Faith over Fear Mixed Media canvas for Creative Artiste

 Hello creative friends!  It's been a while since I did a canvas, so I figured it was about time! I recently saw a project that incorporated macrame and loved the idea, so I decided to try it, although my use was much simpler.

I made two ropes of square knots and two of half knots and glued them at the sides; I had planned on using spray gesso  for better coverage of the macrame ropes and into the grooves of the roses, then found my can was no longer working, so I had to content myself with brushing it on.  The roses were fairly dark so I had kind of counted on the coverage of the spray, so needless to say it took quite a bit of brushing before they were covered enough to spray. I think sprays hate me, because I also had a couple of my favourite mists act up! UGH! The moral of the story, I think, is not to let your supplies sit unused for too long or they will rebel!  Once I was satisfied with the misted colours I rubbed Finnabair waxes onto the letters and most of the embellishments to make them pop a bit. I love the Peacock Blue and it really made the lettering stand out. The orrnate doilies behind the macrame ropes are from Gypsy Soul LaserCuts, as is the  lovely round chipboard piece in the center. The cute wooden flowers are from Dollarama, believe it or not.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project, and I wish you creativity, faith and freedom!
xx Lynne

"Beautiful Things" layout for Creative Artiste

 Hello and Happy New Year, creative friends! I'm happy to be back with a mixed media layout to share with you. As some of you my know, I love squirrels, and found this wonderful photo and quote online ages ago, printed it out and saved it to use on a page "someday". Now more than ever we need to be aware of the beauty around us to stay grateful and positive,  so I thought this was the perfect "someday" to create a page with it.

I used some lovely Blue Fern Studios papers from my stash, fussy cut some elements from the Blue Fern paper as well as from some Graphic 45 Woodland Friends, added flowers, jute and burlap fibers, punched leaves, and strips made with a Martha Stewart border punch. I used a Prima stencil to add homemade texture paste here and there, and then added a few light spritzes of Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Rose Gold. This was the first layout I had made in a while and it felt good to be "back in the saddle, as it were.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you beautiful things every day!
xx Lynne

"Peace" Christmas wall decor for Creative Artiste

 Hello and happy December, friends! I love to decorate for Christmas, and have been making cards as well; right now my craft room is completely destroyed, spread with craft supplies, bins of decorations and ornaments, and Amazon delivery boxes!! Bonus-I have to have it all cleaned up and put away in time to use it as a guest room when my son comes home in a couple weeks! I'm actually grateful to have that incentive, or it could stay somewhere between "there appears to have been a struggle" mode and complete all-out "aftermath of natural disaster" mode until mid-January at least.

I used Kaisercraft Silver Bells and Christmas Wishes collections for this project, sanding and inking the edges of the papers after attaching them to the letters to create more definition. The wrapped pearl strings and felt snowflakes were attached with hot glue, and the large pearls were self-adhesive The glittery reindeer is from Michael's.

Come join the challenge at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog this month-anything goes, as long as it's mixed media! A reminder that we take a vacation in January but will be back again in February.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a lovely, sparkly, glittery Christmas and a peaceful, joyful New Year. 

xx Lynne

"Graham at 19 months"-a12 x 12 layout for Creative Artiste

 Hello friends and Happy November! I know most crafters love Halloween and the chance to make wild and crazy, creepy projects, but I'm not a fan and am always glad to see that stuff gone from the stores (and it doesn't break my heart to see the Christmas stuff starting either!) I came across this adorable photo of my son (who is now 29 years old) and just had to put it on a page.

The ohoto was taken in front of our fireplace and had a pretty cluttery background, so I decided to just use the silhouette, which made it so much easier to choose paper that looked great with it! These are Blue Fern Frolic and Autumn Anthology papers.I used a Tim Holtz alphabet stencil and a Prima stencil for the other design, along with homemade texture paste.   Because of the colours. I didn't feel the flower collage was too "girly" for this page, and I was happy with the way it came out. I hope you like it, and also hope you decide to join us at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog this month-it's always anything goes, as long as you use 3 or more mediums! Hope to see your lovely entries there!
xx Lynne

"Dan"-a 12x12 layout for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

 Hello there crafty peeps! I haven't been doing a whole lot of papercrafting or mixed media lately, but I did complete this layout using a photo of my uncle who passed away early in the year. At most of our family events, he was the guy behind the camera, so I'm grateful to have this photo.

I used paint, stenciling and a little tearing to distress the background paper, then made some crumply, inky flowers with metal centers (to make sure they were sufficiently masculine!) I had gotten the wonderful bark leaves at a home decor store that was closing out a few years ago and thought they were perfect for this page. The scribbly frame is from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, heat embossed in gold, then inked in black. A few fussy-cut clocks and gears and some metal embellishments finished it off. The title letters were inked lightly in brown to showcase the texture. Most of the papers are from the BoBunny Heritage line.

I pray all is well in your world as you navigate the craziness around us, and I hope you find refuge in creativity...hugs and best wishes...Lynne XX

"Free in my Faith"-6x6 canvas for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

 Hello there crafty friends....my latest canvas is a do-over with a story behind it, and I was happy to hang the finished product over the worktable in my craft room. I had had it there since we moved in here with a quote on it that made me sad every time I noticed it and finally decided it was ridiculous to leave it there. I was going to start over but didn't have another canvas this size and really didn't want to go out for one. I tore everything off of the old one, and I must say that act in itself was rather therapeutic. This is the new finished project:

My craft room is all done in pastel colours against pale grey walls so it fits in perfectly. After attaching everything except the quote, paper hearts and the metal items I wanted to keep as they were, The jeweled  metal rectangles at the upper right are from a broken bracelet! I used white spray gesso before adding light layers of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists I lightly inked the edges of the flowers with the same deep pink that I used on the edges of the papers to further define them.

FREEDOM is a big part of what my life stands for right now, as is my FAITH, so this phrase really resonated with me. Life changes made the previous quote on the canvas no longer true for me, but this one I know will always be true, no matter what life may throw my way!!

Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you a wonderfully creative September-be true to yourself no matter what! xx Lynne

"I Wanted to Fly" art journal page for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

 Happy August, my crafty friends! I hope all is well in your world; it's hot and humid here and I've been on a kick listening to old music that I grew up with, either in my craft room or when I'm driving. Recently the lyrics to Neil Diamond's "Shiloh" caught my atention, and got me thinking about flying, which brought me to the story of Icarus and eventually to the idea of a moth to a flame or to light, which is the image I chose to capture on my page.

 I created the background with Tattered Angels glimmer mists, starting with black then layering three shades of blue.I spritzed a light layer of yellow mist in the upper right corner before hand-drawing the light bulb, which was finished with coloured pencils.Yellow washi tape and some sponged acrylic paint finished that section, and randomly placed beads completed the blue section. (I just used tweezers and white glue to attach those.) The smaller moths were fussy cut from a sheet of Recollections paper from Michael's, and the large one was from Tim Holtz paper. I drew the flame on a scrap of mottled orange paper and cut away a bit of the moth's wing to create a charred effect, which was edged in black and grey.

I simply hand-printed my song lyrics on blue patterned paper and inked the edges lightly in black. I very seldom incorporate washi tape or beads in my projects, so this was a good chance to play a little!

I've always found song lyrics fascinating and have been inspired by them in so many of my projects, from scrapbook pages to cards and canvases, art journaling to Bible journal pages, and even occasionally in my zentangle drawings.Next time you're enjoying some down-time listening to music, pay a little extra attention to the lyrics and you just might be inspired to create something interesting! Wishing you a delightfully creative month....hugs and best wishes....Lynne xoxo