in the art state of mind

I'm always inspired enormously by mixed media artists, so my new years resolution is to become more serious about mixed media...so it looks like I'm gonna need more sprays and paints ^.^

And for now some inspiration I had from Finnabair for a notebook cover

 

  supplies I used were some Tattered Angels glimmer mist sprays, gesso, texture paste, Tim Holtz distress paints and markers, Finnabair glass glitter, Ranger Archival inks some Idea-ology and common trashy bits I gather here and there for this kind of projects
I'm still in search for my creative style, the so tell me what do you think...
I'm sharing my project at Mixed Media Place Creative Gym ^.^

P.S. thank you for stopping by ^.^ wish you inspiration and happy crafting

Christmas gift holder or how to get more out of your Artist Trading Block dies 2

Hello everyone. December is already here and the winter holidays are just around the corner. I'm in a very Christmassy mood these days and my head is full of decorations, Christmas trees, gifts, ornaments and so many more festive things ^.^
Today I want to share with you how you can go from
                                                                       this

to this

Not only this is a cute Christmas decoration it is also a gift holder and you can use it as a Christmas tree ornament.
All you need is Eileen Hull's cube/block 3-D dies. In this project I used the smallest and the biggest one.
1.Start by cutting some mat board with your dies
2.For a tree trunk I embossed the small block with distress powder and colored it with some inks

3.For the rest of a Christmas tree I used the big block , the only tricky thing here is to make some extra cutting and scoring. It goes somewhat like this 

tip: the scoring must be done from the outer side of a block (where we already have our initial score lines)

For this step it was easier for me firstly to adhere the 2 sides of a block as we usually do with this die cuts and then proceed with all the extra cutting and scoring

4. Before gluing everything together in a pyramid shape I added some color and stamping.
The finished top of a tree looks something like this

after that adhere the top with the trunk together and then embellish the way you like it.

5.For the finishing touch I punched few holes at the top of a tree for a ribbon, this way you can also use the tree as a Christmas tree ornament and not only a gift holder ^.^

supplies I used for the tree:

tip: for the faux tinsel twine I drew some thick lines with Ranger Glossy Accents and poured generously Ranger gold embossing tinsel over it, then just let it dry

more photos and close ups of a project:

 

That's it for today, thank you for stopping by and stay tuned for more 3-D Christmassy inspiration which is coming soon.

For more simple and easy gift and packaging ideas from your Artist Trading Block dies you should check HERE.

Also don't forget to share with us your art with heart at December Art With Heart Challenge: Holiday traditions and get a chance to win  Eileen Hull's Loaf Pan die from a brand new Vintage Kitchen collection.

supplies:

    

winter fairy tales and 100 Proof Press stamps creative blog hop

when winter is coming and the air is cold and crisp I usually in the mood for a hot tea and fairy tales...oh wait!... actually I am always in the mood for fairy tales ^.^ but not do I always have a chance to do something about it. This month however I've got an amazing opportunity to work with some of the best stamps I ever seen and to make my fairy tales come true.
This artist trading block is one of my mixed media attempts (still have so much to learn) ^.^ sincerely hope you like it

       

 

 

wondering how I did this block? here's few simple steps to follow:

1.after cutting some mat board with Eileen Hull Sizzix XL Block/Cube/Bank, 3-D
die and embellishing it with patterned paper (which I also distressed before gluing down), I applied white distress paint  in circling motion around the edges to create a focal point on each side

2.the next step was adding some layers with more paper and die cuts

3.adding more dimension with modeling paste and mat board die cuts

4.time for some color, choose your favorite and enjoy ! ^.^

5.although I am a fan of bright colors, in this project I wanted more calm effect, that's why I used white gelato stick to tone down everything. also I decided to add more layers    

 6.some distress crackle paint (have seen many mixed media projects with it and was dying to try it on some of mine) ^.^

 7. for the finishing touch I added some more stamping here and there and made shadow effect around some elements with the walnut stain distress marker (you can see it on the finished block)

also for my magic creatures: I used Tim Holtz wrinkle free distress technique on a few manila tags, then stamped on them with my 100 Proof Press stamps repeatedly. after that I cut the pieces I wanted to layer one upon the other, for some figures I used black and white image as a base and for the others just went adding more layers on the already colored version

For more amazing Artist Trading Block creations stop by Artists on The Block. Also be sure to visit 100 Proof Press stamps page for more inspiration and incredible stamping techniques!!!

P.S. thank you for stopping by ^.^ and may all your fairy tales come true!

 

 supplies: