Greeting Cards with Smeared Ink and Altered Pages

 Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!  It's my turn again over at Altered Pages Artsociates.  I hope you can take a moment to hop over and check out these card designs.

 

Click the photo to see close-ups of each card.

 

And isn't this the cutest bee?  It's good to be the queen!!  Why?  Just BeeCuz!  hahaha



Butterfly Canvas

Hello friends!

This is an 8x10 canvas.  It was originally going to be for a group challenge on Facebook, but I never got it completed in time.  I've been working on this canvas off-and-on for months.  I bring it down off the shelf and tweak something then put it back.  I think I'm finally ready to share it.

There is a long list of products used and I'm not even sure I remember everything I've done to it.  I'll note what I can below for you.  I hope you like it!

 

 

Supplies used (at least, those I can remember):
Tim Holtz distress paints
Tim Holtz tissue paper
Fresco white chalk ink
Gesso
Tim Holtz distressed leaf cutting die
Bazzill black border
Tim Holtz rub-ons
The Crafter's Warehouse stencil
The Robin's Nest Dew Drops - mini pink & yellow, regular crystal clear
Sharpie markers - black and white
Stamper's Anonymous clock stamp
Stamp Camp foreign text background stamp
USArt Quest amethyst mica flakes
Terri Sproul mica mixers in rose
Matte finish sealer

Until next time...Happy Crafting!

Happy Veteran's Day!

A sincere thank you to every man and woman who has served our great county.  Happy Veteran's Day!

Steampunk Tag Art

Hi everyone!  I have some tag art for you today.  What do you suppose it says about me that I like Steampunk, but I always make it pink? 

My set of pastels from Royal Langnickel has both pencils and sticks and also has a blending stump and kneaded eraser.  To really showcase these pastels, I chose to use the Steampunked Machines collage sheet.  The black and white images are perfect for coloring.  When you are using pastels, remember to seal your work so that the color doesn't smear or rub off completely.  You can buy professional fixatives or use hair spray.  Beware though, that if you choose to use the hair spray your work may yellow over time.

I colored the collage images with the pencils and colored the tag with the sticks.  To get the skin tone, I colored the gentleman lightly with pink then orange and blended the colors together with the blending stump.

I added a few embellishments.  Two chipboard gears which were dipped in a black ink pad give this tag a little dimension and two pieces of German scrap give it a little shine.

Come back again and see what projects I have to share with you.  Until then...Happy Crafting!

 

 

 

 

Some background art to share

Happy Friday greetings!  What do you do when you're stuck for inspiration?  One of the things I like to do is create backgrounds to use later.  Making backgrounds when I'm not inspired to make a project is a great way for me to enjoy my time in the studio rather than staring at my walls (or piles of stuff waiting to be put away) and feeling frustrated. 

There are more ways than I can count to make background art using Gelli Plates, acrylic paints, inks, gelatos, pan pastels, stencils, rubber stamps and more!!  And Altered Pages has a wide variety of these and many other supplies for your artwork.  Today I have chosen watercolor pencils.  I love the way the colors softly blend together.  Sometimes the results will surprise you.  I used a Royal Langnickel size 10 paintbrush with these. 

I started with quarter sheet panels of white ink jet card stock and colored random patterns with the pencils completely across each card.  Then I grabbed my brush and started blending.  You can absolutely use a water brush for this!  I wanted brushstrokes to show in places and used less water in those spots.  If you're creating on the go or someplace other than your own cozy studio chair, the traveling convenience of a water brush is wonderful!  Or if you're like me and don't have a sink handy in your studio, then the water brush lets you create without jumping up to refill your water cup.  If you've never used them, give them a try!
 
 

 

And now you're ready to use them to make a card or two!  So go out and have fun creating whether its a complete project or just a piece.  The point is to just make art!

 

 

This month Altered Pages is partnering with Royal & Langnickel. In celebration of that along with October being breast cancer awareness month we are giving away this beautiful Pink Art Journal.

To be entered into the drawing all you have to do is just place an order of $10 or more with Alteredpages.com. The lucky winner will be announced on the blog as well as our Facebook page on November 1, 2015. Good luck!!


More Halloween cards

Hi there!  Just a brief post to share three quick and easy Halloween cards made with collage images from Altered Pages.

 

 

Sometimes, quick and easy is the way to go.  Especially when they turn out cool like these!

Happy crafting!

Greeting cards today

Hi, it's Robin here today with a some greeting cards to share.  I've been in a Halloween mood lately.  The decorations are going up all over our neighborhood and in our office, too.  The days are cooler and some of the leaves have already started to change.  The first card I'd like to share today is  a Halloween card, and features an image from the Ravens Take Flight sheet.  I combined this trio of birds with black paper from my scrap bin and some paper flowers.  Simple, but the black card makes the ravens really stand out.

My second card is a 6x6 Steampunk collage.  Several different colors of StazOn ink were added to the cardstock using a sponge sweeper.  Some were sponged on through stencils. 

The color was very dark and I added a white wash over the top.  A white gelato with a water brush toned down the colors just enough!  Images were added from various collage sheets (see the list below). 

Items used:
Royal Aqua-Flo Water Brushes
StazOn ink in cool and warm colors
Gelatos
Your favorite black Halloween paper - check this one out!
Paper flowers in two sizes
Scor Pal

Altered Pages Collages:
Vintage Paper
Ravens Take Flight
Brown Collage (ticket)
Fly with Steam
Steampunked Machines
Eclectic Alpha O (ferris wheel)
Eclectic Alpha E (fleur de lis)

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Check out Altered Pages Artsociates each day to see what the design team has to share with and hopefully inspire you.

Bonus fun cards!