Mermaid Kisses

Greetings!  Joyce Shaulis here to share another mixed media project with you for our October theme.  I love to go to garage sales and find hidden treasures.  On one of my excursions, I found this cute wood boat oar.  It has been packed away until now when this inspiration struck!

Here is a photo of the original oar- it was a nice piece meant for decorative painting or crafting.  It is 24" long and 5 1/2" at the widest point.

First, I began by using Susan's new co-branded stamp, "Spirit of a Mermaid" and stamped the mermaid with Mystery mini POP ink onto white cardstock.

Then I painted both sides of the oar with gesso.  When it was dry, I used Decoart acrylic Bahama Blue to paint the sky and water.  I used the color Sand to paint a shore and extended it out to cover the whole handle of the oar. 

 

For the mermaid, I used markers to color her in.  Then I cut her out with scissors. 

Next, I painted the lower section of blue in Calypso Blue.  Using Bubblegum Pink and Cadmium Yellow, I blended in lines of color in the sky and also a little of the water area. I then adhered the mermaid to the oar with Decou-page.  Then I used a bubble rubber stamp with Snow mini POP ink to stamp onto the water and over the mermaids lower body.  Allow ink to dry. 

With a pencil, I wrote out lettering.  With a small brush and a small stylus I painted the letters in Electric Pink acrylic paint. 

To give a dimensional effect of a sandy beach, I took rice paper and glued it down with Decou-page over the sand painted area.  I rippled it in areas  to give the effects of  sand hills.  Then I stamped Cocoa mini POP ink onto a foam tray and took a small damp paintbrush to brush the ink over the rippled areas.  I also cut out some small fish and starfish from tissue paper to adhere with Decou-page in the water and on the shoreline. 

Next, I took a charcoal pencil and edged around the fish, starfish, mermaid, shore and water line.  I gently smudged the charcoal lines with a Q-tip.

With hot glue and glue gun, I glued small seashells and sea glass in several small groupings on the beachy sand area. 

To finish up, I edged the perimeter of the oar with Mystery mini POP ink, just swiping the edges with the ink pad.  I buffed the ink a bit with a paper towel. 

To finish up, I coated the whole piece with Decou-page and sprayed the piece with matte acrylic spray. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you enjoyed finding another way to use this adorable mermaid stamp.  The possibilities are endless!!

Joyce Shaulis     Susan K. Weckesser Creative Design Team

Susan's Products used:
Spirit of a Mermaid  https://www.unitystampco.com/
Mini POP inks: Cocoa, Snow, Mystery  https://www.clearsnap.com/

Other Products used:
wood oar
Decoart paint, gesso, Decou-page, matte acrylic spray.  Paint colors:  bahama blue, bubblegum pink, cadmium yellow, electric pink, calypso blue, and sand.  https://decoart.com/
rice paper
seashells and sea glass
fish and starfish from tissue paper design
hot glue and glue gun
charcoal pencil
rubber stamp with bubbles
markers  https://kuretakezig.us

One Day At A Time

 

 Do you like to keep track of your weekly appointments and small details? I love to carry a planner and document all the little things. This week I want to share a double page  I made using stamps and paper from Susan K Weckesser products.This reminds me of my daily week in my neighborhood, watching the birds and enjoying the sunshine.

 

Sing your Song

A Little Bit Washi  

Painted Sentiments

Fly Away

Aren't these fun stamps? Let me share some steps along the way to finishing this double layout.

My blank pages- I always add a layer of Gesso to prep them.

 
Our team at Susan K Weckesser were given some wonderful paper from Coredinations Color Core to use and one stack I received was one of my favorite.

  I distressed with a sanding block and then used ink around the edges.

I stamped and water colored the images quickly and didn't worry about the lines because I fussy cut them all.

Here are all the pieces added to my pages and some of the details close up.

 

Did you notice I used one other Susan K Weckesser stamp set? I love using the Stamped Sentiments in my journal pages and I also use the Susan K Weckesser paper with labels from Live In Color Tags to write notes during the week.

"Home is where the heart is" canvas

Hello dear friends, Einat Kessler here with a mixed media canvas. Directly from the CHA show I wanted to share with you the project from the amazing workshop Susan and I taught at the show.

Start with a 6"X6" canvas and paint it with teal, yellow and green acrylic paints. water your brush and blend the colors to create a more uniform background. Then add patterns using the ever so fun Susan's stencil using distress ink and a blending tool.

Stamp the house stamp on white cardstock and then color it with Pan Pastels. I like to use a baby wipe as my brush. it has a really nice wash effect and you have more control of the areas you color.

Color some white paper flowers in the same technique. Stamp the canvas with some washi tape stamps from the "A little bit washi" stamp set and a sun from the "Fly away" stamp set. Use permanent ink so it will stay on the canvas and not smear.

 

Cut some flowers and butterflies from the Beautiful Daydreams patterned paper and write the title on a white cardstock. Assemble your canvas, adding the house and all the embellishments. Add little swirls using the number 9 on the stencil in different directions. To finish the canvas add some distress ink and Pan Pastel to all the edges of the canvas.

Have fun creating!
Einat

Let it Snow double frame

Hello crafty friends, Einat Kessler here with a project to warm your hands ! Now that winter is here and some places are already snowy and white you probably have fun photos of playing in the snow, building snowman or making snow angels. Here is a great idea to display these photos in a double chipboard frame!

Start with stamping a piece of thick transparency with a snowman from the Let it Snow set. Use a permanent ink like StazOn to make sure it will not smear. Emboss the snowman with white embossing powder. I used an embossing markers to make sure I only emboss the inside of the snowman and not cover the black outline. Cut around the snowman shape.

Stamp two clouds as well. I embossed one cloud with teal, grey and sparkle embossing powders and covered the other one with white paper.

Then cover the bottom of the chipboard frame with cheese cloth to create your snow.

Add a little light blue color with color spray or Pan Pastels.

Adhere the snowman and clouds on the frame and add rhinestones.

to finish the frame stamp Let it Snow on the frame. Stamp the sentiment from the same set on a white piece of cardstock and cut it in a cloud shape. Adhere it to the frame.

Now all you need to do is go outside, have fun and take a picture of it!

Have fun creating!
Einat

Faith

Hi dear crafty friends! Einat Kessler here with a new project to inspire you.
This week we are celebrating Hanukkah, the holiday of light and faith. Many of my non Jewish friends have been asking me what exactly is this holiday? Well...it's a miraculous story of faith, courage and light.

The best way to tell this story is first to share with you a card I made that summarize everything you need to know. 8 burning candles and the word faith are Hanukkah in a nut shell. I created this card from bright patterned paper which I then colored with Pan Pastels in fiery colors: yellow, orange and red. Before coloring I cut 8 candles out of kraft cardstock and layered them on my card as a mask. Then I colored around them creating a white candles image.

Then I colored the cardstock candles with the same colors. I added the word faith from Susan Weckesser's Painted Sentiments stamp set and the number 8 with Susan Weckesser stencil.
I adhered the candles to the card with 3D foam tape and my card was ready!

How does the card tell the story of Hanukkah you ask? Well...here's the story...

In 175 BCE, Antiochus invaded Judea.  The second temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus

Without Faith the revolt could not have succeeded, the temple would not have been freed and God would not have given the Jews the miracle of the oil. This holiday of light was created because of the faith that darkness can be overcome!

Thanks for stopping by
Have fun creating!
Einat

"Create your Future" by Guest Designer Tatiana Allen

Hello there, I am honored to be today's Guest Designer and can’t wait to share what Susan K. Weckesser’s products inspired me to CREATE.

Years ago I came to the realization that my brain works as, what I have labeled to be, a “visual translator.” It is almost as though the words I read or hear are of a foreign language until my brain interprets them into a visual scene.

Over time I have enjoyed bringing many of these visualizations to life through my creations, the most recent of which I will share with you today.

A while back my husband suggested I pursue my dream, to which I responded with  “when pigs fly.” Well, I am currently living that dream, as owner of a gallery and gift shop called Joyful Nest in which my studio resides.

As I looked at the supplies I had to play with, the pink Susiebee Studios Inc. “Bouquet” paper reminded me of the flying pig reference mentioned above. Then I saw her “Create” word stamp and thought of a quote that says “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” With that inspiration and that supplies listed below, my project was complete.

So, the next time you feel like your circumstances make it impossible to follow your heart and pursue your dreams, be sure to remember that anything is possible if you create it! Yes, even pigs can fly if you give them wings.

Supplies:

Susiebee Studios Inc. “Live in Color Tags” paper

Susiebee Studios Inc. “Bouquet” paper

Susan Weckesser & unity “Create your Day” stamps

Susan Weckesser & unity “Painted Sentiments” stamps

My Minds Eye “Classic Everyday Fresh Linens” paper

Westcott 6” Precision Titanium Scissors

Wing stencil

White paint

Sharpie

Wishing you smiles and sunshine,

Tatiana (A.K.A. Crafty Cutie), Susan K. Weckesser Guest Designer

"Inspire" a mixed media piece by guest designer Tatiana

Hello there. I am honored to be a guest designer for one of my favorite people, Susan Weckesser. One of the reasons I applied to be a guest designer is because I love how inspirational all of Susan's products are. It is for this reason I decided to start my piece with Susan's stamp "inspire" and go from there. This word led me to a quote I just love by John Quincy Adams which says "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

Supplies:

• 12” x 12” canvas
• Susiebee Studios “Boquet” paper
• Susiebee Studios “Color Burst” paper
• Susiebee Studios “Live in Color” paper
• The Paper Company “Paisley Sunshine” paper
• Susan Weckesser & unity “Create your Day” stamps
• Susan Weckesser & unity “Painted Sentiments” stamps
• Ranger-Tim Holtz: Distress Paint-Black Soot
• Ranger-Tim Holtz: Distress Paint-Brushed Pewter
• Westcott: Scissor 6" Precision Titanium
• Golden: Gel Medium-Matte
• Raw canvas sheet
• black card-stock

Instructions:

1. Adhere “Paisley Sunshine” paper to canvas with Gel Medium.
2. Cut out sun circle and glue it onto the “Color Burst” paper.
3. Draw lines coming out of each sun ray that extend to edges of page.
4. Cut out every other sun ray and adhere the sun and rays to background.
5. Adhere a strip of “Boquet” paper to bottom of canvas as grass.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Stamp 5 birds onto black card-stock with Pewter Distress Paint.
7. Dab Black Distress Paint onto cloud stamp and press into raw canvas 3x.
8. Cut out all 5 birds without legs and clouds with Precision scissors.
9. Write out words onto white card-stock and cut them out in strips.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Stamp the word “inspire” onto background and add other words with paint.
11. Arange and then glue down birds, words and clouds with Gel Medium.
12. Embelish to your hearts desire with paint and ink, etc.
    
    
    

Wishing you smiles and sunshine,

Tatiana (A.K.A. Crafty Cutie), Susan K. Weckesser Guest Designer