"Hey Jude ... take a sad song & make it better!" - the Beatles
My goal is to turn my disabilities around to abilities using art therapy as a means of stroke rehabilitation on my hands & arms. I want to also use cards to spread kindness, show different fun card techniques, bring awareness to issues that are important to me, and to just spread joy in general!
So, this is a totally different kind of a post for me! I wanted to try to make a multi media project because I saw so many of them being made on line and they just looked so awesome! I thought the best way to try it was to just do it!!! And, so here we go!!!
I started with a cheap canvas from JoAnne fabrics. I then coated it with white gesso so that any paint that I put onto it would stick. I tore a piece of paper into a strip to give the torn edge look. Attached it with the gesso to make it stick. Next, I added some mesh to just give it a bit of texture. I noted that there needed to be a little bit of glue as well (just for my piece of mind) so I used some Tonic Nuvo glue and for some extra oomph I used so E6000! That stuff sticks!!!
For the next step, I added some acrylic pieces (please note that it doesn't matter what color any of these pieces are because you will be painting over all of them) with the E6000 glue. Make sure that you have the window open or are in a well vented area if you are using this glue also. I also used this to add buttons and piece of string for texture.
After I allowed these to dry I added the letters for the baby boy's name and the clip for the picture with the E6000 glue. I then attached the picture to the polaroid frame and set that aside to dry. I added the white gesso over the top of all of the pieces to prep it for the paint and to give it a consistency of color. Now onto painting!!!
I started with some Tim Holtz stains and paints. I used the distress stain in tumbled glass and the distress paint in brushed pewter to give the first color. I then did this a couple of times just to get the look I was going for. I also had used the Ranger textured grit past and had added that along the bottom of the piece and to some of the acrylic pieces. I put some seed pearls from my stash in the areas to give some added texture and then ensured this was all dried. Finally, for color, I added the Prima achemy iridescent paint in Magic Pond and the Tonic Nuvo glimmer paste in sapphire blue. I had also added some Tonic nuvo mouse in Cornflower blue and used a Heidi Swapp mini stencil to give a little bit of texture.
After all of this dried, I grabbed the Heidi Swapp paint sprays in shimmer ocean to add a bit of sparkle (always have to have some sparkle). For the final touch I used the Hero Arts iridescent sparkle from the August monthly hero kit for that final touch! It just turned out so fun! I really loved making this and I cannot wait to make another one!
I hope you enjoyed it and that it gave you some fun ideas! Have an awesome day! Jude :-)
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Hey guys - hope you are doing fabulous! I have a Halloween post for you today with some fun little cards that I made using the Paper Smooches cross stitch die! I love this die! I have found that this is one of my most used dies because I am getting back into cross stitch now! Not like I used to (I don't think I could ever do those huge 11 X 17 pieces again) but I still am enjoying doing these little card pieces. As with a lot of things, I do these in bed when I am sick. So, what I do is just do the cross stitch panels and set them aside and then, when I feel better, take them to the craft room and add some sentiments and die cuts and turn them into cards! Boom! Love it!
So, with the three rectangle panel cards I created three different designs with various DMC floss. The panels were die cut with the Paper Smooches cross stitch die. I cut those out onto the Neenah shimmer card stock just to give it some punch and then, after I did the cross stitch I cut one of them out with the Avery Elle Wonky Stitched rectangle die and cut the other two out with the My Favorite Things stitched rectangle die. I created two white card bases with Simon Says Stamp card stock and one black card base with Stampin' Up card stock. I then cut sentiment strips with the My Favorite Things stitched rectangle dies as well.
For the first card, I used the Hero Arts Love You To The Moon and Bat rubber stamp and added the Wild Rose Studio intricate bat. I used Memento dew drops ink in purple to the sentiment banner to give it a little punch and then added Wink of Stella in black to the bats to make them sparkle. I then added Tonic Nuvo drops in Purple glitter for the bats eyes for some added punch!
For the second card, I used the Gerda Steiner Designs Bats stamp set to add that sentiment to the center panel with Memento Tuxedo black ink and I attached both of these panels to a Hero Arts copper panel that I dry embossed with the Avery Elle wonky stitched rectangle. I added another bat to this one and then added the additional sentiments to the inside of the card with the Catherine Pooler Designs Purple Rain ink.
For the third card I added two black bats that I had cut from Simon Says Stamp black card stock and the Boo! sentiment from a cheap stamp set that I got off of eBay to the front and center of the cross stitched panel. I attached all of the cross stitched panels to the cards with the very strong double sided adhesive that I have linked below. I added the Tonic Nuvo chocolate fondu glitter drops and this card was finished!
There were two bonus cards that I added for this video and blog post. I did not use the die for these videos but rather I found a pack of pre-cut cards at JoAnne Fabrics with the cross stitch pieces ready to go. They were cut out in a circle and you just had to stitch and go! I did one in yellow stitching and one in silver - to make one look like a moon and one look like the sun. I added a Happy Halloween circle sentiment around the silver and black card along with some silver Tonic Nuvo drops and then I added the same die around the yellow stitches but in purple and without the words. I added some stamped bats to that one and some additional nuvo drops and all of these cards were complete! I loved the way they turned out and they show the recipients that you definitely put a lot of love and work into their little smile in the mail!
Hope you enjoyed! Have an awesome day! Jude :-)
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Social Media Links: (Please visit me for more fun art therapy!)
As you know, I do this Woman for Woman series that I totally love and am very proud of! I feel it is a good way to look for the good in your fellow women (and men) and also to remind people that kindness is key. I mentioned when I started the series that I wanted to focus on all kinds of women in my life - those close to me, casual acquaintances, some that I don't know, some in the card making industry, some in other industries, and some just all around great women! So, the first two women that I focused on were two card makers that have taught me a lot in the card industry even though I do not know them. I watch their videos regularly and they have really given me a lot without even knowing it! I think that is the wonderful thing about women being in support of other women - we lift each other up without even knowing it. I have had that happen many times throughout my life by complete strangers and then some of them turned around and became my good friends. I will focus on those wonderful women in a later installment.
Today's installment though is actually focused on a friend who has been in my life for quite some time. I have known her for many years from my previous job working in government. We were professionals together at work - and then had fun, laughs, tears, ups, downs, and everything in between in our personal lives away from work. Our friendship lasted her move to a different state - her having a near death accident where a majority of her body is now metal inside - me having two strokes and never being able to work again - break ups and marriages - and just everything in between. That is a true friend; THAT is my Lisa.
Now, don't get me wrong, just because Lisa is not in the card making community currently does not mean that she is not the crafting queen!!! She has always been crafty and that was one of the things we bonded over early on - we would have a blast with our crafting activities and she would even help me at times with my two Girl Scout troops that I was the leader of for seven years!!! She can do any craft you put in front of her (she is an engineer after all!!!) and she can make any activity fun!
Lisa is the kind of friend that you can go weeks or even months without talking to and the minute you call her it is like you were just on the phone the day before. I have always loved that about her and I have always treasured that. Another wonderful thing that Lisa has done for me is that she helped me to fall in love with dogs (and we ALL know how much of a crazy dog lady I am). I had a dog growing up that I was close to, but when I went away to college and he died something inside me broke and I never wanted another dog again in my life. I didn't want to interact with them or anything. But, Lisa was always having me over to her big beautiful mansion and she had Tyson and Honey and it was like they KNEW that something inside of me needed to be pulled back out and reignited! And, they did it. I am forever grateful to those babies for that because, as you know, if I didn't have my doggies, I wouldn't be alive today, and I wouldn't have had the change of heart if it wasn't for them
So, all that said, what I decided to do for this video was to make Lisa a set of cards. I always send her cards (probably way too many cards!!!) so I thought I would make her some uplifting cards that she could send out herself and, while doing that, I could tell you a little about this wonderful friendship that I have. It is just another aspect of the Women for Women series - Women lifting other women up and being grateful for the people we have in our lives. There is just too much online bullying right now in the world and often times it is women against women and I wanted to do at least one small thing to stop that so this is my little contribution.
I used the beautiful Essentials by Ellen Mondo Magnolia stamp set. I stamped it eight times with embossing ink on varying card bases. Some were dark, some were kraft and some were watercolor. I then embossed with either clear, white, rose gold or gold embossing powders to give different looks. I colored some of the images that were on the dark card stock in with the Spectrum Noir metallic pencils (I love how those show up on dark card stock) and I also used the Prima pencils as well. I then used my Kuretake Gansei Watercolor palette for the first time (awesome!!!) and some Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to watercolor and/or blend the other flowers. I then used a Spellbinders edge die to create a fun edge for some of the cards and the Sunshine dies from WPlus9 and the Wonky Stitched dies from Avery Elle to cut into some Stampin' Up foiled velum to add a little bit of a classy look to the cards. The card bases were all made from Stampin' Up card stock that I cut into A2 top folding cards. I also used the sentiments from The Ton's The New Pretty stamp set to make these positive and uplifting cards. I used Catherine Pooler ink (my favorite!!!) and they just popped! Finally, for the fun elements, I used wink of Stella and Tonic Nuvo drops in various colors to add a little bit of "funk" as I like to say!
I hope you enjoyed this video/post and I hope that you will be a "woman for women" - and that includes yourself - be a woman that lifts yourself up. I have such difficulty with this honestly because of all of my disabilities so I have to remind myself of this constantly. But, if we lift ourselves up and we lift other women up in our lives it will start a energy of positiveness out there that we all will feed off of and benefit from.
Let me know what you did for yourself this week and something small that you have done for another friend. Hope you enjoyed the cards and have an incredible day! Jude :-)
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Social Media Links: (Please visit me for more fun art therapy!)
