• Day of the Dead Papier-mâché #Cre8time Inspiration

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    I am a huge fan of Day of the Dead festivals and artwork, even if it is a wee bit ahead of the calendar date! I was inspired to create these pieces after going to Linpeng International Inc./Fiona Accessories to visit with Fiona and Jimmy Lin. They are truly wonderful and talented people with a dedication to creating beautiful hand painted beads, jewelry and beading supplies, and I am grateful for meeting Fiona at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show in 2014. At this visit, as usual, we discussed beads and jewelry, went over new ideas and displays, but Jimmy showed me something a bit different this time: little packages of Acrylic flat back gems, normally used for scrapbooking, in a wide variety of colors. He asked me if I could think of any other applications and the first thing that came to mind was covering papier-mâché skulls with the gems for Day of the Dead decor.

    Supplies:

    Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems Flower and Diamond shaped in sizes 14mm, 19mm, 22 mm and 20x30mm
    Mini acrylic flat backed gems (normally for scrapbooking, nail or shoes)
    Liquitex Gloss Varnish
    Acrylic Paint
    Paint Brushes
    Papier-mâché mask and skull by Darice and often sold at Michaels late Summer into Fall
    Beacon Gem-Tac (Great stuff, non-toxic and flexible)
    Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set (I just love using their pen sets for any illustrations I do)

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    First I gathered all of my supplies, picking colors of paint, acrylic gems, brushes and which papier-mâché pieces I felt would look the best for what I had in mind.

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    I started by applying white acrylic paint to the entire surface of the papier-mâché  skulls. I let each layer of the paint dry completely before adding the next layer to prevent the papier-mâché from getting too wet and losing shape. I noticed that 2-3 coats of paint are normally required to get complete coverage.

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    I started to loosely place where I would like the Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems to sit on the papier-mâché and traced outlines in pencil, but I did not glue them on at this point. This would give me outlines to follow and color in with the pens and paint before applying the gems.

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    There is no set pattern or design to Day of the Dead masks, as it is a wonderfully free form style of art, allowing the artist to put any variety of shapes, symbols and scroll-work on their pieces. I have a fondness for plant life and organic shapes so I painted flowers, vines and geometric patterns across the pieces in silver, black, red and blue. I outlined key elements with Sakura Pigma Micron pens to make them visually pop more.

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    Since I really liked how the silver paint looked I added some leaves and geometric shapes in green pearl paint, along with flowers in red pearl paint. The paint having a slight shimmer would play off the sparkle of the acrylic gems. Applying the paint and drawing with the pens can take some time but I find it rather relaxing and meditative.

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    Once the paint was fully dry I applied the Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems to the papier-mâché  skulls with Beacon Gem-Tac. A small drop of the Beacon Gem-Tac will go a long way and dry perfectly clear; just holding the gem in place for a few seconds is all that is needed to get the gem to stick to the skulls.

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    Once all the large acrylic gems were applied to the papier-mâché  skulls I filled in the open areas with more paint and pen details, then adding mini acrylic gems with more Beacon Gem-Tac. I let the glue fully dry before going onto the next step.

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    To make sure all of the detail and gems were protected I applied three coats of Liquitex Gloss Varnish to the skulls, letting each layer dry completely before applying the next.

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    Once the varnish was dry I was able to add them to the rest of my Day of the Dead artwork collection!

    Want to share your projects with Fiona Accessories‘s products? Post any projects and ideas on their Facebook Page! 🙂

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • Reindeer Romp at the LA Zoo with the SoCal Chapter of CHA!

    Southern California Chapter of the Craft and Hobby Association

    Hello and Happy Holidays! So many things have been going on lately; with events, family, arts and crafts December already is zooming by! One of the wonderful events this month is thanks to the Southern California Chapter of the Craft and Hobby Association and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

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    This year the LA Zoo is holding a special seasonal event called Reindeer Romp. From November 28 to January 4 real reindeer have made the L.A. Zoo their home for the holidays! To add to this wonderful experience this weekend of December 13th and 14th, at the Reindeer Romp event there is a special craft area for children to create animal themed ornaments with papercrafting supplies, from 10-4 (or until supplies last)! This special craft area is made possible by the many awesome craft businesses, companies, designers and crafters that make up the SoCal Chapter of the Craft and Hobby Association!

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    Here is some of the Zoo-rific Ornaments, featuring Ellison’s SureCut Endangered Animals Dies and Sizzix Bigz Ornament Die. With generous donations from Ellison, Stampendous, Cool2Craft, Faber Castell, Aleene’s and Curacao there was enough supplies to create ornaments for 600 children for the two day crafting event!

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    With only the first day of crafting done, already there was so many happy children and familes!

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    As a proud Steering Committee Member of the Southern California Chapter of the CHA I was happy to volunteer for both days of crafting with other talented and generous members of the Chapter!

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    There is still time to bring your wee ones to see the wonderful animals and make holiday crafts on December 14th! Help us promote awareness of endangered animals and have festive fun with cute holiday ornaments!

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • Starting a new Art Journal

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    Recently I was talking to one of my clients about what I call my ideas/inspiration note and sketch pads. He laughed and said I was art journaling and didn’t even know it. I thought I wasn’t since most of my pages seemed a mess and wasn’t what I would call pretty but I was reminded that is how all creative processes start! So while I still have my beat up notebooks and pads around here I started one a little more artistic in nature by re-purposing a old sketch pad of mine.

    I had to start with the front cover, adding a new layer of card stock and pulling out all of my paper crafting supplies! I started with stamps and kept going!

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    I stamped gears, a clock and words to remind me to take the time to create and let go. I used one of my favorite embossing powder recipes, added stickers, paper and doodled across the cover.

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    It is rather enjoyable to create a book for myself and not anyone else,  a great way to relax and to highlight things I enjoy. After I worked on the front cover I wanted some of my art journal pages contain little snips of stories or themes that inspire me. Using one of my favorite quotes by Lewis Carroll from Alice in Wonderland I came up with the idea of doing a Cheshire cat page. I have always seen the cat as philosophical in nature, a reminder of how things are or could be.

    Hop on over to the Globecraft and Piccolo Blog for my Cheshire Cat journal page tutorial with Globecraft and Piccolo products!

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    If you would like to read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has a free EBook of Alice in Wonderland.

    The Project Gutenberg website preserves literary and other intellectual works, and make copies of or products based on those works available free of charge or at the lowest possible cost to the people of the United States and the rest of the world. Many of the books are free because their copyright has expired.

    Until next time, safe travels!

     

  • Moments and a card to remember

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    Lately I have been reminded how important it is to enjoy the good things in life. A quote by Italian poet and novelist Cesare Pavese “We do not remember days, we remember moments” has haunted my mind as of late. I have been ill lately but thankfully I can still do my artwork. I am so grateful for my family and their never ending support. So I thought why not put that quote on a card to give to those that matter the most. I went with a Tuscan style theme in remembrance of my Italian side of my family. 🙂

    Supplies:
    G&P Vintage Grape Vine Flourishes
    G&P Floral Whimsy Accents
    G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
    G&P Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze
    G&P Micro Gold Embossing Powder
    G&P Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
    G&P Leafy Green 3D Enamel Gel
    G&P Purple Mist 3D Enamel Gel
    G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel
    Piccolo Easy Grip Tweezers
    Art Glitter Ultra Fine Glitter Hydragnea and Angel Dust
    DCWV The Mariposa Matstack
    Blank card
    Cosmetic Sponge
    Foam squares

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    Carefully remove all of the Piccolos from the chipboard frames. You will be using all of the Vintage Grape Vine Flourishes and two of the swirls from the Floral Whimsy Accents. Place the remaining pieces to the side for the Flight of Butterflies Pendant, check out the Globecraft & Piccolo blog for that tutorial.

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    Pick a piece of cardstock to be the front of your card and cut to fit on the front of your card. Blot on G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel with a cosmetic sponge to the piece of card stock. This will give it an aged, Tuscan wall look.

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    Blot on G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel to the front of your blank card with a cosmetic sponge. Repeating the Tuscan wall look.

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    Print a sentiment on regular printer paper and cut to size. Using the tweezers grip the edges of the papers and very carefully scorch the edges with a small candle flame.
    *Ignore this step if you rather use a sentiment sticker.

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    Blot on G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel to the front of your sentiment strips. Let dry.

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    Apply Piccolo Enamel Adhesive to the frame.

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    Apply two coats of the G&P Micro Gold Embossing Powder and heat to set.

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    Apply G&P Leafy Green 3D Enamel Gel to all of the swirls and the leaf portions of the grape vines. Apply G&P Purple Mist 3D Enamel Gel to the grapes and let dry.

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    Carefully adhere the frame to the card stock with G&P Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze. Put foam squares on the first portion of the sentiment and place in the middle of the frame.

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    Carefully glue the swirl Piccolos to the front of the card using the G&P Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze. Using foam squares place the second portion of the sentiment to the right of the frame, overlapping a bit.

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    Carefully glue the grape vine Piccolos to the front of the card using the G&P Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze, let dry.

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    Coat all of the Piccolos with G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze and sprinkle Art Glitter Ultra Fine Hydragnea glitter on the grapes and Angel Dust glitter on the greenery. Let dry.

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    Attach the card stock with all of the Piccolos to the front of the card with foam squares. Stamp or write your favorite  sentiment inside. 🙂

    Hop on over to the Globecraft and Piccolo Blog for my Flight of Butterflies Pendant tutorial using the new Piccolo Instant UV Resin!

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    Until next time, safe travels!

  • Vintage Copper Tag

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    Recently I have been noticing the paper crafting boards I follow on Pinterest are pinning new types of tag art. From fun and funky to just beautiful, I am loving the variety of art being shown on these little “mini” canvases. I felt inspired to start working on more tags to build up a collection for gifts, paper embellishments and jewelry.
    This tutorial is for a simple but lovely Vintage Copper Tag.

    Supplies:
    G&P Butterfly Charm Set
    G&P Vintage Dress Forms Accents
    G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
    G&P Copper Kettle Embossing Powder
    G&P Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
    G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel
    G&P Oval Bezel with 1-Loop
    Piccolo Easy Grip Tweezers
    Brown ink stamp pad
    Mini Adhesive Foam squares
    Crystal stickers
    Heat gun
    Vine and sentiment stamps
    Small piece of cardstock
    Ribbon

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    Smear G&P Yellow Ochre 3D Enamel Gel both on the front and back of the bezel. Let dry.

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    Take the brown dye ink pad, rub it on the edges and sides of the bezel.

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    Ink the vine stamp with the brown ink and stamp around the edges of the tag.

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    Carefully remove the two small butterflies from the G&P Butterfly Charm Set. Remove the loops on both butterflies with a craft knife.

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    Carefully remove the swirl dress form G&P Vintage Dress Forms Accents set. Using a craft knife remove the stand from the dress form. Save the stand piece and all of the other kit pieces for A time for Nature tutorial; check out the Globecraft & Piccolo blog for instructions. 🙂

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    Apply Piccolo Enamel Adhesive to the dress form and butterflies. Apply G&P Copper Kettle to the butterflies and dress form. Heat to set.

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    Use Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze to attach the butterflies and dress from to the tag. Let dry.

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    Stamp a sentiment on the small piece of card and cut to fit the tag. Rub the brown ink on the edges of the card stock to give it an aged look.

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    Use Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze to glue on the sticker gems to the tag as shown. Let dry.

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    Thread the ribbon through the loop on the top of the tag and tie.

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    Now you have an embellishment to add to a gift or paper craft.

    Hop on over to the Globecraft and Piccolo Blog for my A Time for Nature tutorial!

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    Until next time, safe travels!