Maura's Musings

Monday, March 18

Tiny Houses

Hello Monday my friends! Hope you have had a lovely week wherever you are. We still have a lot of snow here, so it's fun to create a bright project. Our challenge for you this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is - MINIATURE/TINY THINGS.

I remember as a child, I would lay on the ground and look closely at all the living things hidden in the grass or leaves. I was fascinated watching the ant trails, or lifting a piece of rotten wood and finding all kinds of critters living in it. And then...I would let my imagination free.

I headed to my art journal with some of Andrea Ockey Parr's stamps along with a wonderful nature set from Paper Artsy to create my miniature world.

I started with a thick layer of opaque paint...

then closed the pages to get this lovely texture. I will admit it took quite awhile to dry.

Then I stamped in some dots.

Next layer, a mix of opaque and semi transparent in blue tones. I wiped some of it back with a baby wipe.

Next, I stenciled the eyes in copper. I wanted it to look as though someone was peering down into this miniature world. I also added a few blobs of paint below, closed the pages to get some more texture.

detail...

Meanwhile, I stamped and painted my images on watercolor paper, then fussy cut them out. I also stenciled on some leaves, again trying to create the feeling of the scene being tiny.

BTW, are you as fascinated with the tiny house movement as I am? I continually find myself drawn to the idea...like maybe I could build one for an art studio, or a getaway for times I need to be alone, or as guest house. Oh, the stuff of dreams!

I was trying to create a sense of scale for the tiny house by adding in the mushroom and snail.

On this page, I couldn't resist adding maple seed wings to Andrea's bird.

Sometimes you have to look closely to see the hidden worlds!

Are you ready to create something tiny? I hope I've inspired you with my art journal pages to join us this week. One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win a $50 shopping voucher from our super generous friends at Simon Says Stamp!

SUPPLIES:

Inky Antics Roller Bird stamp set

Inky Antics Tiny Houses Stamp Set

Inky Antics BIG BOLD BORDERS clear stamp set

Paper Artsy Eclectica3-SCRAPCOSY rubber stamps ESC05

Visible Image EYE CONTACT stencil

Paper Artsy Fresco Caribbean Sea Paint

Paper Artsy Fresco Paints ANTARCTIC chalk

Paper Artsy Limelight Chalk Acrylic

Paper Artsy Copper Metallic acrylic

Paper Artsy Yellow Submarine Chalk Acrylic

simon says stamp high dive ink pad

Simon Says Stamp Premium Dye Ink Black

Canson XL WATERCOLOR PAPER

Ranger HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL

Dina Wakley Ranger Media Brushes

3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE GLIDER

3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE Permanent

Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers

Craft Scissors - Tim Holtz

Tim Holtz Tonic Craft Stamp Platform

ranger mini round ink blender

Faber-Castell BLACK ESSENTIAL PITT Artist Pens 770075

Simon Says Stamp Stencil LEAVES

A great place to shop!

Simon is on Instagram - use #sssmchallenge

The design team has gone miniature this week, creating tiny things, so be sure to head on over to get a wonderful dose of inspiration!

Monday, March 11

Simon Says: Go Feminine

Hello Monday my friends! We have a brand new challenge for you this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - FEMININE/GIRLY. Have you been thinking of lace and pinks? or maybe denim overalls and a tool box? What does feminine mean to you?

My art journal pages are full of pinks and flowers, butterflies and balloons...but also some edgier areas too. My imagination often heads off into the steampunk realm with hot air balloons. My favorite bumper sticker that was on my old car was "My other ride is an airship" and I had a few of my students convinced I had one! So sometimes "girly" dreams include flying airships and getting dirty working on the mechanics of it.

Create Your Own Dream

I headed to my Dina Wakley Media Journal for my project, and sometimes I look at all the different types of pages in it and am not sure what I am going to do with them. I decided to cut out most of the canvas in between and cut it into pieces and glue them in for texture.

Next, I used a palette knife and applied clear gesso. Once it dried, I used the palette knife again and scraped on the Lemon, Blushing, and White paints.

Next up, the Simon Says Stamp Diamond Circles stencil (because there is that saying, "diamonds are a girl's best friend") with the transparent gloss texture paste. I wanted the colors to show through. I also added crackle paste over the canvas areas.

I sprinkled in some infusions and set it to dry overnight.

I wiped back some of the infusions and went back with my paints colors and added another layer over sections of the pages.

Details....

I stamped and colored the flowers with distress oxides and fussy cut the lovely Graphic 45 papers out.

I added some more detail with some Stickles and Nuvo drops, and went around everything with graphite to create a shadow.

Details....

Are you ready to let your imagination go free?

I hope you are inspired to join our Feminine/Girly challenge this week, and I am curious as to how you will interpret our theme. Our generous friends at Simon Says Stamp are offering a $50 shopping voucher to one lucky participant!