Live Your Art: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Ugly Paper Tutorial

Tape pieces of patterned paper to background with masking tape (I glue sticked mine, too)

Gesso over all of it.

Apply distress inks over gesso and heat set.

Dry brush acrylics over the ink.

And add those pictures! This layout was for a challenge to use old product over on Scrap In Style. All of this happens to be really old product, but I've always loved those robot stickers, so I'm glad I finally used one. I did add some oil pastels just to punch it up a bit more. Time to recycle those ugly papers!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Lyrics ATC challenge

So Scrapstars has started a lyrics themed ATC challenge, and now 8 million ATC ideas have been running through my head. Seriously girlies, this needs to stop! I do have to clean my house and feed my kids sometime today!

This week's card was inspired by the Killer's lyrics "somebody told me you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year." I don't have any Jill Penney and Daniel Torrente stamps, so I totally ripped off their look with my little Goth boy(girl?). I'll have to save the rest for the coming weeks...

Monday, April 28, 2008

Scrapstars Challenge

Another challenge! This time it's a scrapbooking one, for a new challenge blog, Scrapstars. It was just started this month by some SISters, and I wish them the best of luck! The challenge was to scrap the soundtrack of your life, including the album cover(s) on your layout. It took me a little while to decide, but I finally settled on Sigur Ros' Hvarf-Heim. This has to be the simplest layout I've ever done, but I really like it. Once I saw the cover of the album, with that beautiful, artsy photograph, the idea for the layout came together in a second. The journaling reads:

The soundtrack of my life? That's a tough one. There would be so many songs, but if I had to pick just one album, it would be Sigur Ros' Hvarf-Heim. The sound they create is so layered, so artful, so peaceful, which is a fairly accurate description of my life so far. But probably the main reason would be their lyrics. They're in Icelandic, and I can't understand a word.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Artygirlz Challenge

Back in the swing of things again for challenges - two in one day! The Artygirlz challenge this week is to make your own background. While I usually make my own for my art pieces, I though I'd share something a little different. This is a box I made to transport my ATC kits to my classes. It's made from hand dyed paper towel over text pages. The depth of color looks really flat in these shots. In real life it's very rich with an almost glazed look. Just a fun little ditty.

Inspire Me Thursday - Recycle

Inspire Me Thursday is recycle, in honor of Earth Day. Truth be told, I often dig through my little trash can looking for glorious garbage to use in my artwork. For my next card class, I decided to focus on techniques for repurposing your stash of papers and goodies. In my quest, I came upon what I believe to be one of man's most insidious environmental hazards - the plastic grocery bag. Even those of us who use canvas bags have a collection of them under the sink, so I took a little ink to them and created these cards. I'll be teaching the technique in June, and until then, no bag is safe!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I Got Published!

You are entitled to a free copy of the Stampers' Sampler! We're using your artwork in the June/July 2008 issue!

Just got this in my email today! I'm not sure what card it is, but it makes me happy, anyway! Love that magazine!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Scrap for a Cure Challenge

I'm a little behind on Scrap for a Cure challenges, so I combined three into one - texture, make your own embellishments, and "laughter." I know what you're thinking, this looks more like a Halloween page than one that would elicit giggles. It documents the story I posted last month about trying to create a cute stamp and ending up with Batboy (you can read that entry here), which still makes me chuckle when I think about it.

I've been experimenting with alcohol ink techniques on chipboard for my technique card class in June. The bird is a combination of paint and inks with a diamond glaze, and the number two involved modpodge, perfect pearls and alcohol inks. Plastic bags, the insidious little environmental hazard that they are, are my new technique focus, so we'll be doing so cool things with those, too!

Happy Birthday, Max!

My little guy turned four on Sunday; I guess he's not so little anymore! He delights us every day with his humor and generous personality. Fortunately, my little guy is so light that he still gets carried a lot, but I know those days are numbered, and I'm going to miss them. New adventures await, and come what may, you'll always be my most favorite little boy in the whole world, Max!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

National Scrapbook Day Excitement

National Scrapbook Day is fast approaching! I'm super duper excited about it this year, because My Daughter's Wish is hosting FOUR days of activities! It all starts on Thurdsay evening with another great night of Make'n'Take ATCs, followed by a Friday night scrap, an all day Saturday fiesta from 10am to 2am! and a wrap up Sunday. The events will be full of food, raffles, and mini-classes. Connie and I gave Allison a ticket to the Saturday events, so I'll have a partner in crime;) Sheri is giving away a three day pass on the blog, so leave a comment!

This is the ATC I designed for Thursday, so come make one with me! The last open house event was so much fun. I met some really great ladies, the store was packed, and it was a really festive atmosphere. Hectic, yes (I barely got a chance to get a bathroom break in over the whole three hours), but so worth it! Scrappers are just nice people. Seriously, how many mean scrappers have you actually met? It's a hobby devoted primarily to recording the memories of our children and families; something we do for others as much as ourselves. How many mean people do that?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Dust and More Dust

Wow! It's been awhile between posts, but I'm sure you can see why. The bamboo floors are in (wahoo!) and they do look fabulous! We spent a two day marathon painting the living room, family room, kitchen and hall (thanks, Darcy!) and I finished the baseboards eight hours before the installers arrived Tuesday morning. The kids camped out in my bedroom with the dvd player, and I shuttled back and forth between them and my computer work station in the kitchen via the backyard all morning and afternoon. The dust actually wasn't too bad, the installers were great, and by 4:00 the house was done. Words cannot express how thrilled I am to have that HORRIBLE carpet gone!

Doesn't Matt's painting look great with the new floors? He hung it right away because he said he wanted to see what it would look like in a gallery (wink). I'd buy it. Now for the flip side; the floors and walls look like new, which made some of the furniture look really old. Out went the red couch, hello Crate and Barrel! We're looking into replacing the bedroom carpets, worked on the backyard today, are starting to talk about the kitchen... will it never end? Honestly, as much as I love working on the house, its really cut into my art time. I keep looking at my table longingly. It's just been too many days away. I don't want to paint a door, I want to paint a picture!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Believe you can scrap anytime

We are getting bamboo floors (whoopee!), so most of the furniture is stacked in the garage, kitchen and bedrooms. Obviously, I thought it would be a perfect time to scrap last night! This LO is for a one word challenge on Scrap for a Cure's message board. I would have preferred chipboard letters, but they are wedged under the table somewhere in between the couch and the kitchen island. Oh well, crayons work, too!