Layers Upon Layers: Mixed Media Art

September 16th, 2008

Book arts resources for your surfing pleasure

Focus on Book Arts
In an effort to clean out my “gotta share this link” files, I’ve decided to post these fabulous resources:
20 bookbinding links from SharonB
Focus on Book Arts (shown above)
Bookbinding videos on youtube
500 Handmade Books by Lark Publications

Tags: Book Arts, bookbinding, handmade-books, Mixed Media, tutorials

By Cyndi -- 8 comments

September 9th, 2008

Salad spinner artwork

Here’s a fun paper art idea for yourself or to do with your kids! Megan, at BrassyApple blog has given a great demo complete with lots of pictures, showing you how to use an inexpensive salad spinner to create wonderful, bright, and fun spin art! Thanks, Megan!

I think it would be really fun to […]

By Cyndi -- 5 comments

August 20th, 2008

Book review: 500 Handmade Books

500 Handmade Books
by Lark Publications
I am so unhappy that my own digital images weren’t good enough to get into this magnificent book, but I can see why as I leaf through the pages :-) I’d love to have even one quarter of the talent that these wonderful book artists have.
All of the Amazon reviews […]

By Cyndi -- 0 comments

August 19th, 2008

Mixed media piece with watercolor background

Technique Tuesday!
It struck me after I had fooled around and painted the watercolor background paper, that it would be a really good backdrop for some of my pictures of Venice. I’ve been sorting through them, and I particularly love the doors and windows, weathered and peeling as some of them are. So I […]

By Cyndi -- 5 comments

August 18th, 2008

Watercolor background for mixed media

Make Art Monday!
Sometimes I forget that there are other media in the world that are useful for creating backgrounds besides my usual acrylics. Watercolors, for example. No instructions are needed for a piece like this:

The only thing I would caution, though: if you plan to use your watercolor background with other wet media […]

By Cyndi -- 0 comments

August 14th, 2008

Artist Profile: Angela Mabray

Bottle cap card and necklace
Artist: Angela Mabray
Business name: Crafty Goat
Location: Yukon, Oklahoma
Website & Blog:
Crafty Goat store
Crafty Goat blog

Two-sided magnetic dishwasher sign
What is your creative process like?
In life, I’m a pretty organized person. In art, not so much. I think that’s part of what attracts me to art — the freedom and release. […]

By Cyndi -- 4 comments

August 14th, 2008

Nicola Dale

Art Attack Thursday!

A Secret Heliotropism, 2006
Nicola thinks about time all the time! This obsession permeates her artwork, making you certain that there is more to the piece than just what you see on the surface. You’d be right…these are pieces that, although they can be enjoyed superficially, really beg you to look […]

By Cyndi -- 0 comments

August 12th, 2008

Introduction to basic stamping!

June Campbell has put together a couple of videos which are on her blog, Scrapping By Design, to help beginners learn how to do basic rubber stamping, masking, and coloring. It’s so annoying to buy some supplies and then to realize that you don’t know what to do with them! Thank you June […]

By Cyndi -- 0 comments

August 5th, 2008

Making an abstract collage that focuses on shape and repetition

Technique Tuesday!
Cosmic Flowers is a fantasy abstract that I created when I was fooling around with repetition of shapes. I would recommend reviewing my post on creating an abstract, where I quoted Nita Leland’s explanation that the elements and principles of design are what an abstract is really “about”. To add a bit […]

By Cyndi -- 9 comments

August 4th, 2008

Cosmic Flowers

Make Art Monday!

Cosmic Flowers
This one almost got named Lucy in the Sky with Flowers, but that seemed too cutesy. This collage is another result of my playing around with the notion of abstracts. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow!
Tags: Collage, Mixed Media, paper arts

By Cyndi -- 2 comments