"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

Nature Tag album for Creative Artiste MixedMedia Challenge Blog

I treated myself to a Graphic 45 "Woodland Friends" paper pack while we were locked down, hoping it would inspire me to get creative, and it was perfect to pair withh this cute tag album from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and make a place for all the photos I had of Buddy, the squirrel we rescued and raised about 15 years ago.

I had a lot of fun with this, going through the papers and choosing as many squirrel images as possible and combining them. I had to keep the inner pages fairly flat, but added paper and fabric flowers on the cover as well as some plastic greenery I had and some decorative fibers both on the cover and attached to the pull-out tags. I inked all the edges and used foam tape for added dimension on most of the pages

My photos were all taken before we had a digital camera, so many of them are pretty awful , and I had to silhouette a lot of them because they were quick candid shots and often had very busy backgrounds, but I'm happy I was able to preserve the memories of our adorable little Buddy together in an album.

The pages are like pockets which hold a pull-out tag, as shown here:

These are the pull-out tags:

These are the pocket pages:

God's creations are amazing and this lovely paper showcases so many of His beautiful animals; I hope you enjoyed seeing my project and my squirrel photos.

Be sure to take part in the July challenge at Creative Artiste-always anything goes, as long as it's mixed media! Thanks for stopping by! xx

Check out the challenge HERE

Breaking Even-an art journal page for Creative Artiste

 Hello there crafty friends-I love using song lyrics, poetry and quotes in my artwork, so when I recently heard Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler"again, some of the words jumped out at me and I incorporated them here.

I started by mod-podging some tissue paper onto my page, making sure to crinkle it up a bit here and there, and then painted it red when it was dry. I had this adorable deck of mini playing cards in my stash, and they were perfect for this project. I inked and distressed them along with the background and all the other paper used here. I had a bunch of random chipboard numbers, so I grabbed some of those and heat embossed them in gold, then rubbed them with the same ink. The pair of buttons are meant to represeent coins. the diamond pattern and rows of numbers were stenciled with black texture paste, but I kept it a little thin to create a less crisp edge than I usually try to achieve. The black swirls and red patterned circles were from papers in my scrap file ( I keep everything bigger than about 2" in a large accordian file)

I hadn't done any art journaling for a while and it was fun to get back to it; hope you enjoyed seeing my page, and I'd love to see things you've created using song lyrics! Happy May xx

ALIVE-a mixed media canvas for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

 Happy April and Happy Easter to you! I decided to create a piece focusing on the true meaning of our Easter celebrations, and the hope that the Resurrection brings. These days, fosusing on hope is especially important,

I built up the cave/tomb with crumpled tissue paper and Mod Podge, and did the same on a separate stone cut from heavy cardboard, then mounted the stone with dimensional tape for depth. After attaching the button collage, texture paste, lettering and embellishments, I used spray gesso on the whole project., then mixed light greyish-brown acrylic paints and layered paint onto the tomb and stone, with a slightly darker colour on the opening. Everything else was left white to be misted. I appproximated the areas with the colours by using yellow on the sun, blue in the sky area and a touch of green near the bottom but wasn't going for a fully representational look and allowed the colours to overlap and blend here and there for a softer look. Finnabair wax in Peacock was used to accentuate the lettering.

Thanks for stopping by, and I pray you find Resurrection hope today and always! xx

Altered notebook for Creative Artiste

 Hello there crafty friends, and happy December! I am participating in a Facebook Christmas gift exchange, and I created this notebook for the person whose name I was given.

The notebook, purchased at Dollarama, was almost exactly the same shade as my grey gesso, so it was very easy to paint over the cover, which originally contained a phrase lettered in gold. I then attached my embellishments and stencilled with texture paste before adding another coat of the gesso. The chipboard frame is from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and the resin feathers are from Prima.

When the gesso was dry, I added some turquoise, amethyst and gold mists, then rubbed Finnabair waxes in Peacock, Royal Robes and Rose Gold here and there, using them to emphasize detail in the embellishments and stencilling. Another layer of misting completed the process. This project came together quickly and was a pleasure to create; I hope the recipient will be pleased with it.

I wish you a wonderful December and a lovely Christmas, and I hope the new year brings you all the best...

xx Lynne

Harvest-autumn decor for Bleeding Art

 Hello there and hope you're enjoying the beauty of the fall season. I know some places have already seen the "white stuff" (gasp!) but here in Southwestern Ontario it mostly feels like fall, so I created a                                                 piece of decor that echoes that feeling.

The open front box and the chipboard elements are all from Gypsy Soul Lasercuts. I covered the box in patterned paper and rubbed the edges with brown ink. The chipboard title and pumpkins were heat embossed with Antique Ivory then rubbed with orange ink, focusing mainly on the edges.

I fussy cut images from Prima Amber Moon and Graphic 45 Seasons papers and adhered them. The acrylic flowers and frosted orange "berries" are old and from my stash.

The challenge is on at Bleeding Art, so come join in...anything goes, as long as it's mixed media and not a layout. Have a look HERE!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest creation and that I may have given you a little bit of inspiration...wishing you many wonderfully creative days!
xx Lynne

Sunshine round canvas for Creative Artiste

 As I write, the sun is shining through my dining room windows and there are cats sprawled out sunbathing everywhere!! It's a perfect time to share my "Sunshine" canvas with you.

Once I had figured out the general layout of the pieces, I added stenciling with homemade texture paste before attaching all the elements. I then primed the entire piece with white gesso before adding mists in a variety of shades of yellow, peach, orange and burgundy. I then took rose gold metallique wax and rubbed some onto the edges of the chipboard elements and some of the flowers & buttons, keeping the effect subtle. This is a small thin canvas, so I attached a magnetic strip to the back for display on a fridge or other metal surface. I love adding lace to this type of project, as I think it looks so interesting when misted and adds an extra little touch of warmth.

As always, our challenge at Creative Artists Mixed Media Challenge Blog is "anything goes"-as long as it's mixed media, you're welcome to enter it!! Find all the information you need here and I hope to see your entry!

https://creativeartistemixedmedia.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project, and I wish you sunshine and joy
xx Lynne

Beachy door hanger for Creative Artiste

 Hello crafty friends! The October Challenge at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog is on, and it's anything goes!! Hope you join us this month!

Yes, I know fall is here and beach season is over, but my bathroom has a beach theme and I made this to hang on the door.

I've never wanted to keep my bathroom doors closed, but I have a houseful of cats who have decided that unrolling the TP and tearing it to shreds is just SOOOO much fun that I have to resort to this.

I used a chipboard piece from Gypsy Soul Lasercuts, one of the Botanical Journaling Blocks, as the base. I painted each side a light tan colour, then added pale green stenciling. The chipboard shapes, also from Gypsy Soul, were painted the same pale green (after some were dry embossed with my Cuttlebug) then added. A few "bubbles" were added here and there, some clear and some iridescent, and sprinklings of microbeads as well as a few tiny real seashells. When making a two-sided project like this, it's important to allow glue to dry before turning it over.

I misted lightly with Tattered Angels Leap Frog, Money Bags and Maya Blue, then rubbed Finnabair Metallique waxes in Peacock and Lucky Emerald. Some silver alphabet stickers and a simple twine hanger finished the project off. Now all we need to do is teach the cats to read!! Just kidding....I think it'll be more about training hubby to remember lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a happy, healthy October....and I'd love to hear some of your destructive pet stories!! xx hugs, Lynne

"FLY" canvas for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

 Hello there and happy September! It's still hot here in Southwestern Ontario and I'm not quite ready to start fall crafting, so instead I decided to embrace the last of summer with butterflies and blue skies:

This is a 10 x 10 canvas, and I just love the main chipboard piece, which  is from Gypsy Soul Lasercuts 

 I figured out roughly where the elements were going to go, then stenciled randomly with homemade texture paste, concentrating on the areas that wouldn't be covered. After adhering all the elements, I painted the surface in a pale teal blue, then spritzed Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Amethyst and Maya Blue.

More definiteion was added to the title and other elements by rubbing with Art Alchemy Metallique Waxes in Peacock, Royal Robes and Old Silver. The finishing touch was a few sprinkles of clear glass glitter.

I love the way the waxes enhance the textures without overwhelming the soft colours. You can of course apply them less sparingly for bolder, stronger colours-they look amazing on black backgrounds!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project, and I wish you a delightfully creative September! xx
Lynne

"Crazy Cat Lady" canvas for Creative Artiste

Hi there! I created this piece for an online auction to be held as a fundraiser for a local cat rescue organization. Thank goodness for our online world, especially right now as we are all practicing  social distancing. 

I used some of my beloved Gypsy Soul Lasercuts chipboard kitties, a few diecuts, paper flowers and bits & pieces from my stash, added stenciling with homemade texture paste, gessoed the whole thing then added Tattered Angels glimmer mists. Hope you like the finished effect! May you all stay safe and healthy in these complicated times, and spend some of your extra home time creating something interesting and beautiful! hugs!

Altered Tool Box for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

Hello there crafty friends! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are settling into 2020.I have had this project in mind for a while but it wasn't easy to find a metal toolbox-everything is plastic nowadays! My hubby found this beauty for me while he was out and about. While getting ready to move, I amassed a fair collection of my own tools which I kept separate from hubby's stuff, and the idea of a funky toolbox of my own was born.

I started out with black satin spray paint; it really is a true black, but the weather has not cooperated  and the lighting in my photos seems to give a golden hue.

This was "before"....

I attached the embellishments with Gorilla Glue, which I had never used before...they really do mean it when they say on the package that the product expands when drying-be careful not to use too much or you will have chunky bits here and there...ugh! That being said, it did a wonderful job adhering lace, metal, chipboard and plastic items to the metal toolbox.

I then sprayed another coat of black over the entire surface before adding the Art Alchemy waxes. I used Brushed Iron, Rich Copper and Lucky Emerald. There were a few spots where I used some distress embossing powder in Vintage Photo before adding the wax, just for a little rough texture here and there.

This was so fun to create and I love how it came out; the waxes blended beautifully together to create a really interesting effect. They work so wonderfully on black surfaces....love them! Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest....have a terrific February!

Magnetic canvas trio for Creative Artiste

Hello crafters! Hope all is well in your world; thanks so much for stopping by! I found some cool 6x6 magnetic canvases at Dollarama and thought they'd make great fridge art. I found some images and sayings that I liked together and then had fun embellishing, misting and waxing them.

 Although I referred to them as a trio, I did not create them to be a set, as the themes are all very different!

 

After I decided on the placement of the words, burlap/fabric, drywall tape and images, I stencilled here and there with texture paste, then attached the other elements I wanted to mist over and followed that with a coat of gesso over the whole thing. When that was dry, I adhered the words and images and any embellishments I wanted to use in their natural state (ie the broom, flowers, cloud etc)

Love the gypsy image from 7Gypsies "Gypsy Moments" paper, and that flourished stencil is one of my favourites!

I had some "Wizard of Oz" themed papers and absolutely could NOT resist using this fun combination of words and images!

I think we all have days when we feel like this; I know I've had several of them lately!
This image and quote is also from the "Gypsy Moments" paper line.

These were so much fun to do; small canvases seem to come together so easily! The store had other shapes as well-I remember heart and flower shapes, and just may have to grab some more! So glad you stopped by, and I wish you a colourful and creative November xoxo

"Make pretty things"-altered storage cubes for Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog

Hello there, fellow creative souls! I'm excited to have a brand new scraproom, and I've been having such a great time getting it ready! I had a cute little white shelf, but the things I needed to store on it weren't exactly pretty to look at and would have ended up being a cluttered mess, so I create this instead:

I started off with 11" cubes from the Dollar Tree, and chose the lightest coloured ones as I figured they'd be the easiest to cover.

I brushed the whole front with white gesso, then arranged chipboard, flowers, lace, buttons etc until I was happy with the effect, then glued them all on and covered it all with white gesso (if you put a coat on the blank surface first, you won't get unwelcome glimpses of the original colour peeking through)

I then misted with a variety of pastel mists, adding more after the first coat dried until I reached the intensity of colour I desired.

This was a fun project to put together and I love how well it coordinates with the rest of the decor in the room! I will be posting pics of my finished room soon-as soon as I find places for the last couple boxes of "this and that!"

Have a wonderful week and find time to make some pretty things yourself! xoxo