ATC mixed media backgrounds...GIVE AWAY!!!

five packs to give away...



real texture...these are not prints




ten background ATCs per pack



yes I am having a give away...just because I feel like it!

I have been playing with backgrounds and uploading to YouTube all the fun I am having.

Now I have so much beautiful paper that I created...what should I do? Have a give away!

How can you win one of the five packs?

Simple...leave a comment here, telling me what you would do if you won one of the packs.

Feel free to share...I will draw five random winners on the first of March

good luck!

Warning!!! walking the diva dog can lead to unexpected bouts of furniture revival

poor little abondoned table...



dirt, dust and loose paint removed...




primed and read for paint...




first colour is a rich copper spray...




can you believe this was just a little aluminium caste table?!




Teal roughly painted and wiped back to give the illusion of a verdigris over copper...



We took Tilly for her first walk last week...between the crappy weather, my lack of time or enthusiasm, and the fact that she just had the "bitch snip"...anyhoo, on the way back from the local park I spotted a little grungey table tossed in an old wheelbarrow on the verge, we snaggled it and headed home.

I love the look of verdigris over copper, and so off to the local hardware store I went. I have to say I was met with some odd looks from the staff when I explained what I wanted to do...can you believe that neither of the two young blokes working in the paint section had any idea what verdigris was...or patina!...I had to educate them. I had to make sure they sold me primer and paint that would stick to metal and be long wearing. I have no idea how these guys had jobs.

Any way, I got what I needed and did what I wanted, and I am thrilled with how it turned out.

who gives a hoot? I do :)

as you may or may not know I am finally, after six years, moving back home to Western Australia in June. I am going to miss a lot of people here in Sydney, and so I thought I would create some arty goodbye gifts for a couple of my lovely friends...this piece is not quite finished but is for my owl crazy friend and uber talented scrapper Gillian Lester.



...as always my colours are thanks to Lindy's Stamp Gang products



my friend Julie Saxby has a great little online embellishment store called Jules Gems that sells some lovely charms such as these brass pieces sitting on top of WOW cogs...great eyes eh?



every long feather is hand cut and every short feather is hand punched...I didn't count how many I used so I will just say heaps...I used an entire 12x12 sheet of black cardstock




I love these brass leaves, also from Jules Gems



Blue...inspired by the art of Pam Carriker

one thing I am not confidant with is painting faces...I can sketch them ok but when it comes to actually using paint...scary! I was inspired by the art of Pam Carriker to just give it a go...if it turned out badly then I didn't have to tell anybody...I started with a reversed canvas and roughly coated with gesso before painting with black acrylic...so far so good...

I played with tones and shading, defining areas and adding the look of dimension...



she was coming together nicely...I used Helmar Tacky Glue to add my signiture swirls...




every motion of my brushes changed her...she was working with me...




I gave her just the one eye to see...it represents imperfection as beauty...after all who can really say what is beautiful...love is blind right?



I played with a floral stencil for both imagery and texture...



wow what a co-inky-dink that she has green eyes and a beauty spot...just like me...yup I had to throw myself in there as a symbol of imperfection...



I am so pleased with how well the faux lace turned out...



amazing how much the colour changes depending on the lighting




I got a bit carried away...or dedicated to her eye makeup...



The Words Or Whatever chipboard circle was exactly what was needed to finish the canvas...

depending where you stand to look at this, she can appear to be looking at the bird or straight ahead oh her...as if she is looking for something in the distance...

so here she is...Blue...not a mood but a feeling for colour.
The quote around the frame says "Look ahead to where your past has brought you"

Mixed Media Apron...my swap project

finished apron



mixed media, repurposed half apron




mixed media flowers created from various surface materials




layered colour and effects

I really enjoy hosting arty swaps and one of them is an apron swap. I had so many ideas about this project and when we moved house and I was pulling weeds in the back yard and discovered an old black apron half buried in a garden bed, I decided it was destined for greater things. I washed it and hung it on the clothes line to study any holes or damage...I was really suprised to find that the only damage was some bleached areas from the sun and exposure to the elements. I used a  6x6 Crafters Workshop stencil (Cosmic Swirl TCW156), deColourant, Lumiere paints for the background, and a variety of experimental materials and varigated threads to create flowers. The Thread Studio has a great range of fun and fantastic products for projects like this.
Tomorrow I am off to the post office to send the apron to my swap buddy, I hope she enjoys it.