Butterflies Prima Doll Journal Page

I'm continuing on my Prima Doll/Gelli Pringing Journal journey with this page about butterflies.  The stamp says "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly."  Sometimes we think the same way, all gloom and doom, only to find that God had another plan that was better than we could have ever hoped.

I used the Stampin' Up thinlets dies to cut the butterflies from gelli prints, then added  clear glitter.  For the background,  I used a heart stamp to remove blue sky paint from the Gelli plate before printing, and a Catalyst tool to create the green "grass".  

Connection Group Craft Night

Beginning next Monday, some of the ladies from my Connection Group (Sunday School class) will meet once a month to make a couple of cards.  This is something I've been planning to do for quite awhile, and since things are slowing down at Paper Arts (as far as the number of classes I'm teaching) I thought it would be a good time to start this.  Here's the first two cards:

I used "Sassy Salutations" stamp set from Stampin' Up and  patterned paper from my stash for this card.  Some people may make a purple version since I don't have enough of the flowered paper.  The final version of this card has a red bow at the top.

This card also comes in a pink version - I don't have enough yellow flowers for everyone.  The yellow background is dry embossed.  I don't know where I got the "hello" stamp.

The sentiments are embossed on both cards using a technique that was new to me - apply Versamark to the stamp first, then apply Distress Ink on top of the Versamark to get the right colors, stamp on paper, sprinkle on clear embossing powder then heat.  I'm really pleased with the results.  The hard part will be remembering to clean the stamp before making the next impression - you don't want to contaminate the Versamark.

School Art Journal Page

Since school's almost out for the year, I'd better post this Prima Doll School Art Journal Page before it's summer.

The background is printed from a Gelli Plate - the green reminds me of the wall color that we had in junior high years ago.  The arrows represent the decisions we all had to make in school.  The hardest part of this page was the lockers - done with lots of measuring, marking with a black Pitt pen, highlighting the vents with a white paint pen and coloring the number plates and handles with a silver Sharpie.  I used a Montana acrylic paint marker for the floor and numbered Washi tape across the very bottom.  The stamp is from Hobby Lobby - I liked the sentiment and thought it was good advice for everyone.  The Prima dolls are stamped and embossed on cream paper.  The clothes are stamped on different color/patterns of paper and embossed.  The shoes and hair are colored in with Pitt pens.  I really like Pitt Big Brush pens because they are permanent when dry, but stay wet just long enough to blend a little, if you want.

Steps Journal Page

"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  Proverbs 3:5
This girl is climbing the steps of life with doubt about her future.  I think we've all been there.

I used two Gelli printed pages - the blue wavy background with copper arrows, and the creamy paper with "bricks" and other stenciled layers.  On the blue background, I stenciled brown and aqua hexagons using Caran d'ache watercolor crayons. The gate and sentiment are stamped and embossed in black.  You can't see it too well, but I used a glitter pen to decorate the doll's headband. Proverbs 3:5 is written between the bricks of the steps.

On another note, I took the picture above on my deck, with the iron railing and trees in the background.  On the table on the deck was a smashed bird egg, directly below the ceiling fan - is there a nest up on the fan?  I couldn't see one, but the egg was pretty fresh. This last fall, a black bird flew over the table on the deck and hit a dining room window, killing itself.  However, the bird's beak was stuck in the window screen.  It scared me when I first saw it - a bird hanging from the window screen about 5' from the floor.  Was it a precursor to Hitchcock's "The Birds?"  You be the judge.

Cowgirl Journal Page

This cute cowgirl looks great out in the desert with the saguaro cactus.  Did you know that it's illegal to cut down a saguaro?  Did you also know that birds build nests in the saguaro?

I used a Gelli printed background and painted the brown desert sand at the base with an acrylic paint marker.  Then I added a thick layer of Glass Beads over the brown, and let it dry overnight.  Since the sentiment refers to stars, I stenciled some in the sky, using two different stencils and two different colors of Distress Ink.  The saguaro is painted with a green acrylic paint marker.  I cut slits by the cowgirl's left arm to insert her lasso.

Prima Doll Art Journal - page 1

I started this journal last week by creating Gelli printed backgrounds for each page, then stamping, embossing and cutting out one of each of my doll stamps.  Now, slowly, but surely, I'm creating an art journal with each doll and quotes from my stamp collection.  Here's the first one - and I just figured out how to add a watermark to my images - looks pretty professional, doesn't it?

The only unprofessional thins is the curved pages - guess I could iron them flat - maybe I'll try that.

How did I do it?

1.  I brayered blue acrylic paint on the gelli plate and pulled the paint off with a "LIVE" stamp I made from foam letters , then pulled a print.  Then I masked off the word with a torn piece of paper (on the print) and brayered on the Gelli plate a lighter shade of blue.  Using a texture plate, I pulled off some of the paint from the plate and pulled a print.
2.  Using a green Montana acrylic paint marker, I painted in the hill, avoiding the word "LIVE"
3.  Using a gray Montana acrylic paint marker, I painted in the path.
4.  Using some white acrylic ink, I stenciled in the clouds.
5.  I stamped "live the life you've imagined" with black ink
6.  For the doll, I used Pitt pens to color in her hair, headband, dress bodice, skirt ruffle and shoes.  I added some sparkle, with a clear Wink of Stella pen, to her shoes and headband.
7.  I stamped with black Versamark on some scrap pattern paper for her skirt and jacket, then embossed with clear embossing powder. After cutting out the clothes, I outlined the edges with a regular black Sharpie, holding the pen on the backside of the paper, using the side of the pen nib.  I also outlined the doll body, using the same method, then glued the clothes on the doll.
8.  I drew a basket, freehand, on brown paper, then added cross-hatching to make the basket look woven.  I snipped the handle and slipped the basket behind the doll's arm.  Then I glued the doll and basket to the background.
9.  I added some tiny Prima flowers to the basket and made a bouquet using the same flowers near the bottom of the page.  I freehand drew in the stems and leaves to the bouquet using a black Pitt pen.

I'm pleased with the way she turned out and hope you like her, too.

As promised, this quilted table runner is a recent addition to my collection.  My mother gave me the pattern for Christmas - it was one I had admired when we visited the Amana Colonies in Iowa last fall.  I used some fabric from my stash - who knows how long I've had it.

I did most of the quilting while riding the train to and from Austin last month, when I visited my son, and finished it at home while watching TV.

I used cross-hatch quilting for the background, quilted close to the appliques and used a scroll pattern for the borders on the ends.

I had long strips of the stripe in my stash which was perfect for the binding.