I Brake for Paris

Hello all!

I have a vibrant shimmering art journal page to share with you today - this was done for a travel journal.  The quote is a J. R. R. Tolkien one - "Not all those who wander are lost."

My background has some stenciled gel medium and then splashes of acrylic paint topped with dry brushed Luminarte Silks. 

 
Dry brushing the Silks on not only gives the page some random shimmer but also highlights the raised gel medium stenciling.

Next I stamped the Large Paris Balloon Collage image on paper with Coffee ink.  I smudged across the image with Distress Inks and edged it with more Coffee Ink.  I did the same with my quote after I printed it off on my computer.  This collage image is the perfect focal piece for my page!  After adhering the quote and stamped image I stenciled on some Viva Decor Modeling Cream through a piece of sequin waste - LOVE the Viva Decor Modeling Cream!

I finished the page off by stamping a few images with one of my hand carved stamps using Luminarte Silks and then doodled around the edges with a black zig pen. Stamping with paint gives a very different look and feel to the image.

With so many fantastic collage images at IBFS you can find ones to fit any of your mixed media pages!  Remember you can get 10% off with my code SAVE10MARTI!

i brake for florals and leaves

Hello everyone!

So did any one else watch the grammy's?   I have not watched them in oh, about a million years but Pezza has gotten really into music and wanted to see them so we recorded it and her and I watched together.  I think I had forgotten how much I really love music!  I mean I listen to the radio of course and I am ever so slowly building up a play list on my iPod but seeing the performances was so fun!  And she loved it too!  We were dancing and singing along - makes me want to go to some concerts!  Last concert I went to was taking Trev and a friend to see P.O.D and Linkin Park about 8 or 9 years ago!  And let me just say that concert was freakin' awesome btw!

I AM going to see a band this weekend but not quite a concert I don't think.  Really I don't know - I actually have no idea what I have gotten myself into but my buddy Suzanne (Scrapbitz) wanted someone to come with so I volunteered.  we are driving to somewhere in VA i have never heard of to see a band called Love & Theft who I have also never heard of and bringing our long time friend and new momma Christine (Ever After Papercrafts) along too.  I figure regardless of what we are doing or where we are going it will be a good time because it seems whenever me and suzanne get together it turns into a show.

I have a journal page for you!  Today's style is a bit different than my usual:

This was SO much fun to create!  I chose 4 stamps from the Florals and Leaves plate from I Brake For Stamps to focus on.  These are GREAT stamps for this sort of technique!  I marked off the sizes of my boxes according to the image sizes and then I used Twinkling H2Os for a great painterly background in colors that reminded me of a sunrise.  Just look at all of that luscious sparkle!

Next I simply stamped my images using Luminarte Paint - it works with either Silks or Primary Elements powder mixed with glazing medium.  I put the paint onto the stamps with a soft sponge roller - it looks like a brayer but instead of hard rubber it is soft sponge.  This will work with any sort of acrylic paints and gives a bit more of a painterly look to your stamped image.  I think it would also look good with the images just stamped as black silhouettes too!  Browse through all of the wonderful images and pick some out for your own block printing piece!  Remember you can use my code to get 10% off!  SAVE10MARTI

I Brake for Leaf Flourishes!

hello all! 

my post will be quick as I have a date with my pantry - it is in desperate need of an emptying out and re-orginization!  fun and exciting life that i lead....

i have an art journal page to share with you today and it is in my brand spankin' new Stillman & Birn Beta Series journal - wowza!!!  BEST journal i have come across yet for handling loads of wetness - JUST what i needed!  the best part - they are releasing a Zeta Series which will be even better later this month!  i have done several pages in this journal over the last couple days and i am just stunned how different it is than any of the other ones i have.  grnated all my other ones came from Michaels but they SAID mixed media on them.  these pages don't bulk or warp or seep.  LOVE IT!

that being said - here is my first page:

I took a bit of a different approach with my background and began with black gesso instead of white.  Starting with a black base will give your paints and anything you put on it a very different look.

I sponged across the black with Luminarte Silks in pink and coral.  Next I stamped the Leaf Flourish LG image onto a white gesso page using the same pink Luminarte Silk paint.  I cut it into 1.5" squares.

Next I stamped the Leaf Flourish LG and the Leaf Flourish XLG using white chalk ink.  I finished the page off with a saying.  then i added a stenciled key using viva decor crystal gel and some viva decor gel pen dots. 

The detail and fanciful look of these two flourishes are just fantastic!  What would YOU create with them???  Grab them both and get 10% off with my code SAVE10MARTI!

I brake for collage

Hello all!

is everyone surviving the crazy weather?  we had school cancelled because of ice, the next day we were in shorts and the following day we had buckets of rain and gale force winds and a tornado watch - the gale force winds being on trash day OF COURSE! good gravy!

hubby and i celebrated 8 years of marriage this week - craziness!  i can't decide if it seems like 8 years or not!  i have always been a bit of a gypsy - growing up we moved alot on top of me being shuffled around a bit and i continued that as an adult.  i have this insatiable need for adventure and tend to like to fly by the seat of my pants.  hubby - just the opposite - very solid and stable.  and while adventure is fun i can honestly say safety and stability is not bad!  and i have learned how to do things like clean an oven instead of just move :P  SO grateful hubby has the patience to put up with my kind of ridiculousness.  and little daughter is looking to be equally ridiculous just like her momma!

I have a mixed media art journal page to share with you today featuring loads of shimmer courtesy of Luminarte Primary Elements:

the wonderful magical amazing thing about primary elements - on top of the amazing shimmer - is the versatility.  I chose 3 colors - green tea, lime squeeze and just peachy.  Then I mixed them into water with gum arabic to make shimmering mists for the background.  next i mixed them with fluid glazing medium to make a paint for the stamping.  this gives the project great color coherence!  and lordy look at that GLOW!

After creating my background I created my focal piece and wording piece with some awesome I Brake For Stamps images!

I inked up one of the images from the Collage Elements #1 image sheet with Coffee Archival Ink (so it would be waterproof) and then misted it with the same Primary Elements shimmering mists I used on my background to give it some subtle color.  I edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I typed up and printed my wording.  Then I added some stamping in the background using the pocket watch and clock face from the same image sheet collection.   I also misted this piece with the shimmering mists - you can just catch a bit of the lime green sparkle in the bottom corner in this picture.  Working with the sheets of images is a really great way to do a project!  Which image sheet is YOUR favorite???  why not grab a few from IBFS and get it all for 10% off?  use my code SAVE10MARTI when you check out!

i brake for carnations

Hello friends!

i am spending most of my spare time with my adorable teeny little foster kittens.  Pezza held the bottle for one today and was so thrilled with herself.

I have a quick card for you using one of the amazing detailed collage stamps from I Brake For Stamps again!

This time I have chosen the Vintage Carnation Label Collage stamp - breathtaking details!  I stamped the image in brown ink.

 

To spotlight a bit of the detail  I stamped it again using pearlescent pink ink and then cut out a circle area where I wanted to highlight.  I inked the edges and then placed it over the first brown image.  Very effective don't you think?!  remember you can use my code and grab some of these for yourself - SAVE10MARTI!

I brake for paris

Hello everyone!

as much as we have adored having little Fred to foster I am happy to say he is going to be adopted into a permanent home tomorrow!  Bubba will miss him desperately and will have to go back to tormenting me for attention!

Isn't he a cutie pie!  and so lovey-dovey!
***********************************

Have you checked out the large array of collage stamps at IBFS?  They are jaw dropping gorgeous and I have quite a few.  These images are put together in such an amazing way - little treasures for beautiful cards in minutes.  Here I have used one of my favorites - the large Paris Balloon Collage:

I stamped the image on cream cardstock using brown ink to keep with the vintage feel of the image.  I paired it up with more cream, brown and blue papers and gave it a bit of glitz with the blingy flower!

YEP that is from the acrylic skins we have been making  (see next post for the full tutorial!)  they work PERFECTLY with dies - in this case a sizzix original type die.  they also work perfectly with craft punches - woohoo!  here you can get a better feel for not just the color but the shimmer and the slight texture too.

i am entering this card in several challenges:

• Creative Craft Challenge - new beginnings (the new artist group i am in that started the acrylic skins experiments)
• Papercrafting Journey - anything goes
• 4 Crafty Chicks - Orange, lt. blue, blue, dk. brown
• Cardmaking mommas - anything goes

We have been having so much fun with this i actually had to order more gel medium!  wondering where to get it for the best price?  i shop at dick blick and use their brand - their gel medium, gesso and matte medium - all are awesome!

Which collage stamp is YOUR favorite?  Head over to I Brake For Stamps and pick some out - and don't forget to use the code SAVE10MARTI and save 10% on your whole order!  happy shopping!

I Brake for Pinecones...

Hello peeps!

so 2 weeks ago, as we approached the new year, i decided to get out my scrapbook and figure out how far behind i was...well it was ALOT.  i sat down and went to the photos where i had left off and began going through them to get them printed and ready to scrap.  i had ended sometime in 2009 DOH!!!!!  too make things even more exciting I began printing my photos off and was just really not happy with how they were looking - the photo printer was a really old one.  so this led to hubby and i researching photo printers and looking for the one we wanted and getting it and setting it up...so wow not fun.  BUT we got through all of that and because my hubby is freakin' AWESOME he got me the one i wanted and have been wanting for awhile - the epson artisan 837.  prints amazing photos AND has a separate ink cartridge for EACH color.  i know the last thing hubby wanted to do on his day off was spend it doing more computer crap!  but he did it for me and then i printed off ALL of the rest of the photos i need to scrap to complete 2009.  i told hubby i was going to do it in a weekend - i got the one eyebrow.  that's what he does now when he thinks i have lost my mind.  no matter how insane OR theatrical i get - i get the one eyebrow.  i guess he has gotten used to me after 9 years :P  needless to say it didn't happen  BUT i am pleased to say that i now have ONE page fully complete to share today AND all of the other photos are on their pages awaiting only journaling and embellishing!

so here is today's scrapbook layout for you:

I ALWAYS use a page sketch - it helps keep me from getting stuck on what I want to do.  i use Page Maps almost exclusively.  when i was printing out my photos i would look at the ones i wanted grouped together and then go through the page map sketches to find one that would work well with it and then i edited and resized my photos to fit the sketch.  i love the freedom to do it this way.  however, I don't always have the exact same number of photos as the sketch - stamps to the rescue!  Since this layout was all about my daughter's Christmas tree the Pinecone Background stamp from I Brake For Stamps was perfect!

I stamped using Versamark and then I brushed across the image with Luminarte Primary Elements shimmering powder in Mallard Green.  To set the powder I gave it a light spray with Workable Fixative (hairspray also works.)

This gives my photo replacement piece a subtle pattern with LOTS of shimmer! 

be sure to check out ALL of the amazing backgrounds available at IBFS!  They are stamps you will use over and over again!  and remember if you use my code - SAVE10MARTI - you will get 10% off!

i brake for tumbling leaves...

happy new year everyone!!!!

today is also happy holy crap school is back in session day over here!  the holidays were wonderful but pezza HATES to play by herself, hates to be out of school, hates to be stuck inside when it's cold and gets dark early, hates hanging out with her mom every day...well you get the idea.  she IS the child who complained at 2 about never getting to be put in daycare.

i am here with a new journal page for y'all.  we all do alot of reflecting when the new year hits.  whether it's thinking about how the past year went or how the new year will go.  i am not one for new year's resolutions per se.  i do the resolution, evaluation, new resolution, re-evaluation thing throughout the year.  however, the new year does sort of magnify it.  one thought that washed over me very strongly is that if i live to be 250 years old i don't know if i will have time to delve into all of the things in life i am interested in!  and it sent me into a bit of a panicky feeling for an afternoon.  so i grabbed my journal and some stamps and this is what i have:

 

 of course having interests is a wonderful thing - and probably keeps people going as they get older.  the fact that i am in a position to explore many of them is an enormous privilege too!  life is a lot of things but one thing it is never for me is boring!  ok there are occasions i wish for a smidge of boredom but really i am never one to sit still.  heck i can't even sit and watch tv - i always have to be doing something else at the same time.  and though i started this page in my studio i finished it off in front of the tv with a collection of neocolor II crayons, rubons and my zig pens.

i made the paper i used for the body of my house using stamps from two I Brake For Stamps sets - Collage Elements 1 and Floral & Leaves Plate. the leaves tumbling through the faint (but definitely present and lurking) clock and watch images was exactly how i felt.  creating this piece of paper to incorporate into my journal work is precisely why i love IBFS images.  endless versatility!

what can YOU create with the fabulous stamp sheets available in the store???  find out by heading over to the IBFS website and picking some out!  use the code SAVE10MARTI and save 10% on your order too!

i brake for backgrounds

hi all!

i am off to pezza's Christmas party at school today.  i like that i am able to take part in more things with her than i could with the boys.  i am heading out early to help my neighbor (and the room mom) with the set up.  i completely missed the sign up sheet that went out - which is so typical of me.  signing up or remembering that i signed up ahead of time for stuff is not my specialty HOWEVER last minute?  that is just my thing!  so when she asked yesterday i was more than happy to help out!  i am beginning to think i will always be a scatterbrained mess.  i operate best in a rigid schedule - unfortunaely i am completely incapable of making one for myself :P  probably why i loved being in school so much.  i could go to school forever.  hubby said no...

i am here with a new journal page for ya!  i am entering the following challenges:

• crafts 4 eternity - blingtastic (the shimmer of the luminarte silks)
• fat pages with attitude - anything goes
• crafty bloggers network - anything goes
• everybody art - anything goes
• color throwdown - black, yellow, light blue & dark blue

i save up all the good quotes i see on facebook and pinterest and put them in my journal.  here is one that caught my eye recently:

so true and yet so hard to learn!  i started with a blue background and layers of shimmering Luminarte Silks paints.  then I stamped in a few spots with the Map #2 background stamp.

 i love all that shimmer!

next i printed and mounted my quote.

once done i added some more stamping in yellow using stamps from the Florals & Leaves Plate.  i LOVE the backgrounds and sheet options IBFS has!  the sheets are a great way to stock up on similarly themed stamps!

fun yes?

i brake for SANTA!

hi everyone!

my house is in desperate need of a mad cleaning rampage and i have an IEP meeting for pez today too so this post is a quick one!

my brother created some Christmas stamps for IBFS and they are still some of my fave stamps to use and for this card i used his Victorian Saint Nicholas. 

I paired Saint Nick with one of the many perfect IBFS background stamps - Pinecone Background.   after stamping on my green cardstock I swiped a bit of Olive Luminarte Silks across it in spots to add some interest and sparkle.

The stamp has such amazing shading like so many of the IBFS images so all it needed was a wash of Twinkling H2Os for color with subtle sparkle.  remember you can save 10% of your order at I brake for stamps by using my DT code SAVE10MARTI!

How are YOUR christmas projects coming along???  less than 2 weeks to go!!!

i brake for clowns!

good morning!

how is everyone?  did you have beyond gorgeous weather yesterday like we did???  holy cannoli it was beautiful!  pez and i went for a long walk together and then met up with daddy on the way home who got to escape work early.  then we grilled a steak - DEElish!

i am sharing another I Brake For Stamps piece today - a page i did in my art journal last week.  i was REALLY struggling with a number of issues and i saw this quote on facebook and new i wanted to do a journal page for it - it really fit for what i was feeling at the time:

I began by using a stencil and ceramic stucco medium for the two corner pieces.  then I misted the page with several different shimmering mists in shades of purple and silver made by mixing Luminarte Primary Elements, Gum Arabic and water.  I had to be really careful not to oversaturate or the stucco medium got all wet and gooey again.

Next I stamped with Luminarte Silks using rubber stamps and some bottle lids.

i added just a bit of color and shimmer to my Clown with Mask image using Twinks - this image is by Rick St Denis - isn't it amazing!?!?!?  you can purchase a full sheet of his clown images too!

The images at I Brake for Stamps are so amazing for mixed media work - be sure to browse the site!  now i better scoot - i promised pezza i would play a game with her if she behaved while i work and she has been PERFECT!

pretty in pink...and cranberry!

hello all!

i was hoping to wake up to snow today...but no.  just rain.  freezy cold rain SUCKS!!!  snow is so much better!

so yesterday was tech fail day for me :P  my camera is broke...just broke.  it has been having trouble for a few weeks but i thought i had discovered a work around.  however, yesterday it completely refused to cooperate.  it cannot detect the batteries.  i tried messing with the connectors and it is still not working.  after a little research on the interweb it appears to be pretty common with the canon powershot cameras. it is only a few years old and hubby insists it should not be time to get a new camera already...which unfortunately does not make the camera magically spring back to life.  so now what to do?  there is NO line item called camera in our budget so that sucks.  but i need one.  so do i go out and get the cheapest i can get so i can still take pics or do i step into the world of DSLR and get a really good camera like i have been wanting since my brother got his and began taunting me with stunning pics...?

so what else happened?  well within 5 minutes of the camera breathing it's last breathe my laptop became unable to connect to the internet for no apparent reason and my cell phone died and was not reviving or charging when i plugged it in.  i am like an electronics death trap.  i suck the life right out of anything that runs on a battery.  it has baffled my brilliant electrical engineer father since childhood and my extremely tech savvy engineer hubby for our entire marriage.  i kill watches, cell phones, cordless phones, cameras, everything.  my cell phone will quit working and hubby has to switch out my battery with his.  then my phone works again and my battery works just fine in his phone.  after a few months we have to do it again.  my dad once bought me a watch for christmas when i was a teen.  i would wear it for awhile and it would quit working.  i would give it to him (i was at a boarding school) to take home and repair and after a day or two away from me it would start working again.  we did this cycle a dozen times and then just gave up.

i rebooted my laptop and got the internet working again and finally got my phone to charge but no luck with the camera.  dslr - leaning towards the nikon d3100.  cheapy point n shoot - i don't know yet.  i tried taking pics with my phone but then when i hooked it up to my laptop and pezza's there was something wrong with the drivers and i couldn't get the pics onto the computer.  next i tried pics with my video camera - wow did those turn out BAD!!!!  finally i sat down with my phone and emailed the pics as attachments to myself so i have something to show you today!!! i  am thinking the phone camera is probably about as good as a cheapy point n shoot anyway :P

my project today stems from the challenge on Art Journal Cafe - it is a color challenge from Design Seeds:

so pretty i couldn't resist!

my page also comes with a fun announcement - i have been chosen to be on the design team for a long time friend, Della, at I Brake For Stamps!!!!  i have loved and used her stamps for years and they are right up my mixed media alley!

after i wet my page and added swaths of Twinkling H2Os and some saran wrap stamped Silver Silks to the background i was ready for some stamping.  i used several different stamps from the Floral and Leaves Plate.  want to order these and more fab stamps for your collection?  Use the code SAVE10MARTI and you will get 10% off of your order!

i supplemented with a few scratchy flowers of my own and then i added some grungeboard flowers i painted with the same Silver Silks.

i just love all of that gorgeous luminarte shimmer!

the page is for pezza - i posted awhile back about my battle with depression and about trying to get off the meds i had been on because i was tired of feeling nothing.  the road has been quite rough but i think it is finally leveling out and i am enjoying pezza so much more!  i continue to be amazed at the problems that are disappearing too - healthwise.  unbelievable!