Izbzee

July Welcome

 

We needed some new porch decor this month.  So I upcycled another side piece of a deconstructed shelving unit.  The Crackle background stamp from Mixed Media Supplies has always been a favorite of mine.  And even on this big piece, it added just the right touch.  

You'll need paint (Decor Art Multisurface satin- antique white, blue and red and dark gray - wrought iron)

Prep the wood -- I sanded to give the surface a little more tooth for the paint.
I used a based coat of Wrought Iron - let dry thoroughly. 

 

Mark off sections for the "stripes" of color.  Dry brush your colors on.  Let a little of the dark gray wrought iron color show through.  Let dry.  If desired apply another light coat and let dry. 

Base coat your letters, mine are 4 inches tall and about 1/4 in thick (Hobby Lobby) The star is about 6 inches in height and has some texture.  I basecoated with the antique white and then applied a coat of Krylon's Hammered copper paint (be sure to apply in a well ventilated area and let dry thoroughly. 

 

Glue the letters and star to the painted base.  Let the glue dry.  For final touches, brayer a light coat of paint onto a portion of the crackle stamp, press lightly to the edges of the board as desired.  It's a nice touch and added just the right amount of texture. 

Spray with several light coats of sealer, letting dry between coats.

 

Thanks for dropping by today and hope you'll set aside some time this week for some creative fun!

Love at Home

"There is beauty all around When there's love at home." *

I purchased some wood shaped houses a while back and I decided I would use them for this last post of May. 

You'll need:
Wood Houses in graduated sizes (Fun Stampers Journey)
Digital Journal Pages (Mixed Media Supplies)
Doily stencil
Digital photo editing program (Photo Shop Elements)
Digital cutting machine and software (Sizzix eclips2, eCal2)
American Typewriter (light) Font
Souffle Polymer Clay (Gold)
Modeling Paste
Acrylic Medium (or Gel Medium)
Gesso
Digital paper (This & That Collection from Echo Park)
Foam brush (1 inch)
Glossy Accents or Hot Glue Gun
Craft knife
Scissors
Xyron X with permanent adhesive
Sandpaper
eBrush, TB adapter
Tombow markers
Ink

Prep your wood. Apply a thin coat of Gesso and let dry. 


This piece has an oops!  I started out doing a transfer and it didn't work out as planned -- so this piece has been sanded and a second light coat of Gesso was added. 

Open your photo editing program and open the journal pages you want to use.  I created a new file and set the size to the same size as the largest house.  Copy and paste a small portion of the desired journal page into the new file as a new layer.  Using the Type Tool, create your text.  Adjust size if needed.   Repeat for the other two houses adjusting the size of the base layer. 

Print the papers for the houses on copy paper.  Print the digital paper from the Echo Park collection on cardstock (110 lb). 

Using the acrylic medium, apply a thin coat to the wood and burnish the journal page prints to the houses.  Trim with the craft knife as needed.  Let dry.

Using the stencil and the modeling paste stencil on the largest house as desired.  You can repeat on the other houses if you'd like.  Let the modeling paste dry thoroughly. 

With the eBrush, lightly spray some color around the edges of the houses.  You'll get some color on the modeling paste, but that is fine. 

Using the cutting machine, cut the lettering using American Typewriter  as desired.  My lettering is just a bit over 1 in high.  Apply adhesive to the back of the lettering by using the Xyron X and permanent adhesive.  Apply to the houses. 

Soften the clay according to manufacturer's direction.  Use a texture plate and add a little texture to the clay.  Cut in to the heart shape using a cutter or a template.  Bake according to the manufacturer's direction.  Let cool.  Attach the heart using some Glossy Accents or hot glue gun. 

Cut some strips from the digital paper.  Measure and trim as needed.  Using the ink or the eBrush, add a little color along each of the edges to soften the colors just a bit. Using some double stick tape, or glue, apply the "roof" to each house. 

 

*(Love at Home, Text and music: John Hugh McNaughton

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have oodles of fun in your creative endeavors! 

Spring Hello

 

I'm so happy with the way this card turned out.  It's simple and highlights a beautiful digital stamp from Mixed Media Supplies. 

We're celebrating Mom's 86th birthday this month.  Alzheimer's isn't kind and we are getting to the point of having to introduce ourselves on occasion.  Mom's favorite color is blue and her eyes twinkle a brilliant blue when she smiles.  I hope this card will bring a smile and twinkle.

Some materials for this post have been supplied by Mixed Media Supplies.  I do not receive any additional compensation for review of the product. 

You'll need:
Bouquet digital stamp (Mixed Media Supplies) to be released shortly
Ornamental Frame (digital stash)
Sapphire Mica (Mixed Media Supplies)
Photo editing program (Photo Shop Elements)
Printing program (Print Shop), optional
Printer
Die Cutting machine (Sizzix eclips2) and associated software (eCal2)
Cardstock
Markers (Tombow)
Waterbrush
White embossing powder
heat gun
text background stamp
ink
watercolors
Water brush (#1 or #2)
Tape Runner (Tombow)
Quick dry Glue (LineCo Natural pH)

Embellishments (I used a laser woodcut)

Open your digital photo imaging program.  Open the digital stamp and alter the color of the stamp lines by changing hue and saturation.  Resize if needed and save. Repeat the process for the ornamental frame of your choice.  I altered the frame slightly to accommodate the bouquet.  Add the bouquet as an additional layer to the frame.  Make any changes needed and save.  I saved as a png and as a psd file just in case I wanted to make any additional changes in the future. 

Since I'm wanting to make sure that the image will fit in the desired size for my card front and print one additional image, I opened Print Shop and set the page up using the guides for placement of the png image.  Print 2 copies of the page when you are satisfied with the arrangement. 

 

Open eCal2 and create an oval frame with a cut out that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the ornamental frame you are using.  I added 1/4 inch to the measurements of my frame and created an oval with those measurements and added rectangle and used Back minus Front in the path dropdown to create my card front.  Cut using your die cutting machine.  (I didn't have a die that had a large enough opening for my image, so the electronic die cutting machine was my best option). 

I let the ink on my print dry for about 24 hours before starting the watercolor background.  I chose a light brown and watered it down significantly before adding it in a pouncing manner around the images on my print.





I used a light turquoise to color in the butterfly.  Using a separate print, color the butterfly using a small amount of mica mixed with water.  Let dry.  Fussy cut the butterfly from the image and set aside. 







Using the background stamp and a light brown, stamp the oval frame, using some versamark ink, and a flourish stamp, stamp randomly around the frame.  Liberally sprinkle the embossing powder to cover all the stamped areas.  Remove the excess powder and using the heat gun, set the powder. 

Using the eBrush, apply your color by spraying a light coat.  Once you've sprayed the frame, gently wipe the excess color away from the embossed images on the frame. 

If the mica you mixed with water earlier has dried on your palette, re-charge it with a little more water and using a fine tipped waterbrush and create small dots as desired around the embossed images.  Let dry. 

Adhere the digital print to the back of the oval frame.  Adhere the frame and print (now one piece) to the card front.  Using a dot of glue, adhere the butterfly and let dry.  Lift the wings a bit for some dimension.

Glue any other embellishments as desired.  I chose a "hello" woodcut  from my stash.  This could also be framed.  It would make a very nice piece of home decor. 

Thanks for dropping by and spending a little time on the blog today.  Hope you'll schedule some creative play in this week! 

 

 

Make it fast! Halloween tags

Just stopping by to share this quick and easy Halloween tag --

 

A couple of years ago, I bought some wooden tags -- in bulk!  What was I thinking?  Well, I'm glad I did!

No affiliate links used in this post.

You'll need:
Wooden Tags
Stamps (retired - House Mouse Halloween and SVGCuts Halloween)
Ink (FSJ)
BIC Ultra Fine Marker (I chose to use one that was the same color as the ink I used)
Twine, wire or ribbon
Sealer

Make sure that the tags are clean and free of dust and dirt.


Stamp the tags - let the ink dry.  I only stamped part of the images on a few tags.


Personalize if desired, lightly spray to seal if desired.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you'll stay tuned - I have a new project to share on Monday!

 

Life in Moments

This mixed media project just evolved.  It started out as something for the upcoming Halloween holiday, however,  it took on a life of its own as I played with the colors and textures a little.

(No affiliate links are used in this post - see complete disclaimer below)

You'll need:
5 x 7 Watercolor Canvas
Gesso
foam brush
Gelli Plate
Clock stencil (Mixed Media Supplies)
Chain Link background stamp (Mixed Media Supplies)
Modeling paste and knife
ink (yellow, pumpkin, and brown were used in this project)
brayer
Wooden Laser Cuts (MelissaFrances-thin cuts)

If you need to prep your canvas, apply a thin coat of gesso.  Let dry.

Ink up your Gelli plate with desired colors, using the brayer, blend the colors as desired.  Press the canvas into ink and pull.  While you still have the ink on the gelli press, place the clock stencil on the gelli press and pull another print.  Move the stencil to another part of the press and pull another print, repeat as desired - you can re- ink if you need to.  Clean off the stencil -- make sure it is thoroughly dry before storing.

 

Place the stencil as desired on the canvas and using the modeling paste, apply a thin layer.  Pull the stencil and repeat.  I had a little extra paste left on my knife, so I just swashed it across the canvas in a couple of places. Using the background stamp, impress lightly into the wet texture paste in the upper left hand corner.  Be sure to clean your stencil and stamp before the paste dries.  Allow your canvas to dry. 

If needed, lightly sand the now dry modeling paste areas.  Ink lightly around the edges of the canvas and add a swipe or two across the canvas. 

Glue the laser cut words on the front of the canvas as desired.  Mount and frame or use as a cover for a mini album.

Thanks for joining us today as the Mixed Media Design Team continues to share some fun projects this month.  You won't want to miss a single post.  Be sure to visit the Mixed Media blog throughout the month!   Enjoy your own personal crafting and nurturing time!

 

 

 

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