Use the Muse II Contest

Hi Everybody!
For those of you who like contests and prizes . . . and who doesn't!!!!! ArtBeads.com is sponsoring Scarlett Lanson's Use the Muse II Contest . . . please click here for rules and regulations!!! Good luck!!!!!

More Traci Bautista inspired work . . .

Taking Traci Bautista's workshop really re-charged my muse . . . I took out my acrylic paints to make this ATC and card for a yahoo group I'm in . . . after I used 2-3 colors in the background . . . I used a wide angle plastic palette knife with a bit of paint . . . a plastic putty knife would work just as well . . . . I bought a set of three at WalMart for about $2 . . . pushed it down into the painting surface and lifted it straight up to get a nice texture on it . . . I repeated it in several places . . . The images are all A Stamp in the Hand stamped in black pigment ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder . . .My second piece is a xeroxed color copy of a Traci Bautista inspired background I did with acrylic paint . . . I added Liquitex Acrylic Glaze Medium and Golden Soft Gel Gloss to add dimension to the background . . . The image is from The Stampsmith . . . if you ask Estelle . . . Estelle@stampsmith.net . . . she'll email you her AWESOME movie star images she has available in rubber . . . I made my Audrey Hepburn image into a packing tape transfer, adhered it to the card . . . then beaded the edge . . . It's so much fun to get back to acrylic paints!

Traci Bautista COLLAGE UNLEASHED Class

I was fortunate enough to have taken a class by Traci Bautista, talented author of COLLAGE UNLEASHED, on Saturday . . . I did have to leave early for a retirement party for my old school . . . so I worked on the rest of the project at home using Traci's wonderful book as a guide . . . I was also surprised and thrilled to learn that she holds classes ONLINE and has a new line of collage products . . . WOW!!! What a talented and smart lady!!!!!

Traci used the backs of flat rate "boxes" (cardboard envelopes) from the post office as canvases . . . she also uses brown bags like the ones from Trader Joe's . . .

My finished project is my interpretation of Traci's technique especially since I had to leave class early . . . I seem to fall back into the comfort of using stamps . . . I used foam stamps . . .

I think what I gained the most out of Traci's class was the idea that collage is a "fun" activity . . . I enjoyed feeling free of the restraints of trying to make my piece "perfect" . . . I'm thinking that's where she gets the vocabulary "unleashed" and "graffiti" from . . . How cool!!!!! LOL!!!!

Friends of Sylvia Valle . . . June 2009

My weekly greeting card/beading classes I attend has come to another end of school year . . . I made a scrapbook for our dear teacher, Sylvia Valle, with Basic Grey PERHAPS Collection papers . . . an alphabet die by Quickutz called ELIZA die cut from silver cardstock . . . Sylvia's name is emphasized by adding Ranger's STICKLES glitter glue on top . . . then beaded on the edge . . .

Many, many students contributed to this scrapbook with individual pages in their own style . . . Sylvia was thrilled with her gift . . .

I hope you enjoy my contribution to the scrapbook!!!!