Mix It Up!

Today is the day that the Mix It Up challenge blog goes live with the first challenge and Team B's projects. We are a monthly technique challenge blog featuring various techniques on mixed media projects, altered art, and paper crafts such as cards, tags, mini albums, ATCs, 3-D projects and scrapbook layouts! Are you excited? I sure am! We would love to see you enter this challenge and it's a good one. The challenge is to use embossing. You can do heat embossing, dry embossing, or think outside the box as well.

I started with a canvas and glued a piece of paper to it. Not sure of the designer of the paper though. Then I used a chicken wire stencil and some adirondack ink to add some interest. Pinks, purples and Blues were my main colors.

The frame chippie is from Creative Embellishments and I painted acrylic paint in two colors. Once the paint was dry I stamped some script stamps onto it with adirondack Watering Can ink. The frame was popped up on foam dots.  The feathers, bits of flowers and bits of picks were from my stash. I did end up adding some stamping to the feathers. The little jar is filled with magical fairy dust (embossing powder) and the lid was glued and a bow added to it. The butterfly is from Reneaboquets store. 

I used two different colors of embossing powder through the CW stencil. Layering powders is a fun way to create new color combos and enjoy your powders. 

The clock mold in the top right corner is made from an IOD mold and polymer clay (I prefer clay that needs to be baked). I painted it pink and then applied white antiquing cream to it. Smudged some ink in it and glued it to the cheesecloth. Then added another flower cluster. And ta-da! Done!

Looks different in the sunlight in the picture below. It is more true to color in the picture above. 

Enjoy the journey and Carpe Diem! Hugz! ~Niki

I would like to share this canvas with these amazing challenges:

A Vintage Journey-Use a Quote

I need to learn to explore outside of my comfort zone. 

Creative Artiste #26-Anything Mixed Media Goes

More Mixed Media-Anything Goes and Option of Pink

The Artistic Stamper-Backgrounds

I used stencils, embossing, and about 4 different stamps on the background

Creative Embellishments-May 

Craft Stamper Take It Make It-May Anything Goes Stamping

I used about 4 different stamps on the background and 2 different stamps on the flowers and the chippie frame

Country View Challenges-Flower Power

Earth Day at Anything But Cute

April showers bring May flowers right? And also Earth Day! What do you think of when you hear the words Earth Day? Mother Nature? New growth? Earthquakes? I think of it all, but mostly what natural found items I can try to make art with. Tree branches, moss, flowers, bark and such are among the list that helped me design this reverse canvas.

Our new challenge at Anything But Cute is: Earth Day (celebrated on April 22nd). Hosted by the amazingly talented Samra of Paper Talk with Samra. Here's what she would like to see: Create a mixed media project inspired by this mood board (picture below) and the beauty of our planet. Please tell us what inspired you. Entries for this challenge can be eco friendly, or even recycled/upcycled items, or a depiction of the sea, mountain, river, forest, flowery meadow.....let's celebrate our planet! 

This is my first attempt at a reverse canvas. I placed some elements I knew I wanted to use and took a picture. Not very Earthy yet, but layers and paints and creativity will turn this into a Spring Earth Day design. :)

Now it's time to play with some paper. I trimmed out a rough shape and then cut out the middle section to leave room for my nest. I edged all sides with Ground Espresso Distress Ink and used a Rubber Dance script stamp to add some stamping. Then added some small little butterflies as well. I then used some texture paste that I tinted with Primary Elements to make it blue, I pulled the blue colors from the mood board. 

I used a bit of washi tape on the inner edges to help ground the front of the canvas and get rid of the space between the canvas and wood frame. Then added some moss, some grass (element from the mood board),some flower sprigs, and pieces of a stick. I also painted a chipboard butterfly blue (another element I pulled from the mood board).

The small eggs were made from polymer clay and then painted a light blue. The "spots" on the eggs were made with a brown Archival ink pen. 

I glued everything down with a hot glue gun just because I wanted to see the end result fast and couldn't wait for other glues to dry. Lol! 

The large chipboard in the left corner and on the bottom are painted the same way. I laid down a base of white gesso, applied DecoArt crackle glaze-dried naturally, then added the script stamp.  When the glaze was dry I swiped some Raw Umber antiquing cream over everything, heat dried it and wiped it back. Then I applied the blue paint randomly with my finger. And it is done! Show us what Earth Day means to you and remember to check out what my talented teamies have made! Hugz and Carpe Diem!

I would like to share this reverse canvas with these challenges:

Southern Ridge Trading Co-Anything Spring

A Vintage Journey #40-Spring is in the Air

Craft Stamper Take It/Make It April-Spring Flowers

I used lilac flowers

The Artistic Stamper-All Things Distress 

Creative Artiste #13-Anything Goes with Option to use Chipboard, Stencils or Flowers

I used chippies, a stencil and flowers

Rubber Dance Stamps April-Stamp into Spring

Creative Embellishments-April Mood Board

I was inspired by the blues, the black filigree, and the butterfly in the board. 

Making Magic at Anything But Cute #4

The fourth challenge is here at Anything But Cute! Can you believe we started this only four months ago? Wowzers! This month the skilled artisan, Georgie, from Little Blue Craft Box is our hostess! She has chosen the theme MAKING MAGIC and this is what she had to say, "Most of us are drawn to the magic of fairy tales and fantasy. The colours are often hypnotic and your mind is free to explore outside the limits of reality. For this challenge, I would like you to create a magical mixed media project strongly inspired by the moodboard. Be inspired by the theme, the colours, the textures or all three. Lets bring a little magic back!"

To me, Knowledge is magic. It opens the doors to so many wonderful adventures and the most magical adventures I have had the pleasure of taking, are usually through a book. That is how I came up with my design for this month. 

This is my first altered book. My background is made from polymer clay that I stamped into, first time with this technique as well. I inked up the clay with Silks, LSG sprays, Inka Gold, DecoArt Metallic paint, and so much more.

The large TH butterfly die was purchased at Alleystamp.com. The lady that runs this store (Janine) is so very sweet and has such amazing prices on her items, plus she loves animals! Wowzers. I just love how versatile this die and embossing folder are (you will see plenty more of this butterfly die!) I sprayed the butterfly and used Inkagold then used UTEE over the entire piece. I added the pen nib for the body after rubbing Inkagold over it.

The dew drops that you can sort of see are made by using glossy accents and randomly dripping a drop here and there. The chippie word was embossed and then embossed again. The chippie clock was painted with gold modeling paste, then I added some sand texture paste and used LSG sprays to age it and patina it. I left the roman numerals raw.

I wanted to do something different to represent the inside of the book so I used Twisted Citron DI and applied it over some tissue paper that was already stamped (this tissue paper was what my stamp was wrapped in from my win over at 12 Tags of 2015) I then used the end of a paintbrush to make rolls from the tissue paper. I applied some glue and glued the rolled up piece to the top and side of the book=pages!!

I do hope you enjoyed this post and join in the magical fun! My teamies have designed some wonderful mixed media pieces so don't forget to stop by their neck of the woods. Thank you for stopping by! Hugz and Carpe Diem! ~Niki

I would be thrilled to share this design with the following challenges:

That Craft Place-Mixed Media Anything Goes

The Artistic Stamper-August-Anything Goes

ABC Challenge-"O" is for Open-Anything Goes

Simply Create Too #91-Anything Goes

Sisters of Craft-August Anything Goes