Water Marbles and Journals

While I was looking for an Easter photo for another project, I came across this image of a vase of water marbles on my kitchen windowsill with the sun shining through them.  I found the water marbles at the Boston Flower Show last year and I am still fascinated by them.  The post with more details about the marbles can be found HERE.  The bright clear colors remind me of the Dylusions spray inks that we worked with at the workshop with Dyan Reaveley on Thursday (for a You Tube video of Dyan demonstrating one way to use the inks, click HERE.)

I was thinking some more about Dyan Reaveley and her art journaling and I remembered this book that I got for Christmas last year.  The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, by Caroline Preston, is a novel told in pictures in the form of a scrapbook. 

It is very interesting to read with all of the vintage images and the typewritten notes remind me of my mother's old typewriter.  In a lot of ways the book reminds me of the Smash books that are so popular right now.

I realized that I have lots of random paper ephemera from all of our trips and it might be fun to use them to do some collages.  I tend to come back from a trip and put all of the bits and pieces in a bag from the trip and that is where they stay for as long as it takes to get around to doing something with them.

What do you do with the paper items that you collect on a trip?  I do put them into albums...eventually, but I think it might be fun to do something like these pages.  I just want to add some colorful backgrounds made with Dyan's inks as a base.

I'll be working away all weekend, getting my projects in frames, cutting out a few more designs, writing my "artist's statement" and preparing a photo board for the show.  I need to have about 25 pieces framed to hang and they all need to use the picture wire system so a lot of my frames will need to have screw eyes and wire added.  Wish me luck with getting it all finished up!

I hope you have a great weekend - and that you can find time to do something crafty!

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Canvas Art with Dyan Reaveley

And now for something completely different!  I had a great time yesterday messing about with inks and paints at the class taught by Dyan Reaveley, Ranger's International Senior Educator.  Dyan has a signature line with Ranger called "Dylusions."  The spray inks have the most amazing clear and bright colors and her stamps and stencils can help even a novice like me feel "artsy!"

Dyan is all about color, pattern and creativity.  I thought it was terrific that even her suitcase was unusual and fun!  Dyan has a great way of encouraging everyone to "do art."  She says:

My mission is to introduce everyone to the fabulous therapy that is art journaling and creating mixed-media art. Art is not the finished result; it is the actual act of creating that emerges when you let yourself play. It is the journey it takes from the soul.

Dyan taught three workshops at Ink About It - the morning class made these accordian books with watercolor paper and the Wednesday evening class was a kraft resist mini book.  You can see more photos on the Ink About It Blog.

Here is another glimpse at some of her work - fueled by Dr. Pepper!  The bright colors are so much fun and the many layers of pattern and color keep your eyes busy taking it all in.  The words are sometimes incorporated into the designs (as a sort of secret journaling) and sometimes added in white blocks on top.  She has some phrase stamps in her line that make you laugh and/or think, such as "if you are already walking on thin ice, you might as well dance," and "boys will be boys and so will a lot of middle aged men." (both from the Say What you Mean set)  A few stamp sets came home with me on Wednesday and after taking the class I know I have to get a few more.

We were finished in time to have the treat of watching Dyan work in her journal - adding layer after layer of colors and patterns and then placing collage pieces (she had a large stash of things already cut out) and doodling or otherwise altering them.  It really is all about the process and there is no right or wrong. If it means something to you - just go for it!

Our projects began with this very chunky canvas, about six inches square and a little over two inches thick.  It is nice that it will stand very well by itself - no easel or stand is needed.  We painted the edges and a bit over the front with black paint.

Then we used two colors of Adirondack acrylic paint to make a blended background on white cardstock.  We used baby wipes to paint and blend the background - it sounds a bit odd but it worked very well!

We added some random circles and lines and then stamped some images and painted the leaves with ink.

Before we glued the paper to the canvas, we attached the birdcage - painted black and sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist.

We used perfect pearls mixed with water to paint the birds and flowers.

We also stamped on the sides with Perfect Medium and added Perfect Pearls in a variety of colors.

The birdcage is attached with a tiny brad and a game spinner from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology line.  Dyan gave us a tip to just use the metal pieces randomly (most of the metal items come with three finishes in the package - copper, brass and nickel).  That way you never have to worry about matching things up in the end.

I took this photo in bright sunlight at home - can you see the shimmery pearl finish on the bird?  I like the way we curved the bird through the cage.  I gave it just a dab of glue on the tail feathers to hold it together since the birdcage can swing freely.

The effect of the Perfect Pearls on the black sides is so pretty.  I also think this leaf stamp is lovely and it is on my list for the next shopping trip.

The great thing about projects like this is that they all look good in their own way.  I am used to working with computers and images that are precisely symmetrical (which I love to design) and it was nice to just let this piece develop and not worry too much (though I am still not quite sure about the color of the largest toadstool!).

Dyan was a wonderful instructor - lots of helpful advice and tips all delivered with a great sense of humor.  After class she posed for a photo with my friend Renee Zarate (check out her blog HERE).  Renee has been published frequently in the Stampington publications (Stamper's Sampler, Take Ten) and she used some of Dyan's stamps for the article seen here.

Here I am with Dyan (still wearing my kitchen apron that I grabbed on the way out the door to keep ink off my clothes).   When I stopped by the shop on Wednesday (just to pick up a few ink pads for a technique from the Tim Holtz online class I am taking) I told her that I loved what she makes but it is totally outside my comfort zone - definitely not my usual type of project.

I helped to pick up at the end and there was a bit of the stamped paper she had used to demonstrate.  I asked her to sign it for me and I love what she wrote.  It is a different world from digital scrapbooking and die cutting designs but I think I'll definitely be trying some more of this!

Thanks to Ink About It and Dyan for a great class.

Now I really have to get busy and pull my pieces together for the exhibit that goes up a week from today!  I think it will be a very busy weekend...

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Quick Tips - Eggs and Punched Borders

With just a couple of weeks left until Easter, egg decorating (of emptied eggs) should be in full force!  I thought I'd give you a couple of links back to my posts about experimenting with vinyl and dyeing eggs.

There are so many possible variations and lots of great choices for shapes that you can cut and use. 

I wrote about this a couple of years ago when I was a guest designer on Everyday Cricut - you can click for two of the posts about dyeing eggs HERE and HERE.

I went to my local stamping store Wednesday - I wanted to get a few more colors of archival ink to do one of the projects from the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 online class that I am taking.  When I got there I discovered that Dyan Reaveley had arrived to teach her classes.  I met her last summer at CHA - she is a marvelous artist who does amazing art journaling.

Here is a sample page from one of her journals.  I knew that she was coming but I had decided that I'd be too busy getting ready for the show that I need to hang next week so I didn't sign up.  I love art journaling but it isn't really my "thing."  Well, once I saw the class samples, I knew I had to give it a try.  I was happy to find out that I could join in the afternoon class tomorrow.  I am sure it will be a lot of fun!

With all of the excitement over my shopping trip and some other errands that took longer than expected, I didn't get a chance to put together the card with the rose that I showed you yesterday.  I do have a tip that is related to the final card (that you will see...eventually...).

I used the Martha Stewart Garden Gate Deep Edge punch for the layer that will go on the front of the card. I tried to center the design but this particular pattern does not end evenly if you use it across the full card front.

After you punch one edge, if you turn the paper around and punch the other edge from the same side your finished topper will look like this.  It's pretty, but it just didn't look "right" to me.

By flipping the paper over and then punching the second edge, you can produce a much more symmetrical border.  This one is much more pleasing to my eye - what do you think?

In this photo of the two borders together you can see the difference quite clearly.

Noting earth shattering - just something to think about when you are punching with a border punch...

Today is supposed to be the hottest day yet!  I can't wait to go to the class this afternoon.  I'll be sure to share some photos.  Have a crafty day!

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