"Always Believe"

 

What a magical time of year Christmas is. It can be filled with joy, hope, love and for some it is a very difficult time due to life happenings, loss of a loved one, health, job etc. My prayer is that my project today will bring you encouragement to "Always Believe". 

Inspired by this months mood board from Art Anthology, I utilized the colors to their fullest. I love this color palette, pretty light blues with a cranberry red color ....yummmmm

I started with an 8x10 canvas which I adhered different laces for texture. Then decorated my little 2x2 canvases that create the Christmas tree. I stenciled stars to the tops of the canvases for more texture. 

 Greenery was added to the canvas and then dry brushed with white gesso to prep for my spray colors of blues.

Homemade snow was made by equal parts of baking soda, white acrylic paint and school glue. 

An Ideaology Quote Chip was used for my title, and pretty red berries were added as well as a red bow to the top of the tree to complete the project. 

Sending you wishes of comfort and joy and they blessed season. xoxo Toni

Check out How to Create Christmas Canvas by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

Peace On Earth Lighted Clock by Toni

Merry Christmas everyone, it's that time of year where there just seems to be a bit of magic in the air. I had this idea in my head that I wanted to create a wintery scene that would depict the magic of Christmas .  

I decided to use my T!m Holtz assemblage clock and applying the new product from Art Anthology which is oxidized silver paste set. First I added some metal wings to the clock and then textured it with mud texture paste. 

The inside was filled with special little items, like bottle brush trees, ideology deer and paper dolls, as well as homemade snow. Below is a full tutorial so you can view the process to make this fun clock. 

Here is a photo of the clock without the lights on. Still looks so pretty I think. Icicles were created by dripping hot glue and allowed to dry. 

Here is a photo of the back of the clock with the battery pack. 

Wishing you a holiday season filled with peace and love. Thank you for stopping by. xoxo Toni

This project will be entered into the following challenges: 

Emerald Creek - Anything Goes 

Words and Paintery - 

Mixed Media And Art - 

Frilly and Funky - Most Memorable Gift (My passion for art given to me by my mother)

Rhedds Creative Spirit - Anything Goes

Check out How to Create Lighted Winter Clock by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

Jingle Bell Rock

Merry Christmas y'all put some music on and let's make some easy fun ornaments for your tree.

I purchased these really big bells at the dollar store and couldn't pass them up, but they didn't look good on my tree because this year I decorated a "woodsy" theme and the silver just wasn't working. 

So I decided to rust them up by using Art Anthologys Rust Paste Set. I gave the bells a nice coat of black gesso first to prep the surface and then started with the dark brown, then sponged on the terracotta and dried it. 

After those colors are dry sponge on the gold for highlights and allow to dry. 

Now let's add some twine to the top. 

Using your hot glue gun add the twine to the middle of the bell. 

Glue on some Christmas greenery, pinecones, berries, embellishments and a bow. 

For the last touch add some snow, I made this with equal parts of baking soda, school glue and white acrylic paint.  Allow to dry. 

Wishing you a Christmas filled with laughter and joy .... xoxo Toni

I'm Dreaming of a Diorama

Tis' the season and decorating your tree and home is in full swing now. This is the season I enjoy creating more than anything because the ideas that float in my head are endless. It's my turn up on the Art Anthology blog today for some Christmas inspiration. 

I came upon some Halloween clearance items. 70% off so I got these little boxes for $2.00 and decided to alter them for shadow boxes to sit in my tree. 

Some of the boxes were lined with distressed scrapbook paper, while others were antiqued with crackle varnish and paint. The insides featured an ornament which was altered with paint, snow, inks, whatever your little crafty mind can think of. 

This box was collaged with old hymnal papers and painted black and sanded all the edges, then the title was painted gold and embossed with gold powder. Greenery and bow were added. 

Box was painted and then the outside was lined with burlap. In the sleigh I added a little Christmas tree that I bleached out using equal parts of bleach and water, roll in Glossy Accents and sprinkle Diamond Dust on top. The bells and metal portion of the sleigh were rusted with Art Anthology's Rust Paste set. 

The outside of this box was painted and crackle varnish added to the top. Paper dolls were added as focal point. This tree was also bleached and the pearls were colored with Art Anthology paints. Sizzix festive sprigs was used for greenery and berries. 

Box was painted white and sanded for distress look. Sled was an ornament I had and it was altered using homemade snow which is equal parts of baking soda, school glue and white paint. Snowflakes were chipboards that were painted. 

The last box was painted black and dry brushed with Ferrari Red and  Parakeet Green. Rope added to the inside as well as greenery and berries. Like I said the ideas are endless. Hope your were inspired to create some new pieces for either your home or tree. Wishing you a Christmas filled with comfort and joy. xoxo Toni

Entering these projects in the following creative challenges: 

Emerald Creek - Anything Goes 

Frilly and Funky - Most Memorable Gift (My passion for Art from my mother)

Creative Artiste - Anything Goes 

Grab yourself a cup of cider, eggnog or hot chocolate, whatever your favorite holiday drink is and enjoy my Snapguide tutorial below. 

Check out How to Create Christmas Shadow Boxes for Tree or Tabletop by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

Rust and Patina'd Pumpkin by Toni

Happy day to all... I'm up on Art Anthology's blog today  and so excited to share with you two  brand new sets that are available. They are Rust set and Patina set, beautiful colors and textures.  Both can be purchased HERE. 

You will love these paint sets, so easy to work with, dry quickly and have wonderful grit. 

 Both sets of paints were used on my paper mache pumpkin. I first began by covering the pumpkin with metal tape that I ran through an embossing plate. Giving it a coat of gesso so the tape would be primed for my paints.

The leaves were created by cutting burlap and applying wire to the back to provide the leaves to bend for interest. The stem was created using grapevine craft wire and seed beads. 

For an added project I also purchased these wood leaves at the craft store. They were 70 % off so the leaves cost me 20 cents !!!! Printed out my words, burnt the edges and applied to my leaf using AA's Sorbet in Glass, Tied a piece of twine and they will go around all my place settings at Thanksgiving table this year. 

 Wishing you a joyful and blessed holiday season filled with family and friends. For your pleasure I have prepared a Snapguide tutorial of my process below. Hope you enjoy. xoxo Toni

Entering this project in the following wonderful challenges: 

Mixed Media & Art-November Mysterious 

Rhedds Creative Spirit - November Challenge 

Mixed Media Place - October Challenge 

Check out How to Create Fall Home Decor With Rust and Patina by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.

Nature Is But A Canvas To The Imagination

Happy Fall everyone...Here is our November Mood Board from Art Anthology to spark some inspiration in your next project. 

.... this is one of my most favorite seasons of the year because there is coolness in the air and the colors on the trees are soooooo pretty. I was in the yard the other day raking leaves and was admiring how very pretty each one was. I decided I wanted to utilize them in my next design team project for Art Anthology. 

On my canvas I used 3D Matt Gel to adhere my leaves  some twigs I got from the tree and also some sprigs of dried flowers I had in my stash. Gave them all a good coat of clear gesso so they would take to my sprays well. 

The translucency of the Art Anthology Coloration Sprays were perfect because they provided a pretty stain effect on the canvas while allowing the leaves and foliage to show through. 

Natural wood slices that were also stained with sprays provided a nice foundation for the title "Mother Nature has the best box of crayons" which I feel fits perfectly.

Hope you were inspired by my project and that you will join in and create with us using our beautiful November mood board. Don't forget to post it on our Facebook Page HERE so others can be inspired by your creativity as well.  For your pleasure, grab a cup of tea and enjoy my Snapguide tutorial below of my process.

Entering this project in the following wonderful challenges :
More Than Words-November Challenge Outdoors/Woodgrain

Creative Artiste Mixed Media # 32 Anything Goes 

Mixed Media Place 

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

The Bone Collector-Coffin With Mini Album

Hi everyone.... I have some fun and eerie inspiration for my design team project for Art Anthology. It is  "Bone Collector" altered coffin holding a mini album to put all those fun Halloween pics in.

I started off with a paper mache coffin that I purchased at the dollar store. I traced the coffin onto chipboard and cut out for the pages of the mini album. 

The outside of the coffin was altered with wood pieces that were applied with texture paste and then painted with multiple colors to provide that aged look. Everything was propped up on a wood base and the wooden base was textured using sand, rocks and floral moss. 

The tree was made using grapevine wire from the craft store and painted then Ideaology spiders were hung from the tree.  All those pesky hot glue strands are perfect for this project because they provide a spider web effect. 

Ideaology bones, skelletons, apothecary vials word band and lantern are added to enhance project. 

The inside of the coffin was decoupaged with a Halloween napkin. This is one side of the mini album. 

This is the other side of the album. It will hold at least 30 photos. 

I hope you enjoyed this Halloween post... Hope this didn't scare you with all the steps and photos, it's quite easy and allows your creativity to go wild. For your pleasure I have a Snapguide tutorial below. Park your brooms at the door, sit down for a spell my pretties and enjoy. 

This project is entered into the following challenges

Frilly and Funky- Trick or Treat (Mini Album hidden in Coffin)

Emerald Creek  - Freaky and Fun

Rhedds Creative Spirit - October Challenge 

Altered Ecclectics- October Challenge 

Creative Artiste-Mixed Media 

Check out How to Create Coffin With Halloween Mini Album by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.