The Elephant is in the room, Art Journal page

Hello and Happy Wednesday!!  Tina Walker here today!

Today, I am sharing an Art Journal page, full of texture, color, and fun!  If you have seen several of my past posts, you know that one of my favorite techniques is to create Art Journal pages using Gelli Plate Prints.  I love the  instant background you achieve with the prints and I love to embellish them to create an art journal or doodle page.

To create my art journal page, I enhanced the circle design to add more texture and interest.

But before I did this, I created my focal point....the stamped, embossed elephants.  I LOVE this Whimsical Elephant stamp.

I added color to each elephant using Gelly Roll Pens.  (love these).  They have a great opaque, bright color and are perfect!

Once the pen dried, I started added texture and embellishing the circle design.  To do this, I punched a circle from a scrap piece of cardstock to use as a mask.  I then stamped within the punched shape.  This only added the stamped image to the circle.

Super easy, but effective.

The stamping added great texture and interest to the plain background.  I love this technique and will be using it again.

Stamps used:
Dictionary Page
Design Crosses
Lacy Lines

I hope you enjoyed my page today!  I am always looking for new stamp techniques.  Please share them with us.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creating background texture with stamps and embossing powder

Hello and Happy Wednesday!  Tina here today with a Spooky Halloween house, full of mystery, ghoulishness, and of course texture!

Halloween is my favorite season of the year and I can't wait till this time rolls around to create fall and Halloween projects.  Today, I will share with you how I created this Halloween product, using stamps and embossing powder to create texture.

I have fallen in love with embossing powder all over again.  I love the instant texture, dimension and color you get with one simple step.

To prep my wood structure, I primed each piece with a coat of black gesso.

Once each piece was dry, I heat embossed each section (before assembling).  I used a dark blue on the main house pieces instead of black to create a bit of contrast.  I used red on the roof and brown on the tombstones.

For more dimension and color, I sprayed each piece with several shades of Shimmerz sprays.  Once the pieces were done, I glued the entire house together.

I assembled all of the internal pieces and glued them in place.

Special Note:  My moon is a bottle cap covered with Shimmerz Texturez and Shimmerz sprays.  Doesn't it look great?

VLVS Stamps Used:
Bubble Background
Lacy Lines
Dictionary Page

Thank you for stopping by today!  Have a great week!

Journey to your soul, Art Doll

Hello and Happy Monday!  Tina here today with a off the page, mixed media project.

My creative style and design evolve and change over time.  To be honest, I get bored with myself when I create the same project type design frequently.  I believe that change keeps my creativity flowing and I embrace the change instead of fight it.

One of my current creative obsessions are Art Dolls.  I love the free form, whimsy appeal and love the serene, deep feelings that are often evoked from my dolls.

Using products from some of my favorite companies, including VLVS of course, I created my next Art Doll.

My Art Doll base is actually a failed mixed media project.  I had been playing with several Stencil Girl stencils and Shimmerz paints with the hopes of creating a mixed media canvas for VLVS.  I'm not sure if the color palette or design wasn't working, so I started over.
(the original color palette on my base was blue and purple, and had text texture all over the piece).

I covered the blue/purple wood canvas with a coat of gesso and began again.

Once the gesso was dry, I used the Fractured Glass Stencil  from Stencil Girl, with Shimmerz Texturez to create my new background.  I added several shades of Shimmerz sprays to build my color.

I also applied the same technique to a blank wood piece that would 'hold' my Art Doll in place.

Now it was just a matter of building the individual pieces of my Art Doll, with paint, embossing powder, spray mists and stamping.

The 'throne' that my Art Doll rested on, was created using the Dictionary Page stamp, (a must for any mixed media artists) over a piece of vellum.  I love how you can subtly see the background through the stamped image and vellum.

Stamping does not have to be 'in your face' to get the impact you are looking for.  For my Art Doll wings, I stamped embossed the wings with Filigree Heart.  I LOVE how this looks on the wings.  The embossed stamped image adds to the whimsy feel I was looking for.  I also added a bit of the same technique on her halo.

I completed my Art Doll, using bits and bobs from my stash.

Oh yeah...I forgot to show the sides of my wood canvas.  I also stamped embossed the sides of my canvas using Lacy Lines.  This stamp is a perfect compliment to the stencil used previously.  Perfect!

What do you do to keep your creative MOJO flowing?  I'd love to know any tips or hints you have to share!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Dream | Encourage | Possibility with GDT JINGLE!

Hey Folks! First of all, welcome to the FIFTH day of our ATC Bash!! Have you been leaving comments on all the ATCs?? We may or may not be grabbing random comments to win some rubber!! 

Today is also really cool, because I get to introduce our MARCH Guest Designer... JENNIFER INGLE! She's frequently referred to as Jingle, and is super talented. 

Her blog.

Let's jump right into the beautiful ATC she's made for us today. We were super excited when she agreed to participate in our giant ATC Bash. Don't fret though, stay tuned for her next post to learn a little bit more about her.

Jennifer says:

I used Tim Holtz Distress inks and word stickers from his Ideo-ology line on watercolor paper. The stamps are both Viva Las VegaStamps!. To create the background, I stamped and embossed the Lacy Lines/Round image several times with clear powder. I then inked in three colors, blending as I went and sprayed the entire card with water to create a watercolor look. Finally, I stamped the Row of Stars stamp in black ink and adhered the words, inking the corners just a bit.