Author: Monica

Tyson!

Posted on by Monica
“Is it time for a treat?”

I was inspired to make this art piece about a delightful boston terrier named Tyson who comes to my work.  He is a smart, funny little dog that loves to great visitors and help his mom at work.  He is so well behaved and friendly that he makes everyone’s day more fun.
The little blue flower is a 3D resin dahlia cabochon. 

I started by taking a picture of Tyson.  This was not easy to do since he doesn’t stop moving.  After painting a background and printing out my piece- I coated it with a layer of Triple Thick for a hard, glossy look.  I mounted it on a backsplash tile with a slight metallic finish to give the edge some bling.  I found these cool easel backs that allow you to hang the work or let it stand like a photo frame.  The final size is 4″x4″.  I added a Pickadoo Design sticker and packaged it up in a cello bag then it was ready to give.

Vintage Family Portrait

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Currently I am involved in these vintage family portrait pieces. The top piece is a laser print applied to a small canvas by gel medium transfer. I painted and tinted the people and added a pencil line here and there for a sketchy look. I also used pink chalk to rosy up their cheeks! The top and bottom borders are just my painted papers that I ripped and glued on.

The bottom photo shows some painted wood blocks where I’ve collaged on some imagery and fabric. The ladies are printed on white polymer clay and their profiles cut out before being baked. I ran some walnut ink over them after they cooled to give them some tint. These are enormously fun and the possibilities are endless.

Altered Dominoes

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Here’s a couple of dominoes that I painted with alcohol inks and stamped imagery. I love the effects of the inks however I noticed they were a bit fragile and the inks wear off unless sealed. I applied Rub and Buff to the sides of the dominoes which worked great. It made them look more high end and finished.

Butterfly Box

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I just adore making these little boxes. First, I painted & stamped the lid and then added a round butterfly sticker which I had previously made on Zazzle. It was perfect that I had glass blanks with a hole for hanging. I tied pretty fibers through the hole before gluing the glass circle down, over the sticker. You can’t see in the photo but there are assorted beads tied to the ends of the fibers. For the interior of the box, I lined it with frosted half marbles in soft green and blue hues. The legs are wine corks that I had been saving and finally found the perfect occasion to use. I guess I had better start drinking a lot more wine, if I want to make more of these boxes…

Alcohol Inks

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I was using this sheet of paper to clean off my stamps after stamping which is why there is duplicate imagery. Later, I was playing around with alcohol inks and wanted to test them on my scratch sheet. I rather liked how it was turning out so I added a leftover lady face from a vintage photo and wings that were floating around my desk. My practice sheet turned out more interesting than my other projects. I think it has a dreamy, smeary feeling to it.

Bird Box

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I needed a small gift to bring as a hostess gift and wanted to make something special. I painted this little wood box a metallic red and rubbed the edges with Rub N Buff to age it. The script is stamped on the box as well as gold paper. I painted and glued on the little legs. For the top, I found these great wood birds on ebay and covered one in scrap cloth. The inside of the box is lined with the same cloth. The Blessings tag, I made in clay.

Tumbled Marble Coasters

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My sister-in-laws and I decided to do handmade gifts this year for Christmas. I got the idea to make marble coasters online. They were so fun to make! I want to do more! I rubbed the edges of the coasters with gold Rub n Buff to antique them and stamped them with pretty stamps. I added color by using pigmented powders. After sealing with polyurethane and adding cork to the bottoms, I’m all set to give them out. Oh yeah, and I found the coolest wrought-iron holders that work perfectly.

Origins

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One of my forays into true mixed-media. A smallish canvas that is painted and layered in paper, old sewing pattern and pencil. I painted an image from my Dover book as the lovely odalisque. The butterflies are made in clay and I hammered in nails with various beads around the edge to change the silhouette of the canvas. My little parrot provided the red feather from his tail- one of many that fall out and litter his cage. The whole thing has kind of a tribal, Darwinism kind of feel and that’s how I came up with the title.

Glass Ornaments

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I glued some images from my cards (as well as a picture of my niece…) onto the back of some circular and square glass blanks. I added ribbon and beads and they are ready to adorn some packages that I plan to give. The glass gives them a nice weight and allow them to hang nicely.

Gin Transfer on Polymer

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These tiny little polymer tiles were made using a gin transfer method. I printed out the text on my laser printer. Then rolled out white clay. I rubbed the back of the print out with really cheap gin and voila! The text was transferred onto the clay. I added some gold and blue pigment powders to accent the edges and then baked them. I can’t wait to use these little gems in other mixed-media pieces.