Yes, you can! - a pair of cards

Hello there! It's again new week and new posts lined up! I'm starting the week with some flower cards.

Some weeks ago, I kept a YouTube live and did an art journal spread (link). In the spread a character was holding a super-sized bloom and I used watercolors to stamp the flower. With such a medium, the outcome is always a bit of a surprise, so I had extra flowers to go around. I used those flowers to make these cards! 

The focal point is the watercolor stamped bloom. Underneath it is a layer of patterned cardstock, a sliver of stamped cardstock and then a piece of an orange toned gel print. To tie everything together, I added some white splashes to the card as well as added a faux stitch line going around the card. The embellishments include a couple of old, black buttons and a knot of black sewing thread. I felt that the card needed a bit more contrast and picked the stark color from the stamped sliver. Each card is finished with a sentiment strip. The other one states, in Finnish: "Not old, antique" and other "Yes, you can!". 

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

Materials: Stampers Anonymous, PaperArtsy, Gelli Arts, Korttipaja

Potions Master - an assemblage

Heippa hei and welcome to the first Friday post of the month! You of course know what that means? A new process video! You can see the whole process here (link) on my YouTube channel.

As you can see from the photos, this time I made an assemblage. The initial inspiration was apothecary or a pharmacist, but I ended up calling the piece "Potions master" instead. I have had this chipboard door in my stash for a while and I wanted to put that into use. The door itself seemed too small to be a background, so I added it on top of this lace-like bigger chipboard background. I also rummaged through my stash of molded elements and pulled several shapes out of the drawer - some bottles, some bones and a skull and several light bulbs. I had planned to use a photo negative as a horizontal element, but while crafting the piece it felt needing something more. So, it was a quick run outside to gather some small branches to make the horizontal line more prominent. I then used that line to mount my elements, like they'd be on a shelf. But, like I said earlier, you can see the whole process here (link) on my YouTube channel.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Wishing you a wonderful Friday and weekend!

Materials:

A.B.Studio - chipboard background ID-4

A.B.Studio - mixmedia thick cardboard ID-200

Prima Marketing - Finnabair silicone mold Apothecary Bottles

Prima Marketing - Finnabair silicone mold Light Bulbs

Prima Marketing - Finnabair silicone mold Birds and Bats

Prima Marketing - Finnabair silicone mold Skulls and Bones

PaperArtsy - Fresco Finish acrylic paint Mahogany, Chalk, Terracotta, Pine Grove

Ranger - Archival Ink Jet Black

Prima Marketing - Art Alchemy metallique wax Vintage Gold

Prima Marketing - Art Alchemy Antiquing wax Soot

Sizzix - Thinlits Leaf Fragments die set 665559

Ranger - Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey

Prima Marketing - Art Basics Heavy Body Gel

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Halloween Drippy Candles TH94260

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Optic Frames TH94375

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Word Plaques + Tags Halloween TH94341

Prima Marketing - Finnabair Mechanicals Grungy Gears

Prima Marketing - Finnabair Mechanicals Tin Hearts

Ranger - Distress collage medium

Prima Marketing - Art Extravagance Texture Powder

Prima Marketing - Art Extravagance Art Stones

wire, natural twine, twigs, pieces of wood, a photo negative

brushes, scissors, palette knife, sponge, water mister, hot glue gun

Seasonal collaboration

Moikka moi! Special posts continue as I have a collaboration piece to share today. Let me fill you in.

Back in the spring Julia Esch (link) contacted me. We've been following each other on Instagram for a while now and she suggested a collaboration. We decided that I would make a paper collage, a master board of sorts and she could then cut it into pieces and incorporate to her art. I made some more focal inclusions as well and send those off with a selection on vintage papers and ephemera. To get a common theme for this piece, reaching over two countries and two different art styles, we talked about how spring makes us feel, what colors we combine to it. 

I have to admit, I was a bit lost at first as I've never done a piece like this. What helped my anxiety was the fact that Julia could do what ever she liked with the papers I sent her. That took the pressure off and I created the collage piece shown above. There's some musical notes and book pages collaged but also mark making various ways. I tried to capture the tender greens of spring juxtaposed against the remains of snow drifts and also the earthy colors of the bare ground being revealed. I kind of mixture of something old and something new.

Underneath is a picture, by courtesy of Julia, of the finished piece. Instead of a spring piece it ended up spreading across three seasons. I just love how Julia has incorporated the collage in it, but even more I'm in awe about the atmosphere the piece has. In my opinion, it encompasses the passage of time, the changing seasons. You can read more about this process from Julia's point of view here (link) in her Instagram post. 

I'm so happy that Julia offered this opportunity to me and that I was brave enough to take it! The end result is just captivating and so inspiring! 

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

Photo by Julia Esch

B for Bird - a guest project for GelliArts

Hi there! Today I have something exciting to share! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know this already, but I'm participating to Gelli Arts's ABC Printing Challenge as a guest! A was for animals and yesterday B was for birds and my two crow earrings were shown! You can see all the challenge letters here (link) in Gelli Arts Instagram post.

This opportunity actually came via my friend Marsha Valk (link). She named me a couple of letters and I was immediately inspired by a couple of them. This B was one of those and I was jumping with joy as I got it! I mean, of course I could have just done it taking part of the challenge, too, but I felt really happy to be able to make a Reel for Gelli Arts. 

So, if you want to see how I made these gel printed earrings, please head over to Instagram! They were a bit trial and error, as the shrink plastic proved to be a bit more challenging surface to print on than absorbing paper! Makes total sense now, but... If I'd do these earrings now again, I probably would make less layers to the print. Maybe just adding the paint markers doodles to the plate and then already pulling the print. That way the pattern might transfer better to plastic and after shrinking the surface wouldn't be so bubbly. Although I have to say that I quite like both - the weathered looking print as it's not perfect AND the slightly textured surface!

If you have any questions about these, please let me know! Have a great start to the week and happy printing!

Materials: Gelli Arts, CC Hobby, PaperArtsy, Posca

Tea Treats - inspired by tea bags

Care for a cuppa? In this last video project of the month I'm doing crafts I'm not totally sure what they are. They're kind of ATCs but they are not the right size and they might appear little like tags or cards, too, but they are not quite those either. But no matter what they are, they were inspired by a tea bag and its sachet. 

I'm an avid tea drinker. My passion is Earl Grey, but I've been trying to learn away from black tea and get excited about green tea. However, these sachets were inspired by Earl Grey and I used an actual product packaging as the template for these reproductions. I made a master sheet for the sachets and decorated them using these cute little critters with a tea cup and tea bag. You can see the process video here (link) on my YouTube channel.

Even though they are not ATCs, I'm happy to swap these or just send them to a new home, if anyone would like one. The sachet measures about 5,7x7,0 cm or 2 1/4" x 2 3/4".

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

Materials: 

P13 - Forest Tea Party paper pad

Fabriano - Accademia 160g cardstock

PaperArtsy - Infusions Just Walnut

Prima Marketing - Art Philosophy Confetti watercolor set

Stampers Anonymous - THS168, THS172 stencils

Ranger - Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Crushed Olive, Saltwater Taffy

PaperArtsy - TS065 stamp set

Ranger - Archival Ink Potting Soil, Peeled Paint

Creative Company - Multi markers

Stampers Anonymous - Floral Outlines CMS430 stamp set

Tsukineko - VersaMark

Ranger - embossing powder white

old lace, paper doily, used tea bags

twine, old buttons

Crop-a-dile and eyelets

craft glue, double sided tape, foam tape

scissors, paper cutter, stapler, brushes, inking tool, ruler

sewing machine

Man on the Moon? - a set of ATCs

I've been drawn to the shape of a crescent moon lately. I added one to the journal I just shared (link) and now these cards have several moons. These, however, were inspired by a video (link) I saw in Instagram, where the artist did a huge moon background for an assemblage and treated the modeling paste to make the dimpled surface of the moon. Very inspiring, I had to try that myself! 

Instead of adding a lot of layers to the cards, I wanted the moon and it's inhabitant to be the center of attention. So, there's just the moons, a vintage paper doll and a sentiment sticker in each card. The stars I added through some white paint splashes and  three silver sequin stars adhered to the background. The big one is easier to spot than the two tiny ones.

As always, these cards are up for swaps or just to be sent to a new home! 

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a wonderful day!

Materials: PaperArtsy, Prima Marketing, P13 Paper products, Tim Holtz Idea-ology

Abstract swallows - a painting

Hi there! sunny new week to you all! Something a bit different here today - a big painting combining abstract and more depictive subjects. This is a commission. 

My boss asked me to paint a big painting to their living room. She wanted the background in grey tones and a couple of swallows on top. I was a bit surprised about the grey color scheme as she loves colors, but as she explained that it would go with the interior design, I followed the brief. What makes me happy is that the painting in question is now waiting to get another coat of color on top! While I was satisfied with the outcome, I think the painting will work a lot better, when the background has some summer sky blues, oranges and peaches! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Wishing you a lovely Tuesday!