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 .

Featured Artist - Lina Monaco

Please welcome Featured Artist Lina Monaco to the blog today.  She has really been inspiring us on the Artsy Addicts Facebook page lately with gorgeous layout designs. I know you guys are going to love her post today. Make sure you visit her blog for more inspiration: http://sweetnothingspaperco.blogspot.com/  and don't forget to leave her some comment love here.....


Hi Friends!
Thanks for stopping by today!

My name is Lina and I am a craft-a-holic...LOL! I am simply an every and anything craft lover. I have been crafting since I was a child and scrapbooking for about 10 or 11 years now. Needless to say, I am addicted! I don't have a particular style and I notice that what I create can change day to day depending on my mood. I know what I like though... I like clean lines, I like colour, and I like clean, concise work. That's my goal every time I sit down to create.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and lived there for the majority of my life except for a couple years ago when my hubby and I moved to a suburb of Toronto, about 25 minutes away.

In October of 2013, hubs and I welcomed our first child, Alessandra to the world. She's brought such joy to our lives and we are truly blessed! She's the love of our lives and being a mommy to her has given my life such purpose and meaning!

I love to curl up on the couch and watch movies with the love of my life, my daughter and my two puppies Romeo & Jackson. Romeo is my first "real" pet and was a gift from my hubby. He is a black Shih-Poo, 8 years old and has a teddy bear face. He's one of the smartest dogs you'll ever meet! Jackson is still a puppy and is 4 years old. He is a white Bichon-Shih Tzu mix and the happiest of puppies...especially when he chases his tail and finally catches it!

Today, I'd like to share a shadow box layout I created of my daughter at 6 weeks. I am really a random person and rarely stick to one collection or paper crafting company. I like to use what works. For the layout, I used a lovely piece of Prima Songbird paper called "Title-it". I've been hoarding this piece for a while and thought now would be a great time to use it ;) I also used, in terms of paper, Pink Paislee, London Market, Addington. In the background, I used a large white paper doily in the far back to create a soft, feminine backdrop for the papers and photo.

Embellishing was easy as pie... I used some Kaiser Craft Die cuts in Charlotte's Dream and MME, The Sweetest Thing, Lavender Stickers. To finish the entire piece off, I used many IAR mulberry flowers and leaves along with some crocheted flowers. Arranged within the flower cluster and in the top right hand corner I added a lace hand tied bow.

I think that the over all look of my piece is girly and feminine, shabby chic, but modern at the same time.

The frame itself, I left alone. I just really liked the black wood it's made of and thought it complemented the over all shabby chic look of my layout.

I would like to sincerely thank the Artsy Addicts Team for asking me to be a part of such a wonderful blog, even if it's for just a day :) It was an absolute pleasure and I am honoured beyond words!

Thanks again for stopping by. I appreciate you :)


http://sweetnothingspaperco.blogspot.com/

March Challenge Showcase

Hi everyone, in March I challenged members of the Artsy Addicts Facebook group to use purple to create a project.  I gave them this mood board as a reference.

 

 

 

I'm excited to Showcase the work of these amazing artists who graciously accepted my challenge, and inspire us daily with their talent! 

 

  Arantzazu Sangrador

 

 

Ava Gavloski

 

 

Joanna Grant

 

 

Kimberly Kay Pfeiffer

 

 

Lynne Erskine Forsythe

 

 

Maggie Fernandez

 

 

Neetu Art Works

 

 

Peggy Lee Baker

 

 

Sarah Lynch

 

 

 

Song Li

 

 

 

Tara Ashley Peterson Age

 

 

 

Tonya A. Gibbs

 

 

 

 

Tracy Scott

 

 

Walkiria Celada Cajal

 

 

Thank you to everyone for embracing the challenge, and to some of you for stepping outside your comfort zone.  We have all  enjoyed seeing your shares through out the month. I hope that each of you have been equally inspired.

 

 

Don't forget to subscribe while you are here!

Thanks for stopping in today!

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com 

These pieces were published with permission by their respective artists.  All rights are reserved.

Feature Artist Guest Post - Katie Zoey Ho

 

Hello Artsy Addicts,

I'm Katie from this tiny tropical country of Singapore, surrounded with lots of greeneries; widely known as the green city. Blissfully married, we lived in a small apartment away from downtown area where we enjoy peace and fresh air together with our little pots of plants and herbs. I started paper crafting as young as 3 years old, mainly in cutting and folding of papers. The start of all addictions in getting artsy and crafty was in the year 2008 when I discovered what scrapbooking is all about in one of my local craft stores. That's where my crafty journey begins... But due to various commitments in my career, as well as my wedding preparation and house renovation, I stopped crafting coming to 4 years... When I lost my job last August at my career's most prime stage, it occurred to me life is just too short to strive so hard to climb up the corporate ladder. I was earning a living, not living a life. At that very point (since I've too much time to spare), I decided to get myself crafty again. I re-learn and pick up skills all over again after losing touch with the scrapping community for so long... Being a self-taught artist, I explore beyond paper crafting and love to create works that will encourage and inspire. Love everything that's artsy, shabby, vintage, grunge and beautiful, I enjoy creating, designing and love to play with different elements and art mediums to give dimensions and depth to my projects. As of current I'm a Resident Designer at The Art Republic (AR); a small craft studio in Singapore where I design, teach and inspire...

I got to know about Artsy Addicts through one of the scrappers on FB, and that's where I decided to join the group to inspire and get inspired. I'm so glad to know my recent Botanical Tea altered clock project has inspired quite a number of people, which led Tonya & Peggy from the Artsy Addicts Team to send me an invitation to be a Featured Artist!!! Thanks for this wonderful opportunity and it's my pleasure to be featured and share my creations with everyone. Over here, I'm going to share more about this project together with another altered clock project as well, showing what you can do to transform a plain Ikea clock into a piece of Art...

 

You can easily purchase this RUSCH wall clock for less than $2 at your nearest Ikea store, which is the one I used for my altered clock projects. The initial idea was to upcycle the clock as the face of the clock in AR's studio was badly torn instead of thrashing it away. Hence the revived look of this clock.

 

 

I started off by removing the plastic front cover and the hands of the clock, and gesso them to prime the surface. To match the papers I intended to use, I decided to create a chocolate-minty vintage look. Using a mix of latte and chocolate as the base colors and mint as the top coat, I created this weather-worn out look with the aid of weather crackle paint in between.

 

 

On the inside, I used a mix of latte and chocolate paints, applying strokes of contrasting paints to create a shabby worn out look. To add some depth, I apply the surfaces lightly with a small amount of gold metallic paint. Once I was happy with the entire look, I sealed it with some PU gloss varnish before embellishing.

 

 

So this was the fun part; choosing the elements to embellish the clock. I love the feel of having a cup of hot tea in the garden where you are surrounded with lovely flowers and fluttering butterflies. To bring this idea out, I specifically fussy cut all the roses and flowers to create this huge floral bush surrounding this huge teapot and embedded this whimsical lady inside. To make the butterfly "fly", I adhered one of them onto the second hand. As the hand moves around the clock, it gives an illusion that it is fluttering around the garden...

 

 

Here is the list of supplies for this project:

• Gesso
• Docrafts Artiste All Purpose Acrylic Paint (Latte)
• Martha Stewart Satin Acrylic Paint (Mint)
• Daler-Rowney Heavy Body Acrylic Paint (Burnt Umber & Metallic Gold)
• Martha Steward Weather Crackle Effect Medium
• Americiana Duraclear PU Gloss Varnish
• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Papers (Botanical Tea, Fauna & Sweet Chamomile)

For the other altered clock project, using similar way in altering I created this By the Sea clock by using a different color scheme and elements. For this, I used contrasting colors; blue on the outside and orange red on the inside of the clock. I added some yellow to tone down the red so that the colors will blend well together. To create this by the seaside, on the beach feel I actually added some twigs and twine ropes on the clock.

 

For a comparison, I used white glue to create the crackle effect instead of any commercial crackle medium which is easily achievable and it's much cost effective. If you're on a budget, this option will be a perfect solution. How much you want to "crack" depends on how much glue you apply. The thicker the layer, the deeper the crack and vice versa. You will need to apply the top coat of paint quickly before the glue dries up. The best time to apply is when the glue starts to get tacky. This is crucial or else you won't be able to achieve the effect especially for finer cracks as the glue will tend to dry up faster.

 

 

Once again, I fussy cut almost all the seashells from the paper for embellishments. To give the clock a more on the beach feel, I added some glitter over the seashells. And this completes the look!!!

 

Here is the list of supplies for this project:

• Gesso
• Ceramcoat Acrylic Paints as base coats (Morocan Red & Navy Blue)
• Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint (Butter Yellow)
• Martha Stewart Satin & Gloss Acrylic Paints as top coats(Pond & Gernium)
• Elmer's Glue All Multi-purpose Glue
• Americiana Duraclear PU Gloss Varnish
• Ranger Frosted Lace Glitter Sticklers  
• Graphic 45 By the Sea Papers (By the Sea & Splash)

I hope you've enjoyed what I've shared over here. Do drop by my blog for more inspirations... Give it a try and trust me you will see upcycling via altering a different way... 

Have a lovely day ahead... Good luck and have fun!!!
 

http://www.katsignerscrapbookingcafe.blogspot.com
 

Featured Artist: Athanasia Me and Myself

Hello!

I am very happy to be hosted here, thank you so much for the invitation!

My name is Athanasia, I live in Greece, I have a 5 years old daughter, a 5 months old son and a very supportive and understanding husband. I am a music teacher in elementary school and in my spare time, when I am not playing the piano, I love making handicrafts, felting, altering things and of course scrapbooking.

My love for arts and my cultural worries pushes me constantly into researching and producing new ways of expression and creativeness. My first steps into scrapbooking began with some videos on YouTube. I can't remember exactly what I was looking for, but out of nowhere I run into a 'how-to' video for making a mini album. And that was it! I started searching for more related tutorials (I love watching and learning new techniques) and on the very next day I found myself surrounded by papers and scissors making my first mini album. It has been 3 years since then and although I took a year's brake (due to my pregnancy) now I am back.

I love scrapbooking because it combines such a vast deposit of media types with memories of my life and my family. Inspiration always derives from the photograph I use and the open choice of combination of mixed media techniques. I love to use gesso, mists and stamps and I love tearing papers! Through scraping I think I have found the best way to express myself and exploit my spare time in the best way.

Today I am going to show to you 3 of my favorite techniques that I love doing on my scrapbook pages.

Tearing pages from an old book. I love to create layouts composed by yellowed pages that have been torn from old books. Ι tear them in pieces and place them around my photo in order to create a frame. In my most recent layouts I use pages from an old chemistry book that a good friend of mine found dumped on the street!

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2013/02/my-best-friend-and-surprise.html

2.Stamping and masking with gesso or modeling paste. After I glue the paper chunks, Ι choose the stamps and masks that best fit to the photo's subject. Firstly,I remove the photo from the working area and I stamp randomly around the photo's space with several stamps, then I mask with gesso on the stamps. Sometimes, when the gesso gets dry, I restamp over it to create a connection between the different media. After the stamping, the photo is placed back in position and I choose the embellishments that fits into the theme.

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2013/01/beautiful-moments.html

3.Altering embellishments and chipboard pieces. I like altering things, a common practice in my scrapbook projects. I like to cut into pieces all the flowers, stickers and chipboard elements, so as to give them new and unique shape. I then stamp on them, gesso them, or both. In my opinion this gives character and style to my work.

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2014/02/my-boy.html

Now it's time to show you a bonus tutorial for you. I have created a simple layout with few embellishments following these three steps!

I place the photo, the torn vintage pages chunks ans the big embellishments that are going to be used in my layout.

I remove the photo and start stamping.

More stamps!

Time for masking with gesso...

I place the painted and stamped chipboard pieces, I do some doodling around the tags and stickers, a little misting at the end and that's it!

I hope you liked my work and my little tips.

For more details and closeups please visit my blog: http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/

and don't forget to check on my channel on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/athanasiapap/videos?flow=grid&view=0




Athanasia