Guess Who is Guesting?

Happy to be the guest poster today on Balzer Designs, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog. I am a sucker for numbered posts - you know top 10 this and 7 reasons for that. So head on over to find my list of 5 tips to finish off and integrate your collage.

The Week Links: 69

Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.

And here is Week 69...

Pantone's top 10 fashion colors for Spring 2016. Will they also be evident in the art world?

The 26 best art museums in the United States according to Time Out New York.

A blog is only dead when you are. Thoughts from Holly Becker of Decor8 that every blogger should read.

Anemones from Elena Nuez at Bicocacolors. What a lush, gorgeous palette.

Observations from Diana Trout.

More Joseph Cornell. A recent repost of a review of his 1967 show at The Guggenheim.

Want more links to love? Kelley Fewer shares her favorite links every Sunday too.

Surface Texture

The Week Links: 68

Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.

And here is Week 68...

Dawn Sokol (author of A World of Artist Journal Pages) shares her thoughts behind art journaling and why everybody should journal.

8 abstract watercolor techniques.

Hundreds of vintage books transformed into giant illustrated murals by Ekaterina Panikanova.

Loving these art journal pages from Karen Michel.

Thrilled to finds out that Lisa Hoffman is in the process of designing her own very cool stickers and stamps.

Nathalie Kalbach shares her newest Art Tapas (bite-sized video tip) on brush care.

Excited to see my own mixed media artwork (plus step-by-step instructions) featured on the Stampington & Company website

Life: Documented

I am thrilled to be part of the 2015 lineup of featured artists in the Documented Life Project. 

If this is new to you, click here for a short video that explains it all.

The theme for the month of September is Journaling with Photos, the art challenge is Silhouettes, and the prompt is There is no shadow without the light. It is up to the participating artist to interpret these any way at all.

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Here is how it was done

I knew that I wanted to create in my current journal and I had a specific photo in mind at the start.


When I first started this journal, I painted black gesso on every page. The backgrounds, including this one,  are created pretty organically -- marked and painted along the way as I create other art.

While I understand the symbolic meaning of the quote, I chose a photo that interpreted it a bit more literally. I took this picture in Venice when I was there maybe 10 years ago. I thought that the shadows and reflections in it suited this project very well. I hand altered the photo using an awl, sandpaper, and dye ink.

Since the quote for this project focused on both light and shadow, I decided to add some brightness to the dark background with some sprays and splatters of acrylic paint. 

I have no clue how this picture was taken...but it definitely shows my process!

The art challenge this week for the project is silhouettes. I decided to create a simple silhouette of a face by cutting out the outline on painted watercolor paper.

The fun really began at that point as I dug into my stash of painted paper, ephemera and collage material and made this mess. 

I went with my creative gut, chose a bunch of pieces -- many of which were small scraps which most people (other than us) would have thrown away along time ago -- and began layering. Once the collage was completed and adhered to the journal page, I outlined much of it with a black Stabilo pencil, added some stamping, and splattered a bit more acrylic paint to finish it off.

When I was done, Look My Way was born.

Library of Memories

Join me for a very special 3-day workshop called Library of Memories taking place at Art is You Santa Rosa in April 2016. Registration is now open and details can be found here.

Mixology 101.5

Mixology 101

Mixology 101.5

This series of pop-up posts will focus on sharing ways in which I combine hand made art with commercial products. Since becoming a blogger for Spellbinders in 2013, I have had the opportunity to explore many supplies coming from the craft industry and to learn how to put my own twist on them as I add them into my artwork. The posts in this series may focus on completed art, process, product, and/or any other aspect of mixed media. So put the mix in the media and let's get creative...

DIY Letterpress Printing

Letterpress Printing, a process developed in the 15th century, is a form of relief printing where inked text or designs are deeply impressed into paper. The letterpress process traditionally uses a letterpress machine and wood or metal type - making it largely inaccessible as a DIY for most people. 

 But did you know that you can use embossing folders and a die cutting machine to create the look?

To demonstrate this technique, I am using the Spellbinders Basket Weave 3D M-Bossabilities Folder.

Using a piece of cardstock, I ran the folder through Spellbinders Grand Calibur Die Cutting & Embossing Machine and ended up with a deeply etched design, as you can see from the image of the embossed cardstock below. 

I wish you were able to run your fingers over the surface to really see how dimensional the paper has become.

In order to letterpress, you simply need to rub the surface of an inkpad across the raised side of the double-sided embossing folder before you insert your paper and run it through your machine. I have found that pigment ink works best, as it remains wet for quite some time on the slick surface of the folder. For this demo, I used the Teal Zeal Memento Luxe pigment ink from Imagine Crafts.

The ink sits in the grooves while the surface remains the original color of the paper.

Here is another example using Spellbinders Noble Rook 3D M-Bossabilities Folder.

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Spellbinders has generously provided my blog readers with a special code to use between now and 9/19 that will enable you to buy one embossing folder and to get another one free. Click here to and enter the code SETHEMBOSS. 

Crossing Paths

Crossing Paths. Something I do with all of you so very often online. And sometimes, when I am lucky, even in person.

Thrilled that my artwork and my stamp line from Impression Obsession are being featured as a free, how-to project on the website of Stampington & Company. Their online shop is also now selling several of the stamp sets I used to make this art (and they are at a 10% discount for the week as well). 

Click here to see more pics, check out the supply list, and follow along as I share step-by-step how this piece was created.

The Week Links: 67

Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.

And here is Week 67...

Inside Joseph Cornell's Studio: pics and text from the exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The "I Could Do That" phenomenon: an art curator responds to this common statement from art viewers in a wonderful video (thanks to Susan McCarrell for the link)

Loving the playful and colorful 3D paper art from Zim&Zou originally seen here on Creative Boom.

And speaking of Creative Boom, check out their essential colour guide for designers. It's a good one.

Judy Wise painted on the same canvas every day for a month. Check out the fascinating evidence here.

Traci Bautista shares a video tour of her art journals and shares her process of making her books.

And speaking of video journal journeys, Martice Smith III takes us through a journal flip in 1 minute 8 seconds.

Mixology 101.4

Mixology 101

Mixology 101.4

This series of pop-up posts will focus on sharing ways in which I combine hand made art with commercial products. Since becoming a blogger for Spellbinders in 2013, I have had the opportunity to explore many supplies coming from the craft industry and to learn how to put my own twist on them as I add them into my artwork. The posts in this series may focus on completed art, process, product, and/or any other aspect of mixed media. So put the mix in the media and let's get creative...

Live and Let Die

 Today's post is about thinking outside of the die. Traditionally, a die is used to cut paper (or other material) to a specific shape or design by running it through a die cutting machine. As the machine applies pressure, the blade on the die cuts the paper to the desired shape. There are, however, many alternate ways to use a die that will allow you to bring an added level of unique creativity to your work and allow you to make it your own.

I am using Spellbinders Grate Effect die to demonstrate a few of the many things you can do with die cutting.

First, here is what the die cut looks like when used as originally intended. I cut hand painted paper and mounted it on another sheet of paper, painted in a contrasting color.

I love this but it is only the beginning of what can be done.

One simple way to make a die cut unique is to cut it up and only use certain sections, often in a way that was not intended by the original design.

I outlined the inside of each small section with a black pencil to make the designs pop even further.

One of my favorite techniques is to use the part of the die cut that falls out and is often discarded. 

Much like sequin waste (the stencil-like sheets that are leftover after sequins are cut), this die waste can be put to good use.

 I love that when you use the drop-off, ANY die all of the sudden becomes MANY dies.

There are many ways to use a die that don't even involve cutting - the action that dies are born to do. As part of a background that I have started on this piece,  I used the die as a template. I started by sketching around the inside of the shapes with a white gel pen, deliberately only outlining a few of the shapes.

 I then filled in the shapes using Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Big Brush pens, first with white and then with a green gold.

The die can also be used as a stencil. You can choose to use the actual metal die itself as the stencil or cut a separate stencil using the die and heavy cardstock or other material. If you use the actual die, remember to immediately wash your die to remove the paint or paste.

 For this background, I  premixed Golden Fiber Paste with paint and applied it through the holes in the die using a palette knife.

There are many more ways to use a die, limited only by your imagination. Feel free to share in the comments the ways in which you think outside the die.

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Spellbinders has generously provided my blog readers with a special code that can be used to save 20% off items in their online shop (doesn't include shipping, tax, or machines). Head to their store and use code 20OFFSA.