I'm entering my ATC into the following challenge:
I'd love to know what you're holding onto in your stash that you want to use more of! Comment below!
How often have you had different pieces that you weren't sure how to put them together? Did you freeze or did you work through it? Did it work or maybe you're not sure. That happened to me with this and my die-cuts.
I had this ATC that I had smeared gesso on through a stencil, then added color. So I had a base of red and orange to work off of, but I still had to figure out how to add the die-cuts to my liking. Thankfully it worked out well and I really like this ATC.
I've included affiliated links for items I used for this project or similar products. If you click the link I get a small commission. The price does not change at all for you. Enjoy the links and thank you for your support!
What do you like about this ATC? What's your favorite part? I'm so glad that you visited! Come back to visit soon!
I've long admired fabric art journal covers. The change in texture you get from adding fabric. Eas to add pattern, depending on the fabric you choose. The frayed edges as if the fabric was torn instead of cut. It's just lovely and I've always wanted to try it. So finally, I did.
This is a mini journal I made a few years ago for a monthly challenge. I don't have thick fabrics, but I have several patterns. This pattern has a retro vibe with tic-tac-toe symbols. I rough cut a piece that was bigger then the journal cover itself. Then I used my Cutterbee scissors to snip all the sides one at a time and ripped the strips off, creating a frayed edge.
The fabric goes over the edge of the paper, which I think adds to the charm. You can see some paint splotches from the paper I used. I think it looks lovely, and to touch and feel the fabric, it's really so cool.
You can use any fabric you want, though I would suggest a heavier fabric. It could be harder to rip it, but worth the look and feel, for sure!
I've include affiliated links for some items I used for this project or similar products. If you click the link I get a small commission. The price does not change at all for you. Enjoy the links and thank you for your support!
Have you ever considered using fabric? Have you tried it? Is is something you absolutely adore? Comment below!
I really like the first layer of this tag and I'm really curious how it will turn out.
I've include affiliated links for items I used for this project or similar products, as well as other fun items I've included. If you click the link I get a small commission. The price does not change at all for you. Enjoy the links and thank you for your support!
Any ideas on what I can add? What do you think about the color combination? Thank you so much for coming by!
Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying the rest of your weekend. Weekends can be tough. It's a terrific break from regular life, but they can also go by really quickly, right?
Simon Says Stamp has a new challenge, with is Thankful. I do my best to be thankful, for all the things in my life. Even the challenges are good because those are opportunities to discover new ways of thinking or come up with new ideas. And of course, Thanksgiving is coming up, which reminds us all to be thankful for not only the good things, but the challenges.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge
I made an art journal page for this theme, and it's kinda funny. My art journal has a lot of mop up pages. Sometimes that helps me, sometimes it can block me. Other times it can inspire me, but I add back in detail I really like. In this case, I was going to keep part of it, then changed my mind and covered it up, but added back in details. I had stenciled some red stars from a Dylusions stencil, but covered it up with more paint to make my spread. I added it back in after composing my page and I think I really like the results.
The numbers in the purple are leftovers from the mop up, but I covered everything else, though I hadn't planned to. I combined Liquitex Titanium White with Liquitex Bright Aqua Green, and covered the left area with just the white. Then I added Artist's Loft Neon Green and some Artist's Loft Orange mixed with white to add some more interest.
I added a strip of washi tape, spots of Heidi Swapp Number Rub-ons, and traced a Viewfinder stencil with a red Tombow marker. The TO is Heidi Swapp Alpha Stickers with Dylusions Calypso Teal Color Spray. I used a journaling card from my stash, swiped some orange paint on the edges, then used Archival black ink with a small stamp set from my stash for WEEK. I used an alphabet stamp set with Distress Ink Festive Berries for SAY and the "thank you" is from an American Crafts Thickers set called Wild. The star is from a gelli printing session complete with doodles from both a Sharpie pen and a water-based white Sharpie paint marker.
I hope you enjoyed my art journal page as much as I did making it. Are there any challenges you're thankful for this year? What else are you grateful for this year?
Hello once again my crafty friends!
I'm so glad you're visiting today! I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.
Day 5 - Commit
For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here. And Rae's Instagram account here shows what's she's making for each prompt. For those just tuning in, I'm working in a mini art journal I made out of envelopes, but you can use many different things, including scrap or underpaper, so some pages already had stuff on them. A hole punch and some baker's twine and a mini art journal is born!
I'm planning to post all of my pages, though some may be individual pages and some may be in groups.
All of the Art Marks prompts are making me think. Think about what the prompt means, not just to me, but in general. Committing is big; you're promising something, even if it's just to yourself, for the long haul. You can commit to training for a physical challenge, commit to education, commit yourself to family, or make a commitment to yourself.
But underlying any commitment is keeping the promise to keep doing it. Even this challenge is in a sense a commitment, even though it's supposed to be fun and there's not exactly any consequence for not finishing it. However, something I've committed myself to in my own life is improving my financial situation. I know, people aren't supposed to talk money in polite company, but I think this is something we can all relate to in some way. And I lie helping my friends, when I can. I like to consider you all my friends. That's why I'm sharing my artwork, and maybe a little money talk to help us both. Committing myself to improving my financial situation involves a couple side hustles. And I'm guessing we all either have one or have thought about one at some point.
In the spirit of helping you, my friends, I want to share a couple things with you. Both are great, but take work. One is Cliqly.
Super simple, You log in, spend 10 minutes sending e-mails, earning click
commissions. If you include your referral link,
you can also earn referral commission. No scams, honest. Anyone can do this, no tech
experience needed. I mess around with art, not making money. The other avenue is being an Amazon affiliate. I share the products I love to use with you and I make a small commission on sales, without a price difference for you. So thank you!
There's a lot going on in my background, so I'll go step by step. First I made circles using my Sakura solid paint markers in blue and neon orange. Next I sponged teal paint through a piece of punchinella. Here's an example of what punchinella can look like when you purchase it.
After the punchinella, I traced a few letters through a stencil I have that looks like something you'd get for school supplies, and I sponged blue paint through the circle and star of a Dina Wakley stencil called The Basics.
I added several details with my Sharpie pen. The girl is actually a combination of a stamp set and a digi image. The head and body are come from a Dylusions stamp set called Mini Moo that I colored with Tombow dual-tip watercolor markers.
Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my art journal page. Bye for now!
Hello again!! Who's ready for another adventure? How about a little tease...
I love mini art journals. There's less pressure and excellent for playing when you're short on time, even if you're using wet media, like paint. This month Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene are doing an Art Marks Challenge. You can start any time, do one day, do the whole month, whatever works for you. And use whatever size journal you want. Rae has these marvelous little cards that she plays one, one for each day. Easy for those short on time and wanting to make some art. For the Art Marks Challenge, there's a word every day to ponder and create art with, or around, or about, whatever suits you.
For some history about the Art Marks Challenge, you can click here. And to see what Rae is doing for the project, you can head to her Instagram account here. I made a little book from envelopes. Yes, you read that right. I grabbed 8 envelopes, punched holes in the middle of the long sides, then used baker's twine to tie them all together. For those of us still learning about actual bookbinding, this very rudimentary method works wonders!
So I have done some of the prompts, and I'll be posting multiple days in between other projects to give you my interpretation of the prompts.
A little housekeeping to get out of the way, while also educating you and sharing this with you. It's related to art and not related to art, now that makes sense! Obviously most art supplies cost money, and we could all use more of that, right? I have a couple different methods I use to do just that! One is so super easy I was thinking, no way this is for reals! But it is! And I've seen the numbers change while I'm doing it! It's a simple e-mail system called Cliqly. The system is provided for you, you do everything from the site and it takes 10 minutes a day!! It's so easy and has two ways to make money. It works like this: sign up and you get a list of 5,000 leads to e-mail with credits put into your account. You also do what's called list building, which means you send out e-mails and anyone who clicks the links gets added to your list. Your list literally grows every day. You earn click commissions, as is someone clicks the link you get s small commission. In the e-mails you can also add your own referral link, which you get when you sign up. That's the big dollar signs. So what you're saying-yes, what I'm saying is it's easy, dare a I say fun, and can make you money for a short amount of time, score! So by all means, please, you can follow this link if you want a super easy way to get a some extra cash.
I'm also an Amazon affiliate, which means if you follow some of the links here and purchase products, I'll get a commission. I would certainly appreciate it, and it helps me bring you all this artsy goodness. I want you to be able to create what I'm creating as best I can. So that's why I link to as many of the products as I can. I often see something that inspires me and knowing the products helps me so much! Now your project won't look exactly like mine, and that's okay! That's what make every piece unique. So the links are my way of helping you put your unique spin on the artwork. And with that, on to the show!
These are the first two days of the Art Marks Challenge. I've linked to as many products as I could find, however, some may no longer be available.
Day 1 is Begin.
To make the background, I used a flat brush, the center one in this set, and my finger to spread around three different colors: Artist Loft Neon Green and Liquitex Basics in Light Green and Aqua Green. Very technical with my finger, absolutely. To make the actual book, I used supplies I had on hand, envelopes from the mail. Yes, you heard me. You can use anything, really. I've used underpaper, patterned paper I no longer love, scraps, as long as they're long enough to fold in half, they're fodder. My binding method isn't super technical either at the moment. I used a single hole punch (here's some great options, mine is the silver one with the attached tray under the hole; very important!) to punch two holes through eight envelopes and used one of my favorite supplies to tie them together: baker's twine.
Once the paint was dry, I added my elements. I thought about the word begin, and what it means. One way is every day is a new beginning, so I followed that train of thought. I used a big die-cut from my stash, black cloth Thickers alphabet stickers (the design is called Doll) from American Crafts, same font as these American Craft Glitter Thickers, and a heart sticker from this set of Pinkfresh Studios Stickers. I also used other supplies including an acrylic alphabet stamp set for "every." The triangles are from a stamp set by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. On the top die-cut, I used a Uni Posca Red Paint Marker Ultra Fine to write the word "EVER." Those paint markers come in at least two different points, ultra fine and medium, and I've got colors in both. I love paint markers. I find them a great method of adding color without having to wait a huge long time for the paint to dry. They come in a huge variety of colors, and different tips to cover all your crafty needs!
The bottom border is a stamp from a stamp set made by a Polish company called Badass Art Stamps. I had a subscription at one point ad have several sets. Some have cursing, I will warn you, but they're beyond funny and the style is so stinking cool! I of course used my black Sharpie pen and my white out pen, similar to these, to add some more details and called it done!
Day 2 is Decide.
For this page I started with a red Sakura Solid Paint Marker for the background. I didn't do full coverage on purpose. I also used a older Dylusions alpha stencil in two ways. I used a makeup sponge to add some yellow acrylic paint through the stencil, as well as using my Sharpie to trace letters through the stencil.
Depending on the kind of paint you use you'll get more or less coverage. It also depends on the effect you're going for, and I will get into that at some other point. My yellow paint is student quality, so pretty transparent, which I really like here.
The words "can't decide" is from a mini alphabet stamp set similar to this one and a little cat's eye shaped ColorBox Pigment Ink Pad in blue. And therein lies another aspect: different types of stamping ink. To give you a few: dye, pigment, embossing. Another topic I will get into later, so stay tuned!
I used a couple die-cuts from my stash, and a stamp set from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer for the blue and black circles. The "I'm" are white American Crafts Foam Thickers.
Thank you for much for visiting! Bye for now!
I am so sorry I have been absent without a word. Life can definitely get busy and sometimes unexpected events lead to adjustments. I will b...
