A Summer Loving Calendar Page

Summer is right around the corner and a wonderful time to be creative. This mixed media calendar can be placed on a bulletin board or if you like to art journal it can be a project created right inside your journal as a two page spread. This project incorporates all kinds of techniques and textures then there’s the added fun of writing each day’s activities in the small woven calendar boxes. If you do one for each month of the year and then bind them together it makes a wonderful, reflective diary to look back on later.  You can find a supply list on the Imagine Craft Blog today.

Skill: Intermediate to Advanced

Time: 2-3 hours

Directions:

Step one: Prepare the background paper.  The substrate for this particular calendar is an 11” by 14” piece of Strathmore 140# Mixed Media paper that had been used to blot off ink from a stencil used in a previous project. The technique is similar to using a Gelli Plate, allowing previous projects to blot off the ink rather than wasting it.  At the top of the paper apply Memento Luxe Teal Zeal ink onto the paper, spray with Bahama Blue Fireworks! Craft Spray, spray water on top of that and allow the colors to blend together.  Apply additional sprays of water and let the inks run down the paper. Use a heat tool to set the color and dry the excess. Next apply Memento Luxe Morocco ink to the bottom of the paper with a large dauber. Deepen the color by applying Radiant Neon Electric Orange on top of the Morocco ink.  Spritz with water, allow the inks to mingle together, blot slightly with a paper towel, dry completely with a heat tool. For the last layer of color apply Memento Luxe Dandelion to the center part of the page, spray with water and allow the color to blend and run. Dry.

Step two: Use removable alphabet and number stencils for the date and season. Place the words and numbers where desired, use gesso or a texture paste to get the most out of the stenciled words. For this project the Graphite texture paste is reminiscent of a paved road. Very carefully lift the stenciling pieces straight up and wash them thoroughly to remove all of the paste. Allow the texture paste to dry thoroughly so as to avoid smearing it.

Step three: Die cut the butterflies from coordinating patterned paper, set aside. Stamp the Julie Nutting dolls with StazOn Jet Black ink, color them in with Memento Markers, and cut them out.

Step four: Make the woven mat for the calendar days by cutting 5 strips of paper, in this case a piece of a master board from another project, to measure 1” by 7 ¼”. These strips will be woven across. Then cut 7 strips of the same paper to measure 1” by 5 ¾”, these strips will be woven down. It helps to cut a piece of scrap paper and use a tape runner to stick the tops of the strips down. It not only makes for a more solid piece for the actual calendar but keeps the strips of paper from shifting while being woven together. Adhesive tape can be applied on the backside along the way while weaving to hold the pieces down flat. When finished weaving determine the days of the week and the number of days in the month so the calendar is accurate for each month.

Step 5: Using a strong adhesive, adhere the woven calendar.  Add some Washi tape here and there; glue the butterflies across the top on with On Point Glue. Add some butterflies to the skirt and shoes of the doll on the right.  Glue the stamped dolls down on either side of the calendar.  Ink the edges of the mixed media paper with Brilliance Pearlescent Rust ink.  Stamp the days of the week, if desired, at the top of the calendar.

I'm also submitting this to the Craft Stamper Magazine "Take It Make It June Challenge" which is Anything Goes.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure and follow the link to the Imagine Craft blog for additional information and inspiration. Just tell them I sent you.  Have fun creating! Hugs- Renee

Green with Envy card

Here is a fun card to check out on the IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko blog today.  It is an all occasion card made using Memento Luxe inks and Stampotique stamps.  Here is a peek and the link to the tutorial.

Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your visit as well as each and every comment!
Hugs ~ Renee

Artistcellar Black & White Challenge

The artists on the design team at Artistcellar have challenged each other to come up with a project that is only in black and white.  Whew!  That is quite a challenge for me as I have been using so much color for the past couple of years.  I decided to make an art journal with a black and white cover using two different stencils.

To begin I folded a large sheet of water color paper to make a small book and taped the open ends with black and white tissue tape.

  I stamped one of Dyan Reaveley's ladies on a separate piece of paper and cut it out.  I glued it to the front of the book with a strong adhesive.   Next I used one of Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's stencils called Blazonry.  I laid this across the top to begin with and used a dauber to pounce the Memento LUXE Espresso Truffle ink onto the paper.

When the ink was dry I chose one of the stencils from the Coral Series and spread gesso randomly all over the cover of the book.

I stamped a phrase from the Stampers Anonymous collection on a piece of scrap paper.  After tearing the edges I distressed them with the Espresso Truffle ink.  The black mat is cut from card stock a little larger than the phrase piece.  They are glued together and them mounted on the book with pop dots.  Three holes were punched on the fold and a piece of black waxed twine was threaded through the holes and tied in a bow.  The edges were distressed with the Espresso Truffle ink as well to frame it.

This was a quick art journal to make, it didn't take more than 20 minutes.  The key is to fold little books like this in advance and have them waiting for you to decorate.  Thanks for stopping by today and my thanks to my design team friends for thinking of this challenge.  It was definitely outside of my comfort zone!

Hugs~ Renee xx

Authentique’s new paper collection::Thrilling!

Authentique just released a gorgeous, richly colored new collection of papers called “Thrilling”.  There are so many ways these papers could be used but I chose to make a few cards, one of which I would like to share today.

I love Edgar Allen Poe so I decided that the first card would his.  I cut the papers to fit a 4 ½” by 6 ½” blank card.  I used “Moonlit” and “Superstition”; love those skulls, for the background papers on the front panel.  The raven sitting on a mirror panel is cut from “Forewarn”.  The frame around Edgar’s image is an oval cut from the paper called “Frenzy”.  Edgar’s image is a digital download from www.Alphastamps.com cut into an oval shape.  His signature came from there, too.   After everything was attached I decided to use a self adhesive banner from the same collection, this sheet is called “Thrilling Details” and matches all the other papers perfectly, and I placed his signature on this banner with some pop dots.   IMAGINE Crafts®/Tsukineko® memento Luxe™Mixed Media Pigment Ink in Elderberry is the perfect color to distress the edges of the card with. A few word stamps echoing Edgar’s reoccurring sentiments of dreaming of forever love…….and the card is done.  But wait, how about a touch of sparkle with a few of Queen & Co.’s self adhesive rhinestones.  Now we’re done.

Products used:

Authentique Paper Collection::Thrilling

Digital images from Alpha Stamps

IMAGINE Crafts®/Tsukineko® Memento Luxe™Mixed Media Pigment Ink in Elderberry

Adhesive

Queen & Co. Orange Rhinestones

I hope you like this.  I will be making a couple more cards from this paper to share with you during the next few days.  Have a great week end!  Talk to you soon~ Renee

Vertigo Film::A new product released at CHA Las Vegas!

My project today is using a new product called IMAGINE Crafts®/Tsukineko®Vertigo Film™.  This product was recently introduced at CHA in Las Vegas.   If you hold this up to the light and twist and turn it you can appreciate how cool it is.   A Vertigo Film sheet is like plastic, it can be embossed with embossing folders and you can stamp it, color it with ink or paint.   It can be cut with scissors but do take care if you try to heat set it, it will melt if you use too high of a heat.  This new product comes in 6 different patterns and will be available in packs of four 6”x6” sheets of the same pattern and individual 12”x12” sheets.

I started this challenge by cutting my piece to 4” by 6” and painting the back of it using Imagine Crafts®/Tsukineko® Memento Luxe™Mixed Media Pigment Ink full size inkpad in Teal Zeal.  After coating the backside of the Vertigo Film with the Teal color I sprayed it with IMAGINE Crafts® Sheer Shimmer  Spritz™ Craft Spray in Gold.  I allowed the colors to run together and set it aside to dry.  When the Vertigo Film sheet was dry I ran it through my machine in an embossing folder by Cuttlebug.   Now I have color and texture.

With the color on the backside and the raised embossing on the front I rubbed several colors of Faber Castell Gelatos over the raised numbers.  I softened the gelato colors by rubbing them with a paper towel.  At this point I placed a honey comb stencil onto the front of the panel and applied some gesso right down the middle of the panel.  While this was drying I stamped three bee images by Stampotique on a piece of scrap paper with IMAGINE Crafts®/Tsukineko® Memento Luxe™Mixed Media Pigment Ink full size inkpad in Elderberry.  The images were colored in using an IMAGINE Crafts®/Tsukineko® Memento Dual Marker in Dandelion yellow.  A quick spritz of IMAGINE Crafts® Sheer Shimmer Spritz™Craft Spray in Silver gave the wings an ethereal look.  I cut out the bees and set them aside.  Using IMAGINE Crafts®Creative Medium Clear  I attached a piece of floral ribbon from my stash.  I sprayed some additional Sheer Shimmer Spritz Craft Spray in silver on my mat and turned the floral ribbon upside down into the Shimmer Spritz and allowed it to just color the edges of the flowers lightly.  When this was dry I attached it across the middle of the panel with IMAGINE Crafts®Creative Medium™Clear.  Now I could attach the bees with the same Creative Medium.  I folded a piece of white cardstock in half to make a card that measures 5” by 7” and distressed the edges with the Memento Luxe ink in Elderberry.  To affix the Vertigo Film panel I used a strong adhesive and now I have a unique all occasions card with an incredible amount of texture.

I hope you will try this new product, it is so much fun to play with.  I'll be sharing other projects I've made with it later this month!