Anything But Cute Mixed Media Challenges - #1 - Vintage Garden

Hello Everyone!

Today is an exciting day for me as we launch the very first challenge over at ANYTHING BUT CUTE MIXED MEDIA CHALLENGES! This blog is a project that I have been working on since October, so the wait has been long and tortured! Thank you so much to everyone for all the support and encouragement, I am so happy to finally be getting this show on the road!

The very talented and wonderful Branka is hostessing our first challenge and she has chosen the theme VINTAGE GARDEN. A quick peek at my make and then I will dish all the details.

What do you think of when you hear the word Garden? Is it flowers, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, lattice, vines, fences? Whatever garden vision you have, we want to see it. But make sure it's in a vintage style. 

Remember folks, we want to see experienced AND new mixed media artists, so don't be bashful or shy. Whip out those stencils and ink pads...let's get messy and strut your stuff!! I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!! 

When I heard Vintage Garden, I thought of the old Roman style gardens, overgrown but still so stately. I decided to build on that theme, so I pulled out my pizza boxes and got to work!!

The base is cut from corrugated cardboard. I covered it with texture paste and then used three colours of DecoArt Americana paints to make it look like a lush green background. Seaglass, Hauser Lt Green and Light Avocado.

I hand drew the arch on a pizza box and cut out a 3d version. I used some Liquid Pearls to make the rivets and then painted the entire thing white and then dry brushed on some Tan paint and Burnt Sienna paint to antique it. I don't have any photos to show you of my process here, because when I went to take the memory card out of the camera, I sadly discovered...IT WASN'T THERE!! Doh! Live and learn, right!

The bird bath / water fountain and butterflies are made from crafter's clay. I painted them with Titanium White and antiqued it with a little DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic paints Tan and Burnt Sienna. The flowers are all cut with a Joy Crafts Flower die. I coloured them with distress ink Dried Marigold. The vines are from Marianne Designs and coloured with Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint.

The birds and bird house are made from crafter's clay. The bird house stand is actually a lamp post that I cut out three layers of using a Kaisercraft die. I glued them together to make it more dimensional and then gave it the same treatment with Liquid Pearls and paint as I did on the arch.

For the bricks I used a home made stencil and home-made paste to lay the pattern. I painted the bricks in layers using DecoArt Americana and Crafter's Acrylic paints Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Dark Chocolate. I spritzed a little Picket Fence to shabby it up.

UPDATE:
My Vintage Garden project won awards in the following wonderful challenges:

- ABC Challenges - I is for Inspire Us

- Craft Your Passion - Challenge #260 - Always Anything Goes

  

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Crafty Cardmakers and More - #138 - Make Your Own Background

Hello Everyone!

It's time for another challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and More! This time around I am the hostess and I have chosen the theme MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND. Are you surprised??? lol I know this one may be a little more of a challenge for some of you, but I do hope you will give it a go and find out how much fun it can be! Here is my make.

I decided to make several backgrounds for my card, each one a little different but they all still coordinate together. For the very bottom layer, I applied Shabby Shutters distress ink through the Tim Holtz Honeycomb stencil and then stamped some Kaisercraft text in Archival ink Coffee through the stencil as well.

For the next coloured layer, I used Shabby Shutters and Tattered Rose to softly shade the paper and then stamped the script and the Prima birds down the sides. Next I applied texture paste through a Crafter's Workshop Reverse Chickenwire stencil.

For this middle layer, I used DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic Paint Burnt Sienna to paint the base and then applied a layer of Weathered Wood crackle medium and topped it off with a layer of Crafter's Acrylic Antique White. I used some texture paste and the Crafter's Workshop Woodgrain stencil to add the pattern.

These beautiful leaves are from Joy Crafts, the itty bitty butterflies are from Hot off the Press. I coloured the seam binding with Shabby Shutters and Tattered Rose and the bead pins I made using stuff from my stash.

The sentiment is from Inkadinkado, the bird on the nest is from Urban Stamps and the wreath is called Catalina and is from Memory Box. The tag was cut from the Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplates die set.

UPDATE:
My card won awards in the following wonderful challenges:

- Fantasy Stampers - Challenge # 35 - Distress It

- Open Minded Crafting - Challenge #35 - Shabby Chic

  

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Guest Designer - DecoArt Bottle

Hello Everyone!

I'm super excited to be here today as the May Guest Designer for RHEDD'S CREATIVE SPIRIT! Rhedd's is a mixed Media / Altered Art challenge blog and their challenges are always Anything Goes, so I sure hope you will join me in putting together something recycled or upcycled.

I have never done an altered bottle before, so I was anxious to give it a go. I went with a sort of part grungy, part vintage, part ancient relic sort-of-a thing. I hope you enjoy.

I started my alteration by using some DecoArt Matte Medium to apply a layer of crinkled up tissue paper for a base texture. Next I applied a layer of Americana Acrylics Bluegrass Green and dry brushed on some Lamp Ebony Black in random spots. Next is a thick layer of DecoArt Weathered Wood.

Take a little Vaseline on your finger and rub a little bit here and there and then paint with a layer of Crafter's Acrylic Tan paint. The Vaseline prevents the paint from drying, you can then take a cloth and lightly wipe away the paint from the Vaseline areas, this leaves patches of the Bluegrass Green showing.

All of my embellishments were made with crafter's clay and silicone molds. I painted them all with Lamp Ebony Black and then used Crafter's Acrylic Turquoise and Americana Bluegrass Green to fill in the recesses and give it a faux patina look.

I highlighted the black drips are made from hot glue, an idea I got from the very talented GEORGIE on her altered bottled, which you can see HERE. I painted them black and highlighted them, as well as all the embellishments with Tarnished Brass metallic paint. The gemstones were coloured with alcohol ink. I also dry brushed on a little extra Lamp Ebony Black paint here and there just to add a little more distressing.

UPDATE:
My altered bottle won awards in the following wonderful challenges:

- C.R.A.F.T. Challenge Blog - #309 - Add a Charm / Use Metal

- That Craft Place Ltd. - No Cards

  

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.