WS: Leaves

I bought a deck of cards called "Nature's Pharmacy" at the Somerset sidewalk clearance last summer. The deck contains 50 cards from the New York botanical garden that measure about 4.5x3". I had no idea what I was going to do with them at the time, but they sure have come in handy with the last two days projects. I altered this card to fit the Wednesday Stamper theme "Leaves" by making a packing tape transfer of a fashion model, stamping the justjohanna leaf image and painting the background with acrylic paint. To keep with the natural theme, I added a thin sheet of mica over the bottom text. I love sewing through mica...makes me feel like a rebel.

My internal clock is still out of sync for those of you keeping score...

I'm so out of it!

I vote we cancel the time change... is it me? Crimany, I am a total wreck this week. I don't understand how this is supposed to save energy..it's dark at 5pm. I have to turn on the lights. Maybe I can start my own time zone... didn't Kramer do that? I can't remember exactly..but my time zone would save energy because I sleep in until 8am. If everyone was asleep all morning, no one would have to turn on the lights...or the heater...we could all stay under the covers. Someone get me an application for a seat in the Senate.

It's not just the falling asleep at 6:00 that's a mess...my creative mojo is gone too. I forced myself to make this altered card last night and it took forever. My eyes were doing that thing where they were glued wide open and I was not blinking...

That's mica up there...sewn to the card. A little paint, some scribble...justjohanna stamp..someone help me out of my funk!

It was an AMBUSH!

I ambushed our meeting yesterday by interrupting the regularly scheduled programming for an impromptu make-n-take a la Somerset Workshop. We made waxed ornaments using a little stamping, acrylic and vintage ephemera. The faces of the particpants have been hidden to protect their identity.

These two enjoyed making their ornaments.

These two also enjoyed making their ornaments.

He loved making his ornament too!

Here are the ornaments I made. I like how they turned out and I'll keep my eye open for a sale on the paper mache ornaments so I can make more.

The cheesecake (pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust) came out great! I'm a dork for not taking a picture of it. Lots of stuff going on this week...I'll be back soon!

(My intention was to pixilate everyone's boobs in the photo above, lol, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.)

Ask a male guest to...

Hi everyone. I am still soldering. This is attempt number 3. This is my best attempt yet, probably because the edges on a domino are not as squared off as on glass. I am happy to see progress because this takes a long time! The edges here look terrible in the scan, but I assure you in person, there is great improvement. I will keep trying!


The text in the domino project came from a Better Homes and Garden Entertaining book written in 1969. It's a fantastic read! Don't you just love the serving suggestion above for holiday breakfast? I was glancing through the book and looking at text to use when I read something about asking a "male" guest to help pass food trays around...hehehe..oh, and in case you're planning some entertaining soon, don't forget to place a tray of commonly used personal items on your bathroom vanity: hairspray, a new comb, a pretty box of facial tissue and a light cologne!

Silvergleem and Johnny Cash

I am going to talk about music again, and I would appreciate it if you, readers, would refrain from telling me about the drug using, crime ridden, womanizing ways of Johnny Cash. I like him and I don't care what you all say. I'll watch the movie "Walk the Line" any time it comes on and I listen to the soundtrack and Johnny's greatest hits every time I sit here. While I was making these, I was listening to "Hurt"- his cover of the great NIN hit. I am mesmerized by his voice in that song and I can't stop thinking about "...everyone I know goes away in the end.."

Now- what they don't tell you about soldering. It smells. Thankfully it doesn't stink up your room and stay in there, but it surely emits an unpleasant odor while the process is underway. These are my first two attempts- 1.5x1.5" mini-collages a la Sally Jean. The winged dude was my first attempt, the K followed this morning. They're ok...not fantastic, but I am learning. I used some random solder on the first one to get started and then the Silvergleem on number two. I need to buy some metal polish this afternoon and see what happens. If you're keeping score, I still have 9 fingertips left and only a small hole in my pant leg.

Cheers!

Dateline: Lost Luggage Reviews Returns from Summer Break!

6x6" decorative canvas with French mumbo jumbo

There has been a lot of chatter about image transfers recently so I decided to share what I learned at a recent Golden mixed media class. Come on over and welcome me back from summer vacation on the review blog today, won't you? There is a big, fat, tutorial on image transfers...free!

Thank you for stopping by today!!

justjohanna rubber stamps, acrylic paints, vintage French text, Pitt and image transfer.

The Box

Remember this post where I told you I got some tremendous deals at an unexpected Michael's sale? Well, at that sale, I bought this ugly wooden box for about fourteen cents. It was 90% off.

How do you like me now? I altered it with modeling paste (Liquitex), sanded it down and did a paint job on it to make it look like wood. I used several layers of paint and finished it with some interference gold for highlights on the trim.

Next, I added vintage sheet music (Thanks for the Memories) and a paint wash over the top. The book plate was new also...I aged it up and added the label.

Tips: To paint metal, heat it up with your heat gun and then add the paint. The paint will glide right on- and stay put. Too tired to hunt for vintage sheet music? Feed some newsprint paper through your printer and the texture does an excellent mimic job.

Thanks for stopping by today! I am working on a detailed transfer tutorial for my review blog...look for that on Tuesday.

IF Visitor

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” - Einstein

This is the finished 5x7 canvas I previewed on the blog yesterday. Golden acrylics (including a generous helping of Micaceous Iron Oxide), image transfer (my grandfather RIP) and some rayon mesh. A justjohanna scroll image is also in there...but it doesn't show up well in the scan.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Plant Something Today...

Acrylic paint (Golden), transfer, stickers, pen, artist crayon (Caran D'Ache). On the back of a Wheat Thins box.

We're never going to move. My family is being punished because we did the right thing. When millions of Americans are either helped by the government, or graciously walking away from their credit disasters, millions of home buyers are benefitting from the foreclosures. So, since I have money in the bank, tons of equity in the house, I have to sit. After all, why would a buyer want to buy a house that wasn't a foreclosure? They said it on the news, so it must be true

I hope that Americans saved their money. It sure sounds like it would suck if the deal of a lifetime fell into your lap and because you used your credit cards too much, and because you maxed yourself buying a fancy car, you can't qualify for the loan of your dreams. That would suck. The news said people can't get loans anymore. It must be true.

I didn't max my credit cards. I didn't overextend my credit. I didn't take fancy vacations. We paid our loan and saved every penny. So why am I having a bad time?

It's because "buyers" are under the false pretense (thanks media) that homes are going to fall from the sky now. Homes with Viking appliances and granite counter tops. Sheesh, everyone watches A&E...what happens on "flip this house" must be true. It's on TV after all..

I should be able to make millions of dollars instantly on the NYSE. That's "day trading" right? You're F'ing up the market for the rest of us.

Wake up America! Be responsible. Money is not meant for idiots. That only happens on TV.

(Well friends, I am sorry it had to come to this. I am fed up with trying to sell this house. If you fall into any of the categories above, well shoot. Sorry about that. Hope you keep coming to read Luggage Land...you never know what's going to happen next!

I guess this all started when I was fighting with my sewing machine last night. It's fixed now, but while looking for parts, I found a bunch of pretty bitchin' craft supplies I forgot about. Forgot about them because I had to stash them away so I could host walk through after walk through... every day when I start my cleaning routine I curse- I'm just tired. Sick and tired.)

Artword: Storyteller

before

after

The Tomato Storyteller
Art on recycled paper; approx. 8x5"

Portable Inspiration

So, my best friend mentions to me yesterday that he is going to make a holiday journal so that when he is on his death bed, he can review it and have fond memories of his life. I was so excited to hear this! He doesn't usually dabble in journaling or papercrafts or crafts for that matter, so I immediately thought I would make him a little workbook filled with my favorite projects and instructions for creating them. I was so excited for HIS project!

The book turned out to be about 19 pages. I wrote a note to him on page one and the rest of the book is instructional. (Excerpts from my favorite publications and notes from myself.)

One the cover, I used Golden acrylics, vintage French text (although my writing is in Italian...in retrospect, I should have used an Italian page), stickers, justjohanna images, a transparency, artist crayons and machine stitching. I put it all together with japanese book binding; it measures 8.5x11".

Come back by tomorrow and I'll post the back cover. Thanks for stopping by today!

All we are saying is give peace a chance.

Mini-Julification for today! This is a 2x2 inch project I made using Ranger Memory Glass and one of the corresponding metal frames. The piece is translucent, making it really pretty hanging in the window!

The bird image (justjohanna) is stamped onto a blank vintage book page and I used salted water color paper for the base of the collage. (See Godelieve's tutorial for salt paper.) I added my usual pencil and pen doodles and a pressed flower from my garden.

Thank you for stopping by today!

On the fence....

bird

This is not a project from my class...this is something I made while waiting to go to class. I was inspired by the great projects in Somerset! Thanks for the fence, Debbie! It's a 5x7 book board, covered with flashing tape. I wrote jibber jabber with a ballpoint pen and then filled it in with acrylic paint.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Summer 1958

For Wednesday Stamper this week, the theme is to post some of our current favorite pieces. These days I am in love with my acrylic paints. I am reading books by Bernie Berlin and Claudine Hellmuth, plus throwing in the things I learned in my Michael deMeng class pertaining to mixing Golden fluid acrylics. This is a great time for me. I am learning to do so much! A big challenge I am having is to incorporate my justjohanna rubber stamps into the projects that I admire so much when looking through all of the books and magazines I have purchased. I have quite the library over here!

For this canvas, I used the circle dot background from justjohanna. This is a very versatile stamp. I am going to keep practicing with vintage images and justjohanna stamps, because…well, because that is what my brain is telling me to do. There are so many talented members on the justjohanna design team! I am in love with the images and all of the work that they create using them. If you browse through the justjohanna gallery, you get a really nice treat- the projects vary so much, there is always something neat to find!

That bathing beauty is my grandmother. The picture was taken while she was on vacation in Florida in 1958. The canvas has a really awesome sheen to it. I used my fingers to mix in a thin glaze of interference green paint. I could not use the camera to capture the sheen…the camera could not focus in on the small text.

I’ve got another 2 day class coming up on August 3rd and 5th. I can’t wait! It is one thing to read about these techniques in a book and another thing to hear (and see)an artist speak about them in person. We’re going to learn all about transfer techniques as well as more Golden paint techniques!

Strike a pose..

Last weekend at Michael deMeng’s class, I started a second shoe shrine…I was able to work on it today and made some progress. I am still on the hunt for some religious medals I have stashed around here somewhere..those will get added one day. This shrine features a curled toe- perfect for Artword’s theme this week, “Curl”. Unlike my other shoe shrine, this shrine comes out from the wall.


Thank you for coming by today!

I’ve got sole, but I’m not a soldier…

(Killers)

Ok…where do I start? I LOVE Michael deMeng! Come on… you know what I mean. I took his shoe shrine class all day today and I am going to go so far as to say…right here…that the class KICKED ASS!

I think a lot of you have known that I have been having mental anguish over making so many cards. Cards here cards there…happy this, thank you that…honestly- I am tired. I needed to get my hands dirty with something else and I am so glad I took this class! Everything was perfect!

El hombre taught us how to do so many things….from tips on how to better use the Dremmel, how to age paper with Golden fluid acrylics…about composition..how to mix paint…how to use interference and metallic colors…you name it…the class was all encompassing.

The best part was that it wasn’t a class where we had to sit and listen and feverishly take notes. It was free flowing and casual. Michael is so awesome to listen to…he teaches it so you “get it”...I don’t know how to explain it. All I can say is if he comes to your town- take the class.

Check out my shrine. I am in love with it the more I look at it. You can see how the shoe started out and how I changed the color using acrylic paints. The picture is of my grandfather in 1914…I also included sheet music in my grandfather’s handwriting. I love how this turned out!

Today was an “ah-ha” moment for ol’ Julie. I found something I like to do…and learned many things to try on other projects.

Thank you for coming by! See you tomorrow.

Three for Tea

This is a 4x4 canvas made with acrylic paints, vintage book pages, justjohanna images, pencil and wire. Wouldn’t it look cute hanging from your kitchen cabinets?

See you tomorrow! Thank you for stopping by!

Mind your bees wax.....

all images: justjohanna rubber stamps

I think I am at a turning point as far as making things goes....or maybe I am really far into the retrograde. Cat mentioned the retrograde clears on July 9th..so we'll see if any of this sticks around.

Somerset magazine is so interesting to me. I can't put it down, and my condition (do-it-yourself-itis) is flourishing. I have accumulated SO many art supplies, it is now time to put up or shut up. I can't buy anything else. I have it all.

Case in point, my new melting pot (Ranger). It's awesome. However, it is not as easy as it looks to coat something with beeswax. You can't pick up the melting pot (well, I guess if you had potholders at your work table you could) and the wax turns to solid so fast. I made this piece by splattering some wax globs onto the canvas, heating them back up with my heat gun and then spreading them (pretty much just like frosting cupcakes) with a paint knife.

It took a long time to make this 4x4 canvas. I painted it with acrylic, then gesso, then stamping, then more gesso, then collage, then aged collage, then wax and then flashing. I aged the flashing with a little brown staz-on too, but the flash is a little too bright to pick it up.

I hope you like this! I am afraid the camera doesn't pick up the effects of the wax nicely...it's soft and warm in person.

Until next time... Thank you for coming by!

Games

The Wednesday Stamper theme this week is “Games”. I altered this “Loteria” (Mexican Bingo) playing card with justjohanna rubber stamps, gold acrylic paint, machine stitching and prismacolor pencils. Oh…a piece of one of my shirts too…not the shirt I was wearing when I made this, another shirt.

Thank you for coming by today!!

tranquillité svp

Even though our listing says “By appointment only”, we are being bothered by ignorant realtors who ring the doorbell asking questions about our house. When the doorbell rings, the dog barks and the baby cries.

So, to hopefully help with my problem, I made this canvas to hang on the door. Since the Wednesday Stamper theme this week is “fleur de lis”, I tried to make the canvas with a French feel. The lullaby may not be French in origin…maybe someone will recognize it... I think it may be written in French, but from Belgium? The site was not clear. Anyway, the lullaby translates:

A White Hen

A white hen
Is in the barn.
She made a small egg
For the child who sleeps.
Sleepy time, sleepy time, pussy-cat,
Sleepy time, sleepy time, kitty-cat.

A black hen
Is in the cupboard.
She made a small egg
For the child who sleeps.
Sleepy time, sleepy time, pussy-cat,
Sleepy time, sleepy time, kitty-cat.

Cute!

justjohanna alphabet, acrylic heavy body paints, pink vellum, 24 gauge wire, Cavallini, All Night Media, and rhinestones.