WI Art Camp 2012 - Day 3

 Onward to Day 3.  Today was transfer day; there were several that we tried: TAP, transparency, and deli wrap.
Margaret had brought supplies for us to use and had printed some images on her printer at home using both TAP and transparencies.  We weren't sure if a special type of printer was necessary for those types of transfers.  

 It is a good thing Margaret printed some images for us.  I was able to print onto the TAP at first, but later on I couldn't get the specialty paper to feed through my printer.  I was extremely frustrated.  I think that I may have 'gummed up' my print rollers when I printed images onto the slightly waxed deli wrap because it seemed that after I did that is when I began to have issues with the TAP.

 Using the TAP was so easy.  Once the image was printed onto the TAP all you had to do was iron the image onto whatever you were transferring the image onto.
You don't have to use a printer to get the images onto TAP; you can draw on it also and then perform the transfer.  TAP is a Leslie Riley product and they carry it at the Artist and Display store in Milwaukee.  Several of the ladies bought some when we stopped there on Wednesday on our way to Jan's house.

 When doing the transparency and deli wrap transfer techniques you needed to use soft gel medium.  I think we all tried some of each type of transfer. 
Jan also brought some lutrador for us to try.  This product has the look and feel of interfacing.  After you transfer an image to it you can use a heat gun to get the edges to curl or to create burn holes on the edge or in the center of the piece... very cool!!!

.Margaret knew lots about transfers and so did Jan... so both of them really helped us out with this project.

 In between projects on day 2 and day 3 those who hadn't finished working on the aprons did so.  Here we are modeling our embellished aprons.  Everyone loved theirs and had a great time working on this project.  I'm not sure what will happen if any of us try to wash our aprons!!!

 

 Just in case our group picture didn't turn out we, or should I say Bob, took many.  I picked the best to show on the blog... some serious and some silly.

 I was in the front row so I didn't know what was going on behind me... now I know.

 Some of us have on our pins.... yes, Bev made us pins for our WI Art Camp... just like she had made last year.

 Jan also brought her gelli plate.  It is a rather new product that we played with.  This too was a hit with some people and when we stopped at Artist and Display there were several flying off the shelf. 
Jan demoed and most people tried it out to create backgrounds.  Basically, you apply layers of various acrylic paints to the thick gel plate and then can use stencils or texture pieces (like bubble wrap and punchinella) to create interest and depth

 I was watching the fun and still trying to get my printer to work with the TAP that Margaret brought for us to play with.  The more I tried, the more frustrated I got... I just don't know when to give up.

 Margaret is showing off one of her creations. She loved the plate.

We're getting toward the end of the afternoon and some of us are winding down.  Jan had to leave because it was Monday and she had to be home for her son.  I'm not sure what the rest of us are working on.
We were trying to fit 2 projects in each day, but we decided in the future that 1 project a day is probable enough.... besides, we need time to talk and enjoy each other without the stress of projects.

WI Art Camp 2012 - Day 2

 And on Day 2 the fun continues.  I was worried that with 8 of us working at the dining room table we'd be too crowded, but... I think it worked out fine.
Pea took charge of this project and it was a huge success.  She had printed out a book for us with colored pictures and instructions of various projects to do with friendly plastic... AND.. she provided the friendly plastic!!!!

 Pea did a lot of work in preparation for us that saved us a ton of time.  She had created many multi-colored sticks of FP.  We could make coasters, embellishments, bracelets, rings, and pendants.  I had an electric griddle and both Pea and Maggi brought theirs so that we had 3 work stations going at once.

 I must have been busy creating because I found I didn't have many pictures to post for this day.
This pic shows some of the embellishments that I created using small cookie cutters that Pea supplied.

 Some of Margaret's embellishments can be seen on this craft sheet.  The beautiful colors are achieved by marbling the FP as it sits on the griddle.

 Even the 'negative' piece left after cutting the FP with a cookie cutter can provide an interesting piece that might be used in some future art project.

It was a busy and enjoyable day.  If you look closely on Margaret's craft sheet, in the foreground, you can see a couple of bracelets that she created.

WI Art Camp 2012 - Day 1

Bev, Carol, and Margaret arrived Friday evening for our 2nd Annual WI Art Camp.  After spending the day on airplanes we weren't about to jump into any art projects.  But on Saturday morning Pea arrived and we were ready to go... well almost.  The ladies made a trip to the local stamp store, Polka Dots, while I went to our granddaughter's sectional cross country meet.  Then we all met up at my house and began.  Our first endeavour was a quick and easy project sponsored by Pea.  We had no idea what she had up her sleeve. 

 Alcohol ink colored candles
First lay out a plastic sheet or garbage bag to work on.  Apply alcohol ink puddles on plastic sheet and roll candles in it.  Then you can use pieces of felt to apply alcohol inks to areas of the candle that you missed.  At any time you can spray the candles with a little blending solution that you've poured into a mini mister.  You can also apply the alcohol inks directly from the bottle by squeezing drops down the candle starting at the top.  You can even roll your candle onto the plastic sheet again.  We found that the look of the candle changed a little after they sat for a while so you may want to wait between applications.  And, be careful not to create a 'muddy' look.

Here Carol went outside to get a better shot of our candles through the window.
Five of us created our candles on Saturday and we thought the others would do theirs on another day in between our other projects.

 Since it was a sunny day we decided to take a walk before starting our next project.  We walked down the road and I took them through the YMCA Camp that is located on our road.  As we followed some walking paths we came across a tether ball... so a few of us gave it a whirl.

 Pea just couldn't resist climbing this tree.   I was glad that we weren't picking her up off the ground!!!!  I was afraid that some of the branches might have been weak.

 At one point on the walk there is a wood walkway that goes over a swampy area toward the lake.
It was a little chilly, but we wanted to burn off some calories so that we could enjoy the chicken burritos that Pea cooked for our dinner.

 Bev led the way to the end of the walkway.  Some of the railings looked a bit rickety!!!

 Even though the campers are gone for the year we found a soccer ball on the field.  I thought that ball was coming right for my camera!!!

I hadn't walked through the Y Camp in a couple of years so I was surprised when we came upon this climbing wall.  Margaret and I were the observers.

 One false move in this hammock and Pea would have been in the lake!!!

 We came upon these comfy chairs.  I've seen these for sale and they are NOT cheap.  I think they are made from recycled milk bottles; I know they are indestructible.  I found out later that the Camp's Director is living on the property throughout the year and I'm thinking that this might be the building he is living in and these might be his chairs... OOPS!!!

 Back at the house we're having some snacks before starting on our next project.

 This was my 'surprise' project... well, it was a surprise for Bev, Carol, Margaret, and Jan.  Each of us was given an apron and then we all had to create an embellishment on each other's aprons.  I had fabric markers and fabric scribbles dimensional paint available.  It was amazing how each of us came up with something unique to do to the aprons.
Carol grabbed markers and began drawing a dragonfly or a butterfly on each apron.  Each one was a work of art.

 Bev brought fabric, buttons, and embossing threads.  I'll bet she thought she'd never finish.  The results were fabulous.  On each piece of fabric she embroidered the word "Create" and then she added a button and a flower.  Then she attached the fabric swatches with french knots.

Later that night we decided to relax in the hot tub.  Pea had gone home so there were just 4 of us.  We were hoping to see lots of meteors because of the meteor shower that evening, and we did see some, but not many.
On day 2 Pea would be coming back and Maggi, Mary, and Jan would be joining us!!!

2013 Calendars.... continued

I'm finished with my 2013 calendars!!!  Hurray!!!
It was fun.  I have several stamps that are motivational type phrases and I wanted to use them on this year's calendars.
I still had a bunch of these cute little drink umbrellas and they seemed the perfect addition for this phrase.

 I love this saying... what am I saying... I love all the phrases I used on these calendars!!!
I have a lot of decorative papers, and this sheet from a BoBunny pack was a good choice with the Tim Holtz man and umbrella stamp.  Is there a theme going on here with my calendars???  I just realized I have another umbrella in this set of calendars!!

 Here is that same phrase and the umbrella man, but on a different sheet from the BoBunny pack.  I used one of my newest purchases on this set of calendars.  It is up there in the top left corner and it is called mica fragments.  The color is tea stained; it comes in several colors, and it is from Stampendous.  I attached the flakes with a little dab of glue.  At the rate I'm using these flakes they'll last me forever... with half the jar leftover.

 I bought this stamp some time ago... like years.  I don't know if I ever used it until today.  I ran the background piece through the Cuttlebug using the Roman Bath embossing folder.  The paper is 'So...Jeans Blue' and I purchased it from The Paper Cut.  After running the piece through the Cuttlebug I used a piece of sandpaper so that some of the white core came through.

 This calendar is using the same stamp and paper as the one shown above.  The difference being that I used the 'Retro Squares' embossing folder.

 These colorful papers were in my large folder containing scraps.  But the scraps were large enough to accommodate the sizes I needed for the calendar.  I added a little ric rack where the 2 different papers met.  I must know someone who will like these bright colors!

 Here again is a piece of 'scrap' paper I had in my stash that was big enough to use for a calendar.  I love using up items that I've been saving!

 This one may make your eyes go crazy, but I do like those colors.

 Sticking with the theme of time/clocks like the first couple sets of calendars I made, I came up with this design.  I like the fact that this stamp fit inside one of the spellbinders dies that I have.

The 'Stars' embossing folder was the perfect match with this stamp.  One of my most used tools is my Gelly Roll 'clear star' gel pen.  It really makes those embossed stars pop!!!
Well, that should do it for 2013 calendars!!!

2013 Calendars

 I'm running out of TIME!!!!  I know it is only September, but I need to get my 2013 calendars finished soon!
I recently purchased a set of stamps at a rummage sale at my local stamp store.  Those stamps seemed perfect to use for some of the 2013 calendars I am in the process of creating.
All 4 stamps used on this and the next calendar shown came from that set.
I used spellbinders dies to cut out the sentiment and an additional layer of card stock to mount it on.

 After making 4 calendars with the purple card stock I decided to make another 4 using beige and green.  I did use a different sentiment on the beige calendars.
I used some sparkling embossing powder on the word 'Time' when I stamped it.  And I used my gel glitter pen to highlight parts of the stamped clock in the lower left corner.

For the next set of calendars I used a sizzix embossing folder, of clocks naturally, to emboss the background.
The sentiment I used is one of Tim Holtz's stamps.  I love the sentiment and wanted to use some of my 'inspirational' type stamps on this year's batch of calendars.
I used my gel glitter pen again to highlight the hands on one of the embossed clocks.
I used the sponge applicator tool to add some shading to the sentiment after it was cut out with a spellbinders die.



And just as I had with my previous design... I created 4 calendars using one color (purple) and then created  4 more in a different color scheme... orange.

Wedding guest book

 A good friend of ours asked if I would create the guest book for their daughter's wedding.  Yikes!!!  Would I be able to create something worthy of a couple's very special day??  It was a challenge that I took much time to think about and try to visualize, but I'm happy with the result.  I sure hope my friends, and especially, their daughter, are happy with the results too!!
Without knowledge of the wedding color scheme I selected the handmade paper, which I happened to have in my stash, for the front and back covers.
The soon to be married couple aren't into the hearts and flowers or 'cutesy' theme so I selected flourish stamps.  I didn't find out until after I was well on my way with the book that the table linens are going to be ivory and black... my book will match!!!

 I cut the covers from mat board and covered with the handmade paper.  I stamped the flourishes with black onyx versa fine ink.  That ink stayed wet for a short period of time which allowed me to apply black sparkle embossing powder.  I like the additional texture and sparkle that the powder provided.
I had searched the internet for phrases to use on the front cover, but none of them 'felt' right.  Then one day as I was browsing in Michael's craft store I saw a photo album with the phrase I used/stole.  I double checked with my friend if she like the phrase as much as I, and she thought it was perfect.
After printing the phrase, and the bride and groom's names and date, onto some of the handmade paper I cut them out using spellbinders dies and then mounted onto black Stardream text weight paper that was also cut using spellbinders dies.

 I used fancy pearl heart shaped brads to attach the phrase and tiny silver brads to attach the names.
I added dots of pearl colored liquid pearls to the flourishes I stamped on the front and back covers.  I love the look of it.
Before I finished off the insides of the back and front covers I cut 3 lengths of tulle and 6 lengths of black and silver fibers.  I threaded all of that through a silver bead finding piece and positioned it on the left side of the front cover taping the ends down on the inside so that it would be hidden when I finished the inside of the books covers.

 Since the handmade paper I used for the front and back covers had both silver and gold specks in it I decided to go with a gold panel for the inside of both covers.  Before attaching the panels I ran them through the cuttlebug with the musical flourish embossing folder.  It seemed that something was missing so I glued a very narrow piece of white gold thread around the edge of the gold panel.
The inside pages are ivory parchment paper.  Before I bound the book using my Zutter Bind it All I colored the edges of the inside pages using a gold paint marker.  It gave the book a more professional look.

As an after thought I created this easel card.  My reason for doing so was to alert the wedding guests that the bride and groom would appreciate more than just their signature in the guest book.  They wanted the book to be more like an autograph album where you can jot a little note or message to the owner of the book.
I did include enough pages in the book so that guests could each use a page to write a message.
I used the same stamps, ink, embossing powder, and brads on this easel card that were used on the book.
I constructed the easel card so that after the wedding celebration the top 2 layers of the card can be removed and added to the inside front cover of the the guest book.