CREATIVE CARTE BLANCHE - CORRUGATED PAPER, METAL AND LACE

Hello everyone!  I hope you have all been enjoying your creative adventures with Creative Carte Blanche!  I know all of us have truly enjoyed seeing your creations and are learning a lot at the same time!

Candy is hosting this current adventure and has come up with a wonderful challenge for us all - to use corrugated paper, metal and lace together in the same project.  I really enjoyed the idea of grouping these three items together and, something unusual for me, came up with an idea pretty quickly.

Those of you who followed us during our Compendium of Curiosities adventure may know that I love to use old photographs that I am fortunate enough to have from my family.  It has always been on my "bucket list" to create beautiful art with these photographs to enjoy and hopefully pass down in the family.  If you are like me, I have so many projects in my head and not enough time to do them all, so it is nice that I have this opportunity.  Here is my creation:

The photo is of my great grandparents' wedding.  I decided that I didn't want to add much color to this piece, so I used light colors that I found in the photo.

I started off by using white gesso to prepare the canvas.  Then I began laying different pieces I wanted to incorporate until I was happy with the look.  Originally I thought I would add a pop of color to the top right and bottom left of the canvas, however, I decided to remove the fussy cut paper flowers and stick with a softer look.

I then removed all of the elements and glued torn pieces of corrugated cardboard onto the canvas.

Next came the paint.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Paints - Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Brushed Corduroy, Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo and Picket Fence and applied them with a brush and a baby wipe.  I tried to closely match the colors found in the photo.

I used DecoArt's Media Matte Varnish to seal the canvas when the paint was dry.

I painted a torn heart I created with the same colors from the canvas and sealed it.  I then added a       Time Piece and a word band from Tim Holtz Idea-ology to the heart.

Then it was on to the lace.  I wanted to use quite a bit in order to create a soft, romantic feel.

It was now time to add some additional metal embellishments, a key and a Philosophy Tag               from Idea-ology.  I laid down some Prima flowers so that I could judge where to put the metal pieces.

They are hard to see, but the leaves are also metal leaves from Idea-ology.

Now to add the photo...I adhered the photo to some heavy black cardstock first to make it stronger and then adhered the photo to the canvas using foam tape and matte medium.

To complete the piece, I adhered the Prima flowers to the canvas as well as three antique buttons from Tim Holtz Idea-ology.  The torn heart was also adhered, partially covering the bottom of the photo.

I have to say that I am pleased with the way this canvas turned out!  I think my great grandparents would be happy!

Many thanks to Candy for coming up with this wonderful adventure for the month of March.  Hope you all will join along!  Don't forget to check out our blog and upload your photos here.

Happy crafting!
Susan

CREATIVE CARTE BLANCHE - MY FIRST POST!

Welcome to Creative Carte Blanche everyone!  I am so excited to be presenting my first post for this wonderful new adventure with some of my dearest friends - Linda Ledbetter, Candy Colwell, Annette Green, Cheryl Grigsby, Hels Sheridan and Yvonne Blair!

We had so much fun working together in the past that we decided it would be a terrific idea to create an artistic blog- a place where artists of all skill levels could meet and come together as an international community and share new artistic adventures!  Our group of "creative instigators" will lead you with a monthly "prompt".

This month's prompt is "Anything Goes!" However, we would like you to try a new technique that you haven't attempted before or use a product new to you to create your artistic piece.

Without further ado, here is the piece I created:

I used techniques that I have been wanting to try but was too nervous to actually do!  This month's prompt encouraged me to try it.  I started with a canvas that I prepped with DecoArt white gesso.  I was also determined to use paper scraps that I had been saving forever.  This is how it started out:

I attached all the paper scraps with DecoArt matte medium.  After I questioned my sanity in undertaking such a project, I gave myself a pep talk and kept going.

Unfortunately I didn't take a photo at this point, however, I decided I wanted a soft look to the piece, so I used Ranger's Picket Fence white paint and watered it down slightly on a craft mat.  I applied the paint over all the paper.  Then I placed an acrylic block behind the canvas so that I could easily stamp the Poppies Alone image by Yvonne Blair for Impression Obsession onto the canvas.   I cleaned the stamp and stamped the small flower again onto the canvas.  I then used a small paint brush and Bundled Sage Distress paint to add color to the leaves.

The two flowers from the stamp were stamped onto an extra piece of cream cardstock.  I cleaned the stamp and then re-stamped the small flower onto cream card stock.  I used Scattered Straw, Fossilized Amber and Wilted Violet Distress inks to color the flowers.

After cutting out the flowers, I decided that they were too bright in comparison to my canvas, so I applied a bit of Picket Fence Distress Paint over the top of the flower with my finger.  Better!

Using DecoArt matte medium, I affixed the cut out flowers to the flowers previously stamped onto the canvas.

To be completely honest, I didn't like this canvas at all!  However, I decided not to give up - it just 

needed something else, but what?

Ah, back to the paper scrap bin!  These paper strips were already scalloped!  

Now I needed some color added to the various pieces and, of course, some lovely butterflies from the small butterfly trio byYvonne Blair for Impression Obsession!  I laid everything down loosely to see if I liked the composition.

Okay, now for the addition of Wilted Violet Distress Ink to the different pieces - the color did the trick!

The butterflies also had a touch of Picket Fence paint applied to them with my finger to tone down the colors and were affixed to the canvas.  One more touched still needed...

The addition of a strip of orange-gold card stock behind the two scalloped paper strips made the piece  come together and pop!  I am happy!  What a process - goes to show you not to give up on an art piece!  

Hope you will feel brave and try something new as well!  You won't regret it!

Susan

Winter Cheer

Hello everyone!  I thought I would get a last post in before Christmas!

I'm sure everyone is getting beautiful Christmas cards this time of year, but have you ever thought about sending Winter cards after the holidays to celebrate (yes, I said "celebrate") Winter and it's beauty?  After all, the kids and adults can go sledding, the skiers are thrilled here in Colorado and elsewhere and, let's face it, the snow is beautiful.  For those that aren't so crazy about Winter, a card can cheer them up and let them know you are thinking about them.  So, without further ado, here are several cards created by me and my talented co-design team member with B-Line Designs, Michelle Bodensteiner.  The first one is a beautiful sledding card by Michelle.

Isn't this a gorgeous card?  I love the fact that it is not a traditional rectangular card.  The oval shape showcases the sledders (Winter Fun HO20E) and creates such a beautiful frame.  Michelle doubled the scalloped frame (My Mind's Eye - this could be easily die cut as well) using pop dots which gives the scene a 3 dimensional look.  Michelle stamped the sledders with markers using the Direct-to-Rubber technique and then added some color pencil to the children' shoes.

For added texture on the children' image, Michelle stamped part of the pine tree small (HO103D) so that it looks like the little girl is holding it.  Then the Bough Duo (HO149F) was stamped randomly around the edges of the scene with green and red markers.

I love all the little details Michelle used to create such a lovely scene!  Even the deer on the side of the card is a stamp.  It is from the Gift Tag cube (HO106F) and is stamped in brown.  Then she used a Wink-A-Stella pen to add sparkle to the deer!  To finish the card, she used two snowflakes from Jolee's and lots of lovely crystals placed in the scallops.  Even the deer has a crystal tail!

This beautiful piece would also make a fabulous Christmas tree ornament or a tie-on tag for gifts simply by adding a ribbon loop to the top.  So versatile!

I created another winter scene using Dream Catcher (HO145F):

The card is a combination pop-up/shaker card that is fun to make.  I stamped the Dream Catcher scene with Navy ink and colored her outfit with color pencils.  Using foam tape and acetate I created the shaker box within the pop up.

I used the snowflake Border (HO141E) for the sides of the card and navy blue ink.  I punched multiple white snowflakes for the top and bottom borders of the card.  To finish the inside of the card, I stamped the word "Believe" (HO116C) with black ink.

Here is the front of the card:

I used the Pine Tree Small (HO103D), stamping them twice.  I had previously made a (snow mask) with plain copy paper to give the scene a little dimension.  To finish I stamped Let it Snow (HO143C) with navy blue ink, went around the edges with blue ink and finally added some ultra fine glitter to the snow.

Hope you have enjoyed these winter cards.  For more information regarding the stamps that where used, please stop by www.blinedesigns.com.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2016.  Stay warm and enjoy Winter!

Susan

Yvonne Blair Designs Blog Hop

Hello Everyone!  Recently I was asked by Yvonne Blair of Yvonne Blair Designs to participate in a blog hop featuring her fabulous new products.  Of course I said "yes" as I have been enjoying creating with these new products!  My fellow designers and I are creating different projects using Yvonne's Inky Art Journal and her very own new Journal Buddy tool.  I also used some of Yvonne's stamps available through Impression Obsession.  Here is my project:

I was defintely looking to create a journal spread that made me happy each time I looked at it.   This spread definitely "fit the bill" for me as I smile every time I look at it.  It is so easy to do when Yvonne's lovely stamps have such positive messages!

Yvonne's Inky Art Journals come in three sizes - 4" x 6",  4" x 8" and 6" x 8".  I especially LOVE this 4" x 8" journal size as it is also the size of some manila tags.  Therefore, if I completely mess up the page, I can remove it and create a tag with it later.  The manila cardstock pages are so wonderful to work with - very easy to blend colors for backgrounds!

I blended Ranger Squeezed Lemonade and Broken China Distress Inks onto the two page journal spread to create the background base.  I then used Tim Holtz's Textured Impressions Bubble stencil and Broken China Distress Ink,  applying the ink randomly to the background.  Yvonne's Impression Obsession stamps - "Blow Your Worries Away" and "Choose Happy" were stamped onto the pages in Archival Black ink.  I also used Yvonne's Journal Buddy and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to add stenciled "underlines" to the sentiments and to add some added interest to the pages.  Love this look!

As you can see in the above photos, I used Yvonne's "Grunge Circles" stamp to create "bubbles" on the pages.  I stamped my "bubbles" with clear pigment ink and followed up with white embossing powder.  Then I added Ranger's Glossy Accents to the inside of two bubbles to finish the look.   I think they really look like real bubbles!   I wrote the words "fear" and "failure" using a Ranger Fudeball black pen to represent some of the "worries" that need to be blown away!

I stamped the "Single Daisy" 8 times and the "Sm Butterfly Trio"twice onto scrap cardstock, blending Picked Raspberry and Lemonade Distress inks onto the flowers and watercoloring  the butterflies using the new Wilted Violet Distress Ink.  Finally, I cut all the pieces out and set them aside.

I wanted some of the flowers to be in front of the bubbles and others to be behind, so I began by laying out three flowers on the pages and adhering them.  I then re-inked the "Grunge Circles"                stamp and carefully lined up the stamp to the original stamping so that just the outside edge was inked over some of the flower petals.  I then white embossed them so it looks like the bubble is in front of the flowers and followed up with Glossy Accents applied to the inside of the "bubble".

Once the Glossy Accents was dry, I adhered the rest of the Daisies to the pages along with five butterflies.

I hope you have enjoyed my journal pages.  To see more ideas using the Inky Art Journal and the Journal buddy, please visit these other talented ladies' blogs:

Annette Green www.annettescreativejourney.blogspot.com

Candy Colwell www.candycreates.blogspot.com

Cheryl Boglioli www.cherylboglioli.com/blog

Cheryl Grigsby www.cherylspaperartz.blogspot.com

Linda Ledbetter www.lindaledbetter.com

Yvonne Blair www.yvonneblair.com

I can't wait to see what they have created with Yvonne's products!

Now here's the best part!  If you leave a comment on each of our blogs, Yvonne will put all your names in a bowl and draw a winner!  The lucky winner will receive a 4" x 8" Inky Art journal.

If you would like to order Yvonne's journal or the Journal Buddy Tool,  please contact Yvonne at www.yblair1@gmail.com.  She will be happy to help you out!  Her stamps are available through Impression Obsession at 

http://www.iostamps.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=IOSTAMPS&Category_Code=YB

Susan

Juggling Julia

Hello everyone!  I have been so busy lately "juggling" many different things lately but finally decided to take a break and create some play time for myself.  I just received this B Line stamp which fit my mood perfectly, so I decided to sit down and have a little fun making some cards with her.
Here are the results of my play time!

Isn't that the truth!  Sometimes life really can be a juggling act!  I found a circus tent template on line and decided to use it as a background for Julia.  I used Scattered Straw and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks and watercolored the stamped image of Julia. I then used Evergreen Bough for the juggling balls after I had stamped them 5 times onto scrap card stock and cut them out.

I cut the tent pieces out of a heavy double sided patterned paper I had in my stash and adhered them to a piece of white card stock along with banners cut from coordinating card stock scraps.  I stamped out the saying onto scrap white card stock and cut apart the words.  After going around the edges of the words with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, I adhered the words and juggling balls with pop dots.

To finish this piece I added a final banner to the top of the circus tent and a B Line star with a gemstone to the center of the star.  Now my life is perfectly described with this card!

I was having so much fun that I decided to create some more cards using this same stamp.  Just look at the variety and different looks that can be achieved using one central stamp with various sentiment stamps!

.

Now I have a fun birthday card as well as an encouragement card for someone special!

I used  Rhonda Palazzari Crafter's Workshop and Tim Holtz Bubble Layering Stencil for the background of the "fan" card as well as Squeezed Lemonade, Scattered Straw and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks.  It is hard to see on these samples, but I finished all of the cards with some Stickles placed on Julia's outfit.

I hope you can stop "juggling" things in your lives and take some time to play!  It's good for the soul! I know I sure feel better!

Susan

Little Wings Photos

Before Summer slips away from us, I wanted to introduce all of you to my friend Linda Ledbetter's awesome hummingbird photos!

I absolutely adore hummingbirds - they are such amazing little birds with what seems like endless energy.  Unfortunately, I only see an occasional one here in the foothills of Colorado.  They seem to prefer being at higher altitudes, so I have to go to my friend's house up higher to enjoy them!  As I don't have that opportunity very often, the next best thing is to enjoy a gorgeous framed photo of a sweet little guy (I should say "gal") in my house.  Here is my favorite one:

Here is a closer look at it:

Isn't that beautiful!  Linda used an app to give the photo a watercolor look.  I love it.  It makes me smile and be happy to see her every day.

Linda takes these photos in her backyard garden.  She has a tremendous amount of patience to wait for just the right shot!

If you would like to see more of Linda's beautiful photos, head on over to www.lindaledbetter.com and click on the "little wings" icon.

Enjoy!
Susan

Layering Stencil: Monoprint

Here we are at the last challenge for Tim's A Compendium of Curiosities III book - Challenge number 34, Layering Stencil: Monoprint!  It just doesn't seem possible!  The time has flown for me and I have loved every minute!

I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for all your wonderful comments and for playing along with these challenges!  All of you are so talented!  I have SO enjoyed getting to know all of you - even though I haven't met most of you personally, I still feel like I know you.  Hopefully our paths will cross in the future!

Many of you have commented that you have enjoyed the use of my family photos in my artwork.  I have had so much fun incorporating these photos into my projects and have loved creating some wonderful keepsakes for my family along the way.

As I started off with a family photo for one of my first projects, I thought I would finish up with several as well.

You will find this wonderful monoprint technique on Page 48 of the Compendium of Curiosities III book.  You will see that there are actually two different ways to incorporate this technique.  I decided to go for it since it is the last challenge and created two different projects - with each one I have used the technique differently.  Here they are side by side, one tag and one journal page:

As  you can see, both projects are very different, a vintage tag with a photo of my mother-in-law and my very first journal page using bright colors.    First the vintage tag:

This is a photo of my husband's mother, Rosa Maria Cura Mostek.  She is originally from Spain.  This tag project is a tribute to her amazing journey from Spain to the United States shortly after she married.  It is also a way to thank my wonderful husband who has never complained about all the time I spend working on my art and waiting for dinner on more than one occasion when I didn't want to quite working as I was "on a roll".

I started by creating a monoprint on cream card stock with the Flourish Layering Stencil.  While I can't tell you how I did it, I followed the first technique using Broken China, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, and Hickory Smoke Distress Paints and Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I could have kicked myself when I realized I had become so engrossed in the project I forgot to take step-by-step photos, so I took some close-ups of the project.

I created a frame by die cutting Tim's Sizzix Postage Stamp from Grunge Board.  I then added a layer of gesso and added Antique Linen Distress Paint over the top when dry.  I finished my frame by adding Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress inks around the edges.  Once this was completed, I added the photo of my mother-in-law after adding some Vintage Photo ink around the edges.

I adhered my frame to my monoprint tag and then began adding several Idea-ology pieces I had painted with Cracked Pistachio, partially dried and then rubbed off a bit to create a patina.

My mother-in-law fell in love with a young Czech man who escaped from then Czechoslovakia after WWII and came to this country shortly after they were married, not knowing any English or anyone here in this country.  I felt Tim's "Life was meant to be a great Adventure" stamp from the Handwritten Thoughts Stamper's Anonymous set was quite appropriate as well as the Idea-ology Word Band choice.

The "angel" wing from the Idea-ology Adornments: Regal represents Rosa's faith and Guardian Angel watching over her.

I added the crown from the Adornments: Regal as she reminded me a bit of a young Queen Elizabeth.  Lastly, I created a bow from Tim's Crinkle Ribbon, using Antique Linen and Broken China Distress Stains.  I added a Trinket Pin, Jump Ring and Heart Charm with the words "All my Heart" representing her love for my father-in-law.  I finished the project by adhering the finished tag to a piece of Aqua color solid card stock.

Now for the second project.  This is my first first journal page (which I have been dying to start) using a photo of my mother, uncle (in the back) and their cousin.  It always puts a smile on my face as I think of simpler times, a fun picnic and wading in the stream.

Now I definitely don't have a step-by-step of this monoprint technique as that would completely give away the technique.  I can tell you I used Picked Raspberry, Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Dusty Concord and Mermaid Lagoon Paints along with Twisted Citron and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks.  I wanted to leave quite a bit of white on the page as well.

The wonderful sentiment is from Tim's Stamper's Anonymous set Handwritten Thoughts.  Here are a few close-ups:

 Thanks for being patient with my longer than usual blog post.  Hope you have enjoyed both projects.

This final challenge is being sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Linda Coughlin will be offering a $25.00 shopping spree in her online store to the winner of a randomly chosen project.  Tim and Mario  are generously offering a fabulous prize package to the winner of the Curiosity Crew Choice.  A big thank you to all of them for supporting these challenges!

Finally, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to our fearless leader, Linda Ledbetter.  She has done such a wonderful job putting these challenges together and keeping the Curisioty Crew in line!   I feel so honored that I was asked to participate - I have stretched myself so much artistically and had so much fun along the way, especially being associated with all the other terrific gals on the Curiosity Crew!

Now head on over to Linda's website, study the rules and enter your project!  We can't wait to see what you create for this final challenge!

Hugs, Susan