Christmas Magic - an art journal spread

Heippa! It's again Friday and that means a new video on my YouTube channel! This time I made an art journal spread using inks, paints and die cut elements. If you want to see how I made this spread, please see this video (link) on my YouTube channel!

The idea behind this spread was to use this Christmas themed vintage image I've had in my stash for a while. I think I bought a set of these for my December album one year and then realized while I otherwise love vintage vibe, it's not suitable for the particular album. Or let's say the images would look a bit peculiar along Instax photos and Lawn Fawn styled ephemera I otherwise tend to use on the album. I was trying to find a link for you to show a picture of the album, but couldn't find one. I don't tend to share them as I would need to blur a lot! But to clarify a little - each December I document the month to an album. I use Instax for the photos and assembly the album in a Simple Stories Sn@p album in sleeves. I fill the pockets with right sized patterned paper pieces before hand and gather a box with date stickers, embellishments and left overs of those patterned papers so the documenting is easy during the holidays. I've been doing this for several years, in this format I guess this year will be the fifth. 

I got sidetracked, so back to today's project! The inspiration was that vintage photo. I wanted to create something relatively simple, and picked up this patterned paper with some nicely wrapped gifts. To enhance the sweet atmosphere, I picked pink as the background color. As you can see from the video, I started by breaking the blank page with some acrylic smudges, for lack of a better word, and then continued with inks. If you want to see the whole process, please see the process video (link) on my YouTube channel!

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a crafty Friday and lovely weekend!

Materials:

art journal

Fabriano - Accademia 160g cardstock

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish acrylic paint Vintage Lace

Ranger - Distress Ink Kitsch Flamingo, Saltwater Taffy, Lumberjack Plaid

Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair Nocturne

PaperArtsy - TS065 stamp set

Sizzix - Thinlits die set Forest Shadows 666334

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Postmarked sticker book TH94387

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Christmas 2023 sticker book TH94350

Posca PC-1M white, black

doily, pearl stickers, vintage die cut, gift patterned paper

double sided tape, craft glue, foam tape

paper cutter, scissors, inking tool, water mister, brushes

Rusty moth - a canvas

Hello lovelies! Today I'm sharing a project I did quite a while ago. Like the transfer projects, it was going to be an online workshop, but like the other one, it didn't materialize. The topic would have been mixed media mediums and self-made rust paste.

The assemblage is done on top of a set of Fabrika Decoru HDF art board. The composition includes cast embellishments as well as buttons, flowers and corrugated cardboard. Everything is adhered together using gel medium. I used white gesso and various PaperArtsy paints to color the piece.

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a lovely Wednesday!

Materials: Fabrika Decoru, Prima Marketing, PaperArtsy

Just "eh" - YouTube live recording

Moikka moi! It's another week and new posts! This project, however, might look a bit familiar. It's something I did during the YouTube live a couple of weeks back. I used the same composition and colors, so it really echoes the sample project! 

The idea behind this live and page was just to create and not over think it. The spread started with some loose scribbles to break the blank page, putting all pressure off. I also tried to use quite a lot easy access supplies like adds and a ballpoint pen, to make it easier to re-create something similar without any pressure. 

You can see the announcement post here (link) with detailed materials list and photos of the sample project. For the recording of the live, click here (link) to take you to my YouTube channel!

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a fine Tuesday! 

Materials: Ranger, PaperArtsy, Tim Holtz Idea-ology, Sizzix

The Queen of Night - an altered brush

Good evening! It's quite dark during the evenings and nights nowadays here in Finland. The brightest stars and planets can be seen even in where we live, quite near the city center. However, this project wasn't inspired by the current night sky, but actually from a memory of a movie.

I guess it was a school music lesson when I first saw Amadeus, an 80's film by Milos Forman. It captivated me so much, that I even read the manuscript the movie is based on. I was also fortunate enough to see a Finnish version of the piece in theatre back in the day and it still holds the no 1 spot of the most impressive piece of theatre I have seen. It was captivating to see how deep in character the actor of Salieri was! But back to the film, because it was not only the story that caught my imagination but the visual marvel as well. The movie actually won the "Best Costume Design" Academy Award. Even though I enjoyed all the costumes, what was imprinted on my mind was a really short scene, a snippet of the "Der Hölle Rache", the aria sung by the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. I read somewhere that the bit was inspired by 1815 stage design of the opera by Friedrich Schinkel. So, it's a kind of chain of inspiration here!

I used a Lynne Perrella stamp to make the Queen and then added some night style elements to the mix by adding the moth, some pearls and rhinestones and also a stylized moon. The process in this make is quite straight forward, but the coloring of the stamped image might be something new. If you want to see, how I made that, please follow the link (link) to my YouTube channel!

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a starry Friday and great weekend!

Materials:

PaperArtsy - LPC051 stamp set

Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair Nocturne

A.B.Studio - Mixmedia thick cardboard ID-307

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish acrylic paint Vintage Lace, Blue Moon, Captain Peacock, Baltic Blue

Ranger - Adirondack alcohol ink Stream, Citrus

Ranger - Distress collage medium Matte

Prima Marketing - Art Alchemy Metallique wax Old Silver

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish acrylic glaze Pearl Glaze

Posca PC-1M white, silver

Stabilo - All aquarelle white pen

paint brush, tissue paper, vellum, piece of cardstock

molded moth (Finnabair "Nocturnal Insects" mold)

white pearls, rhinestones

craft glue

brushes, scissors, sponge

Caramel cake - a transfer project

Oh it feels like ages since I last shared a transfer project! Well, the latest one was over a month ago (link). 

Like the previous ones I've shared, this one was made as a little technique sample for an online workshop that never saw the light of day. I may have mentioned it before, but the idea was to showcase different transfer techniques or mediums. The sample ones I used just one medium for each and then I created an art journal spread (link), too, where I then used several techniques in the same make.

In this particular project I used an acrylic paint to do the transfer. The image is a laser printed Kate Crafts printable and the little label says something equivalent to soothing "there, there" in Finnish.

Thank you for your visit today! Wishing you a lovely day!

Materials: PaperArtsy, Kate Crafts, Korttipaja, Sinelli, Posca

The merry year is born - PaperArtsy

Hello there! The weather forecast promises a flurry during this week even in the south here in Finland, so by the end of the week the scenery might resemble the one in this little project I made for PaperArtsy. You can see the blog post here (link) at PaperArtsy's blog.

This was made as a "With 3 Things" post. This feature on the PaperArtsy Blog is where 3 bloggers are sent 3 items in the post. We bloggers have no clue what PaperArtsy headquaters is going to send us, there might be a slight variation but generally 2 of the 3 things will be identical. This time I had an inkling which designer's stamp set would be sent as it's Alison Bomber highlight! Along with a Alison Bomber stamp set "Hawthorn Edition" I was sent two colors of Infusions and a piece of Grey Board.

I wanted to keep the materials list somewhat short on this project, so I tried to limit myself with them. I used the Grey Board as my base and used the stamps to pattern the background and make the big branch as well as add the little text strips. As colorants went, I mainly tried to use the Infusions I was sent only adding white gesso and black stamping ink to the mix. Well, to be honest I did add a green ink as well, tweaking the Infusions that way. Should you want to see how I made the project, please head over to PaperArtsy blog (link) as you can find a step by step there!

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a fantastic week! 

Materials: PaperArtsy, Tsukineko, Prima Marketing, Ranger

Sugar, spice and everything nice - an altered book cover

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! You may have noticed that I'm in full Christmas mood already! This time I crafted a little canvas-like piece for the Friday process video post. My thought was to use a book cover as the base and then go with my usual process of gessoing and painting, but when I noticed this beautiful mulled wine red cover on my stash, I knew it would be a different process!

The cover I used as my base had this beautiful lace-like pattern in the middle. I wanted to highlight that and chose to use a wreath chipboard to replicate the shape. I then made a cluster of elements on top, this time paying attention to the color of the elements, as I wasn't going to be painting them. Not with a heavy hand at least! To finish the project I added some snowy touches to the composition. Want to see how I crafted the project? If so, please follow this link (link) to my YouTube channel.

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a lovely Friday and hope to see you tomorrow during the YouTube live!

Materials:

A.B.Studio - Mixmedia thick cardboard ID-317

Tsukineko - VersaMark ink

Ranger - Gold embossing powder

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Photobooth #TH93799

Prima Marketing - Art Basics Heavy Body Gel

Prima Marketing - Darcelle flowers 644376

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Gauge Dials #TH94225

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Confections Candy Canes #TH94281

Ranger - Glossy Accents

Prima Marketing - Art Basics Heavy Gesso White

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish acrylic paint Snowflake

Prima Marketing - Art Ingredients glass beads Crystal 1,5mm

Ranger - Tim Holtz Distress Rock Candy clear glitter

old book cover, old spoon, metal candle holder

dried orange slices, cinnamon stick, nuts

crochet buttons, faux flowers, small golden snowflake decorations, jingle bells, red ribbon

craft glue

brushes, palette knife, scissors