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

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

Time to Flourish Mini Gratitude Box

This little box came together as I was working on elements for other projects.  I just could not resist assembling this cute mini cigar box almost as soon as I got it.  Of course, to be quick and efficient at covering this little item, I used several decorative tapes.

I intend to add scraps of paper with things I am grateful for inside.  I believe that in recognizing our gratitude it expands the space for more things to be grateful for to enter your life. The new Time to Flourish paper from Graphic 45 was perfect for the fall palate and sentiment.

On that note, in my creative life, I am so grateful for Alpha Stamps and Graphic 45 for being such amazing sponsors of my design work.  I am happy to report that another company will be added to that list, but I am keeping a lid on that for now.  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Botanical Tea Frame

What a perfect day to reveal this little spring project I created with the delightful Botanical Tea paper from Graphic 45!  I just love the vibrant green tones in the Walnut Hallow frame and how the color plays off the pretty papers.  

Supplies:

 Botanical Tea 12x12

Botanical Tea 8x8

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Keys

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Keyholes

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Brads

Shabby Chic Drawer Pull

Paper Flowers

Botanical Tea Banners

Botanical Tea Flowers

Botanical Tea Stickers

Walnut Hallow Frame

Perfect Pearl Mist: Pearl

Note:  To color the Walnut Hallow frame I used a combination of Distress Stain in Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters, Green Gelato and silver gilders paste.  

A layer of paper flowers was added behind the flowers on the face of the frame.  This added a great layer of dimension.

I love the banners that you can make as well.  Here I simply glued them to a ribbon to make a festive embellishment.

I adore the new shabby chic staples too.  The finish goes quite well with what I have going on here.

A final look at the layers I achieved.  Since this frame had a full back, I popped out the central image a bit in order to create more depth.

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Twinkle Twinkle Altered Box

As soon as I saw the star themed papers in the new Mother Goose paper line by Graphic 45, I knew I would have to make something with that theme.  I have been fascinated with the night sky ever since I was a youngster.

I finally caved and used one of the lovely door knobs that Graphic 45 makes for their staples line.  It was hard to use, but I think it fits the piece nicely.  Of course to add a little age, I brushed on some patina gilders paste.

In order to achieve dimension and depth, I mounted my focal on some foam I had on hand.  Lots and lots of Petaloo flowers were used too.  When I am making something like this, I will root through my stuff and pull everything I can in the intended palate so I have lots to choose from as I create.

Here is another look closer inside.  It is hard to see, but I did use a glitter pen over all the letters that frame out this project.

Another trick I used in this project was to add lots of ink to tone down the colors.  The yellow was just too bright for my taste, so I used faded jeans distress ink to change the hue and edge my fussy cut flowers.

I hope you enjoyed this fun little project.  I know I enjoyed reminiscing about how often I used to wish upon stars and I have been inspired to do so again.

Cheers, 

Rhea

Imagination is Boundless: Graphic 45

I have super exciting news to share:  I imagined, I dreamed and I achieved:  I am now a member of Graphic 45's 2013 Design Team!  The shock is just starting to wear off, two days post announcement.  I am so excited to take part in this elite team.  I am sure that I will learn a lot and create a lot as a result of this appointment.  

I thought this little box I made for Alpha Stamps was a nice little piece to show off in celebration.  The sentiment surely fits.  There is also one of my last coveted metal staple butterflies from G45 in there. :)

Thank you all for your well wishes and incredible support through this whole process.  Let the next phase of my artistic journey begin!

Cheers,

Rhea

Altered Holiday Bits

I have manged to get a few things done today and thought I would celebrate with a post.  I have a looming deadline for some swaps, which always helps to push me along.  One of the projects I completed was a mystery element ornament swap.  Our lovely hostess, Deb, provided us with a material which we had to utilize in some way to create a Christmas ornament.



She gave us a round, plastic disc which ended up being my base in these holiday junque ornaments.  I die cut an oval and glued on a Santa image.  The edges were covered in memory tape and a hole was punched up top.  Then I started to embellish with lots of found objects and fibers.  I used small scale ornaments, lights and real replacement bulbs. A recent score of keys allowed me the freedom to add another element to these along with some holiday muse tokens by Tim Holtz.  I used white picket fence distress strain on the tokens to add another wintry element to some of the metal. 

      

I used Tim's texture hammer to pound the edges of the memory foil for texture.  Each part was placed at a different level to add interest.  The hangers were simply hand formed from heavy gauge wire once it was twisted together.  I love how they add a unique whimsical element to the ornaments.  I attached old replacement Christmas lights some of them as well. 



This is an altered 250 count matchbox.  I made this for a holiday swap, so the inside is filled with goodies for my partner.  Lots of fun supplies were used: tissue tape, kraft paper, broken jewelry, German scrap, shrink plastic, a Tim Holtz adage ticket, stickels and tinsel.  One of the items inside of the box is a smaller Christmas Ornament, pictured below.  I am going to enter this into Simon Says Stamp and Show's weekly challenge.  This week they are looking for tickets. 



Here I used snow cap alcohol ink and stickels on the glass before adding Santa with glossy accents.  The top is adorned with a bit of vintage tinsel from Tim's etsy shop this season.  Another muse token and unique wire hanger finishes off this tiny gift. 

I hope you found some inspiration in my recent holiday happenings.  Be sure to come back soon as there are many projects in the works!

Cheers,

Rhea