Tagged: mixed media

Easy Painted Papers For Crafting

I recently had the urge to get up to my elbows in paint since it’s been such a long time. I decided to make some painted papers to use as journal pages and to tear up for collage fodder. These two videos show the processes I used to make a whole bunch of fun papers. The paper, tools and paints are all basic supplies that most crafters readily have on hand. No gelli plate was needed so no worries! 

This first video shows how I made the base layers of paints.

In this second video I demonstrate how to add fun details on top to make your painted papers extra special.

I hope these simple steps have inspired you to get out some paper, paints, pens and markers and have a good old time. Enjoy!

Making And Using A Mixed Media Master Board

I have been making a lot of junk journals lately and although I love making them I find something lacking in the repetative process. What is that something? Paper, paint and glue!!! I miss making a big mixed media mess. So I decided to make a master board with no end projects in mind but rather to let myself have some free play time.

First I just randomly glued papers to a large sheet of drawing paper. I also got out some tags to use up any leftover scraps. I even included some glittered tissue paper from wrapping Christmas gifts.

I chose a few colors of acrylic paint I thought would go well together’

I pretty much just scraped it here and there over the substrates with an old gift card.

The colors were too bright and garish for my taste so I toned them down with some white gesso. Then I splattered them with watered down paint for a fun effect.

I stamped over the painted with orange, black and white stencils. 

When the master board was completely dry I added a few doodles with a fine tip black marker and a gold marker. I then used dies and punches to cut out all these mixed media elements that I will be able to use on upcoming projects.

Here are the finished tags I made using some of the pieces I cut from the master board and the matching tag bases.

I encourage you to make some master boards and have fun getting paint and glue all over your hands! You don’t have to think of how you will use them until a later date. As a matter of fact it would be great to have a stash of master boards on hand for when you get inspired to create with mixed media!

 

 

DIY Spring Treat Baskets

I decided to make some Spring treat baskets from peat pots after noticing that the ones I made several years ago got re-pinned on Pinterest more than anything else I have made. Here is a picture of the original ones.

The new ones are slightly different and I didn’t have the same style peat pot and I ran out of the wire.

This whole sleeve of pots only cost 50 cents at a thrift shop. You can buy them inexpensively at dollar stores also. As you can see, these are smaller than the original ones I used and they don’t have the rim around the opening.

Watch here to see how I made them:

I love how they turned out and they were so easy to make. I challenge you to pick up some peat pots and create something for Spring yourself!

 

Ode To Spring ATCs

As I have seen the first signs of Spring here in Virginia I was moved to make some art that reflects my joy that Winter is waning. I wanted to make some ATC (Artist Trading Card) magnets that are inspired by this one I made some time ago.

I wrote a blog post about the process for making this ATC and you can find it at this link:

https://glitteronmyface.com/2016/10/07/whats-on-my-desk-atc/

I followed the process pretty much the same as the one linked above, however, I didn’t use gesso and I added some ephemera before adding the focal points. 

If you’d like to watch the YouTube video process for these magnets, here’s the link:

Here are the three ATC magnets I made.

I like the way they turned out and love the vintage look. I hope you try making some Spring inspired ATC magnets for your fridge or ATCs to gift to a friend!

 

Tiny Scraps Artist Trading Card

I recently joined a Facebook group called Random Remains REVIVED. It was set up by the very talented artist Cat Hand. This group is all about giving leftover crafting scraps new life. Believe me when I say I have lots of scraps to revive.

My first project is an ATC (Artist Trading Card) using tiny scraps and some leftover die cuts that were laying on my desk.

Here is the process I used for making my ATC.

I use this old Walmart card as a template for cutting the corners on hand-made tags. Just line it up on one edge and cut the paper.

Flip the card over and line it up with the other edge and cut the paper. Now you have a tag with two even corners. However, this post is not actually about making tags, it’s about using up the scraps from making the tags.

Here is a pile of corners cut from making tags.

I cut a piece of cardboard 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ which is the standard size for an ATC. I painted it black with acrylic paint.

I randomly glued on the tiny corner scraps. The result reminds me of stained glass.

I then added some stylized die cut flowers and the word inspire. I chose “inspire” because I am inspired to use my scraps thanks to Random Remains REVIVED. 

If  you would like to join the Facebook group, the link is:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/363673540842507/

I hope this little ATC has inspired you to use some of your scraps no matter how small they may be. As you can see, small scraps can make a bit impact!

Sassy Girl Bookmarks

This post is about some more bookmarks I have made recently. These feature women cut from old pattern sleeves and colorful scrapbook papers. I’ll show you how I made them.

Cover bookmarks with pieces of vintage text and pattern tissue. Don’t think about it too much. Just place the papers down and glue them on.

Select some nice brightly colored scrapbook papers.

Cut papers into circles of varying sizes. I used some circle dies I have but you could always draw around round objects of different sizes and cut them out.

Glue the paper circles, pattern lady and quote on each bookmark.

I cut the quote into strips so they would fit on the bookmark. They look like they are just floating on the paper so I take and extra step to make them feel more incorporated onto the bookmark.

I used black watercolor pencil to loosely trace around each word strip. Now the words blend in better with the background.

 

 

Pop the bookmarks into plastic sleeves if you have them. I used the same colorful wool for the tassel that I used on the mixed media bookmarks from my last post.

Don’t forget to cover the backs to give them a proper finish. Now it’s your turn to use some vintage papers and pictures to create your own fun bookmarks!

I hope you like these fun bookmarks. They will also be for sale at the Spring Vintage Home Market.

 

Mixed Media Beach Book Marks

I’m going to be setting up at the Vintage Home Market show in Richmond, VA this Spring and decided to add some bookmarks to my handmade merchandise. My inspiration for making bookmarks came from some lovely wool I recently purchased at a thrift shop.

Doesn’t it just scream, “Use me for bookmark tassels?”.

Look at the wonderful textures and colors. So yummy!

Several people asked me to make beach themed junk journals for this show so I decided to add some beach themed book marks to my stock as well. Here is a quick step by step run through on how I made them along with the final results.

I cut some watercolor paper into strips.

Then I just scribbled on some blue watercolor paint.

I added some green and a darker shade of blue to completely cover the surfaces.

I added the bubbles by wiping away the paint with a baby wipe through a stencil. I painted on some seaweed fronds as well.

I cut out several seahorses with a Tim Holtz Bigz die and my Big Shot machine.

The seahorses were painted, sealed with glitter decoupage medium and dotted with a white Uniball pen. I made the eyes from gold sequins with a black paper dot for the pupil.

Some of the large bubbles got a glitter treatment and the seahorses were glued on to each bookmark. Captions were printed out, edged in blue ink and adhered to the base.

As I consider each piece a work of my own art I signed each one before slipping them into a plastic bookmark sleeve from Clear Bags. Some pieces of the inspiration wool was tied to the tops.

I also added decorative paper to the backs to finish them off. Here are the close-ups.

These bookmarks are really sturdy and well protected by the plastic sleeve so they will last a long time. They are perfect for taking on a cruise or beach vacation! I will be selling them at the Vintage Home Market in April.

Bookmarks are a lovely small way to create art that also serves a function. Cut some paper strips and let your own creativity flow while you make your own bookmarks!

 

Burlap Heart Embellishments

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I decided to make heart embellishments out of burlap. The process was really easy, but I think they came out really well. Here’s the simple process.

Cut some ordinary burlap into smallish pieces. The bigger ones in the picture above measure about 6″ square.

I painted the burlap for interest as well as to keep it from fraying when I cut it into smaller shapes.

I cut the fabric into heart shapes. Some were cut with a die and others I free-handed.

Here’s the fun part! I took out a lot of my Valentine’s Day stickers, bling and graphics. I also took out some sequins and plastic flowers.

Here’s the finished heart embellishments.

I will use these little embellishments on cards, tags or gift bag toppers. I hope this has inspired you to get out some of that plain old burlap you have lying around and make some fun embellishments!

My Mini Mixed Media Morsel Tiles

I am very busy working on our house as well as making items for the Spring Vintage Home Market. This allows very little time for me to make larger mixed media projects. I decided to follow along with the projects Cat Hand teaches in her Mixed Media Morsels Dessert videos on YouTube. They are smaller projects that are completed fairly quickly. And if you haven’t seen any of Cat Hand’s videos, you need to check her out. She is an amazingly creative lady.

She has only posted one video in this series so far. Here is the link:

Here are photos of my projects using her steps. 

I used Tim Holtz grunge board pieces for my substrate as I did not have any wood pieces. I wanted my backgrounds fairly neutral so for most of the tiles I used vintage book papers and sheet music. For two of the tiles I used colored scrapbook papers.

I simply decoupaged the pieces of paper randomly onto the tiles.

I stamped some small images onto white tissue paper.

Then I decoupaged the tissue paper to the tiles. The white tissue paper almost disappears when it’s been decoupaged down.

Next I added color using my Faber-Castell Pitt pens. 

I edged the tiles with black to make the colors pop. Finally I added words and a little bling to each tile. Here are some closer pictures of the tiles.

If you are looking for something fun and creative to do this year, why don’t you try making some mixed media morsels. Cat Hand explains and demonstrates every step of her projects making them perfect for mixed media beginners and pros alike!

My DIY Traveler’s Notebook

Most people who are in the arts and crafts or planner worlds know what a traveler’s notebook is. There are tons of videos and blog posts about how to set up your TN (traveler’s notebook). And what you use them for is only limited by your imagination. I have watched many YouTube videos showing pretty TNs filled with TN inserts and paraphernalia all which add up to the cost of a new car! I’m not kidding, the bare bones TNs, without inserts, sell from $30.00-$70.00. Yeah, I’m so not cool with that.

So I decided to make my own TN. Basically all they are is a piece of leather or vinyl and some elastic cord. So how hard could it be to make my own? Not hard at all. I used two pieces of sample vinyl wallpapers from one of those huge sample books. First I glued them backsides together so I have a pretty cover and inside. Then I followed a video detailing how to attach the elastic pieces. 

This is what my bare bones TN looks like.

Okay, I know it doesn’t look great yet, but that is because I haven’t worked on any of the pages inside.

I am using my TN as a prayer and Scripture book. But if that’s not your thing, you can use them as day planners, art journals, junk journals, glue books, etc…

Here are some of the pages I’ve made for my journal. As my prayers are private, I photographed these pages before I wrote my prayers on them.

Traveler’s notebooks, however you deem to use them, are a great way to use your creativity as well as use your stash!

If you don’t already have a TN, check out some videos about them. I bet you’ll get hooked just like I did!