Good ol' Sport Card

Well here I am once again stepping outside of my comfort zone with a card.  I love how my design team appointments provide crafty challenges and cues, it helps keep me inspired and fresh.  Anyway, this is from one of Graphic 45's newest paper lines, Good ol' Sport.

I love the rich warm colors that this paper palate has.  I could not resist adding lush flowers from Petaloo to embellish the heck out of this card.

The black doily gear background is from Gina's Designs and I absolutely love them.

Of course I had to have some metal on my card.  To link the finishes together I added some patina gilders paste.

Most of all I love the quote on this card.  It is a great personal reminder for me right now!

Cheers,

Rhea

Christmas Stockings

My poor little blog has been neglected of late!  I am so sorry dear readers and I hope to have the situation remedied soon.  In the meantime, here is one of the few holiday projects I mustered up this season, this time made for Alpha Stamps.

I used gilders paste in white to add a sprinkle of highlights on my star, flowers and the edge of the stocking.

I love how adding just a bit of the paste changes the tones of the metal.

On this stocking I added UTEE to Tim Holtz's metal numerals.  A few flecks of black made them look a bit vintage.

Here the image is an old embossed Santa from Dresden scrap.  I backed it with burlap to add a layer of texture.

Merry Christmas to all of my faithful readers!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Christmas Hope Box

With this post it is my hope that the Christmas spirit finds me!  It has been late in coming this year, but I have a feeling the lack of time left  and the constant fall of snow outside will help it to emerge.  Showing off this cute upcycled box may just do the trick as well.

I made this project for Graphic 45 with their latest Christmas collection, 12 Days of Christmas.

It started out as an old cigar box.  I reinforced the lid with masking tape since the paper holding it together was brittle and old.

On the top I embellished with lots of 12 Days flowers.  I love how Graphic 45 makes embellishing work so easy with all their coordinating accessories.

A few extra leaves, die cuts and embellishments and I had totally revamped a crusty old box.  Note my love of tape continues along the edges with some tissue tape by Tim Holtz.

To keep the vintage look going, I was sure to ink my edges to create shadows, edges and interest.

I even made the inside cute with a bit more paper.  This is one of my favorites in the collection.  I imagine this could be a fun box to add a few exotic spices and recipes in.   Or perhaps I could fill it with vintage craft supplies for one of my artsy pals.  Last idea could be to use it as a junk box and add in all the notes, cards, receipts and lists from your holiday season to capture memories in a unique way.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Christmas cheer!  I hope it multiplies with this post!

Happy Holidays!

Rhea

Couture Swatch Book

It was so simple to put together this little swatch book of tags for Alpha Stamps with the lovely new Couture paper from Graphic 45.  For a complete list of supplies I used you can take a peek right here.

There are so many lovely prints of paper in this line.  I really love all of the darker papers, they make the imagery pop.

As I often do in my work, the edges are colored with black distress stain to give each layer dimension and make for a finished piece.

The ribbons used throughout the project are mostly from Alpha Stamps.  They have a great selection of seam binding which is super affordable.

The postal stamp images made for quick embellishments on these very simple tags.

To keep my book together I added vintage metal eyelets to my tags to reinforce the holes.  A book ring was then used to string it all together.

Thanks for tuning in!  Sorry I have been off the map for a while, but I am hopefully back and in the swing of things.  My creative mojo hit a little slump for a bit, it happens to the best of us I suppose!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Typograpy Letterbox Tray

I have been blessed with so many rich opportunities since joining the Graphic 45 design team and today is another one of those fantastic events.  Here is a sneak peak of my feature over on Paper Crafter's Library!

I hope you will head on over to learn more about Graphic 45 and see the rest of this project!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Fall Journal with Texture Tutorial

Fall is certainly my most favorite season ever.  For some reason, it just really inspires me.  With this in mind, I set out to create a fun Fall Journal to record my thoughts, memories and maybe even a few poems.

I will be sharing a few techniques along the way today as well.  On the cover you can see some great imagery from Alpha Stamps. For a full list of all the goodies I used from Alpha Stamps you can go right here. Another easy addition to this cover are French Country stickers from Graphic 45.

I love this cute little tiny oak leaf garland.  Also notice the great texture I got by layering stencils.  Here I used matte medium with my honey comb stencil and then aged it once the medium was dry.

Here you can see the detail of leaves I made with glossy card stock, alcohol inks and the tattered leaves stamps from Tim Holtz.

I started by choosing a few warm colors of ink.  I dropped them on the glossy paper and then blotted with a ink dabber doused with blending solution.

This is a few of the papers I made.  I did not mind that I still had some large spots on the paper, it ended up adding great interest to the finished leaves.

Here are the leaves after stamping them with permanent ink and then fussy cutting them out.  I am always happy when I can create my own embellishments from what I have on hand.

This tag below highlights the amazing texture you can get from using the different pastes that are now on the market.  Here I chose to use molding paste along with my stencil.

I started out by layering with my spray inks and stencils.

I then added layers of stain and inks. It helps to water down the stains before swirling the tags in the color.  I don't mind when my inks smear either, it adds interest to the piece.

 Another way to add a layer of color is with an ink pad and an ink applicator. This way it provides a softer and more reliable pattern.

Here are a bunch of my tags after playing with my inks and stencils. Notice I have gone back and added inks or stains to most of the edges of my pockets and tags.  This adds a great frame to any element.

Once there is a base layer of color and pattern, I take it a step further and add more texture with the paste. An inverted spatula works really well for this.

I like to use deli paper when I am doing this type of work.  I can mess up a sheet and easily clean up my spot with a quick toss.  Be sure to clean up your stencils promptly after applying pastes through them!

After the paste is dry I add more ink or gilders paste to provide yet another design element to the tag.

I am looking forward to curling up with a nice warm drink and journaling this past fall season.

I have entries planned for my recent Upper Peninsula vacation...

Perhaps a few fall poems...

And maybe even a doodle or two...

I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy post of my Fall Journal filled with fun texture.

Cheers,

Rhea

Typography Inspiration Box

I am so excited to finally be able to show this Typography project for Graphic 45. This project went in a total direction than anticipated, but that is what I love about art.  

Typography Inspiration Box

Typography 8x8 paper

Typography 12x12 Paper

Typography Chipboard

Typography Stickers

Regular Tag Album

Antique Metal Door Pull

Ornate Metal Key Holes

Ornate Metal Keys

May Arts Ribbon

Petaloo Flowers

Copper Gilders Paste

Tissue Tape

E6000

Scor-tape

Black Gesso

Black Soot Distress Stain

I simply love scouring resale shops, flea markets and estate sales for things to alter.  The starting point for this Typography Inspiration Box came from one such find at a Goodwill thrift store. 

My little  box was fifty cents and it was quickly transformed into vessel for a few inspirational tags.  I creatively used the Ornate Metal Key Holes in groups to emulate feet along with lots of other Graphic 45 metal staples.  And yes, they are colored with copper gilders paste. 

The rich warm tones of the Typography line are just absolutely luscious! I have to admit, this paper line has grown on me a lot, I love it more and more with each use.

I layered chipboard elements with flowers and metal staples to create simple adornment on each tag.

I also adore the addition of lots of Petaloo flowers to each of my tags.

By simply adding a bit of twine or ribbon to the chip board pieces, it is easy to add texture and interest to a tag.

I also love all the great quotes and saying that Graphic 45 added to this line, there are lots of gems for sure. 

Cheers, 

Rhea