La Dama de Collage

I'm not going to blog anymore...

2009-08-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

At least not on this blog! Ha! You thought I was quitting forever, didn't you? Nope, you'll not get away from me and my crazy art and random thoughts that easily! From now on, or until I decide to change my mind again, I'm going to blog exclusively at My Meandering Musings. Keeping up two blogs is just too much. I don't know why, but it seems like a lot of work. But I promise that I'll keep posting pics of the things I make over on my other blog. So, come on over!

Bunny ATCs

2009-03-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

I made these ATCs for a swap on Flickr. I recently bought some vintage playing cards on eBay that have pictures of some children heirs to some throne or other in Europe and I decided to use them for the swap. These fun little ATCs just crack me up.

The Envelope Please...

2009-02-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe I had 175 comments on my One World One Heart Giveaway post! I used a random number generator online to pick the names and here are the winners:

1. For the "sweet" magnets...Lavender Dreamer!

2. For the playing card tags...Crystal!

3. And for the mystery prize...Latharia!

I've emailed all of these lovely people, so I hope I'll be hearing from them soon.

That was fun! I hope you'll stop by my blogs again for more giveaways!

More Art Journal Pages

2009-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some art journal pages that I've done this last month. Some were inspired by writing I did prompted by The Awe-Manac and others were inspired by other things in my life right now.

In other art news, I'm gearing up for Artfest in April. I just completed my 32 ATCs for a book one of the other Artfesters is making. This is the first time I've made this many ATCs just for one project. I don't think I've made more than 6 before for swaps, so this was a lot of work.

I'm also making mermaid magnets for trading. I actually made 32 magnets last weekend. And I'm not tired of making them yet!

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-01-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

Why is it so much fun, so fulfilling, to give things away? I don't know, but here I am, giving some things away. Below are two sets of little things I've made that I'm giving away for the One World-One Heart Giveaway. In order to win, you must leave a comment on this post. The winners will be chosen randomly on February 12, 2009.

If you click on the badge above, you can also see all of the other bloggers who are involved in the giveaway. I hope you'll take some time to check out their blog giveaways.

These are some sweet little marble magnets. Mmm, I could lick that cupcake...but I won't.

These lovely glittered tags can be used as book marks or gift tags or anything else you can think of!

I will be adding things to the giveaway as we get closer to February 12, so there will definately be more than two winners.

Oh, and those people who I owe things to for an earlier giveaway, I have them done! I'll mail them to one person and probably show up unannounced at another's house. I hope you like what I've made for you!

So, leave a comment and win!

Art Journal 2009

2009-01-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

I know you've all been dying to see some more art, so here are a few art journal pages I've done recently. Right now the art journal and other "artsy" stuff occupy TSH's side of the bed. What will I do when he gets back?

I think the above journal proves once and all that I should stick to glueing things to paper rather than drawing. But it was fun, nonetheless. The poem can be found in a slightly more legible form on My Meandering Musings.

I enjoyed practicing my little squiggly lines on the above page. I haven't played with squiggly lines in years. I forgot how good I was at them. Ahhhh, if I could just have a career based on squiggly lines, I would be set!

I'm Going to Artfest!

2008-09-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!

Yep, I just did the happy dance because I'm so excited to go to Artfest in April! I've never done anything like this before, but I'm glad I'm doing it. I even got all of the classes I wanted, including one taught by the author of Poemcrazy, my current favorite book about writing poetry. Oh, I must go get started on making things to trade with other Artfesters. Must fly!

Some Halloween Fun!

2008-09-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's only the second week of September (week number 3 for school!), but I've already started to think about Halloween. I bought costumes for the two boys who care about that kind of stuff yesterday at Joann's before they went on sale. I got to use my 40% off coupons and they both got dinosaur costumes (yes, they're exactly the same. You'd think these little guys were twins if they weren't different heights and looked almost nothing alike.), so that was a good deal. And I've been crafting Halloween stuff for the last few weeks, inspired by Artsymama's Sweet and Sinister Halloween Swap (which a couple of things in this post are actually going towards, but I won't say what! He he!). It's been a blast!

Here's one that I made based on a tutorial from the swap blog. I'm rather pleased with it. (I didn't make the cute little "Treats" box. I bought it and its companion at T.J. Maxx.)

For this one, I painted a frame from a thrift store with black acrylic paint and stamped the witch and the Boo! stamp (both from Martha Stewart's craft stuff from Michaels, which you can now use coupons on!) on vintage text from a story about a witch's birthday party.

This one is candy corn fabric stretched across a canvas (which I bought from the thrift store and it had a picture of a flower on it, but it was super-cheap) which I traced an outline of a black cat on and then painted black around the cat. The last step was to apply glitter around the kitty (I used Martha Stewart's onyx glitter and her glitter glue; I'm totally in love with her glitter right now).

I made this banner using pieces of a photo book kit I bought at the dollar store. I painted all of the chipboard pieces with black acrylic paint, then painted the dots on with more acrylic paints and different size cotton swabs. I then added some glittered chipboard letters and bats punched out (with the bat punch from Martha Stewart, of course) from the same vintage text about a witch's birthday party. Tied together with black ribbon sets it off nicely.

So, there's the fun stuff I've been working on. Once I get done with Halloween, I have to start on presents for Nicole, Heidi, and Jenn, who won my Christmas in July giveaway, but I've just barely now annouced! Hey, you lucky ladies. Congratulations!

New Store at Cafepress.com!

2008-07-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

I've been busy playing the last few days creating items for my store at Cafepress.com. It's kind of fun to see your own art on a journal or made into notecards. Here are two items that I've added with my art on them.

I blogged about the House in the Sky collage last month. I have to say I think it's darling. (Of course I have to say that! It's like saying you think your children are beautiful.)

This card/collage was made using a copy of a picture of my great-grandma. I made it last year for a family reunion auction, and I decided to keep it. (If you read about my birdhouse, you might think that's common for me. I'm just a little possesive. Again, my art is like a child, I guess.) But now everyone can enjoy the piece on a notecard! Fun, fun, fun!

Quilt Detail--Shades of Inspiration

2008-07-18T12:48:00.001-07:00

Quilt Detail--Shades of Inspiration
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

This is the detail of a quilt that I saw at the Quilt Museum at This Is the Place Heritage Park. I'm awed by this person's talent.

Vintage Green and Flamenco Pink--Shades of Inspiration

2008-07-17T10:14:00.001-07:00

Vintage Green and Flamenco Pink--Shades of Inspiration
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

A vintage green Avon decanter and a Royal Doulton figurine match up nicely! These are going to be the colors of my new bedroom!

Arm Candy--Shades of Inspiration

2008-07-16T18:22:00.001-07:00

Arm Candy--Shades of Inspiration
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

I made this bracelet last summer and decided to show it off. Of course, as I go to take the picture, the clasp falls off. Guess I'll be restringing it now.

Brigham Young Farmhouse-Shades of Inspiration

2008-07-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Brigham Young Farmhouse
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

So, I found my dream house this weekend. Unfortunately, it's at This is the Place Heritage Park and I don't think they'll sell it to me. But I don't think Great-great Grandpa Brigham would mind if I moved in!

A Sunday Surprise--Shades of Inspiration

2008-07-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

A Sunday Surprise
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

Yesterday, I was running into the apartment to change my clothes before going to my parents' house, when I saw this flower. I've lived in this apartment for 2 1/2 years, and this is the first time that I've seen this flower blossom.

Romance Magnets and Back to School for Yvonne

2008-07-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some new items available in my Etsy store.

The marble magnets combine two things I love: Fluffy romance novels and making collage magnets. I used text from one of my own previously read fluffy romance novels as I made the magnets. I have to admit that I also read the book again (at least the good parts!) as I was searching for the perfect words to match the images. Once again, the images for the magnets were from takeabreak's Flickr page.

Below, we have Yvonne again. You may remember her from her day as the Queen of the 4th of July Parade. Now she's heading back to school. And she's not very excited. Poor Yvonne. At least she has a cool lunchbox and some fun new dresses!

La Dama's Christmas in July Gift-a-Way

2008-07-13T20:30:00.001-07:00

Hello, everybody. And a Merry Christmas in July to you all!

I know that a lot of people are shocked to already find Halloween items in our favorite craft stores, and in some ways, I feel the same way. However, I love Christmas and I really am ready to start thinking about it now. So, I'm going to start celebrating now by having a gift-a-way for you all, my friends. On July 25th, I will have a drawing for 3 lucky people to win something handcrafted by me. All you have to do to enter the drawing is to leave a comment to this post about what you would like for Christmas (and if you also tell me what items I make that you like, if you win, I can tailor your present to your likes!). This contest is open to close friends and family members as well to people whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting.

So, let's get in the holiday spirit. And to all, a good night!

Queen of the 4th of July Parade

2008-07-03T23:22:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July, everybody!

This little collage idea just came to me about two hours ago. It's amazing how sometimes I'll go days and weeks (or even longer!) without creating something and then BAM!! inspiration hits and I can't wait to play. This is my first holiday inspired collage.

I first started thinking about making a collage with a picture of a child holding a sparkler and then I started looking for an appropriate picture. I stumbled across this little girl, Yvonne, on divas and dunces Flickr photostream and she called to me. I thought that she would look fabulous with not only a sparkler in her hand but an American flag in her other hand as well. The background is a copy of "America the Beautiful" and cool papers. I colored Yvonne's dress with chalks and enhanced it with a gold pen. Her flag is made of an image I found online and a toothpick while her sparkler is hand-drawn (that's about the extent of my drawing ability!). The buttons are ones that my mother-in-law let me have, and the trims are from Marilyn at Outside the Lines (check out her Etsy shop; it has lots of fun things to create with). Um, as I finished up, I knew that the little girl would need a crown, but I don't know where my little crowns are, so, I, um, took one off an ATC I got awhile back. *gulp* Sorry! As soon as I find my crowns, I'll put it back, I swear, but Yvonne needed a crown!

So, I hope you enjoy your 4th of July, if it's a holiday you celebrate. If it isn't, I still hope you have a lovely day!

2008-07-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

These magnets are now available in my Etsy shop. Keep your eyes out for more fun-filled items.

"House in the Sky" Collage

2008-06-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

"House in the Sky" Collage
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

I'm not really sure if I'm done with this collage, but I really like it the way it is now, so I'm going to leave it for a little bit and then go back and decide if it needs any other embellishments to finish it up.

This collage definately started with the picture. I found this picture on *Playingwithbrush's Flickr photostream and it really stuck with me. I thought about it a lot before I started working with it. I then decided that each of the girls (and the dog!) needed a crown, so I printed off the crown transparencies from jack and cat curio's Flickr photostream and then colored in the opposite side with a gold American Crafts Metallic Marker. I then adhered them to a piece of cardboard that I had covered with a sheet of Amy Butler scrapbook paper and then added the text from a vintage children's book which I aged with chalk ink.

So, like I said, I'm not sure I'm done with this one, but, for now, I like it!

My Kissing Blocks

2008-06-15T11:51:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, I bought a box of 100 1.5" wooden blocks from Twice-Round Beads and More's Etsy Shop. I thought they might be fun to play with. And they are! I've just made my first set of collage blocks. They're the smallest canvas (for lack of a better word) that I've used in my art. I've thought about inchies for a long time now, but I've never made any. Maybe now that I've made my "kiss" blocks, I'll be adventurous and make some inchies. But here are my "Kiss" blocks:

Hmm, it looks like Blogger isn't letting me upload my image due to an "internal error." So, here's the link to it on Flickr.

I started these by painting them first. I then chose four different pieces of coordinating scrapbook paper and traced, cut, and glued the pieces to the blocks. The images are from takeabreak's Flickr page. I then adhered the letter stickers to the blocks along with some other embellishments. And now I have a fun little set of blocks for my bookshelf. Maybe I should put some of my fluffy romances on one shelf and use these to decorate that shelf. Hmm, sounds like fun!

"Direction" and "Breathe" Art Journal Pages

2008-06-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well, May didn't seem like it was flying by when I was still pregnant and wondering when I was going to have that baby, but looking at my art journal, my last page was done on May 1st and I still haven't blogged about it. "Direction" was my word from the Art Journal Challenge Flickr Group. This page didn't turn out quite like I wanted because the paint pen wouldn't work. But I do like the legs without bodies walking down the golden path.

This is my "Breathe" page for the Art Journal Challenge Flickr Group . It's mostly done with Sharpies with a photo of the baby, a piece of torn scrapbook paper, and the word "breathe" rubber stamped to finish it off. It's my first art journal page that I didn't paint. And everything except the Sharpie coloring was done standing up since I don't have a place at my table right now to do anything. Believe it or not, I'm actually almost done organizing my stuff...but the table is still covered. I don't get it.

Too tired to think...

2008-05-25T20:30:00.001-07:00

If any of the post below doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. I was falling asleep while writing it.

Fashion Silhouettes

2008-05-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

Fashion Silhouettes All 3 Together
Originally uploaded by La Dama de Collage

I have had these three almost finished for quite a while now; I just needed to get a hot glue gun to secure the lace and the buttons as glue dots were not doing the trick. Here's how these were created:

1. I started with canvas boards again and glued on strips of old sheet music. I then painted over the sheet music using cheapo acrylic paints.

2. After they dried, I made some ink jet transparency transfers of three different silhouettes I got from Jersey Barb at the Collage Images Flickr Group (you have to be a member of the group to look at the pictures). Ink jet transparency transfers are pretty easy; you do need to practice a little before trying to add them to your real artwork. I think I'll post a tutorial on how to do them another time, but if you really want to know how to do them, here's how I learned to do them: http://reviews.ebay.com/Make-your-OWN-rub-ons_W0QQugidZ10000000000111773?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:SEARCH:2

3. I then glued on some black lace and pretty vintage inspired black buttons. Glue dots don't really do the trick for these, so I used hot glue instead.

4. I glued on some black ribbon on the back for a hanger and then covered the back with more vintage sheet music to finish them up.

They were actually really easy. They were just a little time consuming because you had to wait for paint to dry and glue to dry. But they were fun and now they're on my wall!

Destash my Studio Giveaway Results

2008-04-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are the people who won the Destash my Studio envelopes. *drumroll* Marilyn!*cheer* Erin! *applause* Ellia(greenbeanbaby)! *cheer* Susanne! *applause* and Pherenike! *cheer* I hope Erin and Susanne read this because I could not find their email addresses or a way to contact them through their blogs. So, please email me with your addresses so I can get these envelopes out to you as soon as possible.

And please give a round of applause and cheers to Nina and Nicole, who didn't want to be entered in the giveaway but just wanted to leave a comment because they're nice. *cheer* *applause* I *heart* you both.

So, I ended up with 5 envelopes (two of them are mostly chockfull with stickers!) and five people to send them to. My drawing method was very scientific: I put the names in a cup, held an envelope, and then drew a name for that envelope.

Keep your eye on my blog for the next contest!

Destash my "Studio"

2008-04-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

So, I don't really have a "studio" and that is why all my craft stuff is on and around my kitchen table. I'm trying to get it cleaned up before May, so I also am looking to destash my stuff. Right now I have 3 envelopes full of "stuff," (papers, images, fibers, etc.). If you would like one, all you need to do is leave a comment to this post by Wednesday evening, April 23. I will draw a name for each of the envelopes and then send them out this weekend. That's all you have to do to get some more goodies for your own work. And, if you refer someone to my blog and they leave a comment on this post saying that you referred them, you'll get an extra entry into the drawing. Above are some pictures of what's in the three envelopes so far. The actual prize is subject to change, because I'll probably find more stuff to put in them. I'll probably have more envelopes, too, by next Wednesday. I hope you'll comment and take some of my stuff off my hands!

Why I am La Dama de Collage

2008-04-19T09:05:00.001-07:00

Since this is the picture that I use for my profile, I thought I should probably explain what it is. This is La Dama de Elche (The Lady of Elche). I lived in Elche for five months, and even though I never got to see the real Dama (she's in a museum in Madrid), I've always felt kind of a connection to her. And that's why I gave this blog, and myself, the name La Dama de Collage.

"Begin" and "Alive" Art Journal Pages

2008-04-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here are this week's art journal pages. They are both for the Flickr art journal challenge group. I'm trying to catch up on the previous words as well as creating for the new word. The first one is "begin..." and I've included the things I need to do like, "to dream," "to try again," "to change," and "to be happy." I used pink as a background because it seemed like a bright color, a color for a beginning. The letters are fabric stickers that I got for free when some scrapbook store around the corner from my school was closing and gave a bunch of their inventory to the school. It was like Christmas!
The second page is "Alive ABCs." This one includes the first transparency I made on my printer (I found a box of ink jet transparencies at the DI for $1.00. After pricing them at Office Max for $30, I decided I couldn't pass up on this brand new box.), butterfly stickers and black Sharpie(from the dollar store), cheepo acrylic paint (I never use the artist's acrylic paint; I just use the cheepo craft paint because I love the colors and the price), letter brads, glitter gel pens, and vintage text from an old elementary school vocabulary book that cost all of 50 cents.
The words for the ABCs are ache, breathe, cheer, dancing, earn, and fear. Here's what I've journaled along with the words: "To be truly alive...We must ache, so we know who to comfort others. We must breathe, so we can find our place of peace and calm. We must cheer our family and friends...and ourselves. We must dance, even if it is just a happy jig in our hearts. We must earn the peace and happiness we desire, so that we do not take them for granted. We must fear, and then we must conquer that fear."

I think the "Alive" page is going to be another one of those pages that I keep looking back on when I need a lift.

"Begin" and "Future" Art Journal Pages

2008-04-17T19:04:00.001-07:00

Right now, sitting at the table and working on my "art," is very difficult My feet are starting to swell up even if I spend a minimum amount of time at the table. But I have accomplished these two.

I'm starting to drift off, so I'll complete this post tomorrow.

"Life is" Art Journal Page

2008-04-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

This week's word for the Art Journal Challenge Flickr Group was "Life." I was thinking about that word as I was going through a magazine that I really needed to get rid of (I have to purge the stuff I've been saving before this baby comes or else he'll be sleeping in a box of magazines and craft supplies) when I saw the picture of a woman in a green dress. And I thought she was full of life and happiness. So, she was my inspiration for these pages. I then started thinking about all of the things that are my life, the things that make me happy to be alive and I wrote those things down as I thought of them.
I think this is my most positive art journal page yet. Everything else I've done has focused on being tired, and pregnant, and in pain, and tired. This, however, is going to be one of those pages that I'll keep turning to because it just makes me happy to see and read it!

Flower Fairy Collages

2008-04-06T10:47:00.001-07:00

In honor of spring, I've been working on this little flower fairy collages for about two weeks. They've been so much fun to do, and I just wish I had more free time (not working and without the children) to work on more art-stuff. I think this is the longest I've worked on a little project like this. There are several layers involved here. I've described them below.

1. On a canvas board, glue on (I used gel medium) ripped up pieces of different texts. I think I used about 3 or 4 different texts on each board. 2. Paint with acrylic paints. 3. Spray with Java color Walnut Ink (I want to get some that is lighter next time. The Java is really dark.). 4. Stamp with gold pigment ink script stamp. 4. Flip watered down acrylic paint (the same color as the original layer) on the background. 5. Make a borderwith vintage music pages (mine came from an old clarinet book) that have been aged with chalk ink. 6. Glue on copy of vintage image from internet. 7. Stamp on vintage paper the word with gold pigment ink. Use Xyrex machine to make stickers of the stamps. 8. Use trims and flowers (I bought mine from Marilyn at Outside the Lines) to finish up the collage. 9. Use masking tape to adhere a ribbon to the back for easy hanging. 10. Select pretty scrapbook paper, cut it to fit the back of the canvas board, and adhere it to the back to of the collage.

I got a cool banner!

2008-04-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

This nifty banner was free from Jack and Cat Curio. Isn't free stuff fabulous! Check out their Flickr Page as well.

My Cousins and I ROCK!!!

2008-04-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

Watch me Dance!

2008-04-02T20:06:00.001-07:00

Children's "Help" and "Is it summer yet?"

2008-04-02T18:39:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you don't have a place of your own to "create." You have to do everything on the kitchen table and then, while you are at work and your husband is sleeping in (again!), the children decide to help you with your art journal. Fortunately, it only got on the cover and a couple of pages that I just glued pictures to and not any of the real "art" or...well, I don't know what would have happened, but it wouldn't have been pretty.

The night before the disaster with the paint, I did the quick page below. I didn't paint it or do anything fancy this time. I just wanted to get my feelings about school right now out quickly.
I'm going to go eat mini-corn dogs right now. The baby is making me do it!

Sleep, please!

2008-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

This page was inspired by the three hours of sleep I had last night (well, really early this morning). It wasn't until after 4 o'clock that I was tired enough that I could sleep despite my cough. I didn't want to take a day off work today, since it's the end of the quarter and I have a bunch of grading to get done, but I also didn't think I would be able to go to work on no sleep. So, about 3:30 this morning I decided to write a lesson plan for the sub and call the system to find a sub. I also called my doctor and asked for a prescription for some cough syrup...maybe I'll actually sleep tonight.

So, that's why this page is about sleep and being tired. Because I am so tired!

2008-03-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here's today's art journal page, and boy, do I ever need a break! A break from work, the children, the husband, the pregnancy, the pregnant cough. I'm just so tired; I feel like I'm constantly walking around in a fog. But at least it gives me some inspiration!

A New Blog

2008-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, I wanted to start new and here I am with a new blog and some new art. Above is the first art journal page I've ever made.

These are some collage tags that I made to go in my new Etsy shop.

These are some more tags that are in my Etsy store.

These are some tags I made to celebrate my return to art-making. I gave them away to the only person who left a message on my new blog (which is now an old blog after...oh, a couple of days. I hated it and now I'm back on Blogger) and made me a Flickr contact. I hope she likes them!