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Showing posts from November, 2009

blog candy for December

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Starting tomorrow I will be posting a page a day from an abecedary book I created.  I will post a new picture each day.  That will make over one hundred posts this year!  Wow!  I didn\t know that I had that much art to show and that much to say! So, in honour of my hundred posts and it being Christmas time I am going to send out a package of transfer foil to a lucky commentor.  All you have to do is leave a comment on any or all December blog posts and your name is entered into the draw.   If there are lots of comments I will draw more names!  Transfer foil is really hard to photograph!

alcohol inks journal page and experients with mica

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This is a journal page I started during the play day.  I painted Iridescent Stainless Steel (Coarse)by Golden on part of the page and then applied the alcohol inks.  I love the way the paint still shines through the inks. I also applied the inks to a piece of mica and a butterfly plastic die cut graciously supplied by Nancy. Here I applied the inks to a transparency that had letter stickers applied to it first.  The stickers act as a resist.  When you remove them you have clear transparency.  It will look really cool in an altered book with a background showing through. Thanks to those who asked to see what I did on our play day!

alcohol inks play day

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It is so cool to have friends to share art together.  Today we got together to play with alcohol inks.  Pictured above are from left to right Mary Lynn, Lois and Nancy.  Nancy hosted our play day.  She is amazing!  She went shopping at Vincenzo's for us.  She bought all kinds of yummy treats!  She also had a little gift at each place setting when we got there!  She was over the top good to us. I said I wasn't going to post about this but  I might as well humiliate myself.  As we were getting ready to leave when I knocked over my chair which knocked over a plant and broke the planter!  Yikes!!!  What a spazzz!  Nancy was so kind and gracious about it all.  Lois laughed and laughed - she was so relieved that she hadn't done it!  Nancy did the piece below on photo paper.  We had read that aren't supposed to use photo paper but thought why not try it any way.  I think it worked great. The piece at the very bottom Mary Lynn did on a transparency sheet.  I think it

journal page with alcohol inks and gesso

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I used chip board letters and covered them with regular kitchen foil on this page.  I was hoping to get more texture with the foil but I realized I had the Tim Holtz texture hammer and so I had at it.  The texture hammer worked great.  I will have to hide the hammer from the men in this house.  They always want my cool tools and they don't put them back. I then applied gesso to the page.  After that dried I applied the alcohol ink.  I also added a kirigami cut  out.  I like that the foil shines through the alcohol inks.  The inks did bleed through to the back of the page so I will have to paint over that.

altered book pop up page

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I am really pleased with the way this turned out.  I am glad that I perservered.  I started out with two playing cards that I painted silver.  I am participating in the Mixed Media Monday challenge again http://mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/playing-cards-2/ To the playing cards I added a pop up and some snowflakes.  I was thinking I would make a small book this way.  But it looked kind of lame and I wasn't happy.  So, I took a break.  Sometimes I just need some noodling time.  I decided I would take the cards and add them to my nature themed altered book.  From there I added the doilies and swirls and more snowflakes and a second pop up.  I LOVE POP UPS!!!  I have a large of collection of pop up books.  I'm a child at heart.

kaleidoscope

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I haven't posted a kaleidoscope for quite a while so here is another in the lily series for you to use.  Please feel free to copy it and use but do credit me if you do use it.  Also, I sure would like to see what you do with it so leave a comment or send me an email. If you want to make your own kaleidoscopes check out http://www.tuxpi.com/photo-effects/kaleidoscope

rolled fabric and paper beads

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Okay, I can't stop with the alcohol inks.  They are so darn versatile!  I used alcohol inks to color micro glass beads.  I then adhered them to fabric beads and papers beads that I rolled.  The pink bead above I used clear glass micro beads and colored them with a pink alcohol ink.  The blue/green bead above is rolled fabric with gold glass micro glass beads that I colored with green alcohol ink.  I am pleased with them.

art journal page with kirigami

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I love cutting paper.  I used to do scherenschnitte.  Right now I'm really into kirigami.  I have all these paper 'snowflakes' and wanted to do something with them.  I've added one to a journal page and then colored in some of the holes and onto the paper flake. Here's a close up of the kirigami.

Artist friends

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I have said it before and I'm sure I will say it again and again.  I have the best friends.  I love them.  We talk the same language, we laugh at the same things and we all buy more art supplies than we really need!  I had the best day with Lois, Mary Lynn and Nancy.  We went for lunch at a wonderful buffet and then went art supply shopping.  What fun.  I should probably post about the supplies that I bought but I received this wonderful package in the mail and wanted to mention it.  Sue from South Africa sent me this beautiful package of fabric.  She is so thoughtful!  She wrapped the fabric in the beige paper with the brown birds on it.  She made sure to get beautiful stamps from the post office.  I will be certain to use those gorgeous stamps in a collage.  I sent Sue some Lutrador as she couldn't find it in South Africa.  It is so cool to exchange with someone on the other side of the world!  Anyone else want to do an exchange?

glitter, transfer foil and metallic paint

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The challenge this week at http://mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/i-am-woman was to make something about being a woman.  This challenge resonated with me, not all the challenges do.  This is my journal page - it says I am a woman, I am powerful.  The colors were inspired by my trip to Little India in Toronto this past weekend.  The sarees are so incredibly beautiful and they are not afraid to go over the top with glitz  and color. I used some trim that I colored with alcohol inks.  I printed I am powerful with a paint brush and acrylic paint.  I also applied some transfer foil to those words.  The acrylic paint was dry when I applied the foil with heat.  The acrylic paint acts as the adhesive.  I used a yummy new metallic paint by Pebeo for the background. 

alcohol ink on gold trim

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I hope you're not tired of my alcohol ink ideas.  Sometimes I get on a roll!. Yesterday I went to Little Inda in Toronto with a friend.  We had a wonderful time and bought some fabulous fabrics and trims.  The trims put me in mind of some trims I had bought a while back but not used.  I decided to see what would happen if I put alcohol ink on one.  I think it worked wonderfully well.  I have read that the alcohol inks are permanent on fabric so they should be permanent on the trim. 

Transfer foil and fusible thread

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This is not a finished piece but I needed something to blog about!  I started with a piece of white fabric.  I placed a paper snowflake that I had cut onto the fabric.  I sprayed an acrylic paint over it.  The paper snowflake acted as a resist.  I then stitched with fusible thread in the bobbin as it wouldn't go through my needle.  That meant I had to sew upside down.  It was a bit tricky but worth it I think.  I then used silver transfer foil and applied it to the fusible thread with an hot iron.  I really like that it has a subtle shine to it. Check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSZGXE6fK4&feature=related

alcohol ink on metal tape

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Just some more fun with alcohol inks!  I love them and I want every color!  I always want all the colors.  I applied gesso to the tag with a texture comb.  I then applied plummer's metal tape after the gesso dried.  I love the texture.  I then applied the alcohol inks.  I think it looks pretty cool.  What do you think? I've made a bunch of tags today.  I'm thinking I will copy my sister in the way that she stored/displayed some of her tags.  Check out her blog at http://love2cre8-love2cre8.blogspot.com

gelatin plate monoprinting

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I was at a workshop yesterday put on by the Royal City Calligraphy Guild.  I love taking workshops with this guild.  There is alway so much open sharing.  There is always tons of inspiration.  You know you were at a good workshop when you come home exhausted but your head is spinning with ideas!  I'm usually the class dunce at a workshop.  I can produce very little art that is worth showing to anyone when in a workshop.  But that's okay.  I come home and get to work with what I learned.  That's where I am most comfortable and have all my supplies.  Home is where my ideas flourish. Pictured above is Susan showing us how to use a gelatin plate and Wendy looking on with keen interest.  As per usual the prints that I produced were nothing special but they will make good backgrounds on journal pages or whatever.  Gelatin plates have a shelf life of a couple of days at the max.  So I wanted to use my plate today before it started to ooze.

photography

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I went for a lovely nature hike with my friend Mary Lynn yesterday.  It was such a pleasant walk with a good friend.  Mary Lynn is a kind and generous woman.  She's one of those women that you instantly like.    Mary Lynn is an amazing photographer.  When I grow I want to be talented just like her! I got some really nice shots while we were out yesterday.  The two leaves above are a couple of my favorites.  You can check out my Flickr page to see a few more.

Artist book

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In August I posted about the fun play day my friends and I enjoyed.  You can see it here http://princessbubblescreates.blogspot.com/2009/08/play-day-and-sparkly-adventures.html Well, Nancy the clever lady that she is has already put her papers to good use!  I can hardly believe that she got this beautiful book done so quickly.  It takes me forever to get things completed - at least that's how it seems to me.  I think her book is absolutely gorgeous!  She has used some of her fabulous, little Moo cards in it.  She is just so darned clever and talented.  I love it!

Royal City Calligraphy Guild

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I count myself blessed to have wonderful, creative friends.  A number of my friends belong to the Royal City Calligraphy Guild in Guelph, Ontario.  I joined this guild five years ago!  Wow~where does the time go.  This guild is filled with the warm, kind and generous people.  I have become terribly spoiled by the wonderful teachers in this guild.  Their workshops are the absolute best.  Other workshops pale in comparison. Yesterday we had an art show opening at Barber Gallery in Guelph.  It was lovely to see everyone and their art. The top picture is my friend Nancy with her piece on the top right . Pictured to the left is my friend Mary Lynn with her piece.