Gelli Plate Monoprint Video Tutorial

As a printmaker, I am always looking for fun and unique techniques to incorporate into my art projects. I generally am accustomed to more traditional printing techniques, however I am always on the lookout for new printing ideas and ways to incorporate printmaking into my mixed media projects. I absolutely love creating monoprints and was excited to find this video.  Creating monoprints with gelli plates is not a new concept, however using stencils and acrylic paint to create one of a kind prints is a new take on an old art form.  Gelli plates have been all the rage lately, so I am glad that I can share this tutorial with all of you so that you too can add printmaking to your artistic arsenal of tricks.

The materials you will need include:
Acrylic paint
Brayer
Gelli plate
Stencils
Paper towels
White paper or cardstock

I cannot wait to add gelli plate printing to my art journal, mixed media art, and cardmaking. I hope you enjoyed this video and are inspired to give printmaking a try.  It is a quick and easy way to create layers in your mixed media projects... especially if you do not have a lot of stamps or stencils.  Leaves, diecuts, lace, or textured fabric can be used instead of stencils to create patterns and textures on the gelli plate.  The monoprinting capabilities are endless!

Thanks for stopping by the Copper Blossom blog tonight. Remember to follow, share, and subscribe. As always, I hope all of you have a great week. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Blue Heron Mixed Media Intaglio Print

Hello everyone.  I cannot believe that my vacation is already over.  Oh how time flies when you are not working.  I do hope that all of you had a fantastic New Year.  I spent my New Year playing the game Pie Face with family and friends.  It is such a fun game... even if you get whipped cream in your eyes and up your nose!  I also dyed my hair a deep plum purple and got caught up on laundry. Overall I had a decent holiday break. 

Since it already is so late, I will not write too much about the art work I am sharing with you tonight.  This print in an intaglio print etched from a zinc plate. This is a colored monoprint.  Before printing the black and white image, I had painted the heron directly on the zinc plate with blue ink. After adding the second color to the etched plate, I ran it through the printing press. This image was printed on a cold pressed paper that I had previously covered in newspaper print and permanent ink spatters.  Once the print was dry, I decided to carefully add a textile pattern to the blue areas of the image. I masked off the white areas of the image using painters tape and then stamped the textile print lightly over the surface of the paper. I used a patterned rubber stamp and dye ink to achieve the results. The final monoprint turned out beautifully.

I hope you enjoyed the art I shared with you tonight.  If you enjoyed this monoprint, please feel free to comment below or share this post via social media.  I appreciate all of the comments, shares, and follows I receive.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Documented Life Project 2016 and New Year's Goals

Hello blog!  I can't believe it's almost 2016!  As promised, I wanted to share a few of my New Year's goals and resolutions with all of you.  First of all, I want to tell all of you about the Documented Life Project, or DLP for short.  This is an art collaboration that you can sign up for.  The idea behind the group is to offer free mixed media classes online and to complete a weekly art journal project.  Each week you will receive an e-mail prompt with guidelines for that weeks journal page.  If one of your resolutions for 2016 is to create more art, you really should check out the Art to the 5th Academy website and register for the 2016 DLP program.  It used to be free, but now costs $12.00 for the class. In exchange for the $12.00, you will receive $20.00 worth of art downloads that you can use in your journals or altered planners.  Here is the e-mail I received today as a reminder to sign up (which I am).



The start of DLP 2016 is just a few days away!
If you are thinking about joining us, you may want to jump in now.  We are printing our free downloads and gathering our supplies. There are great conversations going on and friendships being built.
We would love to have you join us!
Hope to see you in the classroom!
Art to the 5th
Visit Art to the 5th Academy™ at: http://www.art5academy.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

 The Art to the 5th Academy also offers other art courses, lectures, and videos for you to check out.  I love art journaling but did not complete as many pages in 2015 as I had hoped.  I am really looking forward to signing up and getting weekly assignments for my art journal.  I can't wait to share my DLP projects on the blog, and hope to see some of your projects as well!

I do have a few other resolutions and goals I am hoping to complete in 2016.  The main goal of 2016 is to give up soda for good.  Most of you don't know that I suffer from chronic migraines.... and lately they have been horrendous.  I currently rely on soda and the caffeine it provides to keep my headaches and migraines at bay.  I do occasionally drink coffee or tea, but always end up drinking soda.  It is cheap, convenient, and loaded with sugar (which is not so great for my waist line). I have been trying to ditch soda from my diet for a couple years now without success.  I am hoping that this year will be better.

I am also hoping to get a realistic bird painting done before the first of May.  This will be difficult since I work full time and am always working on other art projects, but I am hopeful. If I can successfully finish a painting or drawing in time, I will enter it in the annual Birds in Art exhibit at Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin.  This is not a necessity, but it is a lifelong goal that I have always wanted to accomplish. I always put it off thinking that I have all the time in the world.... but that is a lie.

The last goal for 2016 is to finish my book and oracle card deck I started last summer.  I would love to finish both of those projects sooner rather than later, but lack the motivation to do so.  I will be working on the oracle cards whenever I can and hope to have them done before the end of the year.  The book will probably take much longer since I am still evolving spiritually, but I am okay with that.  I stopped working on both projects when I returned to work in October.  Not only did I have less time to work on those projects, but I side-stepped my spirituality when I became focused on the stress and drama of my life.  Now that I am passed all of that,  I can focus on my inner peace and continue growing spiritually.  I am hoping to meditate more this year and enjoy the life I get to live each day.

I hope all of you are inspired to create art in 2016 and join me in registering for the Documented Life Project. I cannot wait for the growth and changes I will experience in 2016.  Thank you so much for visiting the Copper Blossom blog tonight.  I hope all of you have a fantastic New Year!  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Midnight Sparkle - New Year's Paper Pack Release!

Good evening everyone!  I hope all of you had a fantastic Monday after the long holiday weekend.  I feel fortunate to still be on vacation... I definitely need another week of vacation after all of the running around I did last week.  I do have to return back to work on Sunday though.  I can honestly say that I am dreading the end of my vacation. Oh well, at least I can work on some art this week since I have a little free time. 

I am also dreading the blizzard like conditions I am surrounded by at the moment.... although I am not alone.  The entire midwest is being subjected to the same weather system.  It has sleeted and snowed all day today, and is supposed to continue through tomorrow night.  We have had major wind gusts and a decent amount of snow so far.  I am not a fan of this weather at all.  It's the first major snowfall of the year and I ended up falling twice today.  There wasn't even any ice.  My fused ankle does not perform well in the snow at all.... and trying to catch myself from falling is nearly impossible.  I spent a good 5 seconds falling down outside of my credit union today.  I am so fearful of slipping and injuring my reconstructed foot.... an injury could result in an amputation which I definitely do not want. Hopefully this weather system moves through Oshkosh quickly and doesn't continue to produce a lot of snow.

Due to the weather, I was able to spend some time indoors and finished a new digital paper pack for New Year's. The paper pack is called Midnight Sparkle and contains 20 - 12"x12" papers.  The papers are teal, blue, or black with lots of glitter.  You will finds lots of stars in this kit as well as damask prints and polka dots. All papers are in .jpeg format and can easily be used for digital scrapbooking, project life layouts, and card making. This paper pack turned out beautifully and is available to purchase in my Etsy shop HERE.  The paper pack is only $1.75 and can be used in commercially sold crafts!

I love this kit and cannot wait to release the matching scrapbook kit with embellishments.  There are also two more Christmas freebies that I will be posting to the blog this week!  Be sure to visit my blog often so you do not miss any updates or freebies.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Have a great week everyone!  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Mixed Media Christmas Cards - Challenge Post

Hello.  I hope all of you had a fantastic Christmas yesterday.  This year's Christmas with my family was the craziest holiday celebration ever... and not in a good way. In all honesty, I am sick of seeing ambulances and EMT's on Christmas.  This is the second year in a row that a family member had to be rushed to the hospital on Christmas.  Hoping next year our family can have a normal holiday celebration.  For now, I am glad that Christmas is over.... I love the holidays, but not the drama or medical problems that pop up during the festivities.

Today I thought I would share a couple last minute Christmas cards I made on Christmas Eve.  These cards were relatively simple and cheap to make. I used a lot of materials already on hand including scrapbook paper and lace.  I did purchase some felt reindeer and paper poinsettia flowers to embellish the cards. All other stickers and embellishments were from my crafting stash.

The materials I used:
Various glitter scrapbook papers
 Kraft paper
Tombow glue
Pop dots (foam adhesive squares)
Alphabet stickers
"Warm Wishes" holiday stamp
Black ink pad
Glitter glue
Lace
Felt reindeer
Paper flowers
Velum

The first card I made has a simple red mat and glitter paper background for added sparkle. I wrapped a 1" thick strip of velum around the background paper before gluing it to the mat paper.  I was originally going to only add one flower and a ribbon bow, but loved these paper poinsettias so much that I added three.  All of the flowers were adhered to the card with pop dots. I used a stamped sentiment for the greeting on the card.  I used pop dots to adhere the matted sentiment to the card.  I love the dimension that pop dots can add to the card. The final step in making this card was gluing the entire matted card front to the kraft paper card.  I discovered Tombow glue on a youtube tutorial a few months ago and am hooked.  It is the only glue I use for cardmaking.  I highly recommend it.

The second card is similar in layout to the first card.  I used beautiful glitter papers for the mat and background.  Instead of velum, I wrapped lace around the background paper.  I added a cute lace bow to add interest and dimension.  I wanted to make this card masculine for my brother, so I did not add paper flowers or snowflakes.  Instead I added an adorable felt reindeer diecut.  I purchased a package of six holiday felt reindeer at Hobby Lobby for $1.24. I adhered the reindeer to the card using pop dots. Instead of adding a stamped sentiment to the card, I used light blue glitter alphabet stickers to add the word NOEL.  When I was satisfied with the placement of everything, I glued the card front to the kraft paper card.

These cards turned out super cute and took no time at all to put together.  I am entering one or both of these cards in the following blog challenges:
That Craft Place Challenge - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Winter Wonderland
Anything But Cute - You've Got Happy Mail
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Sparkle

I hope these simple cards inspire you to make your own greeting cards.  Thank you for visiting my blog, sharing my posts on social media, and subscribing to the Copper Blossom Blog.  Have a great day!  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

12 Freebies of Christmas - #10 - Digital Word Art

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas. I can't believe that Christmas day is already here. I have been busier than a hive of bees the last two days, but am now able to relax and post to the blog.  I hope all of you are enjoying your Christmas with family and friends.  I just wanted to post another Christmas freebie to the blog before the festivities at my mom's house begins.

The Christmas freebie today is a set of holiday word art that can be used for card making, art journaling, or digital scrapbooking.  These word art images are in .png format and can be used with any digital scrapbook software including My Memories Suite.  To download, simply left click on each image to view in a new window, then right click on the design and select save image as.  You will be able to save the image to your computer to use whenever you like. These word art images are for personal use only.

  I hope all of you have enjoy your Christmas celebrations today.  Please follow the blog and share this post via social media or google+ if you enjoy my posts and freebies.  I greatly appreciate all of the comments, follows, and shares!  Take care everyone and Merry Christmas!  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

12 Freebies of Christmas - #9 - Digital Cluster Frame

Hello!  I cannot believe that Christmas is only 3 days away.... where did the time go?  I am so not ready for Christmas.  I need to spend the day running last minute Christmas errands, so I decided to post this freebie before I leave the house.  I wasn't planning on doing any shopping today, but I was shipped the wrong gift item from Sears, so I gotta go to the mall and exchange it.  Since I am traveling out of town to go to the mall, I might as well make a day of it and enjoy myself.  I am supposed to get three more packages shipped from Sears tomorrow.... I am really hoping all of those orders are right.... I will be going to my brother's house tomorrow night and will not be able to fix any more shipping mistakes.

Today's freebie is a Christmas cluster frame that I created using the Vintage Christmas digital scrapbook kit. This image is in .png format ready to add to any digital scrapbook layout, greeting card, or journal page. This digital cluster frame can also be printed out and used in any Christmas craft project. To download, simply left click on the image to view in a new window, then right click on the design and select save image as.  You will be able to save the image to your computer to use whenever you like. This cluster frame is for personal use only.

All of  the Vintage Christmas digital scrapbook kits are available in my Etsy store HERE.  My paper packs are $1.75 and scrapbook kits are $3.00.  All kits that are purchased from my Etsy store can be used in commercially sold crafts. I am always working on creating new kits so be sure to check the blog and Etsy store often to see what new kits are available. I am currently working on a New Years kit that I hope to release in a few days.  Here are the Vintage Christmas kits you will find in my shop.

  I hope all of you have a great day and wonderful Christmas.  Please follow the blog and share this post via social media if you enjoy my posts and freebies.  Also be sure to check out the Copper Blossom Pinterest board and facebook page. You will find the links to all of my pages to the right of this blog post.  Take care everyone and enjoy the rest of your holiday week.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤