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!

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.

Crackle Black Bird clip art

Just doing a late night, drive-by clip art posting before heading to bed. Here is a bird silhouette that I made, cut out, painted black, and crackle finished. I played a bit with it in Photoshop, but my program is acting glitchy tonight. Tweet Tweet! (that's "bird" for "See ya tomorrow!")

Hand written Benjamin Franklin Letter clip art

Here's a neat historical piece of clip art to use in your mixed media art. I can't make out all of the words, but maybe some of you can. I love using handwritten text in my pieces, and do so quite often.
Today's project was making a new house number plaque for out new home. We currently have the plain plastic black numbers, and with the Victorian style of our home, I felt it needed something a little more fancy. The total cost will be less than if I bought a premade plastic plaque like they sell at Home Depot and Lowes. I will post the pics and a tutorial tomorrow. Have a good night! I hope to see you again soon!

Dollar store deals!

I'll be adding a new clip art piece later today, but first, I wanted to share some Dollar store ideas. We just moved very close to a Dollar Tree store, and I am in there all the time! Yesterday, I found they had put out their new Halloween items (Yay! That means fall is on the way!) and I found this packet of black cat paper cut-outs. I already have ideas for a cute 3 piece, small canvas mixed media piece using these cats. Those of you who know me well, know that I adore cats, and one of mine happens to be black.
What else can you use from the dollar store? Toothbrushes for spattering paint, plastic plates as reusable paint palettes, craft foam sheets for making your own stamps, scissors, sandpaper for distressing your art pieces, coffee cups for holding your brushes, and tissue paper for wrapping your pieces for mailing or gift giving. I prefer the Dollar Tree, because EVERYTHING is a dollar....AND they have great chocolate. I am a self-proclaimed chocolate snob (usually, I prefer European brands), but the Dollar Tree has their own brand made by Landmark Confections, that is soooooo good!
On another note, here is a picture of my studio in our new home. I finally have my own room, with tiled floors, so I can spread out and make a big, creative mess. I am a complete clean freak when it comes to the rest of the house, but I am really good at making a mess when I am in my creating mode. Well, off to eat some breakfast and get on with the day! Stop back later for some clip art!

Folk Art Heart

I came across some fun finds at the local dollar store to use in some projects, and I will share those with you tomorrow. The dollar store is a fabulous place to find things to use in mixed media artwork.
For today though, as promised, is a new free clip art that you are free to have fun with! I hand painted this piece and have had it sitting around without a purpose for a while. Hope you enjoy it!

Awesome Templates for Mixed Media backgrounds and scrapbooking

I am in love with these awesome templates from www.craftersworkshop.com! I love finding anything I can use to create awesome layered backgrounds for my mixed media paintings. Think of all the possibilities these stencils could have! They are affordable, re-usuable, and come in a variety of really awesome designs. Here is one place you can buy them online

http://www.franticstamper.com/cwletter.htm

Mixed Media backgrounds with household items

Here's a quick tip for the day..... If you have excess bubble wrap, you can use it to add the dotted texture you see in a lot of mixed media paintings. If you don't, you can make your own stencil with paper and a hole punch. You can also use the lid of a spice jar. Just make sure it is cleaned well first! I have found that yellow mailers (a used one if you are conserving paper/resources) work well because the paper is thick and stiff. You can use the lid of the spice jar to make large circular stamps on the background.