It's a simple idea: Find some bad art, whether original or a print, for a song at a thrift store, then modify it to make, if not "better art," then at least something that's more entertaining to look at. (Is it the same thing? Yeah, that sounds like a productive argument.)
This was a fun challenge. By request I have added this to my etsy store to be purchased as a print. To whoever reported this as copyright infringement to the BBC: not cool. I hope beelzebub has a...
Okay, so at the beginning of the week I said that we would be featuring decorating staples that aren't mandatory for Domythic style, but certainly enhance it. But I have to admit...today's selection is one I can't imagine a house without: books. Books not only should fill all of our shelves, but they also make wonderful decoration items for the bibliophile. Set a stack of them on an unused chair: Display a stunning silhouette book on a shelf: And I just love the idea of covering a stack of books in plain book covers, and painting or drawing a continuous image on the spines: Use books as an endtable: I have long wanted to try doing a book sculpture like the gorgeous example below: Etsy artist Raiders of the Lost Art makes beautiful altered books: I don't know for sure the logistics of this idea...rectangular shallow plastic liner? But it's a great one, and I'd love to try it sometime. Use books to create shelves: Or display a collection in a cloche or bell jar: Phillip over at the Domythic Bliss Facebook group linked this awesome website with examples of inspirational library spaces. Also, there are numerous books available on decorating with books.
Since I have devoted my last few posts to pop-ups, I’ve decided to put together a brief introduction to this magical bit of paper engineering. There are many fabulous in-depth resources to …
Even if I haven't been posting like crazy, I've been making like mad. I've hit one of those periods where one inspiration leads to another, and so on, until I can't possibly keep up with all the ideas in my head! There are about three hundred things on the go in my studio, but I wanted to make sure to share something before you forgot about me. So, I finished up this specimen Altoid tin to show off today. The outside paper is from Communique. The inside is lined with vintage music paper. The butterflies are fussy cut from Butterfly Specifics - Old Curiosity Shoppe. All those little specimen labels are from THIS new collage sheet set. I'm including two pages in this set. One page is filled with blank labels and the other filled with descriptions (low key fairy themed). While there aren't editable text areas, if you have basic photoshop/photo editing skills you should be able to add text on top of the image file, adding your own descriptions. For authenticity, I recommend viewing THIS tutorial to create an aged glass look. A little bit of fake grime makes a big difference! Inside those jars are all sorts of wee things. Twigs, roots, petals, bones, glitter, moss... basically anything that fit inside those little vials. All the bits used: Artifact Labels - 2 PDF collage sheet download Mint tin Mini vials Communique (exterior paper) Old Curiosity Shoppe (paper butterflies) Music paper Wee bits to fill the vials Metal card/Label holder Glue/Paint
Hitting the road soon? Or, perhaps you're just a lover of tiny, wonderful things? Get inspired by Silvia Chenault's super-charming accidental altered mint tins collection!
photobombing occurrences - The long-held traditional of abruptly appearing in another photographic capture is evident in these phenomenal photobombing occurrences. Although...
Okay so I've been remiss--I haven't continued on my Desiderata road for a few weeks now...but I do have an excuse. I was invited to make some of my 3D mixed media pieces for a show called Paint The Town that took place last Saturday night here in KC. It was such a fun event! I made some new wire pieces and chatted with folks along with selling some of my pieces-here's a few of them: The Bookworm-made from an old dictionary, clay, dollhouse lamp, wood The Monkey Suit-glass cloche, wood, wire, metal, clay Forest For The Trees-wire, clay, fabric, metal, LED bulb, electric cord
I have this fetish with clocks. So when this beautiful altered clock was found I instantly fell in love. There is nothing better than taking an old object and turning it into a beautiful masterpiece. This just takes my breath away with all of the beauty that was packed into such a small area. Tim [...]
Altered vintage Bingo card measuring 5 1/2" x 7 1/8".
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I ordered a big package of aluminum tins similar to altoid tins. I love the shape for dolls you can hang on the wall. I had fun spending an afternoon coating a stack of them with Vintaj metal pat…
Hello blogging friends! I'm so glad that you've stopped by to see what's new at Creativity Is Contagious! It's time for OUR NEXT TO LAST CHALLENGE at Linda Ledbetter's really fun and inspiring COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III CHALLENGES. This is number 33 of 34. Can you believe that we've already covered all but ONE of Tim Holtz' wonderful products or techniques that he's expounded on in his Compendium of Curiosities III book? TIME FLIES! The Curiosity Crew has some wonderful projects just waiting to share with you at the Compendium Challenge so be sure to check that out. This next to last challenge is a favorite of mine. Turn to page 45 in your books and feast your eyes on "ALTERED SURFACES". I am really getting into manipulating acrylic paints. I totally LOVE that they can be super opaque or with a bit of water or another medium added in, they can be semi transparent to almost transparent. You can get some amazing results using acrylic paints! ALTERED SURFACES is all about using Tim's Distress Paints to achieve some very cool effects; from a chipped metal look to aged and rusted ... whatever your heart desires. For my project, I chose to alter the surfaces of some of Tim's wonderful Ideaology pieces. This is a vintage tobacco can that I have transformed into a little vintage piece that could be used to hold ATC cards, a gift tin containing gift cards or just a little home decor piece. This piece is very special to me because the vintage photograph is of my father when he was a senior in high school. He was a member of the ROTC squad and was a "crack rifleman" at the tender age of 18. Pretty much right after this photograph was taken, my father entered the draft and served this country in the Pacific Theater during World War II. A proud Veteran, I dedicate this piece to him. I miss him and love him with all my heart. Let's explore how this altered vintage tobacco tin came to be ... I began with this vintage tin that I bought at a flea market for $2.50. The paper behind it is from Tim Holtz' Destinations Paper Stash. I used a section of this paper to cover the tin. I used 1/4" Scor Tape around all sides and intermittently placed on the tin itself to hold the paper in place. Notice that the tin is a weathered silver color and already has some rust and aging on it. But, I will transform it with the help of Tim's Distress and other Ranger and DecoArt products. Here is the tin with the Destinations paper on it. Nice but really boring and plain! I brushed on a light coat of DecoArt's really wonderful Media Ultra Matte Varnish. This sealer truly gives a soft, matte finish and I love the way it makes the surface feel. I added the Ultra Matte Varnish now so that if I decided to add paint or some other medium to the paper surface, I did not want it to soak into the paper. In this photograph, you can see the before and after of Tim's Altered Surfaces technique (you will need to read the instructions in the book to see exactly HOW this is done). On my tin, I've done some variations to the Altered Surfaces technique shown in the book. I created trim for the top and bottom of my altered tin using these silver metal strips from Tim's Borders Industrial Stickers. I used a combination of Crackled Pistachio, Rusty Hinge and Gathered Twigs Distress Paints to totally transform the surface from shiny silver to a weathered, rusted, patina metal look. I also employed this same technique on the exposed metal parts of the tobacco tin. To give an even more patina look, I used a stippling brush to add extra Cracked Pistachio paint to areas of the trim and the altered metal surfaces. What a difference! From a sort of rusted silver finish to this really lovely weathered antique gold, rusty patina look! Now it was time to start adding my embellishments! I had an ornate plate cut out of Grungeboard laying around. It worked perfectly behind my Tim Holtz Industrial Stickers Frame. I sized the photograph of my father and stuck it behind the already self adhesive metal sticker frame. It has a nice antique brushed nickel color already. So, I decided to sort of keep with that by covering the Grungeboard first with Brushed Pewter followed by Adirondak Pitch Black acrylic paint. It wasn't a perfect match but I was going to do A LOT more altering of the surface to this frame! Using basically the same paint colors (exchange Adirondak Espresso for Gathered Twigs acrylic paint), I totally transformed one of Tim's Typed Tokens. If you look in the photograph, you can see that they are a brushed nickle color. Compare the new and improved "aged, rusted and patina" look by altering the surface of the silver metal! Love it! Here is the back side of my little altered frame made out of Grungeboard. I am showing you this to further convince you just how much this altering surfaces technique using acrylic paints REALLY is amazing! Here is the grungy PAPER surface ... And here are two of the embellishments finished and ready to add to the altered tin. Both altered using Tim's Altering Surfaces technique and the same acrylic paints shown above. AMAZING TRANSFORMATION!! I added two distressed Long Fasteners to the frame to give more of the impression that the frame is actually riveted into the altered tin. I also added a bit of DecoArt's Amazing Media Quinacridone Gold and Media Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide to both surfaces to give a more rusted, deep rich aged tone to the pieces to make them look even more metallic. I LOVE how they turned out! Inside of the frame, to protect the photograph, I first brushed a light matte varnish over the copy paper photograph to seal it. I heat set that dry and then added a light coat of DecoArt's Media Crackle Glaze over the photograph. ** TIP - I USED JUST A VERY LIGHT COAT OF THE DECOART CRACKLE GLAZE OVER THE FACE BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO DISTORT IT IN ANY WAY. I APPLIED THE GLAZE A BIT MORE LIBERALLY AROUND THE EDGES OF THE FRAME. THE MORE GLAZE YOU APPLY, THE MORE CRACKLED THE SURFACE BECOMES. BUT THESE CRACKLES ARE MORE LIKE A PORCELAIN CRACKING, NOT DEEP CRACKLES. Once the DecoArt Crackle Glaze air dried, I added a light wash of water and DecoArt Media Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide to the perimeter of the frame to give it a more aged look. I love the deep, rich sepia tones the wash added to the photograph. You can actually see the crackling in the photograph. Really a GREAT vintage look! I used the same altering techniques to alter Tim's Heart Charms that originally come in the brushed nickle finish to match my other altered Ideaology pieces. There are several images of paper hearts to chose from that comes with the Heart Charms. These fit in the metal heart and then are covered with a clear cabochon that no only seals and protects the paper heart but magnifies the image. I LOVE these sweet little charms! In the photograph above, you can see how I altered the more white paper surface to look more aged and weathered ... like the metal heart it is encapsulated in. To do this, I simply brushed a touch of the DecoArt Media Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide wash to the surface of the paper heart and kept adding layers of it plus a touch of an Acrylic Paint Espresso wash just around the edges. I heat set it, added the self adhesive cabochon heart over it and instant aging! I like things that dangle and move. So I decided to take this Ideaology Memo Pin and bend over to create something I could clip onto my altered tin that could serve as a charm holder as well. The Memo Pin on the left has been bent to clip onto my altered tin. The pin on the right is what they originally look like. Another fun way to alter a surface that is not part of this technique, is to use Distress Stains! Remember I had previously sealed the paper surface with a coat of DecoArt Media Ultra-Matte Varnish so that I could add more layers. I carefully sprayed some Walnut Stain Distress Ink Spray onto the paper to give it an even more interesting aged look. If I had not liked my spray, I could have easily wiped it off because I had sealed my paper. But, I LOVED the randomness of the splatter. I did this randomly over the entire surface of the paper on the tin. I really like the character that the spray adds and it is a more convincing aged look! Here is a closeup look at my charms assemblage hanging from the altered tin. These consist of Tim's Type Charms (at the top), his Ideaology Typed Token, and finally Tim's Heart Charm. All are joined together, hanging from the Memo Pin by one of Tim's Wire Pins and small Jump Rings to form the chains. All metal pieces were altered using the acrylic paints and Tim's altered surfaces technique. Here is a closeup of the totally transformed silver top of the can and the silver trim into the rusted, patina finish. Here is the finished rusty frame. I added "1942", the year this photograph was taken to the frame using Tim's Label Letters that were glued onto a piece of distressed cardstock and cut out, leaving just a tiny border around the numbers. Using Glossy Accents, I glued the numbers to the frame. Here is the back side of the tin with the added Walnut Stain spray and the very faux weathered, rusted and patina finish to the lid. A simple project to do but what a keepsake it can be ... or a great gift idea to really personalize a gift card or ATC holder for a friend or loved one! Thanks so much for joining me on this creative journey of the Altered Surfaces tin! Now it's YOUR turn to create something wonderful using the Altered Surfaces technique and enter our COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III CHALLENGE. Our sponsors this week are the lovely folks at Inspiration Emporium. They have been so generous throughout our entire challenge by donating a $50.00 gift certificate with each of their sponsor weeks. A huge "THANK YOU" to them! You can purchase all of Tim's wonderful products at their wonderful online store! And of course, Tim and Mario donated a mountain of Tim's amazing products to be divided up and given away with every challenge. "THANK YOU" doesn't seem enough to say to these two super sweet guys. They are amazing! So, join us today and share your amazing art with everyone in our fun little community of Tim Holtz technique and product lovers! And also ... as a reminder, many of the Curiosity Crew will be traveling to COSTA RICA in September of 2016 with the inspiring Jim West and his fabulous Craft Tours! We will calling ourselves "THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PAINTS". CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE to be taken to the Craftour website for more details. Good luck with this challenge's Altered Surfaces!
I like little things. Maybe it's that "gatherer" mentality I have (although some might call it hoarding). And maybe that's really what drew me to the industry in the first place (all those little bits and bobs I could gather up and no one would ask why). So today's post is all about little things. Starting with these tins. I have had these little tins for a while but have never found a use for them till now. I painted the inside of the lid with Weathered Wood Distress paint to give a bit of an aged look. I also used Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to color a small piece of cheesecloth and added it to the lid with Multi Medium. I chose two metal embellishments to alter. Adornments - Nature: I painted the rose adornment with Weathered Wood Distress Paint. Once dry, I added gold Alcohol ink over the top, leaving just enough of the blue coming through. The Keyhole - I painted the metal keyhole with same Weathered Wood Distress Paint. I let it dry for about 15-20 minutes until the paint was tacky, then burnished it with a soft cloth until I wore away the paint in the center. I finished it off with a bit of Mushroom Alcohol Ink to darken it up. I also used Mini Fasteners to make it look like the Keyhole was screwed to the front of the tin. In reality, the Mini Fasteners were placed into the holes and bent back, then the Keyhole was attached to the lid with Glossy Accents. The numbers came from the Special Delivery Remnant Rub sheet (this new rub sheet has a huge amount of numbers, perfect for all my little projects). The black word strip is from Small Talk, which is a booklet full of short sayings (3 sheets of black and 3 sheets of white). I decided to add the smallest Clock Key at the top. This time I did pierce the tin with an awl to permanently add the Clock Key in place. And what is inside? The little Salvaged Doll of course! So cute! I used Mushroom Alcohol ink over her body and rubbed it around with a piece of felt (wear a rubber glove if you are worried about the alcohol ink getting on your skin). I added a bit of vintage looped tatting (something I collect) to make a collar for her dress. It looks a bit blue green because I pounced a bit of Pool Alcohol ink into the tatting to give it some color. I adhered the collar to her dress with Multi Medium because it dries clear and it isn't shiny. The tiny pearl in the center of the collar is from an old necklace. The Typed Token was painted with gold Alcohol Ink and then Weathered Wood Distress Paint was added to the edges. The No.84 is from the Remnant Rub sheet. I tried a few different trinkets in the background of the tin. Like these tiny buttons. However, I ended up going with a Alpha Chip and a Heirloom Rose at her feet. It just seemed to fill the space a little better. Love my little box. So sweet with the pink cotton fabric in the background. I guess my take away from today is, don't over look small things that might just make a big impact. now carry on, paula InLinkz.com
Check out the February Challenge at CreativeEmbellishments.com/blog. The twist this month is to use the Ombre Effect. Here is my take on the challenge: For the March challenge, I altered a muffin tin from the dollar store and went chippie crazy. This was so much fun to make. I rusted then grunged out the tray using crackle paint, spiced marmalade distress stain and using texture stamps including the distress crackle stamp. At the top of the tray, I used the Steampunk Heart. In the cups in back of most of the images I used pieces of the harlequin and chicken wire panels. For the cups starting at the top left: Love true - I created the ombre effect over the three hearts using alcohol inks on metal charms; the dress form is Prima and the wings and sentiment are Tim Holtz; Let the love flow - I used the distress crackle stamp to distress the pipework chippies. To get the metal effect on the chippies I added DecoArt aged patina paint and finished off with some aged embossing powder; Steampunk heart with gears in various sizes; The image on the bottom is from Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante. I used gears and a heart from Petaloo and I am roses.; for the last compartment I used a feather and a prima nest and sign, and a TH bird charm. Close-ups of each of the compartments:
a gallery curated by Mary Anne Enriquez
[Updated: July 2017]
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altered art fairy-:-)
Hello friends… Today, I am back with a good bit of grunge! Ahhh…there’s nothing like some grunge in the middle of the week to make your soul happy, at least mine anyways! ;) This …
I am delighted to present you my interpretation of the latest CC3C Challenge #10 - based on Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities III and hosted by Linda Ledbetter Studio L3 at cc3challenge.com. I have been following these challenges and enjoying the works of so many creative individuals, thank you Tim & Linda for the opportunity to share and be inspired! The chance to post on my "new" blog is finally here - so here goes. I LOVE shadowbox projects and the depth of this clock was perfect to multi-layer and give the appearance of an underwater reef: The clock body and parts were painted with a layer of gesso - dry - broken china crackle paint (I still had some stash) - dry - brushed corduroy Distress Stain to accentuate the cracks - dry - then a coat of Ranger matte multi medium to seal. Seems photographing this project was the hardest part - here is one before it was placed into the clock body. The seaweed layers are cutout color transparencies on a paper background, layered with shaped paper cutouts of sealife, then real sand and shells glued on a tag stock base for spacing. Here is a close up of the top embellishment, Tim's inked crinkle ribbon, frayed linen ribbon, cash key filled with more sand & shells using glossy accents and a type charm filled with a large rhinestone and stickles on a chain. The word band letters are "smeared" with Broken China distress paint, wiped clean & dried - the band is secured to the clock handle top with linen ribbon tied & glued on the back. I hope you have enjoyed this project and I look forward to sharing more challenges with you - please join us for fun, fellowship and a wonderful learning experience! Bye for now - K
Greeting Cards, a Steampunk Altered Altoid’s Tins, Birdhouses and More. &…
