Out with the Old and In with the New - Take 2

I'm still working on the concept of out with the old and in with the new here at present but rather than throw out the old, it's in my heart to be repurposing as much as I can. 

I have been painting over old paintings and my journal to kick start this year was made from a piece of cardboard that came perfect in size and already scored to have a spine, and big enough to fit Signatures of A3 Size Sheets of Water Color Paper.

To cover the outside of my journal I used the fabric of an old shirt and the inside was lined with some papers I handmade in 2017.  
My internal spine was cut from another piece of sturdy cardboard and I simply lined up and punched three holes at the top and bottom on this piece.  I then took a piece of red elasticized thread and weaved this through the holes to create four page holders in my journal.  By pulling this thread tightly they hold the pages in firmly but allow me to remove each piece to work on them separately meaning I don't get lots of fun creative inky mess on my journal and its covers.

You can see in the photos it holds the page I shared with you from my last post beautifully and because our post today is all about the heart I am doing a bit of a Throwback Thursday also showing you a Gel print I did some time ago where I used punched out heart shapes as a mask.  The other page was done taking inspiration from my frangipanis in flower.  I used my watercolor pencils (see the special offer and get a FREE watercolor tube Brush) and gelatos to do this.

I am loving that I am in my creative flow at present, I've been journaling and painting and even writing some haiku poetry of late also.  If you are looking for lots of product inspiration to get creative in 2019 then be sure to check out all the wonderful supplies here on the website.

Have you already found this New Year has you all inspired and ready to create?  I'd love to know.

Danie xx

Sharing Inspiration

We are excited about the Valentine's Card Exchange and have ideas swirling around for our card creations.

Details and exchange signup is HERE

Here is some inspired cards and art for you to peruse.

We have glassine envelopes and gems and papers and ATC size cards with envelopes too!

Flowers and specialty papers Galore!

Card/book by Trisha Neal using Digital collages 

Tags and trims and more collages!

Stencils and Paints

Our digital collages are Da Bomb for making cards with themes.

Go here to register for the exchange

Trust Your Heart

This  month DIY Design Studio is bringing you "Art from the Heart" and we encourage you to join us. 

Tag us on social media and show us what you create with #DIYartfromtheheart.  

Come along with me on my very first project of 2019!

I have created a mixed media piece by upcycling a heart shaped chocolate candy box that I saved from Valentine's Day 2018.  To create this I used cardboard pieces, gesso, acrylic paints, Gelatos, misc. inks,  chipboard as well as lace and other embellishments. 

Here was the process.  

 I applied gesso to the box, then added torn cardboard using Aleene's Tacky Glue. 

Another layer of gesso was added so there was a primed surface for everything else to adhere to.  Not necessary, but I just tend to gesso most surfaces. 

 Next, came a layer of pink and white acrylic paints. 

Next, I dry fit papers, die cuts and vintage Rolodex cards for a textural base. 

Lace was added and painted paper hearts were attached with mini clothes pins, paper flowers and more painted card board pieces were glued down. 

I also added a little text sentinment for a title.  I just printed this on my computer and outlined it using my micron pen and adhered it with Tacky Glue. 

You can better see the paper flowers I used in the pic below.  These specifically came in white and I added the same pink ink to the centers that I used to colorize my background of the entire piece (you can see the drippy ink elements in the 2 photos above).  I also dry brushed a bit of black acrylic paint to the edges of the petals.  You can NEVER have too many layers of color.  The Little Birdy paper flowers are very pretty on their own, but colorizing them to 100% match the other elements ties the whole look together.  

The final element was diluting white acrylic paint and adding white splatter marks to the entire project.  Okay, that gets everywhere so be aware of that before you go flinging watered down paint on your work of art. You will find white little dots for days.  But, hey that is all part of the fun!  Get a little inky and painty...it is good for your soul!  Oh, a fan brush works best for splatter...well that or running your finger along a toothbrush drenched in watered down paint.  WHAT FUN!!! 

I hope you enjoyed this project.  

I hope your New Year is off to an amazing start.  

I also hope you are inspired to make Art from YOUR Heart.   Stay tuned for more inspiration from the DIY Design Team!

Be sure to check DIY Design Studio for all of your 

craft, vintage and painting supply needs!

Happy Friday! 

~Stephanie

A Card Exchange of Sweetness

I was so inspired by Lisa Kettell's 

Christmas Card Exchange!  

I spoke with Lisa and she is excited and supportive that DIY will do the Valentine Card Exchange 2019.

We will be inviting you to participate at the 

DIY Forum page - click here.  

OR leave a comment here and send your mailing address to Artsociates@gmail.com

Some people do not have the opportunity to receive Valentine cards, this exchange should be such a positive way to share good cheer and friendship!

Just a few simple guidelines - handmade, Valentine (love, sweet, heart, friendship, snarky) theme and a promise to mail on time for Valentines day.  We will provide a mailing list for you.  You can choose to be in a group of 5 cards, 10 cards or 20 cards.  That means you will mail cards to your list members and then will receive cards from the sweet names on your list.  That's where the Promise comes in!

REINVENTION

2019 will be a year for reinventing.

That includes my self, my art, my business and even new relationships.

Stale is a word I dislike and I feel stale.  2018 has been a challenging year for so many people and we all can use a fresh start, a positive attitude, and a creative spark.  That spark can be your cooking, your home, your art, YOUR relationships.

I found some unusual (to me) ways of celebrating the new year...

In Denmark, they save all of their unused dishes and plates until the 31st of December when they affectionately shatter them against the doors of all their friends and family.  (careful!!)

In Spain, the New Year’s tradition for good luck revolves around grapes. If you can manage to stuff 12 grapes in your mouth at midnight you’ve achieved good luck for the next year.  (not all at once I hope!) 

In some South American countries wearing colored underwear will determine your fate for the new year. Red underwear means you’ll find love. Gold means wealth, and white signifies peace.  (How about Hello Kitty?)

In the USA often involves Black Eyed Peas, meant to represent coins or wealth.  (My mother-in-law always opened a can and took one spoonful)

In Scotland, the first person to cross the threshold of a home in the new year should carry a gift for good luck. (I would like a new Kitchen Aide Mixer please)

This one is from a 'Pittsburgher' (my hometown).

How many people still put silver change (nickels, dimes, quarters) outside on their windowsills for New Year's Eve?  I was taught that it is a tradition to bring money into the house for the New Year..!!  AND Remember no chicken today or you’ll be scratching for money the rest of the year

See our group of New Years Collages to make gift tags and placeholders!

ENJOY YOUR 2019, WITH OR WITHOUT CHANGES.  MAKE IT WHAT YOU WANT.

Happy New Year to all party animals!

My mom used to use a saying "Putting on the dog."  It's not something we hear anymore, but Wikipedia defines it as an expression that means 'to make a display of wealth or importance, especially by dressing stylishly and flashily'.  And isn't that what we do when we get out our fanciest party clothes for New Year's Eve?  I took it just a tiny step farther with today's card.

This fancy pooch is ready to party!  You can find her on the Hounds collage sheet.  That tiara she's wearing makes me giggle whenever I see her.

The background paper and embellishments I used on this card are all shiny and add to the festive feel.  The clear florals were stuck on more of the same red paper and then cut out and layered.  The tiniest of them are attached with foam squares to give it more dimension.

Because it's New Year's Eve, I thought a clock would tie the theme together.  The Celebrate sticker sheet has a few beautiful clock designs.  You can even choose which clock hands to use.  All of these were layered with black card stock and scraps of patterned paper and collages cut into geometric shapes.  I added a couple of Dew Drop centers to the White Gold flowers.

And the words "Time to Celebrate!" make the inside of the card bright and shiny, too!  Just sign it with a gold gel pen and it's ready to give away.  Happy New Year to one and all!

Supplies used:
Celebrate and White Gold sticker sheets  and other fun gold glam designs
Red Satin Shimmer paper
Hounds digital collage sheet
Dew Drops and glue dots
Foam  squares and double sided adhesive tape
Card stock

Out with the Old and In with the New!

As the year draws to a close many of us find ourselves thinking about what New we want to bring into our lives for the following year.  It also means we could be looking at what we need to let go of to make way for the New.  For me, part of this thinking led me to a pile of papers I had been hoarding in my craft room for the past probably six or so months since I moved into a different space.

I like to repurpose and reuse where I can so sometimes I find it hard to part with things.  I found some offcuts from a project I shared here earlier in the year - gel press print papers I had used as backgrounds for some ATC Coins.  Anyhow, I decided to use the offcuts up and make an initial start for a 2019 journal.

Taking some A3 size watercolor paper that I often use to create signatures I folded this in half and began to punch squares out of my off cut papers and paste them down onto my page.

I ran out of enough paper to punch squares so the bottom of my page was torn strips and pieces of what was left.

Next I covered this entire gel press print layer with tissue to tone down the color.

Once dry I smeared some Distress Oxide ink over the top in three colors.

Having finished the background I then proceeded to do some stamping of Dream Catchers and made marks with some other stamps, I also punched out some tiny hearts from a dark pink scrap of paper.  My chosen sentiments are to encourage me to Dream and Live them Out in the Year to come.

So yes it was out with the old scraps and into the New Journal.

Anyhow it is back to the tidying up and clearing out.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to 2019.

Danie xx