Tuesday's Tip

In my quest to find some creative inspiration, I found a fun little tip involving children's art work. I had saved my kids art for many years until I hit upon the idea to photograph it. Easier to have the photographs - they take up less space - and I could scrap them projects in the school albums.
I came across a fun idea while taking an on-line class by Claudine Helmuth. You could create a collage of your children's art. Cool idea for a playroom or child's bedroom wall. Plus, you can rotate the projects. I thought it might be neat to (first photograph the complete project) cut it up and use it in your own art journals or collage.

Tuesday's Tip

With all the family issues and travel, I have not had much time to create. However, I have been able to cruise around the web for ideas. I found a fun stencil/mask idea on the Paper Crafter's blog. Did you know you could use your thin dies as masks? Nestibilities dies would be great for shapes in different sizes!

Tuesday's Tip

This is a little reminder of a great tip - that I needed for myself. With all the family issues, my creative time has been limited. I have had some great ideas for cards, journal pages etc. Unfortunately, many have been lost BECAUSE I DID NOT WRITE THEM DOWN! Yeah, it was pretty stupid, especially since I usually have several notepads around the house...
Remember, you never know when inspiration and a good idea will strike. Keep a small notebook with you. Better yet, keep several in key locations (purse and bedside table for me).

Tuesday's Tip

Banners are very popular at present. They can be a variety of sizes - from large decor items to smaller card sized embellishments. Banners can be made from paper, card, stock, chipboard, etc. For a fun metallic steampunk type of banner, use paper clips. They can be colored with alcohol inks - lending a fun (primary colors) to vintage (subdued colors) embellishment.

Tuesday's Tip

Lately, I have been all about variety. I have mixed in pattern papers again - as well as doilies and other fun goodies from back when I started card making. I am attempting to do the same with my journals - adding more paints and media to pages. A couple of fun additions to try - envelopes and    
and old greeting cards. I have few cards saved and I thought I might "tip" them into established journals. Tipping in pages is fairly common - way back when, we would construct entire books from these pages. Simply attach a tip-in to an existing page - or trim down a page to an inch or so strip and attach to that.

Tuesday's Tips

There are all types of tools on the market to use when sponging backgrounds. Ranger sells several tool options - you can even use an alligator clip to hold make up sponges. The best tip I have read for a do-it-yourself sponging tool was recently posted on ATT Yahoo group. Use a small diameter PVC pipe (the type you can get at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc) and stuff a make- up sponge into the center. You can have them cut to size and it would be cheap to have one for each ink pad or color family!

Tuesday's Tip

Here in California, July 1st ushered in a variety of new laws. Some centered around the environment and recycling. I am all for doing my part. Some of my favorite items to recycle are; mini plastic trays from Green Giant's Just for One veggies, Jello and Pudding containers, and frozen dinner trays. All can be used for paints and water, as well as glitter trays. Look around, I be you all have your own ideas and favorites!

Tuesday's Tip

While you are reading this, I am most likely wandering Monet's garden or the streets of Paris. With vacation time upon us, there are many items you can save and use in your art. One of my planned stops is an antique book store for collage fodder. Remember, you can save and use maps, ticket stubs, business cards of locations visited, wrappers, etc. Not only are you recycling, but you will have some unique fodder for creating!

Tuesday's Tip

Since last Tuesday's Tip discussed art journaling, I thought I would pass on another idea to get you started! Remember, since the journal is YOURS, you can do whatever floats your boat (so to speak). If starting on the first page is too intimidating, by all means pick another place to start. The middle works well for some. Enjoy and get creative!

Tuesday's Tip

One of the art activities I really enjoy involves art journals and mixed media. I am often asked how one starts a journal. I remember having this discussion many years ago with Tracy Moore. You just start. (He gave me this same advice)  I am not a writer or diarist. I use my journals for visual art. A great way to start is to use it for practice - lettering, stamping, inking. Ink up and stamp new stamps onto a page. You can try ideas in your book rather than on a scrap paper. It is a great starting point and you never know where it can take you. Worst case scenario - gesso over everything and start again! Just start...

Tuesday's Tip

I recently read a fun idea - money saving as well! You can make your own glue dots (any size or shape) by dropping dots of Aleene's Tack-it Over onto wax paper. Let them dry clear and you are set to use!

Tuesday's Tip

With Father's Day fast approaching, there is most likely a flurry of card making activity occurring. A great start to a masculine cards is to use dark colored base cards. I like to use a dark tan or gray - it helps set the tone of the card. Happy Card Making!

Tuesday's Tip

While reading through a Creating Keepsakes magazine a couple of weeks ago, I saw a great idea for using a common baking item. Cupcake liners make great flowers! Since they come in 2 sizes, you have options. As my kids are grown, I find I do not bake as much, but I do have a couple of different patterns of mini cupcake liners. The possibilities should be fun!

Tuesday's Tip

Get more from your tools by using them in on-traditional ways. I love using stencils on a variety of projects, In addition to using them with inks, sprays, paints, Gelatos etc, I like to stamp through them. It adds a little extra texture to your image or background!

Tuesday's Tip

Banners and flags are very popular embellishments these days. There are a variety of dies and punches available. Sometimes, you have a need for a specific size. It is easy to custom make the banner or flag you like. To get an even end, use your corner punch. Kim Reilly, a friend from the Club Scrap forum, shared this tip with everyone - center the corner of a square punch on you banner, and punch. It works great! Thanks, Kim!

Tuesday's Tip

I have been using my dies a lot lately - die cutting for class samples, but also for fun. With many dies you can position them anywhere onto your paper to create a window. I found a great way to hold the die into place is using an appropriate size Post-It note. It works great - and is easy to remove from the card stock or paper.

Tuesday's Tip

Last Tuesday, I mentioned checking out/reading the labels of your products to determine what they can and cannot do. Now, start trying your ideas! One of my "go to" techniques is using a variety of household items for background texture. Scrunched up plastic wrap and scrunched up paper towels are two of my favorites. To use them with wet mediums (watercolors, paints, re-inkers), scrunch them up and set them onto the wet(painted/water colored) card stock or journal page. Then let it dry. I tend to check on the paper towels and remove them before it is too dry, otherwise it may stick -which is sometimes a good thing and provides more texture. You should have no problem with the plastic wrap.

Now, go play!

Tuesday's Tip

Some of us were taking an on-line class recently. Most of the information was not new to me, but a little refresher course is never a bad idea. What I found most interesting in reading peoples questions and comments, most had no idea of the properties of their media - inks, stains, paints etc. As a (very) long time stamper, it was a bit surprising. So, my tip for you is to get to know your supplies. Actually read your ink pads (many have instructions/information on that tiny label) as well as your other media. I think it will enlighten you!

Tuesday's Tip

Now that PSL is over (last time I will be mentioning this!), I can get back to more balance in my creating. One of the things I like to do, and really not do enough, is play with my supplies. I usually do this in an art journal, but will occasionally use water color paper, tags, scraps, etc. What to do with these bits and pieces? Use them for backgrounds for other projects. You can cut down on the time it takes to create a card, collage, ATC etc.  You can also use it to create an embellishment for a scrap book page, by punching or die cutting. If you are not completely in love with what you created, you can recycle it as a background! Remember, March is National Craft Month so there's still time to get creative!

Tuesday's Tips

I have a confession to make. Yes, as a paper crafter and artist, I love all things artsy. But, I am not, nor ever have been, a sticker fan. I have bought them, only to give them to the nearest available child!
Well, I recently read a couple of ideas that I could use (other than the obvious titles of scrap pages or journal pages). Using punches to punch out small shapes - think circles for flower centers. Or, collage them on card stock and die cut or punch. I will be giving these a try this week!