DIY Modeling paste for mixed media collage quick , easy , cheap

I am very excited because I have been playing around with homemade modeling paste. It is quite fun to use stencils and slather on some white paste on a collage page and lift off the stencil and see the magical white impressions on the page. I got this home made recipe from a video by gauchealchemy on you tube. It works great and it saves soooo much money to make it yourself. So here is the recipe ( you can also look up the video if you want to see it made) one air tight container one part white acrylic paint one part talc powder baby powder ( $1 at the dollar store) 1/2 part white glue or mod podge ( this is what I used) It will end up with the consistency of frosting ( do not eat it lol) stir a lot ….. put stencil down on heavy weight paper and spread the paste over the stencil and lift straight up. Wait to let it dry or dry with your heat gun. Wash your stencils and utensils right away, this stuff dries hard. Just look at the photos to see how easy it is.

New art journal in progress Diva Dreams

Here is the new art journal I am working on. It is so feminine. Sometimes journals seem to demand to be made without my directing it too much. lol does it need more bling?

Melinda'sCreative Wishes: Thrifty Crafter - Linda

Melinda'sCreative Wishes: Thrifty Crafter - Linda  Thank you Mel for the blog post about my art work.  You are kind.  Linda

New Titanic travel art journal smash book

I seem to be captivated by the theme of the Titanic and making art journals. I love this one; I used some Graphic 45 paper called "Time flies" and an image of a Titanic boarding pass with a blue Swarovski crystal ( for the Heart of the Ocean gem in the movie). Lots of blank pages and hand made folder/envelops that is a good place to put your receipts and post cards. I am putting this up for sale in my etsy store.

Graphic 45 Steam punk debutante reusable calendar covers

I love this new paper from Graphic 45 , steampunk debutante. I made these calendar covers with this paper and some embossed wallpaper. You can use these with a new calendar next year. I have them in my etsy store and will probably make a couple more since they are so fun.

My fiber collection is always getting tangled in my studio

Does this ever happen to you? Here is a $1 solution. I got these baskets at the $1 store and I put my fiber and yarn balls in by color. Then I thread one strand out of the hole and pull it when I need that particular yarn. I can pick up a colored basket to match my project and put it on the floor next to me while I work and then put it back up on the shelf when I am finished. Hope this helps with your tangles. lol

steam punk travel journal, art journal or smash book

Suddenly, I am captured by Steampunk art. So here is an art journal / travel journal/ smash book. I used lumiere metallic paints and Tim Holtz clock pieces and distress inks to make the cover. Inside all of the pages are hand made and have lots of pockets and tags to put photos or to journal on. It is my first steampunk art project and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Titanic travel smash book art journal

I had such fun putting together this mini travel smash book. Each of the pages is embellished and convey a vintage sense of 1912 when the ship went down.

finally found a way to keep my clear stamps organized and easy to find

I love to stamp but keeping those clear stamps organized and being able to remember which ones I owned was difficult. Have spent money and tried a couple of different methods I finally found one that works great for me. This filing system is compacted and works well. As a disclaimer, I do not receive any money or samples from this company. I did find this set on sale at Tues. Morning. I used a pen that writes on plastic to write the file labels. Some of my stamps did not stick well on the plastic but I found if I used double stick tape on the clear acrylic page they came on they stayed on the file sheet. I did stamp and put some of the images on the back side of the file sheet to help me quickly select which stamp I needed. I am in the process of reorganizing my craft room again and will be posting some other ideas that might help you dig through all your supplies to actually create some artistic work. lol

How to keep your passwords for online accounts at your fingertips

Just thought I would share this little bit of advice to solve a problem that I often have. I do not know about you but I am constantly having to change my passwords because I keep forgetting them. Then I have to replace it and I forget that one. I now keep my passwords in a small address book that is only used for this reason. I do not put any information about any money or sensitive accounts in this book that I keep by my desk. But when I want to post a comment on a Google blog I have the latest password in my desk drawer. I cannot tell you how many times I have said really bad words and wanted to throw my computer to the floor because I could not remember the latest password . In the photo you can see that I wrote that my example password to pinterest as "Donkey", obviously that is not my password but it is what I feel like when I cannot remember it. I got my little password book for only a quarter at the Salvation Army thrift store near me. I have recently been collecting vintage books and maps for my mixed media art work at this store and came across this little book. Right size and right price and no more bad words. lol Hope this helps if it works for you.

Tutorial to make a simple image transfer with vintage book pages

Here is a simple way to make an easy image transfer using vintage paper and packing tape and alcohol inks. Some vintage book pages make excellent transfers without having to make a copy of the page. Just put the tape over the book page and rub it down, then soak the tape and page in water and carefully rub the paper off the tape. If you need too spray a little more water on the paper to help it come off easier. When you finish you will be able to see the text on the tape, let it dry and then use a straw to blow alcohol inks across the sticky side of the tape. You can then use these taped images for tags or for journal embellishments.

Have been working on prayer journals recently. I love the way the mixed media collages turned out on these journals. They are a combination of layers of different colored tissue paper collaged with gold stars. The small color photographs help to make these journals different than others I have made. I feel pulled by my religious background and my current work to explore the idea of prayer and support. These two journals incorporate some of that energy. Both are offered in my etsy and artfire shops.

Thank you to all my friends online who have been so generous with their time and images. I am going to post some vintage postcards ( from 1907-1915) here on my blog for you to use for free. They are large files so you can download them and use them in your art or scrapbooking. I would only ask that you do not resell them. Please feel free to pin this if you like. Thanks and enjoy. This first card is from the divided card era (1907-1915) from the marks on the back I am pretty sure this came from someone's postcard collection that she kept in an album. It has not been sent by mail. This was the golden era for collecting postcards; they were the twitter of their time. Before postcards you needed to write a letter to correspond with your friends. This idea of writing just a little on the back of a picture and just sending it was a novel idea. I am selling some of the better of these original postcards in my etsy store. It is a chance to own a piece of history that is over 100 years old. You can then scan them and use them over and over again in your art. Happy creating.