Learn to Stamp a Masterboard and a Freebie!

Hi friends! Today we are going to hop in the crafty time machine to when rubber stamping was in its hey-day. Scrapbooking was not a popular hobby yet so we did not have access to all of the gorgeous papers that we can get today so we had to make our own backgrounds. Well, everything old is new again and we are making backgrounds with gelli plates and other mediums but let’s not forget about our good old stamps! I am using stamps from the More Bugz set from Lost Coast Designs. Here is the journal page I made that inspired this tutorial:

But I wondered if I might like it better without the stenciling and collage so I made this card:

I just could not decide so I will show you the entire process and YOU can decide where you want to stop. This is known as creating a master-board:

I mentioned in the video that you might love your creation so much that you will want to photocopy it so you do not have to cut up the actual paper. I asked Linda, the owner of Lost Coast Designs if I could share a high-resolution photo of the master-boards I made for my blog readers to print and use and she said “Sure, why not!” so if you click on the photos below it will take you to a larger image you can save and print. Thanks Linda! It pays to do business with good companies like Lost Coast Designs!

click the photo for a high-resolution image

click the photo for a high-resolution image

That’s it for today. I just ordered a new microphone and I have a project I want to try it out on! Have a great day and til next time happy crafting!

I forgot the ballerina!

Hi Friends! I have to thank blog reader Kelly for reminding me that I never shared the tutorial on how to draw the ballerina from this art journal page. I posted the tutorial on youtube as soon as it was requested (odd, right?) but it never made it to the blog. I blame summer the kids are home from school brain, it is quite similar to “placenta brain” when you are forgetful and pregnant or having a “senior moment”  and since neither of those scenarios apply to me it must be “summer brain” LOL! Anyway, here is the tutorial:

Here is the link to download the photo I worked from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballet-Ballerina-1853.jpg

I hope you try this fun approach to drawing and til next time happy crafting!

PS I am having “Scrapbook Week” on the blog starting tomorrow! I do hope you enjoy it! Please check back every day for motivation, support and tutorials!

Stamp Giveaway! A Journal Page! Fun Techniques Too!

Hi Friends! I have stamps to giveaway today from Art Neko (formally About Art Accents) and all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment. The winner will get the 3 stamps (mermaid, ladies and boat)  I used on this page and a $10 gift certificate to Art Neko!

This page was fun to make. I was not sure if I was going to make a card or a scrapbook page but I liked the background so much I did not want to cut it down to card size (you can see how I made this background on my Bad Background Paper beads video) so on a journal page it went. Watch this video to see how this page came together:

What do you link of the soda can, yarn and drywall mesh on the page? I think anything is fair game on an art journal layout. The journal I am using is by Canson, the pens are by Micron and the journaling templates were all provided by Oriental Trading Company. I really like the way my letters turned out all wimbly-wobbly by using the template. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and don’t forget to sign up for a chance to win the Art Neko stamps I used. This contest is open to everyone worldwide! I will draw a name at random on Monday, July 21st, 2014.  Also if you happen to shop at Art Neko be sure to use my coupon code Lindsay10% good for 10% off non-sale rubber! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting.

DIY Stencils with Hot Glue!

Hi friends! Today i am going to show you how to make beautiful custom stencils with hot glue, have a look at this quick video:

I love how they grip the paper and the ink does not seep under. All you need to make them in a hot glue gun, glue sticks and a silicone mat. I recommend using a high temp (or the high setting) glue gun because you will be melting a lot of glue. All you have to do is draw a design on the silicone mat with the glue, let it cool and your stencil is ready to use! How fun is that? I hope you try this tip for making stencils for pennies! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

We’re all stories in the end…

Hi Friends! My favorite line from any episode of Doctor Who is “We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.”

I had that quote swirling around in my head after reading (OK listening to the audio book, what can I say, I love to be read to:) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It is a hauntingly beautiful and very sad story that has been made into a movie. If you read it you will need tissues, I hear the movie is the same, I plan to see it.  It got me thinking to the things we leave behind, our art, scrapbooks and journals and how nice it is when we include out own handwriting. I am really self conscious about my handwriting, it has never been pretty but I must admit watching this video back I was really annoyed at how much I was complaining about it. Sorry about that.  Oh and I was convinced that I needed the word “are” on the page after I wrote “were” like a werewolf not we-are so I wrote “are” and realized what I was missing was a darn apostrophe LOL! Hence the strategically placed washi tape! One of theses days I’ll be able to talk and write at the same time while shooting a video (don’t hold your breath though.) Enough rambling, here is the video!

The wonderful supplies I used were donated by Oriental Trading Company. I used:

• Paris Clear Stamps $8
• Border Clear Stamps $12 (I said $8 in the video, sorry)
• Canson XL Mixed Media Journal in 9″x12″ size
• Set of 5 washi tape $5
• Mini Spray Bottles (sorry, out of stock)
• Picket Fence Stencils $8.50 set

I hope you use your handwriting in your journals, card and scrapbooks because it creates a link from us to the viewer that becomes more special as time passes. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun: Wax, Watercolor, Stencils, Stamping and Sprays!

Howdy friends. Time again to get out the art journal and have a play! I love working in a spectrum of colors, like the color wheel, putting colors next to their neighbors for really vivid results! The other neat thing is that you can get by with only 3 colors of spray ink and just let them overlap! This quote from Marc Chagall was perfect for this page: All colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites:

That quote means the the colors are pleasant with the surrounding colors on the spectrum but really pop when placed next to their complimentary color, that is the one opposite on the color wheel. Watch the video to learn some techniques with sprays, stencils, markers, stamps, wax and watercolor!

Here is the spread from the beginning of the video, I actually was doing a video of this and ran out of time and I felt that for the amount of techniques I was sharing it should be under 20 minutes…and I am too lazy to edit clips together LOL! Still, more than 20 minutes is a lot to ask you to sit through…in fact 20 is probably bad enough LOL!

Here are close-ups of the pages:

Before I forget I want to mention that I will be posting a giveaway for the most adorable stamps tomorrow, I do hope you check back for a chance to win. If you are afraid that you will forget you can subscribe to my blog (look for the subscription area in the upper left hand column, it’s free) and you will get an email when I post something new. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun: Markers & Pens!

Happy weekend folks! I am still tired and I honestly think someone switched my coffee to decaf this week! Do you remember those Taster’s Choice commercials from the 1980’s where you would see a shot of people in a restaurant and the announcer would come on and say “we secretly switched their coffee to Taster’s Choice Instant coffee, let’s see if anyone noticed…” We’ll that is how I felt this week. Hmm, come to think of it was it Folgers,  Taster’s Choice..or Sanka, I don’t remember. I even asked my husband if he switched my coffee because I had run out and I had him grab me a bag at Dunkin Donuts. His reply was “Why would I want that, you not having caffeine is not good for anybody.” LOL! It would be a really dirty trick on school vacation too. Anyway, I have an art journal page for you today using a quote by Oprah Winfrey:

She always comes up with great inspirational quotes! I used markers in my journal. I did not try to blend or do anything fancy, just have fun, I hope you like it! I also used homemade stencils, spray inks and masks, nothing fancy to see here folks!

Sorry about the lost train of thought when the phone rang, to finish the story a lady had emailed me about how to fix her old-style Spectrum Noir markers because she just bought them and some were dry and I told her to put 3-5 drops of denatured alcohol or blending solution in the marker and she was good to go:) Thanks to Oriental Trading Company for the Canson XL Journal and Micron pens I used today and thank YOU for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun: Gelli Prints, Gesso & Colored Pencils

It’s Saturday, art journal day, yay!  Here is what we will work on today:

I have 3 separate videos for these techniques, you can watch what you want. The first video will be making the page:

This video is on Gelatin printmaking, I collaged gelli  prints on the above page so here is how I made them:

This last quick video is a quick tip for keeping your painted and ‘podged journal pages from sticking together:

I want to thank Oriental Trading Company for supplying the Canson XL Mixed Media Pad, Micron Pens and Coloursoft Pencils I used in today’s tutorial. I hope you give mixed media art journaling a go and if you have any questions leave ‘um below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun 3: Stencils!

Happy Saturday Friends! We just rented Frozen for a family movie night, the girls loved it. It was a good movie but I feel a bit sad that every kids animated move has that computer generated look to it now, the movie was beautiful, don’t misunderstand me, what happened to painterly animation? I think the last old-fashioned looking animated movie I saw was the Princess & the Frog a few years ago, and it was great. I hope the trend swings back there soon at least for a few movies. It occurred to me that I have not been keen on any of the kids movies the last few years and I think that is why, too much computer animation. It’s just like with our movies, I’m a sci-fi fan and I’d rather see a blurry shadow than a fake computer monster (we all know what we can’t see in the shadow is scarier anyway LOL!) But I digress, speaking of jumping on the bandwagon I have another art journal/mixed media tutorial for you today using stencils:

I used a quote from Dolly Parton but after I wrote it I realized I should have put “got” instead of “have” sorry Dolly! I thought it might be less intimidating to focus on one supply or technique with these videos so newbies don’t get overwhelmed and pros can take a technique further (plus I can demo it in under 20 minutes!) Here is Mixed Media Fun with Stencils!

I want to thank Oriental Trading Company for supplying me with the Canson XL Mixed Media journal and the Micron pens. You can find my tutorial on making the ink blenders and spray inks here. If you have a supply or technique you would like to see in an upcoming mixed media video then leave a comment. Even if you do not do mixed media or art journaling these techniques can be applied to painting, cardmaking, scrapbooking, quilting and more! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!