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!!!!

Moth Orchid

I recently participated in a "dimensional flower" card lottery in one of my 43 Yahoo groups (not all active, of course . . . YIKES!!! LOL!!!) . . . it gave me an opportunity to use a punch and a book I've been HOARDING for years!!!! LOL!!! Here's my card . . .The book I used is Floral Punch Craft VI Orchids and More by Leone Em . . . I flipped over her sophisticated punch flowers . . . they look so real and I LOVE orchids . . .

I used a Punch Bunch punch made especially for this flower . . . it took me a while to get the first one done . . . but by the time I finished the first one . . . the others came easier . . .

I also used my new Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" embossing folder to make little dry embossed polka dots on my white cardstock and used my Fiskars' border punch for the nice lacey edge . . . I think it looks like a nice "girly" card!!!!! What do you think?!?!?! LOL!!!!!