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

Tim Holtz Clock Assemblage

I finally made the "time" to participate in one of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenges!  When I saw a short video of all the contributors samples on Facebook via Miss Linda Ledbetter, I just knew I had to join in the fun.

This baby was tricky to photograph for sure, so I took it outside for a decent shot.

I used some resin coated tissue paper and embossed scraps from Tim that I had on hand from another project.  Never throw away those scraps, you just never know when you may "need" them!

Here you can see how crusty and grungy I made the outside of the clock.  I used layers and layers of colors and product.  

Since it is so hard to see inside with the reflection, I took a picture of the base outside of the clock.  Lots of funTim Holtz goodies inside!

Don't forget to check out this week's sponsor The Funkie Junkie Boutique for lots of good product as well!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Xyron and Paper Smooches Blog Hop

I am always enthralled with dies, so when the opportunity came up with Xyron for this blog hop with Paper Smooches, I jumped at the chance.  This was my first time using thin dies and I have to say I was pleased with them!

The die I chose was Big Bloom.  I knew this would be perfect for many applications including mixed media. I set out to create a unique decorative piece.

The flowers are made of layers of burlap from DCWV as well as resin paper I made with 7 gypsies tissue paper.  I love the translucent look of the resined paper!

To assemble the flowers I used hitching posts from Tim Holtz.  A bit of twine added a nice finishing touch of texture.

The altered bottle I made was super simple with the help of my Xyron 5" Creative Station.  I simply added the ephemera I wanted to use to enhance my bottle by making stickers and adhering.  It makes it so quick and easy and there is no dry time.

 A few of Tim Holtz's rub ons finish off this fun little piece of home decor.  Rub ons are great for uneven surfaces such as this bottle.

Cheers,

Rhea

Botanical Tea Easel Album

With all the excitement of my publication, I am late to post this project for Graphic 45 with their new Botanical Tea collection.  This is my personal favorite of the newest releases.  The imagery is perfect as always and I love the colors they chose.

I just love this vibrant blue bird image.  I also love all the lush botanical images.

As always, it was hard to use some of my precious things...like the metal staples doorknob, but I managed and the project is much better for it.

The bottom of the easel book is actually the side that now opens.  I cut the album along the seam and used the new washi tape to seal up the edges.  A fun latch gives the book more character.

Inside I made several two page layouts.  I simply let the papers speak to me as I went.

Lots of paper flowers by Petaloo were added along the way, as you can see they are a perfect compliment.

Some of the images were simply matted and some were fussy cut to add interesting but simple additions to each page.

Since I did not have any of the coordinating embellishments I created some of my own, like the tiny pink corners used to frame the fern.

I just cannot get over the beautiful muted tones of this palate.

More sweet floral patterns along side classic botanical prints.

A tip for the inside of the book:  before adding my papers I stained the inside of the coil with picket fence distress stain.  Adding this muted white really helped with the shabby chic look I was going for.

I got a bit carried away with matting images.  It is such a simple way to add detail.

Here you can see one of the shabby chic metal keyholes.  I really love the new finish.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end!  I hope you were inspired just a bit.  I know looking at these nice spring images was fun, especially in the midst of all this snow!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Springtime Pocket Book

This is a simple accordion fold pocket book I made recently for Alpha Stamps.  Here is a link to lots of good stuff from this project.  We were challenged to make something that would hold Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and this tiny book ended up fitting the bill quite nicely.

I am not sure where my love affair with pockets came from, but I am certainly obsessed.

I was inspired by this Once Upon a Springtime paper I had on hand.  Coupled with new images and fun floral bits from the May 2013 Language of Flowers Kit, a sweet book was made in no time.  This was may last little whimsy flower, these were super handy to have around.  Amazing that this one was not touched with gilders paste, I almost always add a coat of that stuff somewhere on a project.  

Inside each page I crafted a tiny flap, just thick enough to hold in an ATC.   I made them by simply cutting small strips of paper and  both gluing (along the outside edge) and stapling (under the lace) them in.

A bit of old school distressing with tearing and ink give little bit of age and interest to this super simple book.

The flowers came in the kit and I layered them with a few sequins as well.

I had some scraps of lace that already had adhesive on them.  This was huge bonus as I have adhesive issues.  I used the left over lacy bits to cover up the staples on the front side of the pages.

One of my favorite things about Graphic 45 papers are the postal elements.  They always have a postmark and the one above is just top notch as I love butterflies. 

A trick I used on the lace for the cover was to metier the edges.  They are not perfect, but it is way better than overlap.  Another way I have dealt with bad transitions such as that in the past is to simply cover them up.  

I hope you found a bit of springtime inspiration!

Cheers, 

Rhea

A few bits from Brave Girl Art School

I recently took another class from Brave Girls Club called Art School.  This was a great online format that allowed us to work at our own pace on a variety of projects.  I was not able to do all of them, but I still took a lot from the class and found the inspiration fantastic.  Today I am writing to show off just a few highlights from the class. 



This piece was actually done long ago.  Melody's lesson on sign making inspired me to add the "Be Free" to simply add text this existing piece. I like it even more now.



I almost did not do this lesson at all because I simply had never played with polymer clay.  The world works in mysterious ways though, and some of my local art pals invited me over for a clay play date and I got to put my Art School lesson to work.  It was certainly fun to try, but I am not sure that this is a medium that I will often go too.  Please note, there were several pieces I was not quite brave enough to share.



And this piece....I was so not going to post it, because I think it is horrible.  It is a shame, because it came from one of my favorite lessons from the course.  I decided to be brave and show it off it as we all have mistakes, pieces that are never done and things that just don't turn out sometimes.  This is one of them for me.  I may still play with it a bit.  I cannot tell you how many layers are under this from me trying to save it though...perhaps it was just not meant to be saved. :)

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few little bits from my latest online venture.  I highly recommend any of the courses offered at Brave Girls Camp!  Someday I hope to take them "in real life" out at the camp!

Cheers,

Rhea