Between the Pages . . .

Several months ago we discovered a few posts of Challenges from our "ATC Workshop & Swap" Group that hadn't make their way to the Blog.  So, in an attempt to correct this oversight, and with apologies to the artists, here's the next installment in the series of what we'd like to call "The Forgotten Posts" . . .
     
Have you visited a library lately?  Are you familar with the area where old, discarded books are kept, usually sold for a dollar or less?  A lot of us these days do our reading on our computers or Kindles, so while these old books might seem like useless objects to some, to an artist they can easily be altered into glorious and fantastic works of art.  They might become the starting point for a wonderful album or maybe the start of an exciting art journal . . . the possibilities are endless!  When you look at an old book and you're told "be creative", what comes to your mind?  What would you create?  Where would you start?  That was the Challenge given at our "ATC Workshop & Swap Challenge" Group last November.  If you take a just minute and "think outside the box", each old book is actually just blank pages begging for all sorts of artistic touches.  Take a look at some of the amazing and creative results from our extremely talented group of artists . . .

     

This month's Challenger, Jeanette Lee, who just happens to work at the library, couldn't stop with just one ~ book that is!  To go along with the season, Jeanette created her first altered book in the shape of an Halloween "jack-o-latern" after carving its shape from an old discarded library book. To continue with the illusion, she pulled all the book pages together to meet and adhered them, forming a circular shape, then inked the page edges in bright orange.  As a finishing touch, she inserted a twisted floral stem into the center of the pages, and viola . . . it's a pumpkin!
Her second book was again created from another discarded library book into a beautiful art journal where she practices her many artistic talents & techniques.  To camouflage the original covers, she wrapped front & back with a favorite paper, then added fabric to the spine where she wove in coordinating beads & ribbons.
     

Charmaine Conway approached the Challenge in a little different direction.  She created deep texture & depth on the outside surfaces of her book using texture paste, then pressed a woodgrain embossing folder into the paste.  The embossing folder was removed while the paste was wet, leaving a wonderful moon crater-type surface.  When the texture paste was dry, a coating of rust was first applied, then highlighted with various metallic acrylic paints.  The book pages were adhered together along the edges, as well as to each cover, then painted in several shades of gold & copper metallic acrylic paints to give the illusion of an old book.  Nuts from the hardware store & pearls to mimic rivets were added as embellishments before painting, with a vintage style jewelry piece placed as the center focal point.
     
Deb Schinzel was another to play with layers & textures when creating her gorgeous altered book.  After collaging & layering torn book pages to the front & back covers, she then applied texture pastes using some of her favorite stenciling techniques.  Her choice of cool green & blue, along with warm cream, paints & accents set the color pallette both for the cover & throughout the pages of her book.  Wood & metal embellishments were added to the front cover, as well a dramatic "fly", which she first stamped on Clearly for Art plastic with archival ink, then heated to shape to create a 3-D effect.  Interior pages were first gesso'd, then stenciled & painted to continue with the overall feel & theme of the book.  To give the book that old & well-worn feel, Deb distressed the page edges before painting & inking in golds & browns to coordinate with the overall color scheme.  For those interested in seeing Deb's book in person, visit the store where it is proudly displayed.

Lylia Hagerty took the title of her discarded book, "Blue City", to heart.  First painting the exterior hard covers of her book in shades of blue, she torn out the title & cover art from the paper sleeve & applied each as embellishments.  Pages that were removed from the book were torn in random pieces & collaged on the back cover, allowing the embossed publishers mark to show through. Everything was then painted in the same blue shade as the front cover.  Inside pages were glued together, then carved out to form a shadow box effect, where Lylia added embellishments to emphasis the idea of a "blue city".  Each piece, if not originally blue, was first painted before being placed in the cut-out area. Beautiful background paper was added for additional interest, as well as Lylia's hand drawn cityscape.  To camouflage the existence of the cut-out, Lylia left the first few pages of the book in place, including the coversheet, but painted them to coordinate with the entire blue city theme.
     
Jean Hamrick is an artist who loves to draw, paint, & so much more . . . all of which she shared in the pages of her altered book.  To hide the lettering on the front cover, Jean painted a canvas board to match the color of the book , then adhered it to create a flat surface. Once secure, she hand drew, then painted, her beautiful Phoenix rising design in oranges & yellows to signify her art as always developing in new & exciting directions.  A second Phoenix was drawn & painted on the back cover in beautiful shades of blues & creams. Leaving the original pages of the book as they were, she emphasized words & phrases with markings in pens & inks.  She also added more of her hand drawn art, as well as collage pieces & everyday stamps & stickers to add to the feel of this book as a work-in-progress journal.  Jean has appropriately named her altered book "create" & says that she continues to do just that when a new thought comes to her or she learns of a new technique.  Just goes to prove that even an old book can make the perfect canvas for displaying your artistic thoughts & talents!

Shiela Rose was another artisit who ran with the Challenge by creating two books.  Her first has been created in an art journal style, the perfect place to keep many of her favorite techniques & designs.  With pages overflowing with collage, Zen Doodle designs, & the use of stencils & stamps, as well as beautiful colors of inks & sprays, Shiela has created the perfect "go-to" techniques reference book.  Prior to the addition of any technique, gesso was applied to each page to give her a clean slate for her designs.  Front & back covers were also decorated after a coat of gesso using her favorite paints, then stamped & stenciled with many of her favorite designs.  Shiela is a firm believer that it's not a true work of art without a stamp or two, and she's definitely proven that with this book!
Her second "altered book" didn't begin its life as a book, but actually as a plastic case to hold one of her grandchildren's DVR movies!  After first covering the case with plain white paper to create the shape of book covers, Shiela then added some bright  & springy patterned paper for her covers. To camouflage the spine of the case, she added glittery coordinating paper in pink, tying in the whole color scheme.  When finished, she's created a clever hiding spot for small items in a "book" that can easily be stored in any bookcase.
     
Any member of the group can "Challenge" the others with creating something special and unique.  Anyone who takes part creates one Challenge Item for "Show & Tell" using everyday mixed media materials . . . embellishments, paints, papers, stencils . . . whatever strikes their fancy! Without any themes or other guidelines, the ultimate goal is to showcase each artist's personality through the type(s) of embellishments, decorations, or techniques used.

Please join us in congratulating & thanking each artist for a job well done!  We'd love to hear what you think, so please leave us a comment . . . or two! . . . and share your thoughts.  And if you'd like to take part in our monthly "ATC Workshop & Swap" or Challenges, join us the second Thursday evening of each month from 6:00pm-8:00pm and you too can begin to think big in a small way!  No membership required and it's FREE!  Hope to see you there!

Watch for our next Challenge Results ~ Altered Hearts ~
coming soon!

CraftFusion

(480) 821-3758

2986 No. Alma School Rd. #4 ~ Chandler, AZ 85224

s/w corner of Alma School & Elliot Roads behind Bank of America

(located next to Catherine's & King's Buffet)

Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm  ~  Closed Sunday & Monday

www.craftfusionaz.com

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Tag . . . You're It!

With Spring officially just around the corner, it's that time of year for a little Spring Cleaning.  With that in mind, we've recently discovered that there have been a few posts that didn't make their way to the public.  So, without further ado, and with our apologies to the artists, this is the first in a series of what we'd like to call "The Forgotten Posts" . . .

We're all familiar with manila tags . . . whether plain, decorated, or otherwise . . . when it comes to creating many of our art or craft projects.  They can easily be inserted and pulled from pockets in albums or books, added to layout pages as additional interest, or even hinged together to create small books on their own, just to name a few ideas.  They can even be used as "practice" for learning new techniques. But when given a blank tag and told "be creative", what comes to your mind?  Where would you start?  What would you create? That was the Challenge we were given as our "ATC Workshop & Swap Challenge" item for October!  If you take a minute and "think outside the box", they're actually just mini-sized blank pages begging for all sorts of artistic touches.  Take a look at the amazing and creative results from our extremely talented group of artists . . .

This month's Challenger, Charmaine Conway, couldn't stop with just one ~ tag that is!  The first was created using copper embossed with one of her favorite embossing folders.  Metal embellishments were added as a touch of "feminine Steampunk-ism", as well as bits of bling here & there.  The second has background & numbers stamped using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink, then trims & embellishments added with a Paris patch cut from burlap for a bit of vintage French flair.

Charlotte Fern also created two tags. Using some of her favorite stamps as the main focal points, she's given each a "creepy" Halloween feel with each image colored with coordinating inks & pencils. Stencils, inks & sprays were used on each background for added interest & depth. Skulls, black cats & bats embellishments were added to go with the Halloween theme. Trims & a metal "Spooky" Tim Holtz token were added as finishing touches.

Deb Schinzel shared her love of stencils & inks when creating her tag.  Her choice of cool greens & blues provides the perfect background for highlighting her vintage image.  The feminine shape of her punch also compliments both the image & theme of the tag.  Delicate trims & strings of pearls were added at the top & bottom of her image as embellishments, along with ribbons & lace strung through the hole for additional flair.

Lylia Hagerty also couldn't stop at creating just one tag. Her first is an exciting "book" of techniques ~ image transfers, paint applications, & stamping into handmade papers.  Each "page" was embellished on both sides, with a book ring inserted at the top for easy viewing.  Her second was designed to hold all types of surprises!  With papers from her stash on the outside, and paints & stamps inside, she's created the perfect package for those small items that might need wrapping.  The perfect size to hold gift cards, tickets, or other items, you'll want to make several for yourself!  Each is held closed with a small magnet to keep everything safe & secure.

Nicole Durst was also in a Halloween frame of mind when creating her tag.  Using one of her favorite stamps, she's decorated in colors of orange, green & purple.  Sequins, paper roses, & spooky blood shot "eyes" were added to the bottom edge as embellishments, truly playing with her theme.  The addition of a plastic frog adds perfectly to her "Eye of newt and toe of frog" sign in the background.  A crackle paint technique was used in the background in coordinating colors of green & black, with trims in purple added at the edge of her "good witch" skirt & through the top of the tag as finishing touches.

Continuing with the Halloween theme, Terri Durst answered the Challenge with her tag created in traditional colors of orange & black.  The background, colored with orange inks & stamped in black with "Treat or Treat", perfectly compliments the overall feel.  She's added interest with the addition of her stamped image, fussy cut & colored with markers, then adhered it to one side to give the appearance of looking back.  The stamped metal embellishment & pumpkin charm leaves no doubt to the idea of this tag!  As finishing touches, laces & trims were added to the top & bottom, with a small paper rosette of orange & black polka dots in the upper corner.

Jean Hamrick was another artist who pulled from her stash of goodies for this Challenge.  Beginning with a vintage image, Jean has combined flower embellishments, paper cut outs, stickers & hand coloring.  Some of her cut outs are even from magazine pages!

Shiela Rose went wild with color as she created her tag! First stamping with some favorite stamps & black ink, she added bursts of color with a variety of Dylusions sprays. For finishing touches, Shiela added all sorts of goodies from her stash . . . metal & inked flowers, metal clips, a Tin Holtz numbered brad, a metal token & even an "X" to mark the spot!  The end result brings to life a beautiful & colorful mini rainbow on a tag!

Vesna Miller must have been in the mood for "Love" when creating her tag!  With Cupid stamped on fabric with permanent inks, Vesna has added both hand stitching & machine stitching to compliment her cute winged character.  With a bright fabric scrap as background, she then continued with machine stitching around both fabric pieces and through the tag.  To finish off, she stamped "love" to fly above Cupid, and embellished with trim tied through the center hole of a "L" bead.



Any member of the group can "Challenge" the others with creating something special and unique.  The only "rule" is that anyone who participates creates one Challenge Item for "Show & Tell" using everyday mixed media materials . . . embellishments, paints, papers, stencils . . . whatever strikes their fancy! Without any themes or other guidelines, the ultimate goal is to showcase each artist's personality through the type(s) of embellishments, decorations, or techniques used.

Please join us in congratulating and thanking all of these great artists for a job well done!  We'd love to hear what you think, so please leave us a comment . . . or two! . . . and share your thoughts.  And if you'd like to take part in our monthly "ATC Workshop & Swap" or Challenges, join us the second Thursday evening of each month from 6:00pm-8:00pm and you too can begin to think big in a small way!  No membership required and it's FREE!  Hope to see you there!

Watch for our next Challenge Results ~ Altered Books ~
coming soon!

CraftFusion

(480) 821-3758

2986 No. Alma School Rd. #4 ~ Chandler, AZ 85224

s/w corner of Alma School & Elliot Roads in the former Mervyn's Plaza

(located between Zoe's Quilts & Catherine's)

Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm  ~  Closed Sunday & Monday

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Spoon It Up . . .

Before . . .

Most of us probably have at least one or two that we use for cooking in the kitchen drawer at home.  You may even have a few laying around in your craft room thinking one day you'll give them new life in a project by doing something "different" with them. That was the test our Challenger gave everyone for the June "ATC Workshop & Swap Challenge".  Just what can you do with a plain-Jane wooden spoon?  It's really a blank slate waiting for some attention. Take a look at the astonding "after" results from our amzaingly talented group of artists . . .

This month's Challenger, Deb Schinzel, began by stamping one
of her favorite stamps on cardstock and cutting out the image
after handcoloring.  She then added embellishments as final
touches for that perfect "Diva" look.

Charlotte Fern had visions of Mardi Gras dancing
through her head as she designed her spoon.  With
the perfect "mask" stamp and celebration colors,
she's definitely ready to make the trip to New Orleans.

Jean Hamrick's spoon, in some circles, may be said to be
"two faced".  Jean hand painted each side, each with a 
different face, then added "hair" from curled wire and
"wings" created from chipboard embellishments.

Kristen Johnston designed the perfect "tuffet" right out of
Little Miss Muffet fame.  Removing the long handle & cutting it
into legs, it looks like it would fit any mininature home decor
without a problem.

It seems as though Charmaine Conway went overboard
and couldn't stop with just one charm.  Using a rough
wire wrap method and varying size of chains, she was
able to display some of her favorites for everyone to enjoy.

Lylia Hagerty, created the perfect home for this cute
mama bird and soon-to-be youngsters.  And to proect them
all from the scorching Phoenix sun, she's even added the
benefit of shade with her coordinating umbrella!

Terri Durst loves to sew!  And to keep all her loose pins & needles
close at hand, she's created the perfect pincushion.   With cro-
cheted petals and vintage buttons to hold her flower's "stem"
upright, who wouldn't love this in their sewing room?

Mirror, mirror . . . whose the fairest of them all?
Shiela Rose created her imaginative handheld "mirror"
just for that reason.  You can almost see your reflection in
the "glass"!  And what mirror doesn't need a touch of bling?

As you know, any member of the group can "Challenge" the others with creating something special and unique.  There're no "rules" except that anyone that participates creates one Challenge Item for "Show & Tell" using everyday mixed media materials . . . embellishments, paints, papers, stencils . . . whatever strikes their fancy! Without any themes or other guidelines, the ultimate goal is to showcase each artist's personality through the type(s) of embellishments, decorations, or techniques used.

Join us in congratulating and thanking all of these great artists for a job well done!  We'd love to hear what you think, so please leave us a comment . . . or two! . . . and share your thoughts.  And if you'd like to take part in our monthly "ATC Workshop & Swap" or Challenges, join us the second Thursday evening of each month from 6:00pm-8:00pm and you too can begin to think big in a small way!  No membership required and it's FREE!  Hope to see you there!

Watch for our next Challenge Results ~ Altered Mini CD Cases ~
coming soon!

CraftFusion

(480) 821-3758

2986 No. Alma School Rd. #4 ~ Chandler, AZ 85224

s/w corner of Alma School & Elliot Roads in the former Mervyn's Plaza

(located between Zoe's Quilts & Catherine's)

Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm  ~  Closed Sunday & Monday

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