Encyclopedia Magic

Hello, Friends!
Let's start a new week with something totally amazing!
I've always been a fan of book art but what Rebecca did this month is just crazy beautiful!
You need to check this out!

Hello Everyone,

This month I am happy to bring to you a little book makeover. This beautiful old book was once a beloved encyclopedia. Now I am sure the majority of us are old enough to remember these in book form. These days you will find them on DVDs or not used at all with people relying on our good old friend Mr Google.
So if you have an old encyclopedia lying around, don't throw it out, give it a beautiful makeover.

I have always wanted to try a folded book, always throwing myself in at the deep end I tried to go with a more complicated fold for my first attempt. There were a few mishaps along the way, but in the end it worked and I am super happy.

Art Extravagance Texture Paste in Clear Crackle gave my book a beautiful vintage look, here is a close up:

As my tutorial is very photo heavy I have made it into a picture YouTube video for you all to watch.

Please sit back and enjoy watching how the book jacket evolved from start to finish.

Products Used

Prima Art Basics Heavy Gesso - Black
Prima Art Basics Heavy Gesso - White
Prima Art Basics Soft Matte Gel
Prima Art Basics 3D Matte Gel
Prima Art Basics Modeling Paste - Opaque Matte
Prima Ar Extravagance - Texture Paste (Clear Crackle)
Prima Art Ingredients Glass Glitter Gold Rush
 Prima Mechanicals - Tassels
Prima Mechanicals - Clock Face (large)
Prima Elementals Stencil - Bubbles 
Finnabair - Vintage Vanity A4 Pad
Primary Elements - Golden Nugget
 Silks - African Jade
Silks - Sky Blue
Silks - Bolivian Blue
Silks - Rich Cobalt
Faber Castell Stampers Big Brush Pen - Black

Many thanks for looking, if you have any questions please feel free to ask. 

Wishing you a happy and creative day.

~ Rebecca ~

Cosy Blog Hop & Challenge

Hello, everyone!

I don't know about your corner of the world but here in Europe, dreary November weather is just around the corner...

That's why, my wonderful Creative Team and I came up with a special challenge to warm you up and possibly inspire to create some fantastic art. Feel most welcome to join in!

Here's how our Cosy Challenge works:

First of all, make sure you blog hop with my Creative Team. Below you can see the list of all the blogs where you can find lots of warm and fuzzy inspirations.
Make yourself a huge cup of hot tea and visit each of the ladies to see their Cosy interpretations of the challenge. Don't forget to leave a warm comment! :)

Riikka

Monika

Carole

Marta

Elena Smoktunova

Linda

Elena Morgun

Rebecca

Are you feeling warmed and inspired?

So here's what you can do:

1) Find a photo that will serve as an inspirational jumping point for you. It can be any image from the internet or a photo you take yourself;

2) Create a work (layout, collage, canvas, cards - anything goes) that represents the concept of coziness and warmth;

3) Leave a link to your work in this post using the linky tool below. 

You have two weeks to send in your works - 'till November 8th. Then, my Team and I will vote who will receive a special prize.

And this is what you can win:

Are you curious how I got inspired by wolly socks and a doggie? :)
Here's my layout:

Is there anything more cosy and warming (not only the body but also the heart) than a dog in your arms? Nope. :)

The choice of warm colors was obvious in this layout - I played a little with Ecoline watercolors and just added some delicate blue accents for contrast. The warm brownish tones came from one of my favorite mediums - tea! :)

I wanted to create a layout that would express my definition of ultimate coziness - I hope the scraps of fabric and canvas, a crocheted doily and this delicate golden wire add to the whole atmosphere...

The dog, a warm blanket, wollen socks, tea, books, cushions - peaceful laziness... How does it sound for you? :)

I just can't wait to see your creations!

Here are some of the materials I used to create my layout:


I'm really looking forward to seeing your Cozy Warm creations! :)
Hugs,

Scissors Stories

Hello, Friends!
You may have noticed that each time my Creative Team presents their works, I go breathless and do a happy bunny dance...
Well, I hope you do too! :)
They are SUCH a talented bunch and today Riikka blew me away (again!) not only beautifully decorating the art journal of my design but also embellishing it with a pair of scissors - and I have a very special spot for vintage scissors in my heart... :)
Just take a look!

Hello there! I'm so happy to share with you my second piece with the awesome Art Mediums and other Finnabair products!

It's Riikka here today to share with you an art journal cover I made.

My grandfather just moved to a smaller apartment and while going through his belongings, I discovered numerous pieces that found their way to my mixed media drawer.

One of those little treasures are the scissors on this cover. I also found my late grandmother's old sewing kit and used the old tape measure also on the cover.

Together with the heritage pieces, I used various Mediums and embellished the project with Mechanicals. I layered several pieces of the Mechanicals in the form of a flower. There are many wonderful tutorials on layering the Mechanicals by Finnabair, for example this one.

I also added separate metal pieces here and there and formed a big cluster with all the embellishments.

The first thing  I did was to add some strips of paper to the cover. To adhere those I used Soft Matt Gel. On top I created a resist pattern using a Finnabair stencil and 3D Gloss Gel. To get the metal pieces to stick to the cover and also survive the wear and tear, I used 3D Matt Gel as the adhesive. I also used Clear Gesso, Soft Gloss Gel and two Texture pastes in the creation.
You can see where and how I used them from the video I created. Hope you enjoy!

I wish you all could see the cover in real life as the play of matt and gloss, dull and shiny is quite nice in it. The glossy circles create a great contrast with the gesso-mixed pigments.

Thank you for your visit! I can't wait to start filling this journal with pages! 

Products used in this piece:


Oh, and psssst... keep an eye on my blog tomorrow - my Team and I have something very special for you!!! :)