Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tea Time

The August swap for the Vancouver Artist Trading Card Group included Time, Telephones & Teapots themes.  This was my piece, and it illustrates how difficult I find "vintage".

Tea Time 

I've been thinking about Black & White pieces too, lately, and so I tried this one, with some judicious use of masking:

Tea Time 2

If you want some Black & White inspiration, check out  Godelieve's work at Stamping Mathilda.  I love all of Godelieve's work, but I find her Black & White series particularly inspiring lately.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Vintage Collage Lovelies

Has it really been almost a week since I posted?  Tsk tsk.  And I've received some lovely artist trading cards to share with you too!  These are from a monthly vintage collage swap, and I'm honoured to receive such beautiful and detailed work.

July 2010

Here is my less than spectacular contribution.  I've been having trouble spending time in the studio in the heat of the summer, so I whisked a collage stamp onto some collage paper.  I promise that I've done something with more glue for August.

July 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

France Journal

The pictures from my last trip to France have sat in Cyberspace for almost five years. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I love artists books and journals. I've been seeking (well, maybe only in my mind), a way to reconcile these differences, and postponing my France Journal in the meantime.

And then fate joined me up with Lelainia over at Tattered Edge and with a new (to me) Bind-It-All machine. I suddenly wanted to sew things on journal pages like in Lelainia's Remains of the Day journals. (See here for Remains of the Day journal classes. I haven't had a chance to take one yet, but Lelainia says they are great.)

So, I hauled out my bulging envelope of brochures and maps from my France trip, and here is the result.

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I can now go on my next trip to Europe without feeling guilty about unfinished "business" from the last one. My DH has just booked us to go to Spain in September!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Card Style

A couple of weeks ago, I did a quiz to determine my card style.  The quiz can be found in the new Card Style publication by Paper Crafts.  I haven't been able to find it near me here in Canada yet, but you can get a sneak peek and take the quiz here.

Although I wasn't surprised to find out that my style is "clean & graphic",  I've been thinking often about the various styles and analyzing pictures of cards when I see them.

A few weeks ago at our local stamp club meeting, one of our very talented members, Heather, gave me a card that I adore.  I know now that the reason I love it so much is that it is "clean & graphic".

I shamelessly CASE'd Heather's card and came up with these.  The vases are pieced with Origami paper, the flowers coloured with alcohol markers.

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday2

Thanks, Heather, for inspiring me.  If Heather has a blog I don't know about it - I'd definitely send you there.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Text Messaging

This month Michelle Ward, over at GPP Street Team, is challenging us to "cut or rip lines of text from magazines.  Apply it to your page to create a message or use as an abstract background."  Another fun challenge.

Some of those who read my post about grids, applauded my use of baggies to sort my paper scraps into colours.  Well, I have another baggy for bits of text I've cut out.   Yeah, I'm a serious organizer.

For this page I chose text on white backgrounds, glued it down with gel medium and then stamped over it all using foam stamps and red acrylic paint.

GPP Street Team 43

I encourage you to follow this link and give it a try!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

I Can't Draw

Or can I?

I recently attended The Modern Woman, an exhibition of Impressionist drawings from the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, being shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery.  The drawings are so beautiful that I was inspired to try and improve my drawing ability.  My idea was to learn like the Impressionists did - by copying other Masters.  The Impressionists went to the Louvre and copied the earlier Masters. 

I went to the library to borrow a book, and was very happy to find the catalogue for the Modern Woman exhibition.

Here's a quick copy, and the original (on the right)....

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Now, I think that maybe I can draw, just not from my imagination, which is how I usually try it.  I need something to see (a picture, a drawing, an object.)

Why not give it a try?

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Friends

I met my wonderful friends at our local stamp club yesterday.  We played with some new techniques and learned some card "engineering". 

This is a card I made based on one of last month's techniques, "Garden Walk".  I made it for the card swap at the club.

Friends

If you want to try it, you can drip alcohol ink on white glossy cardstock until the whole piece is covered.  Finish with a sprinkle of blending solution, and then use it to create something!  I stamped flowers on my piece.  Thanks, Stella!