Pssst The Secrets Out !

Ok.... The secret is out and I can finally share some exciting news. I have the pleasure of being chosen for the "Our Vintage Affair" design team. I am so excited to work with these fabulous ladies from all over the globe. Every month there will be new challenges anywhere from scrapbook layouts & cardmaking to altered art. If you have a love for the vintage style you will definitely enjoy this blog challenge.

The brand new challenge that begins today is "All About Buttons", there is also a sketch provided but not necessary to use.

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The sponsor this month is and the winner will win the entire new "Sweetheart" paper collection. Hop over to their blog @ 3ndypapir.no for some wonderful inspiration and to view this beautiful set of vintage style papers.

My interpretation of the challenge is this Friendship Card.

The image I chose was from Graphics Fairy . The mat for the image is Claudine Helmuths Sticky Back Canvas and stained with Lindy's Stamp Gang "Gator Gumbo Olive" stain. Mixed Medium Gel was applied to the image and then to the sticky back canvas. I hope you will stop by "Our Vintage Affair" to be inspired by all the beautiful art. xoxo Toni

From Trash to Treasure

One of my favorite things to do is go looking for treasures at the local thrift and junk stores. I came upon this adorable little purse and new it would be perfect for the Artful Bag Challenge, This month the theme is "EMBELLISH". It SCREAMED Steampunk!!!.

I then dug into my wonderful stash of laces and ribbons and searched through my cogs & old watch parts.

I then wanted to add some danglies and charms and realized that would fit right in for :

Gingersnap Creations #90 challenge "CHARMS"
Studio L3 CCC #34 "Dimensional Fragments" on page 63 of "The Book". Such a cool technique, I will definitely use this one again and again.
Bling It On, a brand new challenge blog with this weeks theme, "Anything Goes" (with the added option of a charm) .

The precious little steampunk child on this charm was on a collage sheet that I purchased from Inka @ Altered Artifacts Etsy Store.

I hope you enjoyed :)
xoxo Toni

What Becomes of a Broken Heart ?

This week's theme at Art On The Darkside challenge blog is "Broken Hearts".

I used several mixed media's here. The frame was purchased at Michaels for $1 and I painted it black, then dry brushed it with white gesso. To make my broken heart, I shattered sea shells and colored them with Red Pepper Alcohol Ink and used Gel Medium to apply it to my frame. Used Tim Holtz fragments to make my "fragile" letters and added charms for interest.

The right hand corner is Claudine Helmuth's Sticky Back Canvas (can be purchased at Studio Garage Band store) and I used the transfer technique which is so much fun. I found it here on YOUTUBE. I then finished off with some beeswax just for a added bit of texture .

How do I believe you mend a broken heart... put yourself out there to love again. Hope you enjoyed :) xoxo

Free as a Butterfly

Gothic Arches Challenge this week was "Butterflys".


This gave me an opportunity to go through old scraps of cardstock and pick out different butterflys to cut out and embellish with the new colors of Stickles which you can purchase @ Studio Garage Band Store.

I then randomly attached the butterflys to wire to give that "in flight" look. My arch was sprayed with Lindys Stamp Gang "Tiffanys Blue " Starburst Stain Spray.


The quote I used is from Charles DickensIf you get a moment, take a look at Gothic Arch Challenge. There are so many wonderful artist there and so much inspiration. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy xoxo

"Once Upon A Time"

Gingersnap Creations #89 is kings and queens and I kept this really simple. The stamps I used are from Oxford Impressions "Castle Keep" collection. Inked up the tag with Lindy's Stamp Gang moonshadow spray "Violaceous Violet". Have a creatively wonderful day ! xoxo

Everyone Screams for Ice Cream

I am new to The Artful Bag Challenge but it is right up my alley, means I am such a purse addict.... love love love them. This months theme is to take something an alter it into a bag. So I chose my Baskin Robbins ice cream container and spoons.

This was such a fun challenge and it gave me a chance to use my new G45 paper line "Curtain Call". There is alot of details on this so I took a few pics. The clasp was a fun old garter I purchased at a junk store. The inside was decorated with snipits of Curtain Call and then Mod Podge was applied to seal it all down. (Kind of hard to see but you get the idea.)

The spoons were used to attach the handle, which was braided Curtain Call paper.

The little spoon I used to be a handle for the mirror, which is tucked away in a little pocket.

And the lid got blinged up with Prima flowers, pearls, peacock feather and Curtain Call die cuts.

Hope you enjoyed!! Hop over to Artful Bag Challenge for some fun. Next month is going to be 'EMBELLISH".... xoxo

Tea Time

Gingersnap Creations #87 challenge provided a tea bag template for us to come up with a project or layout using it. Thank you Netty for the template, if you haven't already, hop over to her blog for some sensational art inspiration.

And CCC #31 is all about the Rusted Enamel technique which is on page 41 in "The Book"!!! The colors I used for the rusted enamel technique is Spun Sugar for the base and then aged with Victorian Velvet. This is a technique that I use quite frequently, so much fun !!! Hope you have a sweet Valentines Day !!! xoxo

Be My Valentine

Whewwww... it has been a long time in between posts and I'm so glad to be back blogging again. So many changes have been taking place in my life and now that things are somewhat settled down I find myself in a creative slump and trying to dig myself out of it. Chocolate always makes everything better !!!

With Valentines Day on Monday I decided to make a chocolate cupcake (fat free) to hide a special gift card for my Sweetheart daughter Brittany. I had just ordered these delicious colors of Starburst Sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang and this was the perfect project for them. I used Prima flowers and sprayed them with Starburst Sprays in the following colors: Cadbury Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Truffle & Creme Brulee Cream.... aren't those names yummy !!! The Sweetheart Doves pictured in the small photo can be purchased @ Studio Garage Band's Etsy Shoppe.

If you happen to own some of these gorgeous sprays then hurry over to Lindys Blog, there is a contest running and you might just win some art goodies. It's also a great place to go for inspiration and that's just what I needed to help me out of my slump. So while my fingers are still messy, let me get back in the studio to see what else I can create. Glad to be back... xoxo

Studio L3 & Simon Says Challenge " Things That Go Bump In The Night"

Simon Says blog challenge is "GRUNGE" and so is Studio L3. What is there not to love about grunge. It's this wonderful artist material that can be used in so many different ways. I chose to use it as my canvas.
At Studio L3 we are working on challenge # 15 on page 53 of Timmy's book. Now I have to admit, I wasn't sure what was meant by "Agate on Grunge" till I talked it over with my sister (she is so smart). This is a technique I do frequently and love it. Alcohol inks have got to be one of my favorite things to use, other than my DI's.
For my "Things That Go Bump In The Night" I used Grungepaper for my entire canvas, and coated it with Gesso means I don't have any Dabbers (shame, shame on me). I used Pitch Black, Pebble, & Gold alcohol inks for the sky, then Terracotta, Ginger, Butterscotch, Espresso & Copper for the earth, and lots and lots of Blending Solution. I used Black Archival Ink for the stamped images which are a combination of Oxford Impressions "Wicked" & Cherry Pie Stamps "Dark Boundaries"

Judy, Judy, Judy

There is something so very special about my blog buddies, and if you aren't a blogger you won't understand. It's being able to reach out and connect with someone that you may never have the opportunity of meeting in a lifetime. To have a passion about the same thing and you just feel like family. I recently was posting to a participant on one of the challenges I am involved in and commented on how I just loved her piece and..... she mailed it to me! Can you think of anything more generous, but no it doesn't stop there. With her precious artwork she enclosed a bit of information regarding items she used on her piece. She has been creating with some lace that was her grandma's and there happens to be a bit of this on this collage... So not only do I have Judy now in my room, I also have a beautiful piece of her memories with it. Thank you thank you Judy for your generosity. I will cherish this always. When you get a moment, stop by and check out Judy's wonderful artwork on her blog.

Something Completly Different Challenge "Arches/1950's"

At SCD the theme for the month is arches and the theme for this week is 1950's. My arch was formed by using an image of an old juke box, and who better to blast on a juke box but the King himself. I love this wooden stamp I have of Elvis. Coated over the top with beeswax for that old vintage look. I have a whole collection of 45's just needed to pick which one I was willing to alter for this project. Had fun with this, and hope you enjoyed viewing... Thanx for stopping bye. xoxo

Studio L3 CCC #13 / Grungepaper

It's the 13th challenge over at Studio L3 and we are getting grundgy. Bubba really tried to stay awake for the finished project but couldn't.
Ok. so to make these flowers...... yea right... your not going to get the details to this technique from me. Nope my lips are sealed... So what are you waiting for??? Go out and get this book !!! Then you can play with the rest of us . I also threw in the "chipped enamel" technique from last week.
What I will tell you though is I used papers from Tim's "Lost and Found" collection and vintaged them up a bit with Distressed Stickles, in Concord Grape, Rock Candy, Peeled Paint, Broken China & Faded Jeans. Then I used Mr. T's flower die cut to cut some flowers from mesh metal to give a bit of texture pazazz. I made the velvet leaves using vintage flower press molds. As always, so much fun to participate in this challenge. Thank you Linda !

Mixed Media Monday & 3 Muses Challenge

MMMMM autumn is just around the corner and it's one of my favorite seasons. Mixed Media Monday challenged us to do something using "Cool Colors" and I immediately thought of Fall and how I love the leaves changing and cool weather. And 3 Muses hosted a theme of "Nature". So this gave me an opportunity to participate in both challenges with this one piece.

We have this gorgeous birch tree in our yard and I decided to try Laura Liddell's technique of embossing leaves. So off to the tree I go I then used my PK Glitz embossing powders and glitters to coat the leaves. Then I sprayed the branches white and covered them with Mica to give it that wintery feeling.
Meantime, while everything is drying I started work on my canvas by preppig it with gesso, then used different shades of cool acrylic colors. Ran some Perfect Pearls over the top for a shimmer, added some spackle for texture and then coated the entire canvas with Golden's Glass Bead Gel which is made with genuine glass beads, its unique visual effect – like that of condensation on cold glass.

Assembly time... put all the pretties on the canvas & WAA LAA... Hope you enjoyed... :)

Dragons Dream TIO "Oriental in 2 colors"

This week at Dragons Dream we are creating something with an Oriental theme but only using 2 colors. I got to bust out an old stamp of mine. Did some embossing on metal to add a little texture.

The entire tag is sprayed with a new product I'm really jazzed about. It's called Moon Shadow, and the color I used here is Bucket O'Blood. The company is Lindy's Stamp Gang. These have a walnut or sepia color base and then when you tilt them the hidden color shows through... Awesome product!!! They are having a Labor Day sale right now, so you might want to hop over to their website and take a look.

Took some alcohol ink to the beaded antenna's ... thank you mom for never throwing anything away. These were perfect for my butterfly, and added some embellishments to finish off my tag.

Ja mata. じゃまた。(see you later)

Gothic Arches & CC # 12/ "Pushing Up Daisies"

Tackled two challenges on this piece. Gothic Arches theme is "Daisies" and we are now in week #12 for Compedium of Curiosties challenge which is "chipped enamel", which I love this technique..

I also used Tim's shabby chic technique on the tombstone to give it texture and stone-like appearance. The image in the frame is a lenticular sticker which gives it that eerie look. I have used the "worn enamel" technique before and it continues to be one of my fav's. Tim's book is a must have if you are into altering pieces. I just love participating in different challenges. It drives you into different directions, encourages me to use products that I tend to forget about. And all the other bloggers involved are priceless .... TFL xoxo

Studio L3 "CC #11" Blended Batik

Where has the time gone... we are already enjoying technique #11 which is Blended Batik... OMGosh how much fun is this... Too cool Sir Tim !

Jump over to Linda's blog for some amazing art inspiration... 88 pieces of art inspiration joined this weeks challenge. HUMMMMMM I would have been 89 but I was a tad late in posting my entry. Well gotta go and look at everyone's batik beauties.... xoxo Toni