Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2010

Painting practice pages

Paint like Van Gogh I think by now, most people are familiar with the fun site that allows you to pretend that you’re Jackson Pollock . If you haven’t tried it, take a minute and check it out now. Really! I’ll wait for you :-) It’s fun, huh? But guess what? The fun is just beginning. There are more sites out there that allow you to practice “painting” in the style of various artists. Here’s a few I came across: Paint like Van Gogh Paint like Seurat Paint like a Zen Master Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Altered books - Nesting pages

When you have spreads that relate to each other somehow, for example thematically, it can look really interesting to fold and nest them in a way similar to the three spreads shown above.  You can fold or cut your pages into all different shapes as suits your theme or mood...the one I'm showing you is probably one of the simplest to accomplish. Materials and Tools list from Part One 1. Although you can do your preliminary painting before folding or cutting your pages, I prefer to shape them first so that I can better plan where images and colors will look best.  For a 6 page spread (three spreads) like this one, you will need to set aside about 10 pages.  Leave the middle 4 pages alone for now, and glue the outer 3 pages on both sides together for added strength.  In my pictures above, the purple pages are each 3 pages adhered together. 2. For the next set of pages in (the larger of the golden brown pages), fold the outer corners of the page inward to meet in the center on

More artsy links!

  Flip Flop Craft, Cake and Cupcake Ideas For your end of summer celebration party! What to Do With an Extra Large Zucchini Cherie talks about working with a zucchini the size of Chicago. Beading Arts After receiving a wonderful package of crystals from Auntie's Beads, Cyndi set out to make a bracelet that would show them off!   Creative Dreamer I made a mini journal, come see!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Are you looking for ribbon weaving or Homecoming Mum Chain directions? Look no further.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how I melted sequins inspired by the sequin singeing technique in the book Dusty Diablos. The Crochet Dude Drew tries out his new video equipment!!   About Family Crafts Grandparent's Day is September 12th... Now is the perfect time to start making gifts to give to your grandparents. Aileen's Musings Aileen teaches you how to make spectacular backgrounds using Krylon's spray webbing and also shares with you what NOT to do.     Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi creates a faux metallic bead with quilted fabric she sews together herself.   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is a free knit leaf coaster pattern, a bunch of decorating with artwork suggestions from the book 500 Ideas for Small Spaces, iron safety and cleaning tips from the book 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts and Tips and an environmental labeling concept from Design School Confidential.

Altered book by Elaine Crowe

Elaine Crowe of Wichita Kansas wrote to show me a really fun spread that she did in a Halloween altered book.  Above, you'll see the full spread.  In the images below, you are looking at details of the same page, each one with a layer lifted to reveal another layer below. Clever! Elaine is in the Alteredbooks Yahoo group, where you can meet up with her if you'd like to join in.  She doesn't have a website...yet ;-) Here is a close-up of just the house The house opens downward, to reveal a sweet little lady in spider costume,  which lifts up to reveal... ...the ‘sweet’ lady without her mask! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Yay for The Prickly Pinecone

  Laura, aka The Prickly Pinecone, is the winner of this terrific Metal Craft Book !  Congratulations!!

Giveaway: Chapter 3 of Every Bead Has a Story

On Beading Arts , I've been sharing about how I just launched the third chapter of my brand new e-book. The series is called "Every Bead Has a Story - mixed media bead embroidery" , and chapter three is subtitled "Dimensional Beading" . Chapter three is 93 pages long and covers more stitches and techniques to take your bead embroidery from flat to fluffy: stacked stitches that turn into clusters, barnacles, and ruffles; seed beads that become small flowers and spiral elements; bezels and bails and more! There are two step-by-step embroidery projects included that will put those techniques to good use.  You can read more about it at the link above. ***FREE STUFF ALERT*** Not everyone who reads Mixed Media Artist is involved in beading or jewelry-making, but if you are interested in this topic, leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win a free copy of " Dimensional Beading ".  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other

Recent publications: August 2010

  Collage+Cloth=Quilt: Create Innovative Quilts from Photo Inspirations by Judi Warren Blaydon Gert & Uwe Tobias: Drawings and Collages by Alexander Eiling, Reinhard Spieler, Gert Tobias, and Uwe Tobias The Found Object in Textile Art by Cas Holmes The Graphic Designer's Digital Toolkit: A Project-Based Introduction to Adobe Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5 & InDesign CS5 (Adobe Creative Suite) by Allan Wood Simply Dynamic Sampler Quilts by Marianne L. Hatton The Essential Sampler Quilt Book by Lynne Edwards From Spain with Love: 11 Quilts Celebrate Mediterranean Color by Roberta Cardew Drafting for the Creative Quilter: Easy Techniques for Designing Your Quilts, Your Way by Sally Collins Dare to Be Square Quilting: A Block-by-Block Guide to Making Patchwork and Quilts by Boo Davis Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Cathie Calvetti's altered books

From Cherish Here's another altered book artist whose work I want to share with you.  Cathie Calvetti actually does a whole lot more than just altered books, but I think you'll find the wide variety of themes she tackles to be inspiring.  Here are a few examples of spreads that caught my eye as I explored!   From Journey From Oxymorons Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Altered books - Blending in an image

Although sometimes you want the image that you add to your altered book spread to stand out, with sharply defined edges, most of the time you'd probably like to have it blend in, at least a bit.  I prefer most of my images to look like they actually belong where I've put them, and in order to achieve that effect, you'll need to work both underneath and overtop of them.   Materials and Tools list from Part One 1. Paint your spread with the basic colors you've chosen.  You don't need to cover everything as you'll be adding more paint later.  Use thin layers of glaze if you'd like to be able to see some of the text when you're done.  2. Print out you image on thin copy paper, frosted vellum, or even a transparency, depending upon how much text you still want to have visible through it.  I used inkjet vellum. 3. Adhere the image in place and weight pages while it dries to keep it flat.  4. Add more paint, concentrating around the edges of the im

More artsy links!

  Beading Arts Chapter three of Cyndi's e-book is available for download! "Dimensional Beading" looks at how to use textural stitches in your bead embroidery! Creative Dreamer What do you do with an over abundance of ripe tomatoes? You add some basil and make sauce of course...come see!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Have you papier-mâchéd yet? Let Eileen tell you how.   Football Means Soup and Scrapbooking Cherie is documenting her favorite football team this year with a special scrapbook.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Madge shares the third free project from her new book Bead Chic with a giveaway! Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make an apron for an Aminko or an 18 inch doll from the book All Dolled Up   About Family Crafts Discover creative ways to personalize your notebooks and text books! Aileen's Musings Join Aileen's creative torso challenge--you can download and embellish your torso tag and enter to win a free collage sheet. Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi test a new scoring tool to make a star book in one hour.   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is a tutorial on how to paint faces on natural elements, two chances to win a copy of 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse in a "recycle your Swag contest", the first sneak peek into the new book 1000 Artisan Textiles and an interview with the author of Sew Retro, Judi Ketteler.   Crafty Princess D

Mixed Media Artist featured on Mixed Media Art!

Are you confused yet? Don't be! Michelle Brown , who writes Mixed Media Art asked me to write up an introduction to image transfers for her readers, and I was happy to oblige.  The article is posted at the link above :-) Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Xinme's altered books

I want to share some gorgeous altered books with you that have been created by Xinme ! her attitude towards art is exactly the same as my own, although our styles are different. She believes that as a person made in the image of God, she was created in order to be creative. Thus, her blog name: Created 2B Creative ! Check out these wonderful examples, and visit Xinme's blog for more inspiration! Altered Journal   Father's Day Heaven Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Book review and giveaway: The Metal Craft Book

  The Metal Craft Book showcases 50 gorgeous projects from copper, tin, brass, and aluminum.  No matter what your interest in metal, or your level of experience, you'll find something in this book to love!  janice Eaton Kilby and Deborah Morgenthal have put this lovely collection together for Lark Books.  You already know what the name Lark means...beautiful photographs, thoughtful projects, and attention to detail.  This is the last in my series of four tin craft giveaways this summer!   ***Free Stuff Alert!!!*** Would you like to win a free copy of Kilby and Morgenthal's book?  Just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice!  Deadline: August 25, 2010 Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Altered books - Mixed text technique

Do you have a book ready to go for altering?  If not, check out the Altered Book introduction that I shared yesterday, and you'll be all ready to go as soon as you assemble the basic materials needed for book altering. Materials and Tools Glue stick Scissors or exacto blade Acrylic paints Acrylic gel medium or PVA glue Gesso Foam or regular brushes Black pens (I like the Pitt pen by Faber-Castell) A book to alter Additional pages of text, images, decorative papers, fabrics Any other optional supplies you'd like: stamps, sewing supplies, bone folder, Pearl Ex powders Fixative spray, Dorland's wax, and/or waxed paper Mixed text is a really easy way to fill a page quickly.  All it takes (besides some basic glue) is a few pages ripped or photocopied from different language books, magazines, or newspapers, and an image that you wish to feature.  I like to add some paints and handwriting to mine, but this is optional. 1. Use a glue stick to adhere a few pages

Altered books - Introduction to the series

Because of a couple of really nice comments I received when I shared a spread that I did in one of my altered books, I've decided that it's past time to revisit them.  Since I started creating altered books long before I started blogging, there are lots of techniques in these books that I've never shared.  So today starts a new series! If you'd like an overview on altered books, or any other aspect of book arts that we've covered here, my link to those posts can always be found over in the side bar:  Book Arts Techniques .  Here you'll find lots of basic information, including an explanation of why anyone would want to cut up a perfectly good book!  There are also some tutorials on simple bookbinding techniques for those who would prefer to make their own book totally from scratch.  For those who don't want to read all this background information, here's all you really need to know about altered books: 1. Pick a book to alter. You probably want one

More artsy links!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter Just look at all the darling altered tin boxes created by reader Shaaron. She was kind enough to share some photos to inspire us all. Creative Dreamer The August prompt is up for the Creativity Invitation, come play! EVERYONE is invited!   Beading Arts Do you like art charms? Visit Beading Arts and sign up to win a copy of a brand new book on making them!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Have you papier-mâchéd yet? Let Eileen tell you how. Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Madge shares a second free project from her new book Bead Chic with another signed book giveaway! Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery At Sweater Surgery there is a review of the new book: Jil Eaton's Knitting School. About Family Crafts It is time to get serious about Halloween costumes. These resources will help you decide what to be for Halloween.   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi uses another fab Plaid stencil for this newly embellished t-shirt! Cathie Filian Whip up tattered rose with scrap fabrics, gems and hot glue. They are simple to make and perfect for embellishing!  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is a polka dot wreath quilt block pattern, and a wild spin on the American Flag Quilt, a how-to on making a gelatin stamp print, a free bird card template download

Art Grows Here

The lovely town of Wenham, near the Massachusetts north shore, was where my daughter went to college, studying art and math for four beautiful years.  More recently though, Wenham, along with nearby Hamilton, became the home of a wonderful outdoor art walk of sorts: eleven local artists got together and installed outdoor exhibits that visitors were invited to tour.  Art Grows Here was an amazing event! The exhibit is over now, lasting for a week in July, but the artists are hoping to do it again next year, hopefully with the involvement of more artists and with local businesses sponsoring some of the installations.  I truly hope it does take place!  I'll have it on my calendar for sure! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Yay for Erin!!

  Congratulations to Erin !  She is the winner of Metalcraft for the Home .  Check back...there will be one more metal working book posted for giveaway really soon! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Calls for entries and submissions

Juli Pennington Hulcy Altered Couture Deadline: 09/15/10   GreenCraft Deadline: 09/15/10   Recycled Materials Fashion Show Deadline: 09/20/10       Dance of Life: Bras for Breast Cancer Deadline: 09/24/10       Figuratively Fiber Deadline: 09/27/10       Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Felted quilt - part four

It's finished, but I don't have a name for it quite yet.  "Untitled"...how does that sound?  After all the hand stitching and button embellishments were added, I decided to finish the piece off in one of my favorite quilt styles, with a blanket stitched edge.  I chose a piece of cloth for the backing and ironed it well.  After pinning the top to the backing just inside my cutting line, I carefully snipped away and cut out my shape. Here you can see the backing fabric...nothing special, just a nice plain piece of commercial cotton. I used all 6 strands of embroidery floss to edge the piece.  Often I will add beads as I stitch this type of edge, but this time I decided to just leave it plain.  There seemed to be enough going on without additional do-dads. Here are all the posts on the process of making this little quilt: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four  Copyright 2010 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May b