Count Your Blessings

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a new design team page for the amazing Reneabouquets! Go and see all the beautiful things there!I have used a photo from free google, from Stella de Libero.

 To make this page I applied texture paste with a stencil onto watercolor paper. I put the layers under the photo together, starting with taping on card stock under the image to make it stronger. Below that is a layer of watercolor paper, and at the bottom is corrugated cardboard.I tore off most of the paper from the surface of the cardboard, and painted it with gesso.While the gesso was wet, I sprinkled on Ultra Thick Embossing Powder, and heated it just until it melted. I put layers of foam core board between everything, to add dimension. After I had the page all put together, I added Shimmerz Paint to the background watercolor paper. Later I painted on white Higgins Ink, to cover areas where it looked too busy with all the textural things, or if there was too much color. I also splashed the page with the white ink.

I picked out Beautiful Board, applied gesso with a cosmetic sponge, then painted it with Shimmerz Paints, and when dry, topped it with a thick coat of Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.You can also see gold mica powder, gold ink, Art Alchemy paint in Ancient Coin,and Prima Waxes on the BBoard.

To add visual interest I added micro beads, glass glitter,metal glitter,distress glitter,seed beads,glass beads, pearls, Swarovski crystals,rhinestones,pressed flowers and leaves,bark, strands of gauze,tulle, small pieces of iridescent wrapping paper,gold mica flakes, shells,metal from Reneabouquets, Tim Holtz, Vintaj, Prima, flowers from Prima, and bling and metal from my stash.

I edged the photo, watercolor mat, and corrugated with black gesso, Prima Wax, gold mica powder. I edged the chipboard with black ink too. Ink is really easy to use, it's cleaner and easier to control than gesso, You just put a little on your brush. With gesso you need to add water, and it's just not as neat as ink.

I really worked on the colors on the page to try and make a composition that was balanced. I have to stand and add things, to get the big picture, kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle. I've been using just watercolor brushes, they're easier to use than flat ones. To put gesso on the corrugated, I use a flat brush, and the same one every time, because it can really ruin brushes unless you clean it right after you use it. 

You can see I smeared on wax on the photo mat and the bg paper.

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

You can find Reneabouquets here...

Reneabouquets

https://www.reneabouquets.com/

Reneabouquets Blog

https://www.reneabouquets.blogspot.com

Reneabouquets Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/Reneabouquets.comandEtsy/

Reneabouquets items I used:

Beautiful Board Large Stackable Honey Bee Corners Laser Cut Chipboard  

Beautiful Board Large Quilling Flourish Set Of 4 Laser Cut Chipboard  

Snow White Butterflies  

1 Ounce No Hole Silver Glass Microbeads 

1 Ounce No Hole Gold Glass Microbeads  

1 Ounce Beautiful Beads Hand Tinted Glass Pink 

.6 Ounce Beautiful Bead Bronzed Teal Iridescent Pearls  

1.6 Ounce Beautiful Beads Unicorn Candy Iridescent Pearls 

.4 Ounce Beautiful Beads Candy Choose Color Flatback Pearls   - Toffee

2 Ounce Diamond Shard Glitter Glass 

.5 Ounce Light Grey Glitter Glass  

.5 Ounce Lavender Chunky Glitter Glass  

1 Ounce Jar ~ Vintage Cream Mica Flitter Flakes 1/8" to 1/4" Natural Stone Flakes  

Reneabouquets Silver Spoon Trinkets Pack  

Reneabouquets Is The Place For High Quality, Local Market Lace!! A 15% off Coupon good towards your purchase of any Reneabouquets Lace & Trims (no quantity limit). Just purchase any amount of Reneabouquets Lace & Trims, enter Coupon Code: THEPLACEFORLACE (must be ALL CAPS) in the Coupon Box at checkout and 15% will be taken off your Lace & Trims!

Two Cards

Here are two new cards for Reneabouquets, I love using the amazing products I find there!

To make this card I first put the layers under the Steampunk Debutante image together: I taped on cardstock to the image to make it stronger, underneath is watercolor paper, at the bottom is corrugated cardboard. I tore off most of the paper from the corrugated, and painted it with gesso. I put layers of foam core board between everything, to add dimension.

I marked off where I wanted the layers to go, then sponged on gesso on Prima Paper, an A4 piece of Timeless Memories. I glued on lace, then applied texture paste with a stencil.

I used different media to get the colors I wanted: Shimmerz Paints, Art Alchemy Sparks, gold mica powder, Derwent Inktense Watercolor pencil in Bark, and black gesso.

To add visual interest I added a micro beads, glass glitter, mica flakes,glass beads, tiny pieces of black tulle and gold lace, a few strands of gauze, a butterfly,a flower from my stash, and a 7 Gypsies pin with silk ribbon.

To make this card I assembled the shaker box, painted it with Prima Dragon's Eye Sparks Paint, then painted the frame. I use gold mica powder and water for the shells, and Shimmerz paints for the rest. I dribbled on Clear Rock Candy Crackle with a paint brush. I glued the frame onto the box. I marked off the page where I wanted it to sit, and sponged gesso on the paper. I attached the box to the page with double sided foam tape.

I used the same items on this card as the other one, with the addition of pressed flowers, lichen, swarovski crystals, and a pearl necklace with some chain from my stash. The brass moon on the shaker box is from Vintaj. Inside the shaker box I put sequins, glass glitter, glass beads, pearls, shells, mica flakes,rhinestones, Swarovski bicone crystals, seed beads, green plastic crystals,and micro beads. 

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

You can find Reneabouquets here...

Reneabouquets

https://www.reneabouquets.com/

Reneabouquets Etsy Shop

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Reneabouquets

Reneabouquets Blog

https://www.reneabouquets.blogspot.com

Reneabouquets Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/Reneabouquets.comandEtsy/

http://www.Reneabouquets.com

or here: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Reneabouquets ...

Items used on cards:

Beautiful Board Large Square Shaker Box Laser Cut Chipboard  

Beautiful Board Seashell Scroll Frame Laser Cut Chipboard  

Beautiful Beautiful Bits-Moon & Star  

Mint Chocolate Chip Premium Paper Glitter Glass Butterflies  

Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante Deluxe Collection  

Reneabouquets Trim- Wide Gold Embroidered Lace  

Natural Cotton Crochet Lace-Cluny Lace 002  

1.6 Ounce Beautiful Beads Bronze Teal Iridescent Pearls  

1.6 Ounce Beautiful Beads Unicorn Candy Iridescent Pearls  

2 Ounce Diamond Chunky Glitter Glass

2 Ounce Gold Christmas Glitter Glass 

1 Ounce No Hole Gold Glass Microbeads   

.5 Ounce Mermaid Shard Glitter Glass 

Moon Beams and Heart Strings

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a page for the February Mood Board at Mixed Media Warriors.I was inspired by the heart shaped wreath of flowers, which can be a symbol for romance.  

To make this page I used Cold Day paper from the "Until Dawn" collection at 13 Arts. I applied gesso with a cosmetic sponge, then used the Dandelion stencil from 13 Arts and put on texture paste with a credit card. I painted over the raised area with a combination of Shimmerz Inklingz paints that matched the peach tones in the image: A Rose by Any Other Name, Dear John Letter, and Ginger Snapped. I painted the watercolor paper under the image with the same combination of colors, but later put more paint on.Underneath the paper and image are two layers of foam core board, to add dimension.  

The clockface chipboard is from my stash, and the leafy ones are Dusty Attic. I painted the leaves and branches with Greener Pastures Inklingz, then while still wet dropped in blobs of Shimmerz Celery with a paintbrush. I loved the way it looked, but I still wanted Clear Rock Candy Crackle paint on top. I added gold mica powder, Fairy Wings Sparks Art Alchemy paint, and Sparks Iris Potion. To add visual interest I added a number of things: microbeads, rhinestones, sequins, distress glitter, a few Swarovski crystals, Prima - Finnabair Mechanical Trinkets,metal glitter in purple,silver, and  steel blue, pearls, Frosted mica flakes from Finnabair, and gold ones from Stampendous. 

You can see some green gauze around the image I dyed with a distress ink stamper, and cherubs fussy cut from Graphic 45 paper. The butterflies are from Lemoncraft's Violet Silence collection. The flowers are Prima,Petaloo, the tiny pink ones by the cherubs are Jolees, and the two tiny roses are Kaisercraft.  

I glued on pieces of white silk ribbon from my LSS that I dyed with Tim Holtz distress ink and Shimmerz celery paint.  

The moth at the bottom of the image is cut from transparent foil, what to me is an acetate overlay, "A Letter to you", Until Dawn, by 13 Arts.  The moon beams and heart strings sticker is from 7 Dots Fortune Teller. The tiny twisted metal is from the top of a champagne bottle, the metal that you take off before you take the cork out.

The butterfly to the left of the image is also by 13 Arts, it's cut from A4 Stickers, Until Dawn. 

You an see I added dried flowers from my yard, feathers the birds leave in the bird bath, dried moss from Michael's, and lichen from my yard. 

I added distress glitter,purple metal glitter, micro beads, and Sparks paint in Iris and Fairy Wings to the paper under the image. The green paint is Fairy Wings at the left of the image.

I painted on some Sparks Magical Pond in the above picture kind of randomly.

I added tiny pieces of gold metallic lace, black tulle, seed beads, and fresh lavender. The big pink gem is from Jolees.The little metal heart I think is from 7 Gypsies.

Thank you so much for looking, and have a great week!I hope you find some time to enter this month's contest!

Mermaid Card

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a design team project for the Mixed Media Warriors Challenge Blog.

To make this 7 x 6 "card I took watercolor paper and glued on a piece of textured ribbon that looks a little like seaweed. I painted gesso over it, and put on the rest of the embellies. The flowers are from Prima. I gessoed and painted the chipboard with Tibetan Poppy Teal by Lindy's, and Tattered Angels Rich Mocha. I layered on a thick coat of Rock Candy Crackle, and let it dry overnight. I fussy cut the mermaid from paper by Kaisercraft.

To add visual interest I added a little texture paste, sequins, rhinestones, shells, metal,bling, metal glitter, micro beads,white embossing powder,wire, and ribbon.

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

Mixed Media in Purple

Hi everyone, Melissa here with a design team project for the Mixed Media Warriors Challenge Blog!

To make this page I coated a page in my watercolor paper art journal with gesso, applied chalk ink with a stencil, then Prima Clear Crackle paste, glued on the elements, and applied layers of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Purple Rain, Rich Mocha, and Blue Rasberry,  Prima Art Alchemy paint in Steampunk Copper, Prima Opal Magic waxes in Green Brocade. Blue Velvet,and Prima wax in  Antique gold, gold Momenta stencil paint, and black gesso. I also used Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils in yellow, bark,leaf green, indigo blue,and Winton and Lewis watercolors in a mix of sap green and burnt umber. I rubbed on gold mica powder.

The lace strip across the center is from Le Tresors de Luxe, the flowers on it are from Prima.There are pieces of lace around the page, it's bridal lace from Hobby Lobby(HL) The chipboard is from my stash. The oval medallions are pewter from Vintaj, the big heart at the bottom is by Tim Holtz.  There a couple metal flowers from HL.The little birds and butterflies are metal from Martha Stewart. The little girl is by Tim Holtz. The crystals are Swarovski, I got a great deal on them at my local scrapbooking store. The green crystals in settings are from Hobby Lobby. There are some glass pebbles and marbles. 

You can see lots of metal glitter, and Ranger Distress glitter. I also used metal chain, lots of thread, a heart sticker, small lace four leaf flower pieces cut from some Le Tresors lace,and some very tiny flowers from my LSS. The word stickers are 7 Dots.

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

More Than Words February 2017 Mini Challenge

Hi everyone, Melissa here with a card for the Mini Challenge at More Than Words! You could make a card, ATC (artist trading card), or tag. Since February is the month of love, you had to put the word "LOVE" on it.  I am very mushy on the inside, so using this theme wasn't much of a stretch!

I made this card by layering watercolor paper, and then I handstitched a border with embroidery thread.  I applied home made texture paste with a Prima  Stencil, Royal Menagerie Collection, Decor 1,and a credit card.  I painted the whole thing with Winsor and Newton Watercolors, in sap green and burnt umber.  I sponged Prima Heavy Gesso on to create negative space around the embellishments.

To create more visual interest I added tulle, microbeads, seed beads,bling, metal, and moss. The cherubs are from Authentique Paper.

The "Love" is part of a wood chipboard piece. I used Bark Derwent Inktense watercolor pencil on the edges of it by holding the pencil sideways and drawing it along the edges. Some of the pink paint on the edges of the card is Lindy Stamp Gang's Rambling Rose. 

You can see a little gold mica powder I brushed on the card.The flower is by Prima, the leaves are sizzix die cuts that I watercolored.  

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

More Than Words January Main Challenge, Celebrate & Bling

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a page for the January More Than Words Challenge.  I chose these two photos of my son, because they celebrate the joy of having fun! They were taken years ago  in front of my husband's childhood home, in beautiful Northport, New York. It's always exciting to go there in the summer because we can see family, enjoy the beauty of the area, and escape the Houston heat.

For the bling I've used mica flakes, gold mica powder, micro beads,copper wire,and a couple druzy style beads. I also used a Tim Holtz clock face,ornate plate,key, and some Ranger clear crackle. The green watercolor paint is Shimmers by Tattered Angels. The Prima flower in the middle has some chunky clear glitter on it, although it's hard to see in the photo.

The background paper is My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found, Market Street. Almost all the cut up pieces are tags from a sheet of baseball Paper House paper. Along with soccer, Nick played baseball for several years. There's also some ppr. with distressed edges from Bo Bunny. The flowers are Prima, from Engraver, and Coventry Roses,the leaves are also Prima.

I extended some of the tree branches with a bark color Inktense watercolor pencil, I also used it for all the shading on the page, I softened the pencil lines by brushing on some water.

I used Prima heavy Gesso to form a base so paint wouldn't soak into the paper, and also to tone down some of the detail and color of the page.

I used a lot of gold mica powder.

Thank you so much for looking! I hope you have a wonderful year, filled with all the things you love.

This page is for the following challenge:

January 2017 Main Challenge, Celebrate and Bling