21 cards - #29

Hello my friends.  I think I've posted more times this month than any since I started my blog.  I don't expect that to continue, since I tend to create in spurts. 

Here is another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards.

My inspiration jar words were text, splatter, and hot.

I started by painting my background and then flicking different colors of paint on for a splatter effect.

I really wasn't sure what to use for the word hot, when I finally realized that a hot drink would work, so I pulled out my tea cup die from spellbinders.  I was digging through some scraps when I came across this brightly colored piece of glossy card stock.  It was one I made when I was playing with alcohol inks and compressed air.  I thought it would look pretty as a tea cup.  After die cutting, I stamped a flower stamp from toile blossoms (SU).  I just now realized that the technique used on this piece is called alcohol ink splatter, so I actually utilized that word twice. 

It was hard to get a photo that didn't have a glare from the glossy paper.  This 2nd photo is a little blurry, but doesn't have as much glare.  

I used a sizzix die, doily lace medallion, for the doily, with some black card stock behind it to make it stand out. 

The computer generated quote is my text.  I love being able to search for quotes and verses on line.  I can't imagine not having that capability.  Whatever did we do before computers?

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit today. 

21 cards - #28

Hi friends.  I'm getting closer to 21 on two sides, but I don't think I'm going to get them all done before the month is over.  But I am really loving the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards.

My inspiration jar gave me some words that just didn't speak to me, so I dumped them back in the jar and pulled out some new ones -- circles, coffee, and sponge.

The background has two colors of blue paint dry-brushed on sparingly, so that some of the white still showed through.  Then I stamped coffee beans (SU espress yourself) all over the background with vintage photo distress ink.

The brown strip is a torn piece of paper bag, wrinkled up, then flattened out and sponged with vintage photo ink to darken.  

The coffee cup (Rubbernecker) is stamped with jet black stazon on white, colored with watercolor crayons and blender pen.  Then I traced around a circle and cut it out so that the steam extended beyond the circle.  The outer edge of the circle is sponged with vintage photo ink. 

I printed out the sentiment, sponged the edges and glued it down. 

I appreciate you stopping by for a visit today. 

21 cards - #27

Hi friends.  January is almost over, but I feel I've really accomplished something with this monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards.

My inspiration jar gave me the words:  sun, white, and seeds. 

White space is a lot like silence.  We think we need to fill it with something.  But we need both white space and silence.  They allow our eyes - and minds - to rest and focus.  So I gave my background a coat of white paint and left it. 

I die cut a picot edge circle (spellbinders) in white and another circle that just fit the inside.  I used the negative piece from the circle as a mask to stamp the flower and to sponge summer sun ink.  I also just touched the edges with the same ink.  The flower was colored with markers.  Then I painted matte mod podge in the center and added mustard seeds, with another coat of mod podge over the top.  When that was dry, I added brown paint with my finger over the seeds. 

The sentiment was computer generated, cut apart and sponged with summer sun. 

I love this card and hope you do too.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

21 cards - #26

Hello, my friends.  Here I am with another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards.

My inspiration jar words were:  wood, masking, and two. 

I started by dripping some acrylic paint on the surface and spreading it with an old gift card. 

I put some masking tape on cereal box chipboard and then ran it through my cuttlebug with my Tim Holtz/Sizzix heart wings die, so I have two wings.  The heart is wood - found in my stash from a long time ago.  I played around with colors on the wings and heart and wasn't too happy with them, so I coated over with gesso, which picked up some of the color and left them a dull rose color.  I stamped a Donna Salazar script on the wings and some Dylusions flowers on the heart.  I used distress markers to color in the flowers and then gently (so as not to smudge the ink) brushed on matte gel medium. 

The colored strips along the bottom are faux washi tape made with scor-tape and coffee filters.  I think I colored them with distress stains and stamped with various stamps and jet black archival ink. 

I printed out the sentiment and added a bunch of doodles. 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. 

21 cards - #25

Happy Sunday.  I just can't stop making cards for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards.

My inspiration jar words were: cut, orange, and fruit. 

I started with a cherry blossom stencil (that works for fruit, right?) and sponged on orange paint.  Then I used some ink sprays made from distress inks, mustard seed and barn door.  I blotted the ink with a paper towel, so I didn't have to wait for it to dry.  Then I used a Pitt pen to outline the stenciled images.  I also added pink passion in the center of the flowers. 

I die cut a memory box bird, sponged the edges with vintage photo distress ink and attached that. 

I printed the sentiment from my computer, cut apart the words and sponged the edges.  I also sponged around the edge of the card. 

This one went together really fast. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope your week is filled with experience to savor and cherish. 

21 cards - #24

Hello again.  Here's another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This post shows how I made the base for my cards. 

My inspiration jar words were: rainbow, flowers, and leaves.

Since the coffee filter is somewhat translucent and doesn't completely cover the words on the boxes I used for the base, I painted on a coat of white acrylic paint.  Then I used watercolor crayons and a water brush to make a rainbow background. 

I stamped the flower (which does have a couple of leaves kind of hidden in there) from Local King Rubber Stamps with tuxedo black Memento ink on white card stock and colored it with Copic markers.  Then I cut it out, using a craft knife to cut out the inner portions. 

The lace borders, from Gina K, were stamped with jet black archival ink on white. Then I sponged ruby red ink all over them to match the flowers.  I cut along the scallops. 

I have this sentiment on a stamp from Endless Creations, but it was too big to fit on the card, so I typed it up on the computer and printed it.  I cut apart the words so they would fit bordering alongside the flower. 

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. 

21 cards - #23

Hi friends.  I'm still going.  I have now done 23 cards for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art. 

My inspiration jar words were:  waves, doily, and stitching. 

For the waves, I cut a wavy edge on a piece of scrap paper and used it as a mask to apply several different blue acrylic paints, tilting it sometimes, so the waves were uneven and overlapped in places.  I didn't completely cover over the white base. 

I recently learned a tip from Dina Wakely on how to get a good stamp impression on a rough surface.  This is done by stamping first on tissue paper and then applying the tissue paper to the rough surface with matte gel medium.  I added the doilies (SU delicate doilies) using this method.  This is so much better than an incomplete image. 

I printed the sentiment on my computer, cut it apart, sponged the edges with ballet blue ink and set the pieces down on my card.  But as I looked at it, I knew that I needed to add a little bit of something bright, so I pulled out an old SU set called the art of life.  I colored the flower stamp with markers, misted with water, and then stamped on white card stock.  Now I'm sure it would have been better to cut close to the image, but I'm really not into fussy cutting, so I left some of the white around it.  After attaching it, I used a Pitt pen to add some details.  Then I glued on the sentiment.  The red flower really added some life to this piece. 

Then I added some faux stitching around the edge of the card.  

Thank you for stopping by today. 

21 cards - #22

Hello my friends.  It's another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Even though my title says card #22, this is actually a makeover of card #10.  I really didn't like that one, so I covered it completely with gesso and started over. 

My daughter wanted to draw words again from my inspiration jar, so the words are: happy, quilt, and background stamps.  I think she just wants to see if I'm up to the challenge. 

I went for my fabric and found some 2 inch squares, which worked perfectly.  I chose blue and brown and attached them to the card with matte Mod Podge.

I cut the house free hand and used a burlap background (Cornish Heritage Farms) with salty ocean distress ink, and a crackle background (Judikins) with jet black archival ink for the roof.  Then I sponged vintage photo distress ink over the roof and along the edges of both pieces.  The windows and door were cut from navy card stock.

I printed the sentiment on my computer, cut the words apart and edged the pieces with vintage photo.

I used a white gel pen and black Sharpie marker to add quilting stitches on the house and fabric squares.

Since quilts make me happy, I used all three words, and I really love this card.

Thank you so much for spending time here with me today.  Have a great weekend.

21 cards - #21

Hello my friends.  Wow!  I've done 21!  This is my 21st card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Please check this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I used my Inspiration Jar again -- this time my three words were:  stencil, black, and chipboard.

I started by painting the surface black.  This is a something different for me in working with mixed media.  I had no idea if what I wanted to try was even going to work.  The stencil I used was mini bricks by Crafter's Workshop.  I didn't use chipboard on the front of the card, but the card base is chipboard, so I think I'm OK there.

 

I really hate to do this to you, but for the rest of my explanation on how I created this card, please see my Friday Feature post on the Crafting with OWSE blog.

I really like how this card turned out.

Thanks so much for spending time here with me today.

21 cards - #20

Hello again.  Here's another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Please check this post to see how I made the base for my cards.


I used my Inspiration Jar again -- my three words are: pink, tea, and seeds.  I used the first two. 

I started by painting the background cream and then stamping a Cornish Heritage Farms background stamp in tea dye ink.  It's not very dark, so I highlighted some of the lines with a brown marker. 

I die cut a piece of white card stock with my Tim Holtz baroque die.  Now if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that pink is not one of my favorite colors.  In fact, it's one I tend to avoid.  But, I put some of that type of word in my jar, because it makes me go beyond my comfort zone.  So I pulled out Tea Shoppe from SU, and stamped the tea cup on the die cut with victorian velvet distress ink, which is a nice soft rose color.  The die cut was too wide for my card, so I trimmed off the sides to make it fit.  Then I sponged victorian velvet and vintage photo distress inks along the edges.  I added the tiny circles with a brown marker.  The idea was for it to resemble lace, but I don't really think it does. 

The sentiment is computer generated and was also edged with the same two inks. 

All in all, this was a pretty easy card. 

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. 

21 cards - #19

Hello my friends.  So, from the number, you would think that I'm almost finished with this challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  But, since I'm doing mine two-sided, I just plan to keep going.  We'll see how many I finish before month's end. 

Please check this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I pulled three words from my Inspiration Jar -- chalk, folds, and distressing, but only ended up using one -- chalk.

I used Color Box petal point chalk inks with a direct to paper technique to color my background.  I hadn't used these inks in a long time, and found that several had come apart - the sponge was detached from the base.  I used gel medium to put them back together.  I need to check if it is holding.  If it isn't, I'm probably going to have to rinse out the sponge, dry it out, glue it and then refill with ink.  I'm not sure if I have refills for all the colors.

I added just a little bit of vintage photo distress ink around the edges of my card.

Then I stamped a flower from Rubbernecker several times with jet black archival ink.  I also stamped just the blossom on white card stock.  I colored them all with watercolor pencils and used a blender pen to blend the color.  The extra blossoms were then cut out and glued over the flowers on the card. 

I printed the sentiment from my computer. 

The colors on this card make me happy.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today.  Enjoy your day.

21 cards - #18

Hello, my friends.  Here I am again with another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Please check this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

My daughter has been wanting to pull words from my Inspiration Jar for me, so these are the words she pulled -- grunge, freedom, and clock. 

I sponged several distress inks over the background and stamped several of the stamps from Tim Holtz sets, ultimate grunge and urban tapestry, in jet black archival ink.  

I had the perfect die, the Tim Holtz weathered clock, which I cut from kraft card stock and sponged with vintage photo and walnut stain distress inks.  Then I spritzed it with some perfect pearl mist, heat set it, and sponged on some rusty hinge and black soot distress inks.  Since I wasn't planning ahead, the clock hands were also cut from kraft, so I just used a black soot distress marker to color them.  I put an aged copper brad in the center. 

For the bird, I die cut the bird and wing from caged bird die and sponged on some distress inks. 

The words were printed from my computer, cut apart, and sponged with vintage photo distress ink. 

I love the bright bird against the grungy clock. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today. 

21 cards - #16

Hi my friends.  Here I am again with another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Please see this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I used my Inspiration Jar again and pulled out the words - music, torn paper, and button. 

So I started by tearing some strips of patterned paper, which included one with music.  I used gel medium to glue them to my card.  I also put another coat of gel medium over the top. 

I made some faux buttons from card stock.  For each button, I punched five 7/8" circles, glued them together and used my crop-a-dile to punch the small holes.   I sanded the edges a little bit to give them a smoother edge, but I think I could have done a little more sanding.  Then I painted them with pearl white Lumiere paint.  When that was dry, I stamped a music stamp on them with jet black stazon ink.  The 'thread' in each button is a very narrow strip of black card stock. 

I looked on line and found a quote about music that I liked and printed it.  I did some faux stitching and doodling (to cover up a boo-boo I made with my marker) around the edge.  And if I hadn't told you that, you would never know.  Ha!

For the corners, I punched fancy photo corners. 

Thank you so much for spending some time with me today.

21 cards - #14

Hello, friends.  I sorta feel like the Energizer bunny... still going...

I have another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.

Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I used my Inspiration Jar again and pulled out the words - moon, butterflies, and handwriting.   I wasn't quite sure where I was going with it, but I knew I wanted a big moon with a face.  I wasn't sure how to make it with facial features, so I looked on line for one to copy, at least partially.  The one I found looked better than mine.  I cut a mask from scrap paper and used both pieces when applying acrylic paint, one for painting the background, and the other for painting the moon.  Face details were added with a black pen. 

I made some little yellow dots for stars, but then decided to go with the tiny butterflies.  Some of the dots are still visible. 

The handwriting is a Donna Salazar stamp, stamped several times in jet black archival ink. 

I printed the sentiment and cut it apart before gluing it down. 

Now I know you're all going to be checking for butterflies in the night sky. 

Thanks so much for spending some time with me. 

21 cards - #13

Hello friends.  I'm still working on the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.

Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

Since it's been working so well, I used my Inspiration Jar again.  My words this time: hexagons, birds, and fabric.  All things I love, so I didn't think I have too much trouble with this one.  I started by grabbing the first fabric I saw.  I glued some to a piece of cereal box chipboard with matte Mod Podge and let it dry.  Then I die cut a couple of hexagons with a Sizzix die.  I cut two different sizes and decided the smaller one would be better.  I also punched out a circle from the chipboard, glued on the fabric and then trimmed around the circle.  My punch won't punch through the fabric, but it was the size I wanted.  The tail feathers and beak are cut from some extra pieces of the fabric covered chipboard.  The legs and feet are black card stock.

So now that I had all the pieces of the bird, I needed a background.  And... I was stuck!  What to do?  I finally decided to use some acrylic paint.  I painted part of the background an olive green, but wasn't happy with that, so I added some blue - still not happy.  I went through a transition with yellow, peach and red, with some of the earlier colors showing through.  I liked how the red brightened up the background, but it was really too bright for the bird to stand out.  So... I grabbed my jar of watered down Gesso and brushed it over the entire background.  It was better immediately.  I like how the coating of Gesso brought out the texture from the coffee filter. 

So I let that dry, attached the bird (since I didn't want to lose any of the pieces), and guess what?  I was stuck... again!

Since I was teaching a couple of classes today, I had to let it sit and get all set up for those.  By the time I finished, I was ready for bed, so I didn't get to work on this again until late in the afternoon after my classes were all finished.  Eventually, I decided to stamp some Tim Holtz stamps from Nature's Moments in jet black archival ink.  I realized that I really should have done the stamping before I attached the bird, but it was too late, so this was just going to have to work.  Do you like my attitude?

I went searching my files for a saying to put on.  When I came across this one, I knew it was what I wanted to use, so I printed it, cut it apart and glued it on.  Done!  I like it.

Thank you so much for spending time with me today. 

21 cards - #12

Hello again.  I'm back with another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art!

Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I reached into my inspiration jar again for some ideas. My words this time were orange, diamonds, and feet.  I struggled with this one and ended up only using the first two words.  I used gesso twice to cover up my background, because I wasn't pleased with it.  Because the ink underneath was water based, it bled into the gesso a little bit, but I like the muted color.  I also sprayed some orange Dylusions ink spray on and let it drip down the page.

For the diamonds, I used some stamps from Purple Onion Designs.

Since I really didn't know what to do with this card, I finally pulled out a very old SU stamp set, mixed bouquet, and put flowers on.  The flowers are stamped separately and colored with watercolor pencils and a water brush.  They are cut out and glued onto the card.  The stem and leaves are stamped directly onto the card.

I also opted to go without a sentiment for this one.

Thank you so much for spending some time here with me today.

21 cards - #11

Hello friends.  It's number 11 for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art!  I'm halfway done!  Unless... I decide to do both sides of all 21 cards.  That's tempting since I'm having so much fun with these.  However, I may not finish that many this month.  We'll see.

Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

Again, I reached into my inspiration jar for some ideas. My words this time were turquoise, horse, and embossing.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do for a horse, although it's not required that I stay literal with my interpretation.  Then I remembered that I have a horse stamp -- ONE horse stamp -- which I don't think I've ever used.  Time to pull it out and use it.  I stamped the horse with jet black archival ink on white card stock and colored it with water soluble oil pastels.  Another medium that I purchased recently and had not used.  Sound familiar?  The oil pastels feel like watercolor crayons, but didn't seem to have the same result when water was applied.  The color on these didn't spread and wash as much as the crayons. 

I then die cut the image with Spellbinders labels five, but trimmed off the sides.  I added faux stitching around the edge.

For the background, I used a pool paint dauber, just lightly adding paint and not completely covering the surface.  You can really see the texture from the coffee filter.

I found the negative part from a lattice die cut that I thought would work with this card, so I embossed it with my Tim Holtz/Sizzix gridlock embossing folder.  Then I cut it apart, keeping 1-1/2" at each corner.  I used two of the pieces that were left to fill in on the sides.

I printed the words on my computer, cut them apart and glued them on.

I've always had a love for horses, so I'm happy with this card.

Thank you so much for spending some time here with me today. 

21 cards - #10

Hello my friends.  Happy Monday.  I have another card done for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

Again, I reached into my inspiration jar for some ideas. My words this time were die cut, eyes, and triangles. 

I used a very old Cuttlebug die called harlequin and cut several diamonds from pattern paper.  Then I cut them in half to make triangles.  Because I wanted them just a bit smaller, I trimmed off about 1/4". 

To make my background blend better with the paper, I used a mix of white and orange acrylic paint to make a very pale orange.  Then I lined up the triangles along the edge, overlapping them slightly. 

I cut some eyes from a magazine and glued them on with gel medium. 

I hand wrote the sentiment.  To fill in some of the open space, I punched little flowers from the scraps left over from die cutting and added them.  To make them stand out, I added some doodling with a black marker. 

Of all the cards I've made so far for this challenge, this is my least favorite.  I think that's because there is no real focal point.... no place for your eyes to rest.  They just jump all over the place.  For now, I'll consider that a learning experience, but I may come back later and redo this one.   

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a fabulous week. 

21 cards - #9

Hello again.  I just can't stop making these cards for the monthly challenge on Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  This is number 9 already. 

Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

Again, I reached into my inspiration jar for some ideas.  I really think getting this little nudge is helping me get into the project and make progress.  My words this time are squares, red, and leather. 

I started with just a little green paint dragged across the card in both directions with a foam brush. 

Several years ago, a friend gave me some white (cream) deer hide.  I don't use it often, but I do like to use it on a project now and then.  So I pulled out a piece and stamped the Hero Arts flower on it with tuxedo black memento ink, and then colored it with Copic markers and cut it out.  I really like how vibrant the colors are.  I cut a stem and leaves free hand from the leather and also colored those with a Copic marker.  I used matte medium to adhere the leather to the card. 

The sentiment I printed from my computer, drew a square around each letter and cut them out.  After gluing them down, I added a few lines along the edges of the squares. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

21 cards - #8

Good morning, my friends.  Another card for the monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art.  Are you getting tired of these cards yet.  I'm really loving making them.  It's sort of like working in an art journal, but smaller, but bigger than an ATC, so there's still room to play.  One of the things I like the most is that it's just playing for the joy of creativity.  I can experiment, try new techniques, products -- and it's just fun.  The end result doesn't need to be a masterpiece.

Anyway, on to card #8.  Please refer to this post to see how I made the base for my cards.

I again pulled some inspiration words from my inspiration jar.  I love how this system is working for me.   My words this time are blue, copper, and stars.

I started by dragging tumbled glass distress ink across the base.  All the ridges in the coffee filter really pick up the ink.  Then I spritzed it with water and let the ink soften and fill in the background.  A damp sponge helped that process a bit.  I did the same thing with faded jeans distress ink, but skipped the sponge part.

I was going to use the star section of my punchinella stencil with versamark and copper embossing powder, but the embossing powder kinda went all over.  I guess the background wasn't quite dry.  So I brushed it all off and went in a different direction.

I pulled out some very old copper card stock from SU and punched some stars, which I then glued down.  I printed the sentiment on white card stock, cut the words apart and glued them on.

It seemed to need something, but I didn't want to add too much, so I used a black marker and added a lot of tiny dots and some swirls.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful day.