Overstamped, Double Saran Wrap, & Watercolors ** A Tutorial!!

Well, hello there!!! I must say it's been too long since I've posted....... I have been spending my free "art" time working on some 4x4 pages for a Fat Technique Book. This is the biggest swap I have EVER been a part of! I'm soooooooooooooooo excited about it!!!! The swap is with the ArtTechniques Yahoo Group.

There are (wait for it!!!.......) 120 participants for this book! WOW!!!!!! We are to make a 4x4 inch "technique" page for the book. Technique sample on the front, instructions on the back. Is that the greatest thing ever??!!!!! We will all have 120 technique samples WITH instructions! Whoopee!!!!!

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I have decided to share my technique here! :)

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REMEMBER: YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO SEE MORE DETAIL!

Over-Stamped, Double Saran Wrap, and Watercolors

Supply List:
**Water Media (liquid watercolors, diluted dye inks, walnut inks, any commercial or homemade colorwashes, Moon Shadow Ink, Starburst Stains, calligraphy ink, etc)
Small spray bottles (found at Wal*Mart, Target, etc in the travel toiletries section)
**Watercolor Paper
**Saran Wrap or any plastic wrap
**Rubber stamps (or any patterned, textured surface: bubble wrap, textured wallpaper, sequin waste, etc)
**Rubber Gloves

Instructions:
Mix your water media of choice in a spray bottle. (for a little pizzazz, add some Perfect Pearls or other Mica Powder to your paint/ink) Shake well.
Spray a generous layer of water media over your watercolor paper. Make sure it is heavily covered.

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You can use a single color:

or, try multiple colors:

Lay a large piece of plastic wrap over the paint/ink and press into the paper. Allow to dry completely.

Gently pull off the plastic wrap and lay down paint/ink side up.

Here is the plastic placed to the side of the paper:

Spray a contrasting color over the plastic wrap. (experiment with heavy spray vs. a light spray over the entire piece)

Close up of sprayed plastic wrap:

Place back on top of watercolor paper and press into the paper.

Allow to dry completely.
Pull off the plastic wrap and throw away. You CAN use your background like this if you like! :)

Here are some other samples I made for the swap prior to being overstamped:

If you would like to do the overstamping:
Spray another contrasting color or complimentary color (experiment!!) over your Rubber stamp (I used an uncut sheet of text stamps from Ma Vinci) or textured surface. Make sure you have complete coverage, but not dripping wet! Press onto your watercolor paper and allow to sit for about 30 seconds.

Close up of sheet of rubber covered with sprayed watercolor:

Pull straight up and allow your paper to completely dry.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Here are some completed samples prior to being cut into 4x4 pieces:

Here are the final 4x4 pieces:

Close ups!:

Quickie Fun Quiz - What American Accent do You Have??

That's right, Cowboy, I'm a "Westie" all the way! LOL!!!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have">What American accent do you have? http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

WOW!! Arte y pico Award!!!!

Well, imagine my ultimate surprise when I discoverd that I had been nominated for the Arte y pico Award!!!! To my supreme honor I was nominated by none other than "the" Suze Weinberg! Wowzers!! Thank you so much, Suze!!!!

Suze's Blog: http://suzeweinberg.typepad.com/suzeblogz/

Suze's Shop: http://www.schmoozewithsuze.com/

Suze's Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AskSuze/?yguid=222143781

Here is the scoop:

Rules:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you copnsider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contrubuites to the blogger community, no matter of language.

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2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

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3) Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog thathas given her or him the ward itself.

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4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y pico"blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

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5) To show these rules.

Here are my nominations. It was very difficult to pick just 5, there are so many wonderful blogs out in cyberland!!

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1) Author: Irene Tan - Blog: Scrapperlicious

http://scrapperlicious.blogspot.com/

Absolutely gorgeous scrapping...... uber level!!

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2) Author: Michelle Zindorf - Blog: Freedom in Creating

http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Some of the most gorgeous stamping I have ever seen. This girl has "Got Game" with her brayer! Wonderful tutorials.

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3) Author: Dymphie M - Blog: Papierenavonture

http://papierenavonturen.blogspot.com/

Great Mixed Media works and tutorials.

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4) Author: Sarah - Blog: Saimba

http://saimba.blogspot.com/

Inspirational Altered and Mixed Media art.

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5) Author: Neda - Blog: Papiers Colles

http://www.papierscolles.com/

Glorious and inspirational collages. A "must-see".

Skinny Book Swap!

It has been quite a looooooooooong time since I participated in a swap. This swap is a "Skinny Book" (due to the 4x7 inch pages) with a Summer Theme. Both the front and back side of the page is to be decorated.

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The backgrounds on the both the front and back are acrylic paints. Some have acrylic stenciling and all have overstamping with rubber stamp images.

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I decorated the fronts of my pages with a variety of images that shouted "SUMMER!" :) I added German Scrap, buttons, glitter, tops of wine capsules, White Sailor Pen doodling, shells, beads, and just about anything else I could find laying around! :)

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On the backs, I glued down one summer image and then wrote out lyrics (again with the White Sailor Pen) to "summer-themed" songs. Beach Boys songs, Under the Boardwalk, Hot Time Summer in the City, School's Out for Summer, etc etc etc.
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Hope my partners enjoy their pages! Eventhough I stressed over getting the pages done, I really enjoyed this swap!! :)

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REMEMBER, YOU MAY CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE! :)

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Fronts: (the picture on the top, far right is me and my brother at the beach in Northern California. Near a place called Sea Ranch)

Backs of the above pages:

Fronts: My Mom and Aunt as little girls on the top, far right! :)

Backs of the above pages:


Fronts: I love the women and the soggy doggy on the top, far right! :)

Backs of the above pages:

Fronts: Is that kid's face in the watermelon great, or what?!? :)

Backs of the above pages:

Fronts: There we are again! My brother and me.... top, far left! :)

Backs of the above pages:

Our First Handmade Paper! :)

Ok. I purchased this FABULOUS paper-making kit at a garage sale about, oh, I dunno...... 18 months ago. Ahem.....well, yesterday my son and I needed a project to work on. We rummaged around for 2 1/2 hours trying to FIND my fabulous kit. Sheesh......... finally found it.

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TODAY, my son and I needed a project to work on. Whipped out the fabulous paper-making kit. Now, some of you know how "instructionally challenged" I am. I'm a totally visual person and following written instructions is NOT my strong point. (Luckily there were pictures! :) Now we are the proud owners of 2 WHOLE PIECES OF HANDMADE PAPER! Yeee ha! (and, once you make it through the first piece, it is really easy! LOL!!!)

For this piece, we used text weight white copy paper. We added 2 drops of Baby Blue dye re-inker in the mix. (can't really see it......) Then, Kyle came up with the brilliant idea of adding Cinnamon!! I think it looks and smells wonderful!!! :)

For this piece we tore up a brown grocery bag. We added about 10 drops of Crimson re-inker and the contents of 1 tea bag. I like the look of the paper, but it isn't nearly as great smelling! :) (I think it is the brown bag as much as the tea)

Tomorrow, we may try some textured papers and maybe some with dried flowers!! :)

If you happen to have a paper-making kit around..... somewhere..... I highly recommend that you dig it out and have a go!!! :)

Really COOL Stencils!! Coffee Break Design

Do you like stencils??

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You may have heard the name Coffee Break Design. He (Michael Meador - the owner) makes reallly wonderful and unique stencils! I have placed several orders with him and have always been very satisfied with the stencils. The fun part is that you are also sent the negative of the stencil which you can then use for a mask! Wow!!

Double fun!
His website does not have a current list of stencils available, but I have scanned his current .pdf file here!!

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His prices AND shipping are very reasonable and the stencils are super sturdy and can be used over and over and over again. You can even make them last longer by coating each side of the stencil with Microglaze (Michael sells this also!!) or even PYMII (CI Super Seal)

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His designs range from fun, humorous, silly, pretty, and downright weird! :) He also has some images that would make awesome backgrounds!!
Just a happy customer!!!! Check 'em out!

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Click on image to enlarge!!!! You can copy and save each image to your own computer as well so you can print out mull over your order! ;) ;)

Personalized Custom Collage Sheet!!! :)

I have ordered several collage sheets from: Phenomenon1859 She has a store over at Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5250859 I really enjoy her sense of humor and her unique collage sheets! Plus, I love digital downloads so I can use them over and over again!

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Anywho........ I was chatting via email with the owner of the shop, Maggie. I asked if she would be interested in making a custom sheet with some of my family photos. To make a long story short, she liked the idea and has ended up with a custom collage sheet that looks like this:

Isn't it great?? I love it!!!! You can have one, too!!!! Check out her Etsy site if you are interested!! Tell her the "Artful Mama" sent you! :)

Now, I'm off to show this to my Mom! :) :) :)

Happy Birthday, Sandy!!

My sister-in-law's birthday is this Sunday. She just loves her "fur baby". I made this 5x5 inch stretched canvas for her.

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The base is Lumiere paint. "Casey" is stamped in white acrylic paint. The crown is grungeboard and painted with a silver Krylon pen and then I lightly rubbed the blue Lumiere paint over the swirls. The words and photo of Casey are laser print copies. I sealed the entire canvas with 3 light coats of Super Seal (aka PYMII) [this sealer is truly fabulous! UV protection, water protection, dirt and fingerprint protection!!] The frame is a mail-ordered canvas metal frame. They are awesome!!! Give the canvas such a finished look!!!

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I think she'll get a kick out of it!! :)

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Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!!!!!

I made it in!!!

I'm so excited!! All 3 of the entries I submitted to our little local Art Show made it! :) :)

I made a last minute decision to replace one of the pieces with this one:

I submitted this print instead of the dark blue/purple one. (This photo stinks, too... but, you get the general idea..... at least I kept my hand out of this picture!!!!) The dark blue/purple print was just a little too dark..... I need to define the leaves more. The print above is much prettier in person. There is significant color shifting and shimmer when you walk by the piece. Maybe I need to take little mini video clips of these pieces instead of still photos???!!!

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Anywho, just wanted to pass along the good news!
Yippie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

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....