Finn inspired Fleur-de-lis

Bienvenue blog land!

If you have ever been to Louisiana then you will know, there are Fleur de-lis EVERYWHERE! It's even the symbol for the NFL football team...the saints!!!

It's used in clothing, decorating, art, you name it...they've got it!

So in an attempt to embrace my new culture, I decided that when my girlfriend Kim came to visit, we would do mixed media fleur de-lis canvases.

Oh my! Did I have a blast!!!  Plus I luv Kim:)

I felt that this needed to be something Finn inspired...since I luv her too. I started by free-hand drawing the fleur de-lis on the canvas, then mixed my own paint, painted the background, added another contrasting color (yellow), covered both colors with silks glaze in olive vine, and finally started gluing within the image itself. I used gloss gel medium to adhere all the bits and baubles to the canvas and then sprayed with varying mists including dylusions; black marble and dirty martini, and finally added the finishing touches with some silks glazes in emperor gold and honey amber.

You can see in the photo above that I have used so many different textures in order to achieve a super eclectic look. The butterfly is a simple resin piece with layers and layers of mediums, causing a multi dimensional shimmer and color effect. The flowers are just simple paper flowers (Petaloo flowers here) of varying color and design. With all the mediums that are used, the underlying color is irrelevant and the mists and paints allow for an overall congruency in the piece. 

Chipboard is perfect for these types of mixed media projects! They absorb the color and come in so many shapes and sizes. This is just an old piece that I had in my stash. You can find lots of chipboard and wooden pieces at eP including Wendy Vechhi and 7 Dots studios!

Other pieces to use are prima wood pieces like the fern on the lower left of the photo, some leftover nuts and bolts, various buttons, mini cloths pins, large plastic crystal pieces, bottle caps, and metal corkscrew chips that your hubby brings home from the shop for you;) Use your imagination, the sky is the limit.

Only when I was done with the hours and hours of gluing did I realize, I haven't even made a DENT in my stash.

*hangs her head in shame*

Kim wasn't able to finish hers in time so I'll be shipping it home to her and hopefully she will post it to her blog soon.

Hop on over to eP to purchase many of the items that I used on this project and play along with our fall themed challenge this month.

{{hugs}}

Andiepants

Big Scrappy Blog Hop

Welcome to the big scrappy blog hop!
We are joining up as a chain of fun blog hop tours where so many of us will get to meet new bloggers, get new inspiration and connect with blogs that will open up our creativity. This is sure to get your mojo going.

I have been nominated by my good friend and scrappy gal Rae Moses to be part of the big scrappy blog hop. Rae is currently the design team coordinator for Swirlydoos as well as a designer for Tresors De Luxe and Blue Fern studios. Her work is so over the top GORGEOUS and inspiring. Her style is so elegant, shabby, and romantic, it's easy to see why she designs for three such fabulous companies. I had the pleasure of serving a 6 month education team term with her over at swirlydoos a while back. 

1. What am I working on?

I am currently working on a page in my Louisiana art journal. Last week I did a therapeutic page documenting the trials and triumphs of moving 1700 miles from the only life I've ever known.

 I am halfway through a page documenting my GF's stay here in LA this last weekend. 

2. How does my work differ from others of it's genre?

I adore color! Bright bold colors speak to me! Although I tend to be drawn to the pale romance of shabby chic styles, when I craft its the bold and bright that speaks to my soul. 

3. Why do I create/Do what I do?

Well, for starters I do what I do for the eP design team! I love to try different products, techniques, new things, and love the have the challenge of trying to inspire others. I find that when I am immersed in my crafting that I tend to get new ideas and inspirations...my fingers will itch to touch paper, and ink, and fussy cut with scissors! I craft for therapy! When I am happy or frustrated or sad I will craft. Just a few hours in my room and the world seems to melt away. Before I know it hours have flown by and my heart is full and satisfied with my gluttony of craftiness.

4. How does my Creative process work?
I sit...and...stare! No seriously. If I am not necessarily inspired...if I've had a lot of time away from crafting, I will stare forever. I will place something...and stare some more. IT'S CRAZY!!! I don't really have a "creative process" so to speak. Now if I have a launching point, then it's a whole different ball game. For example, I wanted to use a doll stamp and make a dress of flowers and also wanted to layer lace as the background. Knowing those things I just starting slapping stuff together making sure I include the techniques I want. It's much more free that way than to plan everything out.

Here are a few of the ladies/blogs who inspire me:

Erin Smetak:
Erin is a previous fellow DT member at eP and another swirly girl. Erin is phenomenal with her free hand drawing and painting and makes the most wonderful canvases. She does what she likes and loves to experiment with different mediums.

Kim Heard:
Kim is another fellow swirly girl and HUGE source of inspiration. Kim's style is very elegant and romantic with lots of layers of mixed media within her layouts. She has grown into her own style in the last couple years and is another one who is never afraid to try new mediums allowing her style to ever grow and evolve.

Antonia Burrows:
Toni is a fellow EP design team member. She lives in the Uk and is yet another gal who LOVES to try new things. (you may notice a trend here). She is another lover of color and all things bold and takes crafting to a whole new level in my book. I find her work VERY inspiring and hope you do too.

{{hugs}}

Andiepants

ePlay challenge - Altered Bottles

It's that time again! Everyone ePlay!

This month's challenge is altered bottles. 

Bottles are so much fun and when you drink as much wine as I do...well...there's never a shortage of bottles to alter.

I was obsessed not too long ago and came up with this beauty:

Lots and lots of found objects, charms, and gel medium. I used Luminarte primary elements in order to make a home made mist for the all over color of the bottle.

There was really a lot going on there. HAHAHA

This time I decided to change my altering from a bottle to a wine glass...I'm altering the challenge a bit;)

I had a couple of my crafty girfriends over and we drank and altered wine glasses. For this one I used Silks glazes in the following colors:

Snapdragon

Teal Zircon

Mallard Green 

Blue flame

Solar gold

I first had to cover the glass in gesso

I then used Viva Decor 3D stamp paint to stamp the image on the glass using my Tim Holtz Damask stamps.

For the bottom I used E6000 and Sprinkled Distress glitter in antique linen.

I hope you are inspired to make an altered bottle of your own. Make sure you post your link on eP for your chance to win a gift certificate to the eP store.

til next time

{{hugs}}

Andiepants

eP Blog hop with Add A Little Dazzle

Welcome to our joint blog hop with Add a Little Dazzle. We are so excited to partner with them and have had so much fun playing with their products.  They have a beautiful collection of metal sheets, in a variety of colors, that are perfect for mixed media project.Both design teams have combined our products and are ready to share some inspirational projects with you. Join in on the fun and make sure to enter for a chance to win an amazing prize.

Welcome to Day 1 of  the Eclectic Paperie & Add a Little Dazzle joint blog hop!We’re so excited to be sharing some fabulous creations featuring the wonderful products from both companies in today’s hop. We have two amazing days of inspirational projects so make sure to stop by tomorrow.

 First we’d like to share a little bit about the two companies…

eclectic Paperie is a different breed of craft store, conceived as more than just a place where you can purchase supplies, we believe in the strength of collaboration, in coming together and sharing with like-minded crafters. Our goal is to offer a mixed media marketplace where a generation of artists can congregate, explore, imagine, and inspire one another.

We specialize in an exclusive line of craft metal sheets that helps you take your crafting to the next level. Whether you are a seasoned or new crafter, our craft metal sheets will help you create unique projects that will make you stand out among the crowd. Are you ready to take your crafting to the next level? Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets will help you turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Prize Alert!

Make sure to stop by and visit each of the Design Team Blogs for a chance to win 1 of 2 prize packages from eclectic Paperie and Add a Little Dazzle  valued at $25.  You have until Friday, June 27th to enter.  The winners will be announced on both blogs on Saturday, June 28th.  You must leave a comment on all blogs.

So Are You Ready for Some Amazing Inspiration?

 I have never actually worked with color metal sheets before so this was something totally new for me! I also purchased a metal stencil from Add A Little Dazzle because I was dying to dry emboss.  I decided a card would be a wonderful first attempt.

I used a baby blue metal sheet from Add a Little Dazzle with some solvent ink to add some distressing. I used a roller tool along the edges to create an embossed border. 

Note! The solvent ink actually takes the color off the metal!!! It's a very cool distressed effect but be prepared. 

Next I decided that they were so shiny and pretty I wanted to die cut with them.

I started with a butterfly

And then used the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die to create a flower

The metal worked so easy with a squishy pad and stylus, it was amazing.

Here is the finished page. For the background page I used a piece of Fancy pants Nautical collection and for the torn pieces I used Authentique's Naturale collection. The frame is Prima Ingvald Bolme collection.

Don't forget to leave a comment on each blog to qualify for a prize. I hope you enjoyed our little hop. 

And don't forget the ePlay challenge still going on over at eP to win a shopping spree in the eP store!

Til next time 

{{hugs}}

Andiepants

Monica Weaverwww.addalittledazzle.com
Bonnie Irvine - http://www.artfuldigits.blogspot.com/
Kim Schofield – http://paperiepetals.blogspot.com
Martha Lucia Gomez- www.stampartpapel.com

Sherry Cheever - http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Sue Lelli - http://suelelli.blogspot.com/
Toni Burrows - http://craftdabbler-toni.blogspot.com/

Lydia www.lydiawalker.blogspot.co.uk

Adriana Templeton - http://www.scrappygoddess.blogspot.com/

ePlay Challenge for May - Stencils!!!!

Welcome to the May ePlay Challenge...Stencils!!!!

Wow was this a kick start to my mojo....first a preview...

Remember I said I was visiting my girl? Well we went scrappy shopping first thing when she picked me up at the train station and when I saw this Prima Bloom stamp in person...I knew I had to have her. I kinda had been wanting her anyways. I decided to do tags so that I could play a bit without a large commitment...and WOW!!! This was so much fun to do all the different things with.

First...it was time to get serious...

Kim got serious too..

and now we can start with our TAGS!!!

Using Distress inks in all sorts of colors I created LOTS of different backgrounds

Then using my Timmy layering stencils I began to layer different colors one at a time. I only worked on one tag at a time.

My favorite technique with the stencil is to use a similar color or just a tad darker than the background. This gives an almost airbrushed effect that is just way super cool. For busy patterns use lighter colors, like the polka dots, and for patterns in the foreground use darker colors, like the ruler.

I stamped directly onto the tag, used my Distress marker to highlight some, and embellished as desired.

For some of the other tags I used embossing paste through the stencil instead. Love the effect layered on top. Also, this tag really shows the "air brush" effect that I was referring to.

For the blue tag I gessoed over my final stencil and then stamped and colored on the gesso.

Here are some closeups of the individual tags:

What will you decide to do with stencils? 

Remember to upload your stencil project to the ePlay challenge before the end of the month for your chance to win a gift certificate to the eP store!

I hope you were inspired by my lovely Prima stamp, Hope :) Check out some of the fantastic face stamps Kim has in the eP store.

{{hugs}}

Andiepants