Romantic Rose

Hello!

Last week was a busy one as I worked on projects for future blog posts and finally today was able to work on something "just because."  I'm going to lose several days this week to an upcoming exciting trip to Houston for a Gecko Galz crafting retreat and was so anxious to get something made and posted, so here 'tis, my latest art journal pread.

The background was colored with various shades and tints of Neocolors which alone right there is a whole bucket of fun.  I do love spreading the colors around with a wet paintbrush.  

There is stamping with black archival ink, decoupage (butterflies from my favorite paper guest towel  which I've been using a lot lately), and some 3-D copper metallic molding paste put through a stencil.  There's even a bit of doodling around the edges, though it's clear that there's work to be done there.  I'm such a beginner...

Isn't she pretty?  I can see I'm going to be using this stamp set (Stamper's Anonymous "Classic Favorites") quite a bit as the images are all so wonderfully romantic.  I first stamped her onto gift wrap tissue paper then decoupaged her onto the page.  The tissue paper disappears and all that's left is the image.  It's the foolproof way to stamp on paper that isn't perfectly smooth, and I'm giving all the credit for this technique to my mother who recently shared it with me.  There is no risk anymore of smudging stamps onto these journal pages!  Her swirly "hair" was stamped directly onto the page as were the stars.

The butterfly is a bit of the top layer of a fancy paper guest towel.

This rose was torn from the box that contained my favorite hand cream, Tokyo Milk.  The image was just too pretty to discard.  Actually, the whole box is gorgeous and you will no doubt be seeing other parts of it in upcoming projects.

The butterfly is another from the paper guest towel.

A little more stamping.  Not sure why it appears a bit blurry, but the sentiment is crystal clear on the actual page.  That's because I stamped it onto tissue paper and decoupaged it to the page, just like the face image.  No chance for smudging!  The light pink swirls are archival ink put through a stencil.

You can see the bottom edge of the metallic molding paste that I applied through a stencil.

And that's it for today's project.  Thanks so much for joining me and I wish you a day full of beauty and lovely moments, big or small.

Happy crafting!

Tuesday Alchemy - Anything But a Card

Wow, I'll say.  

Hi and good morning!  This week's challenge over at Tuesday Alchemy is Anything But a Card, and we really DO mean anything but a card!  The awesome DT covers the gamut of projects, from soap to polymer clay to a paper handbag...but go see for yourself by way of the link above.  And while you're there, start thinking of the project YOU'D like to submit.  The prizes are awesome:  a $10 Store Voucher from Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps, 3 Digital Images from LEJ Designs, or a Holiday Digi Stamp Toodle Set from Broken Box Designs.  (Yes, it's "Toodle," no, it's not a typo.  And it's adorable.)

So my non-card project is obviously a frame.  I could place a mirror in it, but I think I'd rather hang it empty and then hang something else inside.  The technique is "Embellished Decoupage," because the plain paper type was just a litt-t-t-le too plain, and seeing as how I still have lots and lots of rhinestone and other costume jewelry left from the mosaic projects I've recently made, I thought "why not?"  In my world, there's no such thing as too much bling.  Ba-dump bump.

 


There are lots of fun papers, from a couple of pages from a 1923 Little Orphan Annie book, to some of my music from which I learned to play piano over 40 years ago, to pictures of flowers, an English thatched roof cottage (with pearl "smoke") and other images which just make me feel good.

I decided to add some crochet lace and hot pink pearls around the inside edge as well as some highly-embellished ribbon that I bought at a flea market earlier this year but had no earthly idea how to use.

Without meaning to, I see I've put a bow in one form or another on all four corners.  Ha!

Well that's it for today.  No card, just pretty papers and bling.  But I will be back to making cards tomorrow!

Have a lovely day, head on over to Tuesday Alchemy, and HAPPY CRAFTING!