The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #4 - Color Challenge

It's time for The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #4 and it's a color challenge. Our designer Lynn Adams found this awesome photo that is so inspirational. Feel free to use as many or few colors in the picture as you like. We had such a huge response with so many amazing entries last month, I just can't wait to see what you all come up with this month. Remember, you can make anything, just mention how you were inspired by these colors.

Our sponsor this month is Ellen Hutson, LLC, one of my favorite places to shop online for crafty items. They are offering a $25 gift certificate to our lucky random winner. So everyone who plays has the same chance of winning this great prize.

For my card, I used a fun stamp called Sweet Dahlia by Penny Black that I purchased from Ellen Hutson here. I've been trying to practice more with my Copics so this card was a perfect place to try out some shading. I stamped it several times and practiced coloring it different ways until I finally settled on the way I liked it best. Of course I was inspired by the Dahlia and the beautiful bright colors in the photo. Here is the stamp.

To make this card I started with a 5x5 PTI kraft card stock base. Then I added a layer of DCWV colored cardboard in blue and a layer of DCWV colored burlap in green and I inked the edges of the card with a green chalk ink edger. I framed the card with small kraft colored brads from Stampin' Up and twine from PTI. I stamped the image with Black Ranger Archival ink and colored it in with Copic Markers and inked the edges with yellow ink.  I really like how this turned out and it was super fun to make. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will play along with us this month!!

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #3 - Stencils and Pastes

It's time for the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #3. This month our challenge is to use stencils with paste on your mixed media project. You can make any kind of mixed media project - card, ATC, scrapbook page, canvas, altered item, etc...

Our sponsor this month is the awesome crafty retailer Eclectic Paperie. They are generously offering our random winner a $25 gift certificate to their store. And, our super talented guest designer is Karen Crossen.

For my project, I decorated an oval paper mache box from Hobby Lobby. First, I covered the whole box in gesso. Then I covered the bottom of the box with scrapbook paper using Multi Medium. On the  lid, I colored the sky using watercolors and Tim Holtz Distress Paint. I mixed my own color of glitter for the "sand" on the bottom. I used Martha Stewart glitters. I used a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop - Palm Tree TCW257 for the Palm Tree, sun and birds. I used Liquitex Modeling Paste that I colored using custom colors I created from acrylic paints. I added a lot of modeling paste because I wanted the tree and other elements to have lots of texture and to stand out. After the modeling paste dried, I added some highlights to images using Faber Caste Stampers Big Brush Pens. To finish off the lid, I cut some surfboards out of scrapbook paper and adhered them to the sand area and I painted the edge of the lid red with acrylic paint.

Remember, you have until midnight August 31 to link up your project. I can't wait to see what everyone make this month. Thanks for stopping by.  Now go pull out your stencils and pastes and start creating!!!

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #2 - Around the House

Yay! It's time for the second Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.  I hope you had a chance to play last month, but if you didn't maybe you can join us in July. All skill levels are welcome and you can make anything like a canvas, card, scrapbook page, altered item, journal page, etc... You just have to use more than 2 art mediums. Our challenge for July is to use something around the house in your project. You can stamp with bubble wrap, mask with rubber bands, or use old book pages in your background. Just use something you can find around your house someway in your project. Be sure to let us know in your post what household item you used and how you used it. Be sure to check out the blog post for more examples and tons of inspiration from our design team and our fabulous guest designer (gotta click over to see who it is!!).

Our sponsor this month is the awesome company Die Cuts With a View or DCWV.  They are offering an awesome prize for our random winner. More of a reason for you to play. Every player has the same chance of winning the big prize, unless you play more than once, then you have a better chance at winning it all!!

This month I decided to make a canvas.  It's kind of a large canvas for me 9x12. I started by adding pieces of DCWV papers to my canvas. Most were from the Vintage Collector stack, but I also used some from their Textured Paper stack. They were nice enough to give me a couple of stacks of textured papers and some amazing stencils!! I also added some ripped up Dixie bathroom cups to the background - they're hard to see. That's one of my around the house items.

Then, I covered the background with gesso to soften the colors. When it dried I added several sections with the DCWV stencils. Then, I carved a 5 sided shape from a wine cork to make a stamp and stamped it randomly in yellow over the canvas. I also used a plastic bottle top to make the blue and white circles on the canvas.

The corrugated flowers are from Magenta and I colored them with acrylic paints. The centers of the flowers are pieces of cork from a wine bottle that I cut into small pieces. I also colored the corks with acrylic paint. The stems are from small and long scraps of Tim Holtz grunge board I was hoarding. I cut the piece into three sections and colored them with a Stampers Big Brush Pen. I die cut the leaves from a piece of cork and added color to them with the same Big Brush Pen. This canvas was so much fun to make. If you've never made one, I challenge you to go get a canvas and get started. There are no rules, just use colors and products you like and do whatever you feel like!!! Thanks for stopping by!

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #1 - Spray Inks & Mists

Click here for my Christmas Card Challenges post.

It's finally time for our first challenge over at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog. I'm hosting the challenge this month and our challenge is to use Spray Inks or Mists on your Mixed Media Project. I made an art journal page using Dylusions Spray inks. To see how I created this page check out my tutorial over on the MMMC Blog.

Our sponsor this month is Inspiration Emporium and our Guest Designer is the fabulous Shelly Hickox.  Be sure to go check it out and I hope you will play along with us this month. You have until June 30 to enter.