Unruly Paper Arts Guest Artist Spotlight

Hello everyone!  I am so excited to share with you that I am in the guest artist spotlight today over on the Unruly Paper Arts blog.  I hope you will stop by and check it out, and hopefully leave me a comment and let me know you were there.

This month's theme is Fully Booked.  I think you know what that means.  Each of the talented artists will be sharing something book related with you, and so far, there is so much inspiration, you won't want to miss a second of it.  Today, I will be sharing an altered book project with you.  I hope you will pop on over to the UPA blog and let me know what you think of my book.  I am very proud of it (if I do say so myself) and I hope you enjoy it!

If you have a little time, you might want to check out my artist spotlight earlier in the month on the Unruly Paper Arts blog by clicking the link.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara xo

ColourArte Design Team Announced

Happy Valentine's Day!  Today I have some wonderful news to share with you all.  I have been asked to be a part of the ColourArte design team, and I could not be more thrilled.  ColourArte is the company that makes those fabulous Twinkling H20s that we have all grown to love, but in addition to that, they also make those shimmery Silks Acrylic Glazes, as well as Primary Elements Artists Pigments™, Radiant Rains, and a brand new product called Radiant Gels.  

Whether you are a mixed media artist, scrapbooker, card maker or paper crafter, you will find the line of products from ColourArte to be an amazing addition to each of your artistic creations.

I hope you will not only visit the online shop, but also check out their Facebook page by clicking here, and be sure to LIKE their page.  That way, you will get all the latest news and updates, and sales, too!  And be sure to stop by their blog to meet the new Design Team!!!  

Crafty hugs,

Barbara

Unruly Paper Arts Artist Spotlight

Hello everyone!  I am so excited to share with you that I am in the artist spotlight today over on the Unruly Paper Arts blog.  I hope you will stop by and check it out, and hopefully let me know you were there.

This month's theme is Fully Booked.  I think you know what that means.  Each of the talented artists will be sharing something book related with you, and so far, there is so much inspiration, you won't want to miss a second of it.

And later in the month, February 24th, I will be sharing an altered book project with you.  I hope you will visit the UPA blog often to see all of the fabulous book projects being shared.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara xo

Altered Pages Valentine and Storage Tips

Hello everyone!  It's me again, yep, with another fast and easy Valentine's Day card.  I just love the vintage feel of Altered Pages' collage sheets, and this one is a beauty.

I had this card stock in my stash, and while I don't expect you to have it, too, I want you to take a look at the papers and card stocks that you do have.  Pull them out and see what collage images go along with your own stash.

There were several images on the Les Fleurs collage sheet that I thought would go very well with this card stock.  What do you think?  Am I right?

This particular image of the little cherub with a wheelbarrow full of flowers just jumped right out at me.  So, I first adhered her to a piece of chipboard with Nori Paste and cut it out.

Edge chipboard image with brown distress ink.

Adhere Gold Opulence Stickers Corners and go around the edges with a Gold Xtreme Pen.

Stamp and heat emboss "Happy Valentine's Day" at top center with VersaMark ink and gold embossing powder.

Adhere chipboard image with Scor-tape.

Add a few punched leaves from green card stock around the edges.

Add a bit of Stickles glitter glue randomly to the surrounding flowers imprinted on the card for extra "OOOMPH"!!!

Now, for my storage tip!  How do I store my Stickles glitter glue?  I am sure you have seen these pencil cases in the drug store, Wal-mart, office supplies stores, etc.  You will always find them just before school starts.  I stock up then and store many things inside, like pens and pencils, embossing tools and other supplies that I use in my paper craft, and of course, my Stickles glitter glue bottles.

They fit perfectly inside these little holders, and stack very nicely inside a drawer, on a shelf, or whatever your storage system may be.

I also use the index card size ...

... to hold my gem stickers.  There are so many uses for these, and I particularly like that they stack nicely while containing things that otherwise would roll around and get lost, or in the case of gem stickers, I usually find these stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

Stay tuned this month, as the design team is sharing not only their fabulous art all month long, but more storage tips for you to take with you and try out.

The Altered Pages giveaway this month will be a Treasure Box of supplies and tools!  All you need to do is leave a comment on their blog and share us on your Facebook page to be eligible. (tell us you shared)

The February Giveway will include a Cigar Box with binder clips, ATC cards, Memento Marker, oversized paper clips and a sturdy colorful band for closure. 

(see our Portable Art Pack for easy 

on-the-go creating)

As always, thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful and crafty week!

Barbara

ColourArte Design Team Application-Love Letters Keepsake Box

Hello everyone.  Today, I have the great pleasure of trying out for a fabulous company, ColourArte.  This company sells Twinkling H20's Watercolors, Silks Acrylic Glazes, Radiant Gels Dimensional Paints, Radiant Rains, and Primary Elements Artist Pigments.  While I have been using Twinkling H20's and Radiant Rains for years, the newer (to me) Silks and Primary Elements are so beautiful, I think they may be my favorites.  Of course, each product has a use, depending on how you wish to use them and the look your are trying to achieve.

Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I decided to alter a box to hold love letters.

Side Front

Side Back

I started with an empty Cricut cartridge box.

I painted the outside of the box with Utrecht white gesso.  It is very thick and only one coat covered all of the writing very nicely.

I added a scrap piece of lace to the still wet gesso and allowed everything to dry.

While that is drying, gather chipboard, die cuts, ephemera, metal bits and charms, and anything you plan on using on the top of your box.

Use a spatula to spread the crackle paste through the stencil and allow to dry.  Continue adding the stenciled crackle paste along the back of the box, as well.  Do not use a heat gun to speed drying time for this step.  (See Fig. 1 below).

Allow the paste to air dry to form the crackles.

Adhere chipboard pieces and alphabet letters to box, as shown.

Use a ruler to help keep letters straight.

Cover entire box with another coat of white gesso.  Add a medium thick coat of crackle paste to the chipboard heart and allow to air dry.  Then adhere over honeycomb chipboard.

Randomly add streaks of crackle paste along the two side edges (See Fig. 2 below), as well as along the front edge on either side of the chipboard ornamental.

Add Burnt Umber Primary Elements to white gesso and mix together on your craft sheet.

Paint inside edges of box, as shown.  Allow to dry.

Adhere print paper to inside of box, leaving scant borders all around each section of the box.  One 12"x12" sheet of paper will cover the inside.  

Now comes the real fun ... coloring!!!  I began adding colors using the Silks Acrylic Glazes, beginning with Pomegranate, Ginger Peach, Yellow Rose, Olive Vine, and Bolivian Blue.  

I wanted my box to look quite old, so I needed to darken the colors.  I made a spray mist by adding Burnt Umber Primary Elements to a mini mister bottle.  I have no formula, just add small amounts  of the Primary Elements until you like the color.  A very little goes a long way.  Spray over the box and dab off some of the excess with a paper towel or baby wipe.

 

Also add this mist along the front and side edges.

Now get those embellishments out and start adding them to the top of your box.  I have used chipboard die cuts, fabric flowers, metal charms, buttons, and various embellishments. Once you like the arrangement, glue everything down to the box and allow to dry.  (NOTE:  I removed the Special Memories tag to be added at the very last, but this is where I will place it.)

Add a light wash of white gesso over these pieces and allow to dry.

Brush more of the Silks Acrylic Glazes in Pomegranate, Ginger Peach, Yellow Rose, Olive Vine, and Bolivian Blue.  The goal is to unify these additions while maintaing a bit of contrast. Since the colors are so beautiful, I wanted to share as much of the beauty as possible by including some closeups of the individual sections.

To add some additional highlights to a few embellishments, I used a tiny round paint brush, dipped into water, then picked up a scant amount of Sunflower Primary Elements to make this gilded color.

I added tiny touches of this luscious, golden color to the chipboard ornament on the front of the box. I absolutely love the color variations.

A few closeups of the sides, where I also added some of this golden color.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

I then added blobs of that golden color to my metal flower, simply by brushing the excess off of my brush onto the edges of the metal.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Supplies used:

ColourArte products: Silks Acrylic Glaze: Pomegranate, Ginger Peach, Yellow Rose, Olive Vine, Bolivian Blue;  Primary Elements Artists Pigments:  Burnt Umber, Sunflower

Cricut cartridge box (empty)

Utrecht white gesso

Cuttlebug 2x6 die sets:  (Poppies & Honeycomb) (Ornamental)

Cuttlebug 2x2 Butterfly Combo cut and emboss set

DecoArt Media Crackle Paste

Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil
Metal charms and embellishments, chipboard, buttons, metal clips, vintage paper ticket, mini mister, Prima flowers and leaves

I hope you enjoyed my repurposed box project today, and that I have inspired you to try some of these luscious and beautiful ColourArte products.  You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful, creative week!

Barbara

House of Cards February 2015 Challenge - Love

Hello everyone, and welcome back to a new monthly challenge here at House of Cards.  I so enjoy seeing all the creations each month, not only from the design team, but also from you, the challenge participants.

This month's challenge is ...

                                            FEBRUARY 2015
                                  Word Cue Challenge

I love the vintage, and even shabby chic style, and I thought it would be fitting for my LOVE card.  I think this would make a wonderful Valentine's Day card, don't you?

Die cut Stampin'Up heart with red card stock.  Swipe Tarnished Brass DS over heart (see finished photo above).  Swipe Picket Fence DS over corrugated kraft heart.

Mist kraft heart with Dylusions Calypso Teal and Polished Jade.  Mist with water to disperse colors.  Wipe off excess and dry.  Swipe Tarnished Brass DS over corrugations.  Allow to dry, then apply DecoArt Media Crackle Paint along edges.  You can see the paint picking up some of the teal color beneath as it dries.

Add a light coat of the Bolivian Blue Silks acrylic glaze over the crackle paint.  Below you can see where I added it to the lower section only.

And here, you can see the crackle paint covered entirely.  Isn't it beautiful, the way it adds such a nice shimmer to the crackles.  

Blend Antique Linen DI over Love Bingo card, blending towards center, then edge with Vintage Photo DI.

Die cut the ornate frame from eggshell watercolor card stock, and the smaller frame from the Prima script paper, using the Regal Frame die set.

Die cut two butterflies with the Nature and Texture Blocks die, using doubled piece of script paper.  Glue together and color with  Stormy Sky DI, then edge with Vintage Photo DI.

Now, let's put it all together.  First, make a base card measuring 6" x 6" from light aqua card stock.  I like to use my Xyron 850 to apply the adhesive to each of my pieces.
Heavily distress the edges of the 6x6 print paper, edge with Vintage Photo DS.  Adhere to card front.  Adhere both Regal frame pieces to center, fussy cut a journal tag from the Prima paper pad and adhere on the right, beneath the Love Bingo card.  Add the two heart shapes, as shown, with the fern die cut and a scrap of lace.

Add the colored-to-match ribbon bow with a few mini roses and a metal filigree embellishment.

Turn the butterfly wings upward and attach each along the bodies only.  Add a line of the Opal pearl pen down the center to form their bodies.

Supplies used:

Spellbinders S4-446-Regal Frame die set
Tattered Lace fern die
Stampin'Up Embosslits Scalloped Heart of Hearts die
Eggshell, light aqua, and red card stock
Prima Madeline collection 6"x6" paper pad
Love Bingo Card (Kaisercraft Miss Match collection)
Xyron 850
Off white seam binding
Kraft corrugated heart die cut (Recollections)
Dylusions ink sprays:  Calypso Teal, Polished Jade
Distress Inks (DI) and Distress Stains (DS):  Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Tarnished Brass
Bolivian Blue Silks Acrylic Glaze
DecoArt Media Crackle Paint
Opal Pearl Pen (VivaDecor)
Metal filigree embellishments
Mini roses (Hobby Lobby)

I am also entering this in the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Blog January Challenge.  I have used paint, lace and ribbon,  die cutting and mixed media, chipboard, flowers and ephemera to meet the challenge.

I am also entering this card in the Mixed Media Card Challenge #8 - Love.  

I hope I have inspired you to play along with us and to get some great cards made using LOVE for your challenge theme.    I can't wait to see your creations.

Come back each Monday this month for more inspiration from the DT.  We hope you will join us and share your beautiful creations.  Click HERE to be taken to the original challenge post to link up!  Please check the House Rules HERE before linking up.  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful, creative week!

Barbara xoxo