Featured Artist ReNae Allen

Please welcome Featured Artist ReNae Allen  to the blog today.  She has really been inspiring us on the Artsy Addicts Facebook page lately with gorgeous card designs. I know you guys are going to love her post today. Make sure you visit her blog for more inspiration: www.crabtree-creations.blogspot.com and don't forget to leave her some comment love here.....

 

 

My name is ReNae Allen and I LOVE to create! As a child, I would beg my mother to buy me crayons, watercolor paints, and Play-Doh. I was always happiest if I was making something! I'm a lot older now, but that love has only grown!

About five years ago, my daughter Ashley took me into a stamp store and I immediately caught the paper crafting bug!  The first card I ever made was a Christmas card. I used some paper from Graphic 45, old  buttons, and vintage lace, and my shabby style was born!  I still make cards that same way, using lots of interesting elements to add texture and interest.


 



My First Card

Whether I'm stamping the focal image myself or using a pre-made image, I always begin making the card with the image first. The next thing I do is find coordinating papers that play well with it. I'll take papers that look good together, and I'll set them on the table along with all the other embellishments and I start playing around, throwing things together to see what looks best. It's not an exact science, and I never know what I'll end up with. I let the paper, buttons and lace do the work.

Just start playing

 

 When I design I've always used the "rule of three" which is having three different areas on my project where the eye can rest before moving to the next place. This makes the card more pleasing to the viewer as it guides the viewer's eye across the page. The other design element I love to use is texture. I use a variety of textures on my projects from shiny gemstones that sparkle and catch the light, to soft or scratchy fabrics. Layering also adds a lot of texture to a project. Popping a focal image up on pop-dots, and layering the paper are two great ways to add texture and dimension.

Love You Card

For today's cards, I used Penny Black stamps, and Tombow and Memento markers to ink them up, then sprayed a water mist on the inked stamp, before stamping them on to watercolor paper. (I have a step by step tutorial on my blog, using this technique: http://crabtree-creations.blogspot.com/2014/05/stamping-with-watercolor-markers.html Once I stamped my images, I built the cards around them using all the goodies I could find, -- I even made stick pins!



Happy Birthday

close up

Orange Tulips

 

Close Up

 

Happy Everything

   

Close up

I hope you like the cards I created today as I had a lot of fun making them! I appreciate Tonya and Peggy's invitation to be a guest designer on Artsy Addicts. It is such a great place to be inspired, and to inspire others, Everyone is so supportive at Artsy Addicts and it's a very positive and creative environment!  

I just want to add that the most important thing about designing any project is that you make something that YOU like. Don't worry too much about what anyone else thinks!

 

Creating  what makes YOU happy is perhaps
the most important design element of all.

 

Supplies Used in Todays Project: ("Embellish" Patterned paper: Darice, Cards and pearls: Recollections, Colored cardstock: Bazzill, Lace: Webster's Pages, Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts.)

You can see more of ReNae's cards, projects and tutorials on her blog at
 www.crabtree-creations.blogspot.com .