Cigar Box Purse + Marion Smith Paper FUN!!

Today I have a super fun project over at Eclectic Paperie! I love cigar boxes, in fact, if I see one at Goodwill or any thrift store, I pretty much have to buy it!!  And when I saw the Marion Smith Motley Paper, I just KNEW it was perfect for my latest cigar box find!!!  This paper is A-MAZING!! Seriously, it almost went into the 'don't cut that paper because it is too awesome pile' that I have, but I put on my big girl panties and cut and ripped right into it - and I am so glad I did!

 Now I have the cutest little travel box for my watercolors!!  I actually carried them up to the pool with me this weekend in my 'new' box!!  Just perfect!

This is how it started, it already had the cool bead handle - I can't take credit for that!!

 I cut up the paper and distressed it with Wendy Vecchi Dandelion and regular brown Archival Ink.

I glued and sealed the paper with my new Dina Wakely Gel Medium!! (Love that it comes in a tube because it was SUPER easy to squeeze on where I wanted it to go!!)  I added some more distressing to the edges and stencils with ink and then I was done!! I really wanted to add more, because I always do, but I kept it simple!! And I love it!!

I hope you enjoyed my project!  Make sure to check out the Marion Smith paper - so beautiful!!!

eclectic Paperie and Add a Little Dazzle Blog Hop (Day 2)

Welcome to our joint blog hop with Add a Little Dazzle. We are so excited to partner with them and have had so much fun playing with their products.  They have a beautiful collection of metal sheets, in a variety of colors, that are perfect for mixed media projects. Yesterday we had an exciting line up of designers who showcased eclectic Paperie Products and Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets.  Today the inspiration continues with more amazing projects. It’s so much fun to see all the beautiful creations and we are excited to share another exciting day with you. Go ahead and come on in to Day 2 of our blog hop and make sure to enter for a chance to win an amazing prize.

Missed Day 1? Visit Eclectic Paperie and Add a Little Dazzle to check out Day 1 of the Blog Hop!

First we’d like to share a little bit about the two companies…

eclectic Paperie is a different breed of craft store, conceived as more than just a place where you can purchase supplies, we believe in the strength of collaboration, in coming together and sharing with like-minded crafters. Our goal is to offer a mixed media marketplace where a generation of artists can congregate, explore, imagine, and inspire one another.

We specialize in an exclusive line of craft metal sheets that helps you take your crafting to the next level. Whether you are a seasoned or new crafter, our craft metal sheets will help you create unique projects that will make you stand out among the crowd. Are you ready to take your crafting to the next level? Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets will help you turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Prize Alert!

Make sure to stop by and visit each of the Design Team Blogs for a chance to win 1 of 2 prize packages from eclectic Paperie and Add a Little Dazzle  valued at $25.  You have until Friday, June 27th to enter.  The winners will be announced on both blogs on Saturday, June 28th.  You must leave a comment on all blogs.

So Are You Ready for Some Amazing Inspiration?

Here is my Hummingbird Canvas - made with Add A Little Dazzle Metal Sheets!

Here is a close-up of my metal hummingbird!

 

I used tissue paper in my printer for another project a couple of weeks ago.  I had this quote leftover and thought it also worked for my Hummingbird.  I used gel medium on the back of the tissue paper to adhere it to the metal.  Next time I might keep less paper around the words to make it look more like I printed onto the metal!

I started the whole project by gluing the black sheet of metal down to my canvas with Helmar 450.   Then I traced the bird out of metal - it was exceptionally easy to cut!!  I used the Helmar 450 to glue the parts of the bird together!!  When I wanted to make the word strip, I decided to try 'ripping' the metal, again SO easy and it looks amazing!! 

I doodled with a white pen and dabbed paint around the edges!

I hope you enjoyed my project!! Make sure to visit all our Blog Hop Projects!!  Here is an extra list of today's hoppers!!



Sue Carrington - http://stampingsuestyle.blogspot.com/
Monica Weaver - www.addalittledazzle.com
Karen Crossen - http://ijustneedmoreglue.blogspot.com/
Cathy Parlitsis -  www.StampsAndScrapbooks.com
Julia Aston - http://www.createwithjulia.blogspot.com/
Mary Ann Maldonado - http://lumpbumpandclump.blogspot.com/
Micki Harper - http://artfulxpressions.net/
Vicki-  www.allidoisstamp.blogspot.comBroni Holcombe - http://bronih.typepad.com/splashesofwatercolor/

Today I have little project over at Linnie Blooms!! Here is how I used Linnie Blooms Stencils and my watercolors to create this little fun piece for my mini clipboard!  It was so easy to use the stencils to make my drawing and then color it in!!

 I started sketching and tracing flowers with my Linnie Blooms Flutter and Bloom stencil and mask set.  (I started it in the evening, so sorry about the dark picture!)

I used my favorite watercolors to color the shapes -  Magenta Quinacridone  and Cobalt Turquoise by Windsor and Newton!

And my two favorite greens (Viridian and SAP Green) for the stem!  Then I doodled and stamped to finish off my watercolor piece!

I painted some turquoise chevron onto a piece of Crate Paper scrapbook paper for the background. When it was dry, I glued down the flower!! 

And here is my final piece!!  I attached it to my mini-clipboard and sat it up on the table next to my desk!!  I love it!  The stencils gave me great shapes and I didn't even have to worry about messing up my lines - Linnie stencils made them  for me!!   

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! I hope you have a wonderful summer week full of creativity and fun!!! 

 - Karen

Working hard - Summertime Style!

I always forget how busy summertime is when the girls are not in school.  My art time is seriously cut down and when I do have time, my girls are trying to 'help' me!  I love that they are loving art too but it really turns into artsy chaos with paint and glue!!

This is just a little piece that I made with half circle wooden piece.  It just turned out so simple and cute!!  I am in love!!

Next time the girls and I have an artsy afternoon, I will take pics of what our artsy chaos looks like around here!!  - Karen

Silly and Whimiscal Summer Evenings

Here is my project for the Linnie Blooms design team challenge project this month.  The challenge is to use Linnie Bloom Stencils/Masks and Canvas to show a favorite outdoor activity.  And one of my favorite parts of summer are the fun evenings that we spend outside with our kids and our friends.  I adore how the kids run around and ride bikes, play games and end up sitting on the driveway doodling with chalk and talking. 

 

  When I was overseas last fall, I found a stamp of dancing kids and fell in love with it!  It just portrays our summer evenings perfectly and these nights are definitely my favorite outdoor activity. So I made this canvas for the challenge, it is a little silly and a little whimsical!

 I started with Linnie Bloom Canvas Trees.  I used acrylic paint and 'spouncer' brushes to dab on the green paint.  I started with a lighter green.

Then I added some dabs of a little bit darker green.

I let the green dry and then added a yellow ocre and titan buff for the trunk and branches.

For the final layer I added dabs of a darker blue-green on top.

I took out a larger 10x13 canvas and painted around the edge with blue and white. 

As I was imagining the background, I just wanted to make a sunset.  So I took out some watercolor paper and my watercolors and tried to paint the colors of the evening.  While it was still damp I sprinkled on some salt for a fun texture effect.

Next, I worked on all the fun little bits that I wanted to add to the canvas.  I printed out the text on tissue paper, so that it would be almost transparent on the canvas.

I was also a little chicken and afraid to stamp right on the watercolor canvas.  So I stamped on the white tissue paper too.

 I added some fun scrapbook paper for bunting and glued the paper down to the canvas.

I put all the pieces together gluing them down with matte medium.

I used some leftover Linnie Blooms burlap for the bunting.  Seriously, don't throw out all your scraps, you never know when you are going to use it!  I added some doodles and shading to finish off the project!

So I hope you enjoy my summer evenings canvas.  I think we might just end up outside tonight!! 

- Karen

 One of my favorite ways to create texture is to paint fabric with gesso.  The fabric becomes stiff and also becomes a canvas that you can work with!  When I heard Andie's challenge was fabric over at the Eclectic Paperie, I was super excited because I just LOVE to gesso fabric and I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to try!

I started with white cotton fabric.  Squirt on the gesso and spread around a thin layer.  I use a credit card or room key card to make a super thin layer without brush strokes!

I also gesso'ed a couple of other fabrics just to play around - they will make fantastic canvases later on!

I hung them up to dry.

Then I took out my inspiration piece.  I found two of these Peony plates at Goodwill - awesome find!! But two plates, just didn't work for me on the wall.  So I thought I could create a little canvas to become the 3rd 'plate!'  I used a 6x6 canvas, that are not gesso'ed, to start with a cream color!

I found a piece of scrap paper to create a background and glued it down and covered it with clear gesso, so we could see the patterns.  When it was dry, I ended up mixing titan buff color paint and acrylic glazing to coat it with a transparent color!

When the gesso'ed fabric was dry, I painted the fabric with colors to match my plates. Once dry, the fabric easily tears into strips.

Using Helmar 450 adhesive and the fabric, I played around until I made ruffled circles that looked like flowers! I glued them down and placed unpainted yellow fabric in the middle! 

Then I cut out green leaves and I tried to match the leaf shapes to the ones on the plate. Even plain, they looked pretty.  I used more paint and my white gel pen to create the details to make them pop!

I doodled, found an amazing quote, "Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live" and finished off the project!

(And now I need to make something to go with my Russian Doll Canvas too....)

So now, go play with fabric!! I promise you, fabric is amazing to use with mixed media projects!! Come and join the EPlay challenge!!

-Karen