Sew Faith

Done!  I finally got to complete the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 - May challenge, which features a vintage sewing theme.  Other than the regular distressing techniques, Tim encouraged his readers to use tissue as a stamp collage base and to make a melted embossing powder bath to dip paper flowers.  As usual, I tried everything, but gave it my own twist.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

I kept the same theme, and although I used different stamps, I used the same background technique.  After that, I took off on my own.  I love Tim's hanger clips, so I decided to use one as a prop for a paper dress.  As inspiration, I looked at various turn of the 20th century dresses to design it.  I made it using a couple of sheets from a K&Company Classic K pad and lace for trimming.  (It reminded me of when I used to help my girls make dresses for their paper dolls.  LOL!)  I trimmed the bottom of my tag with vintage rick-rack, and used a vintage card of hooks, eyes & loops to make an embellishment.  I inherited the latter, as well as the vintage pearl button in the flower, from my wife's grandmother.  I stained my paper flower as per Tim's directions.  However, I dipped my paper flower in beeswax iinstead of embossing powder.  It worked beautifully!  I attached the flower with wire to the card, by threading the wire through a couple of the holes in the card.  Then, I stained a Tim Holtz grunge letter "S" with some of his blue alcohol ink and covered it in green stickles.  When it was dry, I distressed it with an ink pad.  I also used an Art-C letter "e" and a vintage "w" rub on letter to complete the word "sew."  To complete my phrase, I typed the word "faith" with a courier font, printed it, cut it, and distressed it.  As a finishing touch, I distressed a strip of ribbon to attach to the top of my tag.  I threaded a miniature spool of thread to it and tied a knot to keep it in place.

As usual, I had a blast making this tag for Tim's challenge.  What's best, I followed his advice in a recent interview for Cloth, Paper Scissors, "Your personal style is simply that—your style, so be sure to stay true to what you like."  I can't wait to go see what other artists created.  Please feel free to follow me and leave a comment.  Blessings!

True Blue

Blue is a primary, as well as the coolest color in the color wheel.  It is the color of the sky, the ocean, and lapis lazuli, one of my favorite semi-precious stones.  In my opinion, it is a conservative color that can be associated with sincerity, peacefulness and spirituality.  I like blue.  Therefore, I'm excited about my artwork today.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

The theme for this week's Collage Obsession is Blues.  Combined with the Take a Word Challenge Friends and Proverbs 17:17 - A Friend loves at all times, for Word Art Wednesday, they were great inspiration for a page in my art journal.  Other than the tag, I cut all the pieces free hand.  I used scraps of hand painted papers that I made for various collages in previous years.  For emphasis, I inked the edges of the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit, with an indigo Clearsnap pad. I also went around the silhouette with an old Marvy brush marker to create depth.  I used a blue Sakura micron pen to write the scripture and my signature.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

Next, I designed a card using a print of my artwork for The Play Date Cafe's PDCC133, which is being sponsored by Mr. Cricut Crazy.  (I'm still trying to make it to "Cup of the Week" and/or "Guest Designer."  LOL!)  Their featured colors are baby blue, denim and cherry, so my artwork fit in perfectly.  I made a card base from a sheet of The Paper Company baby blue cardstock and inked the edges with the indigo pad.  Then, I matted the print in denim blue and staggered it as shown with a red, white and blue plaid scrap.  I used a Tim Holtz design ruler to punch holes on the right and bottom edges of the plaid, as well as 3 pairs of holes on the upper left corner of my print.  I used the holes to do some hand stitching with indigo thread.  I also stitched together a cherry red polka dotted yo-yo, a blue felt star, and a white button to use as an embellishment.  For my sentiment, I used a baby blue ticket, on which I crossed the word "one" and wrote the word "two" with a red Sharpie pen.  I inked the edges and adhered it with some foam strips.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

Then, I designed a card for Pile It On #22 - Two or More Folds, which is being sponsored by Digi Doodle Shop.  Using the baby blue cardstock, I constructed a swivel card base by following the instructions in Michael Jacobs' book (See My Recommendations).  To decorate it, I masked the swivel with the plaid paper.  Then, I cut a print of my artwork in two parts, a square for the swiveling block and a strip for the bottom portion.  I matted each part in the denim blue before adhering them.  I made a simple embellishment with a cherry red felt star and a blue button.  For the sentiment, I wrote the word "Love" in a simple cherry red trimmed tag.  As a finishing touch, I wrapped a cherry red thin ribbon around the left edge and made a one-loop bow.

Other than me liking blue, this was a special color scheme to work with.  Today we are observing Memorial Day in the United States of America, which is a day to remember the men and women who died while serving in our armed forces.  I thank them from the bottom of my heart and pray that God may have them rest in peace.  I dedicate my artwork today to them and their families.  Blessings!

From A Dream

On July 26, 2000, an image of a little girl's cartoon came into my dream.  When I woke up, I quickly sketched her in my journal, not really knowing what she meant.  At the time, I was the principal at a local parochial school and had two early elementary school girls of my own.  I figured that may have something to do with my dream.  However, I soon forgot about her.

Yesterday, Karen Letchworth mentioned Pile It On in her blog, which literally encourages readers to pile up various challenges along with theirs.  This week, they have Challenge #21, which is about using patterns and mixing scales.  I decided to try them out, and researched various blog challenges to find the perfect combination for my art projects.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

First of all, I knew I wanted to use The Play Date Cafe PDCC132 color scheme, which features black, white and a splash of mustard yellow.  I've been playing with them for a couple of months and love their design team.  Next, I searched for a theme and found that Sunday Postcard Art blog's theme for the week is childhood.  I've never played with them before, but loved the featured postcard by Audrey - that's what reminded me of my old cartoon.  All kinds of mediums are allowed, so when I found the Crazy Amigo Challenge - Doodle, I knew what I wanted to do.  I learned to tangle through 3 books by Sandy Steen Bartholomew, a Certified Zentangle teacher.  I've never met her in person, but I consider her one of my blogging friends.  I even won the Latin Lover Bean Award she sponsored last summer!  Therefore, I combined these challenges to create the Zentangle Tile in my art journal.

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

For my card, I decided to use the sketch in Card Positioning Systems CPS266.  I hadn't played with them in a while, but their layout was perfect for me to use the pattern scale mix in the Pile It On challenge.  I recycled a scrap from a church bulletin and a vintage typewriter key print by Paperabilities.  I also had a mustard colored stamp frame by K&Company and some black and white Stanley mason's line that would fit the Play Date Cafe challenge perfectly.  I scanned my tile and cut it with a pair of Fiskars stamp scissors.  I created my focal point with the print and a Dymo label with the word "Hello," over a scrap from an Art-C print.  I flipped the sketch vertically and altered the order of the layered elements to fit my needs.  It worked!

©Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

Since the original Zentangle tile is only 3"x3," I used another print of it for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge.  They require that the postcard be 6"x4" in size.  I glued a strip of black paper that I had decorated using bubble wrap and white acrylic paint several years ago.  I matted my print in black and estimated where it would be.  I drew some light pencil lines and sketched out where I wanted to place my text - Psalm 127:3.  I inked my lettering with the same Sakura micron pens I used to tangle.  I attached my print with foam squares and scattered some K&Company mustard colored flowers.  As a finishing touch, I added dashed lines around the perimeter of my postcard.

As you can tell, I had a fun with these art projects.  Hope you enjoy them too.  Since I first got the idea for these art projects from Karen, I'm also using the postcard as an entry to the Word Art Wednesday challenge.  As if it wasn't enough, I am posting this in Take A Word Challenge - Dream, since all of these art projects stemmed from a dream.  (Isn't that weird?)  I truly appreciate all your comments, and would love to increase my number of followers, so  you are cordially invited to join me.  Blessings!

Fair, Wise, Gentle-Man

This week, The Play Date Cafe challenge PDCC131 suggested colors are Seaweed, Algae, Goldenfish and Black.  They also featured a beautiful koi fish print by James Vincent McMorrow as inspiration.  As usual, I loved their color story and knew I wanted to use it in a project.  In the meantime, I discovered the Take A Word Challenge - Gentleman.  After some pondering, I decided to create a turn of the 19th century poster like design in my art journal.

I began by cutting freehand the silhouette of a gentleman wearing a top hat.  I used a vintage photograph that I found on google as inspiration.  Then, I cut strips of two shades of green DCWV textured adhesive cardstock stack and used a Martha Stewart border punch on the slim strip.  (My "algae" looks brighter in the picture than it actually is.  Ugh!)  I adhered them in place, and centered my silhouette over them.  Next, I cut out freehand the letters for the word MAN out of a sheet of orange cardstock from the same stack.  I adhered them and traced their perimeters with an orange Sharpie opaque paint marker.  Finally, I wrote the words FAIR, WISE and GENTLE using a pencil to ensure their proper placement.  Once I liked the way the words were laid out, I inked them with the same Sharpie.

This page design turned out to be very clean, graphic, and airy.  The latter is probably due to the inspirational picture shared by the PDCC, as well as my current need for a quiet place.  However, I believe the hardest part for me was choosing the words, because there are other virtues I value as a man.  I'd love to hear what you think and have you to join my list of followers.  Blessings!

Ask, Seek, Knock

As I mentioned during my last post, I helped my daughter pack up her dorm room this past weekend.  Therefore, when I saw this week's Collage Obsession Doors Challenge, I immediately though of a photograph I took last summer during the freshman students and parents' orientation of the Scoates Hall entrance door at Texas A&M.  Completed in 1932, it was originally the Agricultural Engineering building.  The theme also reminded me of the following quote by Jesus, in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you."  Therefore, I also plan to submit this post to Word Art Wednesday Challenge #27.

I decided to make the collage in my art journal.  After printing the photograph, I did a wet on wet sanding around the perimeter.  This toned down the sharp edges in the image and created some spectacular blue and pink washes.  Next, I layered some scraps of paper around my page and stamped a couple of Martha Stewart leaves.  Once my photograph was dry, I taped it in an angle on the page.  I wrote the words "Ask, Seek, Knock" on a K&Company Brenda Walton sticker with sepia coptic markers, as well as the name of the scripture.  Using some pressed flowers, I made vignettes on the upper left and the bottom right corners.  As a finishing touch, I added a Punch Studio dimensional sticker of a  bird couple and stamped portions of the leaf stamp around the bottom edge.

Although I had an idea of what I wanted, this was one of those projects that led me through its development.  I enjoyed working on it, and would love to hear what you think.  Blessings!

A "GQ" Father's Day

Between an overnight field trip with my 5th Grade GT Students and an overnight trip to help my daughter pack-up her college dorm room, I was on the road for 4 days.  It was exhausting!  However, I was able to visit a couple of my favorite art stores during the weekend.  We don't have any art stores in Del Rio, so it was a real treat.  Since the stores were in a college town, I was able to get some great end of the school year deals.  It was so much fun!  Sadly, I was not able to use any of my finds in the card I made today.

The Play Date Cafe's Challenge PDCC130 features a soft color blend by Donna Bowman, which includes a grey, a pink, and a blue-grey shade.  The first thing I thought of was Christian Dior, because he loved pink and grey.  Then, when I was watching the news, I noticed a newscaster wearing an interesting patterned necktie.  That was it!  Since Stampendous Impressions' May Challenge is to make a gift type project, I decided to make a card with an inner-pocket for my Father-in-law using the PDCC color blend.

I began by making an origami tie from a sheet of paper with a gray print.  It's basically a kite base with a few extra folds to form the upper knot and side folds to narrow it down.  There are various patterns and videos on-line.  For the shirt, I used a white note card base.  I measured an inch down from the top and lightly drew a line with a pencil.  Then, I made about an inch cut on each side on the pencil line.  I cut the inch spine and trimmed the rest of the inch strip off the top of the back panel.  I folded the tabs that were formed down to simulate a shirt collar.  Using a grey Prismacolor pencil and a quilters ruler, I drew the pinstripe pattern on my shirt front and collar.  I added some stitching lines to the collar for added interest and some blue shading in the inner section.  I glued down my tie and collar.  Next, I made a tie-tack with a pink button and a half pearl.  I also made a miniature gift tag with a piece of kraft card stock and a scrap of thread.   I wrote the word "Dad" using a blue-grey calligraphy pen.  I outlined and dotted the tag with a pink line marker.

My next step was to work on the inside of the card.  I used the left over paper from the tie to make a pocket using a Paper Pizazz Susan's Office Envelopes template.  I attached it to the left panel.  Next, I folded a 5"x7" piece of kraft paper into 3 panels and cut the upper corners to simulate the miniature tag in the front.  I glued a piece of twine to it and outlined it in pink.  (I'll have my two daughters and wife use a panel each to write their own personal greetings.  I'll also use the pocket to include a gift card.)  On the right panel, I wrote "Happy Father's Day" using the same blue-grey calligraphy pen and dotted the letters with the pink.  I also drew lines and dots around the perimeter of the back panel.

Hopefully my father-in-law will enjoy this card as much as I did making it.  Art is so relaxing to me!  I love to read your comments, so please let me know what you think.  I'd also love to increase my number of followers, so don't be shy.  Blessings!

Proverbs 31:30

Although I enjoy Facebook as a way to keep in touch with friends and family members, I believe along with other media, it can easily lead our youth to vanity.  With digital and phone cameras so easily accessible, you often find them taking pictures of themselves to post on Facebook.  For example, one of my daughters asked if she could have a new dress, because she already had pictures of herself with all of her different dresses on Facebook.  We had a talk, and she did not get a new dress.

This week's theme in Collage Obsession is Reflection, and its multiple meanings such as mirror image and contemplation.  Amongst the suggested pictures they offered, was a library of congress vintage image of a lady looking at her reflection.  The first thing I thought of was vanity and what the bible tells us about it in Proverbs 31:30 - "Charm is deceptive, beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  (Please note that although it is not expressed in this particular verse, I believe this reflection applies to both men and women.)  With this in mind, I set myself to work on a new entry for my art journal.

I started my collage on one of the vintage ledger print pages in my art journal.  I glued a couple of distressed scraps of vintage style papers and adhered the lady's image with gold photo corners and K&Company tape on them.  Then, I arranged different symbolic elements around the image.  The weathered feather stands for its charm, the clock for the fleeting time, the rose for beauty, the hand mirror for vanity, and the bearded man in the stamp for the wisdom of the Proverb.  I wrote the Proverb with a Sakura black micron pen on a slip from a K&Company Smash pad.  I also used a letter B from a C-Thru Art-C elements pad, which I colored with Bienfang watercolor brush pens and Prismacolor pencils.

I am submitting this project to my friends in Christ at Word Art Wednesday, for Challenge #26.  They are featuring Nahum 1:7, "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble: and he knoweth them that trust in him."  I believe the Bible verse I chose complements theirs.  In addition, they accept any Biblical entries.  I am also submitting it to the Stampendous April Challenge which is asking that readers use recycled, reused or re-purposed items.  I used paper scraps, the rose cut out from a greeting card I received a couple of years ago, and a feather found in my backyard.  I've already entered 2 other projects in this challenge, but as they say, third is a charm.  LOL!  Finally, since my art journal has a shabby chic and distressed feeling, I am also submitting it to The Stamp Man "Shabby Chic or Distressed" challenge.

This was a very meaningful project to me, because I am always trying to instill Christian values in my daughters.  Therefore, I plan to give them each a print of this page.  I hope it's as meaningful to you, and feel led to leave a comment.  As usual, you are cordially invited to follow my blog, so don't be shy.  If you haven't done so, I ask that you please visit the current Paperie Designs Studio Fascinating Fridays, where Noor Nahdi is featuring an interview conducted by Tania Nelson of me.  I would love to hear your comments there as well.  Blessings!