Too many projects!

 Julie Fei Fen Balzer has been posting different techniques on making Christmas cards on her blog. One idea was to cut strips from gel plate prints and glue them to a base piece of card stock. To make 6 cards, I spent 2 hours printing with the gel plate (I know!!!), then the next day I cut up some of those prints and started to play. The first 2 examples took me forever. Then I got into a rhythm, and it was easier. My own tip is to apply adhesive to each strip before you place it down. The strips are easy to trim once you flip the base over. I then stamped and embossed the Christmas greetings on watercolor paper, but them down, and edged with Dina Wakley's Gilt paint. Something different and certainly unique. 

Next up is a journal page that turned out horrible, so I painted it black and doodled with a white Gel Pen. Not tearing out journal pages. Not. 

4 of the left over gel plate print strips made it into the next journal spread. I have been in the mood for collage, and have another spread going right now.

Birgit Koopsen has a video on the Gelli Arts blog on using a 3x5 inch plate to stamp the background for a handmade journal. I cut a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper down from 18x24 to 9x24, then scored it for folding every 4.5 inches. Used artist tape to tape the two pieces together to make an accordion journal now 9x48. This shows the base coats of paint from both sides. I have done more work on this, but over stamped on the red/yellow side, so it now sits on a shelf. I will eventually go back and do something with this. Enjoyed doing the background with a small gel plate, did not care for stamping with the gel plate, although using the 2nd ghost images was cool. Right now it's a hot mess.

And last, Christy Sobolewski, Gulfsprite, offered some ephemera packs on sale in her Etsy shop. I purchased one, and a friend paid for a second pack for me as a Christmas present. Included were magazine images for collage, original art work, and 2 original stencils that Gulfsprite designed. I am already using some of this in my current journal spread. 

Have a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving. I will be home with the dogs doing art. And scratching bellies and backs. Life is good. Linda

Day 14

Day 14 on a whimsical note

Get it???

A little art journaling this weekend with water colors

I was layering the water colors

Front of an accordian card

I have been very busy. Can you tell?

There is a couple that attend my Silver Sneakers classes that I like a lot. They have my sense of humor, so we tease back and forth. Last week the woman was given some devastating health news, and I am upset to say the least. I wanted to make a large card that everyone in class could sign, so decided on this shape and size. There is also painting and stamping on the back side. In this type of situation, you can either wring your hands and go the sympathy route with flowers and flourishes, OR you can decide everyone needs to smile. Smiling is good for the soul. Hence the happy, bright colors and crazy stamped figures.

Layering water colors. I used my Daniel Smith paints in that spread, and had laid down some background that was too close to the color in the face. I started to reach for acrylic paint to fix it, but instead went right back into the water colors. I am probably breaking every single water color painting rule, but I like how this turned out. There is a name for how the paint pools and then drys, but I don't remember it. I don't need to know it. This was an intentional experiment in my own art journal (one of them).  Play is also good for the soul.

Linda

TBT

From March, 2011

I still have this collage. Somewhere.

From March, 2011

Gracie on her chair in the living room

Evidently I thought her paws needed their own photo

Because I made some cards this past week, I decided to go back and look at old photos of what I was doing while I worked at Allyscraps. I don't like them at all, but hey, evolution is the mother of creativity, right? I no longer have the cards above. Pretty sure they were in the group that sold at Frazee Garden's gift shop. I sold a bunch, so it really didn't matter if I didn't like them. Someone did!

As I type this, my dog is in the same spot in the same chair in the living room. Some things never change.

We are evaluating what we may need in case the heavy snow hits on Sunday. Food, check. Dog food, check. Art supplies, ooppps, must go shopping today...
Linda

Cards? Really?

Square card with paper strips added

This is the standard 3x5 card size

Added white heavy body paint, pressed a circle stamp into the paint

Ditto

Made a happy card for a friend

Added water color and stamped a sentiment on cardstock

Ditto

In Ashli Oliver's class, Beyond the Stamp, she does multiple projects on camera. One was making a greeting card with left over paper strips. Anyone else have bits and pieces of paper hanging around? Can I see a show of hands? I dumped two full containers this past summer, and yet I still have some. This idea intrigued me. I glued odd strips (changing it slightly, I used coordinating papers) to the front of a card. Using a palette knife, I spread heavy body Liquitex white acrylic paint over part of the card, then pressed an unmounted rubber circle stamp into the wet paint. IMMEDIATELY CLEAN YOUR STAMP, OR IT WILL BE RUINED!!! Both cards were set aside to dry overnight.

Last night I added some water colors, trying to get them to run, and if you look close, the top card has water color drips all over. Pulled out one of my drawers of card making stamps (yes, I have more than one drawer full of card stuff), stamped the sentiments on white card stock, cut them out, and applied.

Would I do this again? Maybe, for a special occasion, but it is a lot of steps. Although if you are watching television at the same time, not bad at all. Multi tasking. Love it.

Seriously, you can buy a package of blank white cards and envelopes at Hobby Lobby on sale for less than $5.00.. Usually there are 50 cards in a pack. With the price of cards today, and a little effort, you can give someone a unique greeting they will never see repeated. AND I am using up old supplies, because that was a promise to myself for 2018.

But have you seen the new TCW stencils??????
Linda

Christmas Card

Card fully opened

Back of card

Back of card

Front

I thought I'd pass this idea along, in case you need a last minute card for someone special.

I used a 12x12 inch sheet of heavy scrap book paper with a Christmas theme. I cut the paper in half horizontally to preserve the printed images on the bottom half. Using artist tape, I joined the two pieces together, then scored the pages at 6 inches for easy folding. You end up with an accordian type folding mini book.

Adding stamping, typed a personalized greeting, and glued it all down. So this is a 4 panel card, with something on the front and back. All together, including the printing, I had this done in less than a hour. I know that the women at the Playground will love it, especially because there is a photo of Gracie and Jake on the back. I am going to tie some red and white twine around the card to hold it together.

Every year the dogs give them a box of goodies, snacks for work. Or they can bring it all to their Christmas party.  We like to show our appreciation for jobs very well done. And tons of kisses and hugs. Can we say my dogs are spoiled rotten? Why yes, yes we can!
Linda

Gel Plate Printing

Columbine already blooming in front of the kitchen windows

Gel plate prints on white deli paper affixed to white card stock

Ditto the above caption

Brown (natural) color deli paper on white cardstock

stacks of printed deli papers waiting in line to become cards

There is a Birgit Koopsen video on YouTube about gel plate printing on deli paper, then tearing the deli paper up to make ATC's (artist trading cards) or greeting cards. Do you think I can find that particular video again, so I can link it? Of course not. It's me, folks. Any of her videos that you watch will teach you a ton of techniques.

So. The other day I sat and cut several deli sheets into 4 squares, then used the 6x6 inch plate to print. Then I stacked them up and promptly forgot about them. This is going to sound so weird, but last night I had a dream about making cards with these prints. So yeah, here I am this morning putting Golden Matte Medium on the backs of the deli pieces and laying them carefully on white cardstock. I also tried a few on cheap water color paper. It curled horribly. The card stock is staying flat. I have several pieces of card stock drying, and will show you the completed cards this weekend.

Or not. Again, it's me!!!
Linda

Cards

It has been a very long time since I made greeting cards and posted photos. Not sure what happened, but just haven't been in the creative mood. I truly think it's the weather. Today it's 72 degrees, and overcast. The general mood of everyone has improved. We're not getting a lot of rain, but 10 minutes at a time is better than 105 degrees and the unrelenting sun.

The first three cards are with a new line from Bo Bunny - Weekend Market. All were done on black cardstock. The last card is with some old scraps I had, and just had fun putting the colors together.

Have a great day.
Linda

Random Thoughts

I haven't made any greeting cards in over a month. I miss it, so today I plan on getting into that room and working, if only for an hour. Found these two cards on one of the work tables. I had forgotten about them. The first card was done with a Crafty Secrets stamp. That company, one of my favorites, is going digital and will stop producing stamp sets this year. Makes me sad. The second card is with a new line of Bo Bunny paper. Cathy received a stack of samples and gave them to me. That works.

About a month ago, I cut down the decorative grasses that I have planted around the yards. The one that grows on the north side of the house gets to about 4 1/2 feet, so I thought it would make a great decoration for the house. After cutting and banding the grass with a pull tie, I was off to Hobby Lobby to purchase a container. My intent was to buy something in metal, but when I saw this green glass, I fell in love with the muted color. This is still a work in progress. I think. The last photo is the redone wall in the living room. A little furniture rearranging, and the wall just came into being. This is also not yet done. Sometimes you just have to live with it for awhile. I am like that when creating something as well. If I'm not sure if I like it, I just walk away and let it sit. Go back the next morning and look at it, maybe leave it, maybe complete the project.

Yesterday I decided to walk the dogs at a park we don't often visit, Washington Township Park in Avon. The trails are all dirt with many tree roots, so I have to be careful when walking. The dogs were in heaven. I think Jake lifted his leg on 5 trees within 25 feet of the parking lot. They both got to cool off their paws in the creek. I forgot to grab my little camera and regret it. It was so peaceful, so beautiful. We saw hundreds of wildflowers. I think we'll return today.

Have a wonderful day. Enjoy yourselves.
Linda

New Cards

Good Morning. As I type this, the wind is howling like crazy. It is going up to 68 degrees today, on the last day of February. Incredible. Tornado warnings to the west and south, but not here. It will be a challenge later to walk the dogs....

I designed the three cards above for the next card class at Allyscraps. I used Kaiser Craft paper and love that image of the old fashioned bicycle and flowers. For that reason, I wanted to just let the paper be the main feature, so the card is simply. I've been having a lot of fun making flowers with the Tim Holtz tattered flower die. Not sure you would want to mail that sucker, but it definitely catches your eye.

Enjoy this weather. I don't care it is suppose to rain, the temperatures are up!
Linda