September 4x4 page

This is my Halloween themed 4x4 page for September.  At the Collage Stuff Yahoo Group, we're sending 4x4 pages on a monthly basis.  For September, I needed a Halloween theme.  Halloween is my favorite holiday!  The background paper and little pharmacy labels are from the Theresa Collins Haunted Hollow 6x6 paper pack.  The background was made by using Pumpkin Liquid Pearls and The Crafter's Workshop Swiss Dot Template.  I placed the template over my text background, applied some Liquid Pearls to an old credit card and swiped the credit card over the top of the template. Remove the template and you're left with these cool shiny dots! The black spider web German scrap and Orange Scalloped Lace Border German scrap are from Collage Stuff.  The witch image is from Hidden Vintage Studios at deviantscraps,com.  Little orange, black and clear jewels were added.  To finish off the sides of the page, I edged them with a black Copic marker.  Thanks for stopping by!

Mostly finished mixed media ATCs

I made the backgrounds for these ATCs earlier in the week.  The backgrounds are very textured and colorful.  I decided that the final design had to be something simple.  Here are two examples of the designs I ended up with.  I still have to glue these to a sturdy base and then they will be finished.  A scrap of vintage lace, a large brass charm and a dictionary definition were enough.  This isn't the kind of ATC that I usually create, but it's good to step out of my comfort zone, good to experiment, and good to try something different!  Thanks for stopping by!

Backgrounds using modeling paste and templates

                 I bought some modeling paste so that I could play around with modeling paste and The Crafter's Workshop templates.  I started with Collage Stuff chipboard ATC blanks. I used the new Swirly Garden The Crafter's Workshop template.  I used an old credit card to apply the modeling paste over the stencil.  I let that dry.  I used Dylusions spray inks next.  I added a little water with a mister so that the colors would blend.  I blotted very gently with a paper towel.  After that dried, I sprayed a gold glimmer mist.  This is the original outcome of the experiment.          

I wondered what this would look like if I outlined the raised areas with a black Spica glitter pen.  Here's the result of this experiment.

  Of course the next step was to completely fill in the recessed areas with the black Spica glitter pen.

 For this one I filled in the recessed areas with a pale gold Krylon pen.

 I used a white gel pen to fill in the recessed areas on this one.

All of these examples started out basically the same, but by varying the recessed background, you can have totally different looks.  One thing I still want to do is to is to use a  dictionary page for the base and apply modeling paste.  I will be using these backgrounds to make ATCs for the Collage Stuff August ATC swap.  Thanks for stopping by!

July ATC Swap

The July ATC swap at the Collage Stuff Yahoo Group had a number theme, the number 3.  I am behind on getting mine done as usual.  I started out with a text scrapbook paper.  I overstamped it with the Collage Stuff Stylish Background rubber stamp and embossed with gold detail embossing powder.  The image of the women is from the Collage Stuff Two or More collage sheet.  I colored the women's dresses with Copic markers.  The bottom border is composed of 4 parts.  The very bottom layer is floral scrapbook paper die cut with the Tim Holtz Vintage Lace die.  Next is some vintage trim from Collage Stuff.  I added some Pink Mini Dot German scrap border from Collage Stuff as the third layer.  The last layer is the small brass flower charms from Collage Stuff.  I find that a gel medium works great to glue down things like the lace, German scrap and the charms.  I printed out the words glued them down.  The top embellishment is more Pink Tiny Dot German scrap and more of the little flower charms.  I edged the ATC with a gold Copic marker.  So there are 2 sets of 3 flowers, 3 women, and 3 words on this ATC for the number 3 themed swap!  Thanks for stopping by!

August 4x4 Page

I wanted to get my August 4x4 done for the Collage Stuff 4x4 page swap.  The first design I tried did NOT work, so I decided to go back to my normal collage style using lots of vintage ephemera.  I finally used my Tim Holtz Vintage Lace Die.  I've had it for ages, but never used it.  I don't have a Vagabond or all the cutting plates, so I always have to rig something up to cut dies in my die cutting machine.  The background is a doily pattern scrapbook paper.  I die cut a yellow 1950's-60's vintage bank check (Collage Stuff)  with the lace die.  The top left corner is a little piece of a white doily (Collage Stuff) that I colored green with a Pitt Artist's Pen.  The girl and the crown are from Tumble Fish Studios at the Deviant Scrap website. The crown image determined the remainder of the collage elements.  It has a butterfly and a flower.  The butterfly on the right is from a vintage dictionary page (Collage Stuff) and I colored part of it yellow with a Copic marker.  I dabbed a little Sandal paint on the playing card to tone it down.  The cigar band label, jewels and bird charm are all from Collage Stuff.  The words are from a vintage Japanese vocabulary card (Collage Stuff).  I have a ton of washi tape, so I used some on this page.  On the right side are two little pieces of a red/white No. washi tape.  The flower postage stamp image is also from a roll of washi tape.  Thanks for stopping by!