Dance Mixed Media Fun Art Journal Page!

Howdy friends! Just a quick reminder that if you haven’t signed up to win stamps on last Sunday’s post now is your last chance because I will be drawing a name tomorrow! Today I have an art journal page tutorial, it was my quickest page ever I think. I started it with a sketch using Inktense blocks but I was not happy with it so I gessoed over and started again, sometimes it goes like that but i like the end result:

Want to see how I made it? Watch the video and find out!

It is funny, after I posted this video on YouTube several people asked for a tutorial on drawing the ballerina, I was shocked because that was the part I was trying to disguise LOL! I will have a tutorial on drawing a (much nicer) ballerina in a few days.

Here is a brief summery of how I made the page: First I drew the ballerina and swiped gesso over the page with a palette knife to tone down the colors. I tore patterned scrapbook paper and glued it to the page with hot glue. I stamped music noted using the “stamp in the hand” technique and I also stamped on a dance diagram and a shoe. I hot glued organza ribbon on the ballet dancers skirt and a twisted piece of fabric strip for a border. I use permanent markers to write the quote “if you stumble make it part of the dance” and I added some color to the edges of the page with Inktense Blocks.

Thanks to Oriental Trading Company for the Art Journal I have been using for all of the Mixed Media Fun tutorials and thank you for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

What in heck do you do with quirky stamps?

Hello friends! If you are like me you have some real doozys in your rubber stamp collection. I love odd, weird and quirky stamps but these types of stamp can be very hard to use (c’mon, how many times can you use a roller skating rhinoceros?) But I am a believer that you should buy what you love for stamps, especially where there is so much samey-samey going on in the stores. I mean really, do 5 stamp companies need to make a stamp of a Polaroid frame, and does that really need to take up space on the shelf with 500 cute cupcakes and owls? Now, to be fair I have my fair share of cute cupcakes and owls but sometimes a girl wants a little strange. So, of course I was delighted when I discovered Lost Coast Designs at a stamp convention 3 years ago, I loved EVERYTHING in that booth. Linda, the owner, is such a nice lady and after a bit of begging on my part agreed to have me on her design team. Aren’t I a lucky-ducky?  😀 The only problem is that it can be hard to figure out how to use these stamps in everyday cards. But then I realized that I just need to find an element to tie the cool funky stamp to the occasion I wanted to make a card for. Watch how I make an odd animal into a card appropriate for a graduation:

The tie ins were the hand drawn grad hat and the balloons. You just need to bridge the gap between the weird and the common, sketching on a hat or accessory is an easy way to do that. You could sketch a fishing pole in the dogs paw for a retirement card or stamp party hats on any animals for cute birthday invites. Take a look it the unused stamps in your collection and see if there is a way to “bridge the gap” and use them for an everyday or holiday occasion card. I bet you will come up with some really unique, fun and whimsical cards if you do! You can find the stamps I used today, Pencil background, Circus Dogs and Isle of Aud Animals at Lost Coast Designs and tell ‘um Lindsay sent you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Quick Art Therapy & a Winner!

Hello friends! What a wild, busy week! I am always happy to have my kids home on school break but I must say by the end of the week I feel like I need a vacation! First off I want to announce the winner of the Art Neko Stamp Giveaway….kellyphillips62 Yay! You get the stamps I used on last Fridays post and a $10 gift certificate to Art Neko (formally About Art Accents) check your email for contact details! We had 267 entries, wow, thanks for playing everyone! Tonight I have another fun card for you also using stamps from Art Neko:

As I mentioned before, I love having my kids home but this week I felt more like a chauffeur than a mom, I’m glad they have activities they enjoy but I would have enjoyed just chillin’ at home with them a bit more. Oh well, we have an entire summer for that LOL! Anyway, as I mentioned I was exhausted tonight but I also had the itch to get inky in my studio. This card takes only a few minutes to make, it is wild and fun and you are only using a stamp, a sheet of plain white cardstock and watercolors (the kids watercolors are fine for this too!)

This is a great warm up exercise too, remember you are only using a sheet of cardstock so don’t worry about it, just paint! It’s fun, don’t over-think it! OK, now I am really tired. I hope you have a great weekend and til next time happy crafting!

I can’t believe I didn’t post this card yet!

This poor card, I stamped and colored the image ages ago, all it really needed was to be adhered to a cardbase but it sat neglected on my shelf for months until, during a cleanup, I tossed it in to my “papercraft UFO (that’s un-finished object by the way)” drawer and I discovered it during the lonely crop last month. I needed a card so I finished it up, it really only needed 5 minutes of work, and the recipient loved it!

I was thinking about what project to share tonight and it hit me, share the forgotten flower fairy, the image has been waiting on my computer Long enough I think! Here are the details: The stamp was one of the amazing flower fairy sets I got at Custom Crops when they first came out (so glad I did because now they are hard to find) they are manufactured by Crafter’s Companion but they did not have this one anymore on their website either.

I stamped with waterproof black ink and colored with inktense pencils and a blender pen. I stamped some of the individual flowers from the set, colored and cut them out and adhered them with hot glue for dimension.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to post this, I think it is like clutter, you see a pile of paper on the coffee table, at first you think, “I need to take care of that” a week later it’s like “I really should deal with those papers” and in a month you’re all “what papers?” because you get so used to seeing something that you don’t notice it. That is my theory, it explains why my coffee table is a cluttered mess too! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Glimmer Bubble Paper, a Valentine and a Winner!

Well happy Friday friends! I’m just gonna jump right in and announce the winner of the About Art Accents Year of the Horse stamp set winner, it’s:  poetryoflifebyjane! Congrats! 172 people entered and your name was drawn, have fun with your new stamps! 😀  If you didn’t win, no worries, the stamp set is on sale for $12.99 (regularly $19.99) and it is worth every penny:) Today I am using more stamps by About Art Accents, some Valentine stamps to make this card:

I am entering in the Oriental Stamp Art challenge to use Mizuhiki cord but I didn’t have any so I used satin Rat-tail cord from Papermart instead. I make do. I also made the background paper using a moldy-oldie stamping technique that would be just right for all of the artsy-fartsy cards, scrapbooks and journals we like to make. Get some white glue, cheap eye-shadow and you heat gun cuz I’m gonna show you how it’s done!

After posting that video I was asked for ideas using it in a card, well, here it is:

I hope you have a crafty weekend! We might eek out of the single digits tomorrow (yeah, heatwave baby, where’s my suntan oil?) so that is quite exciting! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Halloween Postcard: Quick & Easy!

Hello friends! In case anyone is wondering I am happy to report that I finished the parent/student cross country race yesterday. I was really hoping there would be some out of shape parents in the race instead of all of the fit military dads joining in. There were only a few moms in the race, what’s up with that? I didn’t overdo it, I jogged/speed-walked with another mom and we had a grand time gabbing and catching up as we navigated the course. I figured there was no point overdoing it and being sore for a week…I wasn’t “in it to win it” as they say but it does give you a respect for the kids who run this every day. My daughters ran the race too (and did far better than their old lady) so I think I will have 3 runners in the family next season when they are old enough to join the team. OK, today I have a quick Halloween postcard for you, this can also be adapted to make a 1 layer card or tag. I used stamps from About Art Accents and if you have not entered the prize draw on last Fridays post be sure you do so you have a chance to win some of their stamps!

I filmed 3 videos yesterday and I have to say it was quantity over quality, really I think I was a bit off my game because I was nervous about the race. With that in mind here is the video:

Remember you can use my coupon code: Lindsay10% whenever you shop at About Art Accents, I think you put it in the paypal comment box and they refund the savings. That’s it for me today, I still have to walk the dog (she does not understand that I did a race last night so I am all set with exercise today LOL!) and get ready to film this weeks Ask-a-Crafter episode with Lorraine. I guess I better get cracking! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Easy X-mas Gift Card Holder!

Howdy folks! I was in a crafting rut the other day so I decided to play with some Christmas Papers from Oriental Trading Company and make some easy gift card holders. They will hang easily from the Christmas tree so they won’t get lost or they are flat enough to mail without additional postage, Also I’ll show you a birthday version! Watch the video to see how!

The clear stamps I used can be found here and are also by Oriental Trading. The large bag stamp is from TooMuchFun but I could not find it on their website but you can contact them and order it at info@toomuchfunrubberstamps.com . If you don’t have that bag stamp you can just use a plain rectangle because it will look like a bag once you put the handles on. Thanks so much for stopping by and til next time happy crafting.

Stamping with Acrylic Blocks!

Let’s get a little more use out of out supplies today and use something we already have in a new way. If you use clear or unmounted stamps you have acrylic blocks around (if not look around for a scrap of plexiglass or a plastic block to use) and while they get a lot of use as stamp mounts you can use them on their own to stamp too! Look at the squares on this card, they were stamped with distress ink and stamp mounts. The dragonfly stamps are from About Art Accents.

This is a fun and easy technique. Experiment with different papers to see what you like best! Watch the video for the how-to and more ideas!

I stamped my samples on glossy photo paper then I stamped a postcard background on green paper and glued it to the back of my stamped photo paper.  Post cards are fun and I don’t send them nearly enough!

The other sample was done on watercolor paper, a different look, try different paper for different results! Let me know if you have any questions and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW:Make your Own Roltap Mini Brayer!

mwahahahaha! That is the evil laugh I make when I figured out how to duplicate a store-bought tool or supply…I’ll get to that later but first here is a pic of my work-space for Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday.  Hmm, I’m sure there is a desk under there somewhere….

Quick Tip, see the dumbbell on the back of my tripod? The back leg is raised up so when I tip my camera down I get a straight-on birds eye view shot of my work area with little parallax (perspective) distortion. Then I can flip the video around if I need to later with no weird angles. The dumbbell keeps the tripod from tipping over. Speaking of videos here is a quick tutorial showing you how to make your own mini brayer similar to the discontinued Roltap I used in yesterdays tutorial:

Are you feeling a little bit like an evil genius too now? Go ahead and let out an evil laugh if you like, feels good huh? If you want to see what other crafty people are up to check out Julia’s blog for more WOYWW fun! Til next time happy crafting!