Venetian Carnivale Mixed Media Card

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog.  It's the beginning of a new week over at Altered Pages, and I have another fun, mixed media project to share.  First off, I want to let you in on a little tidbit of good news.   Altered Pages is offering more specials this month.  

When you purchase any three Rubber or Clear stamps or stamp sets, you will get a FREE Memento ink pad! 

OR

BUY SPLASH INK GET A FREE 6x6 STENCIL

Isn't that an amazing deal?  So, to get your juices flowing, I thought I would use some of these products to hopefully inspire you, and perhaps tempt you to take advantage of this special deal.

First off, stamp large Venice lady from  Carnevale di Venezia stamp set with StazOn midi Claret ink (Tsukineko) onto an adhesive cork sheet.  I was super amazed at how well this stamped onto the uneven cork surface with the StazOn ink.  

Spray cork sheet with Dylusions ink sprays in Lemon Zest, Squeezed Orange, and Cut Grass.  

Use a water brush and dab with a paper towel to remove some of the color in the stamped image.  I know these images are looking real similar, but if you look closely, you can see areas where I removed some of the color, such as in her face, the mask, and around her headdress.

Using my water brush and multiple colors of my Splash Inks, I colored the image, then I highlighted her face with some Dylusions ink sprays in White Linen and my water brush.  When all was colored, I then sponged Golden Glitz Delicata ink (Tsukineko) around the image to give it a metallic, bright essence.  

I wanted to bring out some of the parts of my image a bit more, so I used a black Micron pen to outline what I wanted to highlight.  Again, it is subtle, but very effective.  I outlined her face and eyes, the mask, parts of her headdress, and the word "Venice".  Can you see the difference?

Now to decide how to use my lovely focal piece.  I chose to make a card, but this would also be lovely on a large tag, canvas, or wall hanging.  First, I die cut the cork with a rounded tag die, adhered it to a piece of dark green card stock, and trimmed around the cork, leaving a 1/8" border.  I sponged more Golden Glitz Delicata ink around the edge and adhered it to my card with pop dots.  Then I die cut a Venetian border strip and covered it with Golden Glitz Delicata ink.  I wanted a more copper color to match the copper stripe in the die cut Venetian mask, so I pulled out my Metallic rub-ons Rich Primary colors and added copper over the entire border.  The shimmery copper stripes in the die cut mask do not show up well in the photo.  It looks so much better in person.  I thought it needed a little something more, so I added a few metal square stickers to the bottom area for interest.

You may notice in the finished photo above that there is no longer any white specks peeking through the cork background.  That is because there were open spaces in the cork, allowing the white release paper to show through.  When I removed the release paper to adhere my cork to my green card stock background, the green now appears in those spaces.  Looks awesome, doesn't it?

During the month of May, join the Altered Pages Design Team as we cross promote Eileen Hull Designs Artist Trading Blocks with the The Artists on the Block Design Team.  They will be posting new ATB projects every Tuesday, while we, here at Altered Pages, will be posting new ATBs every Tuesday and Thursday.  Be sure to stop by often for a month of inspiration.   In the final week, I hope you will check back on Thursday  when I share my rendition of an Altered Trading Block.  But be sure to check out both teams for the most amazing inspiration.  

I hope you enjoyed my project today, and be sure to visit the Altered Pages online store for all of your artsy supplies and to take advantage of this month's specials.

Have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara

Altered Pages Two for Tuesday

Hello everyone, and welcome back for this month's Two for Tuesday with Altered Pages.  Featured products this month are Gelatos, Dylusions, and of course, Altered Pages' collage images.  We are also cross promoting with Niji Waterbrushes this month.  So, here goes.  Here's my finished project.

I began with a simple, small, heart-shaped paper maché box.  

I next selected my collage image from AP-2015 Angelic Hearts collage sheet, then began painting my strip of corrugated card stock.  For this job, I used my Niji water brush and Niji Pearlescent Watercolors.  I added a bit of aqua blue Gelato on the high spots, and with my water brush, I was able to blend the colors nicely. 

Now that I knew which colors were needed to achieve a good color match with my collage image, I painted the box and lid, and adhered the corrugated card stock around the bottom of the box.

Next, I fussy cut my collage image and edged it with a very creamy mixture of the gold Niji Pearlescent Watercolors, wiping the edge of the paper with the excess paint on my brush as I went around.  This left some really cool texture, and looked a lot like I had heat embossed the edges with gold embossing powder.  When it dried, I then adhered this to the center of the box lid.

I then used my metallic rub-ons to change the colors on each of my German Scrap pieces.  These rub-ons are awesome to use on all of your paper craft projects.  They go on so smoothly, and you can mix colors to get new colors without any muddying.  They really add a vintage feel to just about any project.  

Metallic Rub-ons Kit #2-Deep Gold, Nubian

Metallic Rub-ons Kit #3-Cameo Pink, Walnut

Metallic Rub-ons Kit #2-Nubian

I adhered the black-turned-golden copper German Scrap around the top, and the white-turned-peachy pink around the sides of the box lid.

The bright gold ornate German Scrap piece-turned-antique gold was then adhered to the front box side, as shown in the photo.

I wanted a bit more dimension on the top, and found this petite little flower trim that I was able to change the color of with my Niji Pearlescent Watercolors.   The top strip is the original color, and the two strips beneath are the ones I colored to match.

I cut each tiny flower apart and glued them randomly over the collage image, then adhered tiny pearls to the center of each flower.  I also added this metallic blue crown German Scrap piece atop the cherub's head.

The photo below shows a bit more dimension that the flowers are giving to the piece.

This box is very tiny and would make a really beautiful presentation for a piece of jewelry, or in this case, I decided to fill it with some beautiful seam binding ribbons that I colored with Dylusions Ink Spray and spritzed with water to soften the color so I could match my collage image.  (See photo of finished piece above.)  

Altered Pages Supplies used:

Dylusions Ink Spray 

Metallic Rub-on Sets (Kit #3-Cameo Pink, Walnut) (Kit #2-Deep Gold, Nubian)

German Scrap

Gelatos

Niji Waterbrushes

Niji Pearlescent Watercolors

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Two for Tuesday, and be sure to visit the Altered Pages Blog for direct links to each of the design team member's blog.  There you will find more creative inspiration from each of the designers as they, too, show you their projects using fabulous products from Altered Pages.  So hop on over to the Altered Pages online store to get all of your mixed media supplies.  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week.

Barbara

The Niji Water Brush Tips

Happy Monday all!  I hope your week is getting off to a good start.  Today, I want to share a few observations I've made recently using some fabulous products from Altered Pages.  This month, we are cross-promoting with Niji water brushes.    If you have any, then you know how fabulous they are.  If you have no idea what they are, I am going to share with you the wonders of the water brush!

Niji Water brush, Niji pearlescent watercolors, AP collage image

While working on my upcoming Two for Tuesday post (will be available tomorrow), I really got into some cool techniques while using my Niji water brushes .  A full tutorial and supply list for my project will be available then, but for now, I just want to discuss some of my fun discoveries.

One of the products I used with my water brushes was also made by the same company, Yasutomo.  It is their Niji pearlescent watercolors.  These are a translucent, but pearlized, watercolor with a tiny bit of beautiful shimmer.  I first squeezed some water from my brush into each paint pan.  I let it sit and soak into the paints.  Then, I could use my water brushes to make the paint very creamy to apply a larger amount to my project.  At the same time, with a simple squeeze of the handle. I could expel water from my water brush to increase the blending ability of my colors.  I actually used five, yes, five, colors to achieve a color match with my collage image.  I could re-hydrate my paints, as needed, without ever going to a water jar and trying to adjust the amount of water I needed.  It was right there in the brush.  Awesome!

Some other uses for these water brushes is to scribble Gelatos onto your craft sheet, squeeze a bit of water into the bristles of the brush to liquify them into a watercolor paint, and color even the smallest details on your image.

Try picking up colors from your stamp pads, your spray mists, like Dylusions, or blend any water-based inks with the brush.  I would, however, tap my stamp pads onto my craft sheet first and pick the color from the craft sheet, rather than directly from the pad.  It won't hurt your pad, but it can water down the color on the pad if you squeeze too much water into the bristles.  You may not want that effect the next time you go to use your ink pad.

Another fun idea is to have a set of them, filled with a mixture of water and some of your favorite reinkers.  A few drops or less of a reinker and water gives you an instant colored water brush.  Can you just imagine the ease of coloring with a set of these, all to your own specifications?  And being able to refill them is a real money saver right there.

Then, there is the advantage of having a brush and water without all the mess while you travel, whether it is to a crop, a get-together with your friends, or travel by plane, train, or car.  These brushes simply cannot be beat.

I hope I have inspired you to check out this must-have tool.  No artist's tool box should be without one, two, three, or more of these.  Oh, and they do come in different sizes and brush tips.  So, be sure to visit Altered Pages online shop for all your mixed media needs.

Thanks for stopping by today, and be sure to come back tomorrow to see, not only my Two for Tuesday project showing more fun with these awesome brushes, but the entire design team's projects, as well.  There will be lots of inspiration to keep your creative juices flowing for quite awhile.

Have a wonderful, creative week!

Barbara

Decorative Perfume Bottle for Valentine's Day

Hello everyone.  Since Valentine's Day is just a few days away, I made this lovely little perfume bottle and a cute little gift card to go with it using  some of my favorite things from Altered Pages and Niji/Yasutomo, who supplied us with their wonderful   Waterbrushes this month.

I started out with this simple clear bottle from my local craft store.

I first sprayed the mirror-like paint inside the bottle and let it dry.  Then I wrapped the jar with the black netting and glued it in place.  I colored a Vanilla paper flower with pink mist, cut the petals apart and glued them around the neck of the bottle.  I used the gold braid trim (around the bottom) and the ball fringe (around the bottle neck) to further adhere the netting.  Next, I chose the Childs label from the AP-779 Red ATC collage sheet and adhered it to a piece of grunge board.  I chose grunge board because it is flexible and would wrap around the jar easier than chipboard.

I inked the edges with brown distress ink and Ranger Blending Tool, then added a bit of gold Krylon pen.  I glued that over the netting seam.  I added a metal rose to the top, and cut a metal filigree charm in half, which I attached to each side of the collage image.  I also applied a bit of copper from the Metallic rub-ons set #1.  I found a crystal bead in my stash that just happened to fit inside the bottle opening.  Voila, a beautiful little bottle to give to your special someone for Valentine's Day.  

Now, I needed a small gift card to give to my special recipient, so I folded a piece of 3" x 6" Cream card stock in half and adhered a  torn piece of Vintage Text Page after distress inking the edges.  Then I tore a piece of paper joint tape and colored it with my Niji Pearlescent Watercolors and my Niji Waterbrush.  When dry, I tore it in half again and adhered the two pieces, as shown.

Again, I chose the Luxemborg couple from the AP-779 Red ATC collage sheet, adhered it to a scrap of thin cardboard, distress inked the edges, adding a bit of Krylon gold pen, and adhered to the front, as shown.  I added a bit of Red Wink of Stella pen to the roses on the image for that extra bit of sparkle.  A few pearls from my stash were just the right amount of bling.

Supplies used:

Altered Pages collage sheets:  AP-779 Red ATC

Vanilla paper flowers

Cream card stock

Red Wink of Stella pen

Vintage Text Pages

Niji Pearlescent Watercolors

Niji Waterbrushes

Metallic rub-ons 

Ranger Blending Tool

Ball fringe baby size

Clear bottle (approx. 4" tall)

Krylon Mirror-Like Paint 

Metal filigree charm and rose

And don't forget today is the last day of the SALE at ALTERED PAGES.  You will receive a 25% discount when you use CODE word SWEETHEART. Expires February 10, 2014. Shipping is not included in the discount. THANKS for choosing AlteredPages as your source for Art supplies.  Whlle you are at it, check out the fabulous Niji Waterbrushes and other products available from Yasutomo, too.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week, and a super sweet Valentine's Day!

Barbara