dry, I sprinkled some PaperArtsy infusions onto the snowflakes and spritzed with water.

I tore up some corrugated card and dipped into some watery infusions and cut up some strips of lace.

I die cut some flowers from TH flowers die using shiny card and arranged them to grow through the layers.

I finished off with  new TH Quote Chips.

My feeling was, that the flowers will always endeavour to grow, despite the odds.

Keep Safe

I am still pursuing the Paperartsy topic of Windows, Doors and Architecture. There was a piece on the introduction that really sparked my imagination. It had lots of images of buildings and lots of texture.

So, I had another play tonight. 

I started by cutting pics of buildings, facades, doors, walls from magazines and glued them to my page. Then I clear gessoed them so that I could paint or draw over the glossy surfaces.

I added some grunge paste bricks and some crackle paste and cotton cheesecloth for texture.

I decided to add some pen drawings of famous buildings, which got me thinking of the atrocity on Westminster bridge today.

So, to finish off, I added the message to all vulnerable people. 

Not much else to add!

Cudillero

Another entry into the PaperArtsy challenge entitled Doors, Windows, Architecture.

I based this piece upon a photo that I took a couple of years ago at a beautiful little village on the North coast of Spain. Somewhere very special to us that we have been visiting for the best part of 30 years.

I began by gessoing a page in my girl's annual and tearing up and attaching pieces of manuscript and dictionary pages.

Next, with a stabilo pencil, I drew the main outlines of the buildings.

Using PaperArtsy fresco paints, I filled in the buildings, and backgrounds.

I thought that this was in the style of Cezanne, and then climbed down from my perch and got real!

On reflection, maybe I should have stopped at this stage! What do you think?

Anyway, I added detail with a fine black pen and with my Stabilo pencil and washed water over the marks. 

As advised by my guru, Alison Bomber, I found an alternative to using greens for foliage and mixed yellows, blues and purples!

I may have overworked my final piece, but can't go back now. 

Here is the original photo of Cudillero.

Critiques of any helpful description are gratefully received. 

LP houses.

Here is my third entry into the PaperArtsy Challenge of Doors, Windows and Architecture.
Inspired by the graffiti buildings which Darcy found on the intro, I decided to do a cityscape made up of Lynne Perrella images.
I drew a few shapes onto PA Heavy stamping card, masked off some of the walls and stamped with a variety of LP stamps. A few fresco paints, bit of doodling with Posca pens and decided upon a map of the French coastline around Roscoff for my background.
For distance, I drew the outlines of buildings and scribbled Stabilo Black pencil and washed over it with water.
Finished off with a Th rub on!

It's a bit crazy but was good fun. I might have a go at another one in muted tones next!

I will also enter this into the challenge..ART-Journal_Journey Challenge, Out and about.

Tim Holtz inspired

This month on Country View crafts our theme is "Inspired by Tim Holtz".

I began by getting out my Compendiums of Curiosities, written by Tim and got together a few ideas.

First, I experimented with a few different methods of creating backgrounds with alcohol inks and settled on one called "Alcohol Ink Monoprint", which I am sure you can look up. 

Onto this I added some stamping from his stamp Sideshow CMS263, using blue archival and white fresco snowflake.

Next, I stamped my main image from the same stamp set and added some Alcohol Ink Splatters.

Using more Tim techniques, I created an alcohol ink background onto acetate and then an "Alcohol Ink Resist, where you stamp with archival and then gently rub to remove the ink. 

I used this as an overlay and secured it with brads, leaving the bottom section clear. 

There are a couple of TH rub ons too, to add to the finish. 

Products Used:- Stamps Sideshow; Alcohol inks; Rub ons Life Quotes; Compendium of Curiosities.

Dublin doors

My second entry on the PaperArtsy challenge entitled "Doors, Windows and Architecture". 

This one was inspired by a picture in a book of lots of doors photographed in Dublin.

I wanted to convey how transient our lives are and how life goes on and time passes quickly, often without us realising. 

I tried to portray how busy these houses must have been over time and how a photograph captures those precious moments. 

My work is busy, because that is how I see the passage of time for these doors and the many people that must have passed through them.

It reminds me of how precious our time is.

I began by attaching a sheet from some TH, stash, Wallflowers , and stamped some PaperArtsy faces onto the reverse of the cut off paper. I tore up the door pictures and  aged them and added some of the new TH paper dolls. 

The stamp which forms a frame is from HP 1601.

A few postage stamps and film negative complete my collage. 

I have tried to send the eye around the page, much like the circle of life! 

I really enjoyed this one! Thanks for looking!

Doorway

Over on the PaperArtsy blog, the new theme is Doors, Windows, Architecture. I am totally buzzing with ideas for this one, especially after Darcy's wonderful intro.

I began by selecting some Background paper stash from a vintage PaperArtsy collection.

I worked on this by brayering some neutral frescos , a bit of stamping, some distress inks applied from my craftmat in Wrinkle free distress method, some of Seth Apter's wonderful Green Patina paint and a bit of inky drippage. 

I stamped the Doorway from HP1601 and, as it looked as though it was floating, restamped bits of the doorway around to suggest the rest of the building.

By this time, I was so excited, I was shaking. I always get excited, but with this one, I felt that to me it was special........not often, but couldn't wait to see what would happen......sure that I could get pills for this affliction!

I wanted to add to the dramatic atmosphere, so I decided to get Lin Brown to help me with her stamps. Lots of wonderful foliage from ELB26 and ELB29.

Also, I needed some words, and found the perfect ones from HP1605. 

Finally, because the TH Distress inks were fading into the background too much, I used some Acrylic inks for added drama. Was worried that I was going too far, but pleased that I risked it.

In all my excitement, I forgot to mention that is is bonded onto cotton fabric, enabling me to sew a zigzag frame around the edges. Phew! Exhausted, but happy. 

Should I repeat this one, I would make the doorway slightly higher....but that is just me being picky.

As I am also a big fan of "A Vintage Journey", I would like to include this in their challenge which is "All aboard".

Second SongBird.

Here is the second entry for the Stamps and Stencils Challenge.

This was my original one, but, because I was waiting for the Crackle Paste to dry, I moved on and produced another version.
For this one, I glued some brown paper to my page and spread some Deco Art White Crackle Paint roughly and liberally. I stamped some Clarity Seedheads in white paint and in brown Archival ink.
I stencilled some words with Black Archival across the page.
Next I sprinkled infusions, Golden Sands and sprayed with water.
I added my napkin bird and some old lace...really old lace!
Finally, I washed around the edges with Burnt Umber Acrylic ink and added a few inky splatters.
Very different from my first entry....funny how art leads you along to who knows where!

Songbird Fly.

Over on Stamps and Stencils, they have a new theme..."Chirpy, chirpy, cheep cheep! I love wild birds and needed to join in. 

I began, not on this repurposed page, but on the facing one, and after applying crackle paste thickly, realised that I would have to wait too long to carry on. So, when that dries, I could have another entry.

This one started with white gesso applied with a credit card, white stamping with bubble wrap and a little stone coloured stamping. I stencilled in Green archival using a TH numbers stencil and added some pieces from a paper napkin.

I added a few more stencilled numbers, blended some of the edges with neutral paints and then stamped using a PaperArtsy stamp of a hedgerow and Clarity stamp of some seedheads.

To finish, I stamped the words onto cotton fabric and darkened around the edges for a border.

My other page is still not dry, but I will be onto it in a bit!!

There was so much inspiration from the design team, that I felt compelled to have a go!

Scruffy Grunge Book.

I am very happy to present my Scruffy book, which I produced for the PaperArtsy Challenge entitled "Paints With Infusions".

I began by selecting some Cardboard packaging. Tearing and cutting them into pages and then die cutting holes through them so that you can see through to the other pages. I used Seths' Spellbinder Word Circles 1 which comes with 3 stamps. 

Next, I transformed some plastic buttons into rusty ones.

Page 1 is painted with Patina and then using a credit card, I printed lines using various paint colours. Added to this are Crackle Paste stars, sprinkled with Infusions and lightly sprayed with water. Rusty wire, rusty buttons and a Seth Woodchip shape complete it. 

Page 2 is painted with a mixture of Infusions and Metallic Glaze. Onto this, I have stamped words with paint , more rusty buttons and a Seth Woodchip shape stamped and Glazed.

Page 3 is acetate. I have stamped on the back with Black Stazon and painted the shapes. I also managed to punch holes at the bottom and thread my shrink plastic stars.

Page 4 has a combination of Metallic Glaze and Infusions randomly spread across the page with a credit card. Onto this I stamped words, stencilled words added Crackle Paste and sprayed with water and sprinkled extra infusions. This time I stitched on the rusty buttons.

For my front cover, I stitched around the edges, added some stamped stars and a Woodchip shape and finished off with rusty elements and some fluffy threads and Sari Silk.

The backs of the pages are left plain for me to journal on. 

I hope that this has inspired you to pop over to the PaperArtsy blog and join in with the challenge.

Thanks for looking.

Products Used:- Stamps ESA03, ESA04, Paperartsy Infusions; SpellBinders Word Circles1; Art Bits by Seth Apter; Fresco Paints.

I would like to enter this into the challenge over at MixedMediaMonthly where the theme is currently Buttons. My rusty buttons are prevalent in my little book!

Together

Here is my Tim Holtz inspired piece for Country View Crafts.

I was inspired to use my doilies. One Die from TH collection, Sizzix Thinlits, and TH stamped doilies, Stampers Anonymous CMS254.

After gessoing my pages, I stamped some doily shapes, roughly using Paperartsy fresco paints in neutral tones. Afterwards I pressed some thick Matte Medium through a doily stencil and here it is before it dried clear.

After a little mica spray and ink splattering, I arranged my collection of ephemera onto my pages!!!!

This took me about 2 days to do before I was happy. Arrange, take a pic....arrange, take a pic.....over and over.

Finally, with everything glued into place I added my Big Chat word onto my dried leaf.

As I ponder over a story for these two characters, I wonder, are they Mother and daughter, friends, lovers?.... and what have they been up to?  They look so pleased with their adventures together and look so happy together. 

Light just shines from their eyes, which is what we all hope for. 

Thanks for joining me on my blog and maybe I have inspired you to join in with our Tim Holtz Inspired Challenge at Country View Crafts.

Here is a close up. 

Products Used:- Sizzix Thinlit; Doily Stamps; Big Chat.