Encaustic Workshop

I took a 2 day encaustic painting workshop in town this weekend. I had a blast! I have been playing with beeswax and wondering if I wanted to go the full encaustic route and invest in all the supplies. I am seriously mulling about it. Here are 2 works I made this weekend. The first one is 8X10 and the second is 8X8. The layering and nuances you can get with this meduim, not to mention the luminosity, is wonderful.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Friends!

The tag challenge over at Louise's Kard Krazy blog is to use Friends as a theme.
Louise used a dog, which set me going too, since we have been giving ALOT of thought to getting another dog, which would be #2!
Here is my entry:

I used 2 blue and 1 orange distress ink on the tag. I stamped a few flowers in black and brown. I stamped the My Faithful Friend stamp by Magenta on a yellow colored scrapbook paper and ripped around the edges and added brown ink to the edges.  I colored the stamp in a bit with inks. I restamped it on a piece of my handpainted paper and just cut our the postmark and glued over the original stamp. I added some ribbons to the back of the image. I stamped the dog stamp by Artistic Outpost on a piece of square chipboard that I had gessoed I added some inks, the rhinestone on the collar and outlined in gold. I attached some ribbons on the back of the chipboard and glued to the tag. I dotted some gold paint in the middle of the 2 top flowers.

Tuesday Tag Challenge

This week's Challenge over at Louise's Blog is to design a tag on a tag. Here is my entry:

I folded over the top of the tag and put gesso on the whole card. Took pink and red ink and stamped with bubble wrap. Under the flower I used red ink on a piece of cardboard. I punched the bottom of the tag and outlined in gold krylon pen. The mini tag has a piece of my hand painted paper on it. I stamped love on it and outlined in gold.  There is a white piece of mulberry paper under the mini tag, can't really see it. I added several tissue paper flowers and the brad. Simple and sweet.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Circles!

This week at Louise's Tag Challenge is to use more than one circle in your tag. It was fun incorporating circles in different places.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Valentines!

Louise's Tag Challenge for this week is to make a Valentine Tag!
I stamped part of a Magenta tag on dressmaking paper, ripped it and glued it to a  wooden heart that had been sprayed with glimmer mists. I added some papers to it and bordered it with Krylon Gold pen. I cut out a bigger heart, covered it with paper, stamped stars on it, embossed the flourish in gold and glued on a piece of paper.  I made an arrow out of the inside of a Starbucks sleeve, glued it to the heart and glued the wooden heart over it. Punched a hole in the top and added ribbons.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Winter!

I did give a little groan when I saw the challenge topic this week at Louise's Tag Challenge! Even though I live in a snowy ski town, I just couldn't bear to do anything with snowmen, snowflakes etc. I have put all my Christmas stuff away, and was not going to go down in the garage to dig some of it out. So I decided to create something with birds and evergreens, a bit cheerier for me and hopeful.  Here it is:

I stamped an evergreen stamp by Delta in 2 different color greens on the tag. I took a small piece of small bubble wrap, dipped it in gesso, whipped it off, and stamped it on to look like snow. I stamped the bird from Invoke on blue scrapbook paper, cut out, colored in, added gold and bronze paint and glued on. Cut out a bird from an Oxford Impressions sheet and glued it on. I stamped the music stanza in sepia. It is from the same Invoke set with birds. Brushed sepia ink on the edges and more gesso. Stuck 3 feathers through the hole and taped in back. Winter in Park City!

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Fabric!

This week at Louise's Tag Challenge is the use of fabric on your tag. I wish she would do this theme for a few weeks running!  I had a ton of fun making it. It is very vibrant and interesting in person.

I completely covered a tag with a piece of tea dyed muslin. I painted a whole bunch of deli papers last week, and kept the strips of paper I cut from them when I was trimming them down. So I glued 5 different pieces across the tag. I stamped a French Script stamp from Paperbag Studios. I stamped Torso Collage, a stamp from Acey Deucy on polka dotted vellum. I outlined it in copper Krylon pen and cut it into 3 pieces. I glued a piece of  tea dyed lace on the bottom and "fringed" it. I glued the stamp pieces down and added 3 black beads on the bottom. The flower is punched from 3 of the painted papers, with a tissue paper flower on top and a hook.

Enjoy and thank you for your comments. They are all appreciated.

Tag Tuesday Challenge- Mosaic

I had alot of fun making this tag for this weeks challenge at Louise's Blog.  I took a square punch and punched out a bunch of different green papers. I glued them on the paper, cutting when necessary and filling in a spot, but leaving space between them like a true mosaic. For the "grout" I used a gold Polymark paint. I stamped Happiness on mulberry paper, ripped, distressed and glued to tag. I cut out the bird and glued on also. Raffia on the bottom, tissue paper and cork Prima flowers layered on top and 3 black beads on the side!!  We have more than our share of snow here, so I think this was my Ode to Spring!

Tag Tuesday Challenge- Christmas Leftovers!

Louise's Challenge this week is to use something left over from your Holiday celebration. I used scraps of some tissue paper that came in a present. Whimsy is a store here in Park City. T
heir name and the fleur de lis are on the tissue paper - I had kept it thinking I would use it in a collage. The background is stamped and distressed and the tissue paper is ripped and glued randomly. The square face is stamped on a piece of wood chipboard, colored the eyes and lips and covered with beeswax. I dripped blue crayon on the sides and melted them further to blend it in.There is a square of tea stained lace under the face.  The clothespin has a piece of ripped cardboard under it with paint and dripped crayon on it. 2 orange round rhinestones and a punched fleur de lis complete the tag!

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Silver or Gold!

I started to make this tag to adhere to a card and realized a little gold here and there and it would "qualify" for Louise's challenge. I just bought this lovely tacky tinsel today - I trimmed it down a bit. Here it is:

New Mounting!

I decided to mount these 2 5X5 hardboard, covered with beeswax on 6X6 canvases, painted in Titan Buff, and backed with cardboard. I am loving cardboard for everything. What a great stamp it makes too!
I thought these 2 creations lent themselves well to the cardboard.

Tag Tuesday Challenge is Back!

Louise's Challenge this week is to use the colors of brown, yellow and green on a Christmas Tag. Here is my entry, Hope you enjoy. The stamp is Inkadinkadoo, available in Michaels now in a nice clear stamp set.

Abstract Beeswax Creations!

I created 2 abstract 5X5 Hardboard with beeswax. The creation is a combination of my handpainted paper, bleeding tissue paper and other handmade papers. I did use sewing pattern paper on the purple on.

More Beeswax Fun!

I have been playing around alot with beeswax. Not always an easy medium to manipulate.
Here are 2 5X5's on clayboard by Ampersand.
The woman with her head in her hands has green crayon melted in the beeswax which gives it that Wicked Witch of the West look!.

Butterfly in Beeswax

This is my first canvas that I totally used beeswax as the adhesive and covered it all with beeswax.
There is a great video over at Stampington, under How to Videos, that illustrates this technique. I just loved it and plan to do more of the same. I have been using a little bit of beeswax in my work, but not this much. I am very drawn to encaustic, so this is my dabbling in that medium.

New Shrine Canvas!

I have been busily creating canvases for my show, the weekend of Nov 20-21.  I will be selling my new mixed media canvases. They are all pictured on the Flickr Photostream link, here on my blog.
I really like this new creation. I have been thinking about using some shrines in my work and using cardboard also. So I combined the two, and will make a few more.
Here is my latest creation:  The picture of the woman in the shrine is a copy of a photograph I took years ago of a statue in the Glasgow Botanical Gardens. It still remains one of my favorite photographs.

New Hearts Canvas

I made this 8X8 canvas for my friends birthday. She has a funky clock with the same color scheme, and wanted to hang it with that.

The base is a sheet of 90 lb watercolor paper. I added many different handmade papers and torn pages from books. I used white paint on a foam stamp, a heart stamp on paper, fabric, felt, button, beeswax over the music stanza. I glued it to a large piece of felt and then onto the canvas which was painted in Titan Buff. The sides were adorned with light molding paste applied through a stencil.  Here is a side view of that. It is a fabulous look :)  Thank you for your comments, always welcomed!

Mixed Media Monday Challenge - ART!

This weeks Challenge at Mixed Media Monday is simply, ART!  In creating this 5X5 collage, I decided to try, or add, a few different things. Here is my entry. Click on the image to enlarge:

5X5, one and a half inch wide mixed media canvas. Painted with Titan Buff. Stenciled on light molding paste on front.  Glued some handmade pieces of paper over the stencil.  Ripped up a piece of paper painted with acrylics, outlined in gold, and glued on top. Added a few stamps, buttons, lace and dragonfly punch.  Glued on computer generated haiku by me, and covered with beeswax. The haiku was inspired after a bunch of friends had a prayer circle for another friend going through breast cancer. I also embellished the 4 sides.

Mixed Media Challenge - Buttons

This weeks challenge at Mixed Media Monday is to use buttons in your work. Well......I use buttons in almost every collage I make, so this was not a big challenge for me!  My good friend, Judy, said her favorite color was red, and I looked around at my collages and realized I had NO red! Warm colors are not what I gravitate to....but I do love orange. So I created a 5X5 with a bit of red. Here it is. Click on the image to enlarge.

I used 4 different kinds of hand made papers for the background. The pretty paper under the words JOY, is a bleeding tissue paper I just made. It has bits of pink, yellow, peach and white. Very pretty up close. Then I stamped a flourish with Titan Buff paint. I stamped the delphinium in black ink on a piece of pattern paper. I love that look! I used 2 Prima flowers with a button center and 2 other buttons in the left top corner. I stamped the letters for Joy on an ivory paper, edged them with sepia ink and glued them to the canvas.

Mixed Media Monday Challenge

This weeks challenge at Mixed Media Monday, is to create your piece with something you have been wanting to try or use.  I have been wanting to incorporate beeswax into my art. I saw a video this morning that made the technique a lot easier. So I gave it a whirl, here is my piece:  Click on the picture to enlarge.

I started with a 5X5 canvas that is one and a half inches deep. I painted it with Titan Buff.  I cut a piece of 4X4 paper and glued a handmade paper that had leaves embedded in it. I used a foam leaf stamp and used white acrylic paint on it. With sepia ink, I stamped a few flourishes.  I glued it to the canvas using gel medium. I stamped the face in black in on muslin, brushed with sepia ink to make it look old and cut it out with pinking shears. I glued some batting to the back to give it a "puffed" look and glued it to the paper. I glued some pieces of white mulberry paper with holes and made the flower out of 2 different punches.  I stamped the word journey on some mulberry paper and glued to the paper.  I put several pieces of beeswax on the top and ironed them over the word. I added a few more to get a nice coat.  I embellished with one button, 2 snaps and 2 brads.  The beeswax is difficult to see on the photo, but it is really a nice look.

Mixed Media Monday Challenge - Warm it Up!

This week the challenge at Mixed Media Monday is to use warm colors in your art. I realized I don't use alot of warm colors, gravitating more towards the cool colors. So it was fun to use all these vibrant, happy colors.
Here is my mixed media collage - click on the picture to enlarge it.

I started with a 4X4 inch piece of white bazilli paper and glued on many different handmade papers. I added a ripped scrap from a spanish novel and stamped a french post card in sepia ink. I stamped the woman in black on a translucent white piece of unryu paper with gold and silver specs. Tore the piece to make uneven edges and glued to the paper. I used gel medium to adhere the 4X4 to the 5X5 canvas that is 1 & half  inches thick, which I had painted in Titan Buff. I added the lace, snaps, hooks, flowers, beads, heart. I used gold fabric paint to adorn the hair and the sun. I glued scraps to each side of the canvas and added snaps on top and bottom.

Mixed Media Monday Challenge

This week at Mixed Media Monday, the challenge is to use cool colors in your art.  I made these 5X5 mixed media collages on canvas this weekend. I could not decide which one to select, so I have posted both.

They both use a combination of many different papers. Believe is composed of several layers of bleeding tissue paper I made -with a piece of painted deli paper. Mosaic pieces, feathers, stamps, ribbon, buttons, sea glass are some of the embellishments. I have decorated the sides of the canvases also - sometimes with a corresponding stamp, pieces of paper, buttons, they vary.  Hope you enjoy. Your comments are appreciated.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Scrapbook!

Louise has a great challenge this week over at her blog.  Create a tag that tells a story - that could be part of a family scrapbook. FUN!  I used a copy of an old photo from my paternal grandmothers side of the family, The Brennans!  It is taken somewhere around 1920-1930. They are on a boat - I pictured them off on some great cruise. It is taken in New York.  I added a postcard paper as the backing, added an old stamp, old button and a piece of an old hanky! I happened to have the ribbon with the word journey on it -perfect. I distressed the perimeter of the tag with T.H.'s distress tool and sponged it lightly with tea dye ink. Enjoy. Thank you for your comments!

Mixed Media Monday

This weeks challenge on Mixed Media Monday is to Embellish your art work. Well.....that is easy. That is my favorite part!   Here is my piece.

This is prepared on a 5X7 canvas. I chose around 5 handmade papers to glue on - purposely having them go off the canvas. Then I glued the definition of Peace from an old dictionary. I added the bamboo sticks tied in twine and the gold threads under the sea glass. I tea stained a tag and stamped two stamps on it - you cannot see the tumbled glass french script under the statue. The script is from Paperbag Studios and the statue is from Oxford Impressions. I outlined it in gold and added the button and the other 2 buttons. Glued a small piece from a sheet of music. 

Gingersnap Creations Challenge

They have a current challenge at Gingersnap Creations blog to use paint in your art.  I have recently started using more paint in my collages. Here are 2 pieces that I put on 6X6 canvases.

I painted the canvases with Titan Buff. Then I used gel medium to glue down a wonderful white Unryu paper with gold threads. For both of them, I used a piece of my painted deli papers that were stamped with flourishes and had pieces of paper already glued to them. Then I embellished them with stamped images of birds. The stamps are from Paperbag Studios and Invoke Arts. I glued the top one directly on the canvas. The bottom one I glued to a piece of bazzili paper and outlined in bronze leaf pen. I added buttons and lace.
They are pretty wall hangings. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Christmas in July!

This weeks Tag Challenge over at Louise's Blog is to use Christmas colors in your tag! It was a bit hard for me to get into red and green and gold, or even blue and white, but once I got going, it was OK.
Here is my entry:

The beautiful ballet dancer is from Lost Coast Designs. The background is corrugated cardboard painted with gesso, stamped with red ink and then I drizzled red and gold paint on it. I outlined the whole tag in kryon gold pen. The ribbons are green and gold with white polka dots. I put 3 rhinestones on the left and added the punch hearts and fleur de ly, and the heart button.

Thursday Challenge

Here is my entry for the Thursday Challenge - Vintage Tags!

I glued a page from an old book to a tag and sponged white gesso to it. I inked some scrolls on the tag with bundled sage - hard to see. I glued a piece from an old music sheet and then stamped the pne of the new Gibson Girl stamps from Lost Coast Designs. I inked in some vintage sepia and straw in her hair. I glued a piece of lace to the bottom of the tag. I used the same lace to place under the tag and then glued. I added the vintage button on top and stamped the flowers and heart. I used a dab of bronze paint in the middel of the flowers and on the top of the heart. I glued 2 buttons to the bottom of the card.

Paperbag Studios Challenge

Paperbag Studios' July Challenge is about Flowers. Use one of their flower stamps, or one of their other stamps and some kind of flower on a card.

Here is my entry:

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Faces!

Louise's Tag Challenge this week is to include at least one face on your tag. I recently purchased a series of different size faces from Invoke Arts and was excited to use them.
I used vintage glass ink as the base of the tag. I stamped some bubble wrap in brown and added a script stamp from Paperbag Studios in purple and black. The terrific raven border is from Lost Coast Designs. I stamped 2 small Invoke Art face stamps in purple and then a big face on a separate piece of paper which I outlined in bronze metallic pen. I glued Holtz's film strip to the tag,  taped the feather and glued the face on top. I added 3 light blue rhinestones for bling. The whole tag is outlined in bronze also.

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Hearts!

This weeks Tag Challenge at Louise's Blog is to use at least one heart on your tag.  I decided to use the flaming heart stamp from Lost Coast Designs. I stamped it in pink and then cut it out. I added a little bit of blue ink to the heart, added some pinks, blue and gold fabric paint to give it dimension. Then I punched another heart using a page from a spanish book and spritzed gold glimmer mist on it and outlined it in kryon gold.  On the tag, I used 2 colors of distress ink and spritzed the same gold glimmer mist. I used the distressing tool on the perimeter of the tag to give it a shabby look. The heart border stamp is from LC Designs and the french script is Paperbag Studios.  Then I added 2 ribbons and 3 faux rhinestones.