Inspiration Wednesday - Week 25

I can't believe this is the last Inspiration Wednesday for 2015. It seems like we were just starting our journals, and I had no clue what most of the materials we would be using were let alone how to use them.

Never having taken a formal art class this year has been quite an adventure for me.  When the year started I always cleaned my brushes, stencils, and stamps immediately after using them.  Half way through the year my tools looked like new.  Not so much now, but they work and that's what counts.

Before my pages were even started I used to stress out thinking about how they would look. I learned to just go for it and perfection  is not necessary.

But most of all I learned that if my pages make me happy when I look at them my work is successful.

Thank you Donna for a fabulous year. I can't wait for 2016 to start.

This is my completed journal.  Lots of mixed media goodness in there.

Tim Holtz Tags of 2015 - December

WOO HOO! I completed  all 12 of Tim's Challenges this year!

I was a little worried this one wasn't going to get finished in time because of the Holiday and the never ending list of to dos that goes with it, but I was able to complete it this morning.  I'm very pleased with how this tag turned out. Even though I didn't have any of the materials Tim used with some digging through my stash I was able to easily substitute the items.

Thank you for a fun year Tim. I looking forward to the challenges of 2016!

A Little Late...

...but worth the wait.

I finally completed my first assemblage clock.  Of course it's a Halloween theme since it's my favorite holiday.

To achieve the rust on the clock I used Verday Reactive Metal Paint. This paint is amazing as it reacts after painting and spraying the object with the patina solution.  It comes in four metal colors, and I love it.

Thank you Tim Holtz for this clock. I had so much fun making this clock I can't wait to start my next one.

Inspiration Wednesday - Week 24

For this weeks project I needed lots of texture in my background.  I started by using Donna's Poppy Stems stencil and modeling paste. After it dried I still felt like it needed more. As luck would have it my hubby was thinking of me while shopping in Home Depot. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I had a brand new role of drywall tape and I knew how to use it. I wanted my colors to reflect the sky, and finished it off with a quote from Walt Disney.

I love the way these pages turned out.

Tim Holtz Tags of 2015 - November

I love the background technique Tim used for this month's tag.  I'll be using this again in the future. It was so easy and something  that can be used on so many other projects.

Since I didn't have a pumpkin stamp I used Tim's hot air balloon from Stampers Anonymous. I stamped the background with White Picket Fence Distress Paint, then sprayed the tag with Blueprint Sketch and Mermaid Lagoon. I edged the tag with Mustard Seed Distress Ink. The balloon was embossed using the same technique Tim used for his pumpkin, and I attached it to the tag using foam tape. The embossing looks much better in person. A photographer I am not, but I'm glad I made the time to do this month's tag.

Inspiration Wednesday Week 23

The countdown is on. Only 2 weeks left for Inspiration Wednesday 2015, but the good news is that registration is open for 2016. Yes, I'm looking forward to another year with Donna.

This week we created another collage using wash tape, book pages, stamps, stencils and paint.  My circles were drawn freehand and came much rounder than I expected.  I guess I'm finally not thinking too much and just doing it. I had fun with one because the paint was applied using fingers rather than a brush.  It's always fun to finger paint!

Inspiration Wednesday Week 22

Donna had us drawing again this week except it wasn't with a brush.  Using heavy body paint we had to draw the flowers using a palette knife.  When I watched the video I thought "Where does she come up with this stuff." After watching 3 times I was ready to give it a try. Here is the result.

My flowers came a little rounder than I would have liked, but I am pleased.  I had bigger issues with writing my quote. I started out using my extra fine line paint marker. Because the paint wasn't quite dry it got clogged and stopped writing. I tried to clean it off, and instead ended up pulling the entire writing implement out of the pen.  What a mess that made. After I cleaned up my mess I finished the quote with my fine line marker.  I thought about going over the first part of the quote, but figured I'd better leave well enough alone.  I'm happy with the way this turned out, can't for next week.