Saturday, July 9, 2011

Making my own Paper Embellishments

My 'house' has been used in several Fan projects, like this one by Roberta of Decorables Greeting Cards and Art
Bottom Right - Paper house used in 4 tile set which was created for an auction.
The house has been decorated with pigment inks and watercolors. Tim Holtz hardware was added as well.

Painting for the Theater

Sometimes I like to paint things on a 'larger' scale. 

Painting the props and scenery was quite the undertaking.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

My Blog Hop Entry for Creative EdVentures!

WELCOME TO my ART STUDIO!

You should have arrived from Christine Patton's blog and when you are finished visiting with me here, don't forget to comment on my blog, hopefully become one of my followers, and then RETURN to the Creative EdVentures HomePage to Comment and be eligible for our prizes!



A scrapbooker I am not. However, an artist I am. You won't find a die cutting machine in my studio, or rows of punches;bolts of fabrics, my own handmade paper, different molds I have made for a variety of mediums, would describe  my surroundings better. The purpose of this blog for me is to show an example of one of Sue Miller's stamps and be a part of this wonderful Hop. 

Here are the my entries for the Creative EdVenture Blog Hop.  I loved the images and wanted to make 2 projects. I love the image,  Wishing you the Breath,and I adapted it in two ways:
Here is the first.


Shadowboxes are fun, and offer so many possibilities!
How Did I Do It?
I found a cardboard box, and thought wouldn't this be cool to cover w/ glitter. Well I found the glitter paper already made up. I made a pattern and traced  and turned the paper over to cut from the back to get a nice clean cut with an exacto knife. I cut all the pieces for the inside and out, and a piece for the back as well. I poked two holes in the top and added grommets for additional support for the cording if desired to be hung.                                                                                                                                                        TIP:if you want a good cut, use a sharp blade, which really means changing out every few cuts. Make your largest cuts first. If you run out of material, sometimes you can piece together a small cut that won't be seen.  
Next I found some snow flakes I liked, and put them in a pile for possible items to use. Found the red textured and glitter branch, I trimmed up, and glued down at the end on the box.. this gave me a good idea what would be covered up, when the image was inside the box. I used mostly colored pencils to color the image. I did use finger nail polish over the eyes to make them pop. Some cosmetic blush was used along with the pencils to keep a nice soft look.  Having a hard time with my hands I decided to cut them out another pair, shape them, and mount them to be holding a pearl, that is to look like snowball. I found a Christmas tree brad, that was slid through the paper. A snowman can be made out of polymer clay. It started in all white, and I colored it with markers. The snowman was made round, and I used a finger nail file to sand him down flat in the back, before I glued him down, so he would sit better on the card stock. Experimentation is the key to doing projects like that. Before I used anything on my original I test it on a duplicate. It's very disappointing to find ink running, when you down to the last  detail and ruin an entire project.  The two images are just a little different with the photography, but are the same piece.

And here is my second:

Growing up in Germany brought a certain awareness on how charming handmade ornaments can be. Wanting to recreate that type of look and combine a modern image is  how this came about.  Start with some florist wire, and shape into desired image. Can tape in several places to secure wire. Next find pipe cleaners, eyelash yard, or something you want to cover the wire with. Depending what I use, I normally use a tacky glue to hold the fiber down every  few inches.  Next I came back with some antique Christmas balls and used a wire to wrap and secure them on the frame.  Going through a stash of vintage items, I found some old wire off another Christmas item, and a glittered star that was missing some of the sparkle from prior years.  I did add some gold  glitter glue in the center and proceeded with Martha Stewart's glitter pens in 2 colors to define the edge of the star more before gluing  it to the bell shape.  I painted the image before cutting it out, with Jones Tones, and other acrylic paints for the teal color on the card stock. The face was done in the same manner as the above my other image.  The heart under her eyelid was painted in metallic paint before adding on top a glitter paint.  Next the silver and white pom pom was added.  Her collar was made from what looked to be an old piece of metal. First I antiqued black, but didn't care for it. Next with the Jones Tones, I did a wash on the other side. Remembered some of the techniques from sewing and made notches and curved the metal to form a collar on her outfit.  The white feathers, were trimmed, and a bit tricky to put down. I used white glue and waited for the right stage of tack before laying them down, and they were trimmed when  they were secured.  Once this was dry, I started to cut the image out, and place on the star with the metal crimped wire going over her in different directions just like the old ornaments were made.  





So please remember to 
1. Leave a comment here, 
2. Please become a Follower of my blog 
3. Return to the Creative EdVentures Blog Post and LEAVE A MESSAGE THERE to qualify for one of our wonderful prizes!


Remember to check out the amazing deals Queen Kat has for us in honor of this Blog Hop - 40% off all of Sue Miller's Stamps and a FREE GIFT with your order  if you mention you are from our Hop!


Thank you so much for stopping by, 
Cindy


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Preparing for a Blog Hop

I am really looking forward to the Creative EdVentures Blog Hop this weekend.  It should be lots of fun and there will be some great prizes to be won.
I'm not saying what I'm making yet -- it will have to be a surprise.