Freebie Collage Clip Art

I found several good pieces
here for collages....Free B&W Clip

Photoshop

Michael updated my photoshop recently. I had been nervous to go to CS because well I am just so used to version 6.0 and didn't see the "need" to update. But recently I have found all sorts of actions and brushes to use for CS that I wanted so I finally took advantage of the offer Michael gave me to upgrade. Well of course I am thrilled I did now. It has so many useful features that I always wanted in the older version.

I hate those moments when I had something better in front of me all this time and refused to do because I was scared of the change. Silly me.

Alcohol Inks

I picked up some Adirondack Alcohol Inks by Ranger. It says they can be used on metal so I was thinking of trying them out when I alter an altoid tin. I will post some pictures of how it turns out. It might be a while before I can get to it though as I am busy with work stuff.

Free Collage/Ephemera/Scrapbook Resources & Supplies

Just thought since I had a few freebie links that I would share those plus a few others I had bookmarked.

Lisa Vollrath is doing a Valentine's countdown freebies again so please go check them out!

Another Artist Vintage Valentine Countdown

Vintage Photo Archive

Scrapability's Vintage Images

Aisling's Clipart

Incredible Clipart & Images

Above the Mark - Vintage Images

Old Book Illustrations

NYPL Digital Gallery

Silent Ladies & Gents

Miss Mary's Free Clipart

Art E-Zine Vintage Images

Check out www.google.com/patents for schematics and various line drawings of all kinds of inventions with some dating back to the early 19th century.

Free Image Downloads

Comics and Pulp fiction - you are downloading the whole issue so they are bigger files. I have downloaded them saved the cover or images I liked and just deleted the rest.

Dover Publications offers free samples they send a link every week by email.

Talbot County Free Library Ephemera Collection

Not really ephemera but they have some good templates for ATC's, art dolls and so much more.

Sale! Sale!

I am a posting fool today....

I just got an email from Addicted to Rubber Stamps...

They are having a REALLY good sale so go check it out if you create - art, cards or scrapbooks it is a great sale! Plus 1/2 price shipping!

Trip to Michael's Arts & Crafts

I went to Michael's today. They had a 50% off coupon in the Sunday circular. I used it to get a book on book binding. I got a cute little pumpkin basket and then other supplies like brushes, paper and ribbon. Though I just noticed that basket I got didn't ring up onsale there was a 40% sign right above it. So that is annoying. (I saw some really cute flip flops with pink skull and cross bones on them that I wanted to get for a friend who has lots of t-shirts and such with pink skull and cross bones on them.

Alone

Alone

The image under the mesh is really hard to see in this photo but her face is visible in person. And the rest of the photo is very dark. But what I really like in is the plastic mesh. One thing I have found some companies that sell things like tape, tubing, paper, plastics and such will give free samples and the plastic mesh is from a free sample. Also at times I have contacted companies as those to see if they sell or give away their scraps.

Abstract Landscape

Supplies used: Cardboard with acrylic paint and then I sprayed water from a bottle after each layer of paint so it created drips.

I use a water spry bottle for a lot of my work because it just creates a really interesting texture.

ATC - Nine Four India

Nine Four India

The base is cardboard painted white. I glued down a piece of map, some number and then tackcloth and then some brown dry brushed on it. I sanded some of the paint off after it dried.

The tackcloth I purchased at Home Depot and got 2 fairly large pieces for a dollar.

Right now I am going through this period where I want everything to look like I have just digged it up from an archeolgy dig. I want it to look like it has dirt hanging off of it. And that it has some history.

3 More ATC's - Recycling

The challenge for the swaps was that the card had to be used from ads or junk mail - at least 75% of the card using recycled materials.

The 1st card again uses a xerox copy but for the base. The paper in some junk mail was a little to shiny for me so I just scanned it and then photoshoped it with some grunge texture on top and printed. But then the rest of it is from ads and junk mail.

The 2nd card bases had an ad on it for an expensive jewerly store but the texture and heaviness of the paper was great. So I just ripped it up and used as it not painting over it or worrying about where the words on it ended up. It just was a nice paper to touch. The butterfly is rubber stamp but the paper again from the background of add. Often they will have one little object/product on an ad and pretty textures and colors in the background. So I used the orange paper to stamp on. I had to use opaque ink to get it to stick and then used my heat gun to set it.

The 3rd was completely made out of recycled materials.

Also the actual base that I glued the 1st and 3rd card on were a heavy booklet we got in the mail about insurance. It was a heavier cardstock so I just cut them to size and glued on top of them.

Vases

Dreams

Storyteller

Warm and Worn

In the last blog post I talked about using sandpaper. I think these 3 cards show that worn and old look you can get from sandpaper.

MidWest
Supplies used: Magazine clippings, cancelled stamps, brads and rubber stamps. Then sanded down to look slightly worn.


Travel
Supplies used: Magazine clipping used for base and sanded to again look worn. Stickers (stamps and coins) and then metal brads.


Girl
Used: Magazine clipping for base that was sanded. Beads sewn on base. Rubber stamp watercolored and pressed watercolor paper. I wanted kind of a fuzzy underwater look so slightly rocked the rubber stamp.

2 ATC's - 2 Techniques

Allergy Season

I painted the base of this atc that is made out of heavy cardboard and then glued pieces from Junk Mail on it. At the time I was suffering from allergies bad so hence the subject matter.

After everything was glued on it, I used sandpaper over it all...the images, the base and the edges. I just wanted a scratchy appearance since I always feel itchy during allergies. But really this is a great technique to use when you want an aged look. And that is what I use it for the most.

Supplies used: Cardboard, acrylic paint, ephemera from junk mail, gel medium (for glue) and sandpaper


Life in a Jar

In the last blog entry I talked about using salt with watercolors this base I used alcohol with watercolors. It makes a very bubbly like appearance.

Supplies used: watercolor base using alcohol, silver pen (for edge of card), ephemera from junk mail

Here is a tutorial on using alcohol with watercolors. It is a lot of fun using both alcohol and salt.

Watercolor Bases: Salt

Purple Postage
Compassionate

When I lived in Omaha, years and years ago, I took a watercolor class at Mangelsen's. And one of the lessons was using salt with watercolors. I like to make bases for collages and atc's out using this technique.

2 links of How-To use salt with watercolors
Watercolor Techniques
Michael's Arts and Crafts Projects

The Little Princess

Little Princess 1

This card is one of my favorites because the quote is from The Little Princess which is a favorite book of mine as a child and actually one I would like to read again as an adult. The little girl in the image just reminds me of someone that would twirl in her new dress with a dolly under her arm. And so it made me think of The Little Princess.

This card was a series of cards I did all with The Little Princess quotes and all with the girl on this image but each different in look and quotes.

Background is just blue acrylic paint dry brushed on to bristol board. The little girl is from photo I have but she is a xerox copy. I have paint pens and they are kind of fun press on the tip a certain way and the paint soaks into them. And then they write/paint onto whatever. I have them in metallics and that is how her dress is done and also the background swirls. The quote was just laser printed in Rina font.

Supplies used: bristol board with dry brushed acrylic paint, silver and gold paint pens, quote printed on laser printer, xerox copy of photo