A Mermaid's Tale

Hi everyone!  Melissa here with a design team page for May's Mixed Media Warriors moodboard.

I've used papers from Blue Fern, Seaside Cottage because the colors were the ones I wanted to use.  I've always liked mermaids, so that was my starting point. 

To make this page I used gloss gel to glue the page to a piece of cardboard, to help prevent buckling from the media I planned to use. I applied modeling paste with a  Prima stencil. I applied a piece of gauze with heavy gesso. I used two layers of foam core board underneath a mat I made out of watercolor paper.  I painted the mat with Lindys Stamp Gang - LSG with 3 colors. To create more visual interest I used the following: a pink flower by Prima, two white ones from Dusty Attic, a rhinestone key from Tresors De Luxe, stickers from 7 Dots, gold seahorses and silver starfish charms from Hobby Lobby, Tim Holtz and Little B rub ons, and more.

I painted around the stencil work with LSG and Derwent Inktense Pencils. 

I sponged on Prima Heavy Gesso to make the page less busy looking.

I outlined a lot of areas with a Bark colored pencil by Derwent.

The tiny coral flowers are stickers from Martha Stewart. 

I put white gesso on all the embellies and then paint on top to sort of tie everything together.

Thank you so much for looking, and have a great week!

Together, My Family & I

Hi everyone, Melissa here with a canvas I made for the More Than Words February challenge, 2017! 

The photo is one of my family together, and I used an AMPERSAND as part of  the title.

This was taken at Fort Davis, near Big Bend National Park in West Texas. Three other families went also, it was one of the best vacations I ever had. Big Bend is an amazing place, we rented a cabin and with our friends, explored  different areas of the park, hiking, and taking a lot of photos.

To make this canvas I prepped it with gesso, put some gauze on with gesso, applied home made texture paste with different stencils, and painted with a variety of products. Among them were Lindy's Stamp Gang, Windsor and Newton Watercolors,Vintaj Patina Paint,and Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils. All the gold you see is mica powder applied with a brush or rubbed on with my finger. I layered paint with layers of Prima Heavy Gesso. There is some Prima Art Alchemy paint too.

To create more visual interest I added a variety of materials, Mica flakes, glass glitter,seed beads, micro beads, Vintaj metal, Tim Holtz metal, Prima flowers, Sizzix butterflies,metal chain, and more.

I splattered on Lindy's in teal.

The words are from Tim Holtz.  The AMPERSAND is from a craft store.

The little gold tags are from Art C.

The stamp I used is by Prima.

 The little owl is by Vintaj, the compass metal is Tim Holtz

I put a thick layer of Ranger Clear Crackle on the AMPERSAND,and let it dry overnight.

You can see some druzy quartz at the lower right corner.

The big key I got at Kirkland, a store that sells things to decorate your house with.

I'm putting this on a wall in my craft room. It has a lot of the embellishments and paint that are a part of scrapbooking and mixed media work that I love,and the photo is so evocative for me, of a time and place that I love.

Thanks so much for looking, and have a great week!

I Love and Adore You

Hi everyone, Melissa here with a mixed media card on watercolor paper.  

\

To make this card I put Prima Heavy White Gesso on top of gauze, the added layers of Rambling Rose Lindy's Stamp Gang and Winsor and Newton watercolors.  I stenciled on homemade modeling paste through a 6" x 6" stencil called "Birds of a Feather." 

     

To add visual interest I added microbeads, vintage glass glitter, seed beads, shells, Ranger Rock Candy Clear Crackle, and small pieces of lace. The flowers are Prima, the cherub is Authentique. The words are Tim Holtz.  The heart is Tim Holtz chipboard with gesso and Lindy's rose, a thick layer of crackle paint on top, and more of the rose over that.  

The little key on the bottom right is by Vintaj.

I dabbed gesso on top with a sponge.

I also dry brushed some Art Alchemy Opal Magic paint on top in Aqua Rose , and Violet Green. You can see some areas where I've used Derwent Inktense pencil, I used bark and forest green.

  

I brushed and rubbed on gold and pearl mica powder.

You can tell I like a lot of detail and texture, right?

Thank you so much for looking, and have a great day!

Family

This page was made as a project for My Creative Scrapbook's Design Team Call.

Hi everyone,this is a tribute page to my dear stepmother Ruth, who passed away recently at the age of 93. She was dearly loved by a huge family. This photo includes her first husband and daughter.   Ruth had a very good and full life, and I have tons of great memories of the time I was blessed enough to be around her.Her parents both came here from Sweden, and raised four girls. Her parents both came here from Sweden, and raised four girls.  Ruth came into my life when I was about 12, so she had to go through raising two of my brothers and I through the teenage years, after bringing up two of her own. She always listened to my sometimes endless chatter, and was always so fun to be around.  She worked full time, and didn't retire until her and my Dad decided to move to Florida. 

I used Prima paper, Lindy's Stamp Gang,in purple, teal, and blue, Petaloo flowers, Tim Holtz words and rub ons, and a few bling items. 

I first applied Prima Heavy Gesso with a credit card, then put some more on through a TCW stencil, and sprinkled on clear seed beads into the wet gesso,  drying between layers.  I spritzed on water and flicked on dry Lindy's powder with a fan brush, and moved the paper around.  I did two or three layers in places, to make the colors more intense, because it got lighter when I dried it.

I also put on some embossing powder, in a verdigris color. Ruth loved the color blue, and music too.

 Here you can see some chipboard, I'm not positive what company it's from. The owl, symbolizing wisdom, is Vintaj.

I used purple, gold, green, and aqua mica powders on the chipboard, also some bark Derwent Inktense watercolor pencil.  I used the same pencil to outline around the photos and flowers and softened it with water brushed over it.  You can see a little purple embossing powder here too.

Pale aqua is my favorite color, but purple blue is number two.

Thank you so much for looking, and have a great week!