Welcome to the first ever blog hop for The Artist Tribe at Gwen Lafleur Studios! I'm so excited to see and share all of the fabulous projects from these talented ladies, and I hope you'll enjoy it just as much!
There are three posts today, and three tomorrow, and of course, there's a giveaway! But before we get to that, here's a summary of today's inspiring projects:
First up, we have Jackie Neal, who's sharing some beautiful diary style art journaling!
Here's what Jackie had to say about her project:
- Peacock tissue paper (most orders come wrapped in this paper)
- Proud Peacock Collage Cut-outs (Peacock feathers)
- Irresistible India Collage Cut-outs (Peacock photo)
- Gwen's Essentials Washi Tape~Blue Diamond Tiles
- Gwen's Stencil-Decorative 6-Petal Flower Screen stencil
- Gwen's Essentials-Emerald Creek Embossing Powder-Burnt Copper Leaves
- Gwen's Essentials-Spice Market Darn Good Yarn Sampler~Warm Base
Next up in today's lineup, Lynda Shoup is sharing another fabulous project! Lynda took inspiration from a recent outing where prayer flags and beautifully carved paving stones helped bring everything together.
Lynda used some Turkmen jewelry parts, newspaper yarn, an image from the Enchanting Elephants downloadable collage cut-outs, and some hand-printed paper I sent to the team that's similar to the ones in my themed collage and embellishment packs to make her beautiful banner!
Last up for today... it's me! I'll show you how I used my stencils and some goodies from the shop to make a set of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) for my latest swap.
Here are the cards - believe it or not, I made all of these in one sitting... it just took a few hours (which for me is pretty fast!)
Ready for a little tutorial? I started with an 11"x14" sheet of heavy weight paper, then I blended some Distress Oxide Inks onto the surface, spritzed with water, and dried it. I wanted to do two different colorways so that I would have some variety in the backgrounds for my cards.
Next, I pulled out my stencils and just started adding designs all over the background without much rhyme or reason. Here, I used two designs from my Art Deco stencil collection: Art Deco Sunburst Background, Art Deco Sun Medallion, then the Decorative Medallion stencil and Decorative 6-Petal Flower Screen, and from my Ornamental stencil collection, the Ornamental Peacock Feathers stencil, Ornamental Floral Screen, and Ornamental Embroidery. I stenciled all of those with Archival Inks - I wanted the slightly more soft and transparent look of inks for this, plus they give a nice, crisp image and no drying time.
With that done, I cut the sheet down into 2-1/2"x3-1/2" cards, then took paper scraps and adhered them along the bottom or side with matte medium.
Then I took different washi tapes and added those as another layer, sealing them with matte medium.
With the matte medium dry, I took some different Dresden trim border designs and added a small section on each card.
Next I cut out nine images from the collage sheets (these were provided as part of a kit for my swap group, but you can find similar designs in my Irresistible India downloadable collage cutouts.) I decided which backgrounds looked best with which images and then adhered them in place with matte medium.
After that it was time to embellish! For this, I mainly used different trims, jewels, and charms from various ATC kits for my swap group and glued those in place.
Finally, I used Sepia and Jet Black Archival Inks along the edge of each card, then finished them with a line of gold from a Pen-Touch paint pen.
That's it! The cards themselves are quite easy to make - the key is the background, which adds a lot of complexity and depth without a lot of work. Then you just add a few layers on top, and voila! Fun ATCs, all ready to trade!
Here are close-ups of each of the cards I made:
And of course, one final look at all of them together:
I hope you enjoyed my project today! Of course, wow it's time for the part everyone is waiting for... a GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner will receive $20 Gift Card to the Shop at Gwen Lafleur Studios! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on any or all of the blog posts during the hop - the more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! (One comment per person per blog please.)
You have until Sunday, October 1st at 11:59pm mountain time to leave your comments. The winner will be announced on the Gwen Lafleur Studios Facebook page on Monday, October 2nd.
Today's posts:
- Jackie Neal
- Lynda Shoup
- Gwen Lafleur <-- you are here!
Make sure to come back again tomorrow to see the next three projects!
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These are absolutely stunning, Gwen! Such rich, vibrant colors and images. Hard to choose a favorite, but probably the peacock. I'll see which one Fran chose for for me on Friday!
Posted by: Kat Rubenbauer | September 28, 2017 at 04:41 AM
Those cards are just WONDERFUL!
Posted by: froebelsternchen | September 28, 2017 at 05:18 AM
Such gorgeous colors and fabulous details!
Posted by: Jean Marmo | September 28, 2017 at 06:20 AM
Loving al the gorgeous work that the Tribe is putting out.
Posted by: Patty bocciarelli | September 28, 2017 at 06:51 AM
Beautiful colors! So vibrant! The peacock ATC is my favorite.
Posted by: Linda Rink | September 28, 2017 at 07:56 AM
Your cards are gorgeous, they truly capture, what for me is India (never was there ) with the warm hot colors, like the spices of carry ,and all the other used in their cooking.
They are beautiful, and each little magic Indian stories .
Thank you for the chance of being in the give away.
Greetings Dorthe
Posted by: Dorthe Hansen | September 28, 2017 at 08:55 AM
Stunningly gorgeous! Loved your process in creating your ATC’s. The archival inks and stencils made for such a beautiful background. The colors and designs are just eye popping! Very inspiring. I’m so happy I popped in today!
XX
Posted by: Kim Collister | September 28, 2017 at 09:27 AM
Can't believe you made all those ATCs in one sitting! Gorgeous!
Posted by: Tracie | September 28, 2017 at 10:24 AM
It's always so simple once you explain it! The result looks so complex and stunning. I do love how you use color!
Posted by: Jill McDowell | September 28, 2017 at 11:03 AM
As always wonderful work...I really love how you remind us all to take small layering steps to end up with a fabulous complex piece
Posted by: Peej lankford | September 28, 2017 at 12:41 PM
Beautiful ATCs, the colors are so vibrant and the design so rich ! Very inspiring tutorial, thank you !
Posted by: Edwige V. | September 28, 2017 at 01:56 PM
These are sensational! I want them all :-) Such delicious colors and images, and your work is so inspiring!!
Posted by: Linda Wyatt | September 28, 2017 at 04:33 PM
Love the stencil background and the way you layer everything, so pretty!
Posted by: Sandsee Setliff | September 28, 2017 at 04:55 PM
Fabulous projects, nicely varied, so talented ladies!
Posted by: Theresa Gonzales | September 28, 2017 at 04:58 PM
Gwen, these ATCs are stunning. I enjoyed reading your process and found a few hints that will soon be put to use. Each of these ATCs is a treasure. My only question now is how ever will you part with them?
Posted by: Lynda Shoup | September 28, 2017 at 05:07 PM
Gwen,
Your atc's are exquisite!! As I first looked at these I thought holy moly , they must have taken her days! Then to read only an hour, and to see your steps- WOW! I mean, these are so incredibly beautiful, so rich in color and design!
Lynda's wall hanging is glorious! Can't wait to see what the other Tribe sisters create!
Jackie
Posted by: PNJackie | September 28, 2017 at 05:46 PM
Gorgeous ATCs Gwen! You make it look so easy!
Posted by: Monica Garcia | September 28, 2017 at 05:53 PM
Fabulous ATC's the colours are vibrant and they all have amazing details.
The art here is all inspirational,
Yvonne
Posted by: Meggymay | September 29, 2017 at 04:32 AM
Love them.......totally gorgeous.....might have to be my weekend craft project. You really do beautiful work Gwen!!
Posted by: Lynne Cerreta | September 29, 2017 at 11:00 AM
Breathtaking! I want to use your background techniques to harmonize a prayer flag project I've been dreaming up. Sending for some of your stencils now!
Posted by: marla brink | September 29, 2017 at 11:05 AM
So much fun and COLOR in ALL of these projects! I LOVE ATC's one of my fave things to do and these are stinking fabulous!
Posted by: Felicia | September 29, 2017 at 11:34 AM
thanks for this wonderful idea.
I have several of these boxes
and haven't come up with a
decorating idea. Now I have
one and it's fantastic.
Going to go put that idea to
use this evening.
thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Mary Holshouser | September 29, 2017 at 01:46 PM
Great techniques! Beautiful!
Posted by: Laurie | September 29, 2017 at 11:19 PM
wow, seriously stunning art projects here! xo
Posted by: michele s | September 30, 2017 at 01:09 PM
Love these ATCs! What inspiration!
Posted by: Janis Graham | October 01, 2017 at 11:21 PM