Over-thinking by Barb

I may be intelligent and I may be artistic. But having a nerdy side and an artistic side that are equally dominant makes for a rather crowded brain! I wouldn't have it any other way, but some days I wouldn't mind having an off switch just for a couple of minutes. It's easy to see where the inspiration for this strange little piece came from.

I began by coating Terri Sproul Presents: Woman's Head with gesso. Once the gesso was dry, I sponged on Distress Inks and spritzed on a little Fireworks spray. I stamped the numbers and letters using StazOn inks.

I colored in the lips with a water based marker and then coated them with Stickles.

Before I glued on the flower for the eye iris, I coated the rest of the eye using an irRESISTibles pico embellisher in white, and sketched in the eyelashes with a pico embellisher in black.

Then I had all kinds of fun with the "hair". I started with left over punch outs from my Tudor Rose project (which you can view here).  I always save the bits and pieces that are the waste of the main designs. Some of the shapes are really pretty cool and come in handy for stuff like this project. Other times I use them as spacers underneath things. Either way, don't toss 'em!

I coated the little curly-Qs with copper irRESISTibles. While I waited for them to dry, I colored a couple dozen skeleton leaves using StazOn inks and Delicata ink. I glued the leaves to the head and once those were on, went about gluing on the curly-Qs. 

This piece might be a bit on the weird side of things, but I like it. 

It reminds me not to take things too seriously.

Gina's Designs Products Used

Terri Sproul Presents: Woman's Head

 Tudor Rose Singles

Other Products Used

 gesso

StazOn Ink

Distress Ink

Fireworks spray

irRESISTibles

Stickles

Numbers by 100 Proof Press

Letters by Tim Holtz

"A Moment in Time" Layout with Robins Nest Paper by Kim C.

 Hello! Kim here with a layout using papers from The Robin's Nest. The picture I used in my layout is my grandmother. She was a sweet and very wonderful lady and I miss her very much. 

The paper I used from the Robin's Nest for the back ground is Honeycomb Fleur Cardstock.  I then used Tropicana Fleur Cardstock for the photo mat along with cream colored cardstock.  I used from Gina's Designs the chipboard frame called Flourished Frame Connie.  Gesso was used to soften it up just a little bit.  You can still see the natural color of the chipboard.

Along the right side of the photo I made a flower cluster that has a piece of chipboard called Tudor Rose Singes.  I cut it in half and used some of the negative pieces to add some swirls.  I also used gesso on these pieces as well.  Some diamond dew drops in a frosted white from The Robins Nest was then added.

At the bottom left of the photo I added more of the negative pieces coming out of the flowers.  I also added a script word cluster from Words & Phrases 1. 

I hope you like this weeks project.  It was a very emotional project for me.

Gina's Designs Items Used:

Word & Phrases 1

Tudor Rose Singles

Flourished Frame Connie

Robin's Nest Items Used:

Diamond Dew Drops

Honeycomb Fleur Cardstock

Tropicana Fleur Cardstock

Other Items Used:

Cream Cardstock

Wild Orchid Craft Flowers

Resin Heart

Gesso

Cheesecloth

Christmas in July with Barb

I'm not usually a Christmas-in-July person. I have plenty to do already without panicking over a holiday that's months away - even though I know that by July, I'm already behind on my holiday projects. However, when I saw the Tudor Rose Singles from Gina's Designs, I immediately thought, "Ornaments!" And, I couldn't wait to play.

These were so simple to do. I began by coating each one in a layer of Gesso. 

For the white one, I used white craft ink and then spritzed on some irRESISTibles in Bridal White. I sprinkled on a little bit of blue glitter while everything was still wet. When it had dried, I glued on the rhinestones.

The red one was even easier to do. I coated it with Versamark and then used a glittery red embossing powder which I heat set for a shiny, sparkly finish. I simply added some dots of Liquid Pearls to embellish it.

For the gold ornament, I slathered it in gold StazOn Studio Glaze. While it was still wet, I sprayed it with gold irRESISTibles. Once it had completely dried, I glued on the blue rhinestones.

It was so nice to take a little break from the summer heat and enjoy a little bit of Christmas!

Gina's Designs Product Used

Tudor Rose Singles

Other Products Used

Gesso

Rhinestones

StazOn Studio Glaze

irRESISTibles

Embossing powder

Craft Ink

Glitter

Versamark

Liquid Pearls

Mixed Media Canvas Featuring ColourArte

  I am so excited to share my project with you today!  All this month Gina's Designs is working with the fabulous products from ColourArte . They have the most fun things, watercolours, sprays, artist pigments, glazes and more. I have used just a small sampling but the effect turned out great!

I have created a 5'' x 12'' mixed media canvas.  I think doing mixed media is really my first love and these products really lend themselves to this type of art.

 Here is what I have used to create my canvas. I love the Radiant Rain sprays. They are highly pigmented and have a fantastic shimmer to them. The Silks Acrylic Glazes have been a staple in my craft room for a long time, and are a very versatile product. ColourArte has a wide range of products and all of them are highly pigmented and high quality as well.

So, lets get going! I started off my canvas with some white crackle paint. I wanted that as the base so when I used the sprays it would pick up on the crackle effect on the canvas. I used Teal Zircon and Pink Grapefruit from the Radiant Rain Line for the beginning of the base.

As you can see, the sprays worked great and really highlighted the cracks. I love how the pink and blue tones mixed to give a light purple colour in the crackle.  After I had done this I got out some texture paste and stencils and added a floral motif to the top and bottom of the canvas.

Next up, I got out some chipboard from Gina's Designs Lasercuts. This is the Tudor Rose shape set. I wanted them to be more dimensional, so I used some liquid pearls on them and did some random dots and lines on them. After that dried I painted them white and added them to my canvas.  I used them under my layers of paper which I fussy cut out from my Prima paper. I love the look of the little houses and birds, which also pick up on the lovely pastel tones I was going for on the piece.

I decided I needed a little bit of sunshine on my canvas, and so I got out the Sunburst Silks Acrylic glaze. I think the name "Sunburst" is so true, this colour of yellow is so very vibrant and fun!  I added some accents in this colour here and there on the canvas, and I think it really created some depth to it. I also used the Radiant Rain Sunburst Spray and added some fun splotches to the canvas. 

 

I also added some touches of Key Lime and Pixie Pink in the glazes as well, to the sides and top of the canvas to add a few more spots of colour.

Now, its time to embellish!  I got out some fun Prima chippy pieces and added a butterfly, fairy and friend sentiment to the top of the little house. I then added a little resin window and some lovely flowers and cameo to finish it off.

I am so happy with this piece, I think I may give it to a friend who loves fairies.  The ColourArte products made a huge difference to my canvas and I am so pleased with the outcome.

Check out the links below to all the ColourArte products, and of course see their BLOG for all the fun things going on, as well as their Facebook Page HERE

Thanks for stopping by!

 Gina's Products Used:

Gina's Designs Tudor Rose Singles

ColourArte Products Used

Radiant Rain Teal Zircon

Radiant Rain Pink Grapefruit

Radiant Rain Sunburst

Silks Acrylic Glaze Sunburst

Silks Acrylic Glaze Key Lime

Silks Acrylic Glaze Pixie Pink

Other Products Used

Prima Garden Fable Paper

Prima Butterfly Chipboard Embellishments

Flowers by Petaloo

Prima Resin Pieces

Deco Art Crackle Paint

Inky Cards by Shanna

Hey everyone Shanna here and it is my turn to share more lovely inspiration with you all again. 

This month we are having this awesome swap with ColourArte and I got some yummy colors to play with. So here are two cards I created using my goodies along with some new chipboard pieces. 

First card I went with more of an orange look.

The second card I wanted more pop with the teal. 

For the base of my cards, I used the H20 colors Mandarin Citrine, Orange Peel, and Ginger Peach.

I laid some base color and then spritzed it with water to make the color spread. 

After heat setting, I got this gorgeous watercolor with magnificent shimmer. 

I used the Silks on my chipboard (of course the chipboard had a coat of gesso first). 

I used Lemondrop for the base on the Tudor Rose before going in with some of the Ginger Peach. I used a heat gun with these and if you use more paint and heat set it creates great bubbles. 

Gina's Designs Items Used:

Tudor Rose Singles

Damask Singles

ColourArte Twinkling H20's 

ColourArte Silks

Thanks so much for stopping by today. 

Shanna

Garden Fairy Crown

I love crowns. I do. I adore them and make them often. I guess I haven't had my fill of fancy head wear because I've made another. This one was created with chipboard shapes from GinasDesigns.net and it's this month's video tutorial.

The crown is made by layering Garden Fairies, Feathery Flourishes Set, Dragon Shape Set, and Tudor Rose Singles over a simple base. For some added interest I added texture using gel medium and the Texture Sheets - Fiesta from Gina's.

Washes of ColourArt Silks Acrylic Iridescent Glazes and Twinkling H2Os Shimmering Watercolors are applied and then a smidge of glitter is added.

Some pretty paper flowers, butterflies and ribbons and voila! I'm pretty sure that wearing this will automatically make you a fairy princess.

Here's the video tutorial. The sound is a bit awful in spots and I'm sorry about that (honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing and it's a miracle I muddle through at all!). If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Here is the full supply list:

Gina Designs:

Texture Sheets Fiesta

Garden Fairies Medium

Feathery Flourishes Set

Tudor Rose Singles
Dragon Shape Set

ColourArte

Silks Acrylic Iridescent Glazes 

 Twinkling H2Os Shimmering Watercolors

Other

Petaloo Botanica Flowers

Glue
White paint

Glitter (this is what I used)
Ribbon

Golden Heavy Gel

Heavy card