Sunday, December 19, 2010

Fairy Tales and Tiles



I really love experimenting with canvas now. It's relaxing and fun and no limit to what you can do, just let your imagination run free!

This first canvas I made for a WTA for the group "Once Upon a Time..." on swap-bot. The theme was "Hansel and Gretel" so I made a representation of the witch's cottage in the woods with a little bread crumb trail. Some fairy tales are true...is this one? Every folk tale or fairy tales has some roots in local legends or truth, so I wanted to bring that out and let the mind wonder which part of this tale may have been true.

The second one is something new for me. Using layers of acrylics and crackle paints, stamps and washes I created the back ground for this piece. Then I used vintage book pages and acrylic tiles with images from some of my favorite papers applied to them to create the finished look.

These were fun and I want to make more. We'll see what I can come up with in the next few weeks as I play and discover new ideas! Until then, happy holidays everyone!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Dusk in Paris...



This is my second canvas to date. I love this shade of purple, purple is one of my favorite colours and I love using varying shades of it in my art when I am able.

This time I used Distress Inks in "Broken China" and "Dusty Concord" for the background and edges, respectively. I then used the Perfect Pearls Mist in "Forever Violet" and Glimmer Mist in "Iridescent Gold" to set and also add some shimmer and glam to the piece. The stamps are by Tim Holtz and inked with StazOn in black. I then used pieces of handmade Lokta paper and added strips here and there that I then coated with Distress crackle paint in "Rock Candy for a slight sheen and to make them stand out just a little more. I then embellished with a small image of the Eiffel Tower and paper roses and ribbon.

I am enjoying creating little pieces of art like these, it's new for me and I am very excited at all the new possibilities! Happy crafting and have a lovely day!

Dancing in Paris...



This is my first canvas piece. I made it for my niece for a Christmas gift this year, as she loves anything Paris. I started with canvas I purchased at Hobby Lobby, and used various Walnut stains that I sprayed onto the canvas. I immediately used my Heat-It tool to dry, then I layered Liquitex acrylic paint in "Portrait Rose" over that. I then used a hand-carved stamp that I received from bluemonkeymama of the Eiffle Tower and stamped it with StazOn in black.

Then I added the image of the dancer, lightly sprayed with Glimmer Mist in "Pearl" with tacky glue and lightly heated to make the edges slightly curl. I sealed the entire surface with Distress crackle paint in "Rock Candy" and heated it to dry. After that I lightly sprayed the smaller squares with Perfect Pearl Mist in "Forever Violet" and attached them with tacky glue as well. I then added a brad and some ribbon for the final embellishments.

I really hope she likes this and that "Dancing in Paris" will make the holidays a bit brighter. Have a lovely season everyone!

"Faerie Post" is here!


Hello everyone! I am back after a long bout of not feeling my best. We are expecting in June and this first trimester really took everything I had including creative energy. But I am starting to feel better and so here start the crafts once again.

This is an ATC to a friend of mine in my swap-bot group Keepers of Avalon. She won the "Winner-take-all" (WTA) this October and here is what I made for her. It is backed on illustration board. The background is Distress Ink in "Dusty Concord" then sprayed with Glimmer Mist in "Pearl." Since Distress Ink is a water soluble ink, the mist reacted with it to make a weathered water stained look. I then just used various pieces from my stash after that like tissue tape, ribbon, twine, charms, etc. Then I sealed it all with Distress crackle paint in "Rock Candy," and used my Heat-It tool to dry.

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post, hope to be back soon with other little treasures and crafty bits! Until then, happy crafting!