Mixed Media Mail Updo

Hey there… I know I know….I’ve been gone for about 3 weeks.  Life/work, once again, gets in my art way.  But no fear, I’m here now.

I’ve been working on this video for a few weeks. I finally found the time to finish it.  I started out as a large pamphlet I got in the mail.  I thought it would be neat to alter it with some mixed media magic. Once I finished filming, this sucker was about 45 min long.  So, had to cut it down a little and fast forward a lot.  I put some comments in so you would know what I was doing.   Let me know what you think.

If you have any questions about my process, give me a shout.. glad to help.

Now… enjoy!

Here are some close ups.

          

  

If you  live in New England or even Massachusetts, you probably are ready for Spring like the rest of us. We’ve had enough snow this winter and I’m ready for a nice long walk… I don’t know… Maybe late April?

I hope you enjoyed the video.  Love to hear back from you.

Judy ♥

Butterfly Collage with Ink Jet ImageTransfers

This week, I decided to give the Peerless Watercolors a try.  I purchased them at Art is You from Joanne Sharpe.

So, I stopped work early one night (5p.m.) (only one night, but i”m working on more of them) and I put on my jammies and sat myself down to play with the paints.  Let me just say what a great feeling it was to kick back and concentrate on my art.  Since my daughters are now both in college (help! send money), our nights have a bit more space in them.  Funny how fast the time goes and all of the sudden your here, their there and life moves on.  Screeeeeeech… halt… Sorry,  I got off track.  Continuing….

I decided to work on Strathmore Bristol paper and paint in patches all over the page like this…  Click on any image to enlarge.

Seriously, this page took me a couple of hours.  I had fun swiping colors off the “peerless” cards and onto the page. That took time and all with a small brush (water brush by Koi).  I love the puddling of the watercolors when you use more water.  They dry to a nice dark edge.

Once I was happy with the background,  I gave it a spray of PYM (Preserve Your Memories) to seal it.  You can see it deepens it a little.  I took this picture under a normal light bulb.  The top picture was taken under an Ott Lite.

So, my fine friends, I took it to my studio and scraped some gesso all over it (that’s why I had to seal the page first, otherwise the colors would have mixed), rubbed it off,  then buffed it dry.  Used black Staz On ink and a make up sponge with stencils (from Stencil Girl and Mary Beth Shaw = LOVE).  Added stamped, hand made foam stamps and of course some of my polymer clay ‘bellishments.  One of the parts I love the most, are my image transfers; the butterflies and the two women, under my teal heart..

Below, you can see some gold glitter trails it put in.

I get so lost in time when I am doing image transfers.  My favorite combination to make a perfect transfer is a transparency film and gel medium.  I did a few tests using different mediums and my best result was Golden Gel Medium.  I have not tried Liquitex, but I will someday.

I transferred on muslin  and cotton fabric, paper towel, masking tape and I did a packing tape transfer also.  I got the images from Dover Clipart which is copyright free.  You can join their mailing list and they will send you samples every week.  Click on THIS LINK and put in your email address.  You will get samples every week.  If you like them, you can save and download on your hard drive on your computer.

The technique goes like this:

Get yourself some transparency film. Maybe you know someone who might have some or you can split a box with a friend.  I had some old Lexmark ones and some I hadn’t used even after I printed on them  months or years ago.  You want to print on the matte side, not shiny.  Your best bet is to print a bunch of images on one page.  You can use Microsoft Word or Powerpoint to insert an entire page of images (please email me if you need help with that.).  This is my method. There may be other ways, for example, using a photo software would also work.

Cut your image out.

Spread some gel medium on the surface you want to transfer to and on the image itself… gently, you don’t want the ink to rub off.  Use the consistency of spreading butter on bread.  I use my finger to spread the gel, as I don’t want any brush line.

Lay the film with image face down on the gelled up surface and rub it down with your finger in a circular motion, working from the center and making sure your reached all around the image.  Now wait 5 or 10 minutes or even longer.. overnight even if you need to be away.  But, if you’re like me, you ain’t going nowhere and you want instant results.

After you’ve waited and I hope you were patient, peel up the film slowly.  Check a corner and see if the ink is now transferred to the surface.  If it did, then keep slowly peeling it off.  Did it work?  It works 99% of the time for me.

Here is a few pictures of my image transfer results…

The butterflies are on paper towel, cotton fabric (old ripped t-shirt) and masking tape.  I decided to color in the black and white clip art with the “peerless watercolors” and the “Koi” watercolors…

I give the images a spray seal of the PYM so I  know they will keep their color and last a long time.

I made a bunch of image transfers on muslin fabric for my mom who loves her religious (catholic) books.  She wanted angels so she could sew them to her fabric covered books.  She was just in love with them.  I’ll be using my masking tape painted images on some other art; I wanted to use them on this page, but it didn’t seem to match.

Hope you enjoyed this post and I want you to try the image transfers and let me now how they come out.

And always… thank YOU for stopping by and leaving some blog love.

Judy ♥♥

Fun Finds, Wood Blocks and ‘bellishments

Hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, we were melting from the heat around here.  Amazing how fast it changed.  Ok, ok.. so I already put my heat on a little… and I put on my electric mattress pad at night to warm up my tootsies. Ahhhh… one of the BEST inventions, I tell you.  ”Honey, keep your cold toes to yourself”.

Well, I wanted to share with you some cool finds I came across at Michael’s.  They have a table full of marked down costume jewelry.  I bought a few to use in my work.  Here a bunch.  Aren’t they purdy?  I’m sure I will find a place for them in my collages.

Next, my new friend, Nancy, (love that I can say “new friend” in my 50′s) sent me, along with some other goodies, these pieces of jewelry.  I just need to lock myself a way in my studio for a week.  Just bring me bread and water.. ok ok.. some chocolate too. Who am I kidding.  I’ll come out to eat.

So, with all these new embellishments, I decided to make a few more of my own.  I love making these.  As you can tell, I just love the turquoise and the reds.  Oranges are great too. It all depends on what looks good with the staining.  Read on.

Hearts is what I went crazy with. Oh, and of course, I love the faces.   I made some tiny birds also, along with a pair of wings.  The ” ‘bellishements”, are made from polymer clay.  They are impressed with texture sheets, buttons, jewelry pieces.  Anything with texture really.  You have a cool pattern on the bottom of your shoe.. bam, texture.  You have a cool door knob .. bam, texture.  You have a cool embossed place mat, coaster, piece of hardware.. bam.. texture.  Look around you, it’s there.

However, recently an artist blogger friend did a post on some wood blocks that she got from a couple of co-workers.  Read Autumn’s post HERE then read more of her posts.  Her journal pages are to die for.  So, I thought I’d search out the import store (Ganesh Imports)  they got the blocks at and found a store in Newburyport, MA (where I go often).  Off I went and found some great wood blocks.  Thank you, Autumn for your post on this.  I would have never known about Ganesh.

Here is my find… the big one is about 2″ round.

Love them.  Have you ever seen a carver make a wood block?  Once you see it, you will appreciate it the work that goes into making just one block.  Take a look here.  Talk about patience.. poke a needle in my eye.

So, I decided to make few “medallion-like” ‘bellishments out of one of one of the blocks… the bigger one.

Take some polymer clay, get it soft, roll it up in a ball and press it out into a circle shape.  Then so the clay won’t stick to the wood, I put some cornstarch in an old t-shirt, tied it up, like you see below and pounced on the wood then lift and separate.. hmm, sounds like a Playtex commercial.

     

Now, bake in a dedicated clay oven per the directions on the package of clay.  (Note:  Go here if you are concerned about using your kitchen oven to bake clay).  Don’t burn it and tent it and you’ll be fine.   I like to use either “Premo” or “Fimo Soft”.  Once baked and cooled, I stained it with brown acrylic paint. Smoodge it in the deep textures, then wipe off gently with a clean paper towel, letting the paint stay in the grooves, let dry.  Then I take a sealer (I used Future Floor Wax) and brush one coat on, let dry.  That’s it.  Now you have your own ‘bellishment to use in your collages, journals, etc.

You can check out my step by step button’s tutorial I did HERE.

   

Now, let’s go back a couple of summers ago on my trip to Martha’s Vineyard in Edgartown.  I actually found some wood blocks there at a place called “In the Woods” (they do not have a website).  These puppies can get expensive, but they are worth it.  Here’s my purchase.  The bigger ones are about 6″ x 3″.

Can you stand it?  Aren’t they so much fun.  So different than any other rubber stamps out there… BUT I must say this…
They are made for fabric, not paper.  It can be done, but, you need to have some cushion under your paper when you stamp.  I just used a folded up piece of fabric or paper towel.  I just love using them to texture my clay.  LOVE. ♥

The other use for them is paper casting.  I use tissue paper for my casting; the kind you blow your nose with.  Here’s a look at some of the castings I’ve done…

This won’t work with detailed rubber stamps.  You can see the deep lines that really define the tissue. When the tissue is finally dry, you can paint and stain the pieces.  Use in your art anyway you want… Made by you.

I used one casting on one of my book covers.. The dark blue circle with the read heart.

I’m getting ready to venture out to Art is You.. in Stamford, CT Columbus Day weekend.  It’s my first retreat that i’m going to.. alone.  It’s always fun to go to these things with a friend, but it didn’t work out this time.  However, I’m sure hoping to come home with many new friends.  I mean, not with me, of course.. HA! .  I’ve heard that is retreat is something special, one of the best.  So, here I come.  I’ll be taking pictures and blog about my experience.  I’m trying to make a bunch of ‘bellishments to take with me.  I’m thinking 100.. yikes. Better get moving a little faster.

Well, I’ve filled up your brain with a lot of info tonight.  I’ll be doing a tissue paper casting blog or video soon.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting.

Judy ♥ ♥

Mixed Media Coffee Filter Collage Paper w/Video

I’ve had a few requests to show how I do some of my mixed media art.  Ask and you shall receive.

I filmed this about two weeks ago.  Then I had troubles with downloading/uploading, which software to use… yada yada yada.

Here is my first edited (poorly) video.  I decided to make a coffee filter collage piece to show you my process from start to finish.  No planning was done.. I just took out a stash of my “stuff” and see where it took me.

I don’t need to write much more here on the blog, as the video will give you all you need.  I used this same process using used dryer sheets or on a piece of fabric (I like muslin).

I hope you enjoy… and I apologize ahead of time for any hiccups in the editing (in addition to a whining dog, no not my husband.. ha ha).  I’m just getting the hang of this. I think little parts got cut out when I did the editing.  I can see that now.  But you get the idea here on adding layers and fun ephemera.

It’s 18 minutes long… so sit back and relax.  Silence all cell phones, as they say in the movie theaters.

Here are some closer still shots of the final piece.

So many uses… cut up your favorites parts and add to your journals and collages. Imagine this as a unique book cover with sewn pages.  Sew it on a canvas bag or add it to a quilt project.  It’s a pretty strong piece by the time you’re done with the layers of fabric, etc. and gel medium.

Click here to see another collage filter I made.

Here is a reminder of what you can do with the full circle filter:   See how I talk about putting this one together HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and for all your compliments, kind comments and some of you who asked for a video on how it put my art together.

Send this along to a friend who might enjoy it.

Please give this a try.. So easy.. I want to see yours.  Send me pictures and I’ll put them on my blog.

Love having fun with you.  More to come.

Judy  ♥

Art Instruction Blog – My Mixed Media Art

I was recently contacted by “Art Instruction Blog“, an online resource for free art lessons, asking me if they could put one of my tutorials on their site.  Of course, I was thrilled and said “yes”.

I had never heard of Art Instruction Blog before today.  What a great site and resource.  Everyone should bookmark this link.

Thank you, Ralph, for reaching out to me and noticing my art.

Here is the link to check out my lesson…

http://www.artinstructionblog.com/mixed-media-collage-tutorial-step-by-step

I hope you enjoy it.

Judy ♥

In The Studio.. Coffee Filter Collage Art

Ok.. where did we leave off?  Oh yes.. computer drama. Don’t remind me.  Let’s just get to arting around.

I”m getting in the studio as much as I can.. sneaking in here and there.  Today, I want to take you down the road of making used coffee filter collage papers.  You’ve heard me mention them before in this post.

I am a coffee drinker.. every day…so I started to save the filters. Once they had time to absorb the used coffee grinds, they are stained beautifully.  If you aren’t a coffee drinker, go buy yourself a cheap jar of instant coffee grounds and stain paper or even fabric which absorbs is like a sponge.  You can also use tea or even beets (see post I did here).

So, let’s begin, shall we…

(Oh, and a note before I start.. I”m trying to keep my pictures in a smaller format so that it won’t take forever to draw the picture for you.  Click on the picture to get a bit bigger shot.  Thanks.)

It starts with taking the filter with the coffee grinds still in in and laying it out on a plate, paper bag, plastic bag; you get the idea.  Let it dry – then wipe off the filters.  The plate on the right is after I’ve wiped the grinds off the filter.  The paper plate I used gets all coffee stained too and that can be cut up and used in your collages also.

I took the filter and did a wash of teal acrylic paint and water.  Let dry.  I love the contrast of the paint and the natural coffee stains.

  

I spread gel medium on one side, let dry then the other to make the filter a bit stronger.  Then I used “YES” glue to adhere my pieces. It’s not bad to work with; I wanted to give it a try. A little stiffer to spread.

   

So, I’m just taking whatever I have in my studio and start gluing to my filter.

This piece below is a coffee filter that I painted and glittered with many layers.. so I”m going to rip that up and use it. I just love my lace paper with the spiral. Yum.

Below, adding lace and tissue papers.  The tissue paper on the bottom was hand stamped with one of my tiny hand carved stamps.. so cute.

Adding fabric and painted doily.

Now, after I added some lace to the edge of the filter, I wanted to stain it.. so I used Distress Ink – Wild Honey.  I took the ink pad and rubbed it on my craft sheet (or you could use palette or freezer paper (shiny side) and spritz some water on it to create an ink liquid.  Then I just brushed it on the lace.  I dabbed a little of teal paint on it too.. cuz you know I’m a “teal” freak.

  

This fleur de lis was done with tissue casting.  Like paper casting, but I do it with tissues.  I’ve never tried the actual paper casting where they shred papers in a blender with liquids and smoosh those fibers into molds.   Little Miss Patience (me), has no time for that.   I found this site on paper casting with tissue paper and glue  just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about..

In the method I use, it’s layers of tissue (the kind you blow your nose with) and gel medium on a rubber stamp.. then I stained with inks, filled the image with glitter glue and dipped the edges in a little pool of Krylon Gold Leaf.

I tried to do a butterfly image transfer onto the filter, but it did not come out all the way.. so I drew an eye in the section that was empty.  I quite like it.

Here’s the final coffee filter collage:

Well, that was fun.

Wait.. I’m not done…  So, I had this little canvas, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2″, just hanging around.  I decided to paint/collage it and give it away.

Here’s how it came about….

 

I started by making my own spray paints using acrylic paints and water.. Sprayed the canvas using all the colors in different places and letting some colors drip.  I dipped a cap into red acrylic paint and stamped that on the canvas.  Cut out some old dictionary pages into circles.  Used oil pastels for shading around the circles.  Added my stripe border and stained it.

YOU WANT IT???  Leave a comment and tell a friend.  I’ll draw a winner by next weekend (US only please.. sorry).

Well, as you can see, I couldn’t contain myself  this week; especially since I was gone for two.  Hope you enjoyed the ride.

.. and as always THANK YOU for stopping by and checking things out.

Judy ♥

Re-post – Gel Skin Art

Here is a re-post of the “skins”, I made a while back.  Thought you would enjoy a 2nd go round on reading it and for the new subscribers and visitors.

The skin with the beads, is my favorite.  I’ve been tearing that up and using it in my work for about a year now. Here is an example of how I used it recently in my coffee filter art piece; see post here.

First up was Golden’s Self Leveling Clear Gel and the Clear Tar Gel.  I took a palette knife and spread a good amount on some freezer paper.. like frosting a cake.

I sprinkled some finer glitters and shiny things like colored micro beads, sequins or whatever I had.  The self leveling gel and the tar gel had the same results.  I think I will try mixing color into the gel to make it a solid color, then adding the pretty shiny things.  Adding snipped colorful fibers or fabrics would be an interesting effect, don’tchya think?  I’ve done it and it is.

Then I took fluid acrylics and dropped dots all over a sheet until it was crowded and ran a knitting needle around it making swirls and shapes.

I also took blobs of paints at the top of the freezer paper and spread them downward, but they came out too thin.  Not so great.  Using heavy body paints might work better.  But, still interesting and one of a kind.

Once they are dry, you can peel them off of the freezer paper.  Now what do you do with them?  How about adding them to a collage page, journal page or  cut into strips or chopped up to put into some dryer sheet collage art cloth… see my tutorial here on how to make it.

I haven’t been back up in the studio since before vacation.. sad.  I’ll get up there, get my creative juices flowing and be back with some fun stuff.

Thanks for stopping by?

Judy ♥

Mixed Media Art Page on Cape Cod

Well, it’s good to be back home… as Dorothy says “there is no place like home” and it’s so true.

We had a great time this week on Cape Cod.  One of our favorite spots to visit.  We’ve been going for years, whether to rent or stay in a condo we once owned.

Between taking long walks, playing some tennis, hitting the beach, riding our bikes (killer 15 miles, I might add.. ouch on the tush), eating great food and a visit to the excitement of Provincetown, I was able to get in a day of art.

I brought with me a small art bag which included Bristol paper, Portfolio Oil Pastels, watercolor paints, fine line black markers in case I did any drawing.. (I didn’t) and a glue stick.

I was inspired by the art in our condo bedroom.  So, I visualized a page with colors and smudging of oil pastels, took some pictures as I created it and this is what I came up with…

I started with a blank page and just made colored squares with my oil pastels and started to rub each section with my finger to smudge them.

After rubbing them, I put a black border around each square.

Then rubbed the borders in for shadows.

I wanted to add something to the page, but I didn’t bring anything else with me.. so I ripped a page out of a magazine and crumpled it up.  Then I scribbled oil pastels in columns and took a damp paper towel to rub it all in..

Then tore long triangles.  The idea was to make paper beads.

I used a pencil and my eyeliner stick to roll the beads on and adhered them with my glue stick.  Then I further painted them with my water color paints and did some drippings on the beads.

      

Here they are.  Now what?

I decided, just for fun to smash the beads and make them flat and put them around the edges of the borders.  Just having fun with what I had in front of me. Not sure I LOVE this piece, but it was a fun process.  I can imagine an entire page of these smashed beads.  They look/feel so organic and natural.  Something about the torn paper.

I worked on the colors of the squares, rubbing further and taking away the center colors a little.

Here is my end result… FOR NOW.   Back in the studio, I may play a bit more with it.  Maybe some fabric and fibers… maybe a transfer on top.. maybe rip it up for other projects…. endless, I tell you.. endless…..  what do you think?

I have to get back in the groove here at home.  I think I’ll be doing laundry until 2012.  Back to work tomorrow.. ugh.. I can see about 300 emails waiting for me.. damn.. where are those ruby red slippers when I need them.. I’d wish to be back on the Cape.

Thanks for stopping by.

Judy ♥

Mixed Media Collages/Used Coffee Filters

I’ve found some time to sneak up in the studio here and there with really no plans to make anything specific.  Maybe that’s the best way to approach art.. no thinking…. all intuitive.

These collage pieces started out as just bristol paper that caught some splatter paint somewhere along the line.  So, I decided to smoosh some paint around them for backgrounds.  Then I kept going.. Let me show you.. relax, sit back and enjoy...Click any picture to get close ups and to see more details.

Here is one large bristol page the I split into two.  As usual, I’m using my teal colors… I used stained music papers, paint, gel skin with glitter and beads (see link below)… rubber stamps, paint, Portfolio Crayons.

Remember this POST, when I made the skins?  I am still using the beaded skin I made.  You’ll see some of it in the collages here.  Rip a piece here and there.. adds so much to your work.

So, I challenged myself to get away from the teal colors and went with this….

Mauve’ish background, lace papers, my handmade polymer clay embellishments, swirl stencil, painted fabric strips, fabric flower in center of doily.

Now on to the used coffee filters.  This is so much fun, you can paint, collage and sew them.

Here’s what I did:

- Take used coffee filter or even take a new one and dip it in instant coffee, dry.
- Rubber stamp a woman’s face and color it as you like.  I used Prismacolor pencils and Portfolio crayons.
- Raw Sienna fluid acrylic background with music paper transfer.
- I ripped the filter to accommodate the stamp, as it wasn’t that big.
- Spray with fixative so colors won’t smudge.
- Glued the filter to a paper doily.
- Painted the edges of filter with crayon and the doily with copper.
- Ripped masking tape into strips and painted them copper and glued in a cruciform shape.
- Used my Citra solv paper for collage
- Added lace to bottom and top of collage.
- Rubber stamps, paint, by handmade polymer clay embellishments.
-  Lastly I added my beaded gel skin and a teenie tiny polymer clay heart in her hair.  I just love that effect.

Here are a couple of other coffee filters that I stamped, painted, collaged and sewed on.   Note:  I but gel medium on the front and back of these to make them stronger before I started to glue and sew on them.

I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with them yet, but you’ll be the first to know.

If you have any questions on this post, please contact me; I’d be happy to answer and help.

As always, my friends, thank you for stopping by.

Judy ♥

Mixed Media Collage Tutorial

I so enjoyed the 3 day weekend that just passed.  I was hot here in Mass.  A little too soon for me, but that tends to happen here.. not much of a Spring and then wham.. summer.  Give me a cold rainy day and I’m happy.  Strange, I know, but very comforting to me.  Whatchya gonna do?  Make art… that’s what… and that’s exactly what I did.

Here’s a tutorial just for you on how I made a collage on Bristol paper.  I started out thinking I would work on 3 collages at the same time.  Two on Bristol paper and one on deli paper.  The idea was to work on one while layers on another were drying.  Well, I started out that way, but there was too much going on and I couldn’t keep track of all the steps of the techniques.  I ended up focusing on one page for now.

You’ll see that I tend to lean more towards the teals, as in my other work too.  See this post and you’ll see what I mean, jelly bean.

Supplies/Materials:
Golden Gel Medium
Bristol paper 11″x14″
Golden fluid acrylic paints
Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints
scrap ephemera
polymer clay handmade embellishment (gotta have the clay in there)
lace papers
ink jet image transfer
my own hand carved rubber stamps
Portfolio Oil Pastels

Let’s start by showing you some of the handmade stamps I made.  Ok.. let me also tell you how I (bleep swear) at carving.   So they are not perfect and my back and neck  and eyes were sore after hours of carving, but they are my own originals.  Now, if you want to see some beautiful hand carved stamps.. go visit Autumn Hathaway’s website.. she is the queen of carving stamps.  She even has her own stationery line.  Gorgeous!

Here are mine.. aren’t they cute?  The pink ones are the ones I did this weekend and my own designs.

CLICK ON ALL IMAGES FOR A CLOSER LOOK

So, I started with the paper and scraped down some turquoise paint with a credit card.

Then added some Quin Azo Gold…

I used a little of the studio paints for patches of red.  More layers of turquoise and then I gave the entire page a wash with Titan Buff.  Ahhhh.  Let dry.  Actually, let all layers dry one at a time.

… and now, my friends… I begin the fun process of collaging.

I start the design using one of my stamps (love saying that).

STOP!  Wait a minute.. what time is it?  Did I forget to make dinner?  Um, ya, I think I did.  Ah, heck…. everyone for themselves; leftover night.

Continuing………. More of my stamps, scrap papers, corrugated cardboard from a coffee cup sleeve; stamped with red.

Added an ink jet image transfer from a transparency.

More papers, and stamps and lace papers.  Lace papers just melt into the collage when you use gel medium.

Here I put a strip of masking tape to protect the page from paint so I could put in a black and white stripe… then pull of to reveal a perfect line.  Love this.. makes me happy.

Here’s what it looks like before I start using Portfolio crayons.

I rubbed the black crayon around the edges.  I also used orange, teal, yellow and white crayon around the page.

Here’s the final.. I added a handmade polymer clay embellishment on one of the leaves. Also added a piece of my handmade tar gel skin with beads and glitter (right next to the spiral lace paper).  I cut about a 1/2″ from all around the edge of the page and snipped the corners.

Here are a couple of closeups…
  

There you have it.  I’m going to shoot for different colors on my next collage.  Ones that I don’t usually use.

Hope you enjoyed my tute.

Don’t forget to rate and  “like” me if you enjoyed this.

Thanks for stopping by.

Judy ♥