It's time for our 5th challenge at Anything But Cute. The always awesome (sauce), fun-loving and incredibly talented Niki is our hostess this time for her fantastically fun Mixed Media Makeover theme.
Before I give you the details about the challenge, I would like to share the card I made mostly from my Closet castoffs. I love to experiment with my products, and often I end up with pieces that aren't fitting for the current project. I used a few of these saved pieces on my "remodel" card.
Now for Niki's instructions for this month's challenge:
MIXED MEDIA MAKEOVER
Pull out an old card, tag, project, masterboard or embellishment that you weren't completely happy with or never completely finished. I want you to recycle it. We all make "mistakes" with our art right? Now's your chance to fix it. Redo it, hide the mistake, make it bigger, make it better, make it more beautiful or rip it apart and use the pieces! Give it a mixed media makeover! For this challenge you will need to include a before picture so we can see what you started with.
Here is my recycle bin, filled with projects just waiting to be put together. Do you have one of these? That little pile in the front is for an upcoming anniversary card for my husband!
Here are some photos I took of the pieces I thought I could use before I started. I ended up not using the butterflies and the bottom right panel.
My background panel was inspired by the paper towel shown above. (I didn't used the green panel.) The towel is a mop up after using Dylusions and Perfect Pearls mists on another project, I believe. I thought it looked pretty, and might come in handy sometime, so into the recycle box it went. Today is it's lucky day!
For this card I applied the towel to a piece of waste packaging (yes there's a bin for that, too!), wrinkling it up and gluing it with gel medium. It was too dark for my liking, and those horrible yellow splotches had to go, so I dry brushed it with gesso. I added some Decoart Metallic White Pearl paint, Multi-Matt Medium, pieces of wax paper die cuts (you know the stuff you put between your intricate dies and cardstock so the card pops out easily--I save these just for this purpose), pieces of doily left from another project and clear micro beads. I love the way the color comes through the beads! I used a TCW Mini Chickenwire stencil and crackle texture paste, but that didn't turn out so well on the already textured surface. The dots are from the holes in my tags! One fell on the panel, and it gave a little rest for the eyes, so I glued three on.To finish, I splattered with Black Soot Distress paint. Here are some close ups and the finished background panel. Most of it would be covered up, so I wanted to take a shot so I could remember all that mixed media work. The area in the center is where I tested all my products. If anyone were to ever take one of my makes apart, they would get a surprise--what was she thinking????
For the middle tag layer I simply heat embossed stamped images from 7 Gypsies and Stampers Anonymous and used the chicken wire stencil and crackle texture paste to give some texture. Finally, I splashed with Black Soot paint.
For the foreground tag, I tore the bottom and heat embossed images from Tim Holtz Bird Feather and Boundless Flight sets. I splashed on Picket Fence and Black Soot Distress paints. The top tag and small tag were distressed, layered with black card and distressed again. I forgot to do the middle tag! Oops! (Embrace imperfection!)
I carefully pulled my ugly flower apart, then gave it a spritz of Dylusions Vibrant Turquise which turned out looking even worse. I forgot to take a photo, but I remembered that gesso fixes everything. I gave it a dry brushing of gesso and a dab or three of Picket Fence paint, and all better. I added the gumdrop and once adhered, I noticed some of the silver backing came off when I removed it from it's backing sheet. I thought it looked interesting so I left it on.Even the wisp of cheesecloth is leftover from another project. The two white flowers are store bought (probably yard sale bought, actually) from my stash. I added rhinestone centers. The clock face (Tim Holtz In Dreams) is heat embossed on metallic card and fussy cut.
I decided to use different butterflies than the ones originally chosen from my recycle bin for obvious reasons. These are from Kaisercraft and inked with Jet Black Archival ink on an overspray sheet from my spray box, then fussy cut. No further coloring necessary. I forgot to take a shot of the "before" paper again. Here's a little tip from Sara...I always put a sheet of cheapo sketch or drawing paper in my spray box before spraying. I keep most of these, and they make wonderful backgrounds or paper to stamp over for little die cuts or fussy cut things like this. I believe I would be considered a hoarder if I didn't actually use these things!
The sentiment is an unnamed stamp inked inked and cut up, then edged in Evergreen Bough Distress ink. I popped them up using foam tape.
I would like to enter this into the following inspiring challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Make it Colorful It may be one color group, but it's bold!
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Trio of Colors I have a trio of blue shades (probably a lot more if you were to count), similar to Anna-Karin's inspiration card.
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
