Born to Stand Out Card Using Pam Bray's Stamps

Hi everyone!  Have you seen these super cute stamp sets from my very talented friend, Pam Bray?  One set is called Flamingo Row, and the other one is called Tropical Dreams.  Both sets are manufactured by Blank Page Muse, and are made of very high quality, thick red rubber.  They stamp like a dream, and can be purchased from their online shop.  Just click on the link to go directly to their store.

I made this shutter card mainly so I could use lots of the images from both of these sets, and there are still many more images for even more cards.  I love the versatility of this set, and there are some really cute phrases to use with the stamps, like this one I used... "Born to Stand Out".  Here's the finished card.

And here are some close-ups of the various sections of this fun card. By the way, it does fold up to fit inside an A2 size envelope.  

Supplies Used:

Flamingo Row by Pam Bray Designs (BlankPageMuse.com)
Tropical Dreams Flowers Flamingo Umbrella Beverage Cup Red Rubber Stamp Set Pam Bray Designs (BlankPageMuse.com)
Spectrum Noir Basics alcohol-based markers
X-Press It Blending Paper
SEI Mimosa paper collection
Bright green card stock
Spellbinders S4-726 - Palm Fronds die
Crafter's Companion DS-CADUS-SHUT - Shutter Card die
Distress Ink Pads(Tim Holtz)
  Black Soot
  Peeled Paint
  Dried Marigold
Blending Tools (Ranger)
Adhesive tape
Foam dots
White glue

Well, that's it for today.  No tutorial, just lots of pictures of these pretty and versatile stamps.  I really hope I've inspired you to visit the online shop at www.blankpagemuse.com to see the entire array of stamps by Pam Bray, and while you're there, you can check out the entire shop of great stamp images!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a super crafty day!

Hugs,
Barbara

Mixed Media Art Journal Page with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  Today I'll be working in my art journal, and using Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chipboard to add dimension without lots of bulk.  If you've ever wondered how to get some added dimension in your art journal, consider chipboard.  It is perfect for items like art journals and greeting cards, mini albums with thin spines, and of course, your mixed media canvas pieces.

I want to warn you that this post has lots of photos, but I believe a picture is worth a thousand words, so I hope it will be more helpful than a hinderance. 

I started out with my 6"x9" Dylusions art journal and gave the pages a coat of Old Paper Distress Crackle Paint I had in my stash.  You can, of course, use regular crackle paste and color it with paint or just leave it natural.

Spread Modeling Paste through Pixels stencil with a spatula.  Let dry or use heat tool to speed drying time.

While the paste is drying, use gesso to prime chipboard pieces chosen from the Mixed Media Fragments 2 chipboard collection.  I cut some  pieces apart to piece together in the background.

Use small stamps or portions of larger stamps to make some texture on the Fragments with black archival ink.  This will not only add interest but also a bit of texture to the pieces.

Spray background with Color Bloom Glistening Waves, leaving some areas white.

Spray background with Color Bloom Lime Wedge.  Let dry.

Spray background with Color Bloom Tea Stain.  Let dry.

Spray background with Tattered Angels Frosty Nights.  Let dry.

Spray background with Color Bloom Iris.  Let dry.

Stamp damask background stamp with black archival ink.  Stamp off once before stamping onto page for a lighter image.

Prime two keys and two plates with black gesso and let dry.

Computer generate your phrase onto inexpensive printer paper and and spray it with a fixative to keep the inkjet ink from bleeding when we add more color.

Cut the phrase apart, then glue them to a piece of chipboard.  You can use cereal box chipboard from your kitchen, or you could glue several layers of cardstock together to get the added height. 

Glue Fragments, Keys & Plates, and phrase pieces to journal pages, as shown.  I weighted them down while they dried.

Use a spatula or brush to spread some regular gel matte medium randomly over the background, concentrating around the fragments pieces, and then sprinkle on texture pebbles, filling in any open areas with the smaller texture sand.  Let dry,

Spray both pages the same as before.  It is really neat to see how the different pieces will take on the colors differently.  I started with the TA Frosty Nights, then CB Glistening Waves, CB Iris, CB Lime Wedge, and finally CB Tea Stain.  I dried each color layer before spraying the next color.

Next, I dry brushed Vintage Gold Metallique wax over some of the high spots on the page.

Then I added a small amount of Brushed Iron Metallique wax over the black gessoed chipboard pieces.  Next, I added the Bronze Age over them, and applied  it to the edge of the pages with my finger.

One last blast randomly with the CB Glistening Waves, and let dry.

The addition of all the sprays lightened the printed words, so I used a black Sharpie pen to go over the letters in the phrase.  It was easy and best of all, it made it look like it was hand-written rather than computer-generated.

I used a Pitt Black big brush pen to add some shading beneath some of the pieces to add dimension.

Next, I made splatters over the background by making a wash of white gesso + water and a fan brush.

I made dots with a bronze pearl paint pen to resemble brads or nail heads in the key plate holes.

Next, I added more Vintage Gold wax over the high spots.  They had gotten covered up some by the sprays, but that is why mixed media is so fun.  You can just keep adding layers and layers of the same stuff until you like the end result.  I also edged the pages with Black Soot distress ink and a blending tool.

And now, I have some close-ups of portions of the pages for you. 

Supplies Used:

GSL Mixed Media Fragments 2
GSL Keys & Plates Shape Set
White Gesso (Liquitex)
Black Gesso (Liquitex)
DecoArt Media Modeling Paste
Stencil Girl S509 Pixels Stencil (6x6)
Distress Crackle Paint (Old Paper) (or substitute any crackle paint)
Black Soot Distress Ink
Blending Tool
Dylusion 6"x9" art journal
Prima Color Bloom Spray Mists
  Glistening Waves
  Lime Wedge
  Tea Stain
  Iris
Prima Metallique Wax
  Vintage Gold
  Brushed Iron
  Bronze Age
  Mystic Turqouise
Tattered Angels Mists
  Frosty Nights
Viva Decor Bronze Pearl Paint Pen
Art-C 26885 San Serif Alphabets stamps & stencil set
Archival Black ink pad
Fast Grab Tacky Glue (Aleene's)
Golden Regular Gel (Matte)
Krylon Workable Fixatif
Black Sharpie pen
Pitt Black Big Brush Pen (Faber-Castell)

I hope you enjoyed today's project tutorial and maybe I've inspired you to get working on your art journal or other projects.  Art journaling is fun!  

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a fun and crafty day!

Hugs,
Barbara

How to Make and Use Your DIY Embellishments - Ideas and Project

Hi everyone!   Today I've got another video to share in my new DIY Embellishments series.  We are going to pick up right where we left off earlier this week from my previous video.  You can click here to see it.

Now, since I started this new series on making your own DIY embellishments, I've had questons from viewers about what to do with them.  I have mentioned a few ideas in my previous videos, but today I am going to start off with some actual visual ideas, and then I will alter a mini composition book cover with ColourArte Primary Elements Artiste Pigments and Silks Acrylic Glaze, and then paint some of these smaller pieces shown earlier.

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ColourArte Supplies Used:
Primary Elements Artiste Pigments:
  Solar Gold
  Sea Glass
  Black Emerald
Silks Acrylic Glaze
  Rusty Mauve
  Mediterranean Blue
The Solution Acrylic Wash Medium

Other Supplies Used:
Permastone casting compound
Product Packaging
Mini Composition Book
Decorative print paper
Liquitex white gesso
DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze
Claudine Helmuth Studio Multi-Medium Matte
Tim Holtz Ideaology Remnant Rubs - Life Quotes
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue

I hope I have been able to give you some ideas and inspiration for using these fun DIY embellishments, and hopefully peaked your interest in making your own embellishments from things you probably already have in your craft stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a super fun and crafty day!

Barbara

Steampunk Key Wall Art with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  I'm in a steampunk mood!  I just got this Key Wall Art Heart in the mail, and now I'm chomping at the bit to make something with it.  I had to first decide if I wanted to put it on a canvas or let it stand alone.  Well, you can see what choice I made below.

So, the first thing you need to do is remove any pieces that didn't fall out.  I just use a piercing tool for this step.  A craft knife works well, too.  I just had a few little pieces to remove.

Next we need to prime the chipboard, and for that, I'm going to use black gesso.  It will seal the chipboard surface and let me use less of my more expensive paint I'll be using for the next layer, which is also black on the key.

Paint key portion with two coats of Metal Smith Iron paint, letting first coat dry before applying the second coat.  This paint contains real iron particles.

Following directions on the bottle, spritz the key with the Rusty Activator while the second coat is still tacky.  Wait five minutes and spritz again.  It may take up to two hours for rusting to occur.  So set this piece aside and work on the heart piece.

Rusted patina complete

Paint the heart section with Metal Smith Bronze paint, letting the first coat dry  before applying the second coat.  This paint contains real metal particles.

Following directions on the bottle, spritz the heart with the Green Patina Activator while the second coat is still wet.  Patinization occurs gradually while drying.

To get random areas of blue patina, I painted random spots with the Bronze Metal Smith paint again, and while still wet, I dribbled the Turquoise Patina Activator over the wet paint.

Paint one of the  Propellers with the Metal Smith Malachite paint, letting the first coat dry  before applying the second coat.  This paint contains real metal particles, too.  Before the second coat dries, spritz with the Turquoise Patina Activator.

Choose one of the Dragonflies Fancy and paint it with the Bronze Metal Smith paint and use the Green Patina Activator.  I painted both sides of dragonfly since part of it will be hanging over the key and may be seen.  After the patina formed, I decided to paint the wings with the Metal Smith Malachite paint, then I used the Turquoise Patina Activator to get a rich blue patina with a bit of the bronze patina peeking through.

I painted one end of a bamboo skewer with Bronze and used the Green Patina Activator.  The other end I painted with Malachite and used the Turquoise Patina Activator.

Glue the heart piece over the matching area on the key.  Use an awl to make a hole in the center of the key, as shown, large enough for the skewer to fit into.

Stick the propeller onto the pointed end of the skewer and trim off at around 1/2" to 3/4".  

Remove propeller and glue skewer into hole, as shown.

Glue the propeller to the pointed end of the skewer.  Gently bend two opposing propeller blades downward for realism.   I added a small gear on top of the propeller after the glue dried. See close-up photo near end of post.

Cut a piece of the Chainlink to fit behind the heart opening.  Use Vintage Gold metallic wax over chainlink piece.

Glue the chainlink over the opening on the back of the key.

Here is what it should look like at this point.

Wrap a piece of twisted wire around the key, as shown.

Cut a piece of the bronze-painted end of the skewer the size of the dragonfly body and glue it, as shown.  

Glue dragonfly to key, as shown.  The skewer adds just enough lift to adhere the dragonfly above the wrapped wires, too.

I added metal embellishments to the key, as shown.  Here are some close-ups of those areas.

Supplies Used:

GSL Key Wall Art Heart
GSL Dragonflies Fancy
GSL Propellers
GSL Chainlink 8 by 8 Inch Panel
Miss Lillian's Metal Smith Paints
  Bronze
  Iron
  Malachite
  Rusty Activator
  Green Patina Activator
  Turquoise Patina Activator
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Liquitex black gesso
Metal gears and embellishments
Bamboo skewer
Assorted brushes
Vintage Gold Art Alchemy Metallique Wax (Prima)
Vintaj brass twisted wire 21 gauge

I hope you enjoyed my project today, and that you may be inspired to make one of these wall art pieces for yourself.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you have a super crafty day!

Hugs,
Barbara



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