Bird on a Branch

The new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog starts today and Suzz, our hostess is calling it Birds. Here is how she describes it:

For this Challenge I want you to be inspired by our flying friends. You can take the challenge literally and have images or die cuts of birds on your art, you can be inspired by the words describing birds or even showcase their homes. Make sure to share with us how you were inspired by the birds.

I decided to take the challenge literally and show a bird on my project. I was inspired by a canvas I saw online with a bird and a branch but then went off in my own direction.

I started by covering an 8 x 10" canvas board with White Gesso. I used some Wild Honeysuckle Coral Stardust Ink Spray and some Roast Chestnut IZink Pigment Ink like watercolours by mixing them in small puddles of water on my kraft sheet and then painting them onto the canvas. I did a layer of the Coral first, the the Roast Chestnut and then more Coral. Note: I forgot to take a photo at the end of this step but I am sure you can see the colour below the stenciling.

Next I added some stenciling with a Mini Ledger Stencil and some Coffee Archival Ink. I also used a Criss-Cross stencil I designed myself and my husband cut to add some texture with Textue Paste.

My husband designed and cut the branch with leaves from chipboard for me and I gave it a coat of White Gesso. I used my finger to add some roughness on the wood with texture paste and then painted it with Melted Chocolate Acrylic Paint followed by some Umber Acrylic Paint. The leaves were painted with Aloe Acrylic Paint.

The flowers were punched from a paper collection called Garden Goddess, the edges inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and some tiny dollar store gems were added to the centres.

The little bird is cut from some fine corrugated cardboard that I had in my stash. I have a large stencil of different birds and I just traced him and then cut him out. Next I have him a coat of White Gesso followed by some Sedona Acrylic Paint and then a dry brushing of more Gesso. Once the paint was dry I rubbed some Rose Quartz wax paste over the raised areas and then added a gem for an eye.

The clock was cut from a cracker box by my husband and then I coated it with Umber Acrylic Paint, a sprinkling of playground sand and finally a coat of Mod Podge.

I ran a strip of Rose Gold Metallics Kraft Stock through an embossing folder called Paisley Palooza to create a textured strip for the background. I also die cut a scalloped circle from card stock, ran it through a Bubble embossing folder, inked the edges with Gathered Twigs DI and dry brushed White Gesso onto the highlights. Sorry I forgot to photograph this step - brain turning to mush being home for so long.

I die cut a circle from cracker box material, coated it with White Gesso and then inked it with Dried Marigold Distress Ink. I used the Bubble stencil and some Coffee Archival Ink to add some markings and then covered the circle with some Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paste. The Crackle Paste was really thick (a.k.a. pretty well dead) so it didn't really crack well.

To assemble the canvas, I put the metallic strip down first, followed by the scalloped circle, the clock and the stenciled circle. The branch was added next followed by the bird. Finally I added some iridescent sequins and a little Small Talk sticker that I inked with Gathered Twigs.

I hope you will join us for the challenge, which runs until 11:55 pm EDT on Tuesday, September 15th. One randomly chosen winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their Top 4 Picks with the overall winner receiving an opportunity to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Seth Apter Izink Pigment - Roast Chestnut 80638
Dina Wakley Acrylic Paint - Aloe, Umber, Sedona
Dylusions Paints, Melted Chocolate DYP46011
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Coffee AIP31451
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Gathered Twigs, Dried Marigold
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper TH93780
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Scor Tape
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk Stickers
Graphic 45 Garden Goddess 12" x 12" Paper
Lindy's Wild Honeysuckle Coral Stardust Ink Spray
Treasure Gold Rose Quartz Wax Paste
Mini Ledger & Criss Cross Stencils
Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies
Mini Flower Punch
Micro Gems
Chipboard Branch with Leaves & Chipboard Clock Iridescent Sequins

Leaf Collage

It is time for the next challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  Ginny, our hostess for this one calls it 'Fabulous Fall' and describes it like this:

It's the wonderful season where the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and our thoughts turn to pumpkin spice everything. For this challenge create a Fall inspired project.

I don't want to be a downer but by this time of year at my house all the gorgeous fall colours are over and we are left with mostly bare branches and whatever colour we have is dull yellow and carpets the ground - my poor husband is struggling to get all the leaves bagged up and out of here because they won't compost fast enough to avoid a soggy mess.  The air is certainly crisp, which is way better than hot and humid but sadly we have more rainy days than sunny ones.  As the temperatures continue dropping that rain is going to turn into the dreaded snow.  The stores are already packed with Christmas decorations and that wonderful aroma of pumpkin spice is being replaced by cinnamon pine cones - a lovely aroma too but makes me want to scream NOOOOOOOO since it is too soon.

So given the current state of affairs in my neck of the woods, I have decided to make a leaf collage in more neutral tones.

I began by adding some rough texture to a stretched canvas with Texture Paste (Ranger) and a palette knife.  Then I covered everything with some White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and once that was dry followed it with some watered down Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

Next I prepared the various elements that I wanted to layer on the canvas.  Some Copper Metallic Kraftstock (Tim Holtz) was die cut with the Garden Green (Tim Holtz) die and another piece was embossed with a Honeycomb Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz).

A piece of corrugated cardboard was painted with some Ancient Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley and a couple pieces of paper from the Old Lace pad (Stamperia) were torn and the edges inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

Some tea bag paper was dyed with Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain DI (Tim Holtz).

For the focal point I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp a leaf from the Leaf Prints set (Tim Holtz) on a piece of torn old book paper, inked the edges with Vintage Phot DI and then coated it with three layers of Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture (Seth Apter).

To complete the collage layers a bit of copper wire was threaded through a black button from my stash.  I added some crochet ribbons, a piece of the faux leather I made for the last challenge and a Big Chat sticker (Tim Holtz) that was inked with Vintage Photo DI.

I hope you will join us for the challenge.  One random winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their top picks with the overall pick receiving an opportunity to join us as a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Leaf Prints Stamp Set (Tim Holtz)
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
White Corrugated Cardboard - 15 Sheets
Stamperia - Old Lace 12x12 Paper Pack SBBL32
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black AIP31468
VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo TIM19527
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain TIM19534
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs TIM32823
Seth Apter Baked Texture - Vintage Beeswax 17g
May Arts 5/8 Inch Crochet Ribbon - Black
May Arts Ivory Mesh Ribbon - 1.5"
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper TH93780
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Garden Greens by Tim Holtz 661206
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Big Chat Stickers TH93192
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Ancient, 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paint - Sand - 1oz Bottle
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards
Bubble and Honeycomb Set Texture Fade (Tim Holtz)
Old Book Page
Black Button
Copper Wire
Tea Bag Paper

Four Seasons Artist Trading Coins

It is time for another challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time Suzz is our hostess and is calling it Artist Trading Coins.  Here is how she describes it:

The challenge this time is to create an Artist Trading Coin. I am inspired by a new way of capturing a little bit of our art to share with others. You challenge is to create a trading coin which should be a circle shape 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

I had never made these before although I have made some Artist Trading Cards, which are a tad larger so I figured I could handle it.  I was right - they were easy to make so they came together quickly.  I thought I would make four coins - one for each season.  This was a great way to use up bits and pieces from my stash, since it appears I am a craft hoarder.

For your base coin, you need to have a 2 1/2" circle so I gave my husband some of my chipboard and asked him to cut them for me on his laser cutter.  I have a circle die that is the right size but my die cutting machine is not strong enough to cut chipboard and I wanted a substrate that would handle paint.  You can make your substrate out of whatever you have on hand such as heavy card stock, chipboard or even recycled cereal or cracker boxes.

I gave each coin a coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley) before I started decorating.

Winter

• Cover both sides with Cornflower Blue Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi) masking off a section on the bottom front that will become the snow
• Dip the end of a small paint brush in the Gesso and make some dots and then re-ink with the Cornflower Blue AI
• Reverse the mask and use a palette knife to add Texture Paste (Ranger) "snow"
• Add some Star Dust Stickles (Unicorn would be a great substitute) to the snow and to the bottom of a Paper Doll (Tim Holtz)
• Punch snowflakes from Silver Metallic Kraft Stock (Tim Holtz) and add to coin
• Finally, adhere the paper doll

Spring

• Paint both sides with Lime Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley)
• Die cut two smaller circles from patterned papers from the Once Upon a Springtime (Graphic 45) pad
• Distress the edges of each circle and ink with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) and then add to base coin
• Fussy cut bunny image from the Once Upon a Springtime pad and mount on top of coin with dimensional foam
• Add a tiny jute bow and three little flowers (Prima)

Summer

• Coat the back with Abandoned Coral Distress Paint (Tim Holtz)
• Ink the front with Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz) and then sritz with water
• Add a strip of venise lace
• Fussy cut flowers and leaves and add - Note:  These flowers and leaves came from the colouring I did on a page from an old book for a recent Saturday Showcase using a stamp from the Illustrated Garden set (Tim Holtz) with Abandoned Coral and Peeled Paint distress ink (Tim Holtz) 
• Add some bits of pearl flourish

Fall

• Coat both sides with Squeezed Orange Acrylic Paint (Dylusions) adding extra thickness to the front and roughing it up to give some texture
• Fussy cut a pumpkin and sentiment from the Amber Moon paper pad (Prima) and add them to the coin
• Die cut tiny leaves from scraps of previously inked card stock using the Fall Foliage die (Tim Holtz) and add them on top of the pumpkin

Supply Links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Cornflower Blue AID38955
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Ranger Stickles - Unicorn
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls, Christmas
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Kraft Stock
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Lime, 1oz Bottle
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo TIM19527
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Abandoned Coral Distress Paint TDF50186
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Abandoned Coral
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Abandoned Coral TIM43188
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Peeled Paint TIM20233
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Illustrated Garden
Dylusions Paints, Squeezed Orange DYP46035
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Fall Foliage by Tim Holtz 660955
Tim Holtz 5 Inch/ 12.3cm Titanium Snip 816E Tim Holtz Tonic Studios Paper Distresser 370E
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards

These were so much fun to make and I have loads of ideas for more. I hope you will join us for this great challenge.

Leaf Collage

Since I am totally ready for Christmas and have all my Design Team projects out of the way I decided to play for a change and this leaf collage is the result.

Here is how to put it together:

1.  Coat a small stretched canvas with White Gesso (Liquitex)
2.  Cover with Molasses Acrylic Paint (Folk Art) and allow to dry thoroughly
3.  Cover with a coat of Paint Crackle Medium (Folk Art) and allow this to dry thoroughly
4.  Cover with a coat of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint (DecoArt) and watch it crack as it dries
5.  Mix a bit of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint with some Molding Paste (Golden) and use with a small dot stencil (TCW) to add some random stenciling
6.  Spatter the canvas with some Molasses Acrylic Paint and then dry brush some Bleached Sand lightly over it
7.  Strip parts of the top layer off a piece of corrugated card stock and then dry brush with some Bleached Sand
8.  Crumple up a couple of pieces of Kraft Glassine (Tim Holtz - discontinued) and add some stitching with Metallic Copper Embroidery Floss (DMC) to one strip
9.  Cut a couple small pieces of burlap and ink with Vintage Photo Distress Ink
10.  Tear a square of canvas, ink the edges with Vintage Photo DI and coat with fabric stiffener
11.  Tear a piece of old book paper, stamp a leaf (Nature's Wonder by Tim Holtz) using Coffee Archival Ink (Ranger), then cover with Vintage Collage Medium (Tim Holtz)
12.  Add some burlap string to a copper button and adhere to collage

There you have it, a simple collage but fun to make with lots of mixed media.