i need your help!

Have a look at the collage below and tell me, should i add more or leave it as is? i just don't feel right with it in its current state, but i'm not sure if i should add something.

Thanks for looking! Any feedback appreciated!

Christmas in May!

Finally, here are the tags i did for Tim Holtz's "12 Tags of Christmas - 2009". To see Tim's tags, go here. i didn't stray far from his designs, and discovered the challenge was in trying to pull off what he'd done with few of the same supplies. i had fun with them and ended up using them as ornaments on our tree.

As for ingredients, i wouldn't even know where to start! If you wanna know something specific, just ask and i'll try to help!

i just love the smell of ink in the morning...

Hello, everyone! Today i've got a card to show, one i did a couple weeks ago. Sorry the photo's a little fuzzy, something to do with the scan, and i don't have the card with me for a redo. This card was the result of just wanting to use my new stamps! i heat-embossed the images on the black cardstock, then stamped the calligraphy block on white cardstock. i added color using acrylic paints mixed with Pearl-Ex powders. The black and white center tile is the center of the stamp, cut-out and covered with a clear epoxy sticker. The letter "R" was printed from the computer. Why "R"? Just because it looked good!

Ingredients: CS - stash, Papertrey Ink; stamps - Writing Set by Clearly Impressed; ink - Versamark, Ranger Archival; acrylic paint/gloss medium; Pearl-Ex powders; white embossing powder; clear epoxy sticker; pop-dots.

As always, thanks for stopping by! Have an artful day!

One idea yields 3 pieces...

Before my current creative block kicked in, i was able to put together the following pieces a few weeks ago. The idea began with a journal page that i then applied to a card (center photo), and finally two ATC's (bottom photo).                                                                                                                              

       

                                                    

This color palette is one of my favorites. i started with some patterned paper with bottles on it (i love bottles, especially old ones) that i traced over with a pen. This makes it look hand-drawn (a little trick i like to use). i then added layers of ink and, in the case of the journal, acrylic paint. To highlight the labels on the jars and to add the water inside, i used watercolors. The card has an acrylic paint/crackle frame.

These were lots of fun to make, and i love how the idea carried from a journal page and fit itself to various incarnations.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - My Mind's Eye (?); stamps - Fresh Flower Elements and Writing Set by Clearly Impressed, Tim Holtz's Ultimate Grunge by Stamper's Anonymous, Messy Dates by Autumn Leaves; ink - Ranger Distress Inks, Ranger Archival, Colorbox Pigment; acrylic paint; crackle medium; watercolor paint.

Thanks for stopping by!

New mediums + creative block = frustration!

Hi all! i don't know how many readers i have left since the long hiatus... i'm trying to rectify the situation, though. 

i never did post my "12 Tags of Christmas", will have to get to that, hopefully before next x-mas. 

Since my last posts, a lot's changed for me artistically.  For quite a few years, i made mostly cards, and while i'm sure i always will  - i love it as a small format to try ideas and for instant (almost) gratification - lately i've been playing mostly in my journal and working on mixed media collage pieces. Also, after years of tossing ideas around, i'm finally starting work on some shadowboxes/assemblages.

i've also found some new mediums in the past several months, one being stamp carving. i was always intimidated by it, but once i got started i saw how easy it was to get good results and i was hooked! i carved almost 50 stamps - some big, most small - in a month or so.

Another new medium was one i was curious about for awhile, but only now have delved into - beeswax for collage/mixed media work! So far i've only played with it a little, but i'm already excited about the possibilities. 

And yet, even with all these new outlets, i am smack in the throes of a creative block. The funny thing is, i usually have tons of ideas, too many ideas and not enough time. Ofcourse, many artists say the best thing for a block is to just work! Just start playing with materials and let things happen. i might also mine my idea notebook for old ideas that i never started. 

So, today i have a tag to show. It's not anything fantastic; it was my first experiment with beeswax. i knew i wanted to seal some dried leaves or flowers in the wax so that's what i went with. i added color (red) by melting a Crayola crayon into the mix.

Ingredients: Manila tag - Office max; stamps - Writing Set by Clearly Impressed (Stampington & Co.), alphabet by Studio G, Swirls, V.1 by Autumn Leaves; ink - Versafine; red Crayola crayon; pressed flower petals; beeswax; walnut ink.

Well, thanks for looking! i hope to be posting more regularly - it helps to motivate me past my block, and i miss sharing with other artists. 

Hope you all have an awesome day!