PLAYING WITH DECOART'S ALL NEW POURING MEDIUM AND CLEAR POURING TOPCOAT

Hi everyone!  

Is it HOT enough for you outside???

What happened to Spring?  It feels like we went straight from Winter to Summer here in Missouri.  These hot days are a great time to stay indoors in the cool air conditioning and play with your art supplies.

I was recently gifted by the lovely people at DecoArt with their BRAND NEW DecoArt Pouring Medium and Clear Pouring Topcoat from their new Paint Pouring Line. 

I CANNOT tell you enough how cool these new products are!  I am totally hooked after only the first pour! They are SO SIMPLE to use! Click HERE to see more about these fantastic new ways to make crazy cool designs that will never be the same twice.

If you're a Mom or Grandma, just think about playing with this with your kids or grandkids!  It's that simple to use (with your supervision) and it's amazing to watch the colors move and run as you are tilting the surface. 

Can you tell I'm just a little excited about this??!!? (smile)

Here is a sneak peek of something I am working on for Andy Skinner's Creative Team.  This post will go live tomorrow so be sure to check it out. 

THE UNICORN PAPERS ART JOURNAL

Greetings art fans! 

I've been having so much fun with a new project and I wanted to share it with you.

Recently I got together with a couple of my art buddies and we decided to play with our "take" on creating Shannon Green's Unicorn Papers and Journal.  Never heard of it? Me either! You can see her YouTube video HERE and HERE to see how she constructed the basic pages. Layers and layers of paint, pattern and FUN!

This is the cover of my little journal. I LOVE IT!  More about how I constructed it at the end of this post. 

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared with you how to coffee stain your own book pages? Click HERE to refresh your memory on that. That was my first step in working on my own Unicorn Papers Journal. This is not a mandatory step but I really love how my pages turned out with this as the base. The pages actually feel more like material rather than paper after you complete the layers.

This journal started out as a 42 page (back and front) paperback devotional. But you could use anything. I coffee stained my book pages because I love the feel of them and the aged look before I even began working with them.

Here is what things looked like in the beginning. I decided on the colors I wanted to use to create my "rainbow" of color. Let me say that DecoArt's NEW PREMIUM ACRYLIC PAINT TUBES are PHENOMENAL and definitely live up to all the hype they've received! 

The colors are rich and creamy and work to perfection. I also used some of DecoArt's bottled acrylic paints. They are wonderful as well ... but OH! Those new Premium Tube Paints! They are thicker and for this project, I liked them the best.

Anyway, you start with a variety of acrylic paint colors arranged to your liking.  Have a hotel key or straight edge and a plastic palette ready to go.  AND...UNDERNEATH, don't forget to have a piece of scrap paper not only to protect your work surface but to get all sorts of yummy, wonderful abstract colors as you're working.  SAVE THOSE SCRAP PAPERS!!!

Next, squeeze out big dobs of paint at the top of your plastic paint palette. They should be touching but not overlapping. Then using your hotel key, lightly scrap the paint downward to the opposite side of the palette. Let the paint flow down from the hotel key leaving a trail of color.

Once you have done that,use the edge of the hotel key to pick up some rainbows of paint and then start randomly swiping it across your coffee stained pages.  You will get all sorts of randomness. This is just the first layer so don't be so concerned with covering every inch of the pages with paint. The pages in this picture are only the first layer of paint.

Next, take a piece of wax paper a little larger than your book pages. Squeeze some DecoArt Titanium White Acrylic Paint or Gesso onto the wax paper and spread it out with the hotel key. Next turn the wax paper, paint side down on top of each of your painted book pages. Press the white paint into the book pages. You get a wonderful random white layer on your painted layer. Reload the wax paper with white paint and repeat the process until you are happy with all of your painted book pages.

Here is what your pages will look like at this point. Onto the next layer ...

NOW the REAL FUN begins! Adding another layer of pattern and more color! Choose anything you like to create texture. Anything from stencils, stamps, bottle lids, bubble wrap, sponges, rubber drawer liners; you name it.  Dip those pieces into your rainbow of paint on your palette and start pressing them randomly onto your painted book pages.

Here are your pages at this point!  Aren't they wonderful? So much color and FUN going on here!

Now it's time to embellish the pages in whatever manner you choose. I started out with a magazine girl for my first finished page. I will take you through the steps I did on a few of my beginning pages as I am working through my art journal to help you along your journey.

I chose a magazine girl and cut her to fit my page. Then I started tracing around the stamped flowers with a Fudeball Permanent Black Ink Pen. After that, I used a very small brush and painted DecoArt Titanium White Acrylic Paint around my flowers and dotted in the centers for more interest. 

Next I used an exacto knife on a pad to cut around some of the flowers so that my girl could slip underneath them and I wouldn't lose that detail when I glued her onto the page.

Contining to add more layers and detail; I added various Washi Tapes from Jane Davenport and some other random ones. I added more black pen markings as well.

I added a sentiment from a magazine and inked around it to finish off the page. I also used my finger with some DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black paint on it to finish off all of the edges of the page.  I will do that on every page as I love how it frames everything.

Some pages can be really detailed while others can be simple.

An example of a simple page ...

I began with this page with all of the basic layers on it. The black stamps are Seth Apter's from his Ink Spots and Pathways stamp sets. Aren't they cool? I just love this background! Again, the black paint around the edges of the page.

Here is the finished page.  I simply glued my magazine girl in place and added a magazine sentiment which I framed with a black permanent ink pen. Simple ... but the background makes this page!

No magazine people on a page?  Okay. Here's an example ...

I added some DecoArt Media White Gesso to this page in the center. You'll see why in a second.

I stamped this lovely butterfly onto the center of the page using Permanent Black Ink. I also stamped a sentiment underneath. I started filling in the butterfly using another fun medium, Dr. Martin's Radiant Concentrated Water Color and a fine brush. 

Just look how the white gesso allowed the butterfly to POP against an otherwise very colorful background. I edged the page with black paint and added some random stamping of Andy Skinner's very versatile peeled paint stamp from his Industrial stamp set. LOVE THIS STAMP! A few black paint bottle lid circles and it's finished. Simple yet very powerful. 

One more page example and then I'll show you the construction of the outside cover.

This page features a stamp from Dina Wakley's Silhouetted Women stamp set.  It was stamped with Permanent Black Ink.  Now what to do?

I added another magazine girl to this page and also did a little heat embossing. Using Seth Apter's circle stamp from Pathways, I first stamped in black and then in Saffron Permanent Ink.  Immediately I added some Clear Embossing Powder over the ink, removed the excess powder and heat set it. I repeated this three more times randomly on the page.

And here is the finished page; framed in black paint.  The sentiments are from Dina Wakley's Face In The Crowd stamp set and are stamped with Permanent Black Ink.  I also cut around the stamped image and slipped the girl into the page. I like how those figured intersect.

And now for the cover ...

Remember when I told you to SAVE THOSE SCRAP PAPERS? Here's why!!!
Just look at all of the color, pattern and possibilities here.

I chose this small piece of randomness for my journal cover. To the left you see the paperback devotional journal all double taped and ready to receive it's cover. I cut the paper a bit larger than the journal so I would have "wiggle room" when covering the journal. Then I cut off the excess paper.  Finished, this will be an 8 1/4" x 5 1/2" journal.

Here is the journal cover in place; along with the black paint edges.

I glued my little unicorn girl in place a little below the center of the cover. Once dry, I added black pen work around the little girl and added some glitter glue to her because she's a "magical unicorn".  The shimmer of the glitter glue really plays off of the brilliant colors on the cover and the black edging really pops everything.

  Finally, I computer generated the letters for the cover, cut them out and glued them in place. I did some black pen work around every other letter to complete the look.

Once all of my pages are finished, I will glue them into the book.  If I have trouble with the staples in the center of the book coming apart, I will do some sort of stitching in the center to hold everything together.  This is such a fun project!  I hope you'll give it a try.

And don't forget to pull out those DecoArt Premium Acrylic Tube Paints and bottle paints!  You will LOVE your results!

DECOART MIXED MEDIA BLOG ~ TANDO INDUSTRIAL FRAME KIT

HAPPY APRIL, HAPPY SPRING!

I am so excited to share my latest creation with you over at the 

DecoArt Mixed Media Blog.  

Last month, I took part in a really fun blog hop using our choice of Stampendous Stamps and DecoArt Media products.  

You can see my "Unexplained Toxic Skuldoggery" canvas HERE.  I chose to concentrate on Andy Skinner's amazing stamps from Stampendous and the canvas was named for the three sets I used.  

This month, I decided to concentrate on some of Andy's newer DecoArt Stencils that I dearly LOVE.  The sets are:  Time Warp, Distressed Digits and Typeface.  You can find out more about them HERE.  

 

This is just a  sneak peek of my very dimensional  industrial frame.  I hope you'll hop on over to the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog for a complete pictorial tutorial.  

Stay tuned!!!  I have a special announcement coming shortly ...

WORKING WITH DECOART CHALKY FINISH PAINT AND CREME WAX

Hi everyone!

It's Spring and I was in the mood to redecorate my half bathroom off of my kitchen.  I wanted to give it a more romantic, shabby feeling.  Before it was done in blacks and tans and was decorated with African animals.  So, quite a big change!

As I was shopping for items to put in the new bathroom, I came across the sweetest little angel.  She is supposed to be a yard ornament but I loved her and knew she would be perfect in my bathroom.  She looks like she's made out of concrete but she is actually quite lightweight.

Her original coloring was that dark grey concrete color. But that did not scare me away because I knew that I had some new DECOART AMERICANA CHALKY FINISH PAINT and she could be easily transformed!  Check out the link above to see all of the beautiful available colors of chalky paint.

I chose "Lace" which is a light ivory color.  I wanted my angel to be light and I would add a darker wax to bring out all of the details later.

This paint is SO EASY to work with and I totally LOVE my new and improved angel!  Let me take you through the very quick and very easy steps to completely transform ANYTHING!

As I said, I chose "Lace" to paint over my angel.  There is no prep work at all other than maybe wiping off any dust before starting.  I used a regular acrylic brush about 1" wide.  I shook up the paint really well and stirred it a little bit with the wooden stick end of my brush.  Then I started to paint over the entire surface.  Be sure to dab the brush into all of the cracks and crevasses (and smooth the paint out) so that all of the original grey color is covered up.  Let it dry and be sure to clean your brushes thoroughly after using.

Here is my angel ... already taking on such a lovely new appearance!  There were little areas that I had missed on my original layer of paint so I simply went back over those areas and touched them up and let it dry again.  

Now for the really dramatic part ....

I used a medium brown DecoArt Americana Golden Brown Cream Wax to create all of my detail.  Again, just shake up the wax and begin painting it all over the piece.  I worked in sections so that the wax would not begin to dry too fast before I had a chance to move it and work with it.  But, the wax is water soluble so it is easily manipulated with a damp lint free cloth.

I used the damp cloth to remove all of the excess wax that I did not want on my angel.  I was also able to blend traces of the golden brown wax color over the lace paint where I wanted to add some shadowing effects.  You can add more color or wipe away excess color with the damp cloth.  SO easy and fun!!!

There were areas where I wiped off too much of the brown wax.  So, I simply reapplied more wax on top of the areas I wanted to create more depth and gently wiped away the excess with the damp cloth.  Repeat this process until you get your desired results.  Once the cloth has some excess wax on it, it's fun to use that wax to add some shadowing effects as well.

Here is my beautiful new and improved angel...perfect for my bathroom decor!  From here, I could had added more hints of different Chalky Finish Paint colors to the leaves and flowers but I really wanted her to be super simple: just the Lace and Golden Brown Cream Wax combination.

These next two pictures show you the detail that is able to be pulled out of the statue by brushing on the brown wax and wiping away the excess with a damp cloth.  

Just amazing!  She's so much prettier as a light angel than the grey concrete one!  And I think she looks a lot more expensive, too!  Like something that could have been picked up at an antique market or something.  

You could add a patina effect to her.  You could add some metallic gilding, you could add color to her face, cheeks, hair and flowers, etc.  It's all up to you and your imagination!

If you've never experimented with DecoArt American Chalky Paints, I highly recommend that you do it!  They are so fun, so easy and the results are amazing!  You can paint pretty much transform anything: statues, cabinets, frames, furniture: you name it!  

   

Here are a few pictures of my new bathroom.  It's hard to photograph a small area in full.  I love the corner cabinet full of teal accents and a few of my own art pieces mixed in!

 

And finally, a beautiful metal piece that I found and dearly love to the left and my sweet little angel to the right.

Thanks for stopping by!

DIMENSIONAL RUSTED TECHNIQUE IKEA MIRROR

Welcome friends!

How many of you LOVE Andy Skinner's techniques and the way he can manipulate paints and mediums to mimic rust, chipped paint, weathered paint and a host of other amazing effects?

Well, right now on DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog, I am featuring an IKEA mirror that has been completely transformed from bland white to a very dimensional "metallic" rusted and weathered home decor piece.

   

Curious to see the entire piece and how this could be done?  

Head on over to DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog for the complete pictorial tutorial.  This technique is MUCH easier than it looks and the results using DecoArt Media products are completely AMAZING!

Thanks for stopping by!

VINTAGE MIXED MEDIA ALTERED CHILDREN'S BOOK

Hello again my blogging friends!  

Do you ever go shopping and see something that really sparks your imagination?  That happened to me recently when I was at a big craft store.  I saw an adorable little children's book with all sorts of cuts and shapes and windows.  That totally fascinated me and immediately my creative juices started flowing as to what that little book COULD be....with a little help from some of my wonderful DecoArt products.

So, I bought it (actually SEVERAL of them .... for A DOLLAR each (regular price for them), brought them home and went to work!

Sorry for the length of this blog post but there is A LOT of information to cover ... so grab a cuppa something and sit a spell.  I'd love to share some inspiration with you.  Thanks for spending a part of your day with me!

Here is a picture of the original book and then the beginnings of my version of the altered children's book. There is a detailed pictorial tutorial of how I transformed the book from its original to here book on DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog. Notice the "CHIPPED PAINT EFFECT" on the front of the book?  

Here is another picture of just the altered book, also showing the back of the book.  This "chipped paint" effect is an Andy Skinner technique.  I am totally amazed at how Andy can manipulate acrylic paint and other mediums to create the illusions of all sorts of weathered, vintage, chipped surfaces. I call him "The Master of Manipulation" and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible!  If you click on the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog link above, you will be taken to my tutorial and see how to create this effect. 

Since this was originally a children's book, I was inspired to leave it a book about children ... vintage children. So after finding all sorts of adorable photographs of vintage children in my files and files of images, I narrowed them down to the few that you will see within the pages of my magical little castle book below. 

We will turn the pages together and discover the magic of manipulation with DecoArt paints and products, a little imagination, lots of rub ons, stamps, laces, little metal embellishments, butterflies and little positive and powerful encouragements throughout.  I hope you will enjoy this little book as much as I loved creating it. 

Here is my finished altered children's book.  Notice all of the little children peeking through the windows purposely cut out of the original book?  I LOVE all of the color, the various shapes, the textures and the smile that comes each time I hold this book. I can almost hear the children's laughter and feel that innocence again that was "childhood". 

On the front cover of the book, I have added a Tim Holtz Alpha Parts "REMEMBER". I love these little black plastic dimensional wonders! They can really make a statement. Here, I combined DecoArt Metallic Gold and Silver Media Acrylic paint and using my finger, I kept tapping and rubbing the surface of "REMEMBER" until I got the weathered look I was going for. When that was dry, I added touches (with my finger) of DecoArt Blue Green Light and Titan Buff Media Acrylic paints to simulate a patina look. 

I have to warn you now, I am somewhat of a "finger painter" when I work on mixed media projects. So I will often use my fingers instead of a brush when there is not a lot of detail work involved. I'm not sure if that is because I just love getting my hands painty of if it's because I get a better feeling for the piece through actually touching it with my hands as much as possible, instead of relying on a brush.  Actually, I think it's a combination of both! (smile)

Let's move on to the inside pages of the book ...

I love all that is going on here.

To begin ...

I painted a couple of strips of white heavyweight cardstock with DecoArt's Media Crackle Paint and let it dry. Once dry, I painted over the crackle finish with DecoArt's Cobalt Teal Hue and Vermillion Media Acrylic paint. These colors are a beautiful vivid color!  But since this is a vintage book, I wanted to tone down the color just a bit.  So ...

I brushed over the surface with "the magic potion" DecoArt's Quinacridone Gold Media Acrylic paint. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE THIS STUFF! Everytime I use it, it's like heaven's gate opening up and a choir of angels singing.  I seriously think I may have an addiction going here!  (smile)  

Notice how the crackle really pops with the addition of the Quinacridone Gold?  And the way the Quinacridone Gold mutes the vivid teal and gives it more of a warm, greenish-brown cast is just magic.  And the "feel" of the product on the paper....just amazing!

I used these strips of paper to die cut and emboss Tim Holtz' butterfly wings from Butterfly Duo set.  You will see one of the wings used below.  

In the tutorial on DecoArt's Mixed Media blog, you will know that I originally covered the surface with patterned cardstock. Over that, I added a light was of Quinacridone Gold and water mix. I stenciled "JOURNEY" using Andy Skinner's Industrial Elements stencil with DecoArt's Titan Buff Media Acrylic paint. 

On either side, I added random images from Andy Skinner's Shedded Stencil using first first with DecoArt's Burnt Umber and then Blue Green Light Media Acrylic paints. (Be sure you immediately wash your stencils after using paint to get them clean.)

Next I added gold highlights to the raised areas of the butterfly wings and around the window opening and randomly around the edges of the page for a more dramatic effect. 

I glued the vintage image of the sweet little girl onto the butterfly wings and glued her in place on the page.

Next I added a piece from a Mica Sheet over the window opening and glued it in place using Glossy Accents because it dries clear. 

I used remnants of the teal crackled paper I used to create the butterfly wings to create little encouragement signs that would be displayed throughout the book. This sweet little butterfly girl is holding on of Tim Holtz' favorite expressions "embrace imperfection".  I glued it in place using Glossy Accents.

Finally I used random pieces of remnant rub ons from Tim Holtz to fill in little areas that might need something.

Moving on to the next page ... notice that the children on all of the pages are positioned so that when the book is closed, they are peering through the window openings. 

I began the final steps on this page by adding book text from a German book I bought at a flea market while visiting Rothenburg last summer. This was added using DecoArt Matte Medium first to glue the text on and then brushed over it to seal it. Using a baby wipe, I lightly added some DecoArt Blue Green Light Media Acrylic paint to the page and heat set it. I added the little metallic embellishments that had also been given a touch of the Blue Green Light acrylic paint for a patina look. 

I added gold highlights using my finger and DecoArt's Media Metallic Gold acrylic paint to the edges of the vintage photograph and the black chipboard piece that I mounted under the photograph, around the window openings and randomly around the perimeter of the page. 

I glued the little metal embellishments in place using Matte Medium brushed onto the surface of the book and then over the metal pieces to seal them in place. Let dry or gently heat set to dry.

I positioned the vintage photograph so that the little girls would be peeking out of the window when the book was completely closed.  Before I glued them in place, I added the tag with a Unity Stamp sentiment from their Empowered Words set. I glued it in place and glued the colorful ribbon flowing from the tag behind where my vintage photograph would be placed.  Then I glued the photograph in place.  The chipboard mounting gave the photograph a bit more dimension. 

In the roof top section at the top of this page, I had added a portion of a Tim Holtz embossed doily and it along with the page had been colored with various colors of DecoArt Acrylic Media paint. (see DecoArt's Mixed Media blog)  I used one of Tim's bee images from his Remnant Rub Ons sets and added the words "be free" from more of Tim's Remnant Rub ons. After gluing a cabachon in place over the top of the bee (using Glossy Accents), I let it dry.  When dry, I added the vintage German glass glitter and teal micro beads with Glossy Accents.  When dry, I glued the bottle cap in place using Glossy Accents.

Little butterflies are seen throughout the book.  Then are images I had on my computer, sized to fit various locations in the book or to be used as wings behind some of my sweet little children images.  I glued them in place using Glossy Accents on just the body portion (so that the wings could be lifted and given more dimension). I added a little Glossy Accents to the tops of the body and later penned in antenna using a black permanent pen.

Turning the page we see the next spread ...

Again, you can read about all of the background tutorial work on DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog.

After I had done all of the background work, I added various rub ons from Tim Holtz as well as others that I had in my stash.  When  was happy with my background, I brushed over all of it with a light coat of DecoArt's Ultra Matte Varnish.  This provides a beautiful transparent seal and the feel of the page is a professional finish.

Here is a closer picture of this page with the sweet little butterfly baby and the encouraging sentiment.  These butterfly wings are more of Tim's Butterfly Duo.  I painted in the indented areas of the embossed wings with DecoArt's Blue Green Light and then washed the crackled wings with a Burnt Umber wash.

This next page only has two images of children blued onto it but it looks like four because of the children peeking through the windows!  Again, I added more rub ons to the page, stamped a Unity Stamp sentiment.  "FRIENDS" are some of Tim Holtz' Label Letters.  I love the vintage feeling they add to the photograph of the boy and his dog. That photograph is mounted on black cardstock and black photo corners were added.  The sweet little girl is holding a "be fearless" sentiment; more of Tim's Remnant Rubons. The lacy wings are a Memory Box die cut out of black cardstock.   The embossed butterfly at the top is one of Tim's Butterfly Duo that was added to this page at the very beginning of the transformation using heavy white cardstock and Matte Medium to glue it in place and seal it.  It is colorized with the background colors of washed DecoArt Titan Buff Media Acrylic paint, antiqued with DecoArt Burnt Umber and Metallic Gold Media Acrylic paint around the cut openings and edges of the page and the embossed butterfly.  I also added some Renaissance Guilding Wax to the raised areas of the butterfly and finally a "FLY" Remnant Rubon to the center of the body.  Finally I added a Tim Holtz Word Band underneath the double window.  I added colorful ribbons to either side.

The Word Bands are an antique silver color.  I wanted to alter that to an antique bronze-ish color.  So I simply mixed DecoArt's Media Burnt Umber and Metallic Gold Acrylic paint to create a nice antique bronze color.  I used my finger to add the paint to the band and heat set it.  I kept working the paint onto the band until I achieved the look I was going for.  Then I wiped DecoArt's Blue Green Light Media Acrylic paint over the entire surface of the band and wiped away everything but the paint that had seeped into the letters.  You can see the result in the photograph above ... the word band with the letters subtly highlighted in color.

Turning to the next page spread ...

On these two interior pages, I mixed some DecoArt Titan Buff and Cobalt Teal Hue Media Acrylic paints and using a baby wipe, I randomly swiped the color on the pages.  Then I added DecoArt Metallic Gold to the cut openings and the edges of the pages using my finger as my paint brush. 

I used a beautiful vintage stencil that I have and patted a paint mix of DecoArt Titan Buff and Cobalt Teal Hue. (Clean your stencil after using paint on it). Then I heat set the pattern.  You can also see the wonderful added detail that Andy Skinner's peeling paint background stamp adds to this page. I added the vintage laces by first brushing DecoArt's Matte Medium in the areas of the page where I would be adding the laces, laying the laces in place and then dabbing the brush over the top of the laces to seal them and also to remove any clumps of the clear drying Matte Medium.

Here is a closer look at page 4.  I love the butterfly children with their colorful wings and encouraging sentiment. The red hearts on their chests are cut out of red cardstock, glued in place using Glossy Accents and then Glossy Accents added over the top of the red hearts for more dimension and a bit of a gloss finish. The little clock in the clock tower was created by painting a circle with DecoArt Titan Buff Media Acrylic paint, heat setting it, then added a Tim Holtz Remnant Rub clock face over it.  Finally I added some little metallic clock hands and a half pearl over the center of them using Glossy Accents. 

More rub ons were added to the background of this page along with more vintage lace. Just two couple of children were glued onto this page.  The set of children at the bottom right are actually on the page behind but are visible through a cut opening. Again, little butterflies were added to the page by gluing them at the body and allowing the wings to be folded up for more dimension. The sentiments stamped in Black Archival Ink are from The Unity Stamp set "Empowered Words". Again, as on all of the interior pages, I used my finger and some DecoArt Metallic Gold Media Acrylic paint to highlight the cut out areas and along the edges of the pages.

Turning the final page ...

we see the layout of yet more sweet little vintage children.  On the left, you see the vintage lace from the previous page peeking through the cut out doorway.

The sweet little butterfly child above the opening was glued in place using DecoArt Matte Medium.  Isn't she precious holding her little doll?  And I adore the vintage cabinet card image on the right.  I actually mounted that image on top of a piece of chipboard that is painted with DecoArt Burnt Umber paint and the corners rounded with a CropADile. This mounting gave her just that little touch of dimension that added so much.  I also added a few more little monarchs to this page spread because I love them so much!

Before I show you a close up picture of the back cover, I wanted to show this background to you.  I love it!  This is layers and layers of different "stuff".  First was Tim Holtz' Melange Tissue Wrap Paper then a light coat of DecoArt White Gesso. On top of that I added a wash of DecoArt Yellow Ochre Media Acrylic paint and water and heat set it dry.  Then I created a wash of Quinacridone Gold and water and added another layer of wash to the page. I heat set that dry. To get the "ghostly" images of letters, I used Andy Skinner's Alphabet Spaghetti stencil on the upper portion of the page and used Gathered Twigs Distress Ink over it. I LOVE LOVE the colors here! 

And here is a closer look at the finished page.  You can see the stenciled area above.  fashioned a pocket out of the vintage photograph of the brother and sister on the bottom right.  More detail about the pocket in a second ...

I glued the sweet vintage photograph of the little ballerina to the top left of the page after adding black photo corners to give her more of a vintage feeling. I folded some little monarch wings in half and using Glossy Accents, I added them to her back. 

The "a child is like a butterfly ... " sentiment was computer generated.  I tore and distressed the edges of the paper with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Inks and glued it in place on the page. I glued the little monarchs as I had done on previous pages, leaving their wings free to lift.  I added Glossy Accents to the bodies to give them dimension and penned the antennas with a permanent black ink pen.  

I brushed DecoArt Matte Medium to the rook peak, place the metal embellishment in place and then carefully brushed over the metal piece with the Matte Medium to seal it in place. 

Finally, I added the "CAPTURED MEMORIES" plaque to the upper right of the page so that it is visible when the book is closed. To create the plaque, I simply painted a piece of DecoArt White Gesso'd chipboard with DecoArt Quinacridone Gold Media Acrylic paint and heat set it dry. Then I lightlyl spritzed the chipboard with DecoArt Carbon Black Media Mister and distressed the edges with DecoArt Carbon Black Media Acrylic paint (using my finger). Once that was heat set dry, I stenciled the letters in place using DecoArt Titan Buff Media Acrylic paint. I then glued it in place using Glossy Accents. 

The pocket photo was created by adding photo corners and 1/8" Scor Tape (double sided tape) on the back top, bottom and exterior side of the photograph.  Then I created the little tag using manila cardstock and lightly sponging it with DecoArt Blue Green Light Media Acrylic paint onto the outsides of the tag. I distressed the edges with DecoArt Burnt Umber Media Acrylic paint. After stamping the Unity tricycle and sentiment, I added a large vintage grommet and some black ribbon. The tag slides in place behind the photograph. 

From this ...

and this ...

To this ... 

SO much fun to experiment and play with so many techniques, products, images and elements.  I hope that you enjoyed this little journey though my altered book and that maybe somehow it inspired you to not be afraid to try new things and allow your imagination to be free enough to explore the possibilities of what something "COULD" be.