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January 31, 2015

INSPIRE Your ♥ With ART

Today at Unruly PaperArts we are joining together with many others around the globe to recognize "Inspire Your Heart With Art" day. Whether you are sitting at a table playing with paints, inks, clay etc., going to a museum, listening to some music or watching a theatrical performance.... Let the ARTS Inspire Your Heart Today. The piece I created for this day is simply a mixed media piece with lots and lots of texture, layers, sparkle & color. That's what inspires my heart. 
ART - noun -  the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Walk through a gallery sometime and see how different pieces effect you emotionally, physically, mentally
As today is set apart for Inspiring "Your" heart my hope is that this piece inspires "Someone Elses" heart and brings a smile to your face 

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life"... Pablo Picasso

Enjoy my tutorial on the process of this project below and for other tutorials, please visit my Snapguide Webpage here 
Check out How to Use Textures for Your Mixed Media by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

January 11, 2015

Just "Breathe"



"New Beginnings" is the theme this month at Anything But A Card. I don't really like New Years Resolutions because I feel guilty when I can't keep it...lol.. so for the past few years I have been adopting a word to inspire me throughout that year. For this new year I have decided on "Breathe". 
Life can sometimes be pretty hectic and throw you speed bumps along the way that can cause all kinds of chaos. So I am going to try to remember when LIFE HAPPENS... just BREATHE, Relax, Chill, Stay Calm.

I used a burlap canvas for the base and dry brushed white acrylic paint on it here and there. Then using my Dylusion Sprays, I applied Cut Grass, London Blue & Fresh Lime randomly on the canvas. I created the heart with a piece of styrofoam, I cut it in the shape of a heart then mod podged sheet music paper and my quote over the entire surface. Sprayed this with Lindy's Stamp Gang Landlubber Green. Using Blue Fern Chipboard frame, I painted this white and then mixed white acrylic paint with Viva Stone Effect Paste and applied to the frame to give texture. After dried I applied Tea Dye Distressed Ink to the top. Using Glue N Seal I applied my title and some sequins. The twigs were from a tree outside that were glued on using my glue gun. 

I also just love this quote from Elie Wisel which reminds me to not waste a second. Life is too short so embrace it ! Jump on over to ABAC challenge blog and play along with this month's theme and download your creation to inspire us all. And while your at it don't forget to "Breathe"

January 6, 2015

Bags Are Packed And Ready To Go

Hi everyone... it's been really busy around my house as I am preparing for a trip to New York to visit my daughter. Lots of planning and packing and I can't wait to see her. I wanted something to keep my tickets, receipts, napkins, you know fun stuff from my visit as well as all the pictures that will be taken on my visit.


I decided T!m Holtz's Collection Folio was the perfect option.  It allows you to add so many different options for storing your keepsakes. Once I got started it was hard to put down. I posted a picture a few days ago of the outside because I was still in the process of adding more tags, inserts etc to the inside of the folio.


There is a tab insert that you glue to the inside of the folio and then you just add all your tags, or pages for your pictures and memorabilia. 

 T!m's Ideology is perfect for this project because it gives that old vintage appeal that I really was going for. I tried to keep from using alot of bulky embellishments because I knew I would be adding a lot of mats and tags for pictures etc. Lots of distressing and inking. Pan Pastels were used for coloring many of my pages.

I can't wait to take this with me. I love how the closure holds everything nicely and compact. 

Get your hands on one of these collection folios and see what kind of magic you can create with it. 

And speaking of creating, don't forget to play along with us at Unruly PaperArts this month's RAQ (Readers Art Quest) is "Global Traveler". You can use the picture as well as the colors for inspiration for your project.

I will also be entering this project in the following challenges: 

January 2, 2015

New York New York

HAPPY 2015 everyone !!! Hope you had a safe holiday time... whether it was running around like crazy or simply snuggled on the couch relaxing, I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration. 

This month at Unruly PaperArts, our RAQ (Readers Art Quest) is focused on "Global Traveler" and to provide more inspiration you can use the following color palette. This month's theme is perfect timing for me because I will be going to New York to visit my daughter in one week... Yipee !!! 

 I decided to get me one of these Tim Holtz Collection Folio's that you can alter to create a place to keep tickets, receipts, photos & memorabilia from your trip. So I thought it would be the perfect travel companion for my trip to New York. 
It comes with cascading tabs for attaching photos, tags etc for holding all your travel mementos. 

This month's sponsor for Unruly is also Pan Pastels... and if you haven't used this luscious medium before then you need to try them. They remind me of a pancake makeup... like a powder but much more creamy and are beautiful to work with.  I actually used them on my metal letters for my title... First gesso'd the letters to prime the metal, then I applied the Pan Pastel, I then sprayed hair spray on top to seal and once dried I applied a bit of Inka Gold to highlight a bit. In the next couple days I will be adding more pictures of the inside of my folio to show you different ideas for organizing your receipts, tickets etc. from your travel destination. 

So where do you want to travel to... get those creative thinking hats on and come play with us, link up your masterpiece and have a chance of winning this month's wonderful prize of  Jane Davenports new book - Beautiful Faces, compliments of Unruly PaperArts. xoxo Toni
art (ärt) noun - supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty.