Transfer Techniques to Share

I combined two NEW techniques to make this card. The first one is from Bernie Berlin's new book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" and she calls it Inky Layers. Very simple. Just tear various paper bits such as sheet music, reprinted vintage ads, pages from old books, etc. Ink the edges of some and decoupage to a blank ATC. Then mix yellow acrylic paint with clear glaze from Making Memories and apply with a baby wipe. For the next step, I added ink using direct-to-paper with my red (colorbox chalk) cat-eye ink pad and a metallic lavender Brilliance ink pad. Note that some papers were brown, to begin with.

Next I took a black & white image that I printed with my Canon Pixma iP6000D inkjet printer using my favorite paper by OptiJet. It's called Photo Resolution Coated Paper - Matte. I actually believe this will work on ANY type of thin white paper. After cutting around the face, I added about 6 layers of gel medium, drying between each application, spritzed water on the back and slowly and carefully rubbed the paper & the "bloom" from the back of the image.

The final touches were gluing on a transparency phrase and adding a dragonfly brad then sealed it with a triple high gloss "glaze" for protection and added dimension. A favorite touch!

FUN...EASY...BEAUTIFUL RESULT! Why don't you try it?

Another gel medium transfer

Title: "Hearts A-Flutter"

FAIRIES!

Through the mists of time, fairies and the like ~ sprites, elves, pixies, brownies and other tiny magical beings ~ have inspired our imaginations, stolen our hearts and populated our bedtime stories. This is an illustration by Eleanor Vere Boyle (British 1825-1916) from a story titled "Thumbelina" in the late nineteenth century children's book, "Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson" published in 1872.

An excerpt from this well-loved fairytale:

"What a lovely flower!", said the woman, and she kissed its beautiful red-and-yellow petals. But the moment that she kissed it, the flower burst open with with a loud snap. Anyone could see it really was a tulip, but there was a tiny little girl, very delicate and sweet, sitting in the middle of the flower on its green center. She was no bigger than your thumb, and so she was called Thumbelina.

She was given a prettily lacquered walnut shell for a cradle, and she lay there on blue-violet petals, with a rose petal coverlet over her..."

I hope this inspires you to include a picture of a vintage fairy in one of your creations this week!

15 years and counting

We are so blessed to have our precious cat, Satch in our lives. He and his brother, Sam were rescued at 4 months old. Satch turned 15 in March and Sam lived to the ripe, old age of 14. He died peacefully in our arms one night in Feb 2006 with all four of us present. We miss you, "little!"

Just a few hours ago, at 10 PM.... and every monday night, we light a candle for little Sam. Read more about the Monday Candle Ceremony. Be sure to scroll down and read "The Rainbow Bridge" story. It's very, very heartwarming!

Our prayer tonight includes all pets that are suffering in ANY way and all pet owners that are newly bereaved or those remembering beloved pets of long ago. As the link above explains, it is celebrated INTERNATIONALLY and it is my hope that you will share this with your friends and pass it on! This weekly tradition continues to be a great comfort to us to know that we are honoring, not only Sam, but ALL pets and their families.

As I turn in for the night with Satch, signing off on my latest blog, I cherish EVERY DAY we have left to spend together! God certainly knew what he was doing when he created companion animals!

(update: 12/8/07 Satch is almost 16 and still THRIVING, diabetes and ALL!)

XOXOXOX

Sam:




The Boys, 1 year old:

2nd birthday card this week!

..the man of my dreams

This ATC was made using a "packing tape transfer" for the image of Marlon Brando. The background text is part of a vintage ad that I printed from a (lunagirl.com) ephemera CD.

I used a Making Memories date stamp kit, rubber stamped the right-hand border then glued the text and other paper items followed by a coat of glaze. A black sharpie was used to define the edges.

Be Mysterious!

This is a birthday card I made for a friend by simply mounting an ATC I made last week using clear photo corners. This way it's removable or she can keep the card "as is. I titled it "Be Mysterious" since the face is obscured by clear microbeads. A fun touch to add to artwork. I have also used them to cover an image inside of a bottlecap or colored beads just as an edge detail.

the secret

The law of attraction is nothing new! It simply describes how thoughts create reality. What you think literally becomes your life. A quote from the book, The Secret - by rhonda byrne states "It is YOU placing your order with the Universe. It's really that easy." - Dr. Joe Vitale

Another excerpt:

"There is no blackboard in the sky on which God as written your purpose, your mission in life...your purpose is what you say it is. Your mission is the mission you give yourself. Your life will be what you create it to be..." - Neale Donald Walsch

Personally, I haven't read this book but fully believe in it's message! With close to 1,000 customer reviews on Amazon maybe it's worth dropping by to read a few of them. I've heard it can be life-altering!!

....or maybe just go alter an altoid tin!

Whatever you decide LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK!

A Mid-Summer's Dream

A cherished time of year for me is when the warmer weather (finally) arrives here in New England. Why? Because DH and I will be grilling, napping, reading, watching Red Sox baseball and yes, crafting - on our screened-in porch! Besides the early morning, my second favorite time of day (being the MOLE that I am, ...smile!) is after dark. That is when I light several candles, turn on the "party lights" and listen to the nocturnal chorus of crickets, tree frogs, owls, and the families of raccoons, possums and squirrels that love to forage in our woods! I am counting the days, hours and MINUTES until that time arrives!

I wanted to include this shot that shows the full view up to the rafters in the ceiling (my design), but L-O-L, look closely at the right foreground! All of my papers and things are spread out on the table. That porch is a great resource for inspiration! Why not stop by some warm summer evening? I'll make the marguerita punch, you bring your latest art project to work on!

Selected for Paper Trader's Homepage

It's hard to put into words how I felt this past weekend when I signed in to my Yahoo Group, Paper Traders, and read "Front page art work by member: Vicki Cook." This is the card that was chosen. It really is a place of honor and makes my day every time I visit!!

The central image is from a collage sheet titled "Kodachrome." I loved the vibrant shade of pink and decided to draw attention to it by using a muted color palette for the rest of the card. The background paper is a vintage label, also printed from a collage CD. The phrase was cut out of a "bodice ripper" paperback which I learned are GREAT for cutting up and using on ATCs. (bodice ripper is an american expression for a novel full of unrestrained romantic passion)

After gluing the paper items I added 4 pink sequins, stamped the stars and rubbed the edges with a red "distress" inkpad from Ranger - a product which is a personal favorite of mine. The card was finished by coating it with a high gloss glaze to protect the card as well as adding dimension.

blue bird of happiness!

Looking through my ATC collection, I came across this sweet little card. I hope it will bring a smile to some of my fellow bloggers today!

This shade of BLUE is such an uplifting color for me. I think you'll like it too! (do you see a trend here? yet another alcohol ink background!)

It's nice to take a break from the muted shades and the distressed finishes that so many of us enjoy, myself included.

What shade or hue is your "color inspiration" today? ......I hope this has you thinking!