Julie Nutting Baby Stamp

Julie Nutting has these cute little baby stamps that come with interchangeable outfits.  They are so perfect for making ATC's but, I can see them being used for many things.  I wish I had these when we did the baby shower for my daughter.  They would make great tags etc.

For these, I started by making the background paper.  I used a full size sheet of canvas acrylic paper that I got on a super sale awhile back.  Any heavy duty paper would work though (such as mixed media paper etc).  I painted it with a teal type blue first, let that dry than layered on a baby blue with a dry brush.  The next layers was a circle stencil dabbed with white paint, a stamp using blue distress ink and then, I cut them into ATC size.

For the individual cards, I added snowflake stamps on the winter one, layered paper and Julies stamps.  For the snowman, I stamped it twice.  It was stamped once on the ATC and then a second time on white paper.  I then fussy cut out the snowman (less the arms) then, glued it exactly over the stamped image.  I used colored pencils on the cheeks, nose and a little blue around the edges.

For the little girl one, I used a flower stamp and colored in the flowers.  I was gifted some fine point pens made by Stabilo by my daughter.  I love these for fine detail work plus, they work wonderfully over acrylic paints.  I used them to color in the flowers and leaves of the stamp.

Pocket pages

If you are not familiar with pocket pages.  They are a fun way of exchanging little bits of crafted art/ATC's with other people.  The way these are done is that you and your partner each use a 9 pocket plastic insert page (like what is used for trading cards) and fill the front with a bit of art and the back with a small goodies such a lace, tea bags, paper goods etc.  I am particularly fond of doing pages with a holiday theme.  I've currently been working on Valentine pages as I have 4 partners I'm exchanging with.  I also have an upcoming one for St. Patrick's Day.
Here are 2 that I have completed.  If you want to learn more, there are lots of ideas from youtube and pinterest.

Another key part of these is that you right a letter to your partner.  The letter is tucked in the back as one of the goodies.

Art Journal Page

Working in an art journal is a wonderful way to relax and play around with ideas.  I did this page with inspiration from a magazine for the paper pieced heart.  The quote comes from the internet after doing a search for art quotes.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the right one for this page.

I love using metal in my art work.  I got the fancy clock hands from a gentleman that was selling a whole little drawer full of them for $2.00 so, you will probably see them pop up now and then in my work.

The background is done by gluing down some music themed tissue paper.  When that was dried, I used gelatos and smoothed the colors in by wetting it with a baby wipe.  The edges are a darker brown and the middle is the same color only applied much lighter.  I also added a little orange under the heart.  I still wanted the edges darker so, at the end, I used a slight bit of black.

The piece is finished off with fiber around the heart, a metal circle embellishment lace, heart die cuts and Inka gold paint applied around the heart and on the stars.

I continue to try to improve on my lettering.  I used a Speedball pen and nibs dipped in Indian Ink.  It's a little nerve racking because the ink is very permanent and does not erase for mistakes so, you are stuck with what happens!!

Wrapping up the year

I've been doing ATC's lately and enjoying that as usual.  I'm also starting to gear up for next year where I will be doing a challenge of creating a small piece of art each week.  For some, that would be ATC's but, I think I will do either 3 x 5's or 4 x 6's.  I've already been cutting some paper to get ready.  I'm very excited about that and will post what I come up with.  Here are some ATC's done in the last 2-4 weeks.

Enjoy your holidays!

Altered canvas with Julie Nutting stamps

Here is another altered canvas I did.  I used my Julie Nutting doll stamps on this one.  These are a blast to make!  This one is a 12 x 12 canvas which I bought at Walmart.  If you are interested in buying the canvas, to give this a try, they were a little under 6 dollars a piece.

To make this canvas, I'm working on the back side of the canvas.  I cover the edge where the canvas meets the wood with modeling paste.  I also cover the staples.  After that was dry, I covered the sides with musical notes tissue paper.  I applied the tissue with medium gel then, let it dry.  It's wrapped around all of the edges and extends slightly on the back.  The green color was obtained by using gelatos.  I "colored" them on roughly then using a baby wipe, worked it into the tissue paper. The back of the canvas starts with a piece of scrapbook paper in a beige color with some Christmas trees on the left.  I sprayed green and red Dylusions sprays on top of it, let it dry then stenciled on bubbles.  The dolls are attached with pop up glue tabs.  The final touch was a few more embellishments including crafting tinsel which is hot glued around the inside edge.  To complete it I covered the back with a piece of Christmas scrapbook paper.

Art Journal snowman

Here is a page I did because I wanted to try a snow scene

After I finished it, I felt there was something wrong with the composition so, I went to a group of artists and asked for feedback.  It's such a great way to get help on your art and my experience has always been positive and supporting.  The biggest thing everyone noticed was the large amount of white space on the right.  I did two things to change the layout.  I added a picture (a winter scene back from the 60's) and enhanced the "Brr" lettering.  I also added a little glitter on the snowflakes.  Here is the final version:

It's a bit more balance now and I am much happier with it.  So, don't be afraid to ask for feedback.  It was very helpful for me.

Art inspired by shopping??

I am a tall person so, shopping for pants is always a challenge.  They are often too short or, if I shop in the tall girls shop, they are way to long.  That experience gave me the idea for this piece but, I think that anyone who has a challenge getting a proper fit for pants knows the feeling.  The saying on the piece is "Shopping for pants suck".  It is 3 x 5 inches.

 On my base, I painted it using 3 different colors of blue/green combinations.  After that dried, I stamped it with the tiny little circles stamp.  I just randomly applied them.  The next layer was a stencil with squares in it.  I mixed modeling paste with acrylic paint and applied it to the bottom and top of the card at an angel.  The final base layer is some dabs of Inka gold watercolor paint dabbed here and there for fun.  The other pieces are the saying which I printed out, colored with markers, glued and outlined in black.  The gears are wood pieces colored with distress inks.  Cheese cloth was glued down, with the gears on top and then the final layer was the stamp which is made by Stampotique and colored with markers.