Oatmeal Box to Gift Box

I started my life as an oatmeal box.  Hung out in that lazy susan for quite awhile.  Got dizzy many a day as Barb looked for something she had hidden in there.  Of course, she never lost sight of me, I was big and tall and round.  Alas one day the last bowl of oatmeal was eaten and I was thrown in the brown recycle bag.  Barb must have suffered garbage remorse because before I made it to the big bad green bin and then a ride in the noisy truck, Barb rescued me and put me on the counter.  I will live again but what will a big, tall and round box become.

I just heard I am on the way to becoming a gift box for a lovely teenager.  I know I will like living with Haille and her family. 

I was wiped out several times with a damp cloth to remove all the oatmeal dust.  Some scrapbook paper was glued to me for my first layer.  Now for a true recycle project why didn’t she use some magazine pages instead of good scrapbook paper.  Of course, believe me, with all her paper, she will never miss two pieces.  A layer of Gesso was scrapped on me with a palette knife. 

After I had dried, Barb scrunched up a paper towel and got out bottles of acrylic paint and started dabbing/sponging it all over me.  She put on about 4 different colors so you can see lots of variation in my color.  Barb heard that Haille’s favorite color is blue. 

She cut wacky circles out of a catalog with her Silhouette machine.  This is a fun machine.  She could have cut these circles by hand but the machine makes it so fast.  Some of the circles were cut in half to make the border at the top.  Other circles in different sizes were randomly glued onto the surface.  Now the fun will begin.  

Now she got out the blue and green paint and started painting the circles.  

Of course every box needs to have a perfect top.  She cut circles to fit inside the top of the lid.  She then painted them to match the colors of the box.  

The edge of the top had to be covered also so she cut a strip of colored paper to glue on the edge.

Everything was glued to the top of the lid.

She then added some finishing touches.  More circles, little dots and glitter.  Every teenager loves glitter.

So here I am in all my glory, once an oatmeal box and now a beautiful glittery gift box fit to bring a gift for a teenager.  

Art Journal Monday

Hi, Hazel here with my piece for Art Journal Monday, I've made a Song Bird collage.

My page is A4 size,

I started by gluing book pages, decorated paper, pink lace and tissue tape to the page, I stamped some Dina Wakley birds but they disappeared underneath all the later.paint layers.

I scraped some white acrylic paint on the page with a credit card.

I stamped some numbers using a stamp from  the Stampers Anonymous Documented stamp set.

A bit more white paint.

I added a couple of die cuts and cut out some flowers and birds from patterned paper and glued them to the page, I also stamped some Dina Wakley leaves with olive Archival ink. The dies I used are from the Sizzix Thinlits scrabbles and splat set.

The last thing I did was to add colour and shading to the images with Pitt pens, I also added some doodles with a black and white pen.

Creating layers and texture with Fabric and Lace

 

Even the tiniest flower can spark the imagination.

 This piece was originally designed to be a framed Art Canvas. It will now become part of a nature inspired project  that will take me full circle through the seasons  finishing in February 2016. In it I plan to challenge myself to explore new techniques and processes as I create pages using found objects from nature.
Here is a short slide show illustrating how I created it.





Many thanks
Linda

Da Vinci inspired Art Journal page

"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art"

 My inspiration for art journalling often comes from a quotation, a of song lyric, something I have read or even heard on the radio. I carry a little note book around with me in case I hear something that I might be able to use.This page was inspired by  Leonardo Da Vinci. His words and his imagery.
By incorporating a variety of image transfer techniques into the collage I have been able to create a  sense of depth through the use of translucent layers.

 One of the methods I have used  is known as face to face transfer. Here is how to achieve it.

• Choose the image you want to transfer and trim to size. Apply a generous layer of matt medium to the front of the image.Toner and laser prints will make clear crisp transfers. ( Avoid glossy magazines)

• Place the image face down where you wish it to appear on your work. (this technique will give you a reverse image so it is not good for script)

• Burnish gently to remove any bubbles and to remove any surplus medium. Be patient you will need to do this for a good 5 minutes.

 

•  Leave to dry for at least 4 hours. I like to leave mine overnight.

• Once dry spritz the back of the image with some water and start rubbing the paper fibers away.

•  When all sign of paper has been rubbed off you are left with a beautiful translucent image.

 Practice is key to image transfer. Incomplete or faulty images will inevitably happen but may still have a place in your work.

I hope this post has inspired you to go and play, experiment and just have some fun with image transfers.
If you would like to see some more examples of how I use image transfers in my work, please visit my blog 
Thank you for stopping by .
Linda .

   

A Final  word of caution . Please be aware of copyright restrictions particularly if sourcing your imagery from the Internet.

New Designer Introductions - Day 5

Today is the last day of our introductions of our  newest designers.  Let's welcome Siv to the team!  

Meet Siv:

Here is a little something about Siv:

"Hi everybody!

My name is Siv and I'm a stampoholic! :) I live in Norway with my husband and two boys. I work full time as a primary school teacher, and this year I'm teaching first grade. 

I started art journaling after seeing Dyan Reavley demo in Norway in 2012. She opened up the door to a world I didn't exist, and I've been hooked ever since! Before this I was just making cards and tags, which I still do. How I got into mixed media, I don't really remember.. Probably just by googling art journaling and watching videos on YouTube.. I love getting my hands dirty from ink and paint! 

Besides Dyan, a few of the many artists who inspire me are Dina Wakley, Tim Holtz, Tamara Laporte, Jim Hankins aka the Gentleman Crafter, Kirsten Hyde and Andy Skinner. 

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your creations in our challenges, and honoured to be a new member of the design team here at MMM!"

Be sure to visit Siv over at her blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you will come play along with this month's challenge!

Maria

The letter

Hi everyone!
Lucyna here. Today it is time for me to show you  another altered piece.
It is a MDF letter  for my friend's birthday.

I glued pieces of wallcovering samples to the letter to achieve some interesting textures.

Then covered all with gesso.

Next colored all with gelatos: metallic mint and  metallic blueberry.

  

Using gel medium I put microbeads around the pieces.

Now it was time for some heat embossing using emboss dual pen and aged aqua embossing enamel.

I added some flowers, die cuts , a resin bird and a sentiment to finish my project.

I hope you enjoyed my modest tutorial and ready to create your project.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Design Team Introductions - Day 4

Welcome back for another new designer introduction!  Today I want you to meet Linda!

Here is a little something about Linda:

"Originally from Northern Ireland I now live in the far west of Cornwall in the Uk.

I could be  described as a self-taught Mixed media artist. With no formal training I just go with the flow, “there are no rules when it comes to being creative.”. Someone once said that I must have an untidy mind to create my style of work.. What a compliment !

I like to use the most up to date scrapbooking materials combined with the staples of mixed media art to create unique Scrapbooking, Art journaling  and Altered pieces.

I specialise in running workshops and weekend retreats in Cornwall and beyond.

“All my workshops are technique driven, in that way everyone who takes part can create a unique piece of work within the parameters of their own natural style” "

Be sure to visit Linda's blog to check out her amazing creations!  So happy to welcome Linda to our team!

Stay tuned for Thursday and our final introduction!

Maria

Art Journal Monday

It's Maria here with Art Journal Monday!  I shared this on my blog but haven't had a chance to share here with you guys!  For this  I pulled out my Dylusions journal (I have both sizes but I used the smaller one) this one:

I used the new Dylusions paints

These paints are AMAZING!  I heard Dyan was releasing paints and thought yeah whatever.  I then saw her demo them at CHA via youtube and was intrigued but still like ok it's paint.  She describes them as different from regular craft paint and they dry fast.

WELL I got them all, 12 of course and using a small round foam dauber (the Ranger ones) I covered the background of one of the pages in a grid format like she showed in her video. First of all it dried FAST!  Secondly, it DOES NOT feel like paint!  I kid you not!  You know how when you use crafty paints from Michael's and you rub your hand over the dried page it's gritty, or chalky?  You can feel it? It's weird right?  THIS paint didn't feel like that AT ALL!  It was smooth and it feels like the paper not paint!  Hard to explain but you should try them!

Here is what I made using Unity Stamps:

I used yellow and orange with a baby wipe for the background color, nothing fancy.  I then used a Dylusions stencil in the background along with lots of Unity Stamps.  The image that looks like writing in the background is Unity's She Script by Christy Tomlinson.

I used some of the paint and watercolor to fill this in.

Finished

I never used glue sticks.  But I saw Dyan use them in videos and thought what the heck it's less messy then the gel mediums I use.  This glue stick is awesome.  I've only used it in this journal over the paints and inks and not in other journals where I used a lot of other mediums so I don't know how it holds up there.

Stamps and paper used

I'm excited to be taking a class with Dyan this week!  Can't wait to learn her techniques and it's all centered around her new paints!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Maria

New Design Team Introductions - Day 3

Welcome back!  I hope you are enjoying meeting our newest designers are thrilled to have them all!  Next up let's meet Tracey!

Here is a little something about Tracey:

"Hi

My name is Tracy and I am a 40 something mummy and nanny with a passion for everything painty and inky !!

I have been into arts and crafts for most of my life and have pretty much tried them all but discovered art journalling and mixed media about 18 months ago and am completely hooked. I feel I have finally found my passion !!

I get up early every morning so I can create something new before heading off to the 'day job'......'committed or obsessed' I hear you say ??? I suspect probably the latter !!!

It's a pleasure to be here and I look forward to getting to know you better and sharing our artful journey together"

Be sure to swing on by Tracey's blog to check out her wonderful creations!  Tracey is going to be a fabulous asset to our team!

Be sure to come and play along with us in our APRIL CHALLENGE!

Maria

New Design Team Members Introductions - Day 2

Hey there!  We are back with our next newest member introduction to our Mixed Media Mojo family: Hazel!

Meet Hazel:

Here is a little something about Hazel:

"I live in the UK with my husband of 31 years, we have a son and daughter who have now flown the nest. I’ve been crafting one way or another all my life and discovered rubber stamping and playing with paper about 20 years ago. I love mixed media and the grungy style of crafting and this year I’ve fallen in love with art journaling."

Be sure to swing on by Hazel's blog to check out her amazing creations!  Can't wait to see what she creates for all of our challenges!  

Maria