Thursday, February 26, 2009

Jenna's sketchbook

Hallo,
I finished this up on tuesday - when I had planned to be painting....but one of our close friends DD is going to collage this fall - as an ART Major with scholarships and she had seen the briefcase I recovered recently (go back a few posts). Anyway she had said she liked it so I am going to send it to her. Every collage student needs a briefcase and I am 'like totally' flattered the she would want to use it!!!!
Anyway - every Art major should also have a sketchbook don't you think? So I pulled one out of my stash and 'altered' it so that is kinda matches the briefcase.
I really had fun with this one and am really tickled with how it came out!!!
The main lady is from Rubbernecker and I colored her with my prismacolor pencils and then cut her out with my nesties/cuttlebug.
All for today - Take Care
Tera















Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lighthouse - Cancer Can't

Hallo,
Sorry to show you the same pic 2 days in a row - when I preposted yesterdays (on monday) - I didn't know for sure what I was going to do with the main image. Then today (tues - preposting again cause I work wednesday) - I made a quick trip to A.C. Moore and called my Cheif Enabler to see if she wanted to ride with - and of course in our travels we always talk craft stuff and all the sudden I knew what I wanted to do with the picture!!! Thanks Pat!!!!
I cut both images out with nestabilities/cuttlebug and edged them in gold krylon.
The 'What Cancer Cannot Do' is stamped with purple stazon onto shimmery whaite vellum - the stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms http://www.cornishheritagefarms.com/. I also used the flourish from their 'Beautiful' set
Both panels are mounted up on foam tape onto some tan colored homemade paper - and it all will fit into a 5X7 frame.
I am making several pictures with this idea and will wait to frame them until I decide who I am giving them to. I want to do one with flowers for my Mom, and I have a neighbor who is battleing cancer right now. I also want to make one to donate for auction for one of our local 'Relay for Life' coming up soon.

Here's a couple more shots and for the last one I used a frame just to see what it would look like in a frame.
All for today - something new tomorrow.
Tera































































Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Purple Lighthouse collage

Hallo,
Played with some of the backrounds I made using the gouache,acrylic, clear gesso, and gel medium yesterday. This one on watercolor paper.
Took this one which is gouache base with clear gesso on top (left dry over the weekend - didn't get a chance to play sat. ands worked Suanday).
First I added some flourishes from Cornish Heritage Farms www.cornishheritagefarms.com
Beautiful set in dark brown ink. Then stamped the lighthouse in black memento ink and colored it with my prismacolor pencils.
I have learned that I don't like the clear gesso for colored pencils - the surface it leaves is very rough so your not going to get a smooth look or be able to blend the colors as nicely - although in some spots the extra texture turned out nice - I like how it looked with the clouds.
Next I took the flower stamped and sponged on some purple acrylic paint that I had thinned a bit with acrylic medium (just to see how it would work/look) and stamped it at the bottom of the paper.
I may add a phrase to the top right hand corner eventually but couldn't decide so will wait for now and we'll see what I do with it later.






A couple close up shots for you and I will prepost for tomorrow (tuesday) and hopefully have time to play so I can show you more stuff on wed (which I work...)
Have a great Day!!!
Tera



Monday, February 23, 2009

Lighthouse stamped collages - step 2

Hallo,
Did some more playing today - adding some layers to my backround pieces.
This first one is one of the canvus with the gouache - stamped the flourishes with SU chocolate chip ink,
then stamped the Lighthouse with memento ink onto a white paper nakin and used gel medium to glue it to the canvus.




This second one is acrylic on watercolor paper and the colors turned out a bit darker/brighter. Added the flourishes and the lighthouse the same as the first one. Now will let them dry overnight like I should and will color the lighthouse in tomorrow - these I think I will do with watercolors.
I did another one of these today but will show you that one tomorrow.
All for today - Take Care
Tera





Friday, February 20, 2009

Watercolor - acrylic verses gouache

Hallo,
Here are a couple quick shots of some backrounds I started using acrylic paints verses the gouache.
(admittedly the acrylic set is a cheep set and the gouache is a better set to start).
The gouache like watercolor paints themselves wash on and blend so much easier - the acrylic is also thicker.



This is a close up of one done with the gouache.

Hopefully will have time to try these with the gesso today...
All for now - will show ya more on Monday.
Have a good weekend!!!
Tera



Thursday, February 19, 2009

Experiment part 2 - workable fixative....

Hallo,
Part 2 of my first batch of experimenting - when I saw how the first pieces were smearing/blending I pulled out my can of 'workable fixative' to see if it would make any difference.
This first picture is another small canvus sprayed with the color wash sprays from Zia and then when it was dry to the touch I sprayed it with the fixative - when that was dry to the touch I then put on the coat of clear gesso - that is the second picture.


As you can see it still smeared/blended a little but not near as much as the first half of the batch from yesterday.



This one is another on the heavy watercolor paper, workable fixative....



And then with a coat of the clear gosso - this one held up the best - most of the watercolor sprayed pattern held up and didnot blend.
While I was waiting for these to dry I pulled out an acrylic set and a gouache set and did some watercolor backrounds to see how they would hold up to the clear gesso - I will show you the back rounds tomorrow (friday) and hope to get some time to gesso them friday....
I used to paint watercolor alot with acrylic but it doesn't even compare to the gouache (these are paints that are somewhere between watercolor paint and acrylic paint - not as transparent as watercolors but not as opague as acrylic) I won't be using the acrylic anymore for watercolors!!!!
All for today - Take Care
Tera



Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The 'Idea' and experimenting

Hallo,

I have had this idea forming in my head for a week now - it all started with me bopping around some art blogs verses stamping blogs.....

One gal who paints watercolors was talking about clear gesso - my first thought was COOL....layers on top of each other with clear gesso inbetween so the layers were kept seperate but layered....

Her web site - http://www.kellyinkstudio.blogspot.com/

Then she started talking about gel medium and acrylic medium and those sound really cool too.....but I decided to play with the clear gesso first.

I did a bit of watercolor painting in high school and early collage but that was many years ago - I keep saying that now that the kids are older I want to try and pick it up again....but for now I have this vision of a mixed media watercolor, stamped thing....

This first and third pics are first sprayed with color wash sprays from Stamp Zia - http://www.stampzia.com/

I waited until they were dry to the touch, dried them a little more with my heat gun and then spread on the clear gesso with a wide brush - and as you can see they smeared/blended which is still a cool look but not what I had envisioned....



The first and second photo is done on a small stretched canvus and the last 2 pics was heavy cold press watercolor paper - the 'pattern' held a little better on the watercolor paper but still blended in too much.

I will have to be more patient and let things dry longer for the next batch - and now that I have gessoed them - I will have to let them dry at least over night (I work the next 2 days so will continue to play on friday).

I will have the second half of this batch to show you tomorrow.

All for now - Take Care

Tera















Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Roaring twenties ladies...

Hallo,
Another card I got done on Sunday - preposting as I am hoping to make a day of it in the craft room (after walking the dog and maybe some yard work if the weather cooperates).
These are the same 3 ladies from the front of the briefcase - only I stamped them onto the paper I created using the silver Memory Mist and the decorative foam. Colored with prismacolor pencils, cut with nestabilities in my cuttlebug and edged with a black sharpie for a 'faux' layer. Then I added some black rhinestones and some leftover pieces of the foam.
All for today
Take Care
Tera









Monday, February 16, 2009

Elegant Rubbernecker ladies

Hallo,
Welcome to Monday!!! I didn't get much done at the craft table this weekend. My poor old mutt came up lame and in pain about 4 am friday(he wouldn't walk, was in alot of pain - to the point he wouldn't even let me touch his back or back legs and usually I can - he has had similar symptoms before only up by his neck and nowhere near this bad) - I had to work so DH had to get him to the vet for me - they think he had a bone chip off near his spine, even though they couldn't see anything on xray....so almost $400 later he has pain pills and steroids.
Getting pills down a dog is almost as bad a cats - I had been doctoring all 3 of my cats for a month now for ear infections, but thankfully their medicine is liquid.
Anyway poor old mutt - Husker - is doing better, up and about, and even went for a short walk yesterday. ( I worked today so no walk today).
Saturday the kiddos had District swim meet and end of season swim party...
So here's some pics of what I managed to get done in the craft room Sunday afternoon. Same theme as fridays cards, same lady from 'Rubbernecker' only in different colors and one more shot of fridays card on darker backround.
I used spellbinders dies to cut the layers, edged with black sharpie and silver krylon, colored with prismacolor pencils, foofooed up with stickles glitter and left over pieces of the same foam from the briefcase project.
All for today - Take Care
Tera




















Friday, February 13, 2009

DH's Valentines card

Hallo,
It got a little late to take a good picture when I finished this on wednesday but I wanted to have something to show you today.....it would have looked better if I had put it in front of a darker backround instead of the white but I lost what little daylight I had soo....I may retake a pic of it this weekend sometime and see how it looks then.
This as you may have guessed is what I came up with for DH for Valentines Day.
The lady is from Rubbernecker - I just got a bunch of ladies from them this week and she is the one I started with. The silver patterned backround you may recognize from a post or 2 ago as the cardstoack I put under the black felt pieces when I sprayed them with silver memory mist for the briefcase. The layers are cut with my nestabilities in my cuttlebug. The lady was colored with my lyra and prismacolor pencils and then I added some stickles glitter to her dress and bangles.
All for me today - Take Care
Tera














Thursday, February 12, 2009

Inside of briefcase

Hallo,
Here's a couple shots of the inside of the briefcase - I didn't do too much because I really liked the way the inside looked all by itself.
I added some beaded trim and a focal image. I cut the black base with my nestabilities and edged it with silver, then embossed the swirls and 'Beautiful' both from Cornish Heritage Farms in silver also.
You can find the CHF set here -
www.cornishheritagefarms.com

The elegant lady is from Rubbernecker and I colored her with a combinations of lyra and prismacolor pencils - then cut her out and layered her on top.
The only thing I have left to do is give it a few coats of acrylic sealer and today was way too humid for that.....
All for now....Take Care
Tera












Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Finished Briefcase make-over

Hallo,
I finished the briefcase today - finally. I didn't get any craft time monday due to errands and such....and tuesday was pretty much the same...the weather has been so nice that I got some much needed yard work done.
Today I ended up doing some more yard work because it didn't rain all day like they thought it would and because I needed to do some thinking.
Have you ever had an idea that just would not leave you alone? Well I had this idea that came to me for a project yesterday and this am when I went to the craft room to finish the briefcase this idea would not leave me along :) - So I took my little idea and did some more yard work while my brain worked out all the pieces of this project and hopefully I can get started on it this weekend (it involves some watercolors, stamps, stencil paste, napkins, mod podge and probably a canvus).
Eventually I was able to get back to the craft table and finish this briefcase. These are shots of the front and I will show you the inside tomorrow - will pre-post as I work the next 2 days. I am happy with how it turned out - would love to have about 4 or 5 of these to do all in different styles. I do have a couple other small suicases and a make-up trunk or 2 waiting their turn....
Stamps used include Cornish Heritage Farms http://www.cornishheritagefarms.com- houndstooth and sophisticated swirls backrounders, and their 'Beautiful' set. Hero Arts for the ladies with hats, and the focal image is an unknown (to me ) UM.
All for today ya'll
Take Care
Tera