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Monday, September 22, 2014

The Journey


I had some time in the studio this weekend...creating a video for a customer who wanted to know more about how Distress Paints work for creating backgrounds.  I mixed Distress Paints and lots of yummy Wendy Vecchi products to create my project.  You can see the full video below, along with some more photos of my finished tag, and links to where you can buy products.  Enjoy!!


 Here's the video and product links!

Supplies:
  • Vintage Mesh Background Stamp
  • Dots and Dashes Background Stamp
  • It's Face Art (can't find anyone who carries this so let me do some more checking...)

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Studio Table with Seth Apter

I'm joining with Seth Apter, and a whole bunch of other artists (visit Seth's blog for the full list), to share what our studio spaces really look like...well...at least those of us who create with abandon.  Maybe that should be create without any care for the mess I leave behind! LOL!  And so...I present to you...what the inside of my studio really looks like...
That's right...I work an 8x8 room that is located off of my dining room (shame that any guests have to look upon such a mess when they're enjoying dinner...oh wait, we usually eat in the living room because my dining room table is covered with school books...never mind...)  My hubby built in the narrow L-shaped desk so I could get the most out of the floor space.  And I have the majority of my supplies (I know it looks like the supplies are just on the floor) stored in a huge, antique wardrobe.

When I work...I simply toss used supplies on to the floor.  Or, as you can see above, I put what I might want to use on the floor next to my stool so I can look through them.  Wendy Vecchi stamp sets anyone?
Here's my pile of half finished projects...let's see, we have some mini albums, some cards, magazines to read, a big bag of supplies from my last class to be emptied, and projects from a March retailer event to finish.
And that tiny space, housing the blue art journal pages, is what I typically work in...what's that about two square feet of work space?  And that piece of wood you see poking out from the shelf in the upper right hand side of the photo is what holds my camera when I create videos.  Can you even believe it? LOL!  The good thing about having a smalls space is that it does clean up quickly and everything I use is very (very) close at hand!

That, my friends, is an unashamed look at what my studio looks like on any given day.  And about twice a year I can't take it anymore and I go on a major cleaning spree...that hasn't happened yet this year...maybe for Christmas...

Want to check out my videos?  You can see my You Tube channel, here, it's packed full of technique videos!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Dream Art Journal Layout with NEW Donna Downey Stencils

Hi folks!  I'm back with a two-page art journal layout that I created after grabbing a large handful of Donna Downey's new stencils...LOVE 'em and had a hard time not buying all of them to add to my ever growing stash of stencils!  Today I've created a photo tutorial for you so pull up a chair, get comfy, and read on!
Step 1 (photos above and below) - I start any painted pages in my journal by applying gesso.  The gesso preps the paper and keeps the paint from soaking into the paper.  (If using ink sprays, don't gesso).  Once my gesso was dry, I wanted to add some texture to the page (something that would be painted over) but didn't want anything as thick as embossing paste.  Donna uses this tape product on her journal pages that I adore but since I had no such product in my stash, I peeled off the backing of a sticker sheet and applied the entire piece to the middle of my layout.




 Step 2 - I used Dina Wakley's acrylic paints to add color over the entire layout.  This is a combination of Sky, Lapis, and Night.  I adore Dina's acrylic paints...they're heavy bodied and mix beautifully.  (Forgive the never ending glare of my work light...)

 Step 3 - I used Wendy Vecchi's white embossing paste and Donna's NEW Bloom Group stencil to add the main image on my left hand page.  Note that the flower stems are not as long as shown.  I had to lay down the stencil a second time to increase the steam length to the bottom of my page and I also added two more flowers.  While my paste was drying, I added four book text circles on the right hand side of my layout.
 Step 4 - My favorite step...Paint!  I again used Dina's paints to paint the flowers.  I put the stencil back over the dry paste to minimize any paint oozing on to the background, in between the flower petals.  I used Magenta and Ruby on the large flowers and Tangerine, Lemon, and a hint of Umber on the smaller flowers.  I also used a white paint pen to add a few highlights, after the paint was dry.
 Step 5 - Are you confused by this step?  These are my text circles, surrounded by more white embossing paste. The centers of each circle was covered with translucent paste (also from Wendy Vecchi).  Wait until you see what happens when the translucent paste dries...
 Step 6 - I used an older Prima stencil (I think it was Prima) and Dylusions White Linen ink spray to add a bit of design to the background.  I also used more Magenta and Ruby paint to the now dry embossing paste that is surrounding my text circles.
Here's a closer look a the circles...see that glare off of the Love circle?  The translucent paste dries clear and with a glossy finish.  My text circles are now encased in paste...it's very cool!
 Step 6 to the end - (I confess that I got a bit caught up in all the creative fun and missed a few photos!) - I used Higgins black ink to add black circles and DRIPS around each circle and then also added just a few drops of ink on the left hand side of the layout.  I stamped the words using a Catherine Scanlon stamp set....they fit perfectly!!  I then finished with a date stamp...very Donna Downey style. :-)
I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and layout!  I really must get some better lighting in my studio, right?  I'll work on that next week...if I can start making art!!

In other news...I've officially announced that I'm closing eclectic Paperie (not for lack of success...this girl just really needs her life back!)  The entire store is now 20% off...head on over and grab yourself some paint, journals, paper, and stencils and then get to work on your own art journal!  Used code EP20 when checking out!  Craft On!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Hold on Tight to Your Dreams

I created a new tag over the weekend, featuring a Gelli Plate background.  Video demonstrating my technique below!  Enjoy!