Playing with Papers: A Paper Flower

Last Friday, I shared "Papers In Bloom" collage papers for CareFREE Fridays!  (If you haven't already downloaded them, you can get them here.)  For this week's Playing with Papers I created a paper flower... What better way to play with flower paper than to create a paper flower? 

I started by printing my flower paper on card stock.  I printed it on both sides - the light yellow daisy paper on one side and the deeper yellow flower paper on the other.  (I also printed two sided green stem paper.)

I cut a strip of the yellow paper and made slits along one edge. I also cut petal shapes in two different sizes using templates I created.

Using "Aleene's Tacky Glue" I wrapped the strip of yellow around a green pipe cleaner.

After the center was finished, I began gluing on petals, one at a time, starting with the smaller petals first.  (I switched to hot glue because of it's strength and quick drying time.)

I kept adding petals, deep yellow side up, until the inner ring of petals was complete.

Then I added the larger petals around the smaller ones (lighter side up).

I cut a strip of green stem paper and made slits along one edge, then wrapped and glued it to the base of the flower.

I cut thin strips of green stem paper and wrapped the pipe cleaner a little bit more.

The vase I made in a previous post was the perfect place to display this beautiful bloom!

*This step-by-step process is intended for personal use only.*

Please do not sell this image or teach/post this tutorial as your own. 

It is totally okay to use the FREE collage papers to make your own unique images to sell. (I actually think that's pretty cool, and I'd love to see them!)

But, please do not sell re-creations of the image I've made.  (That's not cool.)

Please be sure to check back for more FREE collage papers (and ideas to go with them)!

My Favorite Things Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered - I appreciate all of your kind comments and wish I could send goodies to everyone!  But alas, there could only be 2 winners and they are...

Melanie!

Melanie at ScrapMel's Ramblings wins the box of my favorite (art making) things!

and...

Fallingladies!

Andrea at FallingLadies wins Kathleen Smith's "Dolls" cd!

Congratulations and Enjoy!!!

Paint Party Friday and the 6th CareFREE Fridays! Papers In Bloom

It's time for another Paint Party Friday and the sixth edition of CareFREE Fridays!

Every Friday during the summer I will share collage papers that I have painted during the week.  The papers are available to you for FREE to use in your artwork.  You can print them out immediately or you can save them to your computer for future use.  The only rule: Have fun!

If you are interested in downloading the papers, click on them to view them larger then print or save to your computer.

This week I played with my hand carved stamps (and paint, of course!) to create "Papers In Bloom"...

(inspired by stems)

*You can see what I did with last week's FREE collage papers here.*

Playing with Papers: A Wildly Colorful Frame

(Beautiful text created by Liv Lane)

This week's tutorial was inspired by the amazing Liv Lane's fantastic download at the Choosing Beauty blog.  (I needed a fabulous frame to go with her fabulous words!)

Last Friday, I shared "Papers Gone Wild" collage papers for CareFREE Fridays!  (If you haven't already downloaded them, you can get them here.)  For this week's Playing with Papers! I created a wildly colorful frame...

I started with an unfinished wood frame I purchased from my local craft store.

I removed the string and painted the frame portion black.

Then I printed out my "papers gone wild" in 4x6 format and cut them into different sized rectangles and squares.

After they were cut, I glued them onto my frame (be sure to use mod podge or matte medium or they will peel up in the next step).

Being sure to allow adequate time for the glue to dry, I added a dimensional paper glaze to make them look like leopard tiles.  (Before adding the glaze make sure to poke holes where the string was so that you are able to thread a ribbon through later.)

I let the glaze dry overnight, then I created a black and white check pattern along the edges using a paint pen.  The final step was adding a fun black and white ribbon where the string had been.

And of course, the finishing touch was adding Liv's inspirational text - Thanks Liv!

This framed word art is such a fun addition to my studio!

*This step-by-step process is intended for personal use only.*

Please do not sell this image or teach/post this tutorial as your own. 

It is totally okay to use the FREE collage papers to make your own unique images to sell. (I actually think that's pretty cool, and I'd love to see them!)

But, please do not sell re-creations of the image I've made.  (That's not cool.)

Please be sure to check back for more FREE collage papers (and ideas to go with them)!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things... Giveaway(s)!

Today is my 1 year blogging anniversary!  Hooray!

To celebrate all of the fun and all of the friends I've made this past year I am having a giveaway of some of my "studio essentials", some of the supplies I can't do without...

My favorite (art making) things!

The very first thing I do when I step into my studio is turn on "Tinfoil Girl" by Kathleen Smith.  Listening to that song has become a very important part of my painting ritual.

Along with being extremely talented, Kathleen Smith has a beautifully kind spirit that comes through in her magical music.  I am thrilled to announce that Kathleen has very generously sent me her "Dolls" cd to be included in my blogoversary giveaway!  Wheee!!!

In addition to Kathleen's cd, the other giveaway goodies include:

*Black Gesso (If you read this post then you remember how much I love black gesso!)

*3 of my favorite white gel pens

*2 Prismacolor blender pencils

*1 Staedtler eraser (the kind I've been using since high school!)

*1, 8x10 piece of the industrial foam I use to carve my stamps

*4, 8x10 pieces of drafting vellum (mylar) for stencil making

and

*1 small piece of pressboard (You may remember me mentioning it in this post.)

All of these treasures will come wrapped in tissue paper and bubble wrap - Two more great texture makers!  (You can also cut up and gesso over the cardboard box it comes in to create even more art!)

But wait... The giveaway doesn't end there!

(Can't you just hear the infomercial voice?!? hee hee)

Kathleen didn't just send 1 cd, she sent 2!!!

Since I already bought my copy from cdbaby ages ago, that means I have another one for a lucky second winner!

If you are interested in entering this giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. (Please make sure to include a way to contact you if you win.)  The giveaway will end Friday August 5th at 11:59pm (EST).

I will randomly choose 2 winners and announce them on Saturday August 6th.  The first winner will receive the box of art supplies and cd, and the second lucky winner will receive Kathleen Smith's "Dolls" cd!

Thank you all for making this such an exciting year in my creative journey!

Good Luck!

Paint Party Friday and the 5th CareFREE Fridays! Papers Gone Wild

It's time for another Paint Party Friday and the fifth edition of CareFREE Fridays!

Every Friday during the summer I will share collage papers that I have painted during the week.  The papers are available to you for FREE to use in your artwork.  You can print them out immediately or you can save them to your computer for future use.  The only rule: Have fun!

If you are interested in downloading the papers, click on them to view them larger then print or save to your computer. 

This week I created a leopard print stencil.  After I cut it, I couldn't stop playing with different color combinations!  So, this week I am offering "Papers Gone Wild"...

*You can see what I did with last week's FREE collage papers here.*

Peggy created a fun collage with one of last week's papers - be sure to check it out!

Playing with Papers: A Super Simple Celebration Bunting

Last Friday, I shared "Celebrate!" collage papers for CareFREE Fridays!  (If you haven't already downloaded them, you can get them here.)  For this week's Playing with Papers! I created a super simple (no-sew) celebration bunting...

I started by printing out "Celebrate!" (and more) papers in 5x7 format on cardstock.  (You can see all of the previously offered papers here.)

I cut the paper into triangles.

After I cut the paper, there were lots of scraps...

So I cut them into smaller triangles.

Next, I added letters to the larger triangles.  You can use stencils, stickers, stamps, hand paint them, or do what I did - print your letters from the computer, cut them out, and glue them on.

I finished the bunting by hot gluing the triangles to a decorative ribbon.

Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduations, and even Everyday Joys are all great reasons to celebrate... Why not do it with a colorful, fun, and easy bunting?

*This step-by-step process is intended for personal use only.*

Please do not sell this image or teach/post this tutorial as your own. 

It is totally okay to use the FREE collage papers to make your own unique images to sell. (I actually think that's pretty cool, and I'd love to see them!)

But, please do not sell re-creations of the image I've made.  (That's not cool.)

Please be sure to check back for more FREE collage papers (and ideas to go with them)!