More UTEE and Sea Glass--Mama-Style! :)

Okay......Suze Weinberg posted a challenge on her Yahoo Group to "do something a little different" with Sea Glass and UTEE.

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Here is Sea Glass ala Artful Mama:

1) Pick smaller pieces of glass (varied colors, shapes, and finishes) that will fit inside a silicone ice cube tray. (shape of your choice. I have no choice...... I have square! :)

2) Paint the flat side of the glass with metallic acrylic paint. (one color or a combination of colors) I used some Adriondack Acrylics and some Golden Interference and Irridescent Acrylics.

3) Pick some miscellaneous "doo-dads" to put under your glass or glue on top of your glass. Some of the items I used: Beads, findings, charms, punchinella, Angelina Film, and Beadazzles.

4) With Brilliance Ink, stamp a design on the UN-PAINTED side of the Sea Glass. This can be a distinguishable design or just an abstract element.

5) Using super glue, attach whatever "doo-dads" you desire on top of some of your pieces of glass.

6) Layer your creations into the different sections of your ice cube tray.* (Make sure you put your sea glass in paint side down.)

7) Melt clear UTEE in your Melting Pot with a little dash of flex. Once it is completely melted and the flex is gently mixed in, pour SLOWLY over each cube compartment.

8) Allow to harden. If you have some bubbles, you can use your heat gun to gently remove. Or you can leave them for a more interesting design.

* Here are a few "recipes" that I used layered from bottom to top:

a- punchinella, Angelina film, sea glass.

b- Beadazzles, sea glass with charm.

c- Beadazzles, Punchinella, sea glass.

d- Findings, seaglass.

The possibilities are endless!!!

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Here are my results! I think they would be really cool in the middle of a small diorama frame with a white or light metallic backing....... Another use-- to fill a niche in an altered book. Maybe a unique pin! Yah! :)

and a close up!:

Here are a few held up off of the paper so you can see the light come through........

Thanks for the challenge, Suze! This was fun! :)

Okay, now don't lie, don't you expect to find a beetle or some other insect inside one of these?? LOLOLOLOLOL!!

Sea Glass and UTEE fun! :)

My crafting bud, Sherre, and I had a day of Melting Pot play! We viewed a segment from the second Tim Holtz DVD and also a segment from the new Suze Weinberg DVD on Faux Dichroic Glass. We fueled up with coffee and muffins (Thank you, Sherre!! YUM!) and then went to play!

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We used Sea Glass in all of our creations. For these samples below we based our play on the Tim Holtz version of Faux Dichroic Glass:
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1) Heat Melting Pot on high -- empty!!
2) Place Sea Glass in pot and allow to heat through. This doesn't take very long!
3) Sprinkle some clear UTEE over glass. Allow to melt.
4) Scoop out of pot (this is the tricky part! The glass is a slippery little fellow!) and flip UTEE SIDE DOWN onto craft foil*. Press the glass (using the handle of your spatula NOT your fingers) into the foil and allow to cool.
5) Peel glass off of the foil and the foil pattern is now adhered to your glass.
6) Place the glass back into the empty melting pot (still on high) foil side UP.
7) Here is where you get to experiment...... sprinkle some metallic embossing powders on top, then add some other fun opaque colors, and then put on some Alcohol Ink Colored** embossing powders. (These are really great because they are transparent and you get awesome effects)
8) Once your are done applying your embossing powders, place a very generous heap of clear UTEE over the entire piece and let it melt. It will "bleed" out and spread the colors and give your glass a nice smooth finish.
9) Carefully remove your piece with a spatula (tricky part number 2.......the UTEE likes to slide off of the glass ...... try to be quick and careful!!)
10) Place on your craft sheet to cool..........TAAADAAAAAAAA! You are done!
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Here are some sample pieces that I made during our play day. As I always say........ experiment, experiment, experiment!!! Use different glass, foil, and embossing powder color combinations. You just never know what you'll end up with.......and I LIKE it that way! :)



Close up view of a few of the pieces.
On the blue piece on the left, you can see that I sprinkled just a tiny bit of silver metallic embossing powder over the top of the clear UTEE. It sort of looks like it's floating on top.
I tossed in some microbeads on the piece on the lower right.
You can see some breaks in the foil underlayment in the piece on the lower left.


*You can find craft foil in many places. Here are a few:
http://www.schmoozewithsuze.com/product/product.php?pID=060301002342
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3747394-AA.shtml
http://www.clayalley.com/jonestones.htm

**You can make the Alcohol Ink Embossing powders by mixing Alcohol inks into Clear UTEE. For rich earthy colors, use the Adirondack colors. For bright colors use the Pinata colors. Just keep mixing up the UTEE/ink mixture until all of the lumps are gone and you have nice smooth BEAUTIFULLY colored UTEE.
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The next toy I played with was my Angelina Fusible Film. I followed similar steps from above, but instead of placing the hot glass w/ UTEE onto craft foil, I placed it glass side down on my craft sheet.
Then I layed some Angelina Film over the hot UTEE. I layered a few different colors. I carefully pressed into the melted UTEE (yes, with my hands.........DON'T TELL! LOL!!!) I let it cool and then trimmed film around the sea glass. (to about 1/4 inch from the edge or so........)
Then I placed the glass back into the hot melting pot (still empty! :) and covered the film with a glazing layer of clear UTEE.
After the top coat of clear UTEE is completely melted, remove from the pot with that tricky spatula again. Lay onto your craft sheet and quickly press a design stamp gently into the hot UTEE.
I tried inking the stamps with metallic pigment ink and just clear embossing ink. I think I like the effect better with the clear ink. I do, however, like how my flying kitty turned out with the metallic gold ink! :) (Third Coast Rubber Stamps)

Here is a photo of the Angelina Film Glass flat on white paper. These are difficult to photograph, but here you can see the different colors and layers of film.

NOW you can see the fabby effect from this film. These next 2 pics are the same pieces tilted slightly so you can see the irredescence from the film under the UTEE. The stamping is a key element here......the patterns in the UTEE break the light against the film and create an incredible effect.

.....cooooooooooooooooooool!!!!

I always welcome comments!! I would love to respond back to you......so, please leave me your email address on your comment!! :)

Trash or Treasure......WE know the answer!! :)

Gizmos and Gadgets and .........huh, what the heck is THAT???? Oh, My!!!!

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Well, I don't think I could have had more fun if I tried!!!! LOL.

My friend, Sherre, and I went "shopping" at the local Scrap Yard! It was an absolute hoot, and we both plan to go back!!

What a riot we had scrounging around barrels and barrels full of ......well, we aren't sure what! Not to mention all of the "ground" finds we had!!!! But check out some of the stuff we totally scored on! Sherre also got some REALLY cool large metal pieces for her garden......!!

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I have to tell you that as we were purchasing our stuff, we were saying things like "well, how much is this?? How much does this weigh?? I'm not sure I need all of those, then" The guy in line behind us was a bit ticked and I'm SURE he felt that his "manly" domain has been infected by "girl germs" LOL!!!!!!!!! Lots of eye rolling and heavy sighing as we sorted through our treasures!! LOL!

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All of these little envies have 1 piece of optically coated glass. We found these pinkish ones and some yellow toned ones.

Computer boards, weird doo dads, and rusty things.

Awesome bent metal circle thing, copper wire (great hair!), patterned copper strips, and weird metallic disc thingies.

Ahhhhhh, yes. Brass findings and such. We found 3 HUGE boxes of

these brass do-hickies outside the main building. As we walked through the

main building, we saw they had at least 3 more inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the most fun I have had spending $11.00 in a LOOOOOONG time!!! :)

Stazon Technique ATCs

Ok......first let me explain that I don't "do" ATCs. Don't know why, but they have never been my thing. LOVE to look at 'em, don't make 'em.

So, I have been reading about the "StazOn" technique. Had to try it......got my new Sailor White Pens in the mail today and here we are!!!!!

Susan's ATCs! Take a loooooooooooooong look. You may not ever see any more! LOL!!! :)

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Simply sponge StazOn ink randomly (or at least I do it randomly) over a stamped image. Highlight with your white pen........voila!

I do love easy..........uh, art-wise, you know...............

String Challenge!!

I have been so busy playing with leaves, that I decided to take a little diversion and join a challenge posted on one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to.

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"Make some art using string!"

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Well, since I LOVE making backgrounds and have been quite smitten with watercolors and spray bottles lately............here is what I came up with! :)

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I started with a piece of watercolor paper and folded it in half. I cut up bits of nylon string and laid the bits over 1/2 of the page. I then took some other pieces of the string and seperated the individual strands. I laid the strands randomly over the other pieces of string.

I then sprayed watercolors over the string. (I just mixed up tube watercolors with water in a spray bottle) I made sure the string and paper were very saturated.

I then folded the watercolor paper in half and weighed the paper down. (you like my very specialized "watercolor paper monoprinter"??) By folding the paper over, I'm hoping to get a negative image on the other 1/2 of the paper. (A negative monoprint)

Taaaaaa Daaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Hey!! It actually did what I was hoping for!! How crazy is THAT?!? LOL!!! So, I see the left side as a background and the right side as a piece to stamp over. Pretty nifty!!!!!!!!!

Well, this was a fun challenge........I don't think I would have done this w/out the push to use string!!! I see lots of possibilities ----- using different strings, combining strings, using different colors and mediums! FUN!!

Size may not matter............

.......but EQUIPMENT does!! :)

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MORE COLOR WASH/LEAF PRINTING EXPERIMENTS .

I decided to recreate my "leaf print" using my homemade color washes. "Ha-ha", I thought to myself. I'll just repeat that cool leaf I got with the Color Mists (from Outside the Margins) with my OWN color washes.

Well, sometimes you get what you pay for.........

I don't know what "mojo" Aileen has got goin' on in those little bottles, but it isn't what I have in my homemade color washes!!! :) I followed the same steps that I did before (see entry from April 27) and THIS is what I came up with. Now, they aren't "bad", but, they were NOT what I was going for!!!!!

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ALL OF THE SAMPLES I HAVE DONE FOR THE LEAF AND FLOWER PRINTS HAVE BEEN DONE ON CANVAS BOARD.

These are daisy-like flowers I have in my yard. A neat background, but not defined or crisp like my first leaves. I like the colors, though...............

Here I used some grape leaves and a plastic bunch of grapes. You can sort of make out where the leaves were. And, you can definately tell where the grapes were..........again.........not bad, but not what I was going for.

For whatever reason, my homemade washes did not "dry" under the leaves/flowers like the Color Mists. This allowed everything to bleed together and not hold any lines.

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SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..........back to the Color Mists for more experimentation!

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Now........that's what I'm talkin' about, baby!!!!! THAT'S what I was going for:

Lime Jello, a little Lemon Head and a hint of Magenta on the "underlayer". Bordeaux Burgundy, Copper, Lime Jello over the top.

THOSE are grape leaves! :)

Here is one in Cobalt Blue: (I think this is now my favorite!)

A "negative" look. White/Pearl with a hint of blue underlayer with copper, burgundy, and bronze over the top. (You can also see some blue and green sneaking in there.......)

Here is one more of the daisy-like flowers in my yard. (Osteosperum) NOW you can see the petals!! :)

This was done with a "potpourri" of the Color Mists! :)

So, look out Aileen at Outside the Margins, I'm comin' in for more Color Mists!!!!!!!!!

Oh!!! I Made Something I Really LOVE! :)

Ok!! I was playing around with my new Outside the Margins - Color Mists (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) I had a brain jingle.........GRAPE LEAVES!!!!!!!!

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I sprayed some Lemon Head and Lime Jello on the "nekkid" canvas board. I placed 2 grape leaves onto the canvas and pressed them into place. Then I sprayed some Bordeaux Blush over the entire canvas. Allowed it to dry. Sprayed around the edge of the leaves with more Lemon Head and then highlighted the corners and edges with Margarita Magenta.

I let it dry for a while (until I knew that the colors would not run) and then removed the leaves!!

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LOOKIE! LOOKIE! I'm so happy with how it turned out!!!!!

Now, help me out here......do YOU think I should leave as is........or.......do more with it???? My inclination is to leave it alone. But, I would really love to hear what you think!!!

I'm so thrilled with this little experiment.......I do believe I'll be picking more grape leaves tomorrow! :) :) :)

Don't forget!! Leave me your email address so I can comment on your comment! LOL!!!!!

Altered Book Tip In Swap

How about some artwork for a change???? :)
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Earlier this year I joined my first "Altered Book" swap. This is a "tip-in" swap. Each participant in the group has a theme. We make 2 - 5x7 pages for them (using thier theme) to put into their own altered books at home. They can add the pages by gluing, sewing, stapling, using eyelets, or ....???? This has been a great way to get my feet wet in Altered Books. It has been fabulous fun and I have really enjoyed all of the themes I had to work with. I have 5 of the 6 done.... I'll post number 6 later! (Like, after I DO it! LOL!! :)

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Here are the themes and what I came up with:

Beatles:
Lyrics are printed on a transparency. Background papers are dyed paper towels sewn onto cardstock.

Bad Girls:

Mesh veggie bag used on the background. Quotes printed on transparency.

Vintage Girl Scouts:

Distressed cardstock background. Right page overlaid w/ transparency attached w/ brads.

Blue is Beautiful:

Used one of my Faux Soldered UTEE pieces on the left page.

Pirates of the Caribbean:
My first sucessful Gel Medium transfer (Skull on the upper left). Background painted and sponges w/ acrylic paints.

By the way, MY theme is: Fanta-sea. (Fantasy Sea Creatures and Water Gods and Goddesses) I have received some WONDERFUL pages for my book! :)

Homemade Color Wash II - Dye Reinkers and Water

There has been a buzz about Color Washes lately. There are oodles of FABULOUS commercial washes available:

Color Mists -- Outside the Margins

Color Wash Jewels -- Stamp Zia

Tim Holtz™ Adirondack® Color Wash -- Ranger Ink

Starburst Stains -- Lindy's Stamp Gang

Radiant Rain -- LuminArte (available at Marco's Paper)

and others!!!

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(I have made some Color Wash sprays using StazOn Reinkers and Rubbing Alcohol. I like the vibrant colors I got by using the StazOn inks. (See January 07 archives for recipe)

Since I have TONS of dye reinkers, I wanted to try and make some washes using dye inks and water. (also, I don't think the StazOn Washes are conducive to the Faux Batik technique which I have seen and loved!!)

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I started with some cheapo spray bottles from Wal*Mart. I decided to start with 5 colors from the same ink manufacturer. (Tsukineko) You can see the colors that I used here: Tangerine, Nile Green, Wisteria, Lemon Yellow, and Cherry Pink. I filled the bottle approximately 1/2 inch up from the bottom. ( I didn't count the number of drops, but it was well over 100) I added regular tap water until the bottles were about 1/3 full.

(Picture taken after I had used the Washes)

These are samples of the sprays on White Glossy Cardstock. You can see that these particular spray bottles are not very "mist like". If you are looking for a true misty quality to your spray, I advise you to invest in some of those cute little micro bottles I have seen for sale online! :)

Here is a close-up of the "spotty" effect of these spray bottles. I kinda like it! You can compensate for the spottiness by spraying a lot of the wash on 1 spot on the paper.

Here are a few Faux Batik samples. Basic instructions: Stamp image onto White Cardstock with clear embossing ink. Heat emboss with clear powder. After cooled, spray over paper and image with Color Wash and allow to dry. Place plain white text paper over embossed image and iron with HOT-DRY iron. (the embossing powder will remelt into the text paper and pull off of the Color Wash paper)

I have not done this technique before and I think that floral, nature, and fine-lined images would be very nice. If you use bold-lined images, you will have too much white space after you pull off the embossing powder (for my taste).

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These images are from Cherry Pie. I'm thinkin' Mother's Day Card for the top image!! :) The bottom image is a little difficult to distinguish. I think I will use my Stamp Positioner and over stamp. We'll see how it turns out!

Some of my most favorite floral images are from Toybox Art Stamps (big "WAH" since she decided to go out of business!!) This was done on Matte Cardstock. You can see that the colors are much more muted. The stamped image, however still has enough embossing powder "residue" to highlight the image very nicely! :) (click on the image to look at the close up.....you'll see what I mean!!)

The marvelous Mr. Freezer Paper! :) I did not emboss this paper, but WOWZERS on the vivid colors you get! We'll see if I get fading with these inks, but for now these samples are

Va-Va-Voom! :)

My incredibly scientific mind (stop laughing!) tells me that because the colors cannot diffuse through the paper (because of the plastic backing) the colors stay on "top" of the paper and therefore remain bright. Any takers on my theory?!?? :)

AS ALWAYS I LOVE TO READ YOUR COMMENTS!!!! PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN RESPOND BACK TO YOU!!! :)

Acrylic Varnish and Mica Powder Background Tutorial

PREVIEW:

This finished piece uses: Brown Paper Bag with Brick Ink--HEAVY Varnish Mixture coverage)

Acrylic Varnish and Mica Powder Backgrounds

Supplies:
Brown Paper Bag (I used a grocery bag) or Light weight cardstock
(crumpled and unfolded several times)

Acrylic Varnish
(I used Delta Ceramcoat Varnish-Glossy)
This should also work well: http://www.liquitex.com/Products/varglossmedvarflex.cfm
(you can try watered down Acrylic Medium, but I suggest a soft gel and a glossy finish. You want the consistency of white craft glue (Elmer’s))

PearlEx or any other Mica Powders*
Sponge Paintbrush
Dye Reinker or Color Wash Spray or Fluid Watercolors or Calligraphy Ink
Disposable Bowl
Newspapers or plastic sheeting to protect your workspace.

1) Squirt out a general portion of Acrylic Varnish into your bowl. (Almost cover the bottom of the bowl) Sprinkle one or more colors of Mica Powder onto the varnish. Using your sponge paintbrush, gently mix the powder into the varnish. (You can mix completely together OR keep the colors separate. I liked to keep the colors separate… just mixing at the “seams” where the colors met in the varnish.)

2) Lay a few papers down onto your protected workspace. Pick up the varnish/mica powder mixture and quickly and sloppily brush over your papers. Pick up different colors and cover the entire piece of paper.
---There are 2 ways to approach this---
** DO NOT PRESS DOWN OR FORCE THE MIXTURE INTO THE CREVICES OF YOUR PAPER!! KEEP IT ON TOP OF THE “HILLS” OF YOUR PAPER**
OR
** COVER ALMOST ALL OF THE PAPER WITH THE VARNISH MIXTURE. LEAVE A FEW VALLEYS FREE OF VARNISH**



3) Once the papers have dried, repeat step 2 up to 4 times until you have the coloring you like on your papers. Allow papers to dry completely.



4) Take your dye reinker (or other item from supply list) and pour into a disposable bowl. (experiment with both light and dark colors…see what you like best!) Make sure your ink solution is very intense and rich.

5) Take your varnished papers and crumple and uncrumple several more times. Squeeze the papers tightly when crumpling. Flatten papers as best you can on your protected work surface.

6) Using your foam paintbrush fill your brush with your ink solution. Saturate your entire paper with the ink. (I poured the excess ink back into my bowl) Set paper aside to dry completely.

Use as backgrounds or any other way your heart desires! As with all techniques, experiment and HAVE FUN!!


*Some sites to purchase other Mica Powders (other than PearlEx):
http://www.tkbtrading.com/
(type “mica powder” in the keyword search box)

http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=11&CFID=416781&CFTOKEN=92083521

More Finished Sample Backgrounds:



Brown Paper Bag with Black Ink:
(Very Light Varnish Mixture coverage)

Brown Paper Bag with Purple Ink:

(Very Light Varnish mixture coverage)

Brown Paper Bag with Brick Ink

(Heavy Varnish mixture coverage)

Plastic Microscope Slides/UTEE/Transparencies

Well, I have been wondering if my plastic microscope slides and my laser copied transparency sheets would melt in my Melting Pot. Now I know! :) I was pleasantly surprised how well they held up in the melted UTEE.

The faux soldering effect is very rough and could stand some refining on my part, but I do like the look. AND, I don't have to purchase a soldering gun and all the goodies that go with it! LOL!! :) These pieces are unfinished (what ELSE is new??!!) but I think they have potential for collages, my OODLES of microscope slide mailers, cards, pins, or.........?????

These are transparency images backed by some paper and sandwiched in between 2 plastic microscope slides. I just dipped the edges into the melted UTEE in my melting pot, lifted, let it cool for a few seconds and repeated on the other sides. If I got big lumps, I just gently melted against the side of the melting pot. These are the 4 out of 5 that I completed this way that I think are acceptable for projects. I did have one, uh, loser that will remain tucked away in a drawer for now.........

(Suze Weinberg demonstrates this technique with real glass slides and memory glass on her new DVD)

Ran out of plastic slides. (Ok, I really have more, but I was too lazy to find them in my little shop of horrors, I mean craft area...........)

Took some of the microscope slide transparency images and laid them directly into the melted UTEE. Lifted it out with tweezers and let the excess UTEE drip off. After it cooled, I redipped the edges. I don't really like the color I had in the pot for this, but I think these will work for sepia and/or vintage pieces. :)

These tend to curl slightly when cooling. You have to be careful if you press them flat after completely cooled .... the UTEE will crack--even with Flex added.

I LOVE TO READ YOUR COMMENTS!! PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN RESPOND BACK TO YOU!! :)

Augie Acrylic and Magazine Pages Collage

A project for the hubby. I finally finished a magazine collage of our dog, Augie. She was a wonderful dog and we all still miss her. I made this for my hubby's office. I copied a silk sceen characature my husband made of Augie onto a stretched canvas. I textured the background w/ gesso, a paint texture tool, and acrylic paints. I collaged her body and skis out of magazine pages. (the close ups of the white areas and her skis are below) I wanted to add her name to he piece, but for some reason my husband didn't want it on there. So, I textured it into the gesso. If you look really close, you can see it........ ;)

To see what Augie looked like in real life, you can see her memory page here: http://theartfulmama.blogspot.com/2007/01/memory-altered-book-spread-for-augie.html She's the doggie on the left! :)