Happy Birthday America !

It's summertime... swimming, bar-b-ques, watermelon, sunscreen & 4th of July. I have to admit... this one was so much fun, I probably could have kept going and going but I finally had to say "ENOUGH". That's what I love about mixed media... It's an evolving project. I start with one idea and then something takes over, and then I change my mind again and again... I love it... freedom in
art... hey no pun intended to my piece here... lol

City Crafter challenge is Red White and Blue this week. Art Journal Journey challenge is "Houses", and Anything But A Card challenge is "Use 5" ...I used 5 different art techniques, Embossing, 3d embellishing, stamping, glue gun technique & Dylusion sprays. Shopping Our Stash is also "Red White & Blue".

, 3d

The stamps I used for my houses are from the wonderfully creative Teesha Moore.Everyone have a safe and beautiful 4TH OF JULY... Special thank you and God bless to all who have and are serving our country. We salute you ! xoxo Toni

 

 For a step by step tutorial of my process you can check out my SNAPGUIDE tutorial here or for more tutorials and creative inspiration, visit my SNAPGUIDE page here.http://snapguide.com/toni-burks-grijalva/guides/ 



Check out How to Create Mixed Media Journal Page by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

Guess What Time It Is?

That's right... it's time to let those industrial creative wheels rollin'... As many of you know I ♥ Steampunk... and the challenge this week at "Sandee's & Amelie's" is creating a steampunk masterpiece using "Shades of Grey, Blue & Rust". And also at Simon Says Stamp the challenge is "I Ought To Use This More".

The two items I Ought to Use More are: canvases (I have a ton and seem to hoard them) and my Oxford Impression stamps, I adore their details

Project titled "When you run out of steam ... make ART" It was my birthday yesterday turning another year older doesn't bother me in the least, in fact I appreciate where I have come from and what I have learned thru the years and treasure what is happening in my life right now at this moment... but yesterday I was feeling really down, and depressed and my body ached and I really just wanted to stay in bed. My daughter (aka... BFF) recently moved to NYC and though I am super happy for her, I am missing her more than I ever imagined. Some days I quite frankly have no energy to do anything and I know it has a lot to do with her being gone.

Don't let me kid you .... we talk once maybe twice a day... yea I know what your thinking... get a grip lady ! When she told me she wanted to transfer her job from California to NY I quite frankly was so excited for her. I have always encouraged her to follow her heart, experience life and my door is always open for her to come home to. We've both agreed that if NY becomes her new home, I will in deed move there because I need to be with her and my future son-n-law (no one in mind as of yet) and my future grandchildren.

Some days are good, some days aren't so good... today actually was better... so see I know it's just a matter of missing my girl. Alright, enough of that... back to my project. Art can really revive me... I put on my music or favorite movie and next thing I know its several hours later.

For more wonderful inspiration, and if you ♥ Steampunk, be sure to drop by Sandee's & Amelie's challenge blog and have some fun.  And if you want to challenge yourself to something new every week... check out Simon Says Stamp... they never disappoint.

 

For a detailed tutorial on how I accomplished this canvas, check out my SNAPGUIDE tutorial below or visit my SNAPGUIDE website for more inspiring projects. http://snapguide.com/toni-burks-grijalva/guides/

Check out How to Create Mixed Media Steampunk Canvas by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

A Special Gift for A Special Someone

This month is my mom's birthday and I wanted to make her keepsake of family photos. I decided to use Maya Road's Clutch Purse mini album. This clutch provides a lot of room for many photos. I made the photos into wallet size and was able to fit 34 photos in it.

This is the inside which also was decorated with pearls & metal embellishments.

"I Am Roses" always work perfectly when spraying for your own custom colors.

I hope my mom will enjoy this mini album which is packed full of her family's memories. Happy birthday mommy... I ♥ you

 Below is a step by step tutorial on developing this mini album. For more projects check out my SNAPGUIDE website : http://snapguide.com/toni-burks-grijalva/guides/

Check out How to Make Purse Mini Album With Faux Leather Technique by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

It's Art Journal Time

Calgon take me away... or better yet... Art journal take me away ! When I'm stressed, depressed, overwhelmed or I need something to jumpstart my creative days, my art journal always seems to come to the rescue. Sometimes I can spend hours on a page, yet other times I only mess around for 30 minutes or so. 

 

As a crafter sometimes its hard to get rid of the silliest things, and old inked, painted paper towels seems to be one of those for me. I tend to have a pile sitting around to use on my collages, journals or layouts. That's what formed the base for this journal page. I first added a layer of white gesso and then applied my recycled paper towels to the pages. Added some doilies for texture. Using Golden's modeling paste, I created more texture with my circle stencil. Next applied some more color with my Gelatos. Last but not least, randomly stamped some images with black STAZON. Using metal plumbers tape, I cut out the letters "ART" and then finished off with the quote on my tag.

 

It was just enough creative warm up to get me in the mood for a day of scrapbooking. I find, sometimes you hit a creative block and you just need to work on something that has absolutely no boundaries and that is what my art journal does for me. Happy creatimg. TFL xoxo Toni