Bad Chemistry!

I saw test tubes in the mood board, I was felling like I should get ready for Halloween and I came across the test tube set at Michael's one Sunday. The above photo was taken in a "tent" made of a blanket and jackets while using a black light to show some glow. I need to take a photo of it's "natural" glow, but I'll have to wait until tonight. But I really wanted to get this in the Creative Embellishments Challenge!! 

The September, Creative Embellishments, Mood Board

Video: I have the parts, I just need to get it edited.

Close Ups:

Products:

• Creative Embellishments
• Distressed Harlequin Pieces
• 13 @rts
• Ayeeda Mist
• Pearl Turquoise Light
• Ayeeda Paint
• Red Bronze
• Ayeeda Powder
• Rusty Bronze
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Heavy Gesso
• Black
• Ranger
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Paint
• Hickory Smoke
• Ground Espresso
• Recollection
• Ephemera Insects
• Ashland
• Decorative Filler
• Halloween
• Test Tube Set
• Art & Glow
• Casting & Coating Epoxy Resin
• Foam-It! 5
• Rigid Polyurethane Foam
• Glow In The Dark Pigment Powder (NOT an affiliate link, just a link to the ones I used)
• Kelly
• Gold
• Teal
• Violet
• Lemon
• Red
• Orange
• HXDZFX Glow in The Dark Pigment Powder (NOT an affiliate link, just a link to the ones I used)
• Pink
• Blue
• Unknown/Unbranded
• the "webbing"

Believe (Mixed Media Project)

My project "Believe" created for the August Challenge over at the Mixed Media Place blog.

Maybe it's the fact that I feel like summer is never going to end where I live, but the second and third photo on the top row of the Mixed Media Place mood board, at first glance, looked like ice on the foliage. I'm not exactly a person who likes being cold, and I live in a southern state, but I've had it with summer this year! It's the middle of September and we are still hitting the mid-90s! Which, according to the weather last night, is a full ten degrees above average! Too, too much I tell ya!

Beside the thought of ice, I really loved the colors in general on the mood board! It's filled with most of my favorites! But once I had blue + white + ICE!! on my mind, I had to go with it! Below the mood board you will find a process video, some more photos, and a full product list.

Process Video:

Close-up Photos:

Products

• AB Studio
• Chipboard Background 30x30 (centimeters) ID-4
• Creative Embellishments
• Holly and Berry Flourish
• Shimmerz
• Vibez
• Frost Bite
• Snow Way Man
• DecoArt
• Weathered Wood
• Crackle Medium
• Ranger
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Crackle Paint
• Clear Rock Candy
• Distress Glitter
• Clear Rock Candy
• Embossing Powder
• Blue
• Snowflake Tinsel
• Simon Says Stamp
• Embossing and Watermark Ink
• Clear
• Krylon
• Workable Fixatif
• Liquitex
• Gloss Gel
• Unknown
• All the artificial foliage. I bought it at JoAnn's ... last year.

Altered Embroidery Hoop

An altered embroidery hoop I created for Linda B. for the August ReneaBoquets Swap! Since Linda and I agreed on an "anything goes" theme, I used the Creative Embellishments August mood board challenge as inspiration. Specifically the Silver & Purple ombré hair. I had planned on trying a green & purple idea, as you'll see at the beginning of the video, but that didn't work out very well, so I assumed it was because the ombré hair was haunting my thoughts!

Process Video:

Close Ups:

Products

• ReneaBouquets
• Mulberry Paper Flowers
• White Gardenia (It was "left over" from a different set of roses)
• Purple Spring Mix
• Tiny Treasures Butterflies
• Polka Dots & Bling
• Shard Glitter Glass
• Silver
• Creative Embellishments
• Baby's Breath
• Ranger
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Oxide
• Milled Lavender
• Mini Blending Tool
• Embossing Powder
• Lilac Pearl
• White
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Rust Effect Paste
• Purple
• Lavender
• Texture Paste
• Antique Silver Crackle
• Liquitex
• Matte Super Heavy Gel
• Darice
• 7" Embroidery Hoop
• Unknown/Unbranded
• Doily
• The "other" roses & leaves that I covered in texture pastes. I received them as a RAK some time ago from Pat G.!

Denim Junk Journal

A junk journal I created using some denim from a pair of old jeans, bits of lace and string, old sheets of music, paper I dyed with inks and/or tea, and the "Denim & Girls" Collection by Maja Design (that came in the July 2019 Tres Jolie Kit Club Scrapbooking Kit).

Videos:

Flip Through

Process Part 1: Cover

Process Part 2: Inside

Products:

• [From the] Tres Jolie July Scrapbook Kit
• Creative Embellishments
• Grunge Heart Corner
• Maja Designs
• Demin & Girls Collection
• Blue Mini Clothespins
• Pink Tags
• idea-ology
• Tim Holtz
• Jute String
• Sanding Block
• Ranger
• Emboss It Dauber
• Emerald Creek
• Seth Apter
• Baked Texture
• Deep Sea
• Simon Says Stamp
• Embossing and Watermark Ink
• Clear
• Embossing Powder
• Ultra Fine Steel Navy
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Wax Cire Cera
• Old Denim
• Fiskars
• 1" Circle Squeeze Punch
• We R Memory Keepers
• Envelope Punch Board
• Daiso Japan
• Lace Trim Set, Blue
• Heat n Bond
• E6000
• Art Glitter Glue
• Fabri-Tac
• Unbranded/Unknown
• Corner Punch
• Paper Clips
• Hole Punch
• Pink/White Twine
• Teal/White Twine
• White Laces
• Wide Blue Lace
• Other
• Old Jeans!

Shadowbox

Note: Taking photos of reflective surfaces is one of my least favorite things to do!

I created this shadowbox for the July 2019 Lindy's Gang Color Challenge (Info can be found on the Lindy's Blog and Facebook Page). It's my first time doing a Lindy's Challenge, mostly because I need more Lindy's supplies. It's not a lack of wanting to go on a Lindy's shopping spree, it's an "I don't know where it would go" thing. I need to use up some of the items I already own so I'll have spots for new stuff! (However, if I'm lucky enough to win, then the hubs can't question why I bought new items when I am clearly at capacity! "It's not my fault," I'll say, "I was trying to use what I own and this just happened!")

Anyhow, I did happen to have some Lindy's Magical Shakers in Bratwurst Brown, Grab A Guy Gold, and Alpine Ice Rose that I thought would work for this challenge. I "diluted" the Alpine Ice Rose in some white texture paste for the Pale Rose in the color challenge (1st color on the photo below) and used my "new" texture paste for the stenciling on the outside of the shadowbox. I also created the Red Brown (2nd color on the photo below) for the color challenge in a homemade spray by mixing Alpine Ice Rose and Bratwurst Brown, which I sprayed on the (white) Darice flowers.

I used a lot of Bratwurst Brown and Grab A Guy Gold on the outside of the shadowbox, as well as on the background inside the shadowbox. On the lattice, after I gave it a coat of white gesso, I used clear embossing ink on the surface and brushed on more Grab A Guy Gold. (There will be a process video link further down this post which will hopefully explain things a lot better than I can with words!)

My process video: It will go here after editing & uploading. Also, uploads can take a while for me because I have satellite Internet...and to top it off, today is a rainy/overcast day.

However, I do have a few close-ups for you to look at!

Products:

• Lindy's Gang
• Magical Shaker
• Bratwurst Brown
• Grab A Guy Gold
• Alpine Ice Rose
• [From the] July 2019 Tres Jolie Mixed Media Kit
• Darice
• Floral Embellishments
• Shadow Box
• Creative Embellishments
• Love Knot Panel
• ReneaBouquets
• Mini Chocolate Covered Caramel Roses
• Leopard Premium Paper Butterflies
• KaiserCraft
• Wildflower Collection
• Succulents
• Tonic
• Nuvo Mica Mist
• Antique Gold
• Ranger
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Crackle Paint
• Clear Rock Candy
• Mini Blending Tool
• idea-ology
• Tim Holtz
• Sanding Block
• Prima
• Stencil (Item #564278
• Finnabair
• Opal Magic Acrylic Paint
• Rose Gold
• Metallique Wax
• Vintage Gold
• TCW
• Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste
• Simon Says Stamp
• Embossing & Watermark Ink
• Clear
• Liquitex
• Matte Super Heavy Gel
• Kilz
• Original Primer
• Mod Podge
• Matte Acrylic Sealer
• Daler Rowney
• White Gesso

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Sometimes, just sometimes, I feel the need to do a project that has no real purpose. That's where art journaling comes in. In this case I wanted to use/remember this quote by Former First Lady Michelle Obama from her book Becoming:

Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.

I think it is probably a good thing art journaling doesn't have to have a purpose, because this looks nothing like what I was hoping for. But it did let me just experiment, which can be helpful when suffering from a mental road block. Basically, I was going for something shinier and dreamier, but I'm okay with the end result.

My only inspiration, besides the quote, came from this months Creative Embellishments Color Challenge. It helps that my favorite color is blue! I even managed to get the twist in (clouds or waves) when I stenciled on some clouds!

I can't guarantee a video. I recorded as I went, but my computer was acting up. In the end it actually decided it wanted to restart while in the process of recording. The last step is actually not recorded because it involved texture paste & paint and I couldn't wait for my computer to stop being temperamental.

I, more or less, know what is recorded, the problem is my computer cooperating during editing.

While I see how the video is willing to come along, here are some photos!

Products:

• Silhouette
• Silhouette Curio
• Silhouette Design Store
• All three fonts & the flowers are from the Silhouette Store, but I can only say with certainty that one of the fonts is "CG Free Font," the other two I can't remember (and I broke them apart for editing, so they are no longer "type" in the file).
• Creative Embellishments
• Heart Flourish
• Flourish 24 (Maybe...I didn't buy it myself, it came in a 3rd party kit so I am not sure. It might have been Curly Flourish. I forgot to compare to the CE website before cutting it apart & gluing it in!)
• ReneaBouquets
• Chunky Glitter Glass
• Diamond
• Butterfly Kisses
• Delicate Beauty (The two largest I received in a swap from Jenn D!)
• Shimmerz
• Vibez
• Snow Way Man
• Paste-eez
• Puttin' On The Glizt
• 13@rts
• Acrylic Modeling Paste
• Hip Kit Club
• Star Stencil (Sept. 2017 Kit)
• Cloud Stencil (May 2016 Color Kit)
• Tonic
• Tim Holtz
• Paper Distresser
• TCW
• Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste
• AC
• Vicki Boutin
• CreativeFX
• Iridescent Glaze
• Prima
• Finnabair
• 3D Gloss Gel
• Color Bloom
• Summer Sky
• Stampers Anonymous
• Tim Holtz
• Mixed Media CMS125
• Wendy Vecchi
• Rectangle Collage WVBG035
• Ranger
• Dina Wakley
• Large Art Journal
• Scribble Sticks (Set #1)
• Night
• Sky
• Acrylic Paint
• Marine
• Archival Ink
• Jet Black
• Perfect Pearls
• Perfect Pearl
• Blue Patina
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Oxide
• Weathered Wood
• Stormy Sky
• Dylusions
• Ink Spry
• London Blue
• Liquitex
• Clear Gesso
• Daler Rowney
• White Gesso
• Unknown/Unbranded
• White Cardstock
• Watercolor paper

Adventure

For the More Than Words July (Main) Challenge: Discover & Stash

Discover made me think of maps, right away. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something. After that I didn't really have a plan, I just went where my stash led me.

Stash:
Clipboard - I don't know how old it is, but I've owned it for almost two years now.

I think Tea Dye was one of my first Tim Holtz ink pads I bought! Way back when I wasn't sure what "distress" really meant, but hey, "this Tim Holtz fella has stuff to make new stuff look like old stuff!" My husband could actually make a pretty good case claiming Tim was an original "supplier" that got me hooked leading to an entire spare bedroom being filled with paper craft related items! I love Tim Holtz so much I have hoarded his papers waiting for just the right time. I have been working on accepting the fact that it's a lot more productive to make the right time myself rather than expect a sudden epiphany. Plus, I'm having a much harder time remembering EVERYTHING I own...so if I can't even remember everything, how will I ever use everything?

Anyhow, all but 11 of the items on the product list are at least a year old (and that includes adhesives, the 3D Gel, the wax & such), of those 11 items, I think 5 have "appeared" within the last 6 months.

I used as much from my stash as I could, and I can't tell. You'd never know anything was "missing." I tell myself I should stop buying until I get my stash knocked down, but every time I think that something new is released & I realize I need to just stop thinking nonsense and do more projects!

Process Video:

Close-ups:

**Postcard Image from: Public Domain Pictures


Products:

• ReneaBouquets
• Glass Microbeads
• Rose Gold
• Creative Embellishments
• Moroccan Lattice Panel
• 13 arts
• Ayeeda Mist
• Patina Bronze
• Lindy's
• Magical Shakers
• Grab A Guy Gold
• Bratwurst Brown
• 7 Gypsies
• Architextures
• Ornate Garden Stakes
• Silhouette
• Cameo 3
• Design Store
• Design ID #34811
• Ranger
• Perfect Pearls
• Blue Patina
• Archival Ink
• Jet Black
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Ink
• Tea Dye
• Distress Spray Stain
• Rusty Hinge
• Mini Blending Tool
• idea-ology
• Tim Holtz
• Paper Stash
• Memoranda
• Lost & Found
• Ephemera Pack
• Expedition
• Sanding Block
• Tiny Attacher
• Small Talk
• Tonic
• Tim Holtz
• Paper Distresser
• 5" Scissors
• Stampers Anonymous
• Tim Holtz
• Harlequin Stencil
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Metallique Wax
• Bronze Age
• 3D Gloss Gel
• Julie Nutting
• Tag Pad
• Hancock
• Fancy Pants Designs
• Me-ology
• Button Set
• Dear Lizzy Date Stamp
• Mod Podge
• Antique Matte
• JudiKins
• Diamond Glaze
• Art Glitter Adhesive
• Krylon
• Workable Fixatif
• Liquitex
• Clear Gesso
• Unknown/Unbranded
• Twine
• Metal Stars
• "BINGO" Card
• The "other," non-Tim Holtz, ephemera
• I got the roll of map paper at Hobby Lobby, so it's likely by The Paper Studio.