Girl in Apple Tree

This is my project for the Reneabouquet May Mad Muse Challenge & Giveaway. 

On this 6 x 6 " piece of watercolor paper, I loosely painted on some leaves and flowers.  I put the pencil outlines and detail in later.   I put the aqua bg in, then put a blue purple mix on top in some areas. I misted hard lines off in some areas. I blotted excess water and color off with a paper towel, and let everything dry.  At the end I applied a mix of gesso and water because I thought there was too much color. I inked the edges with cocoa brown ink,  then painted over them with lime green dylusions ink, then the blue purple mix.

Below is the reference photo for the flowers.

I brushed on silver and gold mica powder on the edges and on different areas of the bg. I also applied some Cypress Green transference ink and diamond stickles .

With my finger I rubbed on gold mica powder over areas I'd inked with a small cosmetic sponge.

I love the sheer translucent look of watercolors.

The little girl and dragonfly are on some foam tape, as is the butterfly.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you liked it!

Oh Snap!

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a mixed media card for Paper House. I enjoyed using the stickers a lot because they're so fun, beautiful, and colorful! They add a lot of dimension and visual interest to the page.

 Supplies Used:

• China 3D Sticker
• Cameras Puffy Sticker
• Holy Bible 12" Double Sided Scrapbook Paper

To make this card I cut a sheet of 12 x 12 watercolor paper in half, and folded it. I covered the front with gesso. While it was wet I applied ripped up strips of paper,put more gesso on top,then dried it with a heat gun. I applied some texture paste with a stencil. I took my Faber-Castell water soluble oil pastels, and scribbled black around the margin, and different areas all over the card. I sprayed it with water and brushed the areas where the lines were to soften them. I held the card upright and let the colors run all over. This is how the black lines by the strips were made. I did the same with some scribbled on brown.  I painted on some of a sap green and brown Winsor and Newton watercolors. You can put on as much color as you want, just avoid the paper strips because they will rip.

The butterfly is a Sizzix die cut,made with white cardstock. I painted it with some teal Lindy's Stamp Gang,then some gesso, followed by yellow watercolors, I inked the edges with brown ink, and outlined the indented areas with a brown watercolor pencil. I softened the lines with some water on a paintbrush.

I used a yellow watercolor pencil on the right margin, and left them as is. I painted scattered areas with yellow watercolor paint. I put the stickers on, then decided they needed some white around them. I dabbed on some gesso, dried it, then applied the stickers. I rubbed on some gold mica powder in different spots.

Thanks so much for looking!

Art Journal Page

Girl and Butterfly

Hi everyone! A card I made for my collection.

I made 24 of these butterflies, thinking I would make a mobile, then changed my mind. I'm going to save them for layouts and cards. I used the Sizzix- Tim Holtz- Alterations Collection-BigZ Die with Texture Fades- Butterfly Duo. I started off painting them with Lindy's Stamp Gang, a teal color. I followed this with some gesso, then used a brown watercolor pencil and outlined the indented areas from the embossing.  I brushed over the lines with a little water to soften them.  I inked the edges with cocao brown. I added a little purple gel pen, glitter glue in a couple areas, and a mix of gold mica powder and water on the edges. I put a little Tsukineko Pigment Ink Pad Nordic Ice on in a few areas.

I took a 12 by 12 sheet of watercolor paper, cut it in half, and folded it. I took my Farber Castell water soluble oil pastel crayons, (the ones for kids, they're cheaper) and scribbled some on my craft mat.  I used to use wax paper, but a mat is much better. After awhile the water seeps through wax paper, still , its good in a pinch.   I mixed the colors together.  I sprayed the paper with water, and brushed on the color very quickly, I just wanted to get the color on.  I sprayed it with more water, picked it up and let the color move and drip all over the paper. If you want to, you can dab some off with a paper towel.

I initially just wanted two butterflies on this, but instead, used part of a photo from Advantus -Tim Holtz- Idea-ology Collection-Found Relatives. The girl's crown is a rub on by Hampton Arts.

I used a Prima  stencil, Fluttering Flowers,  and some texture paste, and spread it on with a credit card. It's important to have some wet paper towels at hand to immediately get that paste off your stencil. It dries super fast and it's hard to remove. 

I brushed some extra watercolor on in teal and brown tones. I rubbed  some gold mica powder on the texture paste. I decided there were too many colors on the card, and dabbed on some gesso with a cosmetic sponge,and rubbed some pearl mica powder on top of it.

Here at the bottom edge you can see a little fairy from Graphic 45's Enchanted Forest Collection. Thanks for looking, and I hope you liked it! Have a wonderful week!

Happy Together

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a mixed media page for Paper House. I love the colors and details   on the Discover paper, and just had to use it!

This is a fun photo of my son and his girlfriend, I think they're so cute together.

Supplies Used:

• Discover the World 12" Double Sided Scrapbook Paper
• Discover Tags 12"Double Sided Scrapbook Paper
• Mini Mixed Butterflies Puffy Sticker
• London Tags 12" Double Sided Scrapbook Paper

To make this page I used mod podge to glue the top piece of scrapbook paper to a piece of black cardstock, and glued on two more sheets of old scrapbook paper underneath. This was to decrease the chance of warping from the materials I planned on applying.

 I dabbed on gesso with a cosmetic sponge,let it dry, then put a piece of cheesecloth on, and glued it in spots with glossy accents. I dipped a brush into gesso, mixed it with a little water on my craft sheet, and flung it on the paper.  I distressed all the edges of the pieces, layered the tags, and put a photo on top. I used foam core board and masking tape between layers, to give it some dimension, and to make some space for things to fit in between the layers.

 After I had the layers on, I stenciled on some texture paste.  I made kind of wreath for Aron with dried pressed flowers,dried moss, gold and silver metal chain, rhinestones,feathers,and pearls.

I decided that my arrangement looked too busy, so I brushed gesso on the layers of papers, and added some colors. I painted with an aqua blue sparkly water color,and when dry,brushed on then gold mica powder with water. I put on lavender paint, and when dry, brushed on dry pearl colored mica powder.

 I took a piece of black tulle and covered the paper layers with it, I used masking tape  to draw the tulle tight onto the bottom of the layers. I glued some areas on with glossy accents, then cut the all the tulle off that wasn't right on the paper. I put more aqua blue paint on, then silver mica powder. I brushed on dry coppery mica powder to pick up the colors of the sunset. To add a complementary color to the copper, I brushed on turquoise Dylusions around the edges, and some on the layers too. The turquoise made the page work, as it added some "punch", or definition, to the design.

You can see some Vintaj metal pieces, seed beads, and glass glitter. I added the adorable  butterflies at the top to kind of tie the page together.

 I especially love the lavender tones in the sunset!

Thanks for looking, and I hope you liked it.