Faux Chipboard

I've been participating in Trish B's Art Quest Challenges. I posted the my examples of the first two challenges back in September. This challenge was to create a page using the Faux Chipboard Technique. I decided to do this technique right in my altered journal, which gave me a little trouble.
I didn't have any fun foam shapes, so I made my own by punching out some shapes. I had to work to get the fun foam into the punches, but once in, they punched easily. I had run out of basic PVA glue, so I brushed Modge Podge over the page, hoping it would add texture later on, and attached the fun foam shapes with the Modge Podge.

The instructions said to next cover the entire surface with colored gesso. I didn't have any colored gesso. I mixed some red, brown & black acrylic paint and brushed it over my page.

Then, I covered the page with white gesso which turned the background I had made pink. I mixed up another batch of red, brown & black acrylic paints and brushed it over the surface, leaving a lighter area where I planned to add the technique instructions.

The next step was to highlight the fun foam images with a contrasting color of acrylic paints. I used gold on the fluer des lyes. I covered the vase with Lumiere's Met Olive Green paint, and heated with the heat gun to get a bubbly surface. I also rubbed in some gold acrylic paint into the background to soften it up. My problem at this stage: I no longer liked the vase on the page and was afraid if I took it off I'd have a huge whole. This is when I questioned my decision to work straight in my book.

I posted a picture of my work in progress to the Art Venture group to seek input. What a fantastic group! I was given lots of great ideas to think about, links to medieval scripts and the courage to just remove the dreaded (to me) vase. I have misplaced my x-acto knife, but found a seam ripper to be very useful in prying off the vase without a tearing a whole in the paper. I added some black ink to the edges of the pages to give them a little more definition. To finish the piece, I printed off an image of a medieval musical score, misted it, wrinkled it up, let it dry and attached it to the page with glaze; when dry I highlighted the wrinkles with gold pigment ink. I found a gorgeous Madonna stamp. I made a polished stone background on coated card stock and stamped the image over it. I then added gold leaf to the halo and highlighted parts of her dress with pinkish gold leaf, cut out the image layered it on black cs and placed her over some gold lacy ribbon on the music paper.

I added the instructions for the faux chipborad technique on the left page, added a quote and, for fun, cut down the vase and added it also. I like how it all turned out, thanks to my great art buddies!

Instant Art Swap

Adrienne is organizing this swap on ccswaps. The idea is to have an assortment of components to make ATCs done in advance: backgrounds, slide mounts, tags, images & what she calls little beauties. Then when you need to make an ATC, you look through these and choose what you want to put it together. See her blog for exact details and her examples. She also suggested making a set to keep while we were at. Great ideas! I had so much fun, I made enough to sign up for the swap twice. Now I will have lots of pieces to play with.
This swap came at a great time for me. It's helping with my resolution to use the bits and pieces I have laying around. I cut up left over backgrounds I had already made into 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" ATC backgrounds. Here are the two different sets I made:

For the slide mounts, I used my large Punch Bunch slide punch to cut out more of my leftover backgrounds. Here are the two sets:

For the rounded top tags, I cut more of my backgrounds using the Cuttlebug. On the regular tags, I either inked up the tags with distress inks & sprayed with Shimmering Mists, or on one ( added copper perfect pearls to lavender mulberry paper (actually, I had used the mulberry paper to clean up the spill of water & perfect pearls I made while doing the shining stone technique). Again I made two different sets:

These little beauties are 1-1/2" x 2". For most of them the base is made up of previous done background papers. For others I wrinkled up tissue paper and added some glitz via sprays and/or wet perfect pearls. The second one I added prisma glitter to a dull background. I went through my stash of left over images & embellishments. Here are the two sets:

All I have left to do is pick out and print out images to include. This will have to wait until I get more ink for my printer. I found it easy to make up all the different components, since I wasn't working on a complete project.

My Brain Pattern

Took this funky quiz and it is actually true to me (except the part of other people being impressed LOL!):

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

New Year Resolutions

This year, besides continuing to learn new techniques, I want to use the bits of odds & ends I have laying around. I find when making a project, I will end up with extra backgrounds, images & embellishments that are too good to throw away . So I am going to pull these out and use them to create cards, ATCs, and other projects for swaps and whatever else I can think of. Here are the two I've made so far.

Shining Stone Backgrounds

This is a card I made with the Shining Stone Backgrounds.

On NGS, Trish B has encouraged us to start a Background Noise Journal in 2008. I have started my journal.

This month's background is the Shining Stone Technique. Here is my journal entry:

Here a close ups of the backgrounds before I cut them up.

I will play with this technique again.

Gifts for Pay it Forward

I am so excited to have finished these books to give to Rosie, Adrienne & Trish, who signed up on my blog for the Pay if Forward game. I'm having lots of fun using my Zutter, and wanted to make little books with images and art quotes. Then in December, Trish posted some gorgeous vintage photos on Next-Generation-Stampers Yahoo group as an Advent Image Challenge. I printed these images to use in this booklet. Then when I opened my gifts for the 12 Days of Christmas Swap, I got a lovely little book from Fiona, which had pages to hold ATCs. So I decided to use her idea, to turn my art quote book into an ATC holder. I used card stock for my pages, which makes the booklet stand open. So now, I think, I've created a star book ATC holder. I hope they like these books (they are essentially the same).

I have placed the pictures from the finished book in this slide show, and show some photos of how I made the book below.

I took 3 different types of card stock that were slightly colored or decorated (like confetti paper) and on one side I played to create fun backgrounds. Sometimes I used water colors and/or color mist sprays. I just had a fun play day, sticking with a blue, yellow & green theme. I left one side of the paper blank, so when I created the flaps to hold ATCs, there would be a nice contrast between the front holder section and the back of the page. I cut the card stock into pages that measure 6" x 7". I folded each page so there were 4 sections. The main part of the page measuring 6" x 3-3/4".

On the bottom section, I trimmed off the corners to create a V shape.

The bottom section was folded up, the page folded in half and placed in the Zutter to punch the binding holes. Because the pages were thick, I punched them one at a time. Next step was to stamp and decorate the pages, once I knew where the holes were placed.

For the cover, I used paper from a shopping bag that I liked the colors.

I made a wash of gel medium and gold acrylic paint to give a shimmer to the paper.

After the paper dried, I embossed it in the Cuttlebug and added a little of Brilliance copper ink to tone down the gold look, just a tad here and there.

For the medallion on the front of the book, I cut some beautiful copper colored paper that was given to me into 2" squares and embossed them in the Cuttlebug.

I ran some Brilliance copper ink over the raised areas, but didn't think there was enough contrast for the look I was going for.

I rubbed some gold Perfect Pearls over the surface, and again ran the Brilliance copper over the top.

Merry Christmas

*

feliz Natal
god jul * jénwèl
bo Nadal * 圣诞快乐
bon Nadal * häid jõule
miilaad majiid * bon Natale
* gleðileg jól * milied hieni * glædelig jul *
즐거운 성탄 * Joyeux Noël
Feliz Navidad
sretan Božic * hyvää joulua
Eguberri on * Nollaig shona
selamat Natal * veselé Vánoce
Nollaig shona * Веселое Рождество
Z Rizdvom Hrystovym * Nedeleg laouen
* un Crãciun fericit * jwaye nowel * sreken Bozik *
Vasel Koleda * ia manuia le Kerisimasi
Καλά Χριστούγεννα
su Kaledoms * Nollaig chridheil * vesel božic
eydet mobârak * vrolijk Kerstfeest * dobro dedek
subho baradin * Christmas Alegre * djoyeus Noyé
Noeliniz kultu olsun * Frohe Weihnachten * meri Kirihimete
* souksan van Christmas * Wesolych Swiat * gëzuar Krishtlindja *
tratry ny Krismasy * boldog Karácsonyt * gleckika Wïanachta
メリークリスマス
priecigus Ziemassvetkus * buon Natale
Krismas ki subhkamna * bona paschixedda * maligayang pasko
Suksan Wan Christmas! * geseënde Kersfees * felix dies Nativitatis
* srecan bozic * vesele vianoce * assegass amegass * schéi Chrëschtdeeg *
krisimas yakanaka * Shuldyr Ymuston * Nadolig llawen
vrolik Kersfees * Noela we pîroz be * Chuc Mung Giang Sinh!
Christmas nay hma mue pyaw pa
bona pasca’e Nadale
gojan Kristnaskon

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11