When art imitates life....*winks*

Some say art imitates life. And I agree. These days, my approach to designing a project is much like decorating a room....pick out a few colours, then layer the textures....probably because of my latest obsession with HGTV. *LOL*

After misting the background design, I thought it resembled "wallpaper" so I added some "hardware" to make it pop a little more. The bling coordinated well with the tulle bling bloom.

The chipboard letters were coloured with Art Anthology stone effects paint and I layered the trims with cording for textured interest.

This layout was created for Maya Road.

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Hello sweetheart mixed media canvas for Maya Road....a tutorial

Hello friends! This month I am the guest designer over at Maya Road. Yay!  :) Here is the first of three projects I created for them...a 6x6 mixed media canvas.

I quite enjoyed the process of created something cutesy for a change...*winks* I've included a short tutorial to share how I created this project.

I started by adhering some medical gauze with gel medium to the canvas. Then I used The Crafter's Workshop stencil with some Golden fiber paste.

When that was dry, I coloured with some Faber Castell gelatos, blending the colours with some water. Then I applied some Liquitex heavy gesso to really bring out the textures of the gauze and fiber paste.

For the Maya Road chipboard pieces, I first painted them with gesso then with Golden and Daler Rowney acrylic paints.

Next I added some texture to the chipboard pieces using Golden glass bead gel. And when that was dry, I highlighted the textures with ColourArte Silks for some beautiful shimmer. Then I added some Maya Road vintage lace trim.

The last step was to assemble all the components together.

What do you think?

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Using up little bits of lace on a mixed media canvas...

If you are like me and can't bear to throw away little bits of pretty lace, then try what I did....adhere them all to a canvas..

The base of the canvas was created with bits and pieces of lace from previous projects, Faber Castell gelato, Golden fiber paste applied through The Crafter's Workshop stencil and gesso.  I didn't have enough lace so I added some patterned paper to the mix...*winks*

What do you think?

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Navigating with my left arm...

So for the last week or so, I've been spilling and dropping stuff.  A lot. While trying to navigate life using my left arm. Which is super hard since I'm right-handed. 

Nobody to blame but myself...for "over-slaving" my right forearm by carrying heavy stuff. The price to pay is acupuncture, the stench of Chinese medicated oil and bitter Chinese herbs...[fishing for some sympathy here...*lol*]

I'm okay. Really. Just more determined than ever that I should train myself to be ambidextrous. Now that would be useful, won't it? *winks*

Just a simple travel page....playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Love always....a quick card

I love making quick cards with ready supplies. It's a way to get a creative fix without the need for a massive cleanup after. :)

Here's a card that took me 15 minutes...including drying time! Some cheating involved of course! *winks*

First, I picked a watercolour card from my stack of residual misted backgrounds. Then I chose a SRM scallop diecut. Next, I coloured the Maya Road chipboard with Sharpie and added texture with the Art Anthology stone effects paint. Then I outlined the words with a white pen. Lastly, I adhered all pieces to the base! 

Playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch and The Mixed Media Card Challenge.

P/s: Happy Valentine's Day weekend my friends! :)

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A 4x4 mixed media canvas

The Creative Crew at Canvas Corp Brands have been sharing 4x4 canvas depicting their personal style. 

This is my interpretation...a little soft and pretty [pink, lace and blooms] juxtaposed against the vibrant purple, grainy texture and mica flakes.

What do you think? Does this 4x4 canvas depict my personal style?

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I love bookstores....

The store I'm most likely to visit at the shopping mall is the bookstore. There's something appealing about shelves and stacks of books filled with intriguing stories. Okay, I confess, I go there to read the tabloid magazines too. *winks*

Back in November, I was like a kid in a candy store when I found Fully Booked, a cool bookstore in Manila. I love how the books were displayed and how they used cardboard for wall art. :)

What about you? Do you love bookstores?

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

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Let's go explore...

I've been enjoying the process of adding colorants and mediums to patterned paper to make it more "me". Given the amount of patterned papers I have, this may be a good thing.*winks*

Yep...explore the possibilities of "adding" or "subtracting" from your existing patterned papers. Print is too busy or loud? Use gesso to tone it down or block parts of it off completely. Need a little more colour? Go ahead....add some paint or ink. 

Here I added some Golden glass bead gel with The Crafter's Workshop then coloured with gelatos for added definition. 

This project was created for LESSology Challenge #44:Tick Tock.


Happy weekend friends! :)

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A blue and orange card

Today, the Creative Crew at Canvas Corp Brands is sharing Valentine's Day cards.  Mine is not all lovey dovey pink and full of hearts *LOL*, instead I went with colours that make me happy...blue and orange. Yeah...rebel.:)

I started by using Liquitex Light Modeling Paste with The Crafter's Workshop stencil. Then I misted with Tattered Angels glimmer mist [Butternut Squash]. I had a little spritzer malfunction with the glimmer mist in Electric Blue but I actually like the droplet effect I got.  I finished the card with some pretty embellishments - lace, button, pearls, bling and a satin bloom.

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One hour of fun!

This year, I've challenged myself to spend <= one hour on a layout and focus more on design and storytelling rather than throw lots of products on a page.

Fortunately I have a huge arsenal of pre-prepared masked/misted backgrounds from which to choose from. :)

Then I rummage through my scrap paper box [I will finish using up those scraps...eventually. *winks*] Add some machine stitching and journaling and the layout is done!

Playing along with Sketchabilities.

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How to: create a vintage-inspired mixed media canvas

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing a quick tutorial on how to create a vintage-inspired mixed media canvas.

I started with a 6x6 canvas panel, a piece of vintage-inspired patterned paper, a distressing tool and gesso. After distressing the edges of the patterned paper and adhering it to the panel, I applied gesso with some water to "tone" down the colours on the patterned paper.

Next, I applied Golden Fiber Paste with The Crafter's Workshop stencil. You can use any type of modeling paste you have. Personally I love the paper-like fiber texture of this paste. :)

After that, I took a paintbrush and started painting with Silks Acrylic Glazes. I used Mediterranean Blue and Emperor's Gold , pulling the colours from the patterned paper.

Then I embellished with my fave lace trims, blooms and pearls.

You can create more depth of texture with a thicker application of the paste. But I love the subtle sheen of the Silks Acrylic Glazes on a slightly raised surface.

You can get Silks Acrylic Glazes at the ColourArte store.

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