12 Tags of 2013–April

This was a fun tag to make. Tim Holtz’s techniques were all about creating a patina look using Distress Paints.
I don’t have all of the supplies that he used so I did have to make some substitutions.

I’ve run out of the manila tags so I just cut a piece of watercolor paper. It generally works well for the techniques.

The Distress Paints that I used were: Broken China, Salty Ocean, and Wild Honey. To add a little metallic to it I had to substitute Bronze Distress Stain and for the green I used Peeled Paint Distress Stain.

I do really like the creamy texture of the Distress Paints. Soon I plan on getting the metallics. The colors blend really nicely.

The stamp is from the Tim Holtz Sewing Blueprint by Stampers Anonymous.



The clear surface that Tim stamped on is called Clearly for Art, but I didn’t have that (hadn’t even heard of it) so I grabbed a piece of transparency. Clearly for Art can be heated and shaped. I’m gonna get me some! Don’t try heating a transparency… because it curls up and gets brittle. Yep, tried it…



So after stamping on the transparency, I cut it out and kind of folded it in half to give it a little dimension. Then I used Glossy Accents to glue it in place.



I patina’d some letters and metal embellishments using the same paints and stains. The triangular piece is something I made in the Molten Lava class I took recently.


The ribbon was colored by swiping  Broken China paint and Bronze stain on it.

So this is my tag. Did you make  a tag for April?

Busy time ahead… I won a spot in Jeanne Oliver’s The Journey of Letting Go mixed media class that started today (yay!) and she extended a second spot to each winner to give to a friend. So I picked my daughter, Lilly, who is getting back into sketching and painting. I can’t wait to share art with her! So thankful to Jeanne for her generosity.

Second, I’ll be at Terri Brush’s Spring Art Camp at Lincoln City. So fun. It starts on Thursday evening and runs through Monday morning. My very first art retreat! WooHoo!!!

What are your weekend plans?

Thanks for visiting!
Desiree

Edited to add: This tag was a winner!!! So excited!!! Thank you all for the well wishes.

My Life List

Do you have a life list? Or a bucket list?



At work, we have this huge white board and from time to time someone posts a question. It’s entertaining to read it as I walk by and see new comments or answers. I try to guess which of my clever coworkers have responded.

A recent question was “what is on your bucket list?” and some of the answers were things like…

• I need to buy a bucket first
• Climb the ancient ruins
• Australia
• Save Lindsay Lohan

In my bloghopping I’ve noticed quite a few people posting about their life lists.

Karen Walrond  posted on her blog, Chookooloonks, about creating a life list. Thoughts on how to go about putting a list of 100 +/- things that you want to do in your lifetime. Maybe they are simple things, maybe they are crazy, out-of-this-world things. Maybe you’ll cross some things off your list tomorrow, maybe some will never be crossed off.



What about stuff that you’ve already done that should have been on your life list but you hadn’t created your life list yet, can you put it on and immediately check it off? Or maybe that could be the “I did it” list, a prequel to the life list?



I don’t think I can create my life list in an afternoon. Of course, I would add to my list as I discover new things to do over time. But what I mean is that I think it will take me days and days to think about all the possibilities and dreams and desires that I would want on my list.



My life list needed a place, so I created these pages in My Living Canvas book. First, I sprayed the canvas pages with different shades of blue. I ModPodged on scraps of paper next. I used stencils and paint to add a little texture. Stamped the title, then started adding my life list. I also have an area for stuff I’ve achieved so far.



If you’ve made a list and posted it, I would love it if you would include a link. I think it would be fun and a great way to get even more ideas about the possibilities out there.

Lots to ponder….
Desiree

A rock candy heart

Sweet hearts…



Forever ago I signed up for the “She had three hearts” workshop taught by Christy Tomlinson. Every once in a while I create a page for that art journal. I am WAY behind on doing the actual journaling, some day I’ll catch up. HA!



First, I glued a piece of text paper to the top of the watercolor paper. I went over it with sprays and stains.



The focal point is a patterned paper torn in the shape of a heart. I used an image transfer technique to add it to the page. Then I used punchinella and white or red paint to dab dots randomly over the page.



I used a stencil that I cut out of an manila file folder for the hearts. I used the hole part with red paints and stains. The heart shape I used to dab white paint around then I outlined the heart with a white poster paint pen.



I used Rock Candy Crackle Paint over the large heart. I love that stuff! After it dried thoroughly, I dripped Barn Door distress ink and wiped off the access. I think the overlapping hearts look cool. To frame the page I swiped the edge of the paper with distress stain.

It feels good to make at least a little progress in my classes!

Have a great week!
Desiree

Bloglovin’

Follow my blog with Bloglovin'

Hey, I hear there is a new blog reader in town! Now that Google Reader is going away readers will need to find some new ways to subscribe and follow their favorite blogs.

Moorea Seal posted about a few readers here. I’ve decided to use Bloglovin’. It’s simple, few distractions, and I do like that it opens a new tab when I want to read more of the post.

Which blog reader are you switching to????