I'm Back!!

Hi there,

Have you have wondered what happened to me? No, I did not fall off the face of the earth and I have been feeling just fine albeit tired of this pandemic as I am sure most of you are too.

My post back in March for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog was my last one as a Design Team member for them since I chose not to continue on after 13 years. In the time since that last post I came to realize just how much work editing photos was so I took a long break from my blog. I have been creating though and I think it is time to start sharing what I have been up to. I won't go into a lot of details for each project since I have purposely not taken a pile of photos but will give you a little synopsis of each project.

The project I am showing you today is a mixed media art book about leaves and was inspired by an online course I took from Roxanne Evans Stout. It is about 5" x 7" and each of the seven double-sided pages features a different leaf and lots of texture, collage, paint and stenciling.

I will be back with more of my latest creations so stay tuned.

Steampunk Professor

It is tima again for a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and this time it is an easy one - Anything Goes.

We are going with an 'Anything Goes' theme for this challenge and are looking forward to seeing your vintage/shabby chic projects.

I thought it might be fun to go Steampunk this time and use stamps from the Tim Holtz Professor set. This set seems to have left the shop but the main image can be found on the Professor 2 set, which is available.

I got going on this and completely forgot to take any process photos - blame it on Covid confinement and my brain turning to mush. Here is how it came together:

- I started with an 8" square canvas panel that I covered with White Gesso. For this one I added an open wooden frame to the back. I thought this could provide a way to hang to canvas panel although I usually just suggest 3M Command Velcro holders, which work really well. They tuck the canvas panel against the wall while the added frame will allow the panel to sit away from the wall.

- The next step was to paint the whole canvas with Buff Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

- The Professor and three other images from the stamp set were stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger) on tissue paper and then glued to the canvas.

- I used Jet Black Archival Ink to add some stenciling with a stencil called Measured (Tim Holtz) and some Texture Paste to add dimension through a stencil called Blocks Small (Dylusions).

- At this point I decided that the buff paint was lighter than what I wanted so I sprayed the whole canvas with Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz).

- I did the assemblage part of this in a backwards way because I had intended the canvas to be light and the bits and pieces to be dark so it took way longer and was really messy. Since I have a mixture of metal and wooden pieces, I gave everything a coat of White Gesso and then followed that with a coat of Iced Coffee paint. I should have glued everything in place after the Gesso was applied and before I sprayed the canvas with the ink because then I wouldn't have had to add the Iced Coffee paint but I wasn't thinking that day - or many others right now to be honest.

- After the Iced Coffee paint was dry, it still wasn't dark enough so I added some watered down Umber Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

- Next I glued all the pieces to the canvas - there are gears, screws, washers, charms, buttons and all sorts of electrnoic bits - and then touched up any light spots with the Umber paint. If I had Gathered Twigs Distress Paint, I would have used that and then topped it with the Umber paint.

- The next step was to make all the bits look somewhat rusty. To accomplish that I rubbed a variety of wax pastes on with my fingers - Matte Wax Paste in Patina Green, Rusty Brown and Rusty Red (Prima) and Oxynite and Rose Quartz Treasure Gold Metallic Paste (Connoisseur Studios). I used a soft cloth to buff them and just kept adding the pastes until I got a look I was happy with. You will notice when you go to the shop that there are not many colours of Matte Wax showing right now but check out the March Pre-Order section and scroll down where you will find a number of luscious new colours available to order.

- After I was done with the pastes I decided the background was a bit plain so I masked the bits and pieces off and sprayed and dripped some Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz) over the background.

I had fun making my Steampunk canvas and hope it will inspire you to join us for the Anything Goes challenge. The challenge can be found HERE and runs until 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, March 16th.

Supplies list:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - The Professor 2 CMS395
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Measured THS012
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain - Gathered Twigs TSS42310
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain - Tarnished Brass TSS42549
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Umber, 1 oz Bottle
Prima Marketing Matte Wax Pastes - Rusty Red, Rusty Brown, Green Patine
Silver and Bronze Tone Key Set
Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
Connoiseur Studios Treasure Gold Wax Pastes - Rose Quartz, Oxynite
Dina Wakley Buff Acrylic Paint
Dylusions Blocks Small Stencil
White Gesso
Wooden Gears, Steampunk Buttons, Hardware and Electronic Parts, Charms

Tiny Neutral Accordion Book

The new challenge starts today at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Sara Emily is our hostess for this one. She is calling it Mostly Neutral and she describes it this way:

For this challenge, I would like you to use mainly neutrals, but I will allow you one accent color or use of metallic accents. Let's see how you use beige, ivory, taupe, brown, black, gray or shades of white or any combination of these to make any vintage/shabby chic project you would like.

I thought it might be fun to make a really tiny accordion book and use all sorts of bits and pieces from my stash. In truth I was inspired by a new button and elastic closure that I saw online and wanted to make it so I needed a book for it.

Since there are so many pages I am not going to show a step by step but will give you an idea of the products and techniques used to put it together. I started with the accordion base and cut two pieces 3 7/8" x 12" and then scored it on the long side at 2 7/8", 5 3/4", 8 5/8" and 11 1/2". I cut away the 1/2" leftover piece on one of the strips and angled the ends of the 1/2" leftover piece on the other strip. I glued the 1/2" strip to one side of the other strip and then folded the resulting long strip into mountain and valley folds - you should end up with the panels on each end going the same direction. If you want a larger book, you can add another strip.

Next I created the covers by cutting two pieces of cracker box material 4" x 9" and then scored them on the long side at 3" and 6". I folded one side to the front of the centre and the other to the back of the centre and then glued each in place so that I ended up with a piece 3" x 4" that was three layers thick. One layer of thick chipboard, mat board or book board could be used instead but I like the idea of recycling the cracker boxes.

The next step was to add paper to one side of each cover. I cut the paper 4" x 5", centred the cover block on the wrong side of the paper and glued it on. The corners were mitered when I glued the excess to the back side to get nice sharp corners. Glue the covers to the accordion base on the panels at each end that face the same direction making sure to centre the panel on the back side of the cover.

Now it was time to make the panels that would be decorated. Since I wanted to use some wet media, I cut pieces of water colour card 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" and then I distressed the edges with a pair of scissors.

I had decided to use a nature theme for the book so I set about to decorate each page with that theme in mind. Each panel was inked with distress inks or painted with watered down paints or Scribble Sticks and then collaged with bits of paper, laces, fibers, die cuts, charms (altered with Alcohol Ink), stamped bits, some Chit-chat stickers and stenciling with ink and texture paste.re are some close-ups to give you an idea of what I did on each page.

Once each panel (as shown in these close-ups was decorated, they were glued onto the accordion base. I decided which order I wanted them to go in and mounted the flattest ones first on each side and then mounted ones with more dimension.

Finally I decorated the covers starting with the front as shown at the top and then the back as shown above.

Once the book was all put together I determined the thickness and made the closure by taking thin round elastic cord and wrapping it around the book twice. Once I determined the length I cut it off the spool and folded it in half. The open ends were threaded through the button holes and tied together. The closure was wrapped around the book and looped over the button. This is a super easy closure and will stretch a bit to accommodate thicker embellishments without detracting from your cover design. The button can be a design element in itself as was this leaf button I used.

I hope you will join us for this challenge. The Design Team will choose their top four picks with the overall winner receiving a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. All four will receive badges to display on their blogs. The challenge runs until 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, March 2nd.

Supplies list:

Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Pumice Stone, Black Soot
Tim Holtz Distress Oxides - Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone
Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks - Umber, Sand
Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks - Pitch Black, Rust, Mushroom, Blending Solution
Tim Holtz Distress Crayons - Antique Linen
Tim Holtz Bubble Stencil
Wendy Vecchi Dots and Stripes Border Stencil
TCW Stencils - Mini Tiny Circles, Mini Geometric Art Layers
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Entomology
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Nature's Wonder
Wendy Vecchi Country Flowers Stamp Set
Tim Holtz Thinlets Dies - Entomology, Garden Greens, Wildflower Stems #2 Sizzix Circle Die Set
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Kraft Glassine, Chit-chat Stickers
Stamperia Alchemy Paper Pad
Graphic 45 Mon Amour Paper Pad
Miscellaneous - Charms, Burlap String, Burlap, Ric-rac, Wool, Lace, Button, Cardboard, Cork, Skeleton Leaf, Feather, Embroidery Floss, Fabric Scraps
Recollections Black Card stock
Canson Watercolour Card Stock
Elastic Cord
Scor Tape
Liquitex Modeling Paste
Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

Love in My Heart

It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Suzz, our hostess for this one is calling it Groundhog Day. Don't let the title put you off because when you read her description you will realize that it is really quite simple and something anyone can accomplish with no problem.

"This challenge is inspired by the movie Groundhog Day. In the movie Bill Murray is forced to repeat the same day over and over again for 10 years. This past year has been a little challenging and people have felt like they might be in a little bit of a Groundhog Day time loop. I am challenging you to create a shabby chic or vintage project that uses a technique, stamp, ink, or any other consistent tool that you find yourself using over an over in your art. Think of this as your opportunity to share what you find yourself repeating in your art frequently. Be sure to share with us in your post what it is that you keep repeating in your art"

Since Valentine Day is fast approaching, I thought I would make a little canvas and use one of the canvas boards that my Grandchildren gave me for Christmas. I really should have made a card for my husband so now I will be scrambling. Here is how this little canvas comes together:

• Use a wet glue such as Mod Podge to adhere tissue paper that has been wadded into a ball and then carefully opened up again to the top of a 5" x 7" flat canvas board - this is my repetitive element since it is a great way to make instant texture

Reminder: Just pat it down to adhere and don't rub it because it will tear when it is wet from the glue

• Cut the corners off the tissue off on the diagonal and then glue the overhang to the back of the canvas board making sure to create sharp corners

• Glue a panel of Botanical Collage Paper to the canvas board
• Dry brush some White Gesso over the canvas board

• Use the Bubble Stencil and texture paste to add random texture on the panel - this is another go-to element in my mixed media projects 
• Decorate the unprinted side of hearts that have been cut from cracker boxes - these were laser cut for me by my husband but if you have a heart die, the cracker box material will go through your die-cutting machine

1. Ink with Watering Can Archival Ink and then stencil with a Speckles stencil and some Picket Fence Distress Ink

2. Layer 3 hearts together, paint with Titanium White Acrylic Paint aptting it to give it some texture and then add some heart shapes punched from card stock and paper scraps 

3. Cover with computer generated paper (create in word processing program with a variety of fonts)

4. Ink with Watering Can Archival Ink and then stamp with a criss cross stamp using Jet Black Archival Ink 

5. Cover with patterned paper scrap

• Stamp the word love on a scrap of card stock using Red Geranium Archival Ink and ink the edges with Watering Can Archival Ink 
• Ink the edges of a Quote Chip with Watering Can Archival Ink 
• To assemble the canvas, add some loopy lengths of white thread followed by the hearts, sentiments and finally a few red sequins

I hope you will join us for the challenge, which runs until 11:55pm EST on Tuesday, February 16th. The Design Team will choose their 4 top picks with the overall winner receiving a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Supplies list:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Speckles THS021
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Picket Fence TIM40781
Prima Art Alchemy Liquid Acrylic Paint - Titanium White
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Tim Holtz Botanical Collage Wrap
Tim Holtz Quote Chips
Tim Holtz Stamps #THMM01
Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Watering Cab, Red Geranium
Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
Graphic 45 Mon Amour 6"x6" Paper Pad
White Gesso
Texture Paste
Thread
Dollarama Tissue Paper, Heart Punch, Sequins
Martha Stewart Heart Border Punch
Studio G Alphabet Stamp Set

Life is a Beautiful Ride

Today is the start of a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  I am the hostess this time and am calling it Put A Good Word In!  Here is how I describe the challenge:

Create a shabby chic or vintage projects that includes a word or words that are positive or happy or uplifting in nature. Single words or sentiments/quotes can be used. Given what we have all been through for the last months nothing sad or negative please.

I was digging through some untouched ignored bins in my craft space and came across this resin bicycle that I bought on a visit to the US a few years ago and thought it was high time I used it. Then I set about trying to come up with some appropriate words to go with it. I found this sentiment online and it spoke volumes to me.

At any time in our life and especially in times like this it is so easy to think nothing is beautiful but even in the midst of all the problems and trials we experience there is something beautiful to latch on to. Right now it might be that we have become closer to our families because we are spending more time together or we can rejoice because our communities have stepped up in a big way to help each other and especially those that are alone. It might be that we can be thankful for all the technology that we have so we can stay connected or it might be something fun like having had the time to learn something new. It is true that the times are tough but life is still a beautiful ride even with obstacles.

I thought I would make a whimsical little canvas to showcase my bicycle. I used a variety of Dina Wakley acrylic paints along with scraps of paper from Graphic 45 and some dies from Tim Holtz and inks from Tim and Wendy Vecchi. Normally I would share my process with you but this time I am just giving you a sneak peek.  I am presenting the Saturday Showcase on January 9th where I will detail how I created it so save the date and check out the post on The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.

Bird on a Branch

The new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog starts today and Suzz, our hostess is calling it Birds. Here is how she describes it:

For this Challenge I want you to be inspired by our flying friends. You can take the challenge literally and have images or die cuts of birds on your art, you can be inspired by the words describing birds or even showcase their homes. Make sure to share with us how you were inspired by the birds.

I decided to take the challenge literally and show a bird on my project. I was inspired by a canvas I saw online with a bird and a branch but then went off in my own direction.

I started by covering an 8 x 10" canvas board with White Gesso. I used some Wild Honeysuckle Coral Stardust Ink Spray and some Roast Chestnut IZink Pigment Ink like watercolours by mixing them in small puddles of water on my kraft sheet and then painting them onto the canvas. I did a layer of the Coral first, the the Roast Chestnut and then more Coral. Note: I forgot to take a photo at the end of this step but I am sure you can see the colour below the stenciling.

Next I added some stenciling with a Mini Ledger Stencil and some Coffee Archival Ink. I also used a Criss-Cross stencil I designed myself and my husband cut to add some texture with Textue Paste.

My husband designed and cut the branch with leaves from chipboard for me and I gave it a coat of White Gesso. I used my finger to add some roughness on the wood with texture paste and then painted it with Melted Chocolate Acrylic Paint followed by some Umber Acrylic Paint. The leaves were painted with Aloe Acrylic Paint.

The flowers were punched from a paper collection called Garden Goddess, the edges inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and some tiny dollar store gems were added to the centres.

The little bird is cut from some fine corrugated cardboard that I had in my stash. I have a large stencil of different birds and I just traced him and then cut him out. Next I have him a coat of White Gesso followed by some Sedona Acrylic Paint and then a dry brushing of more Gesso. Once the paint was dry I rubbed some Rose Quartz wax paste over the raised areas and then added a gem for an eye.

The clock was cut from a cracker box by my husband and then I coated it with Umber Acrylic Paint, a sprinkling of playground sand and finally a coat of Mod Podge.

I ran a strip of Rose Gold Metallics Kraft Stock through an embossing folder called Paisley Palooza to create a textured strip for the background. I also die cut a scalloped circle from card stock, ran it through a Bubble embossing folder, inked the edges with Gathered Twigs DI and dry brushed White Gesso onto the highlights. Sorry I forgot to photograph this step - brain turning to mush being home for so long.

I die cut a circle from cracker box material, coated it with White Gesso and then inked it with Dried Marigold Distress Ink. I used the Bubble stencil and some Coffee Archival Ink to add some markings and then covered the circle with some Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paste. The Crackle Paste was really thick (a.k.a. pretty well dead) so it didn't really crack well.

To assemble the canvas, I put the metallic strip down first, followed by the scalloped circle, the clock and the stenciled circle. The branch was added next followed by the bird. Finally I added some iridescent sequins and a little Small Talk sticker that I inked with Gathered Twigs.

I hope you will join us for the challenge, which runs until 11:55 pm EDT on Tuesday, September 15th. One randomly chosen winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their Top 4 Picks with the overall winner receiving an opportunity to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Seth Apter Izink Pigment - Roast Chestnut 80638
Dina Wakley Acrylic Paint - Aloe, Umber, Sedona
Dylusions Paints, Melted Chocolate DYP46011
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Coffee AIP31451
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Gathered Twigs, Dried Marigold
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper TH93780
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Scor Tape
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk Stickers
Graphic 45 Garden Goddess 12" x 12" Paper
Lindy's Wild Honeysuckle Coral Stardust Ink Spray
Treasure Gold Rose Quartz Wax Paste
Mini Ledger & Criss Cross Stencils
Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies
Mini Flower Punch
Micro Gems
Chipboard Branch with Leaves & Chipboard Clock Iridescent Sequins

Stenciled Canvas

Today is the start of the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  Jenny is our hostess for this one and she is calling it Stencilmania.  Here is how she describes it:

Stencils are such versatile tools - you can add colour through them, add texture and patterns with them, draw with them, emboss with them, print with them and so much more. So for this challenge we want you to get creative with your stencils, adding as many layers as you dare to create a vintage or shabby chic project to share with us all.

I thought it might be fun to make a mixed media canvas this time and here is how it came together.

I started with a round canvas that is 7 3/4" in diameter and was cut by my husband from the heavy chipboard that you find inside the vinyl covers of three ring binders - crafter's recycling at its finest.

Next I gave both sides a good coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and then added some stenciling with Texture Paste (Ranger). I used the Bubble and Burlap stencils (Tim Holtz) and one I call Cracks that my husband made for me.

The canvas was covered with Aloe Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) and then using my ratty bristle brush I added some Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

I added lots of colour next using Burnt Orange and Roast Chestnut IZink Pigment Inks (Seth Apter) and Umber, Cheddar and Sedona Scribble Sticks(Dina Wakley)

Using a Sizzix Circles Die Set I cut a couple of circles from cracker boxes, coated them with White Gesso on the plain side and then painted the larger one with Umber Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) and the smaller one with Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

I wanted a bit of interest on the larger circle so I thought maybe I could get a wet or tone on tone pattern look by adding some Walnut Stain Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz) through the burlap stencil (Tim Holtz). It did look wet but wasn't very visible. I took my heat gun to it to set it and was surprised but happy to see the stenciling turn a lighter colour and pop against the dark brown.

The next step was to colour the butterfly, which is a die cut from the Tattered Butterflies set (Tim Holtz). I used the Burnt Orange and Roast Chestnut IZink Pigment Inks and then coloured the body with Umber Acrylic Paint.

Embellishments were prepared next. A strip of French Design Tape (Tim Holtz) was added to a piece of card stock. Some drywall tape was painted with Sand Acrylic Paint and a Small Talk Sticker (Tim Holtz) was inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

To assemble the canvas, I layered each circle on dimensional foam, and then added the butterfly to the top circle along with some thread. Each embellishment strip was added next and finally I removed the backs from some brads and added them to the drywall tape.

I hope you will join us. The challenge runs until 11:55 pm EDT, Tuesday, August 18th. One randomly chosen winner wilkl receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their 4 top picks with the overall winner receiving an opportunity to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Paint - Aloe - 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paint - Sand - 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Umber, 1 oz Bottle
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Burlap THS007
Tim Holtz Distress Texture Paste 3oz Crackle TDA71303
Seth Apter Izink Pigment - Burnt Orange 80640
Seth Apter Izink Pigment - Roast Chestnut 80638
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Walnut Stain
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Antique Linen TIM19497
Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks MDA54733
Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks 2
Tim Holtz Idea-ology French Design Tape
Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Butterfly by Tim Holtz
Scor Tape Tim Holtz Small Talk Idea-ology Stickers
Making Memories Brads
Gutterman Black Thread
Drywall Tape
Sizzix Circles Framelits Die Set
Handmade Cracks Stencil

Create Love

Today is the start of a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  Sara Emily, our hostess for this one is calling it A Mother's Love.  Here is how she describes it:

A mother's love can mean so many different things to different people. With this challenge I invite you to take some time to reflect on what it means for you and create a vintage or shabby chic project for your mother or a special woman in your life to let them know how much you love them. Be sure your project has the word "love" somewhere on it where it will be noticed.

Sadly my Mom passed away 27 years ago but I can still honour her with this project because it speaks to something she loved to do and passed on to me - creativity.  In turn I have passed the "creativity gene" on to to my Daughter and she has passed it on to her Daughter.  My Mom did all sorts of fiber crafts (petit point, smocking, knitting to name a few) but she also painted and once I was in the dentist's chair and commented that the paintings on the ceiling looked like something my Mom would do and he said that she did.  Apparently she got bored counting the little holes in the ceiling tiles so she brought him some art.

In addition to what you have seen me do, I too have done some fiber crafts however the ability to draw skipped me but both my Daughter and Granddaughter have it and both can look at something really tiny and draw it really large and it will be perfectly to scale.  My Granddaughter paints and just auditioned for the Advanced Visual Arts program in high school.  She was accepted so next year when she starts high school she will have the opportunity to take a number of great arts courses in addition to lots of maths and sciences, which she will need in order to earn money.

Considering what we are all experiencing right now, I am sure you will understand when I tell you that I don't focus well these days so there are no process photos.  I will explain how this came together and since I have done a similar project before HERE is a link to the post so you can see some process photos.

• Cover an 8" x 10" canvas with tissue paper that was crumpled up tightly and then carefully opened back up, making sure to pat it down rather than rub it on so it doesn't tear
• Glue a panel of burlap to the centre of the canvas
• Adhere a variety of elements around an old paint brush (metal & paper flowers, lace, charms, buttons, wooden shapes and text, gems, filigree shapes)
• Cover everything with a coat of white gesso (Dina Wakley) and when dry add a coat of Blackberry Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley)
• Spray the canvas with Milled Lavender Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz), Violicious Violet Moonshadow Mist (Lindy's) and Crushed Grape Spray Ink (Dylusions)
• Add some watered down Rosy Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) randomly over the canvas
• Rub some Amethyst Magic Art Brilliance and Rose Gold Metallique (Prima) wax pastes over all the raised areas

This is such an easy way to create a fun canvas so I hope you will give it a try.  By the way, in case you are wondering if the colour purple has any significance, well sort of.  My Mom loved blue but I have done so many projects in blue that I wanted something different this time.  I don't really have a favourite colur and I don't know what my Daughter's is so I went with one of my Granddaughter's - at least I think it is because she decorated her room in purple, grey and white but she is 13 so things change at warp speed. 😀

The challenge runs through 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, April 28th and one randomly chosen entrant will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique while the Design Team will choose their top picks and the overall winner will receive an opportunity to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Natural Jute Mesh (Burlap)
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Blackberry, 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Rosy, 1oz Bottle
Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions Ink Spray - Crushed Grape DYC33851
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Milled Lavender TSS42334
Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair - Antique Brilliance - Amethyst Magic
Antiqued Bronze Filigree Pieces - Set of 4
Antique Bronze Filigree Flower Wraps - set of 3
Bronze Metal Daisies for Scrapbooking and Mixed Media
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments Floral TH93789
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments - Arrows TH93127
Tissue Paper (Dollarama)
Violicious Violet Moonshadow Mist (Lindy's)
Rose Gold Metallique Wax Paste (Prima Marketing)
Paint Brush, Charms, Buttons, Wood Shapes, Text, Paper Flowers, Gems, Beads, Lace (My Stash)

Saturday Showcase - AALL & Create

I am presenting the Saturday Showcase at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog this week.  I have decided to showcase one of the AALL & Create stamps that will be arriving in the shop soon.  To find out how I made this canvas, just click HERE and you will be taken to the blog for all the details.

Little Angel

It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Suzz who is our hostess for this one is calling it Leap Into the Odd.  Here is how she describes this fun theme:

2020 is a leap year which means we will have an additional day in February ending on an odd number of days. The definition of odd is "different from what is usual or expected; strange." My challenge to you is to create something odd or unusual. Also you must tell us what is odd or unusual in your project when you share it with us!

When I first started to think about what I might create I was a little stymied but then the idea for this collage popped into my head.  Most often when I see an angel or fairy depicted, they are females so I thought it would be fun to make an angel out of this little boy.  Given that he is all dressed up, I am betting that he is really a little devil in disguise.

I was having so much fun creating that I forgot to take any process photos so stick with me and I will walk you through it.

I started by preparing the 8" x 8" deep stretched canvas itself. First I used a Harlequin stencil (Tim Holtz) with some texture paste (Ranger) to add texture in random areas on both the front and sides. Then I covered the whole canvas with White Gesso (Dina Wakley).

The canvas was then covered with Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) and then some watered down Peacock Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) was brushed and sponged on randomly.  Finally some water was added to some Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide on my kraft sheet and the canvas was pounced onto the beads that formed to give the appearance of splatters.

Next I started to assemble the collage elements, which are a mixture of fibers, papers from the Dapper paper pad (Tim Holtz) and Idea-ology items.  The lace and cheesecloth have been dyed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).  Text paper from Dapper was inked with Gathered Twigs DI while the old book paper was inked with Vintage Photo and Cracked Pistachio DI.  The ruler is paper from the Dapper pad and has not been altered.

The paper doll (Tim Holtz) was inked with Vintage Photo DI and his Transparent Wings (Tim Holtz) were inked from the back with a combination of Aqua, Mushroom and Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink (Tim Holtz).  I used Vintage Photo DI to ink both the Chit Chat Sticker and the Quote Chip (Tim Holtz).

I dyed some tea bag paper with some Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo DI and then used Coffee Archival Ink (Ranger) and the stamp from a set called Border Lines (Seth Apter) to create the strip on the right of the collage.

Finally I added a Trinket Pin (Tim Holtz), a rusted piece of hardware and a button (from The Funkie Junkie Boutique but used with the back side showing).

So there you have my little angel collage.  I hope you will think about something odd and join us for the challenge.  It runs until 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, March 3rd.  One randomly chosen entry will receive a gift certificate to go shopping at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and with all the new products coming in, that would be a nice thing to have.  The Design Team will choose their top four picks and the overall winner will receive an opportunity to be a Guest Designer with us at a future date.

Supplies list:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Harlequin THS016
Dina Wakley Acrylic Paints - Sand, Peacock
Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Cracked Pistachio DI, Gathered Twigs DO
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink -Aqua, Mushroom, Copper Mixative and Blending Solution
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Coffee AIP31451
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Chitchat Stickers TH92998
Carved Coconut Shell Buttons - 5/8"
Scor Tape
8" x 8" Deep Stretched Canvas
Tea Bag Paper
Old Book Paper
Burlap
Lace
Cheesecloth
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Dapper Paper Pad, Trinket Pin, Quote Chip, Transparent Wings
Seth Apter Border Lines Rubber Stamp Set

Oriental Paper Collage

It is the start of the first challenge of 2020 at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and I am hosting this one.  I thought it might be fun to play a game so I am calling the challenge Let's Play Tic Tac Toe!  Here is how I describe it:

Let's play a game of Tic Tac Toe for this first challenge of the year. Choose any vertical, horizontal or diagonal line from the graphic below and create a vintage or shabby chic project using all three items on your chosen line. In addition to using all three items you must include a copy of the graphic in your post and tell us which line you chose.

I decided to make a paper collage on a canvas board and use the diagonal line with Layers, Sentiment and Ribbon.  All the patterned papers are from the Oriental Garden collection from Stamperia.

Here is how to put it together:

• Cover an 8" square canvas board with White Gesso (Dina Wakley)
• Paint the edges with Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley)

• Mix a bit of Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley) with texture paste (Ranger) and add to the edges through a Burlap Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz)

• Distress the edges of a panel of patterned paper and ink with Pumice Stone Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) and adhere to the canvas as the background 
• Fussy cut a couple of tags from the paper collection, distress, ink and top with seam binding dyed with Barn Door Re-inker (Tim Holtz)

• Die cut a circle from card stock, add some Grit Paste (Tim Holtz) to the edges and then sprinkle a bit of Watering Can Embossing Powder (Wendy Vecchi) randomly on the edge and heat to melt

• Top with a patterned paper circle using dimensional foam
• Die cut a card stock circle and emboss with a Cherry Blossom Embossing Folder (Darice) and then top with a die cut patterned paper circle
• Using Watering Can Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi), stencil the bird and branches on a piece of watercolor card stock and cut into a circle before adhered with dimensional foam

• Cut a square of patterned paper and top with a punched square of card stock that has been treated with Grit Paste and Embossing Powder
• Fussy cut a circle element from the paper collection and add a couple more die cut circles of patterned paper with dimensional foam
• Fussy cut a sentiment element from the paper collection and add
• Ink a card stock scrap with Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral and Victorian Velvet Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) in that order
• Spray with some Ramblin Rose Pink Starburst Ink (Lindys) and then some White Linen Spray Ink (Dylusions)
• Dip a paint brush in water and take colour off a Rosy Scribble Stick (Dina Wakley) and add over the rest of the colour

• Punch a bunch of tiny flowers (EK Success) from the pink card stock, add tiny pearls (Dollarama) to the centres and adhere to the bird panel

I hope you will play with us.  One randomly chosen entry will receive a gift certificate to go shopping at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and with all the new products coming in, that would be nice to have.  The Design Team will chose their top picks with the overall winner receiving an invitation to Guest Design with us at a future date.

Supplies list with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paint - Sand - 1oz Bottle
Stamperia - Oriental Garden 12x12 Paper Pack SBBL58
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Pumice Stone, Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Victorian Velvet, Barn Door Reinker)
Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks (Rosy)
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Watering Can AID39006
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powder - Watering Can WEP43935
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Grit Paste - TDA53422
Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions Ink Spray - White Linen DYC37873
Rayon Seam Binding
Scor Tape
Lindys Ramblin Rose Starburst Spray Ink
Tim Holtz Burlap Layering Stencil
Folk Art Birds Stencil
EK Success Circle and Mini Flower Punches
All Night Media "Good Luck" Punch
Sizziz Circles Framelits

Leaf Collage

It is time for the next challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  Ginny, our hostess for this one calls it 'Fabulous Fall' and describes it like this:

It's the wonderful season where the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and our thoughts turn to pumpkin spice everything. For this challenge create a Fall inspired project.

I don't want to be a downer but by this time of year at my house all the gorgeous fall colours are over and we are left with mostly bare branches and whatever colour we have is dull yellow and carpets the ground - my poor husband is struggling to get all the leaves bagged up and out of here because they won't compost fast enough to avoid a soggy mess.  The air is certainly crisp, which is way better than hot and humid but sadly we have more rainy days than sunny ones.  As the temperatures continue dropping that rain is going to turn into the dreaded snow.  The stores are already packed with Christmas decorations and that wonderful aroma of pumpkin spice is being replaced by cinnamon pine cones - a lovely aroma too but makes me want to scream NOOOOOOOO since it is too soon.

So given the current state of affairs in my neck of the woods, I have decided to make a leaf collage in more neutral tones.

I began by adding some rough texture to a stretched canvas with Texture Paste (Ranger) and a palette knife.  Then I covered everything with some White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and once that was dry followed it with some watered down Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

Next I prepared the various elements that I wanted to layer on the canvas.  Some Copper Metallic Kraftstock (Tim Holtz) was die cut with the Garden Green (Tim Holtz) die and another piece was embossed with a Honeycomb Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz).

A piece of corrugated cardboard was painted with some Ancient Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley and a couple pieces of paper from the Old Lace pad (Stamperia) were torn and the edges inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

Some tea bag paper was dyed with Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain DI (Tim Holtz).

For the focal point I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp a leaf from the Leaf Prints set (Tim Holtz) on a piece of torn old book paper, inked the edges with Vintage Phot DI and then coated it with three layers of Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture (Seth Apter).

To complete the collage layers a bit of copper wire was threaded through a black button from my stash.  I added some crochet ribbons, a piece of the faux leather I made for the last challenge and a Big Chat sticker (Tim Holtz) that was inked with Vintage Photo DI.

I hope you will join us for the challenge.  One random winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their top picks with the overall pick receiving an opportunity to join us as a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Leaf Prints Stamp Set (Tim Holtz)
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
White Corrugated Cardboard - 15 Sheets
Stamperia - Old Lace 12x12 Paper Pack SBBL32
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black AIP31468
VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo TIM19527
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain TIM19534
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs TIM32823
Seth Apter Baked Texture - Vintage Beeswax 17g
May Arts 5/8 Inch Crochet Ribbon - Black
May Arts Ivory Mesh Ribbon - 1.5"
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper TH93780
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Garden Greens by Tim Holtz 661206
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Big Chat Stickers TH93192
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Ancient, 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paint - Sand - 1oz Bottle
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards
Bubble and Honeycomb Set Texture Fade (Tim Holtz)
Old Book Page
Black Button
Copper Wire
Tea Bag Paper