Mixed Medium Sources

This is 'Dixie'

My pet wild frog of 3 1/2 years.

Each year she would come out of 

hibernation from behind our pond

in our back yard. She was tame 

enough for me to pick her up and set her

in my lap. She loved our dog 

Oliver Howard. She would jump down from the

side of the pond to greet him when he'd come by

the pond, he would lay down in front of her

and look at her, and she would sit and make

noises at him. Every year they would spend

Springs and Summers doing this, seeming

to trust each other.

So I took this picture of Dixie and wanted 

to make something showcasing her.

Next I took a photograph of a mural

I painted years ago in our hallway.

I then used this as a background

for my project.

I layered the photos, hand cut the picture,

coloured the picture and added lazier cut

butterfly wings. I put them into a

second hand recycled metal frame, then

took Vintage Typewriter Keys and put them

into bezels, and glued them to the frame.

'Be You' 

is actually a picture of me, (age 5), at Trafalgar Square 

in London, England, I was actually feeding pigeons:)

But in this version, I'm feeding Dixie:)

I enjoyed the process of using my photographs, and 

my mural painting, with layering the images, 

hand colouring, and adding vintage goodies.

Enjoy!

Artist Trading Cards

ATC 'Deep Thoughts' 

Photo of my pet frog in my backyard

(3 1/2 years!), named Dixie:)

Artist Trading Cards 

Where the only rule is that they be

2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches!

This is one of my earliest, and most favourite 

art mediums, Artist Trading Cards.

They're so quick and easy, a fast way to

get some art time if you are short on time,

they can be simple, complex, colourful,

they can involve any type of art medium.

Paint, type, pen and ink, collage, sew, anything you can

think of to create, as long as it's no bigger than

2 1/2 x 3 1/2 go for it! (grin).

(Title: Eating Disorders)

They can be serious in nature....

Back view of 'Eating Disorders'

And as you can see, double sided:)

This was made from dinner napkins

(see the irony:)

They can be silly:)

(Nana and Me in 1973:)

They also can be sweet:)

Here's a series that I did, with my Art-Pal Leslie's dog known as

Ms. Bean.

I refer to her as my 'muse'

Love that dog! She's so easy to dress up, and what a face!

Isn't she lovely:)

My little 'muse'

I love this one of her:)

I love to use birds in many of

my pieces:)

This one was fussy, I had cut all the

cage bars so the music sheet would

show through:)

Then once in a while I get into a

serious mood....

Speaks for itself:)

And this one I made for my Art-Pal Leslie:)

It's almost become our logo, (grin).

( I like the viewer to keep guessing,

which one is 'she':)

Many of the digital images used in my

ATC's are purchased from a variety 

of sources, the group in particular

I'd like to thank is 

Paper Whimsy

Itkupilli

Cemerony

and Retro Cafe Art,

and many more.

I have listed their links to their shops in

my Favourites link list, please check out

their shops to start collecting your own 

graphics to play with:)

Enjoy!

Mixed Media Collage Shadowbox

Here is one of my Shadow Boxes

(that isn't about 'Oh Deer')

Grin

'What came first, Mother Earth or Fish'

8 x 10 Mixed Media Shadow Box

Again, please excuse the quality of the photo. If any

of you have any ideas to share about taking pictures

of frames with glass, please leave a comment:) :)

This piece was more detail than my usual pieces,

an interesting lesson in working with the details.

And yes, those are real vintage pearls. But if you

look close, there are 'bubbles' on the outside of the

glass:)

This was a 'reclaimed' frame, that I made a box insert for

creating the depth, layered paper, and embellishments,

until I created the depth I was wanting. I covered the 

sides and back of the box on the outside with 'Tim Holt' Tissue Tape, which I've found I enjoy using in fussy areas to cover.

There is no particular message in it's title, just sounded good to me:) I enjoyed making this piece, it was an exercise in techniques.

Enjoy!

Part 3 of 3 Part Project

Part 3

of 3 Part Project:)

Finishing up:)

Well, here we are at Part 3 of my 3 Part Project:)

Part 1 was the ATC Holder from

Retro Cafe Art

Part 2 was the 7gypsies 'Mini Library Drawer'

To finish up my project, I had purchased

7gypsies Index Cards to embellish for the 

file drawer, but decided to do something a

little more creative.

I made my own file cards....

A very easy, although a bit time consuming,

but it was a great way to use up all of the

bits and pieces of paper that I end up

collecting from other projects..

I used, stamps, and coloured with chalks,

(one of my favourite ways of colouring),

and used rub-ons, embellishments, buttons,

and particularly enjoyed making the file

cards themselves.

I used punches, that are for decorative labels

and punched out chipboard templates.

Then when drawing out the file cards, I placed

the label template at the top of the cards outline

to incorporate the top half of the labels shape

at the top of the file card. A bit fussy to hand cut

afterwards, but I think you'll agree that the cards shape turned out pretty good:)

And here's the finished 'secret':)

I found out at the beginning of this project,

that the ATC Holder from Retro Cafe Art

fits in the slots of the 7gypsies 'Mini Library Drawer'!

The trick, (as I said in Part 1 of the embellishing of the

ATC Holder), is not to embellish below the sides of

the ATC Holder so that they don't interfere with

it's sitting in the slot:)

Now I have this on my desk, ready with blank ATC Cards and Playing Cards prepped already with backgrounds done, for

ATC making when ever I wish at a moments notice.

(Another great way to use up small bits and pieces from

other projects while still in a art mood:)

7gypsies also makes a Large 'Library Drawer' 

With this one, I only went as far as glueing on 

billiard balls to make feet, as I had spent so much

time making the index cards that I just wanted

to start using it!

(I'll post another time the index cards as they're a 'Circus Theme'

and quite fun:)

All three of these items, the ATC Holder, and both the 7gypsies Library Drawers are great ways to keep clutter on your art desk's 

organized and I think they're even motivating.

Hope you've enjoyed the 3 Part Series, as it's been 

my first attempt at a sort of 'tutorial', (grin).

I just like to share:)

I'll be posting more projects and art pieces over the weekend so do check back!

Enjoy!

While waiting for Part 3 of my ATC Project:)

Here's another one of my 

Framed Collage Mixed Media Pieces

in my 'Oh Deer' Series

I call 'Oh Deer Dilemma'

(Please excuse the poor quality photo, still trying

to learn how to take photos with reflecting glass)

Here it is out of the frame so you can

see the details.

As you can read, you can see 

what the dilemma was:) :) :)

Enjoy!

(quick note:)

Bubbie my favourite deer that I refer to on my blog isn't my only 'tame' friend:)

here's just some of Bubbie's family of deer that 

come to our home and neighbour's each day:)

The one in the middle with the antlers is

'Big Boy' the 'father' of the herd.

(Bubbie on the right hand side, had to

wash my lens after this photo session:)

At certain times, we have as many as 22

come for treats, and at this Springs count,

5 generations:)

And yes, I've been tracking all of them for

nearly 24 years!

A great hobby:)

Cheers!

3 Part Project - ATC Holder -Part 2:)

3 Part Project continued...

Part 2

7gypsies 'Mini ATC Library Drawer'

Hello again:)

So, in Part 1 of my project, 

I used the ATC Holder that I purchased

from Retro Cafe Art

http://www.retrocafeart.com/

(And again, thanks Kristin:)

In Part 2, I'll be using the

7gypsies 'Mini ATC Library Drawer'

that I purchased from

Blue Moon Scrapbooking

http://www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com

(Thanks to Scott and Family!)

I started out with the blank 7gypsies

'Mini ATC Library Drawer'

I gave it a quick light sanding to give it some 'tooth'.

Then I took heavy weight scrap book paper and 

using Matte Gel Medium, glued paper to cover the

outside of the Library Drawer.

(In this example, I used 'My Mind's Eye' Paper

'Stella and Rose' a new line of papers by 'My Mind's Eye' 

that I'm currently enjoying using, also purchased 

from Blue Moon Scrapbooking:)

After it was all covered on the 'outside' of the

Library Drawer, I then used

Tim Holtz Distress Ink, 'Walnut Stain'

to ink all of the corners and edges to 

give it a 'used grungy look'.

As you know from Part 1, 

I enjoyed adding feet to the ATC Holder, 

well, in Part 2, I really enjoyed this part:) :) :)

One of my favourite things to do is go 'digging' 

at local Salvage Shops with my Pal-in-Art Leslie:)

(I'll be showcasing some of Leslie's great

Art Pieces periodically in my blog, as I am

'gobsmacked' by her talents!)

In one of our 'digs', 

I found these great solid brass nobs from an old dresser. 

Well! 

They make great feet for my project as they

are decorative yet, 

 have a flat surface so the

Library Drawer will be stable.

My 'trick' for applying them is a wonderful product

that Leslie showed me to use for many such ways

of applying metal to surfaces to get them to stick.

Clear Bathroom and Kitchen Caulking!

( I buy this stuff practically by the case!)

Just make sure you use it in a well ventilated room!

(I learned the hard way, cough, cough:)

Once the caulking had dried....

I embellished the top edge of the 

Mini ATC Library Drawer

with this beautiful cotton vintage inspired lace

that I purchased from Melissa Samuels at

http://www.melissasamuels.net/store

(Thank you Melissa:)

(Locally, here in Victoria, B.C. you can

also find this wonderful lace and great

scrapbooking papers and supplies at

Scrapbook Parade!

Link in my favourites list, Thanks Carol:)

I used Matte Accents, by Inkssentials to attach,

and used clothes pins to hold in place until it dried.

On the inside of the Library Drawer, I used a

new product, that I'm really enjoying thinking

up other uses for, as it's very cool how it dries.

Again from Retro Cafe Art:)

I purchased 

'No-Prep' Metal Paint from DecoArt

This paint is so cool, as it dries, there are

no brush strokes or blemishes!

I chose the gold colour to highlight the grungy parts 

on the outside of the piece.

Again, use this in a well ventilated area!

But it dries fast, and really is a forgiving paint

to use!

The finished piece of Part 2 

of my 3 Part Project.

I decided not to embellish it further, and 

in Part 3 of my project you'll see why:)

Please check back to see the rest of 

the Project, and do try this at home:) :)

Enjoy!

3 Part Project.....ATC Holder

Post Part 1

ATC Holder

Hello Everyone:)

I took a day off from Blog Land, as you have to from time to time to get some Art Time in:)

I've been playing with some Commercial Products, and have put together something, I think is a little different.

I'll be posting this project in 3 parts, as it is completed, so if you wish to follow along to make these yourself, jump right in and enjoy:)

I'm thrilled that this part of the project, 

 last month, was chosen to be  posted on 

Retro Cafe Art's Gallery Blog Page, 

featuring this, 

( Thanks so much Kristin!), 

as I purchased the blank ATC Holder from Retro's Online Shop.

(You'll find the link to the Shop in my Favourites List:)

The ATC Holder comes flat, and is easy to put together, (I used Inkssentials, Glossy Accents to glue together, but standard glues will work fine too). Then, I chose my paper and covered the entire outside of the box, (to glue the  paper, I used Gel Medium).

Then I used Tim Holtz, Distress Ink, Walnut Stain, to grunge up all the corners and edges...then came the fun part, embellishments:)

The first picture was of the front of the ATC Holder, using some of Tim Holtz Embellishments, this picture is the back of the Holder. I also put embellishments on the sides, but you'll notice they aren't as detailed as the front and back....there's a reason  that will reveal itself in my Part 2 and Part 3 Posts still to come:)

 

You'll also notice, the feet:)

I found that the material that the ATC Holder is made of worked great for a 'mini foot' idea that I came up with. 

The Tim Holtz 'Hitches' that are used in two parts to put things together, I used just the 'nob' end. I used a craft pic to make a small hole and filled the hole with Glossy Accents, and put the post of the hitch in the hole.

Hence the feet!!! ( I think they are cute)

Then I used a new paint that I haven't tried before also purchased from Retro Cafe Art, called No-Prep Metal Paint, by DecoArt, that painted on like a dream! I love this new paint, as it dries, all blemishes and brush strokes disappear! I also used it on the 

Number 2, (also a Tim Holtz Product), and again, as it dried, no brush strokes!

So this is Part 1, hope you'll think about giving this a try:)

I'll be posting Part 2, of this project either later today or tomorrow so please check back. I think when you see the complete project, you'll be tempted to make this yourselves!

Enjoy!