Happy Holidays!

I made this one last card for the season to say happy holidays to my many blogging friends.  Today is Solstice and my community started celebrating the cycle of more daylight last evening with fireworks.  I hope all your holiday celebrations are sparkling in a way that is wonderful for you!

The card's background is water stamped with a HA diamond background stamp. Watercoloring with distress inks adds layers to the stamped images. Splattered acrylic ink, gold lame spray,  icy white pearl pen and distressed edges create lots of added dimension. 

Reminder:  Mixed Media Card Challenge is open until  December 25, 11:55 p.m. PST (GMT -800).


Peaceful Wishes! 
...Jan

A HOME Made Christmas

This month's Mixed Media Card Challenge theme is home and an
option of lace. The theme is very broad. For me home includes home
made Christmas gifts. Over the years I have enjoyed making ornaments to share a few of my recent favorite techniques with a few stamping friends who also love techniques.

When I read that Virginia's View Challenge this month is "all things distressed" I knew my ornament would contain lots of distressing and could serve as the focal point of a card.  The card serves as the means to present my ornament to my friends.  Here is my first ornament card for the season.

I began with the ornament's base.  I tore apart a flap from a box waiting to be recycled.  Roughly tearing off the top layer of paper resulted in a the textured piece of corrugated cardboard to which I added white acrylic paint and mica snowflakes. The large snowflake is an acrylic skin and here is a link to my photo tutorial.

Behind the snowflake is a watercolor background stamped with Stampendous holiday sentiments.  The background is misted with Perfect Pearls in broken china ink and larger gold dots are made with Heidi Swapp's gold lame spray. The edges are distress with ink and frayed with a distress tool.  A watercolored bird is created with a Memory Box die cut.  A  gold pipe cleaner across the top was formed into a hanger for the ornament. 

The card base is watercolored with distress stains and water stamped (no ink just misted water on stamp).  I used a Hero Arts diamond pattern background. I felt the diamond pattern would compliment the pattern of the snowflake tips.  Well that is open for interpretation since the misted water on my stamp created some of it's own shapes. On the left side of the card is a loosely woven jute "ribbon".  I like the unusual texture it provides. I distressed the sentiment banner and chose a sentiment filling for all my stamping pals.

Thanks Virginia for another fun challenge and bringing guests to share their knowledge and inspiration!

Remember Mixed Media Card Challenge is open until Dec 25! 
Have fun getting inky!...Jan

December Mixed Media Card Challenge

 Winter Wonderland

The December challenge theme at Mixed Media Card Challenge is Home with the optional element of lace.
 

Holiday Wishes to my stamping friends!

 

Our winter days here in northern Alaska are filled with the magic of everything frosted and sparkling with ice crystals. And as every tree bough is filled with snow it feels like one is living in a Christmas card scene. For this month's challenge I want to share the brightness the snow brings to my home during this month when our days provide less than 4 hours of daylight.

 

 

The background began with stamped archival ink to color a flourish stamp and then distress ink colors the wave stencil (Memory Box). I used a baby wipe to move color onto the wave areas. And for the top layer I use a dotted circle stencil (ColorBox) with texture paste. 

 

The snow scene is stamped with archival ink (potting soil). A white charcoal pencil creates the look of layers of snow over the background and stardust glimmer is added. Layers of frost white acrylic paint added depth to the snow. A 2nd cabin is stamped and added on top the first for additional dimension. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

Creating Acrylic Skins

This snowflake is created with an acrylic skin.  It is a very thin layer of colorful plastic I created to die cut these snowflakes. This is my 4^rd acrylic skin and since some have asked for photos I will share  the basic details to help you get started.

Supplies:

Acrylics-either glossy or mat products will work and products can be either white or transparent.  Products like PVA white glue and gel mediums can be used successfully for the base.  Since I had Golden Clear Tar Gel Medium on hand that is what I used.  Acrylic paints or acrylic inks can be used to color the medium. 

Working surface-the skin will take on texture from the surface.  Cheap plastic wrap, freezer wrap or glass will work.  I use an old stained craft sheet and attach it to a cardboard base with masking tape for so I can move it easily .

Tools-texture tools such as skewers, toothpicks, plastic fork.

Basic steps:

Close-up of gel medium in center of  8x12 craft mat

I pour a puddle of medium on the craft sheet.  I tilt the cardboard to speed along the process of the medium spreading into a thinner layer.

 

 


I add drops of paint.

 Since I am using a transparent gel the foggy
looking gel throughout this skin will dry crystal
clear.

 

 

 

Here I added white pearl paint along with other colors and pull the colors through the medium.

I tilt the position of my skin vertically “to help” the medium spread across the surface.  Okay, that's my creative energy-I love to play with goo! 

When I'm satisfied with the look I make a few more additions. Here I add gold paint and some gold embossing powder.  Micro seed beads or other small elements may also be added. It generally takes mine an overnight to dry but climate variables can change the drying time considerably.

Here is my final skin with it's transparent base. It is “tissue paper” thin. The "yellow" is actual gold which is seen in the snowflake.

Using a skin in paper crafting:  So far I discovered the joy of die cutting shapes from my skins for use on cards. Metal framelits work well.  But punches do not.  l cut a piece of the skin and white typing paper the general shape of the die and  lay them together on the die with the paper next to the die. The paper helps with the release of the skin from the die as well as providing a means to handle the skin.  I attach the paper and skin to my card to provide a bright background for the colors to show their best. 

 I have not yet determined how to make the best use of the transparent quality other than stamping with archival ink on the back.  Stamped images are very clear but of course they are reversed.

Leftover skin pieces-flat storage is essential. If pieces fold-over onto themselves it is next to impossible to get them apart.  And for my already complex colors-double the look is way too much.

I can’t wait to see your skins!  Please let me hear from you so I can stop by and share in your experience.

I also hope you to see you playing in the mixed media card challenge!

Thanks for stopping in!
....Jan