Happy June!

Hello bloggers!  I know that my posts are few and far between lately.  To say that my life has been a little bit of a whirlwind is an understatement.  I've been jet setting and just trying to keep a handle on everything that life throws my way.  Nothing too overwhelming, just crazy busy.  But honestly, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if my life didn't require a safety belt even when not driving.  

Although I have been doing a significant amount of shooting (for someone who doesn't advertise), I decided that it's time to refocus my time on my art.  At least for the summer.  I miss it.  It's just that simple.  It's tough when you have two things that you are very passionate about --for me it's my art and my photography.  I haven't mastered juggling both successfully.  One of them always ends up overwhelming me and not in a good way.  Do you juggle too?  How do you do it?

Anyway, in an effort to kick start my creativity in mixed media I decided to host a tag swap for the month of June at Artsy Fartsy.  Yeah, I said June.  I can't believe we're almost half way through the year of 2013.  But anyway --back to me kick starting my creativity.  Uhhhhhhh...::crickets::  So it didn't jump start quite as quickly as I thought it would but nevertheless I got some tags done.  Woot, woot!  And that's a lot to be happy about.  So let me show you what I made this morning...

Remember you can click on the images to view them larger.

I just love this little guy --he is so cryptic and mystical and well, there's just a whole lot going on with this little fella.  But I can't help but feel sadness when I see him.  The technical stuff:  Mustard Seed Distress Ink all over tag then I cut out a mask of the little guy and positioned it where I was going to stamp him.  Then I covered the entire tag with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I stamped the vines from the Dylusions line and then I removed the mask and stamped my little Creep.  Yep, this one inspired by Radiohead's "Creep".  I also shaded the edge of the tag using Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I made three pretty identical tags for my swap --they all basically look like this one.  I first covered the entire tag with Peacock Feather Distress Ink and then shaded the edges of the tag with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I wish I could remember who makes the stamp I used for this tag but I don't have that in front of me so I will update it when I have an opportunity.  The hardware is from the Ideaology line and the "journey in time" stamps are from Maya Road's art journaling stamp set.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE the gold stars!  The stars are courtesy of a new stencil by Heidi Swapp.  I positioned the stencil on the tag and then covered the stencil with gold embossing paste by the fabulous Wendy Vecchi.  I actually took one of Wendy's classes last weekend!  But more about that later.  Anyway, I think these stars are the bees knees.  ::big smile::  The final step in these tags was misting perfect pearls innnnnnnn...oh crap, I don't remember the color.  I want to say Sunflower Sparkle but I think that may be incorrect.  Again, will get back to everyone on this.  But I do want to say that the mist and stars added a whole lot of magic to these tags!

This one is oh so pretty --I used my favorite distress ink color, Mustard Seed.  I shaded the edges using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and all other steps mimic the ones already mentioned above.  Pretty neat, eh?

As I mentioned a second ago, I had an opportunity to take a class with the fabulous Wendy Vecchi.  It was a technique class and I'll admit that I knew 75% of what she taught that day but the class was still interesting and I walked away with a bunch of tips and some new techniques.

Alright, I will do my best to not be a stranger.  I will post photos soon from some of my recent shoots and adventures.  Until then...peace, love, and never truly losing your creative spirit.  :)

Send All My Love To You

My very awesome friend Dee Dee is hosting the April/May ATC Swap at Artsy Fartsy.  For this swap she gave us a photo prompt and we are to make three cards inspired by that photo.  I'm not going to post the picture, you can visit our Events Page for all of the swap details and hey, there's still time to join this swap! 

I decided to make three identical cards.  I think looking at the cards you can figure out the theme --handwriting a letter and sending your love to someone via mail.  See the post marks I stamped on the upper right hand corner? 

I think the pen nib ties this whole theme together.

I haven't been as crafty as I'd like to be but I have a whole weekend to myself coming up and I intend to craft, craft, craft!  I have backorders and I'm getting some very awesome new jewelry making material!  I CANNOT WAIT TO SHARE!  Hopefully it arrives in time for my weekend. 

I am also trying the technique of sealing an image with diamond glaze by pouring it into a bottle cap.  I poured about half an inch into each bottle cap and I KNOW that it's going to take at least a day to dry.  Ummm, yeah, I poured the glaze two hours ago and I have run in to my craft room FOUR times to check on the glaze --like it's magically going to dry in two hours???  Hey, at least I didn't stick my finger in it.  Well, not yet at least.  :D

That's all I've got for now.  I will leave you with this awesomeness.  BTW --LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her dress.  I have one that is semi-similar but not this cool or flattering for that matter.  "We'll call her Nebraska...Nebraska Jones..."  If this song doesn't make you move, check your pulse.

Art Therapy

I wanted to revisit this layout for a few reasons.  1.  I want to pin it to Pinterest from my newer craft blog and 2. I wanted to show the vulnerable and not so pretty side to scrapbooking.  When I first completed this page I was so afraid to share it with the craft community, but by far it has been by most popular one to date and so many people shared how they were inspired to scrapbook their own emotions.  You see, scrapbooking shouldn't just be for the good times, it can help you repair some of the bad times in your life too.  Art has been my saving grace as I have faced many rough patches in my life and I find comfort in knowing that when I hurt again, I can pour it into my art --even the art of scrapbooking.

I want to mention that this layout features a medium that we all have access too for free --CARDBOARD!  Yep!  And it was so much fun to use.  You will see it in a couple of places in my layout.  Enjoy.  :)

First and foremost is the hand-stamping of lyrics...one.letter.at.a.time.  Insane, I know.  But it looks pretty awesome, doesn't it?  These are lyrics by the band My Ruin --no relation to me, Ms. Ruin.  ;)

I stamped these letters on cardboard and then cut them out.  I love the multiple layers of texture!

This is probably my favorite embellishment.  I stamped a heart on cardboard, cut it out, and then I stapled it down the middle.  Very symbolic.

This beautiful scroll is by Maya Road.  I misted it with Tattered Angels mist and then stamped over it with a script stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Don't Stop Believing

I made this canvas for a coworker who inspired me yesterday.  First of all, she also likes birds.  Secondly, she is going through a tough time.  Her husband has undergone a stem cell procedure as he has very aggressive cancer.  She has remained hopeful and has kept a smile on her face from the beginning.  I have to truly admire that.  “Belief is a beautiful armor; it makes for the heaviest swords…”

I first Mod Podged the white 8x10 canvas.  Then I applied tissue by 7gypsies.  I let it dry a bit and then applied Mod Podge over the tissue to seal it.  While that dried I embossed the word “Believe” on paper.  I cut the letters in strips to make them fit in the frame and also shortened the word to “Belief”.  Since the word was embossed, it was easy to convert one of the E’s to an F.  Other minor details include:

• Stamp scrolls by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous on the bird.
• Outline the bird with a pen – I used a white gel pen.
• Apply gold pain to chipboard crown – I used Maya Road Chipboard.
• Dab black acrylic paint onto photo frame. 

 

Once the canvas dried I dabbed black acrylic paint to the edges and then smeared it around with my finger tips.

 

I adhered the key to the photo frame with a glue gun and also adhered the flowers (these are by Prima) to the frame with hot glue.

 

My last step was adhering the scrapbook paper with the word belief onto the canvas with glue and then I hot glued the frame over it so that the frame was glued directly onto the canvas.

Pretty simple, but very fab!

Fearless

Each Design Team Member was given a few items and asked to create something that defines their "style".  I decided to incorporate vintage elements because as you know by now, it's my thing.  My theme is Fearless.  I think even when I am fearful; I have to show the world that deep within myself I can muster up courage to propel myself forward.  When the going gets tough, I may cower down for a second but before you know it I am back up on my two feet and kicking some serious ass.  :)  So this is a tribute to my style and my attitude.

A little bit about this piece...I love old books.  Not so much to read them but I love to incorporate them into my work.  So I pulled the cover off of an old geography book from the early 1900's to use as a base for my work.

I purchased this little frame for a dollar at Michael's a while back.  I love vintage looking frames.  I just peeled off the back side and adhered it to the book cover with hot glue.  The paper inside of the frame is from the new kraft paper line by Tim Holtz.  The stamp is also Tim's --it reads "What if your FEARS and DREAMS exist in the same place, would you still go there?  The dangling chandelier piece (can't be seen below but can be seen above) is brand new from Maya Road.

The chipboard scroll is by Maya Road.  Like any other chipboard it is sold bare.  I dabbed "Vintage Photo" distress ink by Ranger/Tim Holtz.  Then I outlined the scroll using a black pen.  The cream colored calendar sheer is by Maya Road and it's one of the elements that was sent to me by the store.  The word "FEARLESS" was made with stickers by October Afternoon.  The black bird is a stamp by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.  I first stamped the bird on the sheer using "Staz-On" in black.  Then I stamped the same image on kraft paper.  I cut the image out and positioned a pop-dot behind it and then adhered it over the samped image.  I did not bother to cut the legs out of the image on the kraft paper --that's too much detailed work.  That's why I first stamped it on the sheer.  Make sense?  The photo is on a mat that I made using Kraft paper as well.   

For those of you that have never worked with chipboard, it looks like this:

You can dress it up in so many ways...with paint, paper, mists, inks, etc.  What I did with the chipboard flower shown here is 1) Inked it up with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, 2) I stamped over it, and 3) I embossed it with clear Ultra Thick Embossing powder (UTE).  Doing that will make your embellishment look like a neat epoxy sticker.  :)  As far as the flower on top of the chipboard - I think it's probably by Prima.  Again, I dabbed Vintage Photo Distress Ink then I filled the center with Glossy Accents and then dropped the mini ---hmmm, whatever those are in the center.

As far as the little goodies here...well, the calendar, license plates, and numbers are by Tim Holtz.  The buttons are chipboard and those are by Graphic 45.  The trinket star is by Maya Road.  And the flowers are by Prima.  Notice that I used the same technique on the smaller chipboard flower that I used on the larger chipboard flower (distress ink, stamp, and emboss with UTE).  A little bit about the significance of some of these items.  First of all I was born on Wednesday, January 26 1977 (hence the two 7's).  The word "Yes!" is the answer to the question in the frame.  The Texas plate is self explanatory, I'm a Texas Girl!  Texas born, Texas Raised, Texas Proud, Texas till I die!  The Tennessee plate is a testament to so much of who I am today.  I moved to TN years ago --away from my family to a place I had never been, where I knew no one but my ex-husband.  Was I scared?  Yes.  But I did it anyway with all of the confidence that I had in me.  I endured two years of hell away from my family being married to an abusive man but as I walked away from TN, I was braver than I had ever been. 

Thanks for looking, my friends. 

My Little Beach Book

This is another project I made for The Crafty Scrapper.  It's a mini chipboard album about a day on the beach.  At the bottom of this post, I have included the images I captured on a cold Winter day on the beach.  Bundle up and walk on the sand with me...

I have a seashell somewhere and once I find it I will put it in the little envelope.  :)

-----PHOTOGRAPHS-----

New Playthings

Hello bloggers!  As you know, I have admitted to having a problem with buying scrapbooking/art supplies in the past.  I have really become better about it and only shop BIG a couple times a year.  In the interim I stock up on supplies such as adhesive and whatnot.  However, there is an exception my rule of big shopping only a few times a year and that exception is stamps!  I am quite the stamp freak.

Anyway, I did have a bit of a shopping spree in the last few days at The Crafty Scrapper.  Carolyn and company always stock the latest and greatest.  I will make another post of some of the new stuff in the store but for now, let me show you what floats my boat.

As most of you know, I LOVE TIM HOLTZ, anything Ranger, anything Stampers Anonymous, anything - well, you get the point!  So I definitely stocked up on the latest Tim toys.  :D

Love the pocket clock!

 STAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo hoo - new paper!

WOO HOO HOO HOO - NEW KRAFT PAPER!!!!!!!

Big fan of the lightbulbs! 

Another favorite of mine is 7gypsies.  I picked up a few of their stuff as well...

I love these bottles!  I don't know that I'll use them in my projects.  I bought them to display in my apothecary style studio.

One of my New Years resolutions was to be better about remembering birthdays and other special events.  So I finally broke down and bought this drawer.  My plan is to make cards ahead of time and then file them away until it is time to give to someone.  I am REALLY going to try to keep up with this.

Graphic 45 is probably my newest most favorite company.  They truly speak to my heart, just like Ranger and Stampers Anonymous.  Although I'm a little creeped out by clowns, I absolutely love their Le Cirque line.  Being afraid intrigues me.  I am a huge fan of vintage witches, so the witch on the broomstick is definitely my favorite graphic!  My intention is to make a mini album about our evening at the circus.  Intention --such a funny word!  Anyway, check out this awesome paper --front and back shown.

This is not from the Le Cirque line, but it is Graphic 45.  Cannot wait to use it!

I really try NOT to buy much scrapbook paper because I have TONS and I don't think I'll use it all in my lifetime.  But I do like to pick up random pieces that catch my eye.  Like these...

This one is by Webster's pages.  I tend to like just about anything vintage, especially if the theme is school houses or children.  I think I was born in the wrong era.  :)

This is probably one of the first times I have bought products by "The Girls' Paperie".  I didn't buy much, embellishments, some chipboard letters and acrylic stamps --oh, and I couldn't help myself to this paper - hello - birdcages!



 

And as if the Graphic 45 Le Cirque line wasn't enough, I couldn't help myself to these circus/carnival themed items by Glitz Design --these are from their Afternoon Muse line.  Sorry, I forgot to photograph the clear stamps so here is a graphic.

And now for the random portion of my post.  These are other little treasures I picked up...

Not sure who makes these beautiful wings --but you know me, I am a flight fanatic.

You can never have too many alphabets...these are by October Afternoon.

BIRDCAGES!!!!!  These are by Prima.

And finally...some goodies from Pinkpaislee.  These two packs are from the Daily Junque line.

PHEW!!!  Is your brain on overload?  My pocketbook sure is!  LOL.  Hope you enjoyed all of my new playthings. 

Peace, love, and playthings,

Ms. Ruin