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

Graphic 45 Design Team Call Audition 2013

It occurred to me today to try and use some of the "luck of the Irish" of St Patrick's Day to assist in today's application for Graphic 45's current design team call.  I seriously love the products made by this company and I think it shows in my work.  In this post I will highlight a six of my favorite projects, with lots of Graphic 45 products to be seen. 



The letterbox tray above is one of the top posts on my blog and I have also seen it many times on Pinterest.  Here I used one of my favorite papers, Old Curiosity Shoppe.   I think Steampunk Debutante is my next runner up and it is the focal on the next two projects. 



This large mosaic piece hangs in my dining room and I really love it.  It was so hard at the time to use up all those cool gears, but now I get to enjoy them in my art every day.

The book below is another great piece.  Here I finished off all of my paper left over from the project above.  Inside the envelope book are lots of great tags and inserts. 

I would have to say that assemblage is probably my favorite medium to work in.  This next project is a very fun Halloween Assemblage piece that also gets lots of traffic here.  My Steampunk Apothecary employs a very nice collection of different Graphic 45 papers.  I used the Kraft Reflections, Old Curiosity Shoppe and Halloween in Wonderland.  Amazing how seamlessly they all work together.



It was hard to choose between two different Birdsong projects I have recently done. 







Since I could not decide on which one, I ended up choosing to include them both. 





Thank you as always for tuning in.  I hope the luck of the Irish is with you today too!

Cheers,

Rhea



Graphic 45 Design Team 2012 Audition

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will land among the stars. - Les Brown

A recent call for design team members by Graphic 45 has intrigued me enough to shoot for the moon.  I adore their papers, so much so, that I still wince a little inside when I cut their beautiful prints.  I have to keep the outcome in mind as I snip, fold and glue, I also save the smallest bits. They make crafting so intuitive and easy with their offerings.  It is really hard not to achieve a gorgeous outcome when using their wares. I hope you will take the time to enjoy my portfolio of projects intended as a part of my application. 

My most recent project features my favorite paper line ever, Steampunk Debutante.  I used what I had left from completing my Steampunk Mosaic piece, which will be seen shortly.  I hope to get my hands on the Olde Curiosity Shoppe soon.  I am itching to transform that paper into an interesting project or two.   



This altered policy envelope book is filled with the rich imagery provided by this line.  I added lots of metal, found objects, charms and fibers to add lots of interest and movement.  There are tags and pull outs inside each of the pages to provide additional interaction, all made with Graphic 45 goodness.  A few sheets of Botanicabella were used as well, and they blend seamlessly.  If you want to peek deeper inside of this treasure, please see my previous post. 

             

              

This next piece I now have on display in my dining room.  It is the largest project I have made to date, and I really love it.  I often use a close up of this piece as my avatar, I have loving referred to her as the gear gal.  The dimension on this piece was achieved by using small canvases.  The key to a nice composition here was taking some of them off of the large base.  I used lots of gears I purchased at a clock makers estate sale.  Additional bottles and found objects add interest to my eclectic mosaic.  To enjoy more close ups of this project you can explore here or here.



Here is a Kaisercraft clock that I altered with Botanicabella paper.  I love the warm hues and the presence of nature of this collection.  Butterflies are a favorite symbol of mine.  They were used to embellish and add dimension in this simple altered object.





The next two projects are made with another all time favorite from Graphic 45, Once Upon A Springtime.  I have always adored fairies and the rabbits remind me of Peter himself, a childhood favorite.  Another element of this line that I admire is the palate, I love the choices they made in regards to color here. If you want to read more about this project you can find additional information here.





I love all the shells, fibers, buttons and altered pins that give this little book/card dimension.  Another favorite is the vintage key with a heart shaped hole. I showcased one of the postcard images.  As my loyal followers know, I adore all things postal.  The fact that Graphic 45 always has postal elements pleases me greatly.

 

Here is my Once Upon a Row of Houses project. As always the paper is the star and makes for easy work. 



My little row of houses was put on my mantle for blog photos and ended up finding a permanent home there.  One day after purchasing a small paper stack of Christmas Emporium, I had the insight to alter the back of my row of houses in a Christmas theme.  You can read more about that project here.  I love the fact that I can simply reverse it during the holidays to update the theme.



Finally, I wanted to show off one of my assemblage pieces.  I have a real passion for this type of art, so I wanted to include it in my application, even if the project was not Graphic 45 centric.  It is called Steampunk Springtime and this was my first free form assemblage. This piece also put my blog on the map.  I love making something from nothing.  Here is the original post about this piece. 



As always I have much gratitude for those of you who follow along!  I hope you enjoyed this lovely little Graphic 45 review. While it is a bit scary to put myself out there in such a way, I am energized by the chance at a dream.

I have loved the stars to fondly to be fearful of the night. - Sarah Williams