Tag: Tim Holtz

Frozen: Who Cherished Her Heart

Hello, friends! I’m excited to be back today sharing my miniature mixed media piece called, “Frozen”. Have you ever heard the tale of “Frozen Charlotte”? Frozen Charlotte’s are miniature porcelain or bisque dolls. The ones I’ve found have come from Germany and were dug up from the ruins of pre-world war factories. Owing to this digging up, it’s rare to find a Frozen Charlotte intact. Most are hauntingly tragic with a missing arm, leg, or foot. The dolls were made in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries and are widely collected today by doll enthusiasts and mixed media artists.

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Here is the story of poor frozen Charlotte…

“One piercingly cold, winters night, Charlotte’s beau, Charles, picks Charlotte up in his sleigh to attend a ball at the village inn, 15 miles away. Looking lovely, young Charlotte, dressed in her finery, vainly wanted to be seen and admired along the way, and so did not heed her mother’s good advice and cover herself with a blanket, refusing even to wear her wrap. By the time she and Charles arrived at the inn, Charlotte was a frozen corpse! Charlie, devastated by the loss of his love, soon died of a broken heart and they forever slumber together, in one tomb.”

Sad, no? It’s unclear if the legend of Charlotte is based on actual fact or if it’s urban legend, but one this is certain. With their cheery faces, and broken bodies, Frozen Charlotte’s are a wonderful addition to any mixed media piece.

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I was inspired to create this piece when I received the Prima Marketing Relics & Artifacts: Flaming Hearts II in an order from Nani Ke Ola. I’ve long been wanting to try out these relics and I thoroughly enjoyed working on colorizing the flaming heart at the center of this piece. I often enjoy working with the Melissa Francis domes. They are sometimes hard to find, so I ususally stock up. She does have a website where she sells them.

First I mixed up some gesso and LSG Red Hot Poker Orange magical and painted the chipboard base. I also drilled a small hole in the base and painted the bamboo skewer, setting both aside to dry.

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Next, I chose some Copic markers (YR23, YR07, YR04, YR16, R37, R43, R46, & V15) and began coloring the flaming heart. I buy my Copics locally (at Impress, Urban Scrapbooker, or Ben Franklin) when I can. Several online retailers also sell them (Simon Says Stamp, Ellen Hutson, and Scrapbook.com). When I was satisfied with the colors and shadows I set this aside to dry. Next, I chose two small letterpress letters “X” and “O” and painted them with Distress paint in Candied Apple and put them aside to dry. At this point I came back to my relic and added some clear Wink of Stella to give it an iridescent glow. I glued the relic to the bamboo skewer and set that aside to dry.

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Next, I created feet for the piece using scrabble tiles. Using Aleen’s fast grab tacky glue I adhered the feet to the bottom of the chipboard base. While I was waiting for things to set up, I took some Color Bloom Sprays in Cotton Candy, Peony, Carmine Red, and Frost and colored two pieces of seam binding. I crinkled the wet binding and began drying it with my heat gun. TIP: I love the fact that you can refill (with regular water) the Color Bloom sprays 2 times before discarding it. They are so packed with pigments.

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I added the phrase, “who cherished her heart” using ChitChat stickers to the front of the dome and I distressed the X & O using my favorite sanding block. Now that everything was dry, I was able to begin assembly. First, I placed the relic and then added in the Frozen Charlotte, which I draped in one of the lengths of died ribbon, and finally the X & O. The last thing I did before sealing the dome to the base was to add a bit of Flower Soft (Snow).

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Lastly, I tied the 2nd piece of dyed ribbon to the top of the dome and added a word charm (adore) to it. I’ve made many of these little dome pieces and I really enjoy creating in miniature.

Thank you for sharing some of your time with me today. I hope this piece has inspired you to get into your creative groove! Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Supplies Used
Prima Marketing Relics & Artifacts: Flaming Hearts II
Prima Marketing Color Bloom Sprays: Cotton Candy, Carmine, Peony & Frost
Tim Holtz Word Charms
Tim Holtz Sanding Block
Tim Holtz  Letterpress Letters
Wink of Stella Clear
ChitChat Stickers
Bamboo Kabob Skewer & Flower Soft (Snow)
Distress Paint in Candied Apple
Copic Markers & Vintage Frozen Charlotte
Snug Hug Seam Binding Winter White

Domestic Goddess Mixed Media Canvas

Hello, friends! I hope 2016 is off to an amazing start full of creativity and adventure for each of you. For my first post of 2016 I would like to share an 8 x 10 mixed media canvas I created using the Domestic Goddess paper line from 7 Dots Studio. I really like all the lines from 7DS and this one is no exception. It is reminiscent of 40’s & 50’s domestic life and honestly cracks me up most of the time. I am not June Cleaver. Not even close. It’s a good thing the only other “person” I have to keep alive with regular food and water is my feline friend, Rainey.

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Growing up with a mom like June Cleaver, Donna Reed, or Marion Cunningham must have been amazing. I respect the women who run households. It’s a full time job and they do it well, but sometimes I wonder if Mom might have “other” dreams (in addition to taking care of her family). This is the inspiration for my project, “Domestic Goddess: She Did Because She Could”.

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My base is an 8 x 10 canvas I picked up at Michaels back during the summer. It is from a “denim” canvas line and is a burlap brown with these amazing antique brass studs on the edges. You could also use a natural canvas (raw, without gesso). I began by choosing a paper for the background. I decided to use White Apron because I liked the imagery and the neutral palette. I cut a rectangular piece roughly 8 x 10 and ripped it diagonally. Once I was satisfied with the angle and edge I inked all the edges using Distress inks in Fossilized Amber and Hickory Smoke.

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Next, I began gathering the elements I wanted include (ribbon, ephemera, stickers, chipboard, and flowers) and tried them out on the canvas. I almost always do this as I have no idea what configuration will look best when I start out. I also pull together way more items than end up on the final piece so I can try them all out. To me this is the fun part of creating a mixed media piece. Often I will create a mock up and walk away for a time, coming back to see how I like it, moving and swapping out different items until I’m satisfied. I take a picture so I don’t forget (mixed media for me often happens over a series of days) and it’s time to begin assembly.

A quick word about adhesives. I’m not a scrapbooker so I am not necessarily thinking about my work lasting (and being archival) for the next 100 years. Instead, I do my best to choose the best adhesive for the items I’m bonding together. One of my secret weapons is Beacon’s Fabri Tac, which is a liquid seam product used in sewing. It dries clear, bonds quickly, and works well for both porous and nonporous surfaces. The bond it creates is nothing short of miraculous.

For this canvas I used several things from the Stickers 12×12 sheet, a few things from the Collage Adverts sheet, and letters from the Alphas – Raspberry Muffin sheet. I also used two chipboard pieces, the wire cage dress form and a crown, both from UmWow Studios. Dimensional items included flowers, leaves, and some beads. I used several Prima flowers from my stash, however these flowers would work perfectly and these leaves are a staple of mine.

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Using “sticky” embossing powder, I applied foil to the crown. I love sticky embossing powder (my favorite is manufactured by Ranger) and it does just what the name implies, makes the surface sticky when heated. Once you have this sticky surface you can apply foil, flocking, flower soft, or glitter to the surface and it stays put! Amazing, no? I also embossed the dress form using Delicata gold ink and clear embossing powder. I tinted the ribbon using Ken Oliver’s Color Burst in merlot, yellow ochre, and sepia. I also used Marion Smith’s Color Lab kit in merlot, 24k, and caramel on a different ribbon. I wanted to compare these two products. At the end of the day I love both. Ken’s product is more widely available, which makes it better for many of us, but Marion Smith’s has this great recipe card for mixing and getting amazing results. I also applied Bo Bunny Gold Glitter Paste through the Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil to add some dimension to the canvas. When the paste was dry I went over it gently with Fossilized Amber and Hickory Smoke inks using a round blending tool.

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I used Mod Podge (matte), Aleene’s Quick Dry tacky glue, Fabri Tac, and black foam mounting tape. TIP: I prefer black foam tape (versus white) because it doesn’t show as easily when looking at the front and blends in perfectly when viewed from the side.

7DS is a Polish-based company so all the adverts are in Polish. On a whim I decided to translate the one I used: “Od piegow krem Hannol Niezawody Parf D’orient Warszawa”. Roughly translated it is an advertisement for “reliable freckle cream” imported to Warsaw from the Orient. Too funny. Finally, and because Mom has a rapier wit, I included the mysterious quote, “She did because she could.”

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I hope this piece inspires you to “do because you can” and create something uniquely you! Until then, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Supplies Used
Domestic Goddess paper line
UmWow Studio: wire cage dress form & crown
Prima flowers & leaves
Marion Smith’s Color Lab kit or Ken Oliver’s Color Burst
Snug Hug Seam Binding White
BoBunny Gold Glitter Paste & Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil
Distress ink Fossilized Amber & Hickory Smoke
Round Blending Tool
Delicata gold ink & Clear embossing powder
Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder
8×10 Canvas
Adhesive (Mod Podge, tacky, black foam tape)

It’s National Scrapbook Day

To be honest, with the exception of a few paperbag albums and some Smash journals I have never made a scrapbook. Even the paperbag albums I’ve made never had photos added to them. They sit, safely packed away in a box. What can I say, I’m not a scrapbooker.

Why then, you might ask am I entering challenges and giveaways on this, National Scrapbook Day? The answer is simple, really. Scrabookers have the best goodies … goodies that I can use in my mixed media adventures.

Take Washi tape. A scrapbook staple, adding texture, color and interest to any layout. For me it’s wallpaper, tape, a way to turn plain cardstock interesting, and so much more. I have a Washi tape addiction … it is genetically impossible for me to pass up a cool roll of Washi tape. Before you ask, yes, all Washi tape is cool! Is there a Washi tape 12-step program? Truth be told, I probably need that.

Washi tape is just the tip of the iceberg (the Titanic-sinking sized iceberg). There are Wink of Stella pens, Copic markers, Distress stains/paints/inks/markers/embossing powders, Colorbloom sprays, stencils, and Ideology findings (mirrored stars, metal numbers, ribbon slides, and more).

I could go on for days … I have a studio to prove that. Bottom line: scrapbookers have the best goodies.

I love the creative journey and the fact that when I step into the studio I never know what is going to happen. I don’t step into the studio as often as I would like but after my move to Bellevue is complete, I hope to settle into a better routine in my creative space.

What “rolls your socks up”? If you can’t answer, I say it’s high time you figure it out! Get in touch with what gives you joy and energy and try to “get in your creative space” as often as you can!

Here are a few of my favorite spots for inspiration…

A few shopping crafty staples…

And finally, since shopping locally is important: