Scavenger Hunt Journal Challenge

Challenge # 1 using tea bags, tags and a tea bag packet

I’ve been having a great time this winter participating in a scavenger hunt challenge, creating pages based on a list sent to me by Janet at Monkey Island Madness on Ustream. I have a problem keeping my creativity going and this project seems to solve that problem. There is always another challenge to work on if I want to do some crafting. Today, I thought it would be fun to show what I’ve done so far.

I’m using my day planner from 2017, the paper is thin, but I like the spiral binding because I know that the pages will expand and I need to have room to grow.

The first challenge, shown above, is pretty self explanatory. I’ve been collecting tea bags so I used them as the background. I added a doily and a teacup from a stamp that I carved, some tea bag tags along the top and it was done. I think this may be my favorite page so far.

Challenge #2 Coloring book page

I am just not cut out to do coloring book pages. I managed to color in these 2 ornaments, but knew that I wouldn’t get the background finished so I cut out some scrapbook paper and glued it down. I used the metallic and glittery samurai pens so it looks much nicer in real life than in a photo.

Challenge # 3 labels off of blankets,clothes, etc

I decided to do a laundry day clothesline for the labels. I think I need a few more, and add a laundry basket to the picture.

Challenge #4 ask a neighbor or friend to add something

Well, I already had this hanging doodad given to me from my art friend Joanne so I created a wallpapered wall and doodled a frame around it. Now I feel as though I have a special place to keep it.

Challenge # 5 Include something you would normally throw away.

I think this was the first challenge I actually did. I created a wastebasket using a plastic wire bag that you get with fresh fruit and tucked a bunch of Christmas trash into the top. I have a Christmas crown from a cracker, chocolate coin wrappers, a scrap of wrapping paper and some clothes tags.

Challenge #6 photo of a celebrity you either love or hate.

Now tell me the truth, do you think that I love or hate this actor? I got a little bleedthrough on the last photo, so I will probably be replacing that one. The other photos represent some of his iconic roles thru the years. I think he’s held up pretty well, don’t you?

Challenge #7 flower or a leaf.

A work in progress. First I sprayed the background with bright spray ink, then drew in the flowers. I filled it the background with a black marker, and begin to embellish with a white pen. It’s going to take a while to finish this one.

Challenge #8 a puzzle…

I do love jigsaw puzzles but nowadays I only do them online. I tried to take a photo of one of the completed puzzles and use that, but couldn’t get it to work. So I bought a kids puzzle from the dollar store, put it together and took a photo of it, since it was too big for my journal page. Done! I also added a bunch of completed word search puzzles as the background.

I’ve been working on this project since the beginning of January. The deadline for the challenge is March 1st. With 68 items on the list, I probably won’t finish in time. So what? I’m having a lot fun and it gets my creative juices flowing.

Hello Summer!

Summer Waves on the Beach, a mixed media postcard using gelli-plated and decorated deli paper, lace, painted cardstock and a sand dollar stamp.

Hot weather has hit us here in Michigan. Some of my friends revel in the heat, I just sit and swelter; gripe and complain. I may just drive over to Saugatuck this weekend, by Lake Michigan to feel the cooler breezes and get away from the hot air.

Stencil Time

Stencils have come a long way since the 70’s. At that time they were mainly used on walls and furniture. At some point, using stencils as wall decor became rather – well- tacky.

Who was the artist that decided that stencils could be used in art – either as a layered background or a focal point?

I was never that interested in stencils when I first began dabbling in mixed media art. I collected a few stencils here and there,  but my interest really took off  when I got my first gelli plate a few years ago Now, I am crazy about my stenciling and probably own WAYYY too many, but I really can’t live without them.

So….I thought I would present a few past and current projects showing off some of my favorite stencil projects.

Peacock Sneakers

In cleaning out my closet recently, I came across this pair of  very white sneakers. They were just begging to be painted – so I did! Then after I painted the shoes, I painted the laces as well. I used lots of layers: blue and purple fabric spray paint, inexpensive acrylic paint in metallic gold, green and pink,  a few stamps and stencils….

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  These are Balzer Design stencils from The Crafter’s Workshop.

closeup view

Trying them out for the first time (It’s true, I do have very big feet – it is not an illusion!)

Metal Embossed Box

A few years ago, I took a metal embossing class and really loved the process. This particular piece started out with some metal house flashing, a stencil from Stencil Girl, copper tape, iris blue gilder’s paste and a few metal embossing tools.

The stencil used to create the lid of the box. I would really love to work on more projects like this  – metal work fascinates me.

Sunset art journal page

                                                     This is how the page started  

                                        And how it looked when finished.

After applying a pink and yellow background using homemade water-color sprays, I stenciled half the page with a blue, then flipped it over for a reverse image on the bottom half. I brushed on a little matte medium to help protect the background , some gelatos. and gold Wink of Stella for a shiny sun.

Another Balzer Design from The Crafter’s Workshop. Do you get feeling that I really like Balzer Design stencils?

Rose coffee table-bench

Charlie decided that he wanted to be in the picture as well. Such a diva!

I decided to  use an old bench for a coffee table in my living space and found this lovely rose stencil to use as an embellishment at either end. The stencil, from a company called Show-Offs uses a fine mesh for the open parts of the design, much like a silkscreen.

You can see in this close-up how the mesh creates a silkscreen-like stencil. Pretty cool!

Of course I have tons of other projects using stencils. These are just a few that I have been working on lately, or stand out as something kind of special to me.