Make your own Tea Journal using small canvases

I love tea, tea parties, tea shops, formal teas, homey teas...you get the picture.  My daughter and I have had tea in different shops and hotels all over the world during her life, we started when she was around 4 or 5 years old.  My personal favorite was about a decade ago at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, it was so beautiful!

This tiny book is made from two small canvases stamped and colored using Imagine products; the canvases serve as the front and back covers.  The inside has an accordion style section that can be used as the journaling pages.  It is fun to glue empty packets of my favorite teas inside or tea packets from tea with friends that I want to remember.  You can check out the details on the Imagine blog to get ideas to make your own tea journal.  If you have any suggestions or questions please leave me a message here.

Thanks for stopping by ~ hugs ~ Renee

P.S.  The "tea/glove" book used as a prop in the background was gifted to me by my friend Ella Wilson, it appeared in one of Stampington's publications and she was kind enough to send it to me.  I really cherish that lovely journal!  Ella is such an amazing artist.

Every art journal needs its own special cover

Today on the Imagine blog I'm sharing an art journal cover made using the new Delicata inks.  Check it out when you have a moment.

I used one of Frank Garcia's beautiful frames as the focal point and then just layered it with tons of decorative metal ephemera.  The complete supply list and tutorial can be found on the Imagine blog.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Hugs ~ Renee

Stenciled Faces with Distress Crayons

I promised to share more stenciled faces colored with Ranger's Distress Crayons and here they are.  The technique and supplies are identical to the previous blog post so if you have questions you can refer back to that post.  Whenever you change the color palette the face has a different feel to it.

It seems that changing the position of the catch light in the eyes make the eyes appear to be looking in a different direction.  All three were done the same way with just different colors.  I hope you'll give this a try since so many have mentioned that they purchased the Distress Crayons and haven't used them much, myself included.  They really are lovely to work with!  Hugs ~ Renee

Make Your Own Travel Journal

Art Journaling is so fun and such a personal project.  You can use your imagination to make a journal that is something that you love to look at and is filled with the type of paper YOU prefer without caring if anyone else likes it or not.  I made this one for IMAGINE Crafts using my favorite product, what else,  StazOn Studio Glaze.

Featuring a Zettiology stamp by Teesha Moore

Here is the link to the IC/T blog if you'd like to see the step by step directions.  I am also entering this in the July Craft Stamper Challenge called Take a Stamp, here is the link to their blog if you want to participate in that challenge.  I hope you're all having a fabulous summer!  Take care, Renee

March "Take It, Make It Challenge" ~ Mono Printing with Acrylic Blocks

Hello to all and welcome to any who are visiting my blog for the first time.  This is my first posting as a member of the Craft Stamper's Take It, Make it Challenge  design team.     The monthly challenge for March is Mono printing with Acrylic Blocks.  First I will show you my finished project, a small art journal filled with tags to write personal thoughts on.  If you are interested in seeing how the technique is done, read further as I have included a mini tutorial.  I hope you enjoy it!

I began with several sizes of acrylic blocks that I normally use for cling stamps and a large sheet of 140# watercolor paper.  You can use whatever type of paper you prefer for this technique.

I am using TCW stencils and acrylic paints to make the background paper.

I place the stencil on top of the acrylic block and apply the paint to the stencil.  I used a foam brush to move the paint around on the stencil onto the acrylic block. 

Then the stencil is carefully removed from the block and the block is placed paint side down onto the paper.

I used other stencils the same way to add some yellow highlights to the paper; then allowed it to dry.

When the paint was dry I folded the 11" by 15" piece of paper in half lengthwise, folded it again to make the four sections of my book.  I cut the center section and pushed the sections together to make the book.

I wanted to close off some off the open edges and decided to use sticky back canvas that had been colored with ink and stamped.

That canvas sealed off the edges very nicely.  The book seemed to need a little feminine touch so I glued Tim Holtz's rose ribbon to the front and back edges.

When you open the book it is full of stamped phrases and ATCs.  I added a few of TH's idea-ology Remnant Rubs here and there.  Wendy Vecchi's stamps by Stampers Anonymous seemed to fit the theme perfectly.

This is a photo of the front and back of the book when opened up.

The openings at the bottom edges were closed off with the canvas tape but the openings at the top were left open to add tags.  These tags were cut with a Sizzix die and colored to match with the same acrylic block technique.  Personal journaling could be done in the book or on the backs of the small tags.

This is the small finished art journal, just one of the many projects that could be made with the paper from today's challenge. 

  What kind of idea can you come up with using acrylic blocks for mono printing?  Please play with this idea and share it with us at the Craft Stamper site.  The challenge is open for the entire month of March.  Play along with us and post your creation on their site.  We'd love to see what you do!

Thanks for stopping by, if you have a moment please leave a comment, you know I love to hear from you!  Take care, I'll talk to you soon ~ Renee

Art Journal Page/Frog Queen

This journal page was done on a piece of watercolor paper that had been lightly coated in gesso.  After the gesso dried I painted it with Claudine Hellmuth's Studio acrylic paints using Modern Red, Dab of Yellow, a little grey and white acrylic.  I stamped Tim Holtz numbers, Dyan Reaveley circles and borders in black archival ink.  More large circles in grey paint using a lid from an old jar.  I stamped a "window" using Dyan's border, cut it out with an exacto knife and glued orange paper over the aperture.  The image glued over that window is by DeviantScrap.com, as is her crown.  I also used a chevron stencil and white acrylic paint randomly and glued a little tissue tape down with Matte Medium.  The entire page was sprayed with a fixative at the end to seal it.  The sentiment by The Queen's Ink says it all:  Queens Never Make Bargains.

I'll be sending this in to Somerset Studio, I hope they like her.  Have a great day, talk to you soon.~Renee

Blue skies after Hurricane Sandy

We woke up to blue skies this morning after torrential rains and winds all day yesterday into the night.  I do believe every leaf in the neighborhood is on our lawn but that's OK.  The only tree branches on the ground were the ones that broke in the storm last year right around this time.  Thanks to all for their phone calls, emails and general good wishes and prayers.  Our hearts go out to those who did not fair as well!
The blue skies were an inspiration to me and I decided to put it to paper in my DR Journal with a bit of journaling marking the storm.  Since there is a challenge at Simon Says to just add pearl I decided to deck my lady, let's call her Sandy, out with a pearl necklace so she is dressed for the party over there.  There were a few sprays of Mementos Bahama Blue Fireworks involved to add a glimmer to the pages.

Products used:

Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paints

Dover clip art hand and butterflies

Stamps:  large face stamp, Dyan Reaveley stamps, Cardboard, Judi Kins Gears

Tim Holtz Gears Die

Queen & Co. Pearls

Reeves Water Soluble Crayons

Memento's Bahama Blue Fireworks Glimmer Mist

Black micron pen

I hope this post finds all of you on the East Coast safe, sound and dry.  Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers in behalf of us all.  We had definitely braced ourselves for the worst, glad it is over.



Mommies need play dates too!

My friend Ann works and has a four year old with a fully booked play date schedule.  When does Mom get to take some time to play?  Last night Ann and I left Lanie with Daddy and took off for our LSS, Ink About It.  It doesn't get any more fun than that!  We both love that store, they have just about everything to play with that you can imagine.  Ann really wanted Dyan Reaveley's new Journal so she can start art journaling.    They only had a few left but she was able to get one!  Back we went to my house, the one with the colorful guest bathroom (again).  Joe was napping in front of the TV and we decided that since all my spray inks were out on the counter it seemed as good a time as any for Ann to start messing up her new book.  Out came the gesso, old credit cards, ink, stencils, acrylic paints.......the usual toys.  Within no time at all Ann had the background completed on her first two pages.

We have both decided we need another DR Journal so we can create calendars for 2013.  I'll keep you posted on that idea.  Our first journal books will be dedicated to trying out new techniques and perhaps writing in them later or just keep adding to them as we learn more.  In the meantime, Hooray for Ann!  I love her first 2 page spread. 

Dyan's Dylusions Spray Inks

I don't why every time I clean up that guest bathroom it just screams to get messed up again.  Really, today I was up very early with every intention of cleaning house and not making any messes.  I swear I have art ADD.  While reading my emails I noticed one from "Art from the Heart".  I checked it out and noticed  (again) that Dyan has some tutorials that one could watch, if they had the time.  I thought I'd just watch one....then out came the journal and the sprays.

I always think I can copy her projects exactly if I just do it as she does it.  Some how it always takes on a life of its own.

I had to try out my new Teesha Moore stamps and my Reeves water soluble wax pastels.  You might want to give it a try it yourself, here's the link to her videos:  http://shop.afth.co.uk/index.asp
Now my husband has decided he needs to do something fun.  So were off to the beach and nearby lobster shack.  There are some delightful antique/junk stores near this beach.  Hmmmm.....maybe that would be fun?  Anything to make that sweet man happy.  Have a lovely weekend.