Beeswax Collage Class

I had the priviledge of giving a beeswax collage class to the Mill Valley Craft Night Daytime Special (or something like that!) at Julia's home. We were 6 in total and created some lovely 5 x 7 beeswax collage wall art. But dang it all i forgot my camera, so all i have to show are my images. I had asked the girls for theme ideas and Birds and Nature popped up - so i went with that for their supply packets. Although i did bring along a selection of victorian images to be used as well.

One of the gals brought a bunch of cool images, stickers and blank cards to share. So i thought i would try to make some beeswax collage cards with my leftover paper. I used french dictionary pages for a backgroud, and some textured papers layered on top. For another i used a large skeleton leaf. They turned out pretty cool!

Thanks Julia for hosting such a lovely event and to all the girls for a creative saturday morning.

Valentine countdown - 4 of 14

Here is my 4th valentine card - came today in the Saturday post. It still comes a surprise to me after living in the states for 9 years that the mail is delivered on Saturday. It isn't done in my native Canada. There is talk of cutting out one day of mail delivery as a cost cutting measure. But they say it will be Tuesday, not Saturday. Anyway,... I digress.

What a striking card today from Ramona. The bold red and black is nicely accented with aqua ribbon and hand set stones and sparkles. And flying beating heart - how cool is that! Thanks Ramona!

Valentine 3 of 14

I received my third Valentine from the swap today. A lovely layered card from Celia. It features a lovely angel playing the harp - check out the butterfly wings! Thanks Celia!

Valentine countdown - 10 days to go

I received my second lovely valentine from the swap today. Plus a BONUS valentine from my niece, a budding artist in her own right. Here is the card from marie. Does she know i am passionate about birds these days? Well, for like for over a year actually, but anyway i just love this little red winged fellow. How clever to use a victorian scrap angel wing for a bird. I must try that!
Here is Erica's card - pretty pink with fuzzy felt hearts. peaking out is a pink pipe cleaner that lines the inside of the card. So clever - it gives the card weight and makes it stand up easier. She also sent the plastic dot heart above. I love how she used pink, aqua and lavender thread to match the dots. Takes after her auntie, dontcha think?
Thank you Marie and Erica!

fyi - the post office curmudgeon made me pay DOUBLE for the cards i mailed out yesterday. If they had been a fraction of an inch shorter they would have been ok. My only consolation is that the valentine swap ladies will now get TWO cute heart stamps to keep for future collage projects!

Valentine Swap

I just finished my 14 valentines and am ready to mail. I am covered head to toe with glitter. As are the computer keyboard, the desk and the carpet has a trail of silver from my craft room to the office. I think they came out cute, maybe a bit too "handmade" looking. But they are supposed to be victorian in feeling - so it isn't like Papyrus's was around in 1885, now was it? I started with pretty scrapbook paper in pastel prints. These will be the back of the cards. I cut them about 4 1/2" by 6". I used a bead of white glue to attach the aqua crepe streamer paper in a ruffle all around the edge. Just pinch the end and "feed" the paper to the ruffle -it catches the glue as you go and dries surprisingly fast. No need to clamp or anything.

I then attached a length of white vintage seam binding to be a tie for the card. This way it can be hung up and enjoyed. Next i selected 14 vintage postcard images i purchased on a CD. I chose images with some blue in them - avoiding overly pink or red. I printed them out onto matte photo paper 4 to a page - so they are about 3 1/2 by 5". I used scallop edged scissors to cut them out. I used the white glue again to attach the postcards to the the background paper - sandwiching the crepe ruffle in between.Next i added some glue in swirls and dots around the edge of the cards and sprinkled on silver glitter. This is where they look kind of messy. The glue just went on too thick. Next i added some little phrases - like "love birds", "be mine" and "happy valentines day". I printed them on regular printer and crinkled up the paper. Then i cut them out like little banners with pointy ends. I applied some aqua ink pad to them to tie in with the colours.For the envelopes i planned to use clear plastic protectors. I thought it would be really fun to get one of these in the mail. Provided the post office does not completely mangle them in the process. I printed out all the address labels on sticker paper nd cut them out with scallop scissors. I printed my contact info on clear sticker lables and attached to the back. I inserted the cards, trimming to fit if necessary and put an extra piece of tape on the back, plus added a little sticker.Now i am off to the post office to see if they pass muster. They might not be a standard enough dimension, which means i'll need more postage. Anyway - it sure was fun putting these together - i cannot wait to see the other 13 valentines i'll be getting in the mail!

Deli Paper Play Date

I gathered together today with 10 ladies for a play date at the Art Bungalow, a new creative facility in Brentwood CA. This is the NORTHERN california Brentwood, not down in LA.
Anyway, we are all part of the California Art Girls, a group that started at the Art and Soul gathering last year. I joined after i attended Asilomar last spring, and up until now - we have been an online group, sharing artistic ideas and doing some swaps.

Today i demo'd how to make your own painted deli paper. The paper can be used in all sorts of art projects. It is often easier to paint on deli paper and glue it to a journal page or altered book. Plus it is always nice to have a stash of hand painted paper ready for a project. Here you can see a ton of paper drying on the floor.
To get started you need deli paper - usually sold at Smart and Final or Costco. About 1000 sheets for less than $10. Next you need acrylic paint. The cheap liquid craft paint sold at places like Michaels. A friend gave me about 150 bottles of the stuff - so i was anxious to share! You also need a very expensive art supply tool - an old credit card.To start select three colours of paint. i went with neutrals here - but they can be anything. Squeeze out three lines of paint on the paper. Then use the credit card to create three broad stripes. The slower you do this, the more each colour will be absorbed into the paper. Once you have spread the paint, you can swipe the credit card up and down and across to create patterns.

Once this thin layer has dried, apply a thin coat of metallic glaze with a baby wipe. Finally you can stamp random patterns with black ink. Another idea is to use stencils or texture mats to get patterns in the paint.Here are some more of the pages i did today, i did 4 at a time - using variations of the same colour family in each set. I made 28 pages in about three hours. The time flew by - it was so fun and relaxing. My friend Z. and I had to leave early so we did not get to see everyone's finished pages. But the results were looking great! Thanks Terrie for hosting us in your fabulous Art bungalow!

The 14 days of Valentines

Ok - this might not work out to be a countdown, exactly, but i received my first valentine today. I signed up for a Valentine Card Swap with altered art junkies. I still have not finished MY cards, but my first one arrived today from Kristi W! Is it a sweet pink heart, arrived all wrapped up in pink heart paper with some heart shaped sequin sprinkles. The card is thick, using a pressboard shape and adorned with buttons, ribbons and fibres and a clear heart charm.

Thanks Kristi!