Antique lovers clip art

Hello everyone...the storm missed us down here in Florida, but we feel much more prepared now. There's always more one can do to prepare, just like there is always something we can improve upon in our lives. It's important to continuously learn, to practice the skills and talents we have, and to be brave! On that note, if anyone has any fabulous new products or tips you have discovered and would like to be featured on this blog, just drop me an email at: loriramotar@gmail.com
I'll start the week out with a "flapper" era pic of two lovers. Hope everyone has a great week!

Pardon my pause...

Man, this hurricane preparedness sure does put a cramp in my creative time. I've been busy making lists shopping, making more lists, doing more shopping, and constantly checking the weather reports. My poor art studio is getting lonely. It now looks like we are out of the "cone of probability" but no one can predict these things with 100% perfection. This is our first hurricane season as home owners, so there has been a lot to plan and learn. So, this is my formal apology for my lack of posting the past few days. My spare time has been minimal. I will soon be back to my regular blog-y goodness with new clip art, reviews, and deals! Thanks for your patience!

My favorite crackle paint medium: Deco Art One Step Crackle

Because I love texture, and the look of antiqued pieces, I am a crackle paint fanatic. In fact, the last time I went shopping for it, I bought all the bottles they had on the shelf! I use it a lot. The only thing I dislike, is the small bottles. I would love to be able to purchase larger containers and use this on small home decor or furniture pieces.
Deco Art One Step Crackle is easy to use, too. After painting a first layer of acrylic paint, I take a smooth, flat brush and apply it on top of the first layer in single strokes. Try to not go back over a first stroke, or it may not crackle in that spot. If you missed a spot, you can simply wait for it to dry and go back to do that spot later. After the surface has completely dried, you should be able to see the cracks. At this point, I pic a color I want the cracks to show (I usually choose brown, cream, or black) and mix it (acrylic paint...by the way) with a bit of Golden or Liquitex acrylic varnish, I wipe the mix onto the surface with a small sponge, making sure to push the color into the cracks. I keep another sponge that is damp, and some paper towel, around to wipe off any paint that may sit on the top of the piece (not in the cracks). I will post a pic later...I am being called to dinner by hubby...lol Happy crafting!

Sale on Artist Gallery Wrapped Canvas at Michael's

No coupon needed on this one! The sale ends at close on Sat., Aug. 20th. Buy one, get a second one for 1 cent! So, basically, it's like a 50% off sale. This would be a great time to stock up! Click HERE to see this and other promos that end on Saturday. Happy creating! ~ Lori Ramotar

Antique woman on pocket perfume compact

It's Friday! We have a busy weekend ahead of us, after a very busy week. I am going to post and run, to see if I can get ahead on things. After 2 weeks of dealing with car repairs (turned out to be the alternator) I have gotten behind in my business stuff...like posting new art and jewelry to my website, and Etsy. Yesterday, I spent about 3 hours doing photo editing and resizing...until my arm hurt too much to continue. Anywho, here is a really cool lady from the cover of a purse sized perfume compact. I believe it is from Spain. Hope you like her! Have a good weekend!

The war of the spray paints: Krylon VS. Rustoleum

They say that we learn from our mistakes, and today, I hope to pass on some knowledge to you. I wish I would have done some more research before buying my first choice of spray paint. I had a few metal items I wished to spray paint a light ivory, for a shabby chic feel. We have this color of trim on our Victorian style home. My projects consisted of a small birdcage, a metal filigree round stand (that I plan to use as a base for my bird bath), and a metal filigree wall decor piece. I had two bottles of Krylon, and both specified they were appropriate for outdoor or indoor use, and on metal surfaces. The Krylon bottle spattered big drops of drippy paint, bubbled on the surface, and didn't provide good coverage. I had plastic gloves on, but the messiness ended in my hands being covered with the stuff. I tried soap, pumice, nail polish remover, hair spray, lotion, and oil to get it off. I actually had to go to my husband's dental practice and use some heavy duty chemical to get it off.
After that failed attempt, I headed to my local craft store. I was informed, after discussion with an associate, that Krylon was not preferred, and most people (including herself) preferred Rustoleum. I got some and was excited to try it. It was fabulous! It went on evenly, didn't run or drip, and had great coverage. I was able to cover up the mess made by the Krylon, and my projects were saved. So, my advice is to stick with Rustoleum. Krylon makers: you REALLY need to work on your paint formulation and fix that messy nozzle. Seriously....I'm not kidding.

Fabulous antique sailor girl from a 1920 song sheet cover

Monday flew by, and Tuesday is already here! Here is a wonderful, large piece of clip art I found of a sailor girl/woman that was on a 1920 song sheet cover. Isn't she fabulous! I have had short hair for ages, and love seeing all the short hairstyles the ladies of the 20's had. It was considered rebellious back then. Hope you enjoy it!

Worn antique book cover

This is one of my recent finds while thrift store shopping. It is an old German grammar book from the early 1900's. I love the cover, and thought I would share it with you. Happy Saturday!

Studio car vintage ad

Happy Friday folks! Actually, in a little over 2 hours, it will be Saturday for me. Yesterday was crazy busy, and I felt like I was on the phone and running errands all day. I made a sweet pepper avocado soup from scratch, and forgot how much work goes into "from scratch" anything...and the mess it leaves. I was so tuckered out last night, I completely forgot to post anything. Today I had some time to start on a larger painting, with a background of palette knife acrylic paint and collaged text papers. Once I get on a roll with a large collage, I find it hard to stop. Alas, we had to eat supper at some point, so I threw in the towel after 3 hours of painting, cutting, and gluing.
Today's clip art is a vintage ad for a studio car that would tour around and offer portraits. This company was based out of St. Paul, MN....a place near and dear to my heart. I thought it was a fun little piece of history. Hope everyone has a safe & happy weekend!

Gibson girl and vintage map clip art

I missed posting yesterday, so today I am posting two new clip art freebies. The first is one I have had for several years, and is one of my favorites...a Gibson girl. She appears to be swimming, but it is kind of eerie. The second is a map of Spain, that came from a vintage book. Happy creating!

Antique German Dictionary Page Clip Art

Today's clip art comes from one of my weekend finds. It is an old German grammar book from 1907. The cover is fabulously worn and faded. Here is a page you can use as a background or whatever else you come up with. Happy creating!

Monday, and new goodies on the way!

I received my new business cards with my Hip Heart Studio logo on them this weekend, so I will soon be listing new items for sale at hipheartstudio.com!
Saturday was my birthday, and hubby and I did some thrift store and antique shopping. I didn't find much, but my 3 items are definitely treasures. I found a 1932 magazine with awesome ads and graphics, and 2 books that are 1900 or earlier. They are beautifully aged and fragile, which I find alluring. The magazine was only $2 at a thrift store, and I later saw the same magazine, from the 30's at an antique store for $22. I got a great deal on that one!
I will be posting some new clip art later today, in the evening most likely. For now, I am off to do a quick antique finish on some "crackle finished" canvases, then off to run some errands. Happy Monday! Let's make this a creative, productive, joy-filled week!

Hobby Lobby weekly coupon

I love a good coupon...in fact, there are certain items that I will only buy when I can use a coupon....like Liquitex Matte Medium, or Varnish. I am thrilled that a Hobby Lobby store just opened up yesterday, right down the road from me. I am headed there tomorrow morning, after having a nice large breakfast, and plan to spend as much time there as I want. It's my "pre-birthday" present to myself. My birthday is Saturday, but I didn't want to drag my poor husband along on another craft store shopping trip. He already was nice enough to wait on me this last weekend, when we went into a Hobby Lobby store in Orlando for the first time. I nearly fainted when we walked in! I had no idea what aisle to go down first. My creative brain went into hyper-overdrive. So, for all of you fellow coupon-ers, here is a link to a weekly Hobby Lobby coupon.
I also got an email from Blick.com today, announcing a sale, but I need to look into that first. I spent the day today in Miami, getting my MRI and nerve tests done. I left our house at 8:30, and didn't get back until 5:30. It was a very long day. I am turning in early, but will pop in tomorrow with some more clip art! Good night creative minds! Happy dreams!

My product review & mixed media paintings made with 7Gypsies tissue collage paper

As soon as I got an email from Stampington/The Shoppes at Somerset, I drooled over this tissue paper. I love using tissue paper for texture in my mixed media paintings and I immediately had two project ideas pop up in my head. I completed the first one, which is this set of four 12" X 12"mixed media paintings. I used the tissue paper as a background. One tip: when working with tissue paper, cut the size you will need ahead of time, and apply the matte medium (or whatever you used as a collage 'glue') to the base ahead of time. Do not try putting the matte medium onto your tissue paper. I suggest not using a lot of the medium or the paper gets soggy and easily tares and you are smoothing it onto your canvas/surface. I used a rubber brayer and gently smoothed areas with my fingers, allowing crinkles and light layering to occur. I waited until it had dried well before I put a topcoat of medium on it to seal it. After that, I was free to paint, draw, stamp, and collage on top of it.
Final conclusion: Try it! You'll love it! I have plenty left over for another project and am looking forward to playing with it again. However, since it is a bit pricey, practice with regular tissue paper first, if you have never used tissue paper in your collage pieces before. You will learn what mistakes to avoid, so you can move on to the fancy stuff without fear. The paper is available Here or you can look for it on Ebay, or other places where you buy your craft goodies.

An apology and a new honey bee clip art

I usually work on this blog in the evening, and yesterday, we had one heck of a lightening show. We had a storm that stuck with us for quite some time, and I didn't dare plug the computer in after hearing from someone else that their WASHING MACHINE, of all things, was fried by lightening the previous week. Florida definitely isn't fun this time of year. So, tonight I do have a new piece of clip art to add. I will also do another post on my product review of the new 7gypsies collage paper. I love it!

Monday clip art: hand marbled paper

Another week has arrived, and it is gearing up to be a busy one for me. I have another Dr. appointment in Miami this week, and will be getting an MRI and an EEG (to hopefully diagnose the cause of my nerve problems that I have had for about a year now). I will do my best to share something each day, but if I don't, you will at least know why. So far, one person has told me to think about food I would like to eat, another said to think of a song, yet another told me to just take a nap, and all have told me to KEEP MY EYES CLOSED before and during the MRI, so that I don't get freaked out by it. I may be tired from the stress of driving and being repeatedly shocked (EEG), and just take the advice of napping.
Today's clip art freebie is a piece of marbled paper that I made by using craft acrylic paints, swirled on waxed paper, and then laying down a piece of thick paper on top. It turns out really neat if you use some metallic paints along with some darker opaque colors. Hope you enjoy it!