Monday, October 27, 2014

More challenge cards.

 I am sharing a few more of the cards I have completed for the 52 card challenge. I have to say this is one of the hardest challenges I have done because some of the words are not very art inspiring for me. I think they would be good writing prompts though or for larger journal pages where you have room to explore a theme better.

 Week 30 - trend. This card is painted with gesso and sprayed with metallics. I then added a chipboard heart from my scrapbooking stash. I embossed it with a cuttlebug and then painted it with metallic acrylics. I was feeling sparkly that day, lol. There is a quote on the back that says: "Don't follow a trend. Follow your heart."

 Week 31 - bracelet.  I sketched out some friendship bracelets on a painted card then coloured them with felt tip markers. I used Tombows because they always turn out a little paler when used over acrylic paint. I wanted a soft look.

 Week 32 - orbit.  The background is painted and then stencilled with Golden fluid acrylic for a shiny look. I added the quote and printed photo later.

Week 33 - low.  I found this quote with low in it to inspire this card. Simply painted with acrylics and a little pencil outlining.

Week 34 - dial.  I used flat acrylics for the background and stencilled on some Luminarte silks glaze for the shiny pattern.  I sketched out the phone and painted it with acrylics and some silver pen. I miss the sound of old phones that had dials.

Week 35 - wallflower.  I found this part of a poem that I decided to use for my card. I had a collage image of a women's head and bust that looked like it fit the poem so I cut it out to use. I had to lengthen the body with acrylics and add a little more hair but you can't really tell. I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Using angelina film

As promised I am sharing the photos I took while making the peacock card for the 52 card challenge.


I first painted the card using the credit card technique. I put blue paint at one end of the card and used a plastic card to spread the paint across the card. I then did the same thing with a purple paint and you get the effect seen here. If you do it while the paints are both wet you get some mixing of color. I didn't do the second coat evenly so some of the original blue shows through the gaps.


This photo shows the Angelina film I used. It can also be known as Textiva film. I have had it a while but it is usually sold by textile retailers or maybe a mixed media supplier. I scrunched it up for texture and glued it to the card with white glue. The glue didn't seem to hold it well so I added a line of stitching around the edge to make it secure. When the film is heated it shrinks and pulls so I wanted to make sure it wouldn't come off.


I held the card with clips over a teflon craft sheet. I then used a heat gun to shrink and make holes in the film. I do this outside so I don't breath the fumes in. Leave it clipped down until it cools or the card may curl. I did not need to trim the film because it shrank to the stitching when I heated it.


You will notice the finished color of the film is very different to the color before heat is applied. You never know what you will get and that is part of the fun of using this film.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Finally some more art.

I didn't realize it had been so long since I shared some work. I have been busy teaching a little and also helping my daughter with her artwork. https://www.facebook.com/galaxiametal?fref=nf  I am now finished with those so I have a little more time for my own work. I also joined two textile art groups so I will be sharing some of my textile work occasionally.  I do like to vary what I make to stay creative.

I have completed quite a few cards (9 so far) for the 52 card challenge that I had fallen so far behind in. I will share 5 today and some more later on.
 Week 25 - peculiar.  This was a simple card. I painted it white and dribbled on some watercolors. I then turned the blobs into creatures (like Carla Sonheim does) with a pen and some shading, then added a few splatters as well. The technique is easy because the creatures are not realistic.
 Week 26 - around.  A simple acrylic painting and a quote to match.

 Week 27 - minimal.  I painted the card with a thick layer of gesso and while it was wet textured it with a heat gun. When it was bubbled up I painted on golden acrylics and added a scrapbooking definition.

 Week 28 - peacock. I was inspired to go with the peacock colors rather than the lovely bird for this card. I used angelina film to make the background and added some skeleton leaves on top. I did take a few step by step photos so if I can find them I will share them tomorrow.
 This view shows the leaves better and you can see how the color of the film changes depending on the angle of the light hitting it.

Week 29 - joker.  I went a little crazy with my sketch for this one. It is acrylics with some pencil shading.