Iris Mini Altar

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful and safe day celebrating the 4th of July yesterday.  I ordered these really cool mini gatefold chipboard pieces from Art Neko's B-Muse website, and I'm sharing my Iris Mini Altar with you today. These gatefold chipboard blanks are called Mini Altars, and I paired it with an ATC iris stamp from Art Neko. The Mini Altars look like this when you order them from B-Muse:

The fun begins when you start to decorate these! I stamped some soft green paper with the branch from the A151 Japanese Floral 4 sheet from Art Neko. You can see the branch on the left and right sides of the green paper. I sponged some Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint distress inks along the edges before I adhered it to the inside of the Mini Altar.

The iris ATC stamp from the A292 Flowered ATC's sheet (Art Neko) was stamped with black ink onto some white Bristol cardstock. I colored it with Prismacolor pencils, taking the time to add the special details like the yellow areas and the pinkish hues on each flower. The ATC was cut out and adhered to the center of the Mini Altar.

On the outside of the mini altar, I stamped some soft green paper with the same iris ATC stamp from the A292 Flowered ATC's sheet and adhered them to the two front flaps. I found some purple ribbon that matched my colored flowers and I tied the mini altar closed with the ribbon.

These mini altars are a lot of fun to decorate. Grab some from the B-Muse store and select some stamps or papers from the Art Neko store and enjoy!

Koi and Kanji Wall Hangings

Hello everyone!  Remember the gorgeous collage paper that Art Neko created based on one of my cards?  I’ve used that sakura collage paper on this trio of wall hangings to share with you.  I stamped an assortment of koi and kanji on each of the three pieces.

I started by cutting out the Spring Summer Collage Sheet with scissors.  I trimmed each one to fit onto the ATC Masonite Blanks from B-Muse.  Next, I stamped the 3 Bold Koi and the kanji on each piece with a dark blue ink.  Then I glued the stamped collage sheets down onto the ATC Masonite Blanks, being careful not to get any wrinkles or bubbles in the paper as I pressed it down.

For the hangers, I glued them on with some liquid glue to the back of each piece.  I set some heavy blocks on them and let them dry overnight.  These are ready to hang up in my studio as soon as I finish hammering some nails into the wall.  I still have 6 ATC collage pieces left from the sheet, so I’ll be making more projects with those soon.  You can stamp anything you want on these collage sheets, and I’m looking forward to seeing all the different possibilities.

Items used on my project today:

Spring Summer Collage Sheet

3 Bold Koi stamps

Assorted Japanese Kanji stamps

ATC Masonite Blanks with Wall Hangers from B-Muse

Vintage Flower Box

Hi everyone!  Today I'm sharing a handmade box that I created for Art Neko.  Art Neko actually sells several different kinds of boxes in their store, and I used this Hinged Pine Box with Magnetic Closure today.  I stained it with a vintage oak stain and let it dry, and then I stained it again for a deeper coverage.  Once it was completely dry, I rubbed some Antique Bronze gilding wax over the box and buffed it with a soft cloth.

To decorate the top of the box, I used this gorgeous floral scene from the Antique Seed Catalogs collage sheet at B-Muse.  There are TONS of gorgeous collage sheets over there - go check them out!  Seriously, they are stunning!  The best part is they are already colored, so all you have to do is cut em out and glue em down on your project.  :-)  

That's what I did with this one.  I cut out this sweet floral scene and glued it to a dark brown mat.  I then glued this piece down on my box, leaving some room on the side for a handmade flower bouquet.  I simply tied the bouquet with some linen thread and glued it down onto the box.

This will be perfect to give to my mom for her earrings and bracelets.  She loves antiques, and this will fit right in with all her vintage items.  :-)

ATC Butterfly Fairy

Hi everyone!  I am here bright and early this morning to share this fun mixed media Butterfly Fairy ATC with you today.  An ATC is an acronymn for Artist Trading Card, and they typically measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.  They are miniature works of art and many people like to trade them with other ATC artists.

Did you know that Art Neko recently bought the B-Muse store?  There are lots of fabulous items in the B-Muse store, such as collage sheets, ATC supplies, dominoes, and other ephemera?  I’ve used several of those B-Muse items on this ATC today.

I began working on this ATC by painting a sheet of ATC watercolor paper with some Raw Sienna Daniel Smith watercolor paint.  I love that warm brownish/orange-y/yellowish quality of this color.  While that was drying, I cut out these fabulous wings from the Fantasy Wings collage sheet from B-Muse.  The colors on these particular wings coordinate beautifully with my painted background.

This collage sheet was printed on Premium Laser Paper, but you have so many options with the collage sheets from B-Muse.  You can order them printed on canvas, vellum, fabric paper, transparencies, and laser paper.  The canvas collage sheets are gorgeous – they look and feel just like a real painting!

Once my watercolored piece was dry, I adhered it to an ATC Chipboard blank (pictured above).  This provides a wonderful sturdy backing for my painted watercolor background.  I sponged the edges with some Brushed Corduroy distress ink for that aged look.

My next step was to get my fairy ready.  I stamped the Dreaming Fairy from the A145 Fairies and Seasons sheet with Rich Cocoa Memento ink onto some white cardstock.  After I colored her with Copic markers, I cut her out, making sure I cut the stamped wings off.  Once I determined the placement of the collage wings and the fairy, I glued them down onto the prepared ATC.  I added the stamped sentiment on the side – it says “Be yourself.”  This sentiment is also from the A145 Fairies and Seasons sheet.

I loved creating my own custom fairy by pairing a stamped figurine with the wings from the collage sheet.  I have plenty of other wings left on the collage sheet, so I can make all kinds of fairies and other winged creatures.

Check out all the great items in the B-Muse shop and jump-start your creativity.  The collage sheets are gorgeous, and I love the ATC supplies (both the watercolor sheets and the chipboard blanks).  I have a few other supplies from B-Muse that I’m playing with, and I’ll share those with you soon.