Archives for April 2011

Thrifty Thursday Hop Week 20 and Cross Mixed Media Tutorial

SatisfiedCross1-1
Ok.  I am going to attempt to take you through each step in the process of making this mixed media collage.  You will need:
  • Some kind of board for your surface; I used an all wooden plaque with an eagle and some army prayer on it that I picked up from Goodwill for $2
  • Gesso
  • Brayer 4" Pop-In Brayer: Hard Rubber
  • Paintbrushes
  • Bubble Wrap or other texturizing material
  • Old paper; I used an aged hymnal I picked up at a flea market, and some aged newspaper from a local thrift store
  • Matte Gel Medium from your local art store or order it online.  This stuff is more expensive than Mod Podge, but  I swear by it in these types of projects.  Liquitex Acrylic Matte Gel Medium 8 oz. jar matte
  • Golden Liquid acrylic paints; Titan BuffAcrylic - Golden Artist Colors Fluid Acrylic Titan Buff 1oz, raw umberAcrylic - Golden Artist Colors Fluid Acrylic Raw Umber 4oz, a robin egg blue acrylic paint,  or other  background color of your choice, and acrylic black (for the striped border)
  • Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in color of your choice.  I used orange.Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist Spray - 2 Ounce Bottle - Mel's Diner, BRAND NEW
  • Ranger Distress Inks Pads:  Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - 2010 Collection Distress Ink Pads Kit I used Walnut, Antique linen.
  • Scrapbook Paper in pattern of your choice
  • Sentiment of your choice printed out on computer paper
  • Krylon or Other Acrylic Sealant
  • Soft Charcoal Pencil, and eraser
  • Butterfly or other images cut out
  • Embellishement of your choice – I cut this flower out of Ranger grunge board and sprayed it with the orange tattered angels mist mentioned above
Instructions:
  • Cover your surface in a coat of Gesso and let dry completely (this is basically a primer that evens out the surface and makes your paper adhere more uniformly).  You can use a hair dryer or heat tool to speed the drying along.
  • Tear or cut your aged background papers to cover the surface, adhering with a thin layer of Matte Gel Medium.  Make sure to smooth out any air bubbles with your hands or a brayer.
  • On palate paper or a non stick craft sheet (like freezer paper), place a few drops  of your liquid acrylic Titan Buff, raw umber and robin egg blue a few inches from one another.  Run your brayer through all of the colors until it is covered in paint, then run it randomly across your canvas until you are satisfied with the background.
  • Spray the Tattered angels mist onto the palate paper on top of the acrylics you already rolled your brayer through.  Roll the brayer through this, then randomly on the canvas again.
  • Dip bubble wrap in the robin egg color and texturize the background in places:   
  • While this is drying, cut out a cross or desired shape from coordinating scrapbook paper.  I just used a straight edge to draw a cross, and cut it out using scissors.  Spray it lightly with the colored mist you used in your background to unite the shape with the piece.  Adhere it to your surface using matte gel medium.  Let the surface dry completely (again, a few minutes with your hair dryer or heat tool will get you there)
  • Spray your computer print out text with the Krylon Crystal Clear or other acrylic sealant.  This is important if you use inkjet print outs because the matte gel or mod podge will smear the ink if you do not seal it first.  Once dry adhere your cut out text using – drum roll please – matte gel medium!!  Repeat this procedure for any other computer print out images you want to add (I added the butterfly).
  • Now coat the entire piece in a thin layer of matte gel and let dry completely (if you are impatient like me, you will have heat tool in hand right now).
  • Grab your antique linen Ranger Distress ink pad and ink the entire surface.  This is a very light color, and dragging it across everything pulls the elements together with the background, unifying the entire piece.  With the darker Walnut stain in pad, ink the edges of the piece and blend using your fingers.  I love this technique for distressing/aging and use in often.
  • Using the charcoal pencil, add shading around the cross and the words, blending with your finger or a paper towel
  • To get the stripes on the border, I painted the whole beveled edge with titan buff (this is my favorite white – I used it constantly).  When this dries (hey there heat tool, how’s it goin’), tape off the stripes with low tack artist tape and paint over with black.  Once completely dry, remove the tape to reveal your stripes.  You do not want to remove the tape before completely dry because bleeding will occur.
  • To finish, spray a coat of sealant on your piece and add any 3D embellishments you desire.  I made the orange flower form grunge board using my Cricut (a whole different tutorial)!
Some of you expressed interest in the angel piece I did here:
Follow the above steps, but instead of adding a cut out scrapbook paper shape, sketch an outline of the figure with a charcoal pencil, keeping an eraser handy to make changes.  Fill in the different parts with acrylic washes (paint plus water mixture) in desired colors.  For the light skin areas, I used a very light wash (lotsa water) with the titan buff.  Paint on the wash and dab with dry paper towel to remove excess water.  Once this is dry, add details to the face using PITT  artist pens and water based blend-able craft markers for color to the eyes, mouth and hair.  I colored in the whites of the eyes with a white gel pen.  Just experiment and play til you love it.  Make sure you seal it, especially if you used water based markers.
Let me know if you have questions.

So, I thought it was Wednesday until about 5 seconds ago.  Sorry no features this week.  I am going a little crazy I guess.  Here is the hop.  Back to normal next week!!

 



Batik With Beeswax

Maybe you have seen these gorgeous fabrics Suzy made with a crayon resist batik technique she found in a vintage craft magazine;

She posted a great tutorial at the above link, which I attempted.  I absolutely hated painting with crayons, and didn’t end up covering the entire fabric with melted crayon wax.  This caused the spray dye to bleed and the final product was awful.  I didn’t take a picture, cause it was just sad.  I was bummed.  You know how it goes.  Anyway…
I let it go for a week or so.  Then the thought occurred to me that I could design an image in photoshop, print it on inkjet printer fabric sheets, paint beeswax over the entire thing, and continue as Suzy did.  The logic is that there would already be color on the fabric.  Painting with beeswax would be way easier, I thought, since I could just melt it in my melting pot and keep it warm easily.  And i would just have to brush over the entire print to cover it with the transparent wax, instead of trying to paint in the colors with individual melted crayons (that I kept having to reheat every couple of minutes or so).  
I was right!!! It totally worked:  

1.  Design your image and print it onto cotton fabric made for inkjet printer.Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Pack of 5 (03384)  
The design I printed onto the fabric
 I let prints dry for 15 minutes before handling, like the instructions said.  Then I removed the backing paper and was left with the prints on fabric.
2.  I melted beeswax in my ranger melting pot and painted the wax over the entire fabric sheets using a one inch gesso brush.  
3.  Once the entire piece of fabric is coated and the wax dry, wad up the sheet to create a bunch of cracks in the wax.
4.  Flatten the sheets back out and spray them with Black tulip fabric spray.  Blot off the excess with paper towels and allow to dry for several hours (Suzy has some great pics of this – I didn’t think to photograph mine, but I did it just like she did; except she let it dry overnight, and I could only wait 2 hours).
5.  Place the fabric between two sheets of newspaper and, using your iron on the highest setting, iron out the wax.  This takes several sheets of newspaper.  

This was soooo much easier than the crayon method.  You can do whatever you want with the fabric.  I adhered mine to some board I had lying around to make wall art!

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What’s Your Story? Featuring Artist Deborah Fagan "The Painted Thingamajig

So excited to bring you the unique mixed media artist I stumbled upon at The Painted Thingamajig!!  On with it…



About your work:

I’ve been creating as far as my memeory goes back.  My childhood was in the sixties, so I was healily influenced by that whole psychedelic, Yellow Submarine pop culture, even though my parents were very conservative, and our home was decorated with basic beige hues.  Maybe I was rebeling at an early age..ha ha.
I think that psychedelic color palette shows in my work.



Where are you located?

I was born and raised in California, but now make my home, and have a studio on an acre and a half in the desert of Arizona; with my husband of 19 years, my eighteen year old son, an intense German Shepherd named Karma, and two rambunctious Rough Collies named Mojo and Elvis.



What do you create?

Besides canvas and mural work, I like to create what I call functional art. Meaning, things you would use everyday- phones, clocks, etc..making the item into a piece of art. Life’s too short to wake up every morning looking at some random alarm clock you bought at Walmart along with the rest of the masses. Why not wake up to to something that will put a smile on your face? I’ve been painting anything that didn’t move, it seems like forever. One of the first big pieces I ever did was a refrigerator that my parents gave me when I first moved out from home. Somehow, it made the fridge my own, of course my conservative parents were just horrified! I also like creating with textiles as well. I love makeing art quilts, and have been known to make some pretty quirky art dolls. Oh, and now I’ve been working on a series called- ‘Got Green?’ recycled/repurposed art. Besides being a good thing to be green, it’s kind of cool to think that all these diferent things had another purpose/life before coming together to make this objet d’art, of which now has a life of it’s own. Working with found and recycled objects…kinda warms my mixed media heart. 


When and why did you set up your online shop?

I was teaching art at a private school, and selling my art at mainly festivals/fairs and one gallery, when one of my customers/collectors, decided to open a gallery/shop in the art district.  She asked me to be resident artist, and help run the gallery; which entailed being a curator to other up and coming artists, organizing and running our First Fridays, (so much fun!), as well as creating my own art in a studio I had in the back, and then selling it in the gallery. I must say, that was one of the best jobs I had ever had. Getting paid hourly to do what I would be doing anyway, which is to create, then selling my pieces in the gallery and getting a percentage, was fabulous. I was so sad when the owner had to close down because of personal reasons.  I then started selling on Ebay, just when it was becoming popular. I did quite well with Ebay, and sold pieces that went all over the world, which is kind of a cool feeling; to think, a part of me is living in different places everywhere.  Ebay started going in a direction that I wasn’t to happy with..and a lot of other artists started moving to this brand new website called Etsy. So, I opened a shop on Etsy called The Cosmic Whim WhamStudio.  I closed that shop last year, because everyone kept telling me how hard it was to remember that name. I opened a shop on Artfire not too long ago, and then re-opened a shop on Etsy, called ‘The Painted Thingamajig‘. I hope that’s easier to remember, I know I use the word thingamajig all the time..and I turn so many thingamajigs into art!



How do you promote your creations?

That, I’m still working on! I’m one of those artists that needs a secretary or assistant, of which I can’t afford of course. Artfire is very good at promoting your site- which is one of the reasons I opened a store there. You’ve got to do some work too though. They have a very good tutorial there on how to succeed, in which they tell you to definitely do the social networking thing, and get as many items in your store as you can. They say the more things you have in your store, the more google will pick up on it.  I’m a little ADD, I gotta focus more. What with taking pictures of my pieces and editing, writing descriptions, listing…and now I gotta go be social? I end up seeing one of my projects in progress out the corner of my eye, and wander off to work on it…yeah, still working on the promoting thing. Maybe I should move my computer out of my studio.



What inspires your work?

Color, light, patterns and shapes. My surroundings. Found objects and things that can be thrown into the alchemy mix of my art.



What is your must have tool for creating?

Paintbrushes! I have hundreds, but seem to use my same three favorite brushes I’ve had for years now. I’ll see a beautiful brush and buy it, bring it home and place it in the can with all my other brand new, untouched brushes…


Do you have any tips for others wanting to turn their art into a business?

Create things you love, not just the trend of the moment, and what all the other people are doing on Etsy and Artfire.  I think it shows when someone’s just doing something because they think it will sell. Or, if you really like the trend, incorporate it into your art. Like the whole bottlecap and resin thing?
I thought that was kind of cool, so I used that technique for fish eyeballs on this recycled piece of art from my ‘Got Green’ series, called ‘It’s A Fish Eat Fish World. And read the Artfire 45 Day To Success Guide- http://www.artfire.com/users/45DayGuide/blog – you will learn sooo much!



Extras:

What good books have you read or movies have you seen lately?

Love the author Joe Hill-love love loved his book ‘Heart Shaped Box’, which is about an aging rock star that buys a ghost off Ebay. I’m currently reading Juliet Blackwell’s- Art Lovers Mystery Series. Blackwell’s an Art History major, so along with your mystery, you get all these interesting art history facts, along with a few paint recipes.

Where was your last vacation?

Being a California girl living in the desert, I must make my migrations to the ocean.  One of my favorite places is Laguna Beach, CA.

What is your favorite pastime outside of creating?

Reading, playing the guitar, songwriting, playing and walking my three big crazy dogs, combing antique shops and flea markets…oh, and did I say reading? I’m a voracious reader!

Who is your favorite designer/artist?

Okay, I know you don’t have all day, so I’ll just list the major ones I was influenced by- Peter Max, Niki De Saint-Phalle, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Piero Fornasetti, Rene Magritte, and Mary Nohl. Mary Nohl seems like a kindred spirit to me. I see myself as an old lady hermit, with a couple of cats, making my whole house into a piece of art! I just ordered this book- Mary Nohl: Inside & Outside, off Amazon, I can’t wait for it to arrive. She really was amazing, you ought to google her.

Meet SBLC’s Newest Sponsor; Photo Jewelry Making Dot Com

I am thrilled to introduce my newest sponsor,  photojewelrymaking.com.  There are so many supplies for DIY photo jewelry here, and the prices are very competitive.  I just did a craft show this weekend, and am in touch with the expense of materials, so this site is a welcome addition to my sources.

I love that this is a family owned and operated business, and that it is based in my neighbor to the north, Michigan.  Some of my favorite products…

1.  CD of cool vintage images for pendants, scrapbooking, and other mixed media art;

$7.19 for over 100 High Res Vintage Images

2.  Antique copper plated pendant square;  This would be adorable with one of the images on the above CD!

$2,99
3.  Resin dome stickers for bottle caps and other 1 inch round pendant settings;
30 for $17.99

These are very appealing to me since I just made a billion bottle cap pendants for the weekend show.  I have used these before instead of the 2 part epoxy resin.  Talk about WAY easier, and they look great.  You can buy one for $1.34, so this 30 pack is a great idea if you are making a lot.  They also have these square ones for their square pendant settings, like the antique copper one above.  

Even though it is cheaper to do the resin yourself, these aren’t very expensive if you go the bulk route, and the time (for air bubble removal, set up, clean up) saved would make it worth the cost.  I am ordering these for the July show.  
4.  I also find this “DIY photo bubble sticker” kit intriguing.  I could just do my designs in photoshop and print them from home, with the “dome resin” and adhesive built in.  The price ends up being just over $1 per custom dome sticker.  Worth it, if it does what it claims.  I am going to order it.  I will let you know what I think of it when I get a chance to use it;
These are just a few of the items I am drooling over.  Go check out their extensive supply and reasonable pricing.  

A Crafty Adventure

I havent written in a few days because I was preparing for this craft show. Mixed media technique tutorials to come!

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Thrifty Thursday Week 19




Week 19 of Thrifty Thursday.  This was an amazing day here in the ol’ craft room.  Speaking of that, does anybody have a good trick for getting Mod Podge dimensional magic out of one’s hair?  No reason.  Just curious, yeah.

Look around and join the fun.  The idea is to link to your frugal post, whether it be a DIY, recipe, tip, coupon… if you like it, link it.  If you don’t have a thrifty post to link to, feel welcome to join the hop anyway, and link to your main blog.

Other stuff:
* Please follow Saved By Love Creations, your host!
*Grab my “Thrifty Thursday” button above and throw it on your lovely site.  Let’s grow this!
*I will choose 2 participants to feature the following Thursday and to receive a free week of advertising on SBLC (under “love worthy sponosors’ in sidebar).   Please drop by and follow them!  They are numbers 2 and 3 in the thumbnail list.  REMEMBER that to be chosen as a featured site, you must follow SBLC via GFC.
*Follow the blogs that are must reads, and please return the gesture by following those who follow you.  Leave a comment when you follow so that the blogger will know you are a new follower.
*Leave me a comment and let me know you were here.  I love hearing from you.
*Scatter joy, and frugal tips.
*Have fun 🙂

Weekly Featured Blogs:

*Tales of a Trophy Wife

I love finding great blogs through this hop.  I am digging these projects from Trophy Wife;

Great work.  Thank you for linking to Thrifty Thursday!!


Chris over at Us and Them has a wonderful drop cloth curtain project:

And look at this silouhette project…
SO cute!
Also, I have made a new bloggy friend who is having her own Thrifty Thursday.  Go say Hello to Nikki at Thrifty Decorating and Hop with her!






Free Easter Printable Round 2

The cross… the single greatest act of love in history.  Click here to download the full resolution 5×7.  Glory to God.

Welcome Wednesday Featuring SBLC

Inspiring Moments and Much to Learn From Dogs…


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