Thanks for the Memories ~ Bonnie

Hello, eP fans.  By now you know that eclectic Paperie is closing it's doors.  That also means the end of the blog and the design team.

We have had a fabulous run as members of the eclectic Paperie Design Team and wish to thank you all for your interest and support over the years. With the eP blog coming to a close at the end of the month, we all wanted to do something special to celebrate the fabulous friendships, tons of inspiration from other team members, from Kim, and from all those who participated in our challenges. Each of the current DT members is taking a day to post some of her favorite makes from her time on the eclectic Paperie team. We hope you enjoy the look back.

Bonnie here today.This is my opportunity to reflect on my wonderful time on the eclectic Paperie Design Team. I have experienced so much growth... (and we're not just talking hips here) ...in my art, in my confidence, in my knowledge, and in my personal life during my time here at eP. There have been so many friendships forged, so much wonderful sharing of support, encouragement, talent, and joy. I am grateful for everyone I have had the blessing to get to know  from Kim and the amazing and generous DT members past and present, to the fabulous folks like you who have followed, encouraged, celebrated with us, and shared your talent and creativity. For all of the learning I have done, for all of the discoveries I have made, and the warmth I have felt, I thank you all.

For Kim, an extra special Canadian hug and a gigantic thank you for the opportunities you have given me, for the faith you have placed in me, and for your wonderful friendship. I wouldn't trade a moment of our marathon phone calls. Love you, girlie!

Here is a look back at some of my favourite makes from my time at eP:

My altered bee book

Quiet Your Mind journal spread

Altered Game board

altered wooden houses

art journal page where I actually left white spaces!

Thanks for joining me today on my walk down Memory Lane. I'm delighted you were here today just as I am glad you have been along for all of this incredible journey!

Bonnie

Step Off the Path ~ Mixed Media Canvas

Hi there! It's Bonnie here today sharing a little 5x7" mixed media I created to feature this sweet Dina Wakley Scribbly Birds. I stamped the birds onto white mixed media paper using Jet Black Archival ink. Then I spritzed my water colours and painted in some base colour and shading to give me that washy look I wanted. The birds were then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border for contrast. Foam tape was placed on the backs of the birds and they were set aside.

The pre-gessoed canvas board was sponged with three colours of Fresco Finish ( Claret, Cotton Candy, and Blush) working wet on wet and applying the paint with a piece of Cut n Dry foam. Once dry, white gesso was pounced through Prima's Stone Wall III stencil. Magenta Archival ink was sponged through Dina Wakley's plastic mesh stencil. Old book pages from Michelle Hill's Vintage Ephemera bundle was torn and  adhered to the canvas with gel medium. More white gesso was spread across the background including the text using both a brush and my finger.

Tangerine Gelato was used to edge the canvas and was spread with a dry finger. Black embossing paste was added to the canvas through TCW's Mini Texturized stencil. Extra texture and pattern were added by randomly and imperfectly stamping a TH script stamp using Jet Black Archival ink. Pieces of cork ribbon were added to the base to ground the birds and to the top left to carry the cork through the piece.

Party hats were cut from yellow scraps of designer paper and small colourful circles were punched and added to make them more fun. The sentiment, from Studio 490 Seriously Art set, was stamped with Jet Black onto mixed media paper, cut out with a Spellbinders die, and inked with Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress inks. The same inks were used on a chipboard heart. Punched semi-circles were adhered to both sides of the canvas and black enamel dots were added to the cork bits. To complete the piece, black doodling was added as well as Black Big Brush pen on the edges.

The party birds and I thank you for hanging out with us today. Hope we made you smile!
Bonnie

Archival Ink - Jet Black Ink Pad	Scotch Foam Mounting Tape	Dina Wakley - White Gesso - 2 oz.	Dina Wakley - Gel Medium - 2oz.
Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Embossing Paste - Black	PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint - Claret (Translucent)	PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint - Blush (Semi-Opaque)	PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint - Candy Floss (Opaque)
Vintage Paper Ephemera Bundles	Prima - 6x6 inch Stencil - Stone Wall III	TCW - Mini Texturized 6x6 Stencil	Ranger - Cut n′ Dry Foam Pads
Faber Castell - Gelatos - Yellow Colors	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinker - Spiced Marmalade	Distress Ink Pad - Picked Raspberry	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black

We're all mad here!

Hi everyone. It's Bonnie here today with a fun mixed media piece I created to help me blow off a little frustration. I don't know about you but, for me, this works every time...have a little play, get a little messy, make myself smile, and feel a lot better! I began with a mop up page covered with Dylusions sprays in Postbox Red and Pure Sunshine. I keep a pad of  6x8 inch mixed media paper beside my work space and when I have leftover ink or paint on my craft sheet, I use a piece to mop up the extra. Then I'm not wasting and it provides a jump off point for another project.

I loved the mix of the colours and the bits of white peeking through but there was a large uncoloured chunk at the bottom so I tore off a piece of Authentique's dotty Classique Elegant 12 paper and added it to the bottom. The piece that I trimmed off of that became the strip I added to the top edge. Using Wendy Vecchi's Red Geranium Archival ink and a mini ink blender, I stencilled TCW's Art Is pattern here and there. I also pounced black gesso through TCW's Mini Texturized stencil. More black gesso was used to create the bottle top rings as well.

In order to add some sparkle and shine that would catch the light without detracting from the background, I scraped Art Anthology Frost Sorbet Dimensional paint through TCW's Netting stencil, First time I used it and it is gorgeous and will likely live on my desk, an honour reserved for only my favourite products that I use all the time. It picked up a little of the Dylusions ink and was a dream to spread giving me crisp stencilling.

The rabbit and clock images, purchased on Etsy, were fussy cut and then edged with Black Big Brush pen. Both were adhered to the background with Gel Medium. Once dry, the hoop and stick were outlined with silver metallic gel pen. Two Idea-ology pen nibs were adhered to the clock face with Glossy Accents. Two other embellies, Wendy Vecchi's Blossom Bucket Stars, were added to the top left corner to give a little more visual weight there.

The sentiment was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, and matted in black. The word MAD was coloured with Prismacolor pencils. All words were popped up on foam tape for dimension and to create shadow. To finish off the piece, Black Soot Distress ink and Black Big Brush pen were used around the outside edges.

Thanks for joining Ms. March Hare and me today. We do appreciate your fine company and hope that you gained a little inspiration to get messy!

Bonnie

Dylusions Ink Spray - Pure Sunshine	Dylusions Ink Spray - Postbox Red	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 Archival Ink - Red Geranium	Dina Wakely Media Gesso - Black
Dina Wakely - Gel Medium	TCW - Mini Texturized 6x6 Stencil	The Crafter′s Workshop - 6x6 stencil - Netting	Ranger - Mini Ink Blending Tool
Art Anthology � Sorbet Dimensional Paint - Frost	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black	Tim Holtz - Idea-ology -Decorative Pen Nibs	Wendy Vecchi - Blossom Bucket - Black Mini Stars
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape	Inkssesentials - Glossy Accents 2 oz.

                                     

                                     

Mosaic Canvas

Hi everyone! It's Bonnie here today to share a little 5x7 inch board canvas I altered. A while ago, through Pinterest, I saw these fabulous mosaic canvases created by Linda Iverson and found the idea really inspired me. It's a wonderful way to use of scraps of papers and chipboard and I love the results so I decided to have a go.

I started by applying black gesso to the canvas board and allowing it to dry. Next I cut up some chipboard scraps and laid out a pattern that pleased me. I wanted a few of the "tiles" to be thicker so I cut an extra layer for two and three layers for the center rectangle. These I glued together and then used my Black Big Brush Pen to blacken the edges of all tiles.

The next step was to choose stamps and stencils as well as papers to feature on some of the tiles. The gold embossed quote as well as the black embossed squares stamp come from the TH Classics 16 set. The paper under the squares stamp is a piece of Authentique Anchored Sailing paper. There is a very faint map printed on it which fits the journey theme and a small resin hand was added to point to the quote.. Directly above the square tiles stamped tile is an Idea-ology Word Band which says Live in the Moment. Gold nailhead stickers were attached to the band with Glossy Accents to resemble brads.

The black starry tile at the top and bottom right were stencilled with TCW's Mini Random Stars and Studio 490 Gold Embossing Paste onto black cardstock. This was then adhered to the chipboard and cut to size. The B is a Scrabble tile adhered to a scrap of gold striped paper using Beacon 3-in-1 glue which was also used to adhere all of the tiles to the canvas. This same striped paper formed the background on a narrow tile which housed the Idea-ology pen nib.

Two scraps of music paper from Michelle Hill's Vintage Ephemera Bundles were used to cover two more tiles. I was able to center the lyric "What a life" onto the one tile which continues with the message of the canvas. These papers as well as the Authentique one were edged in Black Soot Distress ink to better connect them to the rest of the project.

Scraps of black cardstock embossed with TH Riveted Metal Texture Fades embossing folder were rubbed with various colours of Inka Gold to highlight or accentuate the embossed design. These were then adhered to two tiles and trimmed to fit.

I love how this turned out and am already planning more canvases in different sizes. I think a big one would be super fun to do and have several more of the same size started in my head. I'd love to see what you do with Linda's fabulous idea. Thanks for the inspiration, Linda.

Bonnie

Authentique - Anchored - 12x12 paper - Sailing	Dina Wakley - Black Gesso - 2 oz.	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Embossing Paste - Metallic Gold	Tim Holtz - Idea-ology -Decorative Pen Nibs
Idea-ology - Word Bands	Vintage Paper Ephemera Bundles	BEACON: 3-In-1 Advanced Craft Glue	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black
Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder - Black	Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder - Gold	VersaMark Stamp Pad	Tim Holtz Alterations - Texture Fades Embossing Folders (2PK) - Diamond Plate & Riveted Metal
Chipboard - 8.5" x 11"	Inkssesentials - Glossy Accents 2 oz.	The Crafter′s Workshop - 6x6 stencil - Random Stars	Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot