Caterpillar Watercolor & Ink

Tonight I just wanted to share a project I recently finished.  This caterpillar image is actually a handmade stamp I carved from a Speedball stamp kit.  I used watercolor and ink spray on watercolor paper to create the background.  After letting the background dry, I stamped the caterpillar on the watercolor paper using Peacock Feathers and Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  The stamped image did not print as clearly as I would have liked, but I still like it. I love how the background colors blended with the distress ink of the stamped image.

I apologize for not writing more, but I want to keep this blog post short.  I am extremely exhausted from working all day and can hardly think at this point.  Please be sure to follow the Copper Blossom blog and like my facebook page.  Thanks for visiting the blog and have a great night everyone! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Watercolor & Ink Altered Barn Owl Print - Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge

Hello Everyone!  I normally do not blog twice in a single day, but I want to post a special watercolor print I created for the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge.  This print was created using a really bad artist proof from my signed and numbered "Barn Owl" edition.  The original Barn owl prints were created using a hand carved linoleum block and an oil based ink on Reeves BFK cold pressed paper. During the printing process, I ended up with several artist's proofs (prints with mistakes, different colored inks, smudges, etc.).  As an artist, I never throw away any art or paper.  You never know when those "junk" papers will come in handy!

I think that the finished print above turned out BEAUTIFUL!  I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out because I was using water based paint and ink over an oil ink print, but I love the effects and colors.

This print is the original black and white "Barn Owl" print.  Like the print I used to create the watercolor print above, this too is an artist's proof due to imperfect printing (uneven ink, unintentional white spots, and smudging within the feathers).  The artist proof I used for the watercolor print had lots of background areas that were poorly inked resulting in a lighter, splotchy background.

The materials used include:
 - artist's proof linocut print
 - tracing paper (to create a mask over the owl)
 -  black permanent marker
 - Dylusions ink spray in colors White Linen, Pure Sunshine, London Blue, After Midnight, Cherry Pie, and Cut Grass
 - Distress paint in colors Black Soot, Mowed Lawn, Chipped Sapphire, and Salty Ocean
 - Distress Ink in colors Peacock Feathers,Picked Raspberry, and Faded Jeans
 - Archival Black Ink Pad
 - Water in a spray bottle
 - Masking tape
 - Stamp with script
 - Fineline masking fluid
 - Workable fixative
 - White Gelli Roll pen

The first thing I did was create a mask for the main owl. I also used a little masking fluid and masking tape to preserve key white areas without over doing it.  I did not perfectly mask the owl because I wanted the colors to bleed and drip into the image a bit. I then started to layer areas of distress paint on the print and sprayed the print with water to get the colors to move. When that layer was dry, I started to spray Dylusions ink spray over certain areas of the image. I blotted some spots right away, and other spots I sprayed with water to create drips.  My After Midnight ink sprayer was clogged a bit, so I accidentally created large splatters on the image. I ended up using other colors to purposely create splatters similar to the After midnight spots. I let the image dry and removed the masks. I decided to use a workable fixative at this point so I could add more layers of color without disturbing the layers of paint and ink underneath. I ended up blending distress ink into the background and into the owl's feathers to get rid of a bit of the stark white. I also added a bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint to the shadow areas of the feathers to bring more color into the owl image. I ended up layering colors until I was happy with the print.  I then stamped some script on the image using black Archival ink. The last thing I did was use a white Gelli Roll Pen to add back a few of the white details in the feathers. Viola, the altered print is complete!

In the end, I loved how the different mediums interacted with each other.  The distress paint worked well on the oil based ink, but the Dylusions Ink spray and Distress Ink seemed to avoid those inked areas and preferred to seep into the Reeves paper. I absolutely love how this altered print turned out and can't wait to try this technique again!

This image is being entered into the watercolor challenge at  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog.  I am apologizing in advance if I do not post to the blog for a couple days. I have been physically exhausted all week due to returning to work after a six month medical leave. Despite my surgery being successful, my ankle continues to be extremely painful and swollen.  Anyway, I will try to post to the blog and create art if my body allows it.  I hope all of you have a fantastic Thursday tomorrow. Take care. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Weekend Art Journal Page

Hello everyone.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  I got to spend some time with my family this warm autumn weekend. I also got to enjoy the Green Bay Packer football game this afternoon and made a few cream pies. Finally back home and able to post to the blog.

Tonight I just wanted to share a mixed media art journal page that I created this weekend. I created this page using dylusions ink sprays, acrylic gel medium, scrap paper, gel pens, a face cut out from a magazine ad, and a black permanent marker.  This page was inspired by a magazine makeup ad. I was thinking that all women should be proud of who they are and show their true colors.  We are all beautiful people and should not change who we are to fit into society's idea of beauty.  I love how this art journal page turned out, but wish the magazine paper wouldn't have wrinkled so much when adhering it into my dylusions journal.

Thank you so much for visiting the blog tonight.  As always, feel free to share this post on social media or follow this blog.  Have a great night! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤ 

Time Journal Page

Hello everyone!  I can hardly believe that today is already hump day... where does the time go?  Speaking of time, I just finished an art journal page and thought I would share it with all of you.  I am really enjoying decoupaging in my art journal, and this page is covered top to bottom in papers, cut outs, and mod podge.  This page is definitely my thickest to date.  I really didn't know what I was going to do with the journal page.  This was one of those half done pages that I despised seeing in my journal. I had lots of issues with this page, so I left it unfinished for a few months.  Last night I got inspired to work on it after thinking about daylight savings time.

This page started a few months ago when I decided to glue one of my old woodcut prints to the page.

 I used dylusions spray ink in fresh lime, vibrant turquoise, and pure sunshine over the image to create a background. I also used black soot distress paint to distress the edges of the page.  I decided at that point to color in the cogs with souffle gel pens in random colors.  I wasn't the happiest with the page, so I started to cover up some of the image via decoupage.  I used mod podge to adhere all of the random torn pieces of scrapbook paper and circle shapes. At this point, I liked how it looked, but there was no theme to the page.

I didn't know what else to do with the page until last night when I was thinking about clocks and daylight savings time.  I decided to print out a clock on scrapbook paper and add it to the image.  I added India ink randomly around the edges to darken them up more.  This took a while to dry on the areas previously covered with mod podge, so I started working on another journal page to pass the time.  When the page was completely dry, I added a couple more circle shapes around the clock via mod podge. To add a little more contrast, I used a black permanent marker and white gel pen to trace around all the circles.  Lastly, I added a title using stickers and distress paint. This page turned out amazing... it just took some time!

I hope this journal page inspires you to never give up on those pesky pages you feel are unsuccessful.  The advantage of using paint and decoupage is that you can cover up and hide whatever it is that you don't like.  No matter what, sometimes it is best to stop working on a journal page or art project and work on something else for a while.  Nine times out of ten, I can return to a piece of artwork with renewed inspiration and a different approach.

Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Freebie Friday - Colorful Tags!

Why not celebrate the long awaited weekend with some free digital tags!  These tags can be printed out and used for scrapbook layouts, cards, or decoupage projects.  You can also keep these tags in digital format and use them in your digital art.  Both tags were created from the same starting tag, so the images should be identical in size.  It is amazing how you can turn a plain tag into 2 unique works of art!

To download, simply left click on each image to view in a larger screen, then right click on the design and select save image as.  You will be able to save the images to your computer to use whenever you like.  I do want to mention that these design are for personal use only.  The images cannot be sold for profit outside of Copper Blossom Paper Gallery without my consent.  I say this not only because I created the tags, but also because I like to use other designer's digital content in my designs.

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!   If you love my blog, please sign up for e-mail alerts.  Also feel free to comment below or share this blog post on social media and google +.    ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤