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/

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 Pepi Valderrama

 

My name is Pepi and I love mixed media art. I started drawing when I was in high school, but I stopped in Uni. Then I took it again while living in Japan. Since living in Japan my style and the color palette I usually use has changed considerably. I got lots of influences from the Japanese culture as well from northern European countries. I also write, create decks and amigurumi (crochetted puppets). I guess that one of the reasons to become crafty has been the will to create cute things. In Japan I was in contact with very talented people who created really cute stuff (drawings, puppets, great art, etc). Since my hands cannot really be still, it was just a matter of discovering which was my favorite medium. And I found it, mixed media. I can mix anything and everything! And it makes me feel free and complete. I just love it!

My blog & store:
blog: http://depepi.com

store: http://store.depepi.com
tv channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/depepitv/videos (here I upload a video with a whimsy each week)

I like to create whimsies: little funny dolls with big eyes and tiny bodies. This time I created a white bunny whimsy Alice. One of my favorite tales is Alice in Wonderland. I have created a Lenormand deck just for Alice, and today I decided to turn her into a funny white bunny. One of the symbols for March are bunnies! And since they also welcome Spring, I thought it would be awesome if we followed a cute white bunny. Are you up for it?
 
To create your own Whimsy Alice you need the following:

• Caran d'Ache Watersoluble Neocolors II. You can use the colors you like the most. I used skin color, salmon, orange, raspberry red, light blue, turquoise blue, and turquoise.
• Acrylics: snow white
• Faber Castell: black B pen.
• Scrapbooking paper
• White glue
• Stencils
• Dylusions Spray Ink: dirty martiny (green)
• Sakura Stamp
• Versa Magic, cloud white (chalk ink pad)
• Cretacolor monolith 9B pencil
• Pilot parallel pens: 2.4mm and 3.8mm
• Brushes of different sizes (0, 4, 6) to paint the different parts in the drawing.

You don't need to use exactly the same things that I used. You can change them for different art supplies that you love. I highly recommend you to use Pilot parallel pens for the writing. They are awesome and fun to use. (But, again, you don't really need to if you don't want to).

 

 Whimsies have big heads, big eyes, tiny fatty bodies and funny poses. You can create your whimsies with different attributes, but in general, features are exaggerated. They are meant to be fun and appealing for children. They awaken the inner child in adults, while make children giggle. They live in a dreamworld of colors and bizarre objects. This time, the target is to draw a bunny Alice in Dreamland.

 

Drawing whimsies also helps you to recover your inner child. If you create your art, or your crafty items while listening to cute or relaxing music, your artwork becomes astounding. Let your hand be guided by your heart when choosing the colors you like the most for your artwork. I tend to use bright colors more than darker ones. There are no mistakes, really. Whimsies are fun and easy to make. In the whimsy world everything is whimsical. Let yourself be guided and you'll find the mojo to create awesome art.

 

 

 

 

You can use the whimsies to create personalized postcards for your friends, or create wonderful little presents with paper. Awesome for birthdays and ATC swaps, or funny when found in your art journal. 

 

Thanks for stopping in today!

Pepi Valderrama

 

• Blog: http://depepi.com
• About me: http://about.me/depepi
• Books: http://www.amazon.com/author/depepi
• Twitter: @depepi

Feautured Artist: Rochelle ~ Madame Ro





Hola! Artsy Addict Divas… 

I am super excited and over the moon about being asked to be a featured guest on this blog. If you could see through your computer screen right now you would see me doing my happy girl groove...lol Thank you ladies so much for allowing me this great opportunity, I am very appreciative!

Well if you are wondering who I am my name is Rochelle, but I have another person that lives in my head and she goes by the name of Madame Ro - my creative alter ego. By day, I live as Rochelle who is an eccentric, down to earth, photographer/graphic designer & single mother of a beautiful one-year-old son- Cameron Jordan.  Rochelle is the more responsible, level-headed, and organized one.  By night, after the bambino takes his trip to la la land, Madame Ro comes out and wrecks creative havoc and causes colorful mischief in her art lab. Madame Ro is the more fun, edgy, adventurous, and creatively crazy one who loves to push creative limits. She is definitely not afraid of color, she loves dimensional art. She is not one to be confined to a boring box. Why play in the sandbox when you can have the world as your playground.

 

My "Right Brain" at work

I am an artist. I was born an artist. I live, eat and breathe art. Heck! When I go to bed I even dream artistically.  That's how passionate I am about this field. I feel that art is who I am, not just what I do. I am most definitely a dreamer. I feel that dreaming is a big part of how my art is created. My creations start in my dreams, when all the pieces of the dream come together then I am able to manifest it onto the canvas (or whatever medium I'm working on at the time).  And in case you were wondering YES! I dream in vivid, saturated colors! (wink)

 

Ever since I could remember I have always loved to create. I started out coloring, and then that led to drawing/painting, which then led to designing (graphic and photography) which in turn led me to where I am today, mixed media. Although I love dabbling into many facets of the arts. I'd have to say mixed media is my obsession.

 

I started crafting/mixed media not too long ago, September 2012. I got my start by creating cards and as my passion for learning, and my urge to create amazing art grew, so did the depths of my projects. I went from creating cards to altering gumball machines.

If I had to pick a favorite on the crafting side it would be altering. I love altering items. I think it's amazing to start off with one thing and turn it into something totally different. I've recently got into mixed media and now I'm hooked. I am a mixed media junkie.  I enjoy playing around with different textures and mediums and learning new techniques. The best part of mixed media is getting dirty... I love it!

 

I have a secret love affair with Marion Smith's designs - she had me at "Romance Novel". After doing some browsing around to learn more about Marion Smith I found the Artsy Addicts Facebook Group and had a total EYEgasm looking at all the wonderful inspiration that all the crafty artists share in this group. AMAZING!

 

Okay so now that I've have written my own novel on this blog..lol… I will shut up now and share with you some of my creations.  The following are a few projects in a series that I’m doing called "Graffiti Chic" you all are getting the first look. I am also sharing a few old projects. #HappyViewing

 

AfroDisiac. This is a painting I created as part of an obsession I have with big afro's..lol. I'm also doing a series called Naturalista it will feature different paintings of ladies with afro textured hair.

 

  

This part of my Graffiti Chic series
 This is an Asian Inspired project called "The Pursuit of Happiness" and the quote says
"Some pursue happiness, others create it". 

 

 

This is another Asian Inspired project called "The Journey" and I used an Chinese Proverb as the quote. It reads " The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step". Also a part of my Graffiti Chic series

 

 

 

 

Confidence. The quote reads: " ...is believing in yourself when no one else does". As an artist my goal is to inspire, uplift and create something that could change someone's life, or at least brighten their day.

 

 

 

 

Love is All You Need. My graffiti chic series is a mix of vibrant colors, lots of texture, with an urban "street" vibe.

 

 

 

Here are a few more paintings and craft projects I've created.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing a moment of your time with me today. If you are interested in stalking me (wink) here are my details:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madamerocouture
YouTube: (I do tutorials) http://www.youtube.com/user/stationerychic
Google +: https://plus.google.com+stationerychic
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/GlamCraftsInc/madame-ro-couture-handmade-with-love/
Zibett Store: http://www.zibbet.com/Divaglam

Muah!
Madame Ro



Featured Artist Song Li

 

My name is Song Li and I am 22 years old. My real name is Conghui Li, but because my name is awkward to pronounce, I go by Song Li. I am from China but live in the U.S now. I became a huge craft enthusiast about one and half years ago. You would not believe how I got introduced to crafting. One day my boyfriend wanted to show me the crafty side of this country and took me to Michaels. He told me there are many people doing scrapbooking and it has become a real big thing. Then he walked me to the scrapbooking aisles and showed me all the beautiful papers and embellishments. I bought something because I thought they look good. After I got home and started using what I bought. What I know next is I couldn't quit crafting ever since…

 

I have not been very active before I graduated from college since I really didn't have the time. After I graduated in May this year, I immediately dived into this loving and fun crafting community. In my search for different Facebook crafting groups, I discovered Artsy Addicts. I have to say people in this group are talented! 

 

Recently, I started to post my projects in different Facebook groups and on Youtube. I realized how loving and supporting everyone is. I am so thankful for all the supports and encouragements I got from everyone. It keeps me crafting.

 

            My crafting style is very mixed media. I constantly play with different colors, textures, and techniques. Sometimes I go out of my comfort zone and do something really different as well. I do everything like scrapbooking, altered crafts, art journal, etc. Crafting is my passion and addiction. I just hope I don't need to go to a crafting rehab one day.

 

            I want to share with you the most recent layout I made. This layout is made using scraps from my stash and tons of colors. Hope you enjoy it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please follow me...
Blog: http://creationbysong.blogspot.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/creationbysong

 

 

Thanks,

Song Li

 

 

Featured Artist: Agnieszka Bellaidea

Hi!

My name is Agnieszka, but in the scrapbooking world I go by Bellaidea.  Today I would like to show you several of my project I created in 2013.

Together with my husband - I'm still dating him - we're taking care of our two treasures - a Girl and a Boy.

 

I love traveling, taking photos, oranges and African bush aroma, old; books, pictures and houses, doilies, trips with friends to Italy, evenings by the fireplace, mystery perfumes, reading books to my children (no matter that they can read by themselves), audiobooks during long distance drives, praising people for their talent and creativity and meeting with other nice ladies for a cup of coffee. My favorite place to spend time is Kruger Park and Zimbali in South Africa.

I scrapbook for many reasons: to preserve memories, to make my kids remember I always care about them, to have MY time when I need it, to keep in touch with all my scrap-friend all over the work.

My style is eclectic, part of romantic, touch of whimsy, influenced by mixed media a lot. You will find on my projects; lace, chipboards, doilies, torn corners, fussy cutting,  but I never forget the most important is the photo and a story. Sometimes I hide my journaling when it's very personal...
 

The last few years I have had the pleasure to design for many blog challenges and producers like Papercraft Scandinavia/Inkido, Scrap FX, Berry 71 Bleu, Scraps of Elegance, 13 arts, studio 75,   and Magenta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cordially invite you to visit my blog, where you can find out what I'm doing late nights when my family members are sleeping: Bellaideascrapology

Thanks for letting my share with you today,
Agnieszka
Bellaideascrapology