Finnabair: 2014

Hi again my dear friends, I hope you had fabulous Christmas Time, filled with joy, love and relax.
It is the last day of 2014 and I hope the next year will me far better for you than this one!
Today - after a short break I'm back with Art Recipe Wednesday post, hoping it will give you some inspiration and push you into creativity after the Holiday ;)

Project I've made for you is great both for beginners and those of you who are more advanced - especially if you'd like to try something "lighter", more "crazy artistic" and the idea of combining colours and textures with a lot of white space - enjoy!

As you can see my main source of inspiration here was colourful, soft and fluffy yarn I got from one of my students as a gift ages ago. I used it several times already but I still had a lot of it left, and it was just begging to be used again - it is just perfect as a colour accent!

The biggest challenge was finding ink or paint which would match my yarn perfectly - luckily I found Distress Inks - Iced Spruce and Picked Raspberry which did the trick!

I couldn't resist and I HAD TO try some of my new stencils and stamps - so, ready or not, you have some sneak peeks here! Enjoy!

Here is the full Art Recipe and some step-by-step info for you! :)

1. I've started with just a 12x12'' page of white paper which I sprayed a bit with water to activate Distress Inks I decided to use as watercolour pains for my background. I picked 2 colors matching the colors of yarn I planned to use to embellish the page in the next stages of my work. I picked the right place (more-less in the middle of the page), pressed the ink pads to the paper and sprayed some more to make the ink flow. I dried it a bit with a towel and used heating tool to dry the paper perfectly.

2. Next I started adding the pattern: I used two of my new Prima Elementals Stencils, layered one on another - I applied Black Archival Ink through them with the ink blending tool. When the ink was dry I took third Prima stencil and this time I used Art Basics Modeling Paste with it to create interesting, dimensional texture. I simply applied the Modeling Paste through the stencil and dried everything with heating tool.

3. My next step was building some layers under the photo. First I used some fabric and paper tapes, then I glued a bit of pink yarn, small piece of fabric, piece of rusty metal, single wooden leaf. I used a bit of Art Basics Modeling Paste for this step too. Finally I took 3D Foam Tape (Scrapbook Adhesives) and mounted my photo on the top of the composition.

4. Next I added some embellishments: paper flower, buttons, acrylic drops - I glued them with my craft glue or small pieces of 3D Foam Tape. Next I stamped the text (from my new sets of Prima Cling Stamps, yeah!) using Black Archival Ink again.

Finally I added some splashes of Indian ink and Pink Mica Powder (Art Ingredients) mixed with water. I also sprayed a bit of this mix on my paper flower. The fishing touches were made with Soft Pencil and Watercolour Crayons (Inktense Blocks). Finished!

I have to admit I enjoyed the project so much I used a similar Art Recipe again, to create a similar layout, this time based on a bit warmer colour palette. I love how different effects you can get using the same supplies... imagination is the limit!

This time Distress Inks I started with were: Bundled Sage, Festive Berries and Picked Raspberry. You can also spot a couple of new Elementals Stencils there (yay!)

I hope you enjoyed this idea - I had great time playing with color and texture and I'm really tempted to try some more!
Unfortunately not all the supplies I used are available yet - but here is what I could link for your convenience:

And let me wsh you again a wonderful, inspiring, creative New Year!
I'll be back soon - and will see some of you in California in couple of days!
Sensing warm hugs

Hello, Dear Friends!

Last Monday in 2014... Let's spend it with Monika and her gorgeous project with an important message...

Hello all!

I was wondering what I could show you as my last work in 2014 and I decided that it will be my calendar for the New Year with the word "Discoveries" that I would like to remember in 2015 and to be my motto every day.

I was inspired by a quote that I found:

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.

I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.

And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."

/Neil Gaiman/

My base was the back side of a stretched canvas that I primed with White Gesso and then used 3D Matte Gel through the bubbles stencil.

To blend in the area where canvas and wooden frame meet, I used three different tapes by Tim Holtz.

I wanted the inside of my shadow box to be as varied as possible so I used all sorts of paper scraps, pages from a vintage book, my favorite texts papers from Vintage Vanity collection and a die cut doily from Prima. I also added some pieces of beautiful lace and covered the whole composition with a thin layer of White Gesso.

In the corners of my canvas I added small Mechanicals rings and Finnabair's Crystal Glass Beads applied with Soft Matte Gel.

I also added some buttons, metal brads and other embellishments like Mechanicals and trinkets by Tim Holtz.

Then, I took Adverts stamp and Black Archival Ink and gently stamped the edges of my piece. I distressed the edges of my calendar with Vintage Photo Ink and stamped Book stamp with Coffee Archival Ink.

To add more to the vintage feel of this piece, I splashed some Earl Grey tea and Distress Inks that I later sprayed with a little bit of water to create some interesting stains.

I wanted this shadow box to be a reminder for me all year long - I'd like to remember that it's always worth trying something new! Not to be afraid and try to reach new creative heights...