"Make every day the best day!" -- Mixed Media Canvas for Growing in Unity

Hello again, friends!  Today is my favorite project in this week's "Growing in Unity" series with Unity Stamps.  I created this 4x6 mixed media canvas to really showcase this great quote from the "It's All Worth It" kit by Melody Ross, and used other stamps from the set to create added depth and texture. I made the tree by rolling and crinkling strips of kraft paper.

Materials: Unity Stamps, We R rub-ons, Scenic Route and Sassafrass Lass scraps

Here are a few more details from the canvas:

A little "you + me" carving in the tree

I'm not sure how well you can tell in the picture, but I used the pretty floral corner stamp first in brown.  Then I stamped just one of the big flowers with red paint, and went back in with a black pen to accent it when it was dry.  Such a nice pop of color!

This little birdie is a Stampin Up punch, distressed with acrylic inks.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity stamps of your own!

"She gave her whole heart..." Mixed Media Canvas

(Click to enlarge)

I created this 8x10 canvas for my awesome, incomparable mom for Mother's Day.  The "she" figure looks like her, and I couldn't think of any more fitting phrase for my mom that "she gave her whole heart to her family."  My mom has given and sacrificed so much over the years and continues to do so.  Every element I used here symbolizes in some way what my mom means to me.  I think that's what I love most about doing mixed media -- it gives you an opportunity for so many layers of meaning.

I also have to admit that this was my second try at this canvas!  I started a different background and it turned into a hot mess.  I wanted to use old pictures from our childhood in the background and printed them off in black and white from our inkjet printer, but as soon as the mod podge hit them they turned all bubbly and turquoise and gross.  So I'm going to have to figure that one out some day...

In the mean time, here are a few close-ups:

I think this heart might be my favorite part.  I covered it with a gazillion layers of UTEE, then put it in the freezer, then cracked it.

I finally found a place to use my cool wax clock seal from 7Gypsies! I've had this for YEARS but hadn't found a way to use it until now.

If you're interested in trying out this mixed media art, you should really check out the She Art Workshop by Christy Tomlinson.  It's amazing!

Materials for this canvas:
Background -- vintage sewing pattern, illustration from the book "The Art of Homemaking," a book from the 50s I snagged from our local thrift store.  It is full of the awesomest illustrations like this.
Patterned paper -- from my scrap drawer, so I don't know who made it. Sorry!  Oh, wait -- I think it was Creative Imaginations
Stamps -- 7Gypsies, Hero Arts, Stampin' Up, Studio G
Punches -- Fiskars (butterfly, used as a mask), Martha Stewart (border punch)
Rub-ons -- American Crafts

The Future is as Bright as Your Faith -- Mixed Media Canvas

Hello again! Today I wanted to share my newest mixed media project, a 12x12 canvas of my own family!  I had this vision in my brain as soon as I heard this quote from the leader of my church, Thomas S. Monson: "The future is as bright as your faith."  In fact, one of the main reasons I decided to take Christy Tomlinson's SheArt Workshop was so that I could learn the techniques to bring my vision to life.  And here it is!

I added a lot of layers and stamps and craziness to this canvas, and by the time I was finished (at 2:30 a.m. the night before our church art show) I was not sure if I loved it or if I had ruined it.  You know how that feels when you've just been looking at something too long?  Yeah. I actually wasn't going to put black elements on at all, but when I meant to stamp with WHITE staz-on in the sky in the upper right, it turned out the stamp still had all sorts of BLACK ink on it, so suddenly I had a chunk of black words right in the middle of my nice bright sky.  Oops.  After that I just figured I had to roll with it.


As I said above, I created this to show in our church art show, which I was on the committee to help organize.  Here's what I wrote on my little info card for the show:


"I love this quote from our prophet.  The future’s uncertainty can seem scary sometimes, but our faith in Jesus Christ and His love makes it possible for us to move forward with our families  in joy and gratitude and hope!"


One amazing thing that happened -- a man who works as a consultant for an art publishing company came to the art show with his daughter (who lives in our stake) and loved it so much that he wants to show it to a buyer at a huge church bookstore chain to possibly sell prints of it! Holy cow. I can't imagine it would actually happen (because it is pretty rough and also because I used products from about 14 companies, so I think there are probably some copyright issues) but it was awfully flattering!


Speaking of which, here are the companies whose products I used.  I really raided my scraps drawers for the paper, and there are pieces here from Cosmo Cricket, DCWV, Sassafrass Lass, Scenic Route, Crate Paper, Making Memories, Chatterbox, Bo Bunny, Imaginisce, Daisy D's and Scrapworks.  The stamps are from Stampin Up, 7Gypsies, Hero Arts, My Mind's Eye, Sassafrass Lass, and Fancy Pants. Oh, and I also painted on one of my embossing folders from my Cuttlebug to get one texture!  


Who's in the mood to play I Spy? :)  I've never been great at mixing things from different companies and styles, so I really had fun just gathering everything I had and throwing it all together.  Other than that, this is just made with acrylic paints and a whole lotta Mod Podge.

Another SheArt girl -- this one has a wild side!

I'd like to introduce you to my second SheArt girl!  I wanted to try something completely different from my first girl, so I thought I'd experiment with creating animal prints.  I used book paper as the base and added strips of black paper to make zebra stripes.  I also painted patches of gold and painted on markings for leopard print.  I tried to create a giraffe print with modeling paste, but that was a total disaster and I scraped it off (twice). :)  These girls are so fun to make -- I am loving just letting my creativity run wild (pun totally intended).

I found a chipboard binder in my "big bin of stuff to be altered" and I think it will be perfect to hold all my mixed media experiments while I take this class.  I can't wait to fill it up and see all the ideas in my head come to life!  The book is from Maya Road, I think.  That patterned paper and stamps used above are from Fancy Pants.  I also used my iRock to set the little rhinestones on her hairpiece and bracelet (which are made from scraps of fake leather vinyl and did not play well with the iRock -- live and learn!).  I think my favorite part of this girl is the tulle peeking out from the bottom of her skirt and at her neckline.  So fun!


Thanks for stopping by!

time to spread her wings... in honor of Carissa

If you've been around my blog for a long time, you may remember me posting about my sweet sister Carissa, who had Down's Syndrome and who was such a big part of our lives (you can read about her here and on my other blog and on Single Dad Laughing, my brother's blog).  Yesterday marked the third anniversary of her passing, a day we celebrate in her honor as "You're My Favorite" Day, because that's what she always told everyone. 

I wanted to make a special little gift for my parents, and since I just started the amazing SheArt Workshop by Christy Tomlinson, I knew I wanted to try my hand at a mixed media art piece.  This is seriously outside my comfort zone, a lot more artistic than crafty, but I loved the style and I decided to give it a go.  I'm so glad I did, because it's tapping into a whole new part of my creative spirit that I LOVE.  I'm only one week into the class and I can't get enough.

We always called Carissa "Sunshine Sissa," and I wanted the piece to reflect that.  I created a dark blue background, and then made her figure all bright and sunny, with the bright sun shining down on her.  I gave her wings (a butterfly punch cut in half) and chose the phrase "it was time for her to spread her wings" to communicate what we all feel about her passing -- that it was her time to go, and that she has been freed from the limitations of this life.  I gave her a little pearl necklace in tribute to the pearl necklace from my dad that she was buried with.  A long time ago, he got a beautiful pearl necklace to give to each of his daughters on her wedding day, so it was a special thing for Carissa to have hers on the day she returned to Heavenly Father.  It was one of those little things that I didn't think anyone else would notice, but my dad noticed it first thing!  That was so special to me.  He also noticed the sunshine, and my sister noticed the music in the background, which was another special thing because Carissa loved music so much.  I love every little detail in this piece, and every moment I spent creating it. 

I have to say, though, that this new creative outlet might not be good for my health -- I've gotten next to no sleep the past couple of nights because I've been too busy thinking up all the fabulous mixed media projects I want to create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Materials: 4x6 art canvas; Patterned paper -- Scribble Scrabble (dots in the background), Cosmo Cricket (dress); Accent stamps, rub-ons, and chipboard negative for yellow flourish -- Fancy Pants