Abandoned Art!

I had made this project quite awhile ago for Graphic 45 and it was recently shared in my awesome farewell post.  I could not believe the outpouring of love and comments, it is something I will certainly treasure.  Anyhow, I decided that this project needed to be abandoned in the wild for someone else to enjoy! It always feels good to put a little love out into the world.

What started as a Facebook Group has evolved to an "art movement" with "art abandoneers" all across the world.  There is even a book that has been published! It is really fun to see the amazing things that people leave as a beautiful random act of kindness.

I had been carrying around my little house for several days with the intent to leave it somewhere, but I could not find the right spot.  My day job took me to Lansing for a meeting and I had the idea to see if I could drop it in a really urban location.  This interactive art piece was a perfect spot. There is a tag on the back of the project explaining that it is free art and contact information to report their experience if they choose.

Here are additional photos of my project.  I love the roof that I made with a die cut by Tim Holtz, it turned out so super cute.

There is lots of metal added to the front of this little fairy house.  I also used a lot of fussy cutting and flowers to add more texture and interest.  

I sure hope that someone out there is enjoying their little bit of abandoned art!

Cheers,

Rhea

House Shrine

So yesterday one of my art pals, Andy, posted a "permission slip" to go to your studio to make art on Facebook. This is the result of my play time yesterday and I am so pleased with the outcome.

The base was from the wood section of a big box craft store.  I had primed it with black gesso long ago, and today was the day that leg work paid off.  The jumping point on my basic technique was when I started to edge the house with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) in bronze.  I realized that I could make the look of patina by adding in a little turquoise Iced enamels while the UTEE was still hot.

In this image you can see how I made my Tim Holtz hardware match the project with the use of Vintaj patina.  I also love the little heart embellishments.  They are made of wood and I used more Iced Enamels, this time in ivory to create some contrast.  A vellum heart cut out by Heidi Swap was layered on each heart for extra detail.

This bee bezel I made a few weekends ago found it's home along with some other metal bits and pieces from B'sue Boutiques.  Again, the use of the patina helps to bring everything together and create a cohesive look even with different metals.

As you can see I got really crazy with the UTEE.  I ended up doing the whole outside of the house with the stuff.  To add some texture I used a script stamp while the UTEE was still hot.  To blend it a bit, I used the heat gun over the stamped words to erase and blend some of the texture back. More patina was added and wiped off to make the letters pop.

My intent was to create lots of depth by having different layers of embellishments.  I mounted the focal butterfly on a box lid so it would stand out from the back.  The heart banner was made from a scrap of cardboard that was embossed and distressed.  It was a challenge to solve the bottom of my shrine, I got stuck a few times on my composition, but in the end I worked it all out!

Here you can see the inside edges just a bit.  Layers of tissue tape and stickles make for lots of texture.  Also you can see a tiny glimpse of the embossed metal that I used in the very back.

This was such a fun piece to create and share.  I hope you found some inspiration along the way!

Cheers,

Rhea

Boots n Saddle Shadow Box

This project was made especially for Canvas Corp and the release of their Boots n Saddle paper line. 

I was thrilled with the challenge to find "junk" in a Western theme, a theme I would not typically gravitate towards.  The stuff I found surprised me.  I not only had quite a few fun bits in my stash, I readily found some charms at a big box store to suite this genre.

The steer is actually from a belt or a broken bit of jewelry.  Part of an odd lot from an estate sale I think.  There is one vintage Cracker Jack toy in there as well as a rope from a Clue game.  It is amazing what you can find when you start to think outside the box.

The rusty stars were from a recent exchange with my local Multi Media Mavens.  Jill gave these stars to me and they are the perfect addition to this project.  I added some color with a touch of German silver gilders paste (I got a new color!!!!) and mounted them in a way that leaves two of them free to move.

To create a title for the piece that goes with the paper line, I used my trusty Dymo label maker once again.  In order to alter the title, I used gilders paste, creating cohesiveness by using the paste consistenlty throughout the project.

Here is a nice shot of the texture I achieved by layering all kinds of products.  I used Tattered Angels high impact paints, Vintaj Patinas, Tim Holtz Rock Candy and also alcohol inks.  Lots of fun stuff to play with to get this super aged look.

Thank you so much for taking this trip out west with me!

Cheers,

Rhea

Mixed Media Butterfly Box

I had so much fun really altering this box from Graphic 45.  

P.S. sorry about the moody morning light, I was under a deadline and had to work with what I had! 

I even made a tutorial on Snapguide so you can see how I achieved this lovely metal texture on plain old kraftboard!  

Check out How to Alter a Graphic 45 Mixed Media Box by Rhea Freitag on Snapguide.

The addition of all the microbeads at the end really adds to the texture I created on this project. I admit it was a little scary to slather my project in glue at the end, but it was worth it.

I am running low on those amazing butterflies from Graphic 45.  This is a great way to pay homage to a retired supply!

Here is a photo of the back of the project so you can get an idea of what my base looked like.  I even managed to stamp a little in this project, which rarely happens because I am a sloppy stamper.  I used the purposefully messy "technique."

While there is not a ton of paper in this project, I do love the snips of Artisan Style that I used in this project.  What a lovely paper line!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you found a little bit of inspiration to take into your next crafting session.

Cheers, 

Rhea

Butterfly Tag

This is yet another project inspired by Miss Linda Ledbetter and her Creative Crew.  This week's technique for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge was a remnant rub resist.  I love the detail it gave this fun tag.

I went back to my usual brown color palate, but added a small pop of blue to try and spice things up a bit.  One trick I used in this project was to make a "ribbon" for the tag with tissue tape.  Thank you Dyan Reavely for that one!

You can also see the layers of ink, stenciling and distress.  Notice also that I edged the tag with silver gilders paste, the perfect metallic finish.  Lots of metal elements always make a tag feel substantial.  

Again I used lot of vellum elements from Tim.  I just adore these! 

This week's challenge is being sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique, check them out along with all the inspiration from Linda's team.  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Air Mail Collection Folio

This project was completely inspired by Linda Ledbetter and her amazing Curiosity Crew.  They put together such an amazing array of projects, I could not help but to play along.  

This post is super long, so I warn you in advance!  Check out the great latch I added to close this fun folio.  I have included an image here of the back so you can see what the base of the project looked like.

Here you can see the great translucency that Ice Resin gives Tim's tissue wrap.  Some of my grungy stenciling and background can be seen peeking through.

I imagine I could keep on working in this book for a long time yet! It needs some doodling and journaling.

I used lots of the new vellum ephemera from Tim Holtz.  I ran most of my stuff in this book through my Xyron sticker maker and it worked great.  You can also see above where I used eyelets to attach my book to the folio along with a bit of E6000.  The combination of a cold connection and heavy duty glue made for a perfect combo.

Note that I added some stenciling after the project was complete.  This way I added a final layer of ink on top of everything.

This week's contest for the Compendium of Curiosities is sponsored this week by Inspiration Emporium.  I have not placed an order there before, but their site looks yummy!

The vellum has such an awesome translucency, I just love it.

Home made envelopes, paper bags, tags, tissue tape and tickets are sprinkled throughout my book.

 There are things tucked inside of each little pocket and envelope too!

Some of the ephemera is simply clipped on.  I like to have the element of movement to my work.

I used lots of scraps from my resin tissue wrap in this project as well.  The round postmark from the British Post office is one example below.

I hope you enjoyed today's post! I sure had fun creating this project! Thanks to the whole crew for an amazing week of inspiration.

Cheers,

Rhea

Glitter Row Houses

This months themed kit over at Alpha Stamps is Glittered Houses.  When I received my goodies, I used the idea to finally use the Artful Dwelling die from Tim Holtz. 

For a complete supply list you can follow this link.  I incorporated all kinds of fun supplies and added lots of layers with different product.  The base was distress stain which did prove problematic as you can see the stain bled onto my snow.

I decided to just embrace it, and I do think it just makes the sky glow now.  Lots of different Dresden trims were added to edge out roof tops and windows.

 

I incorporated pieces of metal junk and findings.  I tried to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in my selections.

By layering some of my embellishments I was able to create really cute adornments for my houses.

I hope you all enjoyed my little glitter row houses!


Cheers,

Rhea

Industrial Typography Box

So I always love when I get a design team challenge.  This was the case when tasked to work with Core'dinations card stock along side Graphic 45.  I don't typically use plain paper, so of course I got to altering it pretty quick! The card stock stood up very well to several different techniques.

The gears were cut from the black Core'dinations paper and then embossed.  I also used gilders paste in silver to bring out all the raised images.  Finally I misted them with Perfect Pearls spray ink to add a bit more of a metallic look.

In order to make the saying inside pop, I used some recycled foil embossed wrapping paper.  I thought that the reflective quality of the paper would keep the inside of the box from getting dark.

The gears were attached on both sides of the opening of the box to add dimension.

I also finally used these coveted wheel pulleys by Tim Holtz.  I have had them in my stash for a while and I thought this was the perfect project to use these on.

In these images you can also see the great metal texture I achieved on bare kraft matchbox with stain and ink.  I used water to make them react and leave behind lots of interest.

I could not resist adding a bit of actual metal.

I really loved taking on this challenge.  You should see what the rest of the team has come up with today!  Please stop by the Graphic 45 Blog and Cord'inations Blog for lots of great inspirations and chances to win lots of prizes.  You can even enter right here too!

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