BEE HAPPY! BEE SCRAPPY! - MONDAY MONDAY!

Another fun day at Robin's Scrap Nest Bee Happy! Bee Scrappy! Crop at the Carlisle Inn Walnut Creek in Ohio's Amish Country. 

Monday I had some mojo and got a lot done...

First up is a layout from my son 

Thomas' 16th Birthday.

I used the sketch from SC89 challenge 

over on Soul Scrappers.

The sketch -

and here is my interpetation - 

I chose to modify it by using two photos.

and a few close-ups-

How about all these fun embellishments?

a fun saying and showing off my new 

Martha Stewart punch!

My next layout uses 

Let's Get Sketchy April Week 2 sketch -

Now here is my take -

and a few close-ups -

some great metal!

more great metal, molding paste 

(a/k/a Dry Dex Spackle), ribbon banner

My next layout is for the April 1 challenge at Picture This!

The challenge calls for using one photo, plus corners plus splatters.

Here is my take -

Obviously you see the one photo...

now here are some close-ups.

Here you can see both the corners 

and some splats!

Don't you love the yellow flower on the left? 

 I got that in the flower swap at the crop!

Here is my last layout of the day 

with some beautiful flowers taken 

at Mt. Cuba in August 2013.

I am going to enter this in 

Word Art Wednesday challenge 179.

And the grand finale - I borrowed the Julie Nutting Mermaid stamp and you will see this on a beach page one of these days...

There will still be another post from the final day of the crop hopefully tomorrow!

A BIT OF ART JOURNALING, QUOTES AND A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE GREAT ROBIN WILLIAMS

Over the last few weeks I have created a few art journal pages.  2 of them I had done the backgrounds and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but now they are completed and ready to share...

The first uses this great diecut eye that was an advertisement I picked up at a museum I went to last summer. The background was started with coloring my page randomly with acrylic paints which I dripped on, spread with a credit card and smeared with my fingers.  I added some Glitter Mists which gave it some nice sparkle. I then took my favorite choice for molding paste - DryDex spackle and a few different templates and went around the page randomly with those.  It worked out great as some of it remained white and some picked up some of the color from the inks.  Then for more added texture I added dry wall tape.  

I added the diecut and then a thought with chipboard letters which I traced around with my favorite black Pitt pen to really have them jump off the page.

My next page was done with several Adirondack Spray Color Washes.  I also sprayed with water and lifted the journal upright and upside down to get some interesting drips.  The other day I finally found a quote I wanted to add to it which I did with my favorite black Pitt Pen.

And finally, the last one I am sharing was done with a variety of acrylic paints spread around with a credit card.  Then I splattered two other colors randomly on top.  I really liked the color combo and didn't know what I was going to do with it. This week the world was rocked with the news of Robin Williams suicide.  He was such an amazing performer - he could do comedy, he could do drama, he could do it all.  I don't think I saw anything with him in it, from the television series Mork and Mindy, to the films Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and of course Hook (which I saw almost daily for several months when my youngest son was really young) that I didn't love.  I also suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and have often had suicidal ideation.  It is a very hard place to be.  Even when you realize how much you have to live for - your loving family, children, friends, and in this case a large public following and lots of fans that demon called depression is a powerful one. The pain is devastating, often far greater than physical pain as it hits you mentally and spiritually and then it adds physical dimensions of fatigue, migraines and more. Often you see no way out. Or worse - you see death as the only way out.  I found a quote on humor by Langston Hughes and added this to my page in memory of a man that made me laugh and made me cry on several occasions who shared that demon of depression that I too suffer with.  I pray for his family who are certainly the most gravely affected by this.  He will surely be missed for a long long time and will live on through his films, tapes of his stand up comedy, quotes and more.  This demon stole a great man from this world.  If you or anyone you know begins to exhibit any of the signs of depression please do something to try and get them help. Whether they will admit they are depressed or not, when it's someone you are close too you will surely recognize those subtle signs if you truly listen...and that is what we need to do for our loved ones...REALLY listen.  

I am submitting these pages for Anything Goes challenge #145 at Word Art Wednesday, Outlaw Women Artists Art Journaling, 4 Crafty Chicks challenge #207 Pink, Turquoise and Lime and Flying Unicorn Mid Month Mixed Media challenge.

Thank you for stopping by.  Let me know you stopped by and leave a short comment.  All comments are greatly appreciated.

ONE COLORFUL SUMMER

Brought to you by the Krazy Crafting Crew

Our independant hop team is bringing you colorful delightful creations for summer time projects!

If you have just stumbled upon the hop, Robin Lane from "Create-a-Latte" will be your hostess today, you can start from the beginning and work your way through, to get all the inspiration we have to offer. The whole line up will be provided at the end of this post.

Here is a photo of the blog candy our hostess has up for grabs:

For my project I opted to do an art journal page.  I started by coating my page with gesso.  I was impatient and did not allow it to dry enough when I started adding my Derwent Inktense Blocks and my Watercolor Crayons.

Next I added water.  I smeared them with a cosmetic sponge.  Usually the lines disappear but since the gesso was not quite dry it left some there.  I wish I had started with my Distress Inks.  

I then started adding acrylic and dimensional paints.  I don't often use those little bottles of sticles so I took them out.  Of course I squirted too hard and the bottle burst open and I got too much.  I added and added and the paper was saturated.  I rolled over it with a paper towel and got some interesting lined texture.

Next I had to wait forever for all those layers of paint to dry.  Eventually I got to add my favorite texture medium - DryDex Spackle with a Crafters Workshop Template.

And now I will make my sun a glorious yellow and add my title!  I sprinkled some pink and yellow alcohol inks but they were very dark so I added some gesso over them.  I put gold perfect pearls over the whole sun.

I created my title from Basic Grey Hip chipboard letters and colored them black with my Pitt pen.  I found this great swirly transparency which I cut apart and placed in the corners.  I also added some black rhinestones.

I hope you have enjoyed my creation today, I would love for you to visit again, we have hops with new themes every first Sunday of each month.

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for some blog candy offered throughout the hop. Some blogs are offering extra perks! They all have their own wishes for you to win, so don't forget to read the rules for each one as when they are offering every blog has different requirements for entries.

Thank you for stopping by and hopping with us! We love to inspire you so be sure to come back for more!

Here is the line up to help you navigate through..

Create a latte

So Many Crafts, So Little Time

Pink Dalmation Scrapper

CardMonkey's Paper Jungle

Love 2 Create it all

Lorby's World

Anita and Bugs

Precious Pages with Paula

Janet's Creative World

Scrap and Chat

THE MAKING OF MY FIRST MIXED MEDIA CANVAS

Today I started my first Mixed Media canvas.  It is going to be a gift for a friend.  I started with a 14x18 back stapled traditional canvas.  I coated the front and sides with gesso.  And now the fun begins...

I took out some of my favorite Crafter's Workshop templates and my all time favorite medium - Dry Dex Spackling (yes as in for walls, got it at Home Depot!)  I put a blob of it down and pushed a corrugate cup holder into it for design.  Then I took the cup holder and pushed that down for the reverse.  Next I played with all of my templates.  I wanted to have a varied texture, varied patterned look.  The idea is that everything is perfect just the way it was created.

Here is step 1:

When the spackle dries (which is what I love about this product - it goes on pink and turns white when dry) I will add my first layer of paint in my main color - cobalt blue.

I actually waited much longer and then added both of my main colors - Cobalt Blue and Christmas Red, as well as misting some Adirondack Denim Blue Color Wash.  I just squired the blue and red out of the bottles onto the canvas.

Step 2:

I had anticipated using a sea sponge to work the colors in but wasn't able to find it.  Instead I used my usual standard - smearing with a credit card.  I realized why I wanted to do the blue first and then the red as I did not want them to mix - I wiped the card in between colors but some were close together and the red was darkened.

Step 3:

My next step was to add Distress Ink in Faded Jeans, Salty Ocean, Barn Door and Festive Berries using an ink blending tool.

Step 4:

I found a piece of my sea sponge and used that with the blue acrylic paint to go over most of the canvas.  I then took red paint and flicked it on with an open spray bottle.

Step 5:

I think my next step will be to add some other dimensions and possibly more red.

For the dimension I started with adding some Liquid Beadz.  I have decided that I don't really care for them much.  They did not apply as well as they implied they would.  I splattered more red acrylic paint and then added a variety of buttons using Glossy Accents.

Step 6:

I need to do the sides of the canvas which I will probably just do with the paints and sea sponge.  And the next and possibly final step would be some collage which I think I am going to do with words.

OK...I did the sides the way I figured that I would.  I also added several other touches to the front inclujding blue glass beads, seashells, pieces of red trim and words of affirmation using miniature scrabble tiles.

Step 7:

I think that I am ready for a sealing coat of glossy spray!