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

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

"Dashing" mixed media layout for Creative Artiste;

Hello there crafters! I can't believe May is here already; April was a busy month for me and seemed to fly by. I really wanted to start doing more layouts again, and decided to create a masculine layout for my "Silver Screen" album, which contains pages about favourite classic actors and movies, and this guy is my very favourite actor from the 40s/50s.

I used Blue Fern Studios Chesterville collection, Gypsy Soul Lasercuts chipboard and Tattered Angels mists and glazes.Papers and embellishments were distressed with brown, white and black inks, and I added bits of black thread here and there as well as machine stitching the paper strip below the photo. A variety of buttons from my stash were added, as well as a few items cut from the Graphic 45 A Proper Gentleman collection. The corrugate behind the photo was simply painted grey and lightly rubbed with ink.

It was fun to get my grunge on with this page; I like the contrast between the grungy background and the more formal photo-it's a bit of a metaphor for the versatile actor that James Stewart was.

Thanks so much for stopping by-hope you enjoyed seeing my page. Happy May! Stay safe and find time to be creative when you can....hugs! xx

"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!