Mixed Florals Card Kit..

Edit:  As a reminder, I do ship to my international customers as long as the shop product is available at the time you contact me.  Just send me an email with the items you like and your mailing address and I can get a shipping quote to you.  I ship the most economical way to all international customers.  

My new kit, called Mixed Florals Card Kit, is now up in the shop.  With this kit you will get supplies to create four greeting cards packaged in four waxed paper sacks with tag.

I love the pretty florals and soft colors in the My Mind's Eye patterned papers.  I paired the soft gray leaves in the paper with the gray baker's twine and the dictionary paper.  To complete the cards you'll need a few supplies from your stash.....adhesive, stamps/sentiments & if you choose, Washi tape, enamel dots and your sewing machine.  I'll have a new blog post showing card samples soon.  

If you're like me, the card list gets long for May which includes graduations, Mother's Day, birthdays, thank you's, etc.  These four cards will give you a great head start on your card list.  You can package the cards in the waxed paper sacks (envelopes are not included this time)...or you can package up a cute  gift item in the sack, place the card on top and tie up with twine.  

Edited...here's a sample of the card design without any art techniques.  From my stash I added a stamped sentiment (old SU!), Washi Tape (Freckled Fawn), stapling and machine stitching.  

Along with the assembled card samples, I'll be showing you how to add a little art on your cards if you wish using the Mixed Media Kit.  I did something similar with the Cottage Card Kit and that was very well received.  

Using the items shown below from the Mixed Media Kit + items from the Mixed Florals Card Kit, I'll be demonstrating:

1.  How to Gesso over book paper then mist with re-inkers for a pretty watercolor look.

2.  How to mask circles, mist, and create graphic circles using the water soluble pencil.

3.  How to Gesso over a tag to create a typed or stamped to/from greeting.

4.  How to use the water soluble pencil to create soft, blended lines.

5.  How to use Modeling Paste to create an area of texture on a card.  

As a special offer, those of you who purchase the Mixed Florals Card Kit + the Mixed Media Kit in one purchase will receive a $5 discount on your order.  Offer good while supplies last.  Substitutions cannot be made.  Offer does not apply to previous orders.  

I think you'll love trying out art techniques on your cards.  If you've been looking for something a little new to spice things up, this is it!  Thanks for stopping by and come back soon for my new blog post using the kit items.  

Gossamer Blue May Look Book...

Hi everyone. The Gossamer Blue May Look Book is up for viewing at this link.  Apparently you mention "HTML" to me and I just fall apart....so the link is up there ^^ for your viewing pleasure.  It's lightning so I need to shut my computer off.  

This month's kits are just brimming full with fresh colors, fun patterns and enticing embellishments.  I've got the May kits in hand and here's a little peek at what I've got in the works.  This floral patterned paper is my favorite this month...so naturally I dug it out first.  I'm trying my hand at some art medium on a few tags from a kit...

Kits will available May 1st at Gossamer Blue.  Hope you'll join us for all the fun.

Gossamer Blue April Kit...You're Beautiful card

Today I'm sharing a card made with the Gossamer Blue April Main Kit.  This kit is one of my favorites as the patterns and colors are just my style.  All of the products used on my card, except the twine and string, are from just the Main Kit. 

I really love the Maggie Holmes Fabric Frames.  To get them to fit on some cards I made for this month's release I cut them in half.  By creating a horizontal break where you lay the half frame you can easily soften that line by wrapping baker's twine around that area of the card, then using a small embellishment on top.  I added some triangle accents to the frame and then stitched around it also.  I backed the frame with ledger patterned paper.  My accents pull colors from the floral patterned paper on the bottom half of the card. 

I'm thinking this might be a nice graduation card for one of Josey's friends.  I'll just add a congratulations stamps to the inside of the card.  Hope you enjoy!

Shop update....

Some of you have requested just certain items from my Art Journal Kits that I put in the shop last week.

So now in addition to the full Art Journal Kit, the Dylusions Creative Journals will be sold separately as well.  Many of you just want the journals by themselves without the other items.    

There is also a Mixed Media Kit which contains all of the fun supplies to get you started with mixed media techniques.  This kit comes without the art journal as some of you already have a journal in mind that you want to use.  

Hope that helps some of you out.  Thanks for letting me know your requests.  Enjoy!

I'm recovering from having turkey hunters here for 4 days straight.  Plus the girls each had a friend over. Mud, more mud.....breakfast, lunch, dinner....repeat.....so it's back to the crafty department for me this week.  We had a great time but I'm already enjoying the quiet.  ;)

Art Journal Kit contents + my other art journal supplies

Today I'm sharing the descriptions and uses of the products in my Art Journal Kit.  I'll also be sharing some more of the items that I'll be using for my art journal.  Just in case you are not into art journals, I play to use all of these products on cards, scrapbook pages, packaging, etc.  They're all interchangeable and the sky's the limit when it comes to what you can do with these products I'm sharing today.

Kit items:  

Dylusions Creative Journal
This journal was designed by Dyan Reaveley for Ranger.  It comes highly recommended by well known art journalers like Dina Wakley.  It measures almost 9" x 12" so the pages have plenty of room for artwork.  The cover is like pressed chipboard and is very, very sturdy & can be embellished or left plain.  It has an elastic closure with a string tie envelope inside the cover for storing little tidbits.  It has 64 pages of unlined white matte cardstock and manila like cardstock.

Studio Gesso
This is a 4 ounce jar of white Gesso medium which is often used to prepare canvases for paint.  It's often wiped across surfaces to give a white swipe of color.  It can be applied with a paint brush, palette knife or just a simple used plastic gift card/itunes card.  It can be watered down to a thinner consistency and colored with other mediums.

Studio Matte Gel Medium  
This is a 4 ounce jar of gel medium that is used to glue down items.  To use it just paint the surface with a dab using a paint brush, add the paper you want to lay down then top the surface with more gel medium.  This is kind of like Mod Podge and dries clear in a matte finish.

Modeling Paste
This is a white mixed medium which is the consistency of thick frosting.  It is used to build dimension on a project.  It's applied with a palette knife or plastic gift card/itunes card.  You spread it just like frosting or buttering a piece of bread.  It can be used alone or with stencils.  It can also be colored with other mediums and dries to a hard consistency.

Studio Brushes
This set of 7 brushes is a good starter set from the Claudine Hellmuth Studio Collection for Ranger.  I've been using my set for several years now and they look as good as new.  Clean with warm (not hot) water and maybe a little dish soap if needed.  Blot excess water and dry flat so that the liquid does not run back into the ferrule (the metal part that holds the bristles in place). Then you can store in a jar, etc.

3" Palette Knife
A plastic knife with a trowel design used to spread medium across a project.  I use it for spreading Gesso, Matte Gel Medium, Modeling Paste, and paints.  It's also nice to keep a handful of used plastic gift cards/itunes cards handy for spreading even larger areas of medium.  Clean with soap and water.

Mini Misters
A 3 pack of small mister bottles that hold water, inks and other liquids to be used as sprays.  You can mix water with inks, acrylic paints, re-inkers, and more.  I'm finding that I love to create my own spray mists because the color combinations are endless, less expensive that spray mists and the size is just right for small amounts.

Derwent 4B Pencil
This is a soft lead pencil that can use for sketching and outlining.  This pencil is water soluble so you can brush over it with water to get a soft graphite look on a project.

Other products for art journals:

Stencils/Masks
Stencils are a plastic film with a cut out design that you use to put pattern on a project. You can draw around them with pens, markers and pencils.  You can use spray mist or spray paint with them.  You can paint over them with acrylic paints, Gesso and modeling paste.  So many fun possibilities.  There is a huge selection from The Crafter's Workshop, many that are on my wish list.  Ranger and Pink Paislee also have some nice ones. Stencil Girl also has a huge selection.  Stencils are also great to use with Gelli Plates which I'll save for another post.

Sprays
Sprays are water based, dye ink that comes in a bottle with a spray nozzle.  You can use them to add a color wash over a surface.  The look achieved can be a concentrated splotch of color if you hold the spray bottle close to the surface or you can achieve a wide misting of color by holding the spray bottle further away from your project.  You can also remove the nozzle and drip or splatter the ink to get droplets on a project. I like to keep a cardboard box under my work table to use with my sprays to keep the overspray from getting on my floor/worksurface.  As mentioned above you can create your own spray mists by adding water + a color medium to the Mini Misters.  Ranger has a nice selection of bright sprays in the Dylusions Collection or you can get more subdued colors in the Tim Holtz Adirondack Color Wash Collection.  There are other companies also that carry sprays like Tattered Angels, Maya Road, etc.

Spray Bottle
It's good to have a generic spray bottle on hand to use for blending watercolors, diluting mediums, moistening paints, etc.  You can find them in the beauty section at most stores.

Spray Paint
I see this used on lots of art journal pages and scrapbook pages.  You can spray it to get bold coverage or spray it into the lid and drip the paint onto a surface.  It's smelly and gives me a headache so I probably will stick to the spray mists. But who knows.

Inks
Inks are plentiful depending on what type of stamping you want to do.  I use dye inks for most of my projects but if you're going to use inks in combination with other wet mediums, you might want to consider the Ranger Archival Inks which are permanent and water proof.

Stamps
Tons of stamp companies out there depending on what you desire. Most of the ones that I will be using on my Art Journal pages will be stamps with solid images and patterns vs. outlined images that you have to color in.  You can use these with inks, paints, etc.

Pan Pastels
Relatively new to the crafty world, Pan Pastels are artists's pastels in a pan format.  They blend beautifully and layer and apply like paint when using the Softt tool applicators designed to go with the Pan Pastels.  They come in 80 colors and you can get trays to store them in also.  I have researched these a ton, watched lots of videos and I'm in awe of these.  I got the full 80 colors on Ebay for a reduced price so watch for them there.  Otherwise you can find them at Dick Blick in individual pans and in sets.

Paints
Paints can be in the form of watercolors, acrylics, oils, etc.  I have a nice stash of inexpensive acrylic bottles that I will use for stencils, creating spray mists, etc.  If you want more artists quality, I have found through researching online that Golden paints are a popular choice.  I'm particularly fond of watercolors and the quality can range from inexpensive Prang sets (like what you use in Kindergarten) to the best quality you can buy like Winsor Newton,etc.  I'm kind of obsessed with watercolor palettes at the moment and am researching to find just the right one.  I'll be doing a full post on watercolors in the future.

Pencils
You can't have too many pencils, in my opinion.  Drawings were my speciality in my high school and college art classes and purchasing pencils from the college art store was so fun.  The type of pencil lead is what determines the outcome of a drawn line.  Leads are usually classified by a 2 digit number + letter system.  H stands for hardness and B stands for blackness.  The more H's you have, the harder the lead and the lighter the lines.  The more B's you have, the softer the lead and the darker the lines.  So in the middle is an HB pencil which is like a regular #2 school pencil. I like to draw with a harder lead and fill in color with a softer lead.  There are all kinds of fun pencils on the market like water soluble pencils, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, charcoal, etc.  You can see the big pencil selection at Dick Blick with brands like Faber-Castell, Derwent and more.

Pens/Markers
There are tons of markers on the market depending on what you are looking for.  There are fine line pens for outlining and journaling.  There are brush tip and bullet type markers for coloring.  Here you can see the pen selection at Dick Blick. I love Copic markers and have my eye on some Faber-Castell Big Brush pens too.  I'm also interested in learning some fun lettering techniques so the calligraphy pens have caught my eye too.

Eraser
I like to keep a white, soft eraser handy to erase pencils lines, etc.

Found materials
I love found materials like vintage book papers, dictionary papers, sheet music, tissue paper and old wallpaper.  Scrapbook paper will definitely find it's way into my art journal pages too.  It's a great way to use up those scraps.

Paper Towels
Paper towels are great to have to clean up spills, wipe off paints, dab paints off of a project and clean your work surface and hands.  I have learned that Viva is the brand you need.  These paper towels are very sturdy and almost woven like and will not leave a pattern when you dab them over paints.  Who knew?

Craft Mat/glass surface
I love the craft mats because you can get paint on them, glues, use them with a heat tool and more.  I have a full table dedicated to my art projects so I think I'm going to get it covered with a piece of glass so I get really messy without worrying about getting my wood table all paint covered.

Dina Wakley
I discovered Dina Wakley when doing research about art techniques.  She makes awesome art journal pages and in her videos she seems like such a nice a person.  I highly recommend her book called Art Journal Freedom.  If you click on the link you can get an expanded view of some of the pages from the book.  Dina covers her favorite products and lots of basic design principles like color and composition.  Dina offers lessons & tips with tons of photos of her work + challenges for you to try.  I read the whole thing cover to cover and it was a great refresher for me.  Dina's work is bright & colorful & bold but don't be afraid if that is not your style.  You can use her techniques with your own style and still get wonderful art journal pages.  I'm hoping to take one of her classes this summer.

Kelly Rae Roberts 
Kelly Rae Roberts is a mixed media artist and when I think of her work I think of the tilty head girls.  Her use of color and patterned just amazes me.  Kelly Rae encourages you to go for your dreams and has a wonderful book called Taking Flight.

Somerset Life Magazine
I love this publication.  Each issue of a Somerset Life Magazine is full of inspiring artwork and fresh ideas & the photography is beautiful.  It's a real treat when I see a new issue out on the bookstands.

Okay, that's it for today.  I hope you'll find these types of posts useful and inspirational.  Thank you to everyone who left comments on my post yesterday about why we do art journals.  I loved the dialogue and that you shared your journey with me.  To answer a question about art journals.....they can be whatever you want them to be....artwork, a true diary of sorts, scrapbook like, recipe books, art techniques.  There are certainly no rules when it comes to what you put in your art journal. This might be worthy of an entire post in itself.  :)  

Why I want to start an art journal....

I'm back today to share my thoughts with you on why I want to start an art journal.  Yesterday I put a new Art Journal Kit in the shop which is kind of a new avenue for me.  I'm not sure what has sparked my new interest in using more artful techniques in my work but it's exploded and I'm really loving it.  I'm calling it my art revival journey.  

I've added some photos today that I've been pinning to my Pinterest boards.  These are the types of art journal pages that caught my interest and are inspiring to me so I thought I would share them with you.  If you're new to art journaling and maybe/kinda wanna do it, creating a Pinterest board is a great way to discover your style.  As the board progresses and you look at it as a whole you start to see what designs and colors and techniques that you like.  

link  

So on to why I want to art journal.  As I was searching for art techniques online I kept coming across art journal pages.  I knew what art journals were but I never really got the "why" of why people created them.

 link

But the more I researched and the more I came across art journals, I began to get it.

 link

Art journals are the perfect way to express creativity and to focus on the process.  Focusing on the process.....not the finished product.  This is when it all hit home for me.

link

 I  believe that there is a calling for all of us.  There is something inside all of us that tugs at your heart.  Something you really want to do.  Want to be.  For me it is art.  It always has been.  I've been creating art ever since I can remember, in some form or another.  And although I've stayed within that creative area in my career there's always something more.

 link

And now, it's calling my name again.  Back to my roots.  Back to those art classes I took way back in grade school and into college.  That desire to just create and see what happens.  Focusing on the process.  

link

 I'm finding that I want to dig in again and get reacquainted with my art supplies.  To create just to see what happens.  No pressure to create a work of art, a finished card, a great scrapbook page.

 link

The idea of an art journal is what I'm thinking will enable me to do that type of creating.  I must admit that those blank pages are pretty intimidating.  But you have to start somewhere.  Just add that first brush stroke, slap on that first piece of paper.....cover your hands with paint.

 link

And so the journey begins.  I have no idea where it will lead.  I don't have any big plans.  I'm not aspiring to create great works of art.  I'm not looking for approval or critiques because it doesn't matter. But I do feel compelled to share my work.  That has always been a fun part of this journey...sharing with others.  Feeling a part of a community.  Enjoying the process.

link

Each art journal page will be a new idea, a new start.  It's terribly exciting to me right now.

link

 After working in the paper crafting industry for over 15 years, I feel that you must progress.  You must change somewhat...but also stay true to your style.  I think this helps you grow and learn.

link

 And that can totally happen.  I'm not abandoning my card making, my scrapbooking, my Project Life.  I'm just experimenting to see what happens.

 link

To see what adding art to the mix does.  I hope some of you will join me in the journey.  I'd love to learn and re-learn techniques right along with you.  I'd love to share my ideas, cool finds, great links and my projects with you.

link

I hope that you are inspired.  I hope that you have a little spark inside you to try something new.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.....have you ever considered doing an art journal, do you want to try new techniques, do you ever feel that you get a little bored and need that creative spark, is it totally intimidating to you when you hear the word "art"?  Let me know, I'd love to hear where you are in your creative journey right now.

Introducing Art Journal Kits....

I'm SO very excited about my new Art Journal Kits.  If you're wanting to get more creative with your projects, are intrigued by art journals or just like trying new supplies, this kit is for you!  I'll be learning right along with you on how the kit contents work and I'll also be sharing upcoming posts of new art finds and ideas.  I hope you'll join me! The kits are in the shop now HERE. 

I'll be back soon with my ideas of how I plan to use my Art Journal and more in depth descriptions of the kit contents.  Plus I'll be sharing my Pinterest boards that I'm been pinning to like crazy....lots and lots of inspiration.  Kits are limited in quantity but I will doing re-orders or possibly taking pre-orders if there is a desire.  Thanks for stopping by.

Cottage Card Kit Creations...

This post is very photo heavy so I'll try to keep the chit chat short.  I recently had these Cottage Card Kits in my shop.  I promised to show you lots of tips and tricks so here we go.  Here's what the kit looks like. If you missed ordering a kit but want to play along, just grab some items from your stash.  Items like the mini floral Instagrams, tags, clothespins, doilies and sacks are available as individual items in my shop.  

Envelope Liners...

It's very easy to create an envelope line for any size envelope. Simply trace the envelope flap onto the liner material using a pencil. Here I used the vintage book page from the kit.  

 Trim with scissors and insert the liner piece into the envelope.  Scoot the liner down enough to have the lickable adhesive still showing.  Use a few strips of adhesive under the top portion.  Pretty.

Embellished paper clips...

Here I used the strip of eyelet lace and a torn strip of the vintage fabric to fancy up the clips from the kit.  I used about 3" piece and looped it through the paper clips.  I secured the little flags with my Tiny Tim stapler.  

Very cute to slip onto cards, tags, sacks and more.  

Creating your own spray mists...

It's very simple to create your own spray mists.  Instead of using ink refill droppers, did you know you can use acrylic paints too for a more opaque look?  Simply fill a small spray bottle with water and drop in acrylic paints.  I used a pink and a yellow to get just the pink tone I was after.  Shake the bottle and spray onto scrap paper until the mist appears. 

 You can use your new mist with stencils like I did on the sack with a Pink Paislee stencil.  Or you can unscrew the lid and flick paint splatters like I did on the tag, coin envelope and grid paper.  Customized colors using supplies you might already having sitting around...awesome.

Painting with Gesso...

Gesso, one of my new favorite things. Here I put a small dab of Gesso in a dish.  I added a few drops of water to make the Gesso a bit watery so I could paint with it.  

 You'll see these used on my finished projects but here are some samples of the Gesso painting.  On the yellow card I smudged on the Gesso with my finger to get a white washed look.  I painted o the polka dots with a small pointy brush.  I even sprinkled in some glitter before the circles dried to create a shimmery look.  On the small Instagram from the kit, I painted around the edges.  For the dimensional paper flower, I painted the petal tips for a shabby look.  On the book paper, I flicked some Gesso paint to create splatters.  

 Finally on the square of corrugated cardboard I cut from a box, I swiped some of the Gesso over the ridges.  Then I loaded my brush again and ran the tip of the brush over the top of the square.  I tilted the cardboard so that the paint would run down and dry in long drips.  I'll use this under a mini Instagram later.

Creating layers on your projects...

This is a hard one for some folks so I'll share what I do.  I picked a card base that I wanted to use and then I set it aside.  From the kit I picked a few more elements to layer.  I cut a piece of fabric from the larger piece.  

Then what I do is layer the pieces in my hands, not on the card base.  I start picking up the largest items then finish with the smallest items.  It's very natural to work with the layers and shift them around while in your hands instead of laying them on the base of the project (the yellow card).  

 Let's see another example.  Here I'm doing another card but I set the card base to the side.

 I gathered up the layering elements starting with the biggest item, the paper doily.  Next came the book paper, then the coin envelope then the mini Instagram.

 Here's yet another example for a gift sack I want to create.  You can see the layering elements I want to use in the little pile below.

 Gather up the largest item first which is the piece of vintage book print.  I like to use book print when layering because you can tear it easily to whatever size you want and it's thinner then cardstock or patterned paper.  You can find a batch of vintage book paper in my shop here.  I continue to pick up the next bigger item until I have all the pieces layered in my hand.

 Once I have all the layers the way I want them to look I lay them down on a flat surface.  Then I use tiny dabs of adhesive to attach each layer to the next.  You don't need a lot of adhesive, just enough to join the layers together without sliding around.

Then I find that stitching the layers together is a great way to keep all the pieces securely in place.  I like to leave the thread ends hanging also instead of trimming them short. 

 Now it's time to attach the layered piece onto your project whether it's a card, a notebook, a sack, a tag, etc.  The last finishing touch is to add a little dimensional piece.  From the kit I used the yellow flower and a small tag that I typed on.  The flat layers create interest on your project then the finishing touches add the wow factor.  This style of layering lends itself very nicely with found vintage items, tags, photos, fabric.....a great way to use up those little tidbits and scraps of patterned paper in your stash.

 Okay, wanna see the finished projects?  Here we go...

Here's a sweet notecard with a misted gift sack.

 I love the cottage, vintage feel of the Cottage Card Kit.  The floral elements combined with the office supply items like the shipping tag and index card are just my style.

 Here's another card with lots of layers, including the vintage fabric and typed vellum sentiments.  I love how the envelope coordinates now that it has the book pager liner.

Don't think you can mix and match florals?  I love how it looks, especially when the prints are vintage looking.  

 Another card which has the splattered coin envelope and fabric paper clip.  

 The quirky little patterns work well together because they are the same color value and are repeated in the mini Instagram photo.

 Here's the card that I painted with Gesso paint.  The dimensional flower makes it hard to fit into an envelope so I'm using a Kraft sack for packaging.

 You can see the glittery Gesso circles here.  I love that the Gesso paint just adds one more subtle layer to my card.  See how the layers are kind of ruffled and held in place by stitching?  I love this whimsical and light look by leaving the layers rather loose. Just lay off the adhesive a little.

One last project, a pretty gift sack with soft, vintage layers.  

I used my homemade spray mist on the sack, using the nozzle to flick on splatters of paint.  The neutral colors of the book paper, tags, doily and cardboard create a nice background for the colorful photo.  The yellow paper flower helps the yellow in the photo pop out.  

There ya have it.  Lots and lots of tips and tricks that you can try out with your Cottage Card Kit....or your own supplies if you didn't grab a kit.  I hope you enjoyed today's post.  I'd love to hear about what you might try out on your projects.  :)

Coming soon to the shop...
I have a special delivery coming later this week to create a new kit for the shop. If you like the mixed media look, this one might be for you.  If you've been wanting to add a more artistic flair to your creations, this kit might be for you.  If you've always wanted to try out some art journaling, this kit might be for you.  I can't wait to share it with you!!