Valentine's Day Card

Hello everyone! With V-Day 3 days away I figured I needed to get started on my hubbies card. I decided to make him one this year (a first for me) because I love him and he deserves a handmade piece! Yeppers, he's awesome sauce like that! Haha!

I kept it mostly CAS/masculine but of course had to experiment with a new way to create some patina! One of my favorite artists growing up was Amy Brown (and she's still awesome sauce!) I remember getting her book when I was younger and she experimented with paints and salt. So I grabbed some salt and sprays and performed my own experiment. Here are two results.

The above picture features stamping with a TH stamp and heat embossing with Rangers Verdigris EP and multiple layers of LSG sprays with a layer of salt here and there. The picture below features larger salt grains, LSG sprays and DecoArt Carbon black mister.  

Pretty! Sometimes I am sad to create a background because I don't want to cover it up with anything! Know what I mean? 

Anyway, I used the larger panel to create my 9 small squares and edged those with Copper Inka Gold. Those were adhered to black cardstock that I spritzed with DecoArt misters and LSG sprays.  

The X's and O's were found in my Alpha letters stash. They don't all match but it's okay by me. I rubbed some of the Copper IG on those as well and left the Glittery X's alone. The heart was drawn and cut out then painted with Carbon Black, a coat of multi medium and Prima black micro beads were added for texture. I stamped inside the card as well but that is a secret! Hehehe!

I would like to share this masculine card with these wonderful challenges:

A Vintage Journey-Industrial

(Hopefully my new patina painting technique has an industrial element, I also used metallic copper cardstock for the base)

Southern Girls Challenge-Anything Goes with Team Trace

Country View Challenges-Make Your Own Background

One Crazy Stamper-Anything Goes

Paper Creator's Challenge-Must Be Love

Artful

Today I wanted to share a tag I have made. I knew that I could use black gesso in a better way compare to my last take, and I am more than thrilled with the results! This is also my first CAS (kinda because the background wasn't "simple" but it is clean)

I embossed my Manila tag and then painted it with black gesso. I added an on the edge die cut at the bottom. 

I then grabbed various LSG sprays, LuminArt sprays and some other from my stash. Easy right? Maybe, but I wanted to make sure that these colors didn't get muddy and that takes times and layers. 

I was so involved in my process I forgot to take more pictures. Oops. 

After the sprays and mists dried and I achieved the look I wanted, I added some Inka gold and primary elements. I then used some UTEE over the entire tag. First time I have ever used UTEE and it makes me happy, happy! Need more! Lol. I seriously used after 1/4 of the container just trying things out but that is a different topic altogether. 

Alrighty, I punched out some butterflies and dry embossed those with a Tim Holtz EF, then added some more sprays and mists and colorbox. I used clear embossing powder over these because I wanted a different texture than the tag. 

The pen nibs were glued on with glossy accents. 

It is amazing how different this tag looks in sunlight compared to indoor light. 

Indoor light: 

Outdoors, no sun

Still raining a bit:

The SUN!

And my cat head butting the tag. Lol

My new and improved use of black gesso. And thank you for your sweet comments. It brightens my day. Carpe Diem! 

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

Artful Times-Au Revoir Party Party-this is their last challenge and I am happy to say that I joined in the fun and will miss this challenge blog.

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #13-A Year of Choices-I chose #1-Spray Inks and Mists

Through The Craft Room Door June 2nd-8th Anything Goes

Our Creative Corner-What Makes You Smile-Improving my mixed media art makes me smile and this tag is proof of that. :)

Gears, gears, and a Balloon?

Hello yall! This is my first Design Team piece for Sandee&Amelies Steampunk Challenge! The theme this month is Gears! Remember to check out the rest of the DTs work by visiting each of their blogs. Here is my finished piece. 

This is an 8x10 flat canvas. I started by applying Gesso to my canvas and then added texture paste through 3 different stencils. 

Then comes the sprays and mists! I made my own spray box so I could happily spray all day and not worry about color going everywhere. Just a cardboard box and some paper towels. 

I used LSG sprays, Luminarte sprays, and Smooch sprays to achieve the Steampunk look I like. I also added alcohol ink for the patina look. I could have stopped here but there are no gears!!!!

I then used Silks to go over the texture and make it subtlety pop. Then came the gears!

I love using Creative Embellishments chipboard pieces. They have a wonderful selection of Steampunk pieces to choose from and I actually won the chippies I used in this piece. :) I painted all chippies with Gesso first, then dabbed Distress Paint Bundled Sage here and there on the gears, next I spritzed with a copper spray and edged the piece with black archival ink. I adhered the gears with TomBow Multi. 

Next came the hot air balloon chipboard piece. I started by creating my basket out of leather strips that I weaved together. Then I used Acrylic Metallic paint for the balloon part and added copper wire around the balloon. Then I added ribbon around the "handles" of the basket and adhered it with Tombow as well. 

I used copper embossing powder on the chipboard word "Create" and lightly brushed it with black archival ink to give it a grunged look. Hope you enjoyed! Carpe Diem! ~Niki

Want to try Steampunk, but you aren't sure where to start? Throw caution to the wind and just give it a go! Join in for this months theme of GEARS! Just remember to use some gears and you are golden! You never know what you will create! xx