New - Digital Collage Sheets on Etsy

Here are 2 new collage sheets which are going into my Etsy shop today. There is a vintage Valentine ephemera sheet and also a shabby collaged hearts sheet. Please visit my shop for further details.

Cassis's Creations Design Team Artwork for December

Here are a couple of little wall or tree ornaments made with some beautiful new sheets from Cassandra at Cassis's Creations. Pay a visit to her shop and see these lovely designs and lots more.

Christmas Countdowns!

Starting tomorrow, there are two lurvely sites with daily goodies:-

Lisa Volrath (Ten Two Studios & Go Make Something}'s Holiday Countdown

and Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas

Check them out and get into the holiday spirit!

Grungy Victorian Ladies Collage Sheet

This is a new collage sheet I have listed on Etsy today.

Cassis's Creations Design Team Artwork For November

Here are two pretty little tags made with images from Cassandra's new Shabby Winter Holiday 1 & 2 collage sheets. The edges have been glittered and the images then stuck onto tags, one from K & Co (the blue one) and I made the red one with strips of co-ordinating paper.


They were finished with embellishments and digital frames - the top one by Christina Renee and the bottom one by Retrodiva. Stop by the store to see these sheets and lots more.

Published in Somerset Studio!

Sorry I'm a bit late in posting my artwork featured in the November/December issue of Somerset Studio. It's been a mad couple of weeks and also I haven't been very well.
I sent in these 5 vintage Christmas tags and they featured the 4 on the right!

Decorative Clipping Mask

I found a tutorial today online which showed how to make a decorative clipping mask with brushes etc. This is my first attempt - a bit basic but it's not bad. I might well try some more.

I don't usually work in black and white but I was also following an article by Kelley Kuhlman in the last issue of Digital Studio about using doodles around a greyscale photo and so I combined the two tutorials!

My First Collage Sheet Listed on Etsy!

I have just put together my first collage sheet which is now listed for sale on Etsy . There are various photo images which I have "grunged" up and altered. Hope you like them.

October Design Team Work

Mr V-B has now re-built our main computer and so I will start to catch up on my backlog!

Here are a couple of things for October using some of Cassandra's collage sheets - the digital postcard uses her Art Borders and Ephemera Sea & cream. The ATCs: the dark blue one comes from the Witch Hunt Backgrounds and is a grungy, rusty style and the dark green one is from her Vintage Backgrounds. I will try and do another couple if I can find enough time before the end of the month.

Stop by the store to see these sheets and more.

I Have No Computer Again!

Well, something's gone wrong again with our main computer - I have not been able to use it since the middle of last week and have no access to my printer or scanner!!! I am able to use our backup computer but that is not connected to all the other pieces of equipment I need.

I am therefore late doing my October artwork for Cassandra's Design Team and can't post about the goodies I got at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, London, last Saturday or the mixed media piece I started in a workshop I took at the show with Claire Martin. It was quite basic when I left (workshop only lasted one hour) and I have been working on it since and it is coming along nicely.

Oh well... can't do much about it - Mr.VB has been trying various things to fix it but has had no luck yet - one more idea to try tomorrow - fingers crossed. Hope it's fixed very soon....

I Now Have An Etsy Store

I have had several requests from people in the past to buy my background papers and I have now decided to open an Etsy store for this. I have listed a couple of papers today and will do some more tomorrow. There is also a link in the sidebar if you are interested.

Online Art Journal Workshop

I saw this great workshop when visiting Quill Cottage blog and although I have already started a journal myself, thought I would pick up some great tips and useful ideas from Heather. I am late signing up but will look at it retrospectively.

I'm Being Published Again!

Just had some great news that Stampington are going to publish my submitted artwork in the November/December 2009 (Christmas issue). Twice in one year is a great achievement for me and I'm very thrilled. I will post a link when it is available.

A New Background Paper Design

This is a new paper I have just come up with out of the blue - let me know what you think. Thanks.

A Couple More Journal Pages

Here are another couple of pages for my altered journal. The backgrounds are my own - one made digitally, the other painted tissue paper on printed paper, with vintage images, beautiful flowers and trim and vintage text.

September Artwork for Cassi's Creations

Here is this month's artwork for Cassi's Etsy store. I have made one tag and two atcs from Cassandra's Purple Rosey Maries collage sheet and her Vintage Background collage sheets.

The tag started as an atc but I wanted to make it a bit grander so turned it into a tag with a spray of little flowers over her head and a pleated music sheet strip at the bottom, also trimmed with flowers. I edged the sides and top of the tag with silver leaf to give a cracked, aged effect and finally trimmed with ribbon and fibres.

The framed atc has a die cut frame around it with Marie image, completed with Prima flowers and butterflies. Specks of sparkle are added here and there. The other atc has an image of Marie wearing a beautiful violet flower skirt with pretty embellishments and sparkle.

Stop by the store to see these sheets and more.

New Prima Product Picks

Wow, just look at these new beauties on the Prima Blog.

Maids of the Mist ATCs

Here are a couple more atc's using one of the gorgeous collage sheets from Cassis's Creations.



I had been given an old postcard of Niagara Falls and I thought these dreamy-looking ladies would look right against it. I added butterflies from the same collage sheet and a couple of other embellishments to finish them off. There were will a few more in the next couple of weeks so keep watching ....

The Butterfly Sisters - New Design Team Artwork for Cassi's Creations

Here is my first artwork for Cassandra's Etsy store. These are ATCs made from two separate collage sheets:- Witch Hunt Halloween (used for the backgrounds) and Vintage Aqua & Orange Mixed Media & Altered Art ATC sheet for the other elements. Stop by the store to see these sheets and more.

Another Journal Page

Here is another page for my altered journal - as you can see, it's really a nature-inspired colour scheme of greens, browns and beiges.

Cassi's Creations Design Team Member!

I am very proud to have been selected to be 1 of 8 members of a new Design Team for Cassi's Creations, which is Cassandra Van Curen's Etsy store. I will be posting artwork made from some of her lovely collage sheet designs every month. Take a look around her store and watch this space for the art ....

Been Photoshopping Again!

I've been playing with this photo of a lovely little window taken in France a couple of years ago. I added a vintage frame, some noise and a texture courtesy of Renee , a friend from Flickr. I think I will doing another of these very soon - they are addictive!

Sneak Peak

I am making an altered journal after being inspired by the beautiful journals of Dede Warren in the latest edition of Sew Somerset and the gorgeous ephemera journals of Mary Green.

I have selected the cover for my journal and covered it (not shown here) and here is a sneak peek of the first page (back and front) so far - I may yet add a little something else to page 2. I am really enjoying this and will post other piccies when they are done.

My Hard Disc Has Died!

Just wanted to say sorry for the delay in posting new artwork but our computer's hard disc died last weekend. It looks like all my photos and artwork from the last 18 months have been lost and it wasn't backed up. My hubby is going to send the dead disc off to a data retrieval company in the hope that they can extract all the missing work and images - I do hope so. I am very miserable at the moment as whole folders of images have gone. Frustrating isn't the word!

I must learn how to back up and start doing it - I am so annoyed I can't tell you!

I'm Back!

Just got back from Corfu earlier this week and gradually getting up to date now with unpacking, washing and putting things away. Here are a few of the gorgeous views of Corfu for you to share:-






I did create some art while I was away but need to put a few finishing touches before I post piccies. Watch this space....

Taking A Break .....

I will be taking a long awaited and hard earned break in a couple of days and will be back in two weeks' time. See ya!

Another New Background Paper

I'm addicted to making backgrounds! Here is another, this time a shabby, faded floral collage.

New Background with Marie

This is the background I recently showed you, only now I have played around with it in Photoshop by adding a few Marie-Antoinette images into the mix and this is the final result.

New ATC - "Praline"

A new atc made from scraps of vintage sheet music and printed paper, machine sewn and collaged with an image of a Victorian lady and embellished with lace scraps and other embellishments.

New Stuff!

This is a new background paper I have working on for a while. I love making backgrounds but they can be so time consuming as I like to fiddle a lot and incorporate lots of different scraps, stamps and ephemera. This one was started a year or so ago (!) and I came across it in its unfinished state last week by chance and have been finishing it off this week. It is basically different strips of vintage text/patterned paper, some with scrunched up tissue paper and gesso applied on top and then stamped and collaged with bits and pieces.

New Blog Background!

Cassandra at BlogsNSuch has just created some new blog backgrounds - this is one of them - I love it. Check out her site at:-

http://blogsnsuchbackgrounds.blogspot.com/

Eiffel Tower ATCs

Here are my atcs for the Eiffel Tower Swap for the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. Two of these are digital designs with added embellishments and the other two are collaged:-

Yes, Another Brown Digital Collage!

Still browny toned I'm afraid - I love browns - you would never guess would you? It didn't start off brown - I started with a photo we took of some brilliant lime green euphorbias at Powis Castle, Welshpool last weekend and then added vintage script and music texture layers and the blending modes turned it this lovely colour. I then added a vintage image layer and collaged it all together.

Newest Photoshop Creation

I have been playing in Photoshop again. Haven't been using it much lately as it isn't working on our main computer and I have to go onto an older, not very fast computer now to use it until DH fixes it. Anyhow, I started off making a digital collage of a gothic beauty and timbered property and then as I added different elements to it decided I liked different versions and blending modes and so I have saved three different versions and can't decide which one I like best. Here they are:-

New" Non-Marie" Artwork!

It seems that everything I have done lately has been related to Marie-Antoinette! This is to be expected with the release of the magazine. However, I do have other irons in the fire at the moment and this is a new piece of artwork I have submitted for publication - so fingers crossed!

It is called "Nature Journal" and the pages were a digital download from Cottage Arts and I have just played around with them, adding different elements here and there. Credits also to Christina Renee Designs, Itkupilli, Anna White & K&Co. I have blended different images and vintage ledger paper and also used some digital brushes I made myself. Hope you like it.

Marie Magazine Artwork

Well, my copy of "Marie" finally arrived and although ectastic to be published, I feel that the photos published have been altered: brightness and contrast-wise and I think this makes my work look washed out or sharpened too much. I also noticed a typo in the heading! The colours are much nicer in the flesh. Also, my blog address wasn't mentioned but my email address was (which I didn't want published!)I was initially disappointed that my article was right bang at the back of the magazine but then thought "how many people flick through a mag back to front?" - I know I do, so I felt better about it then!

Here are a couple of the other pages that didn't make it into the mag. Hope you like them!





Having said all that, of course it goes without saying that I am so chuffed that I have been featured so I suppose my niggles are just minor in the scheme of things.

A final big thank you to Jennifer Jackson & Stampington & Co. for featuring my work and for producing such a beautiful magazine with sumptuous eye-candy. THANK YOU!

Birds of A Feather Swap ATC's Arrived

 

Had a lovely surprise this week, to find these gorgeous goodies on the mat when I got home from work. Thank you to Cassandra, Ingrid and Joan for their beautiful cards. There was an extra card from Cassandra as a thank you for taking part (the bright pink one with the pale blue bow) and Cassandra had kindly included 3 of her own digital postcards, which are seen at the back. They are beautiful and very inspirational. I have already started on my second digital postcard so watch this space in the near future.

Rosey Marie Swap ATCs

Yet another swap for the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group, this time with a rose theme. There are so many gorgeous swaps on offer in this group and I have just committed to another - an Eiffel Tower ATC swap.

As soon as I finish my cards for a swap, I think that I won't do any more for a while to get a bit of breathing space etc., but then a fab topic comes up and what do I do - say yes, of course!!

Coming Soon - "Our Sweet Marie" Zine

This is to let all Marie fans know that this Summer a new Zine will be available through the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group, organised by Cassandra. Here is the first issue front cover which she has just shown to members of the group. This will be a FREE bi-yearly zine with HUGE amounts of eye candy! Each issue will showcase a super talented featured artist and the first issue will feature Corrine Clark, cover artist is Rebecca Allinson. There will be an article on the "Birds of a Feather" ATC swap (my ATC's already previously posted about), articles on Marie Antoinette, theatres, altered shoes, Artist Trading Cards, jewellery, and much much more! As if that wasn't enough, there will be a free collage sheet!

If you love Marie too and would like to join our group, visit us at: http://antoinettemailart.ning.com/. If you would like to submit your Marie Antoinette themed art to be considered for publication, please email Cassandra at cdvcreations@yahoo.com.

Digital Collage Postcards

I am in the middle of an online digital collage workshop through the wonderful Creative Workshops and have been trying out digital postcards for a swap in my Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. This is a first attempt.

February Mind Wide Open Challenge

"Dream" was the word prompt for the challenge this time. The image given was the one at the bottom of this post and my entry is the one on the top. If you would like to vote for me, then please click on the Mind Wide Open picture link in the Right hand sidebar by 14th February. Thank you!