Rusty Hinge Sunshine

Rusty Hinge Sunshine
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

On tap today is another page from my mixed media art journal.

The colors are so much more vivid in real life, so you'll just have to squint your eyes and pretend. ;-)

I like to think of this page as my "citrus" creation. I used lemon, lime and blood orange colors (paints, watercolors, Distress Inks) for the layers.

The white stenciled areas were made with an old paper lace heart and white paint. I just used a small section of the larger heart.

The bits of paper have small yellow pears on them.

I used one of my newest stamps to create hot blood-orange suns (using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink).

After I completed the page, I journaled around a line from a song called "Broken In" by Trent Willmon. I loved what he sang:


Yeah, kinda like me,
I've been banged and bruised
Been around the block a time or two
But I'm running like new, goin' places I've never been
No, I ain't broke, I'm just broken in


I thought that was hilarious and so true of me! =D So I used letter stamps to print BROKEN IN all over the page. The black type really brings the page together and 'anchors' all the light colors.


Well, I'm off to do all the chores I didn't get done yesterday! Have a wonderful day!!

~Cynthia

Class Card: Red Stripey Card

Class Card: Red Stripey Card
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

This is the final card from the class I took with Stacy from Stacy Stamps.

It's...um...not my fave.

I like the stamps--the sentiment and the stripes-- but I would probably have chosen different colors. Stacy wanted us to use clear embossing powder, which was supposed to darken the ink so that it matched the cranberry scalloped circle paper. BUT, it was late and time to go, so I skipped the embossing powder. Heh.

The class was a lot of fun. I do hope to take others in the future. =D


Thanks for stopping by today!

~Cynthia


PS: I see Mr. Blogger has returned my friends. Yay, Mr. Blogger!

PPS: Happy Memorial Day! My thanks to all who have served, are serving, and will serve in the American military. Thank you for protecting our freedom!

Oh, Mr. Blogger!!!

Just a quick note here....

I noticed yesterday I've lost all my friends here on the blog site. I did NOT delete you! Seems Mr. Blogger has been having that sort of problem all over. I sent them a little note. I hope they get it fixed soon. I can still find you, you just don't show up on the right hand side there, under Followers.

Here's to a quick resolution!

~Cynthia

Card Class: Red Layer Card

Card Class: Red Layer Card
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

This hot number is the third card from the class I took with Stacy from Stacy Stamps.

We were learning about layers and borders on this one. Stacy suggested cutting thing strips to use as borders instead of layering a full sheet of paper. Then adhere the strips on the back of the main piece--the focal point. (This one was made with a large, ornate, scrolly stamp and embossing powder mixed with glitter. Red jewels were added for a little bling.)

Before adhering the layered piece, attach a strip of foam tape to prevent the center of the main piece from caving in. Cool eh? ;-)



Have a wonderful day!!

~Cynthia

Class Card: Brown

Class Card: Brown
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's the second of four cards I created in a class taught by Stacy of Stacy Stamps.

You know how I love to distress stuff, so this card was a favorite of mine! I love the browns we used to make it.

The lacy bit on top and the stripes on the bottom were both made with Stacy Stamps! We distressed the edges of the cardstock then threaded the little flower with the ribbon we had also distressed.

Stacy had a cool ribbon punch--one that looks like an old school hole punch. I had seen the border punch-type ones, but not the one we used. Very cool. Going on my Want List. ;-)

Then we layered everything on a piece of folded kraft cardstock.

Easy peasy! I love the old fashioned look to it.


Thanks for hanging out here for a bit today!

~Cynthia

Class Card: Green

Class Card: Green
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

First order of business:

Let's have a BIG hurray for the SUNSHINE!!! And half-decent pictures!! YAY!!! =D


This past week I took a card making class at my LSS. It was a lot of fun--I had never taken a class before. It was all about borders and backgrounds. So here's the first card we made. I *love* the colors on this one!

I don't have any supply details for it because all the supplies were supplied!! ;-) I CAN say that all the stamps were from a cute stamp company called Stacy Stamps.

And Stacy herself taught the class! Double YAY!!


Have a wonderful, sun-shiny day!!

~Cynthia

Layer On Layer

Layer On Layer
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I was having so much trouble yesterday getting this picture posted to Flickr and then getting online to blog! But all is well today!! YAY!

Here's another page from my art journal. There are sooo many layers on this one. I really experimented (played??) with different types of paint. I have regular craft paint , Tulip fabric paint (gold shimmery stuff!!) and spritz spray. Oh yeah and ink, if I can count that as a paint! The Tulip paint gave the entire page a smooth-as-glass finish.

I've also got paper layers, circles made with paint, and clock faces too.

I'm still art journaling my way through the Psalms in the Bible and this is from Psalm 4. I focused on the verses that dealt with silence and peace and searching your heart. Thus the pages are dark (like the night sky) and I stamped clocks (for taking time to think quietly). I journaled in the circles.


Thanks for stopping in! Have a creative day!! =D


~Cynthia

Kinda masculine?

Kinda masculine?
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

This is a card I made for (and have already sent to) a guy friend of mine. I was super excited--I don't get to do many guy cards!

But I was also super excited to use the new die cut I bought.

Um. Maybe using the lacy die cut was not such a good idea. What do you think?? =D

I die cut the lace then tucked it under a larger piece of the same Basic Grey paper.

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap piece of kraft paper and distressed the edges.

I used water color pencils to just barely color, more like tint, the....hmmm....what DO you call those wooden pile things?? Anyway, I *did* color the sand, sea grass, pile thingys and the rope. You can see it in real life. ;-)

I distressed just the edges of the kraft piece, then layered it over a dark brown piece of cardstock.

All of the above is adhered to a kraft cardblank.


Supplies:
Paper: Basic Grey (basics manila paper pad); Bazzill (kraft and brown cardstock); The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank)
Stamp: Stacy Stamp (beach set); Hero Arts (Classic Messages)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)
ETC: Artists' Loft (water color pencils); Glue Glider Pro; My Favorite Things (Die-namics, Open Scallop)


Happy Weekend!!!

~Cynthia

PS: Thanks for everyone's kind comments on my art journal pages. I really, really appreciate them!!!!

A Shield Around Me

A Shield Around Me
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's another page from my art journal.

A while ago I stumbled upon a blog site dedicated to creating an art journal page for every page of the book "Moby Dick." It's really quite amazing. Check it out sometime: everypageofmobydick.blogspot.com Matt Kish (the artist) said something along the lines of how he was so changed by spending so much time diving deeply into his favorite book.

So cool.

So I got the idea to do the same thing...but with the Psalms in the Bible.

This is the page for Psalm 3, verse 3, about how God is a shield around us.

It's a pretty simple page, but I really wanted the verse to be the focal point.

Excuse the blotches on the right side. Um. The paint from the next page bled through.

Yeah, lesson learned there all right. ;-)


And in a totally unrelated bit of news...Shimelle (the amazing scrapbooker) posted a big honkin' post about her recent travels. (Four months in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America!) She has some super cool tips for traveling as well as scrapbooking the adventure. Here's a quote that is just so amazingly cool and why I want to travel:

"Some of the most amazing things are the very quiet activities too--paragliding was cool, but I wouldn't trade it for watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat."



Exactly. I mean...EXACTLY.

Amiright????


~Cynthia

Part Deux

Part Deux
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's the finished, final, absolute last, DONE, journal page!! ;-) This the same one from the previous post, just with the final touches on it, all ready for journaling!

And once again, sorry for the bad picture. It feels like we haven't had sun here in a month!

I added some bubble wrap stamped areas and a few strips of Tim Holtz's tissue tape. I brushed the tissue tape with Forest Moss, one of the Distress Stain colors I used on the pages. I also stamped a few funky circles in Forest Moss too.

For my title, I chose a quote I read a few days ago:

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

(~Langston Hughes)


I feel a little like that broken-winged bird right now because of various situations in my life. I've been trying so hard this past year to find my wings again. One day. I just keep telling myself...one day...I will fly.


Thanks for visiting! :-)

~Cynthia

Going Green...and Sparkly too!

Going Green...and Sparkly too!
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Aaaand, we're BACK! So glad Mr. Blogger and friends have figured out what went wrong and have fixed things so we can continue blogging! Gosh, I've missed all of you!!! =D


So here's the latest page in my art journal. As you may be able to see...the ink is still wet!

I'm back to experimenting with Tim Holtz's Distress Stains. This time I used Forest Moss and Peeled Paint.

For texture, I made a few scratches in the wet Gesso. (I deliberately left areas void of Gesso. This creates darker colored areas where the Stain seeps into the paper. It also tends to mess up the other side of the paper. Oh well.)

Then I swiped the Distress Stains over that, after the Gesso dried. I sprayed the pages with homemade spritz spray in green and Glimmer Mist in Dazzling Diamonds. This creates crazy-awesome textures as the water reacts with the Stains just like what happens with Distress Inks.

Then I pounced the Distress Stains on the paper, with a pretty big amount of force, to make the splats. The harder you slam them, the bigger the splat. Just wear clothes you don't care about. ;-)


Well, thanks for stopping by again today. Have a lovely weekend!!

~Cynthia

Re-do of an ugly page

Re-do of an ugly page
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I hope this page makes up for yesterday's weird art journal page post. =D

I started this page by playing around with my new water color crayons. So much fun! But the page was just sections of colors and it looked pretty bad, so last night I was determined to fix it.

I ripped up some vertically striped paper and adhered that to the pages. Then I went over everything with the bluest blue paint I've ever purchased. It was a bit shocking!

I toned the blue down with a layer of sage green. Then I stamped the cool swirls with Black Soot Distress Ink.

And then...and this is by far the coolest thing about this page!...I smooshed some bubble wrap into the Black Soot ink and used it as a stamp. Those are the little groups of round, crinkly circles you see. HOW COOL LOOKING IS THAT??? Free, repurposed and reusable!!

Anyway. I'm much happier with this page now. =D



Thanks for stopping over here today...I hope you have a great day of creating!!

~Cynthia

Monday's Art Journal Page

Monday's Art Journal Page
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

SO sorry for the ridiculously awful picture!

I started this page on Monday. And finished it today! ;-)

I wanted to use my new Distress Stain in Fired Brick, but the other colors I have don't go with it, so I just used that. And since everything was either painted red or stamped in red or stained red...I went with the "Monday is Red" title.

I didn't mean for it to be angry, it was just the color I wanted to use! :-)

It has some cool things going on, and overall I think it's OK. The Stain reacted with the Gesso and turned kind of pinkish. I used painter's tape to mask some areas, but the Stain bled underneath, giving a really cool effect. I also used some of my new Michael's Dollar Bin alpha stamps and my latest fun tool--an embossing label maker.

This was an experimental page for sure. I had fun playing!


Thanks for stopping by!

~Cynthia

Fun with Distress Stains!

Fun with Distress Stains!
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I *finally* got some of Tim Holtz's Distress Stains! I had to order the darn things because no one around here carries them. Bah! I also ordered two rolls of his Tissue Tape.

And then I played.

This is another page from my art journal. I simply dragged two of the Distress Stains (Broken China and Faded Jeans) down the page, after I had covered the page loosely with Gesso.

The way cool thing about Distress Stains is that that work just like Distress Inks, just in a bottle like Ranger's paint daubers. That means, when you spray water on the Distress Stain, it reacts just like the Distress Inks.

So I did that too.

I also sprayed it with some blue homemade spritz spray.

Then I stuck a few pieces of the Tissue Tap on the page, distressed them with more Broken China, and then outlined the shapes in both a black Pro Pigment pen and water color crayons.

I also picked up a funky Inkadinkado rubber stamp set and stamped a few of those rounds shapes in Broken China and Black Soot.

For a final touch I stamped SKY, using my brand-new Michael's Dollar Bin stamps in Faded Jeans. I used a chunkier font for that and I think it would have come out clearer if I had used a skinnier font set.

The journaling is all about a verse from Psalm 2 in the Bible that says, "He Who sits in the Heavens laughs..."

Seriously, seriously love the way this came out!


~Cynthia
PS: Big thanks to Paula (aka Journal Artista), who showed this technique on her UStream show!

Happy Mother's Day...

...to all the Mothers out there! Thank you for all you do!!!!


~Cynthia

Thousand Miles

Thousand Miles
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's another page from my Mix Media art journal. I heard a song by Dwight Yoakum and the chorus really stuck out, so I did a whole page on it. :-)

The song goes like this:

I'm a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don't matter to me
Cause I'm a thousand miles from nowhere
And there's no place I want to be


I kind of turned the song around. I would RATHER BE a thousand miles from nowhere! =D

The page has lots of clocks--digital ones from a link on Ali Edwards' site and some strips from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper stash. I used dark paint and rubbed it off in places to give the layout an aged, distressed look. Most of the paint lines go up and down, giving the page a look of movement. My journaling is all about traveling and going places.


As a little side note...I was at Michael's yesterday and in the Dollar Bins they have these cute little alphabet stamp sets. I bought five, thinking, it's only a DOLLAR. BUT, I've been very impressed with them so far. It's a great size for art journaling and card making too. They have about ten or so different fonts. One font has separate sets for both lower and upper case letters. Another is a swirly, 50s kind of font. Very fun and cheap entertainment! ;-)


Have a wonderful weekend!!

~Cynthia

The Old Homestead

The Old Homestead
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Sorry I haven't been on here much. Life has been busy lately. I've had really good intentions though. Does that count?? ;-)

This is another "I don't think this is quite me, but I rather like it" kind of card.

This is also another "I don't remember where I saw this card" kind of card.

I totally CASE'd it, but with my own twist.

That totally counts.

I stamped the covered bridge (not really an old homestead at all, not sure what I was thinking there) using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Then I used a bit of the same ink with a bit of water to color in certain areas.

**Edited to add: I finally figured out where the HOMESTEAD thing came from! I went looking for the original card, so I could give credit, and discovered it was a card on Destination Art, entitled HOMESTEAD BIRDS. AHHAHAHAHA!! I'm not as crazy as I think I am!! =D

The stamp makes its own border, so I cut around it far enough away to make it seem like it was mounted on another piece of cardstock. I distressed the edges with Walnut Stain.

I adhered the image to a piece of Tim Holtz's Lost and Found stash. And the final layer is brown cardstock, which has been run through an embossing folder.

*That brown cardstock, run through the embossing folder, reminded me of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup paper, which is probably where my mind went, and probably why I named it The Old Homestead, when it's clearly an old covered bridge. When in doubt, blame the chocolate.*

All those layers are adhered to a kraft cardblank. And if you're still reading this, you are braver than I am.


Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank); GinaK (400 lb Pure Luxury white whatever); Tim Holtz (Lost and Found stash); Bazzill (brown cardstock)
Stamp: Impression Obsession (Covered Bridge Stamp)
Ink: Tim Holtz (Walnut Stain Distress Ink)
ETC: Cuttlebug (Distressed Stripes embossing folder)



Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

~Cynthia =D