Craft Wars

Its been while since I've seen any crafting shows on 

TV anymore (why is that?).  So I'm pretty excited 
about the new show Craft Wars that premieres 
tonight on TLC!  I'm hoping that I'm not disappointed 
in it.  Read Kathy "Crafty Chica" Cano-Murillo's 
review HERE ,and another Crafting Queen 
Margot Potters 411 on the show and how 
she finally spills the beans about being on 
Craft Wars HERE.

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Is it too early to say Christmas? Carmi has a huge Christmas themed Jewelry post! 

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie's art reflects her busy schedule this week. 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on the embroidered turkey stitch and using the parts of type as a prompt for hand lettering a quote along with knitted balloons and sugar substitute info.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The Crafty Princess talks about some jewelry designing she has in the works. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Do you craft for profit? If yes, be sure you track your costs and your customers to assure profitability and good customer relations.

Mixed Media Artist 
What does Hawai'ian lava have to do with making a quilt?

Tin, Tin, Tins!

Hit the jackpot today garage sale hunting! Found all 

these vintage tart tins, molds and wee bottles!   

I love using tins in my art! Check out my 

Altered Tin Pinterest Board

HERE to get inspired!

Speaking of Tins...

www.OutsideTheMargins.com

is having a 3 Camel Snuff 

Tin Special 

HERE

Pool Time!

I can't believe what a big boy Mr Kevin is getting

to be!  He sure loves playing in the water 

and his pool!

A trip down to So Cal

I recently returned from a trip down to Newport Beach

reconnecting with family and had a wonderful time.

Brought back many fun memories of spending 

part of our summer vacations down there with

friends and family as kids.

Here's a house after my own heart!

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this

house on Balboa Island.  

One thing I didn't remember seeing as 

a kid was one of my favorite trees, the

Jacaranda Tree growing all over down 

there. I've only seen one here in Modesto 

growing.  I'd love to plant one in my yard!

We arrived just in time to go aboard my cousin's 

ultra 125' Cheyenne Catamaran which carries

the Virgin Oceanic a one-man submarine.

My cousin Chris Welsh along with his business

partner Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Mobile) 

plan to go down in the sub to the deepest 

point in each of the five world oceans.

Click HERE to read more about the 

Virgin Oceanic

Close up of the sub.

This hopefully gives you a good perspective of just 

how big this catamaran is. The mast height above

water measures 160'!  

Last year the mast was up in SF and needed to be 

moved down the road to another building which would 

have been very costly to have it moved. Instead they 

opted to move it themselves with a little ingenuity

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

About Family Crafts 
Not only can you check out an assortment of shrink plastic crafts, you can also participate in a new craft challenge all about the beach! 

Carmi's Art/Life World 
A "Frida in felt" purchase renews Carmi's faith in Etsy!

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie has new paintings that use lines of her poetry.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world 
This week at Craftside this is a type/portrait combo idea, View-Masters as a way to commemorate special events, a tutorial on how to draw cupcakes and info on sugar substitutes.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy has a new and dangerous love - baby alpaca yarn. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Yay! We have our first Card Party submissions. Come see and join the fun.

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi and her readers received some very wise advice about being a full-time mixed media artist.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
Using numbers as a collage topic in an altered book. 

Background 5: Textured Galaxy

We Are The World
Here's a new art journal spread 
from my Junque Journal


Click HERE to view my
Textured Galaxy Background
Technique.

Honesty and Human Kindness!

Honesty and Human Kindness Does Exist! 

This past weekend I was given renewed faith in human kindness.  I discovered on Friday evening that I could not find my credit card. Thinking it had fallen out of my newly cleaned wallet, because it was now roomy, into my purse I made a mental note to look for it when I got home from our evening out.  Saturday morning I looked through my  purse and wallet at least 5 times...nada!  I got on the computer and proceeded to  look up the credit card company and was just about to call them when that little voice in my head literally said WAIT go check the answering machine...I reluctantly did and discovered there was indeed  a message from my CC company telling me that a gentleman had found my card and left his name and number. Nervous and excited both I called the company and got the info he left.  I proceeded to call

him and found out that he had found my card on the ground in the drive-thru at the pharmacy and he didn't trust just turning it in and said he'd felt more comfortable handing it over himself.  I am so appreciate of the following:

A. That he found it and was an honest person.   

B. That he took the time to call and leave his information.  

C. That he chose to make sure to handle it himself.  

D.  That I listened to that voice in my head

E. That I did not have to go through the hassle of cancelling my card

This has definitely renewed my 

faith and hope in people :-) 

Junque Journal Backgrounds: 3 and 4

Take A Sip Out of Life!

Here's a new spread in my junque journal I created.

(Click HERE to see my Junque Journal How-To).

Background 3: Oil Pastels

The face spread did not start out like this...

I had first painted the page with gesso 

like shown above BUT I originally

had something else in mind where

I had drawn the eyes and then had

a favorite quote with it,but things

didn't turn out the way I had 

envisioned...don't give up when

this happens because often times

a "happy accident" happens where

your idea takes a whole different

turn, but ends up working out!

Since my idea did'nt turn out I decided

to create a face around my original eyes.

I used one of my favorite products

Portfolio water soluble oil pastels

because I can draw with them, and

(wipe off and restart if necessary)

use my fingers to smear and blend 

the colors together so easily. After 

I will seal them with PYMII then 

outline areas with a fine sharpie.

If your not comfortable drawing faces

try drawing abstract designs blending

and smearing the colors so you get 

comfortable.

Background 4: Layered Acrylics

For Background 4 I started out 

by swiping plain acrylic craft paint

across the page just to give it a basic

background. I didn't mind that it wasn't

fully covering the words because I was

adding several layers of acrylic paint.

Supplies Used

Acrylic Paint

Punchinella (aka sequin waste)

Stencils

Make-up Sponges

Foam Stamps

Here I began layering my page using various pieces of 

sequin waste, stencils and acrylic paint. I have found that 

using a make up sponge works the best for me when 

I'm pouncing the paint over the punchinella and stencils.

 The idea is to keep adding layers on top of layers, 

but make sure that you first dry each layer.

You can see how each layer adds more depth.  At this point I 

used a foam stamp and some white acrylic paint and stamped a 

larger design.  I then went back again lightly with the punchinella

to help blend the layers and give even more depth.

Now that I finished my layering 

I wanted to add a bold image 

which I found by way of some 

junk mail from Barnes and Noble.

I created the straw from some 

twisted paper and then wrapped 

it with craft tape.  Once I adhered 

it to the page I outlined the tea glass 

with a dark oil pastel and blended 

it in to give the image some 

added depth.

Next I sealed the page using PYM II

so that I could then go back in with

my pens to write my message.  I've

found sealing the pages helps not clog

up my pens. Otherwise the paint has

a tendency to get into the nib and then

they don't want to write.

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie creates a glass garden sculpture with solar lights. 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a chance to win a copy of the new book Cultivating Your Creative Life by Alena Hennessy, a tutorial on how to make a die cut window card, and a recipe for Frito Pie

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The princess takes a look at Peter Pan, that is Peter Pan yarns. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
We're having a card party at The Artful Crafter! All are welcome. Link up and share your creations at Card Party Central.

Mixed Media Artist 

Cyndi gets to visit the famous Kimura Fabrics...on the big island of Hawai'i! 

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 

How to transform a plain tank top for 4th of July with Simply Spray fabric paint  

Junque Journal: Background 2

Click HERE to see 

my Junque Journal

How-To

In my previous post HERE 

I showed you my scraped 

paint technique next step 

is to further embellish it.

STAMPED BACKGROUND

DESIGN

Supplies Used:

White Gesso

Foam Stamps (with a larger design)

Color Mists

Foam Brush

Paint Pens

PYM II

Wax Paper

Heat Gun

Step 1:  Using your foam brush load your foam 

stamp with white gesso.

Step 2:  Looking at your background decide how you

want to stamp your design (randomly or in a pattern?)

then begin stamping and reload your stamp with

the white gesso as needed.  **The reason I prefer

white gesso instead of white acrylic paint is that I 

want my stamped design to have some tooth to 

accept my Color Mists.

Step 3: Since I chose to stamp a pattern I also wanted 

to add another stamp some what smaller in design 

between my larger stamp pattern.

Step 4: At this point you can leave your background 

to dry naturally or use a heat gun but remember to 

keep it moving so you don't over heat the paint 

and bubble it up.

Step 5:  In this step I'm misting my gesso stamped 

areas with  Color Mists (sprayable watercolors).  

This step will  add another layer to help marry 

my two backgrounds together. 

Step 6:  Because the Color Mists are watercolors 

I like to use my heat gun to dry them (again 

to keep your heat gun moving).

Step 6:  Once your Color Mists are completely dry 

You'll need to seal them since they are water

soluble.  My favorite to use is PYM II .

*OPTIONAL*

Step 7: To further embellish your background

you can use paint pens to enhance your designs.

 Step 8:  I loved how bold this background turned 

out, so I decided turn it into my cover of my 

junque journal.  Just to help strengthen the 

spine I've added some craft tape along 

the seam down the middle.

Junque Journal: Background 1

As promised here's the next phase of 

my junque journal.  This scraped paint

background technique is a simple 

technique, yet very rich looking! 

It can be used as is or as you 

will see it can be enhanced.

Click HERE to view Phase 1 

of  my Junque Journal How-To

Scraped Paint Background

Supplies

Heavy Bodied Acrylics

Old Credit Card or stiff cardboard

Wax paper

I prefer to use heavy bodies acrylics they glide and mix

well compared to thin craft paint. I'm using Golden

brand which is my favorite, but there are other 

brands as well such as Liquitex.

Step 1:  Place your wax paper under neath your page 

over hanging the edges so you don't get paint on the 

pages beneath.

Step 1b:  Squeeze a dime or nickle size amount of paint

out on your journal pages.  starting at the time use

lighter to darker hues.

Step 2:  Using your credit card (I save the sample 

credit cards that come in the mail for this) start at the

top and scrap your card across the paint mixing as you

go down the page.  Wipe your credit card off on some  

wax paper and begin again. Be careful you don't 

over mix your colors and muddy them.

Step 3: Continue until you have covered the entire page

completely and allow to dry.

Here's the finished look.  At this point

you can stop and use this as a journal page

or continue to the next step to enhance it more.

Stay tuned for my 

Stamped Gesso Background 

Technique

Download these 2 backgrounds for 

your own art use.

How-To Turn Junk Mail into a Journal

See how to turn 

THIS into

into THIS

Check out my Junque Journal 

How-To using a Trader Joe's 

sale Flyer

HERE

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Making fiber flowers has never been easier if you have a Martha Stewart Loom! 

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie makes homemade coasters out of cheap tiles

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world 
Over at Craftside there is a fun idea for serving individual salads at a party, an inside peek into the new book 1000 Artists' Books and a tutorial on how to incorporate sea shells in stained glass. 

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The Crafty Princess takes a look at spinning, which for whatever reasons is super hot right now in the fiber world. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Design gift boxes to match your card or gift.

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi has been dreaming of hedgehogs! 

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
How to make a 4th of July decoupaged wreath