Reverse Glass Painting with a Color Burst Background

Hey everybody, I am a collector of old stuff...so, you can't imagine how happy I was when I found reverse glass painting in an antique store the other day.  Reverse glass painting has been around since the middle ages in one form or another. This piece is a vintage piece from the 30's or 40's and based on the subject matter, may have been created by a local artist.

I really loved the image...it's like so many images I photograph while walking on the river near my home.

And, although the "crinkled" aluminum foil background is typical for pieces created during the 30s and 40s, I felt like it needed something more.  I really wanted to see this piece with a magnificent sunset behind it.

I really love that silhouette image, I see it quite often when I'm walking near the river.

 

 

So I decided that it would be great to use Color Burst to create a wonderful, watercolor background that would capture some of the beauty of our sunsets.

First, I removed the tiny nails from the frame that held the foil background in place.

Then carefully removed the backing and the foil back ground.  I discovered that this was a "at home" DIY piece...the mat board on the reverse side was actually a phone book cover.

Here's close up of the foil once the piece had been deconstructed.  There were a couple different kinds of foil, and it looks like they had some color, but the color has faded away over the years.

The next thing I needed to do was to create a Color Burst color palette that would, approximate the colorful sunsets I see outside my front door nearly every day.

 I chose, Cerulean Blue Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Gamboge, Orange, and Merlot.  That's a lot of color for an 8x10 background...but I wanted it to be very colorful!

So I created a loose, "washy" background with lots of color.  I didn't really try to catch any detail on this background.  The details are in the painted glass that overlays this background so you can be messy.  

When I reassembled this piece with it's new Color Burst background...I loved it even more. The sunset is so glowy!

If you like this project, make sure to check back in a couple days...I recreated a similar vintage reverse glass painting with a frame from a resale shop, stencils, and Color Burst. 

Til next time, 

 

Makers Wanted!

Hey, I'm looking for a few good makers...

Have you ever wanted to be on a design team? Or, be part of a creative team that let's you work with new products and do your own thing?  Would you like to create art to be used for trade shows, print publications and online publications?

I'm currently on the hunt for a few good artists, designers, crafters and makers who love to create! If you're a DIY-er, you'll love this opportunity.

What I'm looking for:

1. Mixed Media Artists, who like to paint, collage, create assemblage pieces.

2. Paper Crafters, whether it's stamping, cardmaking, scrapbooking, you'll love working with my new papers, stamps and ink pads. 

3. Watercolor Artists, if you're an accomplished painter or a budding watercolorist, I'd love to see what you can do with Color Burst!

I'm really looking for artists with some "out of the box" ideas, a "can do" attitude, and willingness to try new things...creating without boundaries. 

 

Are you good with social media? 

The ability to share content and ideas is really important to everything that we do today.  If you'd like to be part of the team, be good on social media.  Do you like Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Periscope and Facebook?   I'd like to find team members who are comfortable with all social media platforms.

...and this is a "low stress" gig...I'd only ask that you provide content a couple times a month, we can determine the need on a case by case basis.  In return, I'll provide you with product, inspiration and techniques for using my product lines. 

What I'd like to develop is an organic, fluid, growing, creative team composed of artists with diverse backgrounds who love to create for the joy of creating..."art for art's sake."

I'm also on the search for a team coordinator. Do you have DT experience in your past?  Tell me about it. The perfect candidate will be a motivator, a cheerleader, and will have the organizational skills required to help me manage a growing team of artists and makers.  Sound like something you'd like to do?  Tell me about your mad skills as a team leader! 

...So, this is a pretty big undertaking and I'd like to get started as soon as possible.  

Send an email to kenolivercrafts@gmail.com and tell me about yourself and why you'd like to be part of our maker team!  Include any links that you think are pertinent, instagram, youtube, facebook pages, pinterest, and links to your best work online!  I can't wait to see what you've created.  I'd like to get a good representation of what you do! Do you teach?  Let me know about your teaching gigs. You can tell me anything that you want that will make you stand out from the crowd. You really want to grab my attention? Make and post a YouTube video about why you'd like to be on my team!  

I'll be accepting submissions until the end of September, so get busy! I cannot wait to see what you've created.  

And please let me know if you have any questions...I'm always happy to help. 

Thank you and good luck! 

Ken

March is National Craft Month: We Made Vintage Paper Rosettes at Melrose Vintage in Phoenix

March is National Craft Month, so I thought it would be really fun to spend some time at Melrose Vintage in Phoenix teaching a few friends how to create vintage style paper rosettes.  My friend, Giussepina "Josie"  Cirincione and I arranged some time with the store, and set out to have a rosette class.  

Teaching vintage style paper rosettes fits right in at Melrose Vintage...in fact the owners Diane and Wendy Christensen make beautiful paper rosettes to use as decor in vignettes at the shop.  And, Melrose Vintage is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen, It's a real feast for the eyes. They specialize in antique furnishings, luxurious fabrics and bedding, jewelry and amazing paper crafting.   

  

Their shop is so beautiful, I just want to share a few photos to let you see how amazing it really is.  

It's such an interesting place, thanks to Wendy and Diane, they are always remixing the beautiful antiques and furnishings and bringing in amazing new finds every day.  And since it's spring, the shop is filled with heirloom roses that they grow on the property...

I have never really experienced anything like Melrose Vintage before, and should you plan a trip to Phoenix, it should be on your "to do" list if you like beautiful things, vintage furnishings, or paper crafting. Melrose Vintage is a beautiful experience.   

Our plan for this class was simple: to demystify some of the techniques used to make beautiful rosettes.  

All of the techniques used are really simple, accordion folding, pleating, assembling, and the skillful mixing and matching of colors and patterns to create rosettes that really pop!  

  

And it was "open" workshop...once some of the techniques were explained and we'd created a rosette or two, everyone was allowed to create as many rosettes as they wanted with the paper and supplies we'd provided.  

Our projects turned out beautifully!  

We had a group of "makers" who really liked trying cool color combinations and cool patterns!  

Each rosette was stunningly beautiful and expressed the personal style of each student.  

All it really takes is a little time and thought about how to mix color and pattern for beautiful results.  

We were really lucky to have a great group, who really wanted to learn and to try new techniques.  

And two of our friends were visiting the Phoenix area from Spain and Seattle.  Here are Sue and Diane...

Sue owns a mixed media store in Spain and Diane is a well-known artist/teacher in the US.  it was great to have them join us.  

 During the class, they asked the question, "how big can you make these?"  Of course, no challenge goes unheeded among crafters, so Giuseppina "Josie" set out to make a super-sized rosette.  

By using six sheets of 12"x 12" scrapbook paper, she was able to create a rosette that was two feet across...it looked really cool!  

She stood up to the challenge and created one amazingly big paper rosette! 

When Josie, Sue and Diane had finished creating the gigantic rosette, Sue and Diane decided to do something really special with it.  It seems one of their life-long friends, who lives in Phoenix suffers from Alzheimer's disease and recently moved into an assisted living facility.  They were going to take the rosette over to her as a gift to hang in her new home.  To me it was really touching. I love it when the things we make can make other people happy and I know this really big rosette will bring their friend some happiness every time she sees it.   

We really had a nice time, and made some wonderful memories...and it seems that "Josie" and I will be teaching Vintage Paper Rosettes at Melrose Vintage again soon...we got a number of calls from others who would like to learn how to create rosettes. It's a real pleasure getting to share our love of crafting with others.  We're looking forward to teaching this class again soon.  

Thank you for stopping by...make sure to create something beautiful today!

Ken

Mixed Media Canvas-ICE Resin Paper and Vintage Images

This is a "Friday Flashback" of a previous post...it's a mixed media canvas from a couple years ago.  

I like how the elements of this piece work together.  

I used a few vintage postcards and images, papers coated with ICE Resin, and a few found objects, 

to create a mixed media canvas that recalls a seaside vacation.  When lightly applied to paper, ICE Resin gives paper a translucent, glowing look. 

I liked this one so much, just wanted to bring it out again...partially because I'm thinking about a vacation at the beach too.  

Thank you for stopping by today!

Ken

Hatpin Bezel Heritage Scrapbook Layout: Spellbinders® Shape It Up Sneak Peek and Giveaway Day 2

 Hi Bloggers, and welcome to day 2 of Spellbinders Shape It Up Sneak Peek and Give-a-way!  It’s really an exciting time of year at Spellbinders, as we’re gearing up to launch a brand new line of dies and accessories that are really going to blow you away!  Our newest releases are the most innovative in the industry. The projects you see here today and in the next few days are going to inspire you beyond belief.  So get ready to be amazed!  Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of the post. There’s a chance to win Dies, Hatpin Bezels and Texture Plate I used in this layout. The details to win are listed at the end of this post.  

 We all love creating scrapbook pages and I especially love vintage themes and heritage layouts that incorporate old family photos to memorialize our ancestral background.  Our new Hatpin Bezels and matching dies are perfect embellishments for scrapbook layouts and cards where you’d like to imbue a feeling of yesteryear into your work.   

Using the matching dies, you can coordinate the paper to match the layout, or you could even die cut a piece of fabric from vintage clothing to use inside the hatpin.  This layout features elements of days gone by you will love, an accordion pleated fan, “heirloom” hatpins, and a vintage photograph that tell the story of a 19th century family frozen in time.     

Supply List:
Spellbinders® Paper Arts Supplies:

GC-001 Spellbinders Grand Calibur®Machine

LF-015 Spellbinders Grand DecorativeCircles

S5-086 Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms

S4-351 Spellbinders Spiral BlossomsOne

S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B

MB3-004 Spellbinders  Media Mixage Diamond HatpinBezels

MD1-014 Spellbinders Media Mixage Diamond Dies

MT1-010 Spellbinders Media Mixage Music Note Texture Plate

MM1-003 Copper

Cross Promotional Partners

Beacon Adhesives 3-IN-1 Advanced CraftGlue

Scrapbook Adhesives® by 3L Crafty FoamTape

Melissa Frances Embellishments

ICE Resin

Other:  Maya Road flowers,  Prima Marketing flowers Pink Paislee patterned paper, chalk ink, scissors, vintage photo, pastels, sanding block, seam tape or ribbon, misting bottle with water, score board, small mixing cup and craft stick, cotton swab, paper towels, paper trimmer.  

Instructions:
Hatpin Preparation:  Hatpin Bezels are filled with colored resin to mimic the look of a stone set inside a bezel. 

1.        Wipe hatpin bezels to remove any dust. 

2.        Mix ICE Resin according to package directions.

3.        Choose a pastel color to create resin pigment. Using a craft knife, scrap pastel stick to make approximately ¼ teaspoon of pastel dust.  

4.        Add pastel dust to mixed resin and thoroughly mix pigment (dust) into Ice Resin.

5.        Using a craft stick, slowly drip colored resin into hatpin bezels until resin domes.   Set aside to cure for 6-12 hours.

6.        Sand front and back of a piece of copper sheet.

7.        Cut two #2 (with #1 being smallest die template) and one #3 with Diamond Die from sanded copper using Grand Calibur machine.

8.        Place Music Note Texture Plate on gray Base Plate. Lay diamond die cuts on top of plate and cover with white Cutting Plate and pass through Grand Calibur machine to texture. 

9.        Using a cotton swab, apply patina solution to front and back of textured die cuts. Lightly wipe off excess solution with paper towel and sand raised embossed pattern to reveal music notes.

10.      Glue textured metal pieces to back side of hatpin bezels as shown. Set aside to dry.

 Prepare the Layout:

11.      Randomly tear and curl edges of a 12”x12” piece of patterned paper to create a distressed look for layout background.  Apply chalking ink to edges for an antique feel.

12.      Trim a 4”x 8” strip from patterned paper.  Lightly mist paper with water.  Place Music Note Texture Plate on gray Base Plate. Lay one end of paper on top of texture plate and cover with embossing sandwich (Tan Mat and Pink Embossing Plate) and run through Grand Calibur machine. Move paper down and repeat until whole strip of paper is textured. 

13.      Place textured strip on score board and score at ¼” intervals. Accordion fold strip and glue folds together on one end to create a fan. Set aside to dry.

14.      Position fan at a 45º angle on upper right side of background page.  Affix to page with 3-IN-1 Glue. 

15.      Cut/Emboss Grand Decorative Circles #3 and #4 from patterned paper. Layer, offset and adhere die cut circles with foam tape.

16.      Affix outer circle on to of glued portion of fan with foam tape.

17.      Layer four 1” pieces of foam tape together and place under lower left potion of die cut circles and mount to page. Make 3 more stacks of foam tape and add around perimeter of die circles for support. Refer to photo.

18.      Sand and lightly ink edges of a photo for a vintage look. 

19.      Using foam tape, affix distressed photo on top of die cut circles at a slight angle.

20.      Glue Hatpin Bezels, Melissa Frances Embellishments and seam tape bow to photograph as shown.

 Flowers:

21.      Cut/emboss an assortment of Bitty Blossoms and Spiral Blossoms One form coordinating patterned paper.  Roll outside end of die cut flower into a spiral towards center circle and adhere to circle base. Flair out petals to form flower. Repeat until all flowers are formed.

22.      Arrange with other flower and adhere with 3-N-1 adhesive in a pleasing composition as shown.

Create a Journal or Title Tag:

23.      Cut/Emboss 5 x 7 Matting Basics B #1 and #2 from patterned paper and ink edges.

24.      Stamp sentiment on #1 die cut.

25.      Layer and affix tags together with foam tape. Mount in upper right hand corner with foam tape.

You are going to love the unique details you can add to your work with Spellbinders new Hatpin Bezels, dies, and Musical Texture Plates.  They will let you add loads of personality and charm to your handmade cards and themed scrapbook layouts. 

 The Hatpin Bezels can be used in lots of other projects too….I love creating mixed media projects and the Hatpins are the perfect little “findings."

 

 In this project, “Little Box of Secrets,” I altered a small wooden box and used the Hatpins as key elements in the composition. 

A resin filled Hatpin Bezel with a die cut piece of paper, becomes the all-seeing "3rd Eye" on the outside of the box.  I layered findings and beads with a Hatpin Bezel to create a tiny finial for the top. I used black pigmented resin to fill the bezel to look like onyx.  A torn piece of textured paper becomes a backdrop for a tiny horse and chariot.   You're going to find that the Hatpin Bezels, dies and texture plates are really fun to use in all kinds of projects! 

Now, you know there are prizes and give-a-ways during Spellbinders Sneak Peek…here’s what to do:

For official contest rules click HERE!!

For the chance to WIN...CLICK HERE!

And to find even more inspiration, visit my friend Judy Hayes at Creating My Style Here's a little peek of what she's creating with the Hatpin Bezels.  I think you're going to love it. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today during Day 2 of Spellbinders® Shape It Up Sneak Peek and Giveaway.  I hope you love what you’ve seen and will be inspired to create some vintage details or mixed media elements for your work with Spellbinders New Hatpin Bezels, Dies and Musical Texture Plates.  

Make sure to enter the contest…you are going to want these goodies in your craft stash! 
Questions?  calexander@spellbinders.us No entries will be accepted at this email address.

Your creativity is limitless - Explore Beyond™!