Be Glad of Life Hang Tag

This is my first attempt at being creative since my mom's passing last month. My heart still isn't fully in it, but she wouldn't want me to wallow in sadness, so I'm trying to move forward...one step at a time. The Gingersnap Creations blog has a Two-Color Challenge right now, so I thought I'd try that one. The result is my my Be Glad of Life Hang Tag.

I've used shades of brown and white here. It's a combination of a paper grungy hang tag and embellishments, along with digital touches added in. I still love creating Altered Art...it's my go-to form of creativity when I'm not feeling inspired by anything else. I love the sentiment too. Be glad of life...

I'm trying, Mom. I'm really trying.

Creation of Beauty Hang Tag

I've created this Creation of Beauty Hang Tag for the Words of Wisdom challenge over at the Gingersnap Creations blog. The challenge is to utilize some favorite words of wisdom (profound, funny, or otherwise) in a creation.

For this Hang Tag I've once again utilized a combination of both paper goods, ephemera, and digital touches to create this Altered Art piece. I love the vintage photo of the girl...she's so lovely. And she is perfect for the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson too, don't you think?

Timelss Beauty ATC

Time for another challenge at the Gingersnap Creations blog...this time it's a supply challenge and we had to use RIBBON somewhere in our creations. So this Timeless Beauty ATC is my creation for that challenge.

This Altered Art style ATC is a mixed media piece, combining paper, ephemera, ribbon, a vintage photo, and digital graphic elements. It definitely has a sort of timeless feel to it, don't you think?

Peace Angel Hangtag

My Peace Angel Hangtag was inspired by the Starry Night Challenge at the Gingersnap Creations blog. This time of year, Angels are a perfect subject matter so that was my starting point as I brainstormed for this hangtag.

I combined a vintage photo of an angel with some moon and sky images, along with some digital paper, to create a digital collage for this hangtag. Then I added that digital collage to a plain white paper hangtag, along with some embellishments, to complete the altered hang tag. I love the angel imagery so much, I may just use it for some Christmas cards this year! I really love how it turned out.

Witchie Hangtag

I have never done more Halloween-themed art projects as I have done in this past month or two. Very strange for me. LOL But I've been enjoying it! I have carried through with that same theme for the new Ravens challenge at the Gingersnap Creations blog. I've used it to create this Altered Hangtag I'm calling Witchie.

The vintage photo is my witchie inspiration, along with the 3 stamped ravens, of course. All of my ephemera and embellishments have been added to a hangtag, which I've grungy'd up to look aged. Seemed only appropriate when I'm doing something with a Halloween theme to make it have an aged look too. Seems like I should make a gift just to go with this hangtag and give it to someone for Halloween!

Fancy Free ATC

I decided to join in one more challenge this week at the Gingersnap Creations blog. It's the Turquoise, Blue, and Purple Color Challenge. And I've called my Altered Art  ATC Fancy Free.

Once again I've used paper elements and ephemera to create my ATC, with a beautiful vintage photo as the focal point of the piece. Then I added a bit of digital editing to enhance the piece and bring out its colors more. I love being able to give an art piece just a little bit more personality, which the digital editing allows me to do. This lovely lady looks like she's footloose and "fancy free," don't you think?

Mom 1950 Canvas

I created this Altered Art canvas for the latest challenge at the Gingersnaps Creations blog: On the Road.  We needed to use things in our project that would be found "on the road." So I used a vintage photo of my mom on a car as my inspiration for my project.

I started with an 8" square canvas, which I painted with black acrylic. Then I spritzed it all over with a mixture of pearlescent white paint and water to give it some sheen and texture. Next I added some red patterened scrapbook paper with torn edges. I used a black ribbon near the top of the canvas, and then added an over-sized black and white hangtag and another cut piece of the red paper to serve as the background for the vintage photo. After I affixed the photo I embellished the canvas with metal gears and keys, some black satin bows, pearl gems, and a white a flower. And I added a metal bracket to frame "1950" under the photo, which is when the photo was taken.

Wasn't my mom adorable?!

He Loves Me Altered Envelope

Time for another fun challenge at the Gingersnaps Creations blog. This time the theme challenge is 3 Papers, 3 Buttons, 3 Words.  My He Loves Me altered art is my creation for this challenge.

I love using Kraft Envelopes from time to time when I'm doing Altered Art, and that's what I used this time. I added a piece of torn paper bag with a vintage newsprint pattern onto the envelope first. Then I tore some scrap wallpaper with a red color and pattern and added that to the top and bottom of the envelope, over the paper bag print. Then I added some lace trim to the bottom. I embellished this with a vintage photo transparency that I adhered to some grungy paper; I also added paper flowers affixed with button brads, some gems, a 3D paper butterfly, and the words He Loves Me. I finished off the top of the envelope with some black ribbon.

My 3 Papers are the grungy paper behind the transparency, the red wallpaper, and the newsprint paper bag. My 3 buttons are the 3 button brads. And my 3 words, of course, are the He Loves Me words I added.

I love how this turned out, and I like that it sort of looks like a paper purse when it's hanging on the wall.

Discovery ATC

This ATC is my final project as a visiting artist for the month of April at the Gingersnap Creations blog. The theme for this color challenge was Red and Gold.

I started with a piece of ATC-sized illustration board, which I covered with a piece of scrap wallpaper that is a metallic gold color.  Next I added the Discover vellum paper embellishment and the red ribbon near the bottom. I added a 3-D bird cutout, and also another egg cutout to repeat the one on the vellum image. And I finished it off with some red rhinestone gems on each of the top corners of the ATC.

I really enjoyed my time as visiting artist. It helped me stretch my wings a bit as an artist and step out of my comfort zone a bit too, which is always a good thing to do as an artist.

Fan and Kimono Collage

This week is another Far East Challenge at the Gingersnap Creations Blog where I am a visiting artist for the month. The theme for this challenge was Fans, so I've created a Fan and Kimono Collage.

I started with a patterned piece of pastel green scrapbook cardstock paper., which I tore and distressed at the bottom, and did some decorative corners at the top. Then I stamped on an Asian paper lantern image and a dragonfly image in black ink.  I also added a patterned circle, which is supposed to represent the sun. Next I created the Kimono out of some pretty cardstock, layering the paper and adding black as an accent color. I also added a black flower gem to the back of the Kimono before I attached it to the background using 3-D O's to make it appear in relief. I added a folded paper fan to the sun image, and I also added a gem to the stamped lantern.

I think this is my favorite piece so far of the Far East projects I've done as a visiting artist. I just really like the Kimono, and I like how all the colors and patterns work together in this piece.

Notions Fabric Hang Tag

This altered hangtag is a bit different than what I usually make, since I usually make hangtags out of paper and blank tags. For this one, inspired by the Gingersnap Creations Sewing Notions Challenge, I created my fabric own hangtag from scratch using fabric!

I started with some lovely vintage-looking floral fabric that is tan in color and has some delicate burgundy-colored rosebuds on it. I cut it to the size I wanted (2-1/2" x 5"). Then I found some scrap muslin fabric that I had already made grungy using my secret grungy sauce and I tore the edges to distress it, and to make it fit on top of the other fabric.  I sewed the muslin to the floral fabric using black thread, to give it some good contrast to the fabrics I was using. I didn't want this to look all perfect and clean-edged; I wanted it to look aged and worn, and a bit rustic. After I sewed on the muslin, I then sewed the two pieces of floral fabric together as well.

Next I gathered my sewing notions and embellishments: a Tim Holz metal key, a copper brad, a brown button, a brown satin ribbon with a pearl bead accent, some tatted lace trim, and a rusty safety pin. I poked a hole in the fabrics to make it possible to attach the key to the tag, and used the brad to do just that. Then I sewed on the button, and then also sewed on the brown button. I finished the bottom edge with the tatted trim, and then used the rusty safety pin to attach the brown satin ribbon to the top of the tag.

I am finding that I really enjoy working with fabric. Sewing isn't one of my stronger skills, so I'll need to keep working at it. But in working on this tag, I was really getting some fun ideas for creative fabric projects I could try. I really had fun with it...except for all the times I needed to thread a needle, which is difficult to do without the bifocals I really need to get one of these days. Darn my aging eyes anyway! I also like the idea of doing a more tattered-style of sewn creations--much less worry about perfection gives me lots more creative freedom (and less stress). And as Martha would say, that's a good thing.

Here's to more fabric projects in the future! Have a great Wednesday.