Collaged Mother Goose and Wax video

New collages and mixed media I worked on recently using images from an old Mother Goose child's book that was falling apart:

Love the crackle here

Finally tried wax on this one

 I "stamped" thick gesso with a recycled paper tube here

 

Scrunched dress pattern tissue here 

If you want to try beeswax on your pieces, here's a great video from Stampington.  This link takes you to their video.

Many other good videos at their video library as well.

Here's wishing you're enjoying your summer!

Paper Bag Mixed Media

This is my second mixed media book done with lunch brown paper bags.  Lots of fun!

 This one I sent to a swap partner for a swap I joined at the Yahoo group Altered_stArt.

 

After giving each bag a white paint coating, I used paper napkins, stamps, glimmer mist, rub-ons, pearls, gesso, lace, vintage images and photos, stickers, acrylic paints, Silhouette die cuts, book pages, tags, ribbon, paper doily, silk and paper flowers, a coffee filter and a piece of air dry clay that I stamped, painted, sprayed with glimmer mist and sealed with clear varnish.

The completed book

Front Cover

That big pink flower is a paper napkin

Here's a piece of air dry clay, on the 2nd page, which I used acrylic white paint, a blue glimmer mist and clear varnish.  I used the same foam stamp to produce the indent embossing that I used on the background and also embossed one with pink glitter powder.  On the left, I used a paper doily as a stencil and sprayed it with glimmer mist for the effect on the background.

The papers here was a background paper I made a while back painted with acrylics on the background and the purple stenciled images are done with a dimensional paint.

Love how the library card turned out.  More embossing, this time with a white powder.  The fish strip is fabric from a ready to cut and sew craft of some sort that I've had for years.

Magazine cutouts I loved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had to include some beachy graphics.  AHHH!!!!

In the middle of these 2 pages is the cone coffee filter which I painted in a pink wash.

 This is the other side of the coffee filter with paper flowers I cut with my Silhouette

 

Crepe streamers stamped and some corrugated cardboard with a crackle effect and prettied up with an antique earring.  The Italian quote says: What beautiful thing have you made?

On the left is an attempt I made to transfer an image with Mod Podge.  Not all of it transferred; still it gave it a cool effect.  I think I was too anxious to see the result and didn't wet the image enough and it was my first attempt. 

Tag tucked in one of the paper bag pockets

A butterfly I printed on vellum and tucked inside one of the pockets.

I also painted and decorated the inside folds of the bags

Back and front covers

If you haven't tried working with brown sandwich paper bags, you should. It's so much fun and you can make it into something useful if you embellish it with family photos or something beautifully artsy to enjoy!

I'll post photos of the paper bag that was sent to me in return soon too.

Have a great week!

Anniversary Frame and a Dozen Darlings

I'm still without my beloved PC, so it hasn't been easy to download photos. I'm quickly doing this on my daughter's PC which is not the ideal, but here goes.

This is an anniversary frame I made for a friend who needed an anniversary gift for a friend. I used a yard sale frame which I brushed with some white gesso on the edges to tone down the gold. I then made a ribbon bow to which I attached some tiny pearl trim, a silk Peony and bling from an earring. A true repurpose, recycle, upcycle project.
I'm hoping its well received.

This is a quick layout from a book page. I used a flower cutout from wallpaper which I gessoed a bit. At the top, an amazing handmade paper I got from a swap. See how it was glued in a square pattern (I know there's a better word to describe it, but it escapes me right now) leaving open squares. I love its color too. I used a smaller piece that was coming apart after I cut it at the bottom of the flower too. The sweet picture of the 12 children is from a vintage photo I picked up at an antique store. Pieces of pink vellum cut with wavy scissors. I decorated the bottom of it with rick rack and lace and stamped throughout the background. Click on the picure for a larger image and to see details.

Dozen Darlings - By Nelly aka Bella Nella

For those in the USA, I hope you're enjoying the summer everyone, I'm already stressing about how soon it'll be gone.

I have many more photos of my altered book from the internet class I've been taking and a fat book I worked on for my daughter's high school years for her graduation. I'll post those soon too.

Nelly

Dia De Los Muertos and Show &Tell Sunday

Hi all -- I'm late on posting my Dia De Los Muertos entry due to technical problems with my PC. But here's an altered frame honoring both my Mom and Dad. A candle lit inside this triangular frame will finish it with a nice glow. Hope you like it. Below is my Show and Tell Sunday entry. I'm new at this and hope you forgive the double entry and lateness.

Thanks for visiting.

My love for paper and vintage has been evolving into this collection, although a very young collection. I can't seem to get enough of it, especially the most precious vintage children's photos.

Click to see these postcards to see the close up and check out the really funny ones.

Butterflies for Children -- A Worthy Challenge

Hello creative friends -- The Holocaust Museum Houston is planning this neat exhibition.

"In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember.

As of Summer 2008, we have already collected an estimated 400,000 butterflies."

I am planning on sending a butterfly and I thought perhaps some of you would like to also. Check their site for more details. http://www.hmh.org/minisite/butterfly/index.html