Amour

It's Monday morning, and I'm home, fighting the first cold of the season. I hope it's also the last! I thought I'd post photos this week of collages I've done in the past. I'm so lucky to have a great supply of images to use for these, along with lots of old book covers, which are almost always the base I use.

For this collage, I glued tissue paper over a painted board book. When it was dry, I stamped various images and the word "love" on top in black ink. I printed a reproduction of an old poster (check out Dover books for weekly free downloads of great stuff) on a transparency, and glued that down with Diamond Glaze. The embellishments include a black ribbon along the left side, a scattering of beads and a few artificial flowers (all glued with Diamond Glaze.

I enjoy collages; it's so much fun to take unrelated objects and bring them together in an interesting composition. It's also fun to find ways to make use of things I already have; I didn't buy anything new for this project. Plus, I like the fact that you really can't make a mistake, since this is all throwaway stuff anyway!

If you're interested in trying your hand at something like this, start some files with illustrations from old books, or check out sites like Dover where you can download free (and copyright free)images. Also collect odds & ends - stuff that might otherwise be thrown away.

Happy creating!
Immi

Transparency ATC

Here are a couple of ATCs I did recently for a Transparency ATC swap. I had a choice of making 3 or 6 (depending on which number I'd like to receive). I decided to make two sets of three. I've had the good fortune to be given some transparencies that a teacher in our program had received with some books. He couldn't make use of them in his class, and knew I "made stuff" and thought I'd like to use them. I was able to get three ATCs from each of the transparencies I used.

The first one is made from a transparency showing a street scene. I don't know where or when the photo was made, but from the looks of it, it's showing the aftermath of war. The paper under the transparency is from one of the serendipity pages I did recently, in shades of pink.(http://experimentsincreativity.blogspot.com/2008/08/serendipity.html) I really like the way it shows subtly through the transparent photo. I fastened the transparency to the background with small eyelets. Transparencies create special challenges when it comes to adhering them to another surface - usually you don't want adhesive showing through!


The second ATc is from an art collage. Again, I'm not sure exactly what's being depicted here, although in one of the ATCs (not pictured here), there's part of a sign for the distance to Pretoria. This makes me think it may be related to South Africa, although it may be more generally about human rights struggles. Because this had a lot of strong color in it, I chose a plain background. I liked the way it looked over yellow. I hit on the idea of stitching it down, using a red metallic thread. I have a metal stitching guide, used for punching the holes ahead of time. Doing those holes before stitching really saves the day when hand-stitching! After that, I trimmed the edge of the yellow with deckle scissors and mounted everything on a black background.

Now all I have to do is get these in the mail; this swap is going to a central hostess, who will send them on to their destinations. I have no idea who will end up with them.

Happy creating!
Immi

Pear Tag

Hey there, loyal readers! It's been a while since my last post, but I'm ready to go again. Tomorrow it's back to school, and the usual routine.

Yesterday, while checking out some blogs, I came across a challenge to use a technique I haven't seen in a while - an oldie but goodie. The challenge was posted on Tim Holtz' blog (http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/september-techn.html). You can see the specifics there.

I got out some inks, stamps and paper and had some fun. Here's the first one I did, which I used to make a card. This was only moderately successful, I think because there wasn't enough solid space on the stamp - mostly lines. The patterened paper is one I recently received in a swap of paper ephemera. I was glad to have a chance to use it right away; it's not the type of paper I would typically choose, but I think it worked well here.

The next two samples are from a pear stamp. The completed tag was the first stamping; the other one was the second stamping. I outlined both of them with a thin brown marker; I think it helped the image stand out a little bit better. Then I added some additional color around the images, using a combination of dye ink refill, thinned with water, and chalk, applied with water. I used a barrel type brush that has a reservoir which holds water; it worked great, especially for the chalk.

On the completed tag, I also added some mini beads close to the top. I used some red line tape, which works well for holding those little, teeny beads in place. The thread along the edges is a variegated specialty sewing thread, which I love to use. I also got out a punch I hadn't used in a long time, which notches the corners, and holds the thread nicely.

Till next time,

Immi

Serendipity

After my Radiant Pearl fun, I turned my attention to using up some paper scraps. This way of using scraps produces what's called "Serendipity Paper". For ideas on paper scrap storage, see these posts: http://experimentsincreativity.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

http://experimentsincreativity.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Here's what you'll need:
1. Paper scraps
2. A substrate (something to attach all these scraps to)
3. Glue (I prefer a glue stick)
4. Damp cloth or wet wipes for sticky fingers
5. Stamps and ink pads (optional)

The first photo shows a pile of paper scraps in browns. As you can see, some of them really are ridiculous, but I feel compelled to save them and find a way to use them. I had seen posts on Serendipity paper, but had never tried it, so I've been learning as I go. All you're doing is tearing scraps (to avoid too many hard edges) and gluing them down. The second photo shows a completed piece, with additional stamping on top. I think the stamping helps tie all those odd papers together.

The third photo shows some ATC size pieces cut from a couple of brown serendipity pages. They won't need much additional work to be ready to go. These can also be cut into smaller squares to be used as accent pieces on a card or scrapbook page.

The fourth photo is a red and green page in progress. You can see the substrate is still showing in places.

The last photo is a green page. I'll tuck these away until I'm ready to use them.

As I've been doing this, I've learned a couple of things that you
might find handy if you want to try this technique. The first few I did were on chipboard (saved from various packages, etc.; I never buy chipboard). I've decided that chipboard is a little heavy, but lighter materials (manila file folders or poster board) work well. I'm sure cardstock would work, too.

I tried both glue stick and a more liquid glue. Glue stick has less moisture, so less possibility of warping the page.

Finally, I found that using heavier weight paper scraps can be problematic. This was especially apparent when I cut the larger page down into ATC size pieces. It's very difficult, even with a guillotine cutter, to cut through some of the thicker portions. If you want to use those papers, it's worth the time to separate and remove some of the layers underneath to keep from adding too much bulk.

This was a lot of fun, and of course, I feel so virtuous for using up those scraps! I recommend you give this a try.
Immi

Use It Up

As you've all noticed by now, I'm somewhat obsessive about making the most of what I've got - it's hard for me to throw stuff away! I was in the mood recently to play around with Radiant Pearls. I've had these for ages - I don't think they're available anymore in stores, although I did see some on Ebay.

My favorite use for RPs is making backgrounds. The consistency is somewhat like light bodied acrylic paint, but they're very sheer.
They blend beautifully, and dry with a pearly sheen. When I'm working with them, I always keep a blank piece of paper nearby to "clean" my brush. (Again, trying to stretch everything as far as I can.)

Anyway, I discovered that one of the colors, Tiger Eye, had separated badly. Of course I didn't want it to go to waste, so I managed to stir it well enough with a toothpick (shaking well is usually sufficient) so that it could be used. While I had it in this state, I wanted to try to use the whole jar. I began playing around, and found that it tinted patterned papers so that they loooked somewhat aged. The first two photos show a side by side comparison, with the original paper on the right, and the doctored paper on the left. Eventually I managed to play around enough to use up that jar.

The next photo shows a paper that has a raised design of flowers. The original was white. I brushed on a variety of colors, but it still looked a little flat. I got out an ink pad, and rubbed it over the raised surface, and it looked much nicer.

The last photo shows one of my blank pieces that I use to get the last bit of RP out of my brush. I also place this paper under whatever I'm working on, so that as I work on the edges of the top sheet, any excess goes onto the paper underneath. Eventually, it gets all filled up, and I've got another background sheet to use.

Maybe I need to get on Ebay and buy up some more!
Immi

ATCs Received

Here are some ATCs I've received in swaps. The first photo shows ATCs from the Layers, Texture, Glazes swap. I posted my photos here: http://experimentsincreativity.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-atcs.html



The second photo shows ATCs from a Random swap - no particular theme. I didn't do a post for what I sent; mine were variations on cards I'd done before for other swaps.

Next week, the theme will be using up supplies on hand.



Till then,

Immi

Swap Goodies

Here are some photos of goodies I've received in the mail from recent swaps. The photo with all the papers is from an "Embellishment Swap". Looks like some fun stuff to play with.






The tea themed ATC is from the "Fair Trade" swap; the artist is Karen Fife.







The two ATCs with women and a scalloped edging are from Tammy Gray. She does these collages in Photoshop and then prints them on photo paper. These are from a "Sender's Choice" swap.















Finally, the ATC with the girl holding a bouquet is from Nancy Bailey. It also is from the "Sender's Choice" swap.
It's always interesting to see what kind of art others are doing.


Later, Immi