Steampunk Mermaid Box

Hello to my dedicated readers!

It has been a really long time since I have blogged.  Life has been busy and I truly lost my creative mojo when all of my design team commitments stopped at the same time. It seems that good old Alpha Stamps has brought back my magic as they recently asked me to do a guest project.  The theme was right up my alley, so I could not resist.

For this piece I used Graphic 45's Voyage Beneath the Sea paper.  The colors are amazing and the content was perfect for this mash up.

Since I absolutely love working with Dresden, I used a nice selection of turquoise trim to really make this treasure chest seem regal and I think it did the trick!

Of course most of my projects are covered in lots of metal bits, so I used a great variety of metal and chipboard gears, some ocean themed embellishments and I added some tine glass spheres too.

I just loved the juxtaposition of the ocean theme with the industrial gears.

Of course Alpha Stamps has so many amazing collage sheets, so I had to use a variety of steampunk ones to complete my project.

I chose not to hinge my project so that I could just take the lid off, but this treasure chest has so many options to add hardware.

I filled my little box with some sea glass I had on hand. A perfect vessel for my ocean treasures!

I hope you enjoyed today's post!  It was so fun to work for Alpha Stamps once again and I truly appreciate your readership folks!

Cheers,

Rhea

Brave Girl Canvas

I have been a long time fan of Melody Ross and her various online classes.  I love her style and the meaningful messages she sends through her art.  I set out a few weeks back to create a canvas that embraced a little bit of her style and some of her teachings and this is what I created. 

 

 

 

 

I loved using a different color palate than I usually do.  This took me outside of my typical artistic output right away, but it was perfect for the project. I used lots of embellishments I had on hand, and I created my own with the use of letters, tissue paper and scraps. 

 

 

 

 

There are many layers in the background that made for lots of texture.  I used stencils along with gel medium and gesso to create lots of interest.  To bring some of my layers back out and outline my collage elements, I used pencil and even permanent marker to color the raised parts and make marks around certain shapes. 

 

 

 

Here is a close up of one corners of the piece so you can see all the wonderful layers. It is not perfect!  There are some things that I would have considered mistakes or issues in the past.  I have learned to embrace these imperfections as that is what makes it my own.

 

I hope you liked what I shared today!  It is so nice to be back in the land of inspiration again!

 

Cheers,

 

Rhea

 



 











Finnabair classes!

I was so excited when I discovered that a scrapbook shop called Scrappy Chic in Livonia, Michigan was going to be hosting Finnabair in July. I decided to have a little art binge and take all the classes and I am so glad I did.  So here I am fresh from two full days of fun, with four classes total and I am here to show off my work.

First up was "Daydreamer."  This was a collage on canvas using darker effects, which I absolutely loved.

As you can see Frida Kahlo was my focal.  I recently went and saw the Frida and Diego exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts, so I took lots of inspiration from there. I thought she was the perfect subject for the large headdressess that are signature Finnabair sytle.

The next course was called Over Emotional.  I liked having the chance to stretch myself a bit with an alternate color palate and style. While I don't think it is something I would repeat in terms of color, I am pleased with the outcome.

On of my favorite tricks used in lots of classes lately is adding some pencil at the end.  It is amazing how this small element can really change the level of detail on a piece. You can see some of my doodling at the bottom here.

So much rich and fun texture.  There is so much for the eye to take in on every one of these projects.

The start of day two was a Rich and Textured Layout class (gasp).  I don't think that there has ever been a layout on my blog, because this is just not my thing.  I decided to go with it anyway since I had traveled for the classes and I was glad I did.  There were still lots of techniques and products to try out.  The kits for the classes were beyond amazing, I am so pleased with what I still have left!

The image here came from my dad's stash.  Since he is an antique dealer he has a ton of junk.  I told him about my project and I got a slew of fun cabinet cards to play with! Score!

Last up was the ARTifact.  This was clearly my favorite, with no people to worry about as I am actually not much for featuring people in my work.  Anyhow, the focal here was a paintbrush, again provide by going through dad's junk.  Lots of fun industrial touches were added by the way of gears, nuts, bolts and even some great metal wings.

What an amazing two days of artful bliss!  Thanks so much to Scrappy Chic and of course to Finn for a beautiful presentation of classes. I am so glad I made the trip.



Cheers,

Rhea

Art all weekend with Kristen Robinson

So I am totally blissed out on art!  I have just returned from a lovely art filled weekend at Smittendust, a beautiful art studio in Diamondale, Michigan.  Dusty, our hostess, had Kristen Robinson teaching classes all weekend long and I indulged in every one of them.  

Dusty made each class participant a name tag filled with relaxing lavender.  What a great token to remember this weekend!  Above you can also see a super sweet tiny house made by Kristen that I won in a raffle.

Day one was right up my alley with the first offering called A tale in my heart - plaster, wax and paperclay shadowbox.  We actually made two pieces as the class progressed.  Kristen is so generous in her teaching and her super duper class kits. 

I love all the interesting texture achieved my mixing all the techniques offered.  I am definately inspired to play with plaster and wax in the future for sure thanks to my exploration during this class.

Day two was Divine Bangles and the title was aptly named.  We did so many different things through the course of the day such as etching, soldering and adding patina.  We also fold formed and did some basic metal working techniques.  As you can see not everything is complete, I have a bunch more wire and some assembly to do soon and I am really looking forward to it.

Then on to day three with Grunged up and Glamorous - Upcycled Journal.  I had so much fun playing with these ideas and techniques.  

There are lots of transparent elements through the use of packaging, upcycled materials and glassine. I loved adding lots of stitching with a sewing machine too.  Thanks to my art gal Joanne for sharing and a few teaching moments on her machine too.

One of the stickers from our cute kit boxes wandered into my book.  It is a sweet reminder of the day and this little junk journal is the perfect home for it.

These pages are filled with all kinds of fun.  I used resin paper, strings, feathers, tatted butterflies...whatever I could find to create texture and interest.

I was able to utilize lots of resin elements I had on hand.  Finding the opportunity to incorporate previously made components is always a good thing.

Here is another peek at my fantastic book as a whole.  It is really something that needs to be seen in person, the pictures just do not capture how special it really is.

Thanks to all who actually made it to the end here!  It was such a great weekend and it really did deserve a nice long homage!  If you are ever offered the chance to take one of Kristen's classes, I highly recommend it.

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

World Traveler Shadowbox

This project was recently featured on the Canvas Corp blog and I am happy to be able to now personally show it off to my readers!

I used 7 gypsies Serengeti paper along with a Solo Shadowbox to make this traveling treasure.  I tried to stay with an African theme to create this worldly assemblage.

The outside of the box was covered in paper tape to give it texture and alter it a little bit.  I also used burlap to give a backdrop to the smaller insets. This adds a rustic element.

The treasures inside started with the 7 gypsies charms.  I added from my own stash and I also made a special trip to my local bead shop to find a few unique things to round out my theme.  Many of the objects have been altered with patina or gilders paste.

In this piece I added some text and imagery via rub ons.  I absolutely am loving the arrow trend that is happening right now and I have added a few here and there to help the eye travel.  You can also see that I used rub ons in some of the empty areas.

As always I absolutely loved creating this piece and I just adore being able to share with you!  Thank you for stopping by!

Cheers,

Rhea

Steampunk Santos Doll

This project has been in the making for quite some time.  I started it when I recently made a large order from Retro Art Cafe, where I got the doll base.  

The caged portion of the doll is covered in turquoise Iced Enamels.  I love the shabby metal look it gives.  Since I did not seal it with resin as intended, it chipped a little, but I liked the effect. 

On the bottom of the doll I added lots of fun things. Strings and scraps from Sari ribbon, gears, hearts and even some old vacuum tubes.  A few customized bezels were also added for movement and additional meaning.

My project finally came together once I got some stuff from B'sue Boutiques.  I had been having trouble with the face of my doll, but with this lovely brass stamping my gal finally found her personality.  

I enhanced the face with Vintaj patinas, gilders paste and some stickels. I think it ended up working out quite well.  You can also see another custom bezel is tied on here with some more Sari ribbon, which was from B'sue as well.  I really loved it more than I would ever imagine, with it's bright vivid colors.

I liked the shape of the hearts as well as the colors I chose.  Here I layered on three similar elements to create interest and depth.  It is always good to repeat patterns.

The wings of my steampunk Santos doll are enhanced with Inka Gold, stenciling and lots of gilders paste.  I even edged some things out with graphite to be sure I had good definition. 

This was a super fun project for me that is really outside of my usual work, but I really enjoyed it.  I hope you did too!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Prima Design Team Call

When I heard the news that Prima Marketing Inc. was hosting an open design team call I decided to give it a try!  I am obsessed with their newest line called Relics and Artifacts and I know my work would be well suited to this line (and many others) due to my love for assemblage.  Additionally my addiction to their metal embellishments, trinkets and flowers will be quite obvious in this post! So, without further ado, here is my application post to design for a wonderful company that I would be absolutely blessed to represent.  P.S. this post is long, please stay tuned!

Altered Metal Box

Supplies:

Altered Metal Frame - Pedestal

Prima Flowers

Gears

Screw Heads

Hexagons

Faucet Wheels

Engraver Buttons

Satin Strip with Rhinestone Center

Faucet Wheels

Resin Icon: Feather

Printery Paper 6x6

Microbeads Silver

Mica Flakes Frosted

This project was inspired by the metal frame as well as a bird's nest I found that had fallen to the ground.  I decided I liked the contrast of the delicate nest and nature theme alongside lots of industrial touches and a metal base.

You may notice that I "hacked" the small gray flowers a bit.  They used to have a pearl center, but I replaced them with lots of metal trinkets that fit better with my theme.

Inside I was sure to embellish in layers to ensure lots of texture and dimension.  The background of the box was treated with silver leaf.  I intended for the reflective quality of the technique to keep the inside as bright as possible.

Perhaps my favorite technique in this project was how I created my little bird.  I started out with Printery paper I treated with Ice Resin.  

Just after adding resin to both sides of the paper, I sprinkled in some art ingredients from Finnabair: micro beads and frosted mica flakes.  After the paper had cured, I used my steel rule die to cut out the bird shape and then I added the gear for an eye, which made for a really cool embellishment!

Printery Shadowbox

Supplies:

Printery 6x6 paper

Art Ingredients Glass Glitter: Pitch Black

Ship Parts

Plate and Label

Typewriter Words

Handles and Turns

Faucet Wheels

Steampunk Air

Hexagons

Screw Heads

Zipper Pulls

Typo Bulbs 1

Engraver Buttons

Gears 

For this portion of the application I wanted to showcase my love for assemblage, texture and found objects.  I have paired a fair number of Prima metal trinkets and junkyard findings along with a few special treasures to make a fun nostalgic collection.

To achieve texture in this piece I chose to blend my edges and corners with a treatment of black glitter.  I love how this adds some sparkle, but still looks grungy and industrial.

I found myself drawn to using symmetry more than once as I pieced this together.  I framed out the outside corners of the box as well as the large inset. 

One trick that I often use to alter things is to layer them.  By adding the tiny gear inside of the hexagon and framing it out with the watch fobs, it created a whole different embellishment.  You can also see my layering technique below with the faucet wheels. 

The special touch of a few trinkets that are vintage also give this piece a bit more of a story.  A vintage clip, a skeleton key, found safety pins from button cards, anything like this can give a piece personal meaning.  I also love these old jacks and how the color has been worn off of them through play!

Winged Heart Plaque

Cartographer Paper
Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts Rising Spirit III

In this project I really wanted my love for mixed media to shine through.  The focal of this project is from the new Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts line and I am just absolutely in love with these art elements.

The plaster pieces are easy to alter and they accept so many different mediums.  I have layered on so many things and they still look fantastic!

Peeking out from behind the heart is a snippet of Cartographer paper.  The map symbolism for me represents growth, new journeys  and a global point of view.  All things I hope to get with a potential new design team appointment! I love incorporating personal meaning and symbolism into my work, I think it makes it just a little bit extra special.

Last up is just a quick snapshot of a project that really shows off the new microbeads as well as some sweet gray flowers.  While this project is not totally Prima, I absolutely love the texture that those tiny beads gave this project and I wanted to show off this creative application of yet another amazing Prima product.

Thank you so much for tuning in for this extra long post!  

Cheers, 

Rhea