May ATC Challenge - Tea Party

I'm running really behind in posting on my blog. Between my computer acting up, my granddaughter getting her first illness (which was scary with the heart defect - she is fine now!), going out of town, and just life in general, time has gotten away from me!

At any rate, May's ATC Challenge, hosted by Blue Twig Studio,  was Tea Party. I made two cards. The first was a collage.

Can You Lend Your Ear? ATC Card, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Collage on multimedia paper.

I layered the background with Dylusions Spray Inks through a couple of stencils. Then I added a photo of a tea cup with a fairy peeking around a column under the moonlight that I cut from a fantasy magazine, adding steam to the cup with a micron pen. Finally, I added a piece of Washi tape with a teapot that says, "I'm just very lucky. Can you lend your ear for a while?" 

The second ATC card was from a favorite nursery rhyme:

I'm a Little Teapot. ATC Card, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", Watercolor pencils on multimedia paper.

I found a free clip art with a picture of this vintage teapot. I drew and painted it using Derwent watercolor pencils.  I'm a Little Teapot was one of my favorite nursery rhymes as a child. I taped two 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" cards together with Washi tape featuring music. I painted the background blue with Derwent watercolor pencils and wrote out the I'm a Little Teapot nursery rhyme. The "I'm a Little Teapot" ATC card opens up like a tiny book, featuring the nursery rhyme inside.

Inside of "I'm a Little Teapot" ATC card.

The ATC Challenge is taking a break for a couple of months. I will let you know when it restarts! 

Keep creating!

Lynnita

Week 17 - Weekly Art Challenge - Painted Canvases

This week for my weekly art challenge I started a couple of canvases. I had planned to use them for April's Design Team project for Blue Twig Studio. Once they were dry, I just wasn't sure what direction to head, so decided to do something else for the review (see upcoming post, dated May 7, 2015).

For the first canvas, I drizzled several acrylic colors onto the blank canvas. Then I took a piece of plastic wrap and placed over the canvas. After smooshing (very complicated artistic technique!) the paint over the canvas, I allowed the paint to dry with the plastic wrap still laying on the canvas. This is the result after peeling the plastic wrap off the dried, painted canvas.

Textured Abstract, 8"x10" board canvas, metallic acrylics in blue, peacock, lime green, yellow, pink, wine, and purple.

I love the texture the plastic wrap creates. Surprisingly, mud isn't usually created when mixing the paints in this serendipitous manner. I plan to add more layering to this canvas to create a mixed-media painting. I'm just not sure what direction I want to take, yet.

When I peeled the plastic wrap off the above canvas, I noticed that the paint in the wrinkles of the plastic wrap was still wet. So I took a 2nd canvas and laid the plastic wrap on top of it, smoothing the wrinkles out. Again, once the paint was dry, I peeled off the plastic wrap, resulting in this canvas.

Ink Blot, 8"x10" watercolor canvas. Wet paint left on plastic warp.

This left a lot of white still on the canvas (although it looks pink in the photo), but the texture and abstractness of the paint is unique! It's almost like an ink blot. What do you see? I found a horse grazing in a field and also a dragon soaring in the sky, looking down at some interesting speck on the ground. This reminds me of looking at clouds to see what shapes they make and creating stories about them. I'm not sure what I will create with this - the horse, the dragon, or something else entirely - but I think it's a great way to start a painting.


Keep creating!
Lynnita

February ATC Challenge - From the Heart

This month's ATC challenge theme is "From the Heart" (see Blue Twig Studio post).  I enjoyed working on the two cards I made for this theme.

Hearts and Feathers - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" - Silks acrylic glaze,
handmade paper, feathers from my chickens, a giant
rhinestone, and Signo uni-ball white gel pen on Bristol paper.

I first painted the Bristol paper using Love Struck Silks acrylic glaze. Then I added a piece of black handmade paper. It was painted abstractly with metallic reds, golds, pinks and white. Using a white Signo uni-ball gel pen, I added the quote, "A heart without dreams is like a bird without feathers" by author Susy Kassam. Finally, I embellished the card with a brown speckled feather and a white and black feather that my chickens had lost.and a giant rhinestone.

Hearts and Treasure - 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" - Silks acrylic
glaze, 05 black Sakura Microperm pen, hot-fixed
crystals, and a giant rhinestone on Bristol paper.

My second ATC card was also painted with Silks acrylic glazes in Fire Opal and Emperor's Gold colors. Using a 05 black Sakura Microperm pen, I added the Bible verse "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21. Then I hot-fixed crystals in 3mm AB and 4mm topaz, and 5mm gold squares. Last, I added a giant rhinestone.

I enjoy creating these small works of art. They are quick to do, fun, and a great way to experiment with different techniques and materials. Think about joining us. You only need to make one card!


Keep creating!
Lynnita

Week 6 - Weekly Art Challenge - Blended Photos

I'm late posting my Week 6 art challenge. I'm hoping life will return to a normal routine soon. We finally got to bring our granddaughter home from the hospital on Wed, after spending her first 2 1/2 weeks of life in the neonatal ICU at the hospital. She was a preemie - born a month early. She's doing well now and steals the hearts of everyone who has seen her. The nurses and doctors were wonderful! We are working on a signature quilt for her - the medical staff were so happy to sign a block for her. Waiting on a few more people to finish their blocks, but I'll post a photo of the quilt when it's finished.

With spending so much time at the hospital, I didn't get to do any painting, so worked on blended photos on my tablet. I focused on blending photos of my grandchildren with nature scenes that I had taken. I'm still learning what all I can do with the photo-editing program, Pixlr.   

Photo of a foggy winter morning in Ohio highlighting a bare tree, blended with a closeup of our new granddaughter's face. A heart overlay was added. The face is difficult to see after the blending, but I like the overall effect.

An Arizona sunset with a starry night overlay blended with the same photo of our new granddaughter's face. A border of swirls was overlayed. This blended photo makes me think of her dreaming of  all the possibilities for her life - "the skies the limit"! 

Photo of a palmetto leave taken at a quilt retreat in CA last year blended with a photo of our 9-month old grandson. Added an overlay of  'xoxo' and a border of a key variation. He looks cute peeking through the individual leaves.

Some of my photos came out interesting and some not so good, but it's fun to try to blend very different photos, as well as similar photos. I like the various effects that can be created by blending photos. I still have much to learn, but it sparks my creativity. Eventually, I'd like to print some of the blended photos to use in mixed-media artwork and some to turn into quilts. I have more exploring to do before first!

Keep creating!

Lynnita

  

Blue Twig Studio - Dec Review of Products and Project Step-Outs

As part of Blue Twig Studio's Design Team, I will be reviewing products and doing at least one project each month. For the month of December, I am reviewing the November Fabric Club Kit.

Products  Reviewed and Used for Project:

Blue Twig Studio's November Fabric Club Kit. 

Included in the November Fabric Club Kit:

1. Five fat quarters (18" x 22") of Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements fabric line. 
• Two are a snakeskin design, one in blacks and the other in brown shades. 
• The third has various streets, such as 179 Times Square, P'kway Queens Plaza, Metropolitan Av, 8th Coney Island, Kings Highway in shades of browns and tans.
• The fourth piece are logos of various hotels around the world in tans, grays, and browns. Examples are the Ritz Barcelona, Hotel Barker in Seattle Washington, Hotel Merkur in Nurnberg, Hotel Mount Everest in Darjeeling, India, Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and so forth., 
• The last piece has various numbers and fractions, going in different directions in shades of tans and browns.
2. Two 125 yard spools of Heavy Dual Duty XP Coats and Clark polyester thread in chocolate brown and black. 
3. Three 1 1/2" four-hole wood buttons with mottled shading of tans, rusts, and browns. 

Other products that I used to create my project (a 8" x 10" wall hanging) include:

     *  A 6"x6" three-quarter face view stencil by Artist Cellar, designed by Jane Davenport. (Could use any stencil.)

     

     *  Jacquard Textile Paint in 123 White. You could use gesso or any other paint brand. I used the Jacquard, as I had been using it for another project and already had it out and easily available.

     *  The shimmering gold acrylic ink from a Daler-Rowney FW Shimmering Colours Set of Acrylic Artists Ink.  (Could use another brand of shimmering or glittery paint.)

     *  Other fabrics including gold lame, silver lacy tulle, and brown tulle. These add texture and interest. (Any fabrics could be added.)

     *  Wine and yellow silk threads fibers. (Any fibers could be use , i.e. Angelina fibers, fancy yarns, wool felt… Also could add hand-stitching to for texture and interest.)

      *  Timtex interfacing.  Timtex is 100% polyester for consistent thickness and texture. It's firm yet flexible. It's perfect for shaping into 3-D craft projects. It's easy to cut, mark and sew. Machine wash and dry. It can be bought in packages or by the yard. (Could use any interfacing, batting, a piece of flannel, or canvas.)

Project Step-Out:

I first cut a piece of Timtex interfacing to size (8" x 10"). Then I used the street name fabric to cover the back of the timtex. I folded the edges around to the front and stitched them down with the black Coats and Clark thread included in the kit. Next I added a label that I hand-wrote with a black 0.03 micron. Sakura pen and stitched that into the lower right-hand corner of the back of the wall hanging.

Back of 8" x 10" wall hanging with "Faces" label.

Now I was ready to create my wall hanging. I laid out pieces of all five fabrics in various sizes to create a collage and stitched these to the front. I didn't put the fabrics in any particular order. I added part of the selvage edges to show they were Tim Holtz's fabrics, and also, just for fun.

Step 1. Collage of all five fabrics stitched randomly to the front.

I fused a piece of the lacy silver tulle and three flame-shaped strips of gold lame to the collage. Then, I stenciled the three-quarter view face stencil using Jacquard textile white paint. I added the hair with more white paint and a brush.

Step 2. Add gold lame and silver tulle. Stencil face and paint hair.

 She needed some more color, so I chose the shimmering gold DR acrylic artists ink to add gold eye shadow and gold to her hair. It looks better in the collage, as you can see the gold shimmer, which the camera did not pick up well.

Step 3. Painted gold shimmering acrylic ink to the eyelids and hair.

I sewed on the buttons for a necklace. Then I added metallic beads in various sizes (6, 8, 11) on either side of a large raku face bead for a barrette in her hair. Finally, I laid out various strands of a variety of neutral colors of pearl cotton and couched them with three small Chinese coins and size 11 beads.

Step 4. Attach buttons, beads, pearl cotton and Chinese coins.

 Finally, I used an awl to punch 3 holes in the top, attaching a small 10" mesquite branch (about 1/2" in diameter) with gold ribbon for the hanger of the wall hanging.

Final mixed-media, collaged wall hanging, 8" x 10". 

Product Review:

I was thrilled to receive the November Fabric Club Kit, as I love Tim Holtz's Eclectic Element fabric line and haven't had a chance to buy any of his fabrics, as I could not find them at any local quilt stores in the Phoenix, AZ area. I think fabrics with words and numbers are such fun to create tote bags, messenger bags, and/or purses. But better yet, they work well for collage quilts, modern quilts, backgrounds for pictorial quilts, and/or mixed-media art work. I created an 8" x 10" mixed-media wall hanging with the kit. I have enough fabric left to make a small quilt or a small purse. I'll let you know what I create when I get to it. (With upcoming holidays, it will be a few months.)

I had a problem with the buttons that you need to be aware of. They can NOT be sewn on by machine, as the hole spacing is wider than the industry standard for buttons. I'm glad I always check the hole spacing before I just hit sew, or I would have broken a needle and possibly thrown off the machine's timing. A note with the buttons stating that they have a wider hole spacing than the industry standard for buttons would have been nice. So beware when buying buttons to check the hole spacing before just stitching on your sewing machine! 

The thread states "heavy", but I could not find the size (30wt, 40wt, 50wt?) on the spool anywhere. My 80/12 needle worked, but the 90/14 was better. To hand-sew the buttons, I had to use a larger hand-needle than I normally use for hand-stitching, as well. A size 9 worked well.  Again, it would be nice to have the size of thread put on the label, so you are not guessing what size needles (machine or hand) to use with it. (I did use both the brown and black threads for sewing the project.)

This wall hanging can be seen at Blue Twig Studio after Dec 3rd. I hope these step-outs give you some direction to take for your own  mixed-media, collaged wall-hanging.

Keep creating!

Lynnita