Kingfisher(s)

I seem to have a "thing" about Kingfishers with this book.  The cover is covered with Kingfisher postage stamps from Australia.  As well as a couple more Kingfisher stamps on the spine.
I finished up a couple pages in the book last night that are all about Kingfishers.

The first thing I did when I started these pages was glue a 12x12 scrapbooking paper to the pages with matte medium.  I've been working in this book off and on for a couple (or maybe even a few) years and some of the pages are starting to fall out so glueing that paper in reinforced these pages.  Also I've been taking advantage of numbers already in the book so cut out a window for the 7.  I used stamp decorative edge scissors to cut out the borders for the stamps as well as frame for the 7.  I could only find six of those stamps and needed 7 so scanned and enlarged one to get the seventh.  Arranged the stamps and glued them down.  Then stamped the word KINGFISHERS.
For the other page I thought since it's a Kingfisher I would use the crown on the scrapbook paper to embellish that point.  The image is drawn on a piece of Fabriano paper with Prismacolor watercolor pencils.  Then smoothed out with water and a paint brush.  I went over the blue with metallic watercolor paint.  Once completely dry I painted background with very light green and edged with a bit darker green.  Glued that down and then stamped the word KINGFISHER.

Here's a couple other pages I've done in the book using the numbers in the book:

The other thing I did to the book this weekend, in addition to glueing in 12x12 paper to reinforce pages, was to go through the book and use patterned packing tape to put loose pages back in the book.  As well as using the tape to reinforce pages coming loose.  Here's an example of one of those:

Thanks for taking a look!
I hope you are having a creative weekend!

Seven and Seventeen

Doesn't everyone eventually draw pears in their art journal?  Well, I just did.  Here's my pears drawn and painted with Derwent Inktense Pencils:

I've said it before but worth saying again - I LOVE Inktense Pencils.  The colors are so vivid!  They also now have Inktense Blocks.  I don't have any of those yet but they look like they would be lots of fun.
I rubber stamped on tissue paper and glued it down with matte medium.  I use Daniel Smith Matte Medium for gluing down lightweight paper items.  I then glued down some postage stamps with a pear image.  I did that to help tie in this page to it's facing page where I did a Pear collage.  Here it is:

    I did the background with several layers of craft acrylic paints and gesso.  Both pages were started off with a layer of gesso so the medium I applied wouldn't sink into the paper.  I used some punchinella (sequin waste) to add some dots interest to the background.  I stamped the pear/poire stamp (Stampers Anonymous) on tissue paper and glued them down with matte medium.  I stamped the sketched pear stamp (Art Impressions) 3 times on decoative paper and cut them out and glued down.  Then added the three postage stamps with pear image to the lower left corner.  Collage didn't look done..needed something on the top left.  I was walking by the buffet and there's a bowl of tickets my niece use to play with and noticed some that seemed the right color of yellow so grabbed them.  Glued them down and softened the edges with an inkpad and stencil brush and called it done!
This was a good exercise for me as I pretty much never use yellow.  Green - all the time but not much yellow.  Always good to use a color you don't usually use.  Helps me to appreciate the color more.  Also, always good to try to draw something...practice makes perfect, right?  Not that I want to be perfect but hopefully keep improving!
Thanks for taking a look!
Enjoy Memorial Day Weekend!

Bird Altered Book

Here's another couple number themed pages in my bird altered book.  Plus on the right side I made use of the printed words on the page.  Just had to add the word birds.  You might need to click on the pic to enlarge so you can see the other words.  I love it when I can incorporate the words on the page!  I also got a chance to use some of my fav blackbird rubber stamps.  As well as the blackbird postage stamps.  Years ago, prob atleast 10 now, I bought a lot of postage stamps on Ebay - I think it was 7 lbs - and about half of them were bird stamps from Ireland.  Yippee!  I love stamps with birds on them.  They are my fav!  I may never run out.  Unless I ever do get to a project idea I had to cover a wood chair with them.  Think for a minute how many stamps would equal 7 lbs - it is alot!  The rest of them were mostly Australian, again lot's of birds, including the ones I used to cover my Bird Altered Book.

      

I also did a quick page using one of the other things I like to collect (I'm a COLLECTOR not a HOARDER!).  A postcard.  This is a really nice vintage one so I put it in with photo corners so as not to damage it.  The backgrouns is scrapbook paper with an edge.  And I spread some white pigment ink on it before I wrote Baltimore Oriole on it and inked the edges.  And drew the line in the center with the same black sharpie I used for the words.

Hope you enjoyed taking a look!

Have a creative weekend!

Owl Collage

Here's a collage I did as part of the Spill It online worshop I took from Carmen Torbus.  You can read more about the workshop in this previous post,  I am soooo LOVING this workshop and all I'm learning about acrylics!!!

For this piece of art the lesson was transfers.  I learned alot in this lesson - mostly to learn from my mistake and move on.  My orig transfer was too similar a color and didn't really show up.

So, as you see in the completed collage (first photo) I painted over it in black. 

I then used some of my very favorite owl postage stamps that I had been hoarding, because I love owls, to complete the collage.  I've been wanting to do something cool with those owl stamps for a long, long time so I'm glad I finally came up with something! 

I've finally decided it is alot more fun to have something I made with a fav supply I have than hanging on to the supply!  What am I saving them for?!? 

I am an art supply junkie!  There, now I've admitted it!

Anyway, hope you enjoy the collage.  It's pretty cool, huh?