Cloud the Vampire Slayer
Love Buffy and FFVII...so this rocks :)
IMAGE 1: I first dipped the bottom quarter in the thick instant coffee mixture. I let it absorb up as high as it would go then let it dry. Then I dipped it into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then as that was drying I took a tea cup, wetting the bottom I set the cup on top of the dry instant coffee crystals and then sat the cup on the still wet tag. I let it set overnight before removing the cup.
IMAGE 2: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. I let it dry then took a paint brush and splattered the thick instant coffee mixture on to it. Then as that was drying I took 2 tea cups, wetting the bottoms I set the cups on top of the dry instant coffee crystals and then sat the cups on the still wet tag. I let it set overnight before removing the cup.
IMAGE 3: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then as that was drying i would layer brushes of regular coffee and the instant letting some puddle to dry.
IMAGES 4, 5, 6 & 7: I dipped the tags into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Let that dry then I brushed over it with the instant coffee mixture. For the larger circles I dipped little metal condiment dishes rims in the instant coffee mixture then sat them on the tags at random spacing. For the small circle in image 4 I used the lid off a medicine bottle. It caused a neat inner circle due to the extra rim inside from the child safety lock. I let these set over night before removing the items off them.
IMAGE 8: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then brushed it over with a layer of instant coffee. The shape on it is from a clothes pin that fell over on it during the night off of tag 9. It sat all night on it as it dried. A happy mistake :)
IMAGE 9: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then brushed it over with a layer of instant coffee. Then while still wet I took clothes pins and dipped the ends in the thick coffee mixture and stood them up. I left them standing all night and got this really cool design effect.
IMAGE 10: Using the thick instant coffee mixture and a straw I stamped circles all over this tag and let it dry. You can tell where I reloaded the straw by the blurred circles. The heavier the mixture on the straw end the more blurred they were and the finer the circle lines the less mixture on the straw.
IMAGE 11: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Taking wide paint brush I twisted the brush to form the circles. The smaller circles were made using a straw.
IMAGE 12: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it, let it dry. Then I took a beaded necklace and dipped it into the heavy instant coffee mixture and laid it across the tag. as that dyed I would occasional brush coffee randomly from both coffee mixtures on the side until I was happy with what I saw.
IMAGE 13: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it and then took the strings from all the tags and dipped them in the thick coffee mixture and laid them on the tag randomly. Once that was dry I brushed over the top of it randomly alternating between my coffee mixtures and as a final touch i sprinkled some dry instant coffee crystals on it then carefully dropped a drop of water on the crystal so they would bled outward.
IMAGE 14: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then I took several keys I had lying around and wet one side of them then dipped them into the dry instant coffee placing them randomly on the tag. The crystals would melt forming those images. Be careful here if you have too thick of a layer of crystals it will goop up and look nasty. If this happens let the tag dry then take a damp sponge and gently rub the goop down to a acceptable look.
IMAGE 15: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Then brushed it over with a layer of thick instant coffee. Then while still wet I took old medicine bottles and dipped the ends in the thick coffee mixture and stood them up. I left them standing all night and got this really cool design effect.
IMAGE 16, 17, 18 & 19: These tags I crumpled up in a little ball and tie it together with the strings attached. Then I dropped it into the regular coffee mix for a quick dip then dropped it into the thick instant mix for twice as long. When the tag started looking really soggy. I pulled it out and cut the string off and gently straightened it out. It dried quite stiff and has an amazing texture to it.
IMAGE 20: I dipped a string in regular coffee and laid it on the tag. Then I commenced to spill my tea cup of coffee on my work surface and over my tag. I picked it up and laid it aside figuring to come back to it.
IMAGE 21: I Taking wide paint brush I twisted the brush to form the circles. Once the circles were dry I brushed a light coat of regular coffee over it.
IMAGE 22: I crumpled the tag up and placed it into the regular coffee mixture. Counted to 20 and pulled it out. Gently straightened it out and let it dry.
IMAGE 23, 24 & 25: I dipped about 10 strings off the tags into regular coffee and laid it on the tag. Once that was dry I applied a wash of instant coffee to 23 and a wash of regular coffee to 24 & 25.
IMAGE 26: I folded the tag accordion style and submerged it into the regular coffee mixture. Counted to 20 and pulled it out. Gently straightened it out and let it dry.
IMAGE 27: This effect was achieved in several steps. First fold the tag accordion style then dip one side down in the instant coffee mixture. Let is absorb the mixture for about 5 minutes. Then turn it upside down still wet and dip the opposite side into the mixture. Let it sit five minutes absorbing the stain. The stain from the first dipping will run down the inside of the according fold creating a ladder effect. Gently straighten out the tag and let dry. Once dry brush a layer of regular coffee mixture over the tag.
IMAGE 28: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it and then took the strings from all the tags and dipped them in the thick coffee mixture and laid them on the tag randomly. Once that was dry I brushed over the top of it randomly alternating between my coffee mixtures and as a final touch i sprinkled some dry instant coffee crystals on it then carefully dropped a drop of water on the crystal so they would bled outward.
IMAGE 29: First I crumpled the tag then brushed the regular coffee mixture over the card. I let it dry. Then I did another brushing and sprinkled some coarse salt over the tag and let it sit all night to dry. Then next morning I brushed the salt off.
IMAGE 30: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Once that was dry, I brushed over the top of it randomly alternating between my coffee mixtures. While the card was still wet I sprinkled paprika on the card and let it dry over night. The next morning I brushed the loose paprika off the tags.
IMAGE 31: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it and then spilled some of the thick instant coffee on it.
IMAGE 32: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it and then while it was still wet I sprinkled regular table salt over the card. Letting it dry over night. The salt caused a really cool rough surface effect. Though I wonder if it is still going to degrade over time. I will just have to see what happens with this tag.
IMAGE 33: I dipped the tag into the regular coffee mixture completely submerging it. Once that was dry, I brushed over the top of it randomly alternating between my coffee mixtures. While the card was still wet I sprinkled dry instant coffee crystals and coffee grounds on the card and let it dry over night. The next morning I brushed the loose crystals and grounds off the tags.
This is a tutorial on how I often do my layouts mind you that this is not the only way to do it.
All right we have a muse yanking at the back of our hair saying let's play...let's play... So let's not disappoint them...grab your supplies.
I have discovered as an artist that my best friend is Glad Press N Seal. If you do not currently have any in your house...get some... it will save you some sadness.
First thing I do is protect my journal by wrapping the front portion in Press N Seal. I always skip a page and place my wrap on top of that page.
Then take the Next Two pages and turn them, so that you can wrap the back portion of the book. This is only if you are doing a two page spread if you are doing a one page spread, only skip one page.
and ta-da your book is protected and ready for prepping or better known as "painting your base". When getting ready to cover up those lines hopefully you have considered your layout and what color you are going to paint your background. Its okay if you haven't given any thought to the color or layout yet. If you have no clue what color you want to paint it... paint the two pages white. On this lay-out I knew I wanted the back ground a blueish color. The blue I chose was dark enough the lines would not bleed though so I chose not to prep the page white first. One important note when painting in a book be careful not to glob paint in the binding area.. in some books, like composition notebooks, it will bleed around to the other layouts. So I always paint very lightly there.
After your base coat has dried, the next step is to paint the next layer of paint or the outlines of any object you might want to paint on the page.
Now comes the fun stuff... coloring, shading, and placing your collage items.
Once you have placed your collage items, you can add your embellishments.
When piercing holes in your journal pages, place a piece of tape on the back of the page where you are going to piece so that it reinforces it.
Now comes the touchy part for me, it is outlining and adding details with pens or markers. This is the time when I either ruin all my work or make it shine.
Once done with the detailing remove the press n seal wrap from the journal and either glue or tape the page to the page you skipped. I use double sided tape on mine since it doesn't wrinkle like glue does. I would recommend buying a roll of carpet tape from your hardware store to use.. It is cheap and you get alot for your money.
press the pages together and ta da!... a pretty finished product.
If you have any questions feel free to comment and I will get back to you.
Carefully line up your pages
Press down on your pages to get a firm gluing and you are done.
You can attach glue strips of paper to your new page, then glue the whole thing to one or two of the margin in your book. wax paper/plastic wrap is recommended. The strip should be less than the margin so not to cover any previous work in your book, unless that is the effect your going for... NO rules remember?
Okay.. I have now armed you with the basics... now get going and create something... I know you're dying to start.
First let me introduce you to Ippo and Dottie, a nice normal healthy cat couple. Young and in love they would cuddle late in the evening while watching re-runs of Dallas on Cable TV.
Until one late night during the episode titled "House Divided" JR was shot. Ippo claimed it was it was Sue Ellen Ewing who did it. But Dottie swore it wasn't a female, only a male would do it. It had to be Alan Beam. They argued late into the night, until Dottie could take it no more and ran out the cat door into the early morning sun.
Tragically Dottie was so upset she did not notice the truck as she darted across the road to her favorite bird killing grounds. We had to rush her to the emergency clinic where clinging determinedly to life she sadly lost her hind leg. Arriving home she would not let Ippo near her. Clearly they were in for rocky times in their relationship. Luckily, her friend Annie was there to give her support in her time of need.
After a month or so things settled down in my house. Ippo and Dottie agreed to part ways amicably and Dottie settled into life as a three legged cat with the help of her friend who was always at her side. It was all platonic or so I thought till one night while heading to the kitchen for a late night snack, I flipped on the living room lights and found this:
Altered Art Doll Book for
November "Group Participation Incentive Contest"
at Blissfully Art Journaling
Book is 5"x7" originally was a story about a cat named Rhubarb.The left side will be customized to the person it is going to, so until the winner is announced this piece lays unfinished. :) Doll is an original piece of art. .
To qualify to be entered into this contest members of the group must make a layout for each of the weekly themes announced for the month and upload them to the group for showing.
These Altered Tins were made for a personal trade between friends.
These were made as special "Thank Yous" for people who have really helped me out.
About the Project: This project is part of the BM Journal Project. Titled Fairylish, features Fairies and Manga belonging to rddjna.
If you would like to get in on this journal you can get in line for it at Bookmooch.com.
These are my pages
About the Project: This project is a journal in the form of a calendar and you just highlight each day in the squares. I got the idea from TraceyU. I didn't make it past one month on it. So I came up with the grand idea of sending my journal around to other artists to create a calendar page of their own, in their own interpretation of the theme so that we might catch a glimpse into a day of each others lives.
If you would like to get in on this journal you can get in line for it at Bookmooch.com.
Front |
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Back |
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Inside Cover |
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Participant Sign Up |
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1st Calendar by Me |
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Calendar by Caryn |
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More to Come Stay Tuned!! |
neopersona
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
About the Series:
Journey into a world where fairy tales are a fact of life and life sometimes is just plain boring. Follow the adventures of Cimorene, an unconventional princess as she discovers what it means to follow your own path and not the one set out by others.
Book 1: Dealing with Dragons: Meet Princess Cimorene the youngest daughter of The King of Linderwall. Cimorene is a princess who wants to do un-princess like things like sword fighting, magic and even cooking! Each attempt to learn a new skill is put to a halt by her parents. Finally in desperation to escape the drudgery of being a princess she takes the advice of a magic frog and soon discovers herself belonging to a dragon. Between caring for the dragon's needs and chasing away knights and wizards Cimorene discovers the life she always wanted to lead.
Book 2: Searching for Dragons: Kazul is missing and it is up to Cimorene to find her but she can't do it alone. Along with Mendanbar, the King of the Enchanted forest she embarks on a hilarious expedition to discover what is killing the forest and who has stolen her dragon.
Book 3: Calling on Dragons: The Enchanted Forest is dying and the King's sword has gone missing. It is up to Cimorene to join forces with a hedge witch, a magician, a dragon and a rabbit called Killer in order to discover the scoundrels behind the plot to destroy her new home.
Book 4: Talking to Dragons: Skip ahead a generation. Daystar is a young man who lives outside the enchanted forest with his mother. When he turns 16, a wizard shows up to his house to his surprise his mom melts him. Then wanders into the forest, returning with a magic sword she hands him then tells him to get out and don't come back till he discovers what he is supposed to do with it. Confused Daystar stumbles into the Enchanted forest to discover his fate. Luckily for him he stumbles upon a few friends that join in as he discovers his path.
My Thoughts on the Series:
This is a good series. Wrede writes quite well had her story is chalked full of humor. Her twists on the age old fairy tales is enjoyable and she does an amazing job of satirizing them. Even though they are geared toward Young Adults they are quite appropriate for us "old" Adults and didn't drag at all. With each book you discover more strange and unique characters that help the story grow and flourish into an excellent series.
About the Book:
Charley and Rip are back once again in a high flying UFO thriller. In this sequel to Stephen Coonts's Saucer, Rip and Charley have gone their separate ways. Charley leaves to join a expedition to the moon and Rip is left at home to work on refining the technology they recovered from the Saucer's computer banks. What they don't know is that Charley's new boss, Artois has a master plan for taking over the world using the Moon base as a weapon. Along the way it is up to Charley and Rip to save their family and the world from the malevolent couple.
My thoughts on the Book:
This story smacked of a "James Bond" movie genre. I absolutely loved this book as much as I did the first, though I did find the first half to drag out too long. It felt like they were trying to fill up page space with details on the space trip. But once the action started the book took off in a flying leap in which I did not want to put it down. Coonts is a master at writing great action stories with a lot of humor splashed through out to keep you smiling.
BM LINKS:
Book One: Saucer
Book Two: Saucer the Conquest