"JUNQUE GYPSY" TAG AND ATC SWAPS

I'm hosting two "Junque Gypsy" swaps on the Creative Block-Stampers Anonymous Yahoo Group which are due in my mailbox on or before August 31.  Since I already have lots of "junque", I thought this would be a fun way to use some of my ribbons, fringe, and embellishments.  I can't wait to see what the other swappers come up with because I know everyone has lots of wonderful "junque" just siting in their craft spaces waiting to be used.  Part of the fun of any swap for me is the hunting and searching for just the right pieces to compose my pieces.  In my quest for more "junque", I found some wonderful already rusted pieces on small wooden bird houses that Michael's was selling on clearance for 20 cents each (there were two rusty pieces on some of them - I took off the rusty pieces to use in the swap and will turn the small birdhouses into creepy Halloween houses later this fall).  Super bargains!  Then I decided to hand dye some silk torn into strips and some white silk ribbon I had on hand with some fun colors (using Jacquard's Dye-Na-Flow fabric dyes - about $4 a bottle).  The colors I chose were Sulphur Green, Brick and Burnt Umber.  I forgot how much I loved this easy-to-use, colorfast dye available at most art supply stores.  May play with it on paper and card stock in the future.  Next great find on my treasure hunting expedition was bouquets of black silk roses with two spooky spiders for just $1 per bouquet at our local Dollar Tree.  Bought several for upcoming Halloween swaps - one can never have too much Halloween "junque" in my opinion!

Black Silk Roses

Dyed Silk Ribbons

"LIFE'S A BEACH" 5"X 7" CANVAS SWAP

I hosted a "Life's A Beach" canvas swap on the Artchix Sisters Yahoo Group, and here's my canvas using an Artchix mermaid collage element on my hand painted background.  I used Golden Acrylics for the first layer (also Golden's Glass Bead Gel for the bumpy areas), spread ultra matte gel medium over all for the second layer, and then added subtle shadings and highlights using Portfolio brand water soluable oil pastels.  I next added another layer of ultra matte gel over the entire canvas so my mermaid and fish collage sheet pieces would stick (glue doesn't adhere well over any oil-based products) and also added a digital seaweed collage element from Deviant Scrap's Mermaidens digital kit.  One final layer of ultra matte gel medium along with a seashell completed the piece which I'm sending to my swap partner right on time today.

Hand Drawn Painted Canvas

"Sometimes She Felt Like A Fish Out of Water"

ATC'S FOR VARIOUS SWAPS

Recent ATC's include:

Paperarts Group - Australia - Textile ATC

"Gypsy" Fortuneteller - Art 42

True Colors - Hot Pink & Orange - Art 42

Digital kits used to create these ATC's are from Deviant Scrap www.deviantscrap.com.

Nick Bantock Postcard Swap - Round Two

Here's my digital postcard using Photoshop CS3 for a Nick Bantock Postcard Swap I'm hosting on Art 42 www.artfortytwo.org.  There are only a few of us in the swap, but those who are playing love Nick Bantock's style www.nickbantock.com.  He's my very favorite collage artist, and below is my take on his style.  While most of the details on my postcard come from digital images, there is the addition of two stamped images.  I love these colors.

Nick Bantock Postcard Swap #2 - Art Forty-Two

 Digital images are from various kits available on Deviant Scrap www.deviantscrap.com.

Painting With Paintshop Pro

Below is a stamped ATC (Fig. 1) I created for a grungy ATC swap on All Things Tim Yahoo Group.  I then imported my ATC into a program called Paintshop Pro, "painted" portions of the image and then used a Gouache filter in Fig. 2.  Changes the look totally - will be playing a bit more with the technique for future swaps as there are hundreds of ways to play in this program.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

DANCING RUBBER FISH

I recently took a class from Fred Mullett called "Dancing Rubber Fish."  Fred sells a large variety of fish stamps and nature print stamps which work well with the techniques that he has originated and developed.  Below are the fish prints I created at his class.  This technique uses varying shades of (opaque and transparent) embossing powders and then filling in the fish with varying shades of watercolors. (See below for a brief description of Fred's process.)

Fish No. 1

Fish No. 2

Fish No. 3

Technique:  Stamp an image using a pigment ink stamp pad and QUICKLY PLACE BLACK EMBOSSING POWDER ON THE TOP PORTION; using a pipette (straw), “draw” a thicker dividing line across the fish using a BRIGHTLY COLORED OPAQUE EMBOSSING POWDER; the rest of the fish

gets a LIGHT COVERING OF TRANSLUCENT EMBOSSING POWDER.   Shake (do not pour) a VERY LIGHT DUSTING OF CLEAR EMBOSSING POWDER OVER EVERYTHING.  "Dance" (tap) your fingers under the stamped image to mix all the powders a bit. Heat with your heat gun till all embossing powders are melted.  Shake off excess (there should be very little excess as all embossing powders are used sparingly).  Add color with any watercolor media.  Fred’s nature print stamps are designed specifically for his technique and work best. (For more techniques and to order Fred's stamps, go to Fred's website.

And One More Valentine ATC Swap

Here's my ATC for Deviantscrap's February trade (using Greg's Anatomy and Ode to A Muse 2 digital kits):

Do Not Crush

Birthday Canvas for a Friend

I just created the following digital piece for my friend's birthday - I am adhering it to a small canvas along with some Chinese writings on the edge and then am beeswaxing the entire piece.  She loves Asian and I know she will place this in her newly-created art studio.  The finished piece will measure 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" - digital kit is from www.deviantscrap.com.

Three Muses

On the back of the piece, I wrote:  He who see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, have no fun.

Steampunk Tarot Card Swap

This is my very first "large" digital endeavor - 62 layers worth of images sized and assembled for my "Seven of Canes."  All I have left to do is write the text for the back and then make 78 copies onto card stock.  I in turn will receive 78 original pieces of art from the participating artists - size is 3.5" x 5."  Should be a great tarot deck when everyone has mailed their pieces.

Seven of Canes