Sisters: a challenge ATC

Another challenge ATC using only scraps. The background is from a magazine, another strip of that same dictionary page, a torn piece of an old ticket, and a magazine picture for the focal image. I'm still working from that same picture from the February issue of Hallmark Magazine that had many people in it. The image from yesterday was also from that same picture.

In as much as: a challenge ATC

Belinda has issued a challenge on a blog that I can't seem to find the link to at the moment. She asked that we make ATCs using only scraps. I began with an image from a magazine, added a piece of leftover dictionary page, the sentiment also from the same page, and a copper "thingy." That copper thingy is part of a circuitry strip left over from the back of an old ink cartridge.

Three Valentine ATCs

What happens when you hit a dry patch and are having trouble creating art? That's happened to a lot of artists, whether they make their living selling their art, or are just dabblers. I know it will pass, but until it does, it's a real struggle.


My favorite way of working through a dry spell is to organize my studio, my paper, my ephemera, etc. Just touching and seeing stuff often sparks creativity. However, I am in the process of boxing things up in my basement so the contractors have room to put in new walls, so my entire house needs reorganizing and just touching and seeing stuff has a whole different meaning right now. Since I'm a neat freak, I fear this may be part of the problem I'm having creating.

My dear friend Kathy gave me a Hallmark magazine the last time she was in Wichita. I was flipping through it, trying to come up with a viable layout for the Valentine bookmarks for a swap I'm in, when I found an old photo of an entire family. I decided to pull the page out of the magazine and use as many people in the photo as I could in some ATCs. I managed to get three made before I felt like I wasn't doing my best work.
Caroline, the ATC on the left began with a background of an old encyclopedia page, to which I added a heart made from another book page that I'd gessoed and added red paint. The small heart is shrink plastic that I first colored using alcohol inks and a stamped with a scroll type heart stamp. I had originally intended to use the hearts with the bookmarks, but changed my mind.

The middle one, Be My Valentine, started with a page from an encyclopedia over which I glued red tissue I recycled from a Christmas gift. I used another heart cut from the painted paper, a magazine image, and another lady from the photo. The words are in gold leafing, and they are much prettier in person.

Discovery started with a background from a geography book, which I dry brushed gesso over. I cut the heart wings from an encyclopedia page and colored them with green dye ink. Then I added the focal image and the word. Last, I dipped a bamboo skewer into gold paint and added dots around the girl. Feel free to click on the image for a closer view.

Design: an ATC

This ATC started when I found the image of the bird in a cigar box. I used a dictionary page for the background and added a stamped bird over the word "Design." The problem came when I tried to add something in the upper right. After several rejects, I decided on the N from a magazine, but never quite got the color to match the blue in the box, even though I kept adding more and more transparent layers. What I really needed was a cigar band, but I couldn't find one.

A-mazed: an ATC for my Money AB

My Money themed AB is too full to add more pages, so what am I to do when I keep finding money related images in magazine, junk mail, and receipts? Since this image was small, I used it in an ATC. Now I can slip it in one of the pockets in the book. It's made of magazine images and words. As with all my images, you can click to enlarge.

White House Communication: an ATC

I'm a pack rat when it comes to quirky magazine images. When I heard on the news last night that President Obama's White House staff was having difficulty adjusting to the antiquated phone and computer technology they found when they settled into their offices, I remembered this quirky magazine photo of an art assemblage. It was the perfect size for an ATC, so I turned it into a tape transfer and glued it over some dictionary definitions. Click for a larger view to find "from lack of food," "not suitable," "silliness," and even "American." I couldn't have picked a better page for a background unless I had found lobster!

Making altered book embellishments using scraps and UHU glue

Altered artists have influenced the scrapbooking and card making industry in that scrapbook manufacturers now sell embellishments that altered artists make. I want to show how easy it is to make embellishments using your existing supplies and UHU glue.
Start with what you have. These supplies are just a suggestion and a starting point for your personal embellishments. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with.
Supplies clockwise from lower left:
Flower punch
dictionary pages
pencil
small flower punch
foreign newspaper
circle punch
painted papers
UHU Stic glue stick (purple)
UHU Twist & Glue
Heart punch
Old book pages that have been gessoed and painted
To make the flower embellishment, I started with a punch that punches a small flower. I wanted the flower to be larger than the dinky flower the punch would make. To make the flower, you will need a dictionary page, the punch, and a pencil.

Draw around the outside of the punch using a pencil.

For this one, I used a 1" hole punch for the center, and the small punch for the accent inside the center. Don't glue anything yet.

Here is a closeup of the flower.

Cut the flower out and turn it over so your lines are hidden.

Apply a couple of drops of the Twist & Glue to the circle. This one is a magazine image. Twist & Glue works great on magazine images because it doesn't buckle the paper like other wet glues do.

Now you can dress the embellishments up by adding gold dots around the edges, or coloring the edges or the petals with dye ink.

It takes less time to make these cute embellishments than it does to read this tutorial. I hope you'll give it a try and see what you can come up with for your next paper project.

Nathan: an ATC

Here is an ATC I created today specifically so I would have something to post. I began with a background of an eye glass blank holder, added a magazine image, then dry brushed gesso over the top.

One World One Heart Giveaway

By now you have probably been to a few blogs and know most of the rules for this giveaway. According to the OWOH blog, please leave a comment ONLY on this post if you want to be considered for the giveaway. If you leave a comment on any other post, it will be appreciated, but won't count toward the giveaway. On Feb 12, I will use a random generator to announce four lucky winners for five pieces I will be giving away.

Each winner will be notified by e-mail by me with the subject line "OWOH winner on my blog." You will not be expected to check back to see if you have won, because I will notify you. In order to do that, though, you must leave your e-mail address. Since it will be visible, please write it using the words dot and com instead of the actual address. (My e-mail address is hfsolutions at juno dot com)That way it will be harder for hackers to steal it. Do not just leave your blog address and expect me to track down your e-mail address from it. I must have your e-mail address or I will remove your name/number and put the random generator to work again.

Please contact me within 7 days after I notify you, or no later than Feb 19. If I don't hear from you by Feb 19, I will remove your name/number and once again go to the random generator.

You do NOT need to have a blog to sign up for my giveaway. You can even sign in as "anonymous." You only need to leave your e-mail address. Your comment will automatically post.

There is only one request that I have that is not part of the OWOH rules. If you leave a comment and have a blog, I would like to get your permission to link to your blog if it's something I think my readers will appreciate. If you don't want me to link to your blog, that's fine, too. Just let me know in your comment. It will NOT affect your chances of winning. I always ask people if I can link to their blog, never just posting theirs without confirmation. By leaving a comment, you are giving me permission to add your blog link to mine, unless you tell me otherwise. After all, the idea of this giveaway is to connect to like minded artists.

Thank you for stopping by, joining in the fun, and leaving a comment. Please feel free to look around. I post art every day, so there is plenty to see. And finally, good luck.

Number 4: This mixed media piece is called The Wig. The background is made from squares cut from various book pages, then covered in gold and green fluid acrylics. A book image, button, key, and wire complete the materials list. This piece measures 5 X 7 not including the wire hanger.

Number 3: Shoe fetish is an 8 X 10 collage on heavy substrate. The background is made from various book pages cut in 2" squares. All shoe images are from various magazines.

Number 2: Da Vinci's Garden (one side), Hopes and Dreams (one side). This mixed media piece began with a Reader's Digest Condensed Book cover. The front background was left as inspiration for Da Vinci's Garden. Various papers were used to make the flowers and all images are those painted by Da Vinci.

The inside cover was covered with vintage sheet music to become the reverse side of the piece. To that I stamped the birds and the words. Then I added magazine images which I distressed with sandpaper. I show these two pieces, meant to be hung together, without their wire hanger. It was easier to put them on the scanner without a hanger. They will come to the winner with hangers.

Number 1: Write your own Destiny, an assemblage made using an uncut eye glass, wire, pen nib, old book spine, over a gesso and paper lace base. This piece will come to the winner in a black and gold frame. The spine and book ends of the Readers Digest Book I used in the piece above, are what I used for this piece.

Remember your comment only counts in the giveaway if you post your comment to this blog entry. You are also welcome to let me know which piece you like best.

Again, thank you for stopping by.

Congratulations, Mr. President

Congratulations Mr. President and the very best of luck. Our country and much of the world are looking to you for guidance. You will set the tone for all Americans, now. You are our face, our hope, and our good-will ambassador. If you are able to run the country as well as you ran your campaign, we are in for a very united, albeit sometimes bumpy, four years.

I have made it a practice to devote this blog to my art. However, I want to take just a minute and explain why I'm officially 250% behind President Barack H. Obama. It is simple: humility.

No, it wasn't on the campaign trail, where his speeches all started sounding alike. Nor was it when he declared in a debate with Hillary Clinton, "now we're just getting into 'silly season'," although it was one of the many times I laughed all summer. Nor was it the rousing speech he gave after he had been elected that energized not only the country, but the world. I've studied enough history, that I know any person who can electrify like that, can also take rabid followers down the wrong path. After all, there was Hitler and, in our country, Timothy Leary and Jim Jones. Of course, I do believe our standing in the world went up at least two notches when President Obama won the election.

So what was it I saw in this man who I could both idolize and find genuine fault with, that made me a true believer? When he gave his first press conference the day after the election, the entire press corp stood when he entered the room. The look on his face was embarrassment which was born from humility. At that point, I knew this man who comes off to some as an arrogant self proclaimed savior, was in reality, our hope for the future. The look on his face told me he was genuinely moved and taken back by the simple gesture of respect, given by a group who were about to skewer him, of standing when he entered the room.

Incidentally, Mr. President, I have a wall that needs to be painted if your current job doesn't work out.

One World One Heart Giveaway Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at the five pieces I will be giving away. Look for rules and complete photos on Wednesday, the 21st. That is when I will submit my link to the OWOH site and you will be able to sign up. Please do not try to sign up in this post. It won't count. (all measurements are in inches)
A collage piece about 5 X 7.
A collage piece about 8.5 X 11.

Elements for two two-sided panels. These will be given as a pair.

This assemblage is about 8 X 10.

It is very dimensional.

Why am I not joining the giveaway today? I thought I could stretch the giveaway out over several days and it would give me time to finish the two panel pieces I have yet to complete. When I reread the rules, you can only send one link, no matter how many items you plan to give away. So, look for the link on Wednesday and see what I will be giving away, along with the rules.

Living then and there: an ATC

This is my final ATC this week. Tomorrow I will show my first giveaway, followed by four more giveaways between January 19 and January 29. So be sure to come back for the giveaways.

This ATC started with a record for an eye glass blank. I like them so much because they are geometric and they sort of remind me of the old library check out cards. I added the magazine images, then colored around the image using pigment ink. I colored the tiny puzzle piece using the same pigment ink.

A project using the UHU temporary glue roller

For the month of February, UHU glue is giving away the temporary/repositionable glue roller. I thought it would be fun to create a page in an altered book I'm working on using this product.Supplies (clockwise from lower left):

Background of your choice (I used a calendar page)
UHU temporary/repositionable glue roller
UHU stick glue
Floss threader
Ribbon or fiber of your choice
Awl
Die cut letters
Self healing mat
Not shown: Scissors, substrate (I used a page in my altered book)
Here are the two glues I used in the project. I specifically wanted to try the new (at least to me) repositionable glue roller.

Run the glue roller over the back of each letter. Don't worry if there are holes. The glue will only stick to the tag, not the table.

Position the letters on the background. Note that the letters weren't evenly positioned on the page. By using a repositionable glue, you can gently lift the tags/letters and place them where you want them.

Once you are happy with the position of the letters, press them to the background.

Punch holes using your awl and self healing mat.

Because the glue is holding the letters, they won't move while you pound away on the awl.

Once all the holes are punched, remove the mat and thread your fiber through the eye of the thread flosser.

Locate your first hole and guide your floss threader through it, holding onto the thread as shown.

Leave a small tail on the back side and secure with UHU glue stick. Allow glue to dry before proceeding.

Another nice thing about the repositionable glue is you can pick the page up and the tags will stay in place. Guide the thread flosser and fiber through the back side of the second hole

then into the first hole again. Your fiber should now look like the above photo.

Bring your thread from hole three into hole two. Keep doing this until you have threaded the fiber through all the holes. Even though the E came unlodged in the above photo, it was easy to line up the hole in the tag to the hole in page and return the piece to the right position. To secure the E even better, I added a bit more glue. I was very conservative when I first started using this roller.

When finished, the back will look like this. Cut your fiber, again leaving a short tail.
Secure the tail using UHU glue stick and allow to dry.

Glue the finished page to your substrate using the UHU glue stick, thus hiding the fiber on the back. Gently lift the tags from their places on the page. Now they will dangle when someone moves the page or plays with them, but will stay in place and not get damaged when the book is closed.

As an aside, this is a picture of penguins on ice in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. I found the picture in a 2006 Nature Conservancy calendar.

Focus: an ATC

I'm working on two projects, one long term and one for the giveaway next week. To keep with my resolution to post art each day, I created this quick little ATC from magazine images.

Garden Math

You won't find this formula in any math book!! I found two lower case "Ls" to make the equal sign.

Coffee

I love French Roast coffee and cream so much, I had to make a two page spread in my altered recipe book. I think the reason the women look so haggard in the left photo is because they are drinking disgusting Maxwell House coffee! There's no substitute for good coffee ground fresh with each pot.

Smoosh and Twist background tutorial

Several people have asked how I made this background, so I dug out a tutorial I wrote for ABC a couple of years ago. Although the colors are different, the substrate is the same, as is the technique.

Supplies: Two pieces of heavy card stock cut to the same size (I used "hold mail" cards from the post office).

Two colors of inexpensive craft paint. Use colors that compliment your focal image.

Plastic sheet or similar product to cover your work surface

Dribble one color on one page, the other color on the other page.

Gently lay both pages together,

then pat the two pages for good contact.

Twist the pages back and forth. Repeat if you don't like the end results, but don't overwork because the paint will get muddy.

Gently lift the two pages apart.

This is the finished product. You can see all the texture even inexpensive paint leaves.

Alternately, instead of twisting, pull one page away from the other, holding the pages as shown.

This produces a different effect, but still provides a great deal of texture. I wanted my substrate to show through, but you can add more paint if you want complete coverage.