Trying to Get 3 Pieces Into our Local Art Show

Here are 3 pieces that I'm trying to get into our local Art Show. I have to take them in to be juried on Saturday. The show is only 1 week and just for artists in our town. They are all framed 8x10 with a 5x7 opening.

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I hesitated posting these because they photograph so HORRIBLY!!! If anyone out there has any tips for trying to photograph iridescent and two-tone mediums, I'd appreciate it!!

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The flower piece has been shown here before unframed. It photographed well, I'm sure, because of the non-glare glass. The other 2 are covered in acrylic (extra glare) AND are very shimmery - double whammy.

They really are much prettier in person!

We'll see if any of them make it! :)

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Flower prints. (Osteospurnum, to be exact) Canvas board with Color Mists and acrylic paint.

Grape leaf prints. Starburst Stains, Moon Glow Shadow Mists, and acrylic paint on watercolor paper.

Grape leaf prints. Starburst Stains, Color Mists, and Lumiere and "regular" acrylic paint.

Nice picture of me taking the picture......yes?!?? :)

11x14 Paper Collage on Stretched Canvas

She's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!!!!

Yes, I'm still here. It has been "Fast and Furious" lately. End of school is roaring towards us like an unmanned freight train! Whew!!

I have been able to sneak in some art here and there. I have had a couple of "play dates" with my Mom and her friend, Anita. We have had some fun acrylic paint sessions. Mom and Anita are watercolorists normally and have really been enjoying some of the "freedoms" of the acrylic medium! :)

I dabbled around with staining some papers (a la Carrie Burns Brown) and actually completed a collage piece. It is an 11x14 inch stretched canvas. Base layer of acrylic glazes and then 2 layers of the stained papers over that. Sealed with Satin Medium and Creative Imaginations Super Seal (aka PYMII). The diamond-shaped 3D embellishment is a UTEE tile that I made quite a while ago. [Yay! I used something I made!! :) :)]

I painted the wooden frame with 2 layers of acrylic paint. (custom color a la Susan) :)

If you have not seen any of Carrie Burns Brown's work, I highly recommend her DVD!!! She has a wonderful sense of color and composition.

I may enter this in the fair this year.......

Rubber Stamps for Sale!!! :)

I'm thinning out my rubber inventory! Come check out all of the great deals on Ebay! I have oodles of stamps I'll be listing over the next couple of weeks! All sorts of themes to be posted. Check out my auction and check back often! New stamps will be posted every day! (hopefully! :)

See my ebay postings here:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZboog_dog

Thanks for looking and please feel free to email me with any questions!! I am willing to ship this rubber overseas! :)

Have an awesome day!

Acrylic Paint Transfers.....Wowza!!!!!!

All the latest buzz is about Claudine Hellmuth's fabby new tutorial on You Tube. Using Ranger Metallic Acrylic Paint Daubers as a transfer medium! If you haven't checked the demo out yet, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9mL5hk6ieQ

Ok, the demo is great, but I can mess up just about any transfer....

I don't have any of the Ranger Paint Daubers, but I do have some cheapo metallic acrylic paint! I decided to give it a try......what the heck!

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I slathered on some Folk Art Pearl White acrylic paint over a small laminate sample. I tore out a little girl image from Lisa's Altered Art and slapped that baby down over the paint. I gently burnished the image and then let it dry. I then ran some cold water over the image and rubbed off the paper (and a little of the paint around the image)

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Well, I have to say that I want to kiss Claudine Hellmuth! (This would be followed by legal action and a possible restraining order.....good thing she lives in another state......) Not only did the transfer work, but it's about the best transfer I have ever done!!!

I LOVE this technique and I am almost crying because I can now do a good transfer with very simple ingredients!!

Life is good............

Here she is:

Some of my paint peeled off of the laminate sample, but I like it! :)

Another "Flooring Sample" Collage w/ Faux Dichroic Piece

I made another collage using another free Flooring Sample I got from my run to Home Depot the other day. This is also a Cork Flooring sample.....it is called "Mocha". I smeared Purple StazOn all over the base. I inked the edges with with Galaxy Gold Brilliance ink. I used the heat gun to set the ink and I got a few small bubbles.......must be the laminate that is bubbling......

I stamped the Mona image (I Brake for Stamps) in Galaxy Gold and embossed with gold powder. I then took one of my Faux Dichroic pieces that I made a while ago and re-heated w/ my gun. I then stamped the Mona image into the liquid UTEE. (also with the Brilliance Galaxy Gold)

This piece was a $%*&^%$&#*^%$^ to photograph. With all of the shiny gold and shiny foils and UTEE, it looks pretty terrible in the pics....... sigh....... it really does have a neat look in person.

I have posted 2 photos......one w/out a flash (1st) and one with a flash (2nd). The colors are true in the 1st photo and you can see the textures quite well in the 2nd photo......

Without flash

With flash..........

Some New Cards....Great Paper Therapy!

I finished up some cards today. I haven't made any cards in a while and I really do enjoy it! :) It is nice "paper therapy" and I get to play with a few of my stamps! :)

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This is a simple tag card. Leaves are by I Brake for Stamps. The word "love" is embossed using my BigShot. A corner punch, some foam tape, and some fibers!

I love this image. Also from I Brake for Stamps. The pretty paper behind it is some Mica Powder paper that I received in a swap. Again.... layers, corner punch, and fibers.

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Here are 2 cards that I made using an image from Third Coast Rubber Stamps. I really love this image. I stamped her on acetate with black StazOn and then used my BigShot to cut her out in a flower shape! :)
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On this card I placed the acetate flower over the same shape text flower. I colored the book page with distress inks and a little Crimson dye ink. I used the flower centers as embellishments.

For this card I wanted to keep it simple. I did several paper layers and then just ran the acetate flowers through my Xyron. Stuck them onto the white paper.... I really like this face as a flower! :)

I think there are lots of possibilities using the die cutting machine and acetate!!!!! :)

New Collage - Wood Flooring Sample

I was in Home Depot the other day.... happily wandering aimlessly.... confusing all of the customer service reps... "may I help you find something, ma'am?" "Oh, no thank you, I'm just browsing....." This is followed by a confused silence, and then..... "Uh, oh, ok.........." I found myself in the carpet and flooring section when I spied "free wood flooring samples" Ohhhhhhhhh! Free is good!! LOL!!! I grabbed a purseful (I LOVE my backpack purse......) and scurried home!

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This collage is 3 x 3 3/4 inches and 3/8 inch thick. This is a "natural cork" flooring sample.

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I sprayed some color washes over the cork. I used both Color Mists and Starburst Stains. I blasted it with a heat gun (and I do mean BLASTED) to dry the inks and create bubbles. Once the piece cooled down, I sprayed with a very generous coat of PYMII to prevent smearing. I edged the sample with black StazOn ink.

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I stamped the baby image and crown (both from I Brake for Stamps) onto thick vellum using Black StazOn ink. I cut the images out and then flipped over and embossed the wings and buttons on the baby and the entire crown using an embossing tool. I colored the wings and the crown with gold Krylon Leafing ink and colored the baby's dress with color pencils. The effect on the front side is subtle, but it has a nice 3D effect in person.

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I gathered up a scrap of background paper, some German Scrap (Dresden Paper) border, a few metal swirls and a metal sentiment charm. I used my Xyron to adhear all of the elements to the flooring sample. She is finished! :)

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I just love this baby image......isn't she cute???? :)

A couple of close ups so you can see the textures and colors with the cork showing through....

New Collage -- Ann Baldwin meets Michael de Meng

I thought it would be fun to document a collage. I have made a PhotoShow of my thought process (or lack thereof) and collage process. It was fun for me to see what I originally started out with and what I ended up with.

I dubbed it the "Ann Baldwin meets Michael de Meng" because I applied some ideas from both classes I recently took...... :)

Hope you enjoy! :)

Here is the final collage. You can click on the image to see more detail if you'd like! :)

Michael de Meng Class - Morpheus Box Part II

My art bud, Sherre, and I went to a Michael de Meng class on Saturday. We did the Morpheus Box Class. (See info and picures of my project on the post below) It was a wonderful time!!

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Michael is a very generous and gracious teacher! Very open and willing to let the students "go and do" on their own. At the same time he was completely available if anyone needed help or had any questions. He went over his painting techniques and shared recipes for some of his "signature" colors. He shared some tips and hints on embellishing our projects. He also offered a "Dremel 101 Overview" for those dremel virgins in the class.... Overall he was a great inspiration and a very fun person to be with! I would recommend any of his classes to anyone!!

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Most all of the projects were texturized with caulk. I decided to use Gel Medium to texturize mine instead..... (such the renegade). My embarrassing moment came when I blurted out to the class during our critiques that I was "caulk-less". Now, I don't think most people heard that "L"........so, there was a confused dead silence for about 2 seconds. After I clarified "C-A-U-L-K", harmony was restored. Heh heh heh.......

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Class projects!! Wowzers!! They were all fabulous!!!!!

Sherre's project is on the right. It is absolutely magnificent!! The textures and colors are wonderful! Check out better pics on her blog: Sherre's Art Zone

Sherre and Michael

Me and Michael

Do you think that I could get my insurance to cover plastic surgery for a "genetically induced double chin"?????

Michael de Meng Class - Morpheus Box Part I

My first PhotoShow!! :) Here is a quickie show of my project from the Michael de Meng class I took on Saturday!

We did a "Morpheus Box". A box with a turning piece inside where you can display 4 seperate images by turning the rod. Very cool!!
I'm not finished, but I thought I'd show you my progression through the project in class... I'll post more pics later and a description of the class!