Sunday Postcard Art – Cats

Sunday Postcard Art has presented us with the theme of Cats this week.

I’ve gone for a simple layout this week. The cat and paw stamps are by All Night Media (remember them?) and were stamped in black Brilliance ink. They were then coloured with Faber-Castell pencils (I’ve got the BIG set!). Letters by Basic Grey Alphabet set.

It is SO hot here today that I’m afraid of even getting my paints out, in case they all dry out. At least pencils don’t have that problem.

Hope you are all filled with creative inspiration,

Michelle

Mixed Media Monday – Romance

Romance is the theme over at Mixed Media Monday in the lead up to Valentines Day.

The background for this spread was created back in 2008 as part of the GPP Street Team Crusade (which you can find here). It was done using the Gesso Resistance Technique. Staz On Stone Gray ink was used with Collections stamps (Flourishes Sheet #1) to add the hearts and swirls. The image is from Somerset Studio CD 2006. Purple and pink buttons from Fiskars embellishment collection. Music sheet and gold thread from my vast collection of stuff.

I don’t do a lot of stitching in my mixed media work (well, at all, for that matter) but I wanted to balance the gold thread in the buttons, so I added the stitching to the right side of the image. I’ve also just noticed that I didn’t layer the image to give it a border of black before adhering it to the page… slightly unusual for me, but this way it sits into the page, rather than standing out. The overlaying stamping is also used to tie the pieces together.

I’ve had fun creating this piece this morning – with my youngest son starting school just last week, I’m hoping to have more creative time during the day (and the housework and garden be damned!)

Please add your comments below. I’m off to see what you’ve been up to!

x Michelle

Julie Prichard and Colour – Beyond the Basics

The most talented Julie at Land of the Lost Luggage is now offering the most amazing online class, along with Chris Cozen, one of the working artists with Golden.

Project DeConstruction: Colour – Beyond the Basics. It includes choosing color for your art, mixing color, lightening up your art, creating beautiful aged papers, building your color library and they will even show you painting techniques to help you pull everything together. But don’t just take my word for it! Head over here and check out the video.

This is an amazing way to take a class while practicing right in your own home. And there is no rush – you can “pause” and “rewind” the video, making sure you catch every detail. The class also includes a beautiful PDF document to accompany the video.

Sunday Postcard Art – Phrenology

What a challenge we had presented to us over at Sunday Postcard Art this week – Phrenology. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular branch of science, it is the branch that determines a person’s personality and characteristics by analysing the dimensions and topography of the skull.

Background painted with acrylics over a printed eye chart.

I’ll go and have a look at what the others have created!

Michelle

Mixed Media Monday – What was she thinking?

What was she thinking? That’s what we had to determine this week over at Mixed Media Monday.

I had a great time creating this art journal page. I created the background using my favourite mixed media art technique; I painted the background with gesso and acrylics, and added Collections stamps in Staz-On. The girl was attached with craft glue and I gesso’d over her dress to provide a definite outline. I made a paper template for her dress, then transferred it onto the map paper. This was cut out, gesso’d and details added with Collection stamp, pink pencil and Twinkling H2Os.

Animal stamps by Fern Gully Stamps. Bird stamp by Rhonna Farrer, Autumn Leaves. These were stamped onto dictionary paper and coloured in with pencils.Heading written by hand with silver pen and pink Sharpie pen.

Thanks must go to Diane, who does such a great job conducting and co-ordinating our Mixed Media Monday challenges each week. And thank you to all of you – each of you, with your viewing and leaving lovely comments, really have make the MMM community a fantastic one and one of my favourite challenge groups.

Until next week, keep creating!

Michelle

A Day Out Stamping (and painting, and chatting…)

I made it out of the house to attend my local stamping group. I think It’s the longest I’ve been away from my children in 6 weeks (thank goodness school is starting this week!).

To see what I got up to, you can visit the SERS blog, updated by the lovely Pauline.

And you can see some stamping in my art journal, with some painting and a little collage. Will have it finished and posted this week!

Keep creating!

Michelle

Mixed Media Monday – Wings

We are spreading our wings for Mixed Media Monday this week.

This series of cards came to me as an inspirational flash, which does happen on occasions but I’m not always able to make it look exactly as it did in my brain. This was one of the rare instances it did!

I had these Darkroom Door stamps out last week for our Something New theme. The images must have stuck into my brain. I imagined a fiery orange sky at sunset. Silhouetted dried grasses waving in the warm evening breeze. And a lone butterfly heading off for the night on her delicate wings.

I got a little melancholy while making these cards. My youngest son is starting school in February; he is spreading his wings and will most definitely change into something new, under the influences of his teacher. Then I started thinking of the sun setting on his pre-school days and his “big boy” days about to begin…. deeper thoughts than I usually have while creating – may be I’m beginning a new phase as well; I will definitely have more time on my hands (yippee!!!)

Background created with Yellow Cadmium and Amber Clay Chalk inks, applied with a brayer, on semi-gloss card stock. Darkroom Door Wildflower stamp set, stamped in Jet Black Staz-on and heat set, just in case it didn’t dry properly.

Would love to hear your thoughts…

Happy creating!

Michelle

Gothic Arches – Shabby Chic

Gothic Arches has got us all Shabby Chic this week. Here is my piece – Chic, in a shabby kind of way…

Background paper gives this piece a nice weathered, wood look. “Chic” stamped in sepia ink with Making Memories Mixed Font stamps. Flourishes and lace stamps by See-Ds Boutique Grunge, stamped in sepia and pesto Adirondack ink. Sequin scrap sponged with pink chalk ink. Doily from who-knows-where. Scrapbook paper with flower by K&Company. Pink bit and buttons from Grandma, stuck on with Folk Arts Papier Glass Finish (a type of Dimensional Magic).

Hope your day has been creative,

Michelle

Mixed Media Monday – Something New

Hmmmm… Something new… something new… Could I possible have something around here I haven’t used before? Well, there are those nice background papers and border punches that my sister gave me for Christmas. And maybe those Darkroom Door Stamps that I bought at the Beachhouse Boulevard stamp camp…. Was it really back in July and I haven’t even mounted them yet, let alone use them? Surely not! Well, maybe… yes.

Mixed Media Monday has challenged us to do or use Something New this week. This is what I managed to scrape together:

After getting those stamps cut and mounted, I made a few simple cards:

Using these stamps were pure pleasure. It was such a delight; the Brilliance Pearlesent Lavender ink just glided onto the ivory semi-gloss card, leaving an incredibly crisp image (right hand side). The image in the left was stamped with Chalk ink. Both colours matched the background papers perfectly.

It was great spending the day making a few simple cards and remembering the joy of papercrafting, and why I had started in the first place.

Hope your day was just as joyful,

Michelle

Sunday Postcard Art – Windows

Our theme is “Windows” for Sunday Postcard Art this week. Here is my postcard with “Our House”, filled with memories at each window.

The background grass and clouds are done with sponged chalk inks, over grass and cloud templates, on semi-gloss ivory card. Window frame, background papers and embellishments nearly all from Collections (I do have such a collection of Collections!) Key from 7 gypsies.

Thanks for popping over and having a look! You are most welcome to leave a comment. Then I can come and visit you too!

Michelle

(in Melbourne Australia, for those who were wondering!)