Friday, October 26, 2012

A Little Time in the Studio

I've been having fun painting with Liquid Pearls from Ranger.
 
I used the Mini Rosette die here, but only put the circle paper on the back....then I painted the top with Chestnut Liquid Pearls.
 
GORGEOUS color. I added some Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges.
 

 

Then loaded on some Ice Stickles Orange Peel in all the creased areas. Set aside to dry.
 


This #8 tag is painted very randomly with Snow Cap paint and a brush leaving a defining brush strokes here and there.
 
When dry, I painted with the 3 new Metallic Distress Stains. 




I ran the tag through the Vagabond with the Texture Fade Halloween Words and added Black Soot Distress Ink to the raised areas.


 
I HAD to try the new fad on Pinterest using the Looking Glass spray paint from Krylon. I saw what Shelly Hickox did on her blog here and it looked like too much fun.
 
So here is my attempt at using the little Corked Vial and the spray. I blew into the vial to help it dry, and that gave it an antiqued look as opposed to the shiny mirror finish.
 
Add a stamped image from the Little Labels set with Glue-n-seal and it's kinda cool!
 
The top of the cork was painted with Liquid Pearls Key Lime for some added contrast.
 
 
 
 
I sanded 3 letters from the Alpha Tiles on top of the Mini Rosette and glued the Vial into the center hole.
 
I trimmed the tag to a square and glued some Black Tinsel Twine to the edges.
 
It is too cute and sits on my desk .... just for fun!
 
 
After I posted this I found a laser cut wooden frame begging to be added here...
 
So I added Dusty Concord Distress Stain and Orchid Liquid Pearls to it. NOW it's true Halloween colors!!! IMHO!
 
Emma is on the mend. Eating like crazy for a totally lost day. But the eye surgery went great.
 
Amazing what they can do now-adays!
 
Be well and be good to each other!
 
Linda
 
 
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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Retail Therapy


I've been a bad blogger, but it's really a busy time around here.
 
So, here's a little shot from my phone from yesterday's shopping trip.
 
 
 

Cute little Nutcracker I found that fits perfectly on the Christmas Emporium piece.
 
And now I'm prepping for more classes.
 
The Morton HS Marching Band (Jeff's Band) went and won the Class AA title at St. Louis Bands of America...Morton is on the 50 yard line.
 
Quite an impressive shot of awards ceremony. So proud of everyone!
 
 
This one is Bob and Jeff with the box of goodies...the new uniforms are amazing!!!!
 
These shots I snagged from someone who was there.
 
 
Classes in Bloomington were really fun. Got to see old friends I've really missed. Will get to see more old friends in Moline on Nov. 3rd.
 
 
 
Miss Emma is having bilateral strabismus Eye Surgery today.....so we're hoping this is going to make a real difference in the way her little eyes see.
 
All will be better...for sure!
 
Linda


Friday, October 19, 2012

Another Blast from the Past Halloween

 
Lots and lots of water has gone under the bridge here since I last posted.
 
I was THRILLED to be one on Tim Holtz's Blogworthy Halloween Links....I mean, who could ask for more, right?
 
And then when the Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium Centerpiece class went up for Creative Cuts and Crafts I was really happy to see it almost sold out in a couple of days!!!

(Last I heard there were only 2 seats left)
 
So.........you know what that means, busy, busy, busy in prep work for that class, and the 2 closer to home at The Scrapbooking Studio's 2 locations.
 
Needless to say, not a whole lot of "Creating Art" time here.
 
So, for those of you still playing around with Halloween, here's a Blast from the Past piece I did a while back with Tim Holtz papers, Dies, and Inks.
 
 
I used an unfinished wooden bill box...or whatever...painted it black (a shock, I know) and then added Lettuce paint dabber to the front section.
 
I embossed an orange back side of the Paper Stack with the Halloween Night Texture Fade and added more paint to raised areas. Then a layer of Black Soot Distress Stickles to the black areas.
 
More Stickles we spread around to add some glitz to the background.
 
 
 
The side papers were embossed with Halloween Words and had Black Soot Distress Ink added to make them come alive.
 
In this shot you can see the On the Fence die was used and painted white, but grunged up a bit with Distress Inks.
 
The cards on the front are from Tim's Seasonal Paper Stack.
 
 
The Bats and the Witch are die cut using the Bewitching Hour die, from Black Chipboard and painted with dabbers and accented with white pen.
 
Add the Foundations legs that have been colored with Rust and Terra Cotta Alcohol Inks.
 
The stamp over the flying witch is stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink using a Tim Holtz ATC stamp.
 
And a fluff of black Tulle just adds a little touch to the top.
 
Fill it with candy and hang it by the door or set it on the table.
 
I'm off to Bloomington tomorrow to teach...
 
but, as Arnold says....
 
"I'll be back!"
 
Linda
 
 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Going to Creative Cuts and Crafts!!!

 
I've been asked to come back and teach a Christmas Emporium Class at Creative Cuts and Crafts in Elmhurst, Illinois.
 
I love it there...so if you've got the time...come and join us.



 
Here's the scoop!
 
 
 
This is based on my Halloween Haunting piece I did earlier with Graphic 45 papers with an 8" wooden house on a 9" wooden base.
 
But this has all sorts of little pieces I collected to make a shiny project decorated on all sides.
 
(I've already added more fun pieces to the kit since this picture...gold jingle bells, candy canes, metal stars, etc)
 
 
The NOEL is glittered up to sparkle as well as several other pieces.  And the little door is a welcoming spot to enter this gorgeous world of Christmas fantasy created by the rich Graphic 45 papers.
 
Great people, great town, I always have a blast!
 
I'll be working on getting it all together this week, and I hope to see you there.
 
 
Linda


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Time to get SPOOKY!

Since I was away for a few days, and didn't really have time to play.....I painted 10 Marching Band boards that are 3'x7' with a symbol from their show....
 
I realise that Halloween is sneaking up on me very fast this year.
 
So I dug out a couple of really fun projects from the past to decorate around the house with, and thought you might like to try them for yourself.
 
 
 
You know I love to used little wooden pieces that are painted with acrylics to adorn my projects...to give them height.
 
Well this plain old piece of 2x4 wood has a couple of wooden add-ons to hold the SPOOKY sign in place.

 
I painted the block black (of course) and then added various Halloween colored Distress Stickles all over it.
 
The Witch was cut from chipboard using the Bewitched Die from Tim Holtz. I glue the paper onto the chipboard first - then die cut it.
 
The Distress Inks make it the color I want...here I used some oranges, yellows, and browns.
 
Then the white pen makes it stand out!!!

 
Add the 31 Sticker to chipboard and use pop dots to raise it up.
 
The boo chipboard letters are painted with the Gold Paint Dabber.
 
The bats are painted silver and highlighted with the white pen so they stand out better than black bats.
 
I used Snow Cap paint dabber to add some stenciled dots that break up the color, too.
 

Take Care....Create Art....and Have FUN! 

 
 Linda
 
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Friday, October 5, 2012

Paper Whimsy Reliquary

I've used Paper Whimsy's gorgeous Vintage Prints for years. Gale Blair takes an old photo and manipulates it to create a masterpiece in photography.
 
This is my new FAVORITE little gal.
 
Now they've come up with Reliquaries. This piece uses one of them as an add-on to a shadowbox frame.
 
 
 
 
 
I'll take you through a few of the steps to making this little treasure.
 
 
This is what you get for the Reliquary.
 
It's pressed board, and you glue it together. Simple - Easy.
 

 
I started with 2 colors of Distress Stains and used the darker color as shadow on the edges.

 
The front piece had 2 more colors added the same way.

 
Then I stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink using several Tim Holtz stamps to cover the area.
 
 
I covered the back with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain...really cool metallic color.
 
And then stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.
 
It really is a gorgeous lacy-looking background.

 
I realised that the color was not correct for the picture I was going to use....so I just added Worn Lipstick Distress Stain until I got the color I wanted.
 
 
 
I painted the Spade and the Star was colored with Tarnished Brass Distress Stain.
 
Then I laid out the pieces to go into the Reliquary and glued into place.
 
LOVE the ornate bead cap on the top of the little bottle.
 
The little purse is a vintage piece from a friend.
 

 
Add a few dots of Glaze pen here and there, some Distress Stickles on the Spade, and then put it together.

 
The background paper from Prima's Nature Garden was glued to a piece of chipboard.
 
It had to be subtle and was perfect as is.
 
I cut the frame paper and sprayed with Perfect Pearls for a bit of glimmer...you can't see it here, but it's there. 

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I aged the ribbon with a bit of Tea Dye Distress Stain and glued it to the frame.
 
The little Prima flowers added a little touch of femininity to the corners, and the large rose is a pin I found somewhere....that I edged with some Ice Stickles.
 
The label on the large bottle is stamped onto gessoed Metal Foil Tape with Archival Ink.
 
Lastly I added an edge of Tarnished Brass DS around the edge of the Reliquary to make it stand out a bit better.
 
Take a look at the store at PAPER WHIMSY....you'll love their gorgeous images and ephemera!
 
That's it for today! Create Art and Remember to Play!
 
Linda
 
Products Used:


Monday, October 1, 2012

I'm Back! Home Sweet Home!

FINALLY some time to get inky!
UPDATE-Click On Friends in ART Header for recent POSTS! 
Vacation was wonderfully relaxing. We both had a great time. The weather was simply gorgeous even though the fishing wasn't the best.
 
My analogy to character our last day there was....
 
Fish caught today = 2
Trips to bakery = 1
View from the porch at sunset = PRICELESS!
 
The Inspiration Emporium DT Challenge for October is Spooktackular Decorations.
 
Enter your project to win $50 Emporium Dollars here.
 
This is sitting on my coffee table for the kids to see....it may make it's way to the Granddaughter who LOVES and lives for Halloween though.
 
 
 
The Happy Halloween is embossed. The bats are die cut from black chipboard. I used a white pen, of course to create contrast.
 
The large tag was sprayed with Dylusions Spray Inks.

 
 
I die cut the 31 and added several different colors of UTEE and dulled down with Sepia Archival Ink I rubbed over the entire surface. They needed a bit more, so I outlined with black permanent marker.
 
Don't you love the little owls on a branch???

 
 
The Skull is stamped with Black Soot Distress Ink and embossed with black Embossing Powder.
 
Add a bit of white pen to the teeth and eye socket, spider webs, and spiders.
 
I added Black Soot Distress Stickles here and there to kind of grunge it up a bit.
 
The last step is to glue the large tag to Black Chipboard and cut around it.
 

 
I wanted to use the BOO die-cut on this, but it proved to be just too large.
 
BUT, I'll show you it because the UTEE turned out soooooo cool on it.
 
I pushed it into the black embossing ink and then into the black UTEE.
 
When it's still hot, I sprinkle white, green zinnia, and tiger lily UTEE Brightz to it and melt just a bit. Too much heat makes it into mud...or all blended together. So just heat it a tiny bit to melt.
 

 
This shows how cool it turns out with different colors sprinkled in.
 
 
These pieces made their way to my "Little Ghoul." Shrink Plastic...

 
 
And here is my stunning granddaughter Britta...the oldest...the girl who lives for Halloween and the Haunted House detail she gets to work at on the weekends in October. Those are goggles on the top of her head...she's lunging at you from an angle.
 
 
I personally would never have recognized her if I'd run into her on the street.
 

 
This piece is hanging in her place now!
 
Love ya, Britta!
 
Nana aka Linda
 
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