Dark Paradise

Raj is my 15 year old Shepherd mix. She is my paradise. We have been through so much together, good and bad. She has been healthy for most of her life but now she has cancer. We have done 2 surgeries to take the cancer out but it came back. As a veterinary technician I know what surgery entails and what to expect after surgery but another surgery isn't an option anymore because she has 3 more tumors. I started chemo on her last week. Bless her heart! Hopefully the chemo works. We will know in a month. 

I sprayed the entire canvas and some of the flowers with Maya Road Dragon Fruit Pink and added a harlequin stamp to some. Raj has been fearless throughout this disease so the metal words are more than appropriate.

I added some lace and an old belt at the top and bottom, then added lots of wood embellishments. The 15 stands for the age of my precious girl. The time glass is my way of thinking about the time she has been with me. I did emboss the flourishes (first time doing embossing) with black glitter embossing powder. 

TIP: when working with black, white and red make sure everything is DRY before layering or doing anything. I don't know how many times I got red on my white elements. Lol!

This design is entered into the following challenges:

Pixel and Papers June- This picture from the Pixel and Paper June challenge inspired me because of the person sitting alone on the bench. This reminds me of when I would take Raj to the park in the summer and throw her tennis ball for hours.  And the dark blacks and grays make me think about how I will one day have to go to the park without her. Check out the challenge HERE.

Craft Girls Challenge-Anything Goes (HERE)

Pinque Peacock-Anything Goes Challenge #6 (HERE)

Frilly and Funkie-Case It challenge. I chose the week #1 tag to "summerize". Check out the tag post HERE. The colors of this tag are what I wanted to change to summer. My dog Raj loves to play in the park when it is warm=summer!(HERE)

Thanks for reading and leaving your lovely comments. It brightens my day! Carpe Diem! ~€

It's the Little Things in Life......

This layout was tricky because I wanted to be able to submit it to multiple challenges (check out their blogs using the links at the end of this post). I also wanted to use burlap and my little dog Jaz (she's 13 years old). 

Jazmin will bring me her coat/jacket if she is cold. I keep her clothes in a chest by the front door so she can choose at will. Can you say adorable? 

Now to the art! First I applied some gesso to frame where I would place my photo. 

Then I layered the photo of little Jaz with papers from the Mariposa stack (clearance bin at Joannes). 

I used metal pieces that I got in an ephemera pack from Spareparts as well as some flowers and other spare items to complete the LO. This LO is from the SOE sketch for the June challenge. The black circle was made using the lid of a Tupperware bowl and black acrylic paint. Hehe! Use what you've got, no? 

This canvas was submitted to the following challenges:

Craftitude Challenge 67-Flowers and/or Lace (HERE)

Scraps of Elegence June Challenge on Facebook (HERE) or their blog (HERE)

Left of Center Challenge 34-Use Metal (HERE)

Thanks for reading and leaving your lovely comments. It brightens my day! Carpe Diem! ~€

Paws to Enjoy Life!

This layout was inspired by the name I chose for my blog (Pawsitively Creative Crafts). I have been in the Veterinary field for over 10 years and I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Some days are hard and some days I wouldn't change anything. Loves it! 

This layout features one of my furry babies, Nanook. I used Archival ink non-toxic (making sure it wouldn't harm him in any way first) to apply his paw print to my canvas. TIP: I gave him a little bit of peanut butter to help keep him happy while I played with his feet. Can you tell he doesn't mind nail trims? He is a good baby.

I painted my canvas with gesso first, then used Luminarte and Dylusions sprays until I achieved the look I wanted. Nanook has gorgeous blue eyes so I kept that in mind. After spraying/misting I cut cardstock out and layered it behind his picture. Then I added some gears/cogs, lace and ribbon that I UPCYCLED from an old belt.

The last part was adding in his paw print in the bottom left hand corner. It didn't go as well as I planned but at least it looks like a paw print! I noticed that his eyes didn't pop with color because of the black and white picture so I mixed up an ice-blue color to match his eyes and painted it on the picture with acrylic paint.

This canvas will be entered into the following challenges:

LESSology Challenge #37: Animal Kingdom (HERE)

Opus Gluei #185-Animals (HERE)

Thanks for reading and leaving your lovely comments. It brightens my day! Carpe Diem! ~€

Steampunk Inspired Canvas

Being inspired from watching someone's tutorial is a great way to expand your techniques and also to learn new techniques. Gabrielle (check her out HERE) inspired me and made me realize I CAN DO THIS! She is amazeballs! 

I switched some aspects and enjoyed the learning process. I am not hesitant to add colors and try something new now. 

Mixed media is letting me get back into the art world after so many years away. I broke both of my arms and wasn't able to paint for a year. By the time I was done with physical therapy and healing I knew I couldn't do the painting that I had in the past. So I didn't pick up a paintbrush for 15 years. My husband gave me 2 blank canvases for my birthday in April 2014 and now I am back trying. What a journey! 

Thanks for reading and leaving your lovely comments. It brightens my day! Carpe Diem! ~€

Cheery Lynn die cuts are from Etsy-Cheerful Scrapper. One day I will have a Cuttlebug! :)

Sister In Law Saw

I found another awesome mixed media blog that hosts challenges, Mixed Media Mojo. The challenge is to use stamps and 2 different mediums. So many choices!

Yes, this is a saw. My sister in law asked me to create something, anything using this saw. I accepted the challenge (can you tell I like a challenge?) and went at it. 

First I used Mod Podge to adhere the scrapbook paper to the saw and then layered more paper and some photos of my in-laws. I recycled the photos from their Christmas cards they sent my husband and I (we art people never know what we will use until we have that Aha moment). I wanted to honor her and her family because they are just good, sweet peoples. No horror stories here about in-laws, all of mine are wonderful. Lucky for me!

Anyway, I added some embellishments, some Radiant Rain misted flowers, and some brown distress ink (Tim Holtz) and used 2 different stamps I picked up from Jo-Anne's dollar bin. Score! 

My saw didn't look finished at this point so I decided it needed some gesso around the entire edge. I think it pops now!

All I have left to do is show it to my sis in law. Hope she loves it! I had a blast creating this for her! Loves!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and remember: pretty much anything can be used in mixed media. That is why is it so much fun! 

Carpe Diem!~€

J9 Purple

Wow! I can't believe that I am entering a challenge! The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #1 (MMMC) is mists/sprays. One of my favorite items to use in my mixed media projects are sprays! Keep reading if you would like to know my creative process. Loves!

First I painted on some gesso onto my canvas (I love using a canvas of any size) and then looked at arranging my layout. I change my layouts a lot until it feels right. Do you do the same thing?

I knew I wanted to use mostly purples because I have never done anything with purple, this is only my 6th mixed media (yes I am a newbie). I added some Grape dylusions spray to my texture paste and viola! That is how I got the purple texture paste.

Next, I covered the lettering with a piece of scrap paper and used Luminartes Radiant Rain mists to add some light purple and soft pink to the background. I also covered the chipboard pieces with gesso and spritzed with the Radiant Rain mist. SPARKLE! 

Now even more fun begins! I grabbed my stash of embellishments and found items that worked with my purple theme.

This is not my usual style but as a newbie, I don't think I have a style yet.......Thank goodness for practice, practice, practice! Here is a picture of the items I used.

Thank you for stopping by my blog! Carpe Diem! ~€

Original Journey

I wanted to start by saying that I always think I will take pictures of my creative process......but then I get to creating and forget to even look up and see what is happening around me. That being said, I only have one picture of this piece. 

I started by using gesso and then laying out my paper design (but not gluing yet). I added a brick stencil with some homemade texture paste and then glued down my design using Claudine Hellmuth multi-medium. Awesome stuff, buy in BULK! 😋

I added some Tim Holtz gears/cogs and rub ins. Next I inked all of the edges of the canvas with brown archival ink. 

Lastly, I used another stencil, Chicken Coop, with some black ink and I added some flowers after giving them a soft coat of gesso and the bicycle die cut (I purchased the bicycle on Etsy, I don't have a die cutting machine or anything fancy like that, yet!).

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by my blog and have an awesome day!~€

Steampunk the iPhone

Steampunk the iPhone!

I love Steampunk and I was looking into purchasing an iPhone cover with a Steampunk flair. Epic fail. The price of an awesome cover was outrageous to my financially conscientious mind (bargain shopper here) and I said, "Hey! I can make my own!" 

I started by purchasing a clear cover (Amazon for $1.99) and cutting a piece of brown leather to fit the outside frame of the clear case. TIP: use the clear cover that protects your iPhone screen as a template.

 

After I cut the leather in my desired shape, I applied E6000 to the back of the clear case and stuck the leather to the case. I then used my metal gears and cogs (Tim Holtz) to make my design. I glued these pieces onto the leather with E6000 as well. 

Epic WIN! You can try this for any phone cover. Enjoy!~€

Who knew?

I am new, very new, to mixed media. I have learned a lot in the past month and I now know that you need a BLOG to start participating in challenges and to become a design team member. I love learning all of the wonderful techniques for misting, stamping, texturing, and starting a new layout! My respect goes to everyone that does scrapbooking, tags, mixed media and so much more. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills. I couldn't have started this without all of you.

My first mixed media-hmmmm? I think there is a lot of room for improvement and I have completed 4 more canvases since this one.

Thank you for reading this and hopefully I did the blog correctly.