Foxglove's Mixed Media

Hello, everyone!  Welcome back!   Today, I'd like to show my twelfth index card.   For this card, I decided to use a modeling paste background, Liquitex Acrylic Ink and the Tim Holtz Paper Dolls. Instead of using a bookpage as my base layer, I decided to use paper that I took from my of Flow Magazine Book for Paper Lovers. I tore a page into strips, and glued them down.  The paper had a different pattern on each side, so I alternated between the busier print and the subtler print.  At this point, I didn't know where I was going, but in the end, you don't even see the paper. (Of course.)  When the mod podge dried, I brushed a thin layer of gesso over it.  At this point, you can still see the base layer. I needed some texture, so I pulled out a Finnabair stencil that was part of a stamp/stencil set called Flowers on the Deck.  This is one of the sets that Michael's recently started setting. I used Golden Light Modeling paste through the s...

Hello everyone!  I am back with my eleventh ICAD.  For this index card, I was inspired by the Simon Say's Stamp Monday Challenge.  This week's theme is "Transport It."  You can find their Monday Challenge Blog here . I started off this card by using a pink paper from the massive Flow Magazine For Paper Lovers.  If you haven't heard of it, the Paper Lovers book has over 300 pages of papers, tissue paper, wrapping paper, stickers, tags....if it's paper, they probably have it. Anyhow, I glued down the paper and scrapped a thin layer of gesso over it.  I allowed some of the pattern to show through, though by the time I was through with the card, you can only see a little bit in the upper left corner. Next, I watered down some DecoArt acrylic paint onto an acrylic block and splotched it onto the card here and there.  Normally, I would do this on my craft mat, however I am a huge clutz, and my craft table is a mess right now, so I didn't have m...

Hello, everybody!  I am back to show my 10th index card, a flamingo. Ain't he cute? I am SO happy with how he turned out!  I started off the way I almost always do - gesso over a book page. I scraped the gesso on with a palette knife, but I tried not to be too even with it and made sure the book text showed through here or there.  When the gesso dried, I sketched the head and neck of the flamingo. I don't have any pink acrylic, so I mixed DecoArt fluid acrylic in Titanium White with just a touch of Dina Wakley heavy body acrylic in Fuchsia to create a rich pink. For the background, I spritzed the paper with water and scraped Phthalo Green-Yellow acrylic along the edges and let the color bleed and run.  I dried the color with my heat tool, and then re-spritzed with water to add some touches of the Fushcia. I finished by outlining him with the stabilo marks-all, but instead of spritzing it with water and letting it spread, I just blended it a bit...

Welcome back, everyone!  I have two projects to show you today.  The first is a star-themed artist trading card, and the other is an abstract landscape artist trading coin. First off, the star-themed artist trading card: I began this card the way I do a lot of my cards - I glued down a bookpage and gessoed lightly over it.  I then added a light wash of fluid acrylics in Payne's Grey and Ultramarine Blue (DecoArt).  When it was dry, I added stars to the background using the Tim Holtz star stencil and Distress Oxide in Faded Jeans.  Lovely!  I set the color with my heat tool, however, the Oxides are reactive to water in the same way the Distress Inks are, so I wanted to do something to keep the ink from rubbing off or getting smeared, so I pulled out my Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel by Prima Marketing.  I used the stencil to go back over the original star shapes.  Because the gloss gel is a "wet" medium, the Oxide color blended in with the gel....

Hello again!  I'm back with a quick ICAD that I made last night.  It was so quick, that I only have two pictures.   During a recent trip to Tuesday Morning, I found that they had a TON of Tim Holtz products on sale.  Now, if you have never been to a Tuesday Morning, I highly encourage you to go!  They have all kinds of things at discount prices, not just crafty goodies; household items, toys, kitchenware...a ton of awesome and unique items.  I ended up with a bunch of the Tim Holtz mini blueprint stamps, chitchat stickers, ribbons...it was an awesome haul.   Anyhow, I really wanted to use them, so I decided to make a coffee card. Which is funny, because I don't even like coffee! I started by gluing down scrapbook paper with a fancy script on it (you end up not seeing it), and I added a thin layer of gesso over it.  This being a coffee card, I figured I needed coffee colors, so I pulled out my Tuskineko Walnut Ink sprays in Jav...

Hello, everyone!  I am back with my eighth index card (ICAD).  Yes, I've fallen behind a bit, but that's okay.  For this card, I wanted to collage with leftover bookpage and a chevron stamp.  Chevron because I like the shape, collage because this is something I almost never do...and while I admire those who seemingly are able to lay down papers and make it look Mah-velous dahling, this is a thing I struggle with.  So what better way to practice than on an index card! I prepped the card by gessojng the paper several times with regular Liquitex gesso and Art Basics heavy gesso.  No matter how many times I layered it on, I still couldn't really hide the blue lines on the index card!  I was really getting frustrated too, because gesso can cover just about anything.  The blue and pink ink just kept bleeding through no matter how many layers I used. Oh well.  Moving on!  While the gesso dried, I pulled out my bookpage scrap bag and ...

Hello again!  I am back, this time to show how I made the Artist Trading Coins pictured below.  The Coins continue to be all the rage amongst the mail art traders, and I personally really enjoy working on a round shape. Aren't they cool?  I love how they turned out! (I say that because most of the time, I don't know where I'm going when I start a project, so sometimes there's no telling how something will turn out!) Anyhow, I started with a 5x7 sheet of Canson mixed media paper and Ranger's Tim Holtz Distress Inks in various colors of blue and the Iced Spruce color.  I mushed one, two or three colors onto my craft mat, spritzed lightly with water, and dragged the paper through the wet colors.  By dragging the papers, I get a nice smooth blend of colors.  Because I had so much ink left over, I pulled out some blank Artist Trading Card mixed media paper to sop up the extra inks.  I dried the papers between each layer, did another drag-through w...

Happy weekend, everyone!   I hope you all have a nice, fun, creative weekend!  I have been catching up on some creative projects, one of which is my ICAD for day 7.  I did not follow the prompts, and instead I did my own thing - back to the messy abstract-ish style I've been leaning towards. I started off the way most of my project start - I glued down a bookpage with Mod Podge and scrapped gesso over it with a pallet knife.  I didn't really have a direction at this point, but I was in a mood to use earthy colors, so I grabbed a grey and a red iron oxide color and loosely scraped them over the wet gesso with my pallet knife.  When I was satisfied with it, I went to dry it with a heat tool.  I ended up leaving it alone for a day. When I came back to it, I could see a landscape in the mix...maybe a hill looking off to the distance, or a sandy dune by the sea. So I added a wash of green for the land and a wash of blue for the sky using my Derwent Inkt...

Hello, everyone!  I am back with a pair of sun-themed Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and to show my failed ICAD for Day 6. (There will be a surprise cameo from on my fur-babies, Chubby!) I will start off positively, with the pair of ATCs.  These are for a swap on the ATCSforAll.com trading forums.  If you are interested in trading ATCs, I encourage you to check out this very friendly site! I started off with the way I start most of my mixed media projects - by gluing down bookpages, this time with mod podge (sometimes I'll use soft gel medium.)  I covered the ATCs with a good layer of the mod podge to seal the cards, because I knew I would be using a lot of water later on.  For once, I didn't cover the book text with gesso. After the mod podge had dried, I spritzed the cards with water and dropped yellows and oranges onto the card using DecoArt fluid acrylics and acrylic sprays.  I let the colors mingle by tilting the card and gently swirling the ...

Hello, everybody!  I am back with two more ICADs to show you! The first one follows the prompt of "Ferris Wheel".  I glued down scrap bits of book text, and then for added measure, I also put down some strips of washi tape; you don't really see them when I am finished, but a piece here and there does peek through. After this, I scrapped white gesso over the card, then went back with a paper towel and lifted some of the color.  At this point, I got so involved in this card that I forgot to take photos of my progress!  Yeesh!  Anyway, I dabbed drops of acrylic paint in Transparent Red Iron Oxide (DecoArt fluid acrylic) and Quinacrodone Magenta (Golden fluid acrylic).  I spritzed it with a lot of water, tilted the card, and pushed the color around with my fingers.  It was a fun mess! Look at how those colors mix and blend together!  I was surprised at just how much I love this color combo.  As you can see in the photo a...