Whether it’s a journal page, a card, or a scrapbook page, we often like to add that little extra element of a border. One of my art friends, Tammy Northrup, has some great ideas for some ways to add borders to your creative projects!
Tammy’s love of flowers and gardening show in her work! Take a peek here on her website, MyFlowerJournal.com and give it a try! Don’t forget to share your Artful Adventures with us over on our FaceBook Group!
I recently ran across Origami Owl Custom Jewelry. Their signature pieces are called “Living Lockets.” The lockets are clear on both the front and back sides, and open up so that you can put little charms and other pieces inside.They offer a variety of lockets, chains, charms, tags, and dangles. By mixing and matching, there seems to be no end to what you could create for yourself or for gifts!
I especially love the story of the company’s beginnings! The company was started by Bella Weems when she was 14 years old! She dreamed of having her own car when she was old enough to drive at 16, and begin making jewelry and helping other make their own. With a goal and commitment, she was able to purchase her dream vehicle, a white Jeep which she calls, “Alice.” Way to go, Bella!
If you would like to see all the lockets and charms, visit the Origami Owl website.
We’ve got exciting news to share! If you’ve been lacking in the creative mojo, or wondering how you can get more life from the scrapping supplies you already own… or you just want to spend a couple of days with a bunch of super-cool crafty people, then look no further!
My friend Lain Ehmann of True Scrap has pulled together FIFTEEN of the hottest scrapbooking instructors around to offer two days of inspiration and fun, such as Heidi Swapp, Nichol Magouirk, Jennifer Gallacher, and a dozen more. They’ll be revealing all their best crafting tips, tricks, techniques, and secrets in the latest True Scrap event – True Scrap 5.
True Scrap 5 is a two-day, online, LIVE event on October 11-12. Yep, that’s right – all fifteen instructors will come to YOU via the magic of the Internet in a state-of-the-art web room. You’ll watch class demonstrations, chat with instructors and other students, and have the time of your crafty life – all without leaving home (or even changing out of your PJs!).
Lain has given me a special discount for you. Use code LUCKY50 at checkout to save $50 off the regular registration. But hurry – that code is good only until Sept. 30!
If you’re tired of just staring at your crafting supplies or creating the “same old” projects, then check out True Scrap 5. It’s not just scrapbooking!
Click Here for Details
The link to True Scrap 5 is an affiliate link so that I receive commission from anyone who I have invited, who then signs up for the event! Hey, a girl has to earn some scrapbooking and art supply money somehow! Right? I knew you’d agree!
Please welcome my friend, Alice Boll! She is graciously doing a guest post for me, and you are going to enjoy the information on masking which she is sharing with us today! You’ll see in coming episodes, that her information on masks will tie in so well as we learn about all the things you can do with Gelatos and many other things! So, here’s Alice!
Alice Boll from Scrapbook Wonderland
Hi! I’m Alice Boll from Scrapbook Wonderland. Thank you, Kristie for inviting me to share my passion for scrapbooking with you.
Scrapbooking is a wonderful hobby! I’m always surprised at the creative ways I can play with art supplies on my layouts. One technique I find myself using over and over again is the use of masks. I hope I’ll inspire you to use the wonder of masks for your next artful adventure!
Masks have two main purposes.
1. To apply an art medium TO a specific area.
2. To prevent an art medium FROM being applied to a specific area.
What is an art medium? This sounds so technical! It’s simply the kind of material you are using or playing with. Examples of art mediums are:
*This is not an exhaustive list… get creative and use your imagination!
Art medium ideas to get you started using masks.
Here I used spray ink with a Balzer Designs template as a mask.
Here I used modeling paste with a Donna Downey template as a mask.
Close up of the modeling paste texture.
2. Masks you make or find. Create your own mask. Use a die-cut machine or punch to cut shapes out of paper or plastic. You can also use a ‘found object’ like a bottle cap or jar lid as a mask.
Here I cut scraps of chipboard with a punch before misting a background.
If I cut a custom mask out of lightweight plastic I mark the size and save both parts… now I have 2 masks to play with!
Once you start experimenting with masks you will find many more creative ideas!
Fun Idea! Use a mask to create a shape when clustering embellishments.
The large scalloped circle in the background was made, and stamped, with a mask!
Want to see a creative use of masks? Watch Chris Sebo, a spray paint artist in Hawaii. I was amazed when I saw him perform his spray paint magic on Waikiki beach in Hawaii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcsogbWzd1c
I hope you have fun exploring the artistic wonders of masks! I welcome you to visit me at Scrapbook Wonderland for more great tips and tricks!
Happy Scrappin’
While we are learning about the fabulous Gelatos® Made by Faber Castell, I thought you would enjoy meeting Alison Day. Previously we have discussed some ideas on finding inspiration. The popularity and visual context that Pinterest employees, makes it great place to look for inspiration. In today’s post, Alison combines using something she saw on Pinterest with Gelatos to create a fun art journal page. This same technique with the Gelatos could easily be used on a scrapbook page, a card, or mixed media place! So heeeeere’s Alison! (Insert my Ed McMahon introducing Johnny Carson voice!)
Hi everyone! My name is Alison Day and I am super excited to be a Guest Blogger here at Artful Adventures. I am a fairly recent “dabbler” in the art journaling world but from the very first time I put gesso on a page I was hooked. I can usually be found at Alison Day Designs sharing my love of scrapbooking. Since discovering all the different multimedia techniques used in art journaling, my scrapbooking pages have taken on a decidedly ‘artsy’ feel. But I digress.
Today I wanted to share with Kristie’s readers one of my favourite places to find inspiration for my pages – whether they are scrapbook pages or art journaling pages. And that is Pinterest. Pinterest has become a fantastic way to gather images that inspire you, and a way to share your own projects and products in the hopes of inspiring others. I admit to losing myself a little bit when looking for said inspiration! Things like a 15 minute time limit are excellent tools to remember when surfing online galleries such as Pinterest! Are you on Pinterest? Here’s a link to my boards – I’d love to connect with you there so please follow me!
For today’s post I created an art journal page using this image I found as inspiration for my background.
I loved both the colours used and the painting that the colours were pulled from. I thought the painting would make a great background texture for an art journal page but you could just as easily use this as a background for a layout or card. That would look awesome!!
Here’s my finished page. What do you think?
Here’s how I created the background.
To get started I printed off my inspiration piece and searched in my Gelato stash for matching colours. The gold one on the far right was a design choice. I hoped it would add a bit of shimmer to the page instead of going with a more flat yellow colour.
The next step was simply to scribble all over my page with my Gelato’s – following as best I could the colour placement in the inspiration piece.
I knew I needed to blend the colours to get the soft look from the original painting. Instead of using a paint brush and cup of water, I pulled out a water brush (from my Stampin’ Up days), filled the handle and got busy.
It wasn’t giving me the soft blended look I was trying to achieve so I spritzed it with a bit of water to see if that would help.
I admit that at this point it looked nothing like the inspiration piece and I was a tiny bit disheartened but … not to worry! I found a fix!!
I wondered what would happen if I dabbed at the page with a piece of paper towel. Voila! The soft blended look I had been trying to achieve revealed itself!
I may have let out a squeal of delight at this point, but let’s keep that between ourselves, okay?
Once my background was dry I started adding my stamping. I’d decided on the phrase “find your wings and fly” so stamped that out using different letter stamps from my stash. I would have used Stazon ink for this if I’d been able to find my ink pad but … regular black ink had to suffice.
Here is a close up of the word ‘FLY’. I used a Post-it note to cover half of a butterfly stamp at a time so I could get just one wing on each side of the word.
I did more stamping – love how it’s all imperfect! I also punched a few small butterflies out of some Crate Paper vellum to add more colour, texture and whimsy.
The last thing I did was splatter the page with some watered down white acrylic paint. I keep it in an old Mister Huey bottle and decided to try spraying it on the page this time instead of shaking it from the nozzle. It was totally messy and I did use my paper towel to soak up some of the excess but I love the added texture.
Here’s another look at the finished page.
Thanks for having me today! I find Kristie’s style so fun and love her easy to follow tutorials, don’t you? I’d love for you to stop by and say hi over at Alison Day Designs or connect with me on Facebook. Any friend of Kristie’s is a friend of mine!!