This Needs A Hug

While this little notecard is kind of cute on its own, being powerless to the call of mixed media, I had to do something about its lack of dimension.

I mean, really. How could I send out such a bland, unloved, little thing? Doesn't it look like it needs a hug?

This was a pack of 12 cards + envelopes I purchased at my local craft store from the cheap bins. I always stock up when they have them because they make nice thank you notes for my Etsy shop orders. They are either 50 cents or $1.00 per pack... I don't recall.

The cards measure 2.75" (7 cm) square. The corners are rounded. The print is a tie dye and a gingham design. Both sides are printed and are glossy.

I like that both sides are printed and the design can be turned. These blank cards could be rotated to open from the side or from the bottom. You could even make a "lefty" card with them!

I gave this one a mixed media, stampy hug.

I've been looking for a use for this yellowish ledger paper I got at a garage sale. It went nicely with the greenish yellow and white of the card. The blue and red lines accented the other colors and added a little punch. I used a glue stick to adhere this as I didn't want a wet glue warping the card.

Since the card is glossy I used Archival Ink by Ranger in jet black to stamp the tree branches and bird. I love this stamp. I don't use it enough.

I also love my vintage DYMO label maker! So simple for a quick sentiment! I got my DYMO for $3.00 at a garage sale and it came with three black tape refills. Best deal ever. I darted the end to look like a ribbon and glued it on even though it's self adhesive. I don't trust vintage adhesive to really stay put for the long haul.

I probably could have dressed it up a little more with some tiny staples or stitching on the sewing machine. At 2.75" square they are the perfect size to play around with and not be too upset if I mess one up.

My plans for more of these include making whole sets at one time (thank you, birthday, hello, get well, ...) so I have the perfect little card all ready to go to tuck in a package or gift when needed.

Yay to Future Me when grabbing up a ready one instead of running around like mad trying to make one in the two minutes I have before leaving the house!

- Vickie

New Year, New Work: "Cohesion"

I enjoy the challenge of melding dissimilar shapes, colors, and patterns to make a single cohesive piece. I think because my personality feels a bit fragmented at times I’m drawn to designs that have many components and complex movement. Plus I’m kind of rotten at making decisions so I throw many mediums and elements into all my artwork because I cannot decide what to leave out.

This collage reminds me of glimpses of visions in dreams. Parts you cannot quite grasp before they are gone. Then you move on to the next possibly disjointed vision and so on until you are left with a mosaic of images and a sense of struggling to assemble them to uncover the meaning in it.

All of the individual rectangles were made separately and then brought back together. I wanted to stay with earthy tones, but some hot pink snuck in, and I think it worked out fine. Created in the proportion of a wood domino - only larger (measures 6” x 2 7/8”), I plan to scan it, shrink it down to domino size, print it, and use it to decorate the domino pendants. This way I can work in a larger format to make art for the dominoes.

Consequently, I then have an original piece of art to sell, too, and possibly sell prints, note cards, and calendars with the collage on them. I have not yet ventured into the world of selling original art online so there are some things I still need to work out before you see this one in my Etsy shop.

I am enjoying getting back to my collage roots and working in a bigger scale than the dominoes and the one-inch square glass slide pendants. This work may be sectioned into twenty-one pieces, but it’s making me feel more put back together than I have felt in a long time.

A larger version of the image

©2009 In My Head Studios

Merry Christmas!

I got this as a gift when I was born from a grandparent... not sure which one. My twin sister has one just like it with her name on it. This is one of my most treasured belongings. So that makes it about 35 years old! Yikes!

I nearly died last night when it wasn't in the ornament box as we decorated our tree (rather late, I might add). The box it was in somehow got separated from the Christmas boxes in the basement and it was well hidden in a seat bench. I couldn't find my ornament for about an hour. It was a horrible feeling, but I'm happy now that it is safely on the tree! When my nieces were born I made sure to get one for each of them. It made my sister cry.

These are what I've been working on today and this week.

This one is inspired by Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2009: Day 5. These little plastic charms are a product in his line. The images are glued to the backs with Glossy Accents. You can see these pictures bigger at flickr by clicking on them.

I made this tag this morning to give to my mom for Christmas. I really like gold embossing powder! And I cannot let a tag be with just one ribbon. It has to have lots of foofiness!

This tag is for my mom as a gift. She's a big fan of my work! Ha! Anyway, what says "I love you" better than handmade?

I hope you are having a very merry Christmas, if it's your thing! xoxo

“The Journey Awakens the Soul” Tag

Getting into the spirit of Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas has me making tags, tags, tags! I am waiting on more supplies to come by post to make tags inspired by his art. So more tags to come!

I bought some of his stamps at the craft store. I highly recommend his clear stamps. The quality of the material surpasses any other clear stamp around. They aren’t mushy at all. Each impression is perfect. They don’t have that give like most clear stamps have that often result in a blurred impression. Also, they stick to the acrylic blocks like nobody’s business. (What does that expression even mean?)

I didn’t have any tags in the right size so I made this one out of cardstock. I made a faux paper re-inforcer for the hole with two hole punches. Tags are a great size to work on. Not too big to be daunting but more room than an artist trading card. Plus I get to use my bits of ribbon and lace for the hanging part. Foofy!

If you have not checked out Tim Holtz’s blog, go there now to see the awesome inspiration he provides during the 12 Tags of Christmas. Each day he just blows me out of the water with his ideas! Plus he’s doing giveaways each day so be sure to leave him a comment!

French Woman Artist Trading Card

This is a new Artist Trading Card I made. The background was made using an embossing resist process learned in a class with Claudine Hellmuth. It started out as a variegated tan paper. I stamped with clear ink and clear embossing powder and then heated it to set the powder. Then I washed a light coat of gesso over it. The shiny embossing resists the paint and the paper underneath shows through. It’s really cool!

I added a stamped image of a woman. I’ve been toying with this stamp for a while and wondering what to do with her. Her dress was colored in with colored pencils. I also added some paper lace and vintage buttons. I got the fleur de lis paper punch at the Dollar Store!

I’m playing with the idea of making ACEOs to sell in my shop but I have no idea what to price them. Need to do a little research there.

Collage Class Parts in Process

Claudine Hellmuth tweeted on Twitter that she was offering a low cost online class for several mixed media processes. I am a hard-core fan of her work and books. I jumped at the chance to take a class from her!

The class was mostly mixed media resist techniques. The good this was that I already had most everything I needed for the class right here in my studio. I did have to order her Sticky Back Canvas and it was totally worth it. This stuff is the bomb. You can put it through your inkjet printer!! Canvas through a printer!! Did you hear that? That’s the sound my heart makes when it contains so much joy! As an added bonus it’s sticky on the back! Stick it to other canvas, stick it to itself, or paper, cardstock, the wall, anything!! The surface does not have a full coat of primer so it will absorb tea staining and glazing.

In this class, I learned how to make embossing powder resist the applied paint, how to make toner image transfers, gesso resist painting, and altering scrapbook paper to the color you want it to be. We also did some watercolor and used text from an old book.

It’s all in parts like this because it will be transformed in to a house shape when put together. And I’ll show you that when I get them all done and connected!!

(Don’t you love the suspense I’m creating here with my work? Ha!)