4x4 Marshall Swap

Elena is hosting a swap on the PID Swaps list using Marshall and making 4x4s.... here are some great 4x4s made for the swap!!


This first 4x4 is made by Tracy Kaufman



Our design team member Eileen Bellomo has created this 4x4.



Last but certainly not least this AWESOME 4x4 by Jennifer Roger-Daniels

Printmaking + Mixed Media: Simple Techniques and Projects for Paper and Fabric

Learn simple printmaking techniques and how to incorporate printed images into mixed-media artwork on paper and fabric. This creative approach to traditional printmaking methods doesn't require printing presses or special papers.

• From screen printing, collagraph, monoprinting, and sun printing, these techniques are especially affordable and accessible to any artist, from beginner to experienced.
• Each technique is shown in step-by-step photography on both paper and fabric, plus the author shows how to combine different printmaking and mixed-media techniques to create a variety of projects, including a fabric artist book, a handprinted calendar, wall art collage, an apron, a holiday book, greeting cards, and more.
• Stitch, cut, glue, layer, paint, and embellish printed layers to use in fine art or collage, book arts, fabric arts, fiber arts, and assemblage.

A gallery of mixed-media samples from the author and various artists shows even more ways to include printmaking in mixed-media artwork. Printmaking + Mixed Media is a great resource for mixed-media artists looking to expand their skills and printmakers interested in reinterpreting traditional methods.

Click here to buy now!

Make Floral Motifs with Rubbing Plates

Make Floral Motifs with Rubbing Plates

With Rubbing Plates and Shiva® Paintstiks® by Cedar Canyon Textiles, you can create floral designs any time!

Simply put your fabric or paper over the plate, rub over the design with your Paintstiks, and you have a garden instantly.

Garden Flowers Rubbing Plates
– six designs

Click here to buy now!

Floral Fantasy Rubbing Plates
– six designs

Click here to buy now!

The 12-piece Iridescent Paintstik Set contains a palette of colors that are perfect for florals.

Click here to buy now!

Make Simply Natural Cards

Make Simply Natural Cards

By Anna Saterstrom

In recent years I’ve been incorporating gifts of nature in my art, particularly in my greeting cards. By utilizing the colors and textures that occur in the natural world, I find that my work is calmer and more restful. A single pressed leaf, a bit of fern, or a simple blossom invites the eye to examine the intricacy of the veining, the alternation of tiny leaves or the layering of delicate petals.

Gathering the materials, however, does require some time and forethought, but very little expense. While the simple structure and intense color of blossoms such as Sweet William, verbena, hydrangea, and pansy press beautifully, there are also delicate details to be discovered and appreciated in the overlooked wildflower, fern, or pod.

Materials

• Blossoms and leaves
• Phone book
• Press, or heavy object
• Handmade paper
• Glue stick
• Cardstock
• Blank greeting card

Optional:

• Sewing machine and thread

To make your own press

The best tool available for pressing leaves and flowers is a large phone book. The paper absorbs the moisture quickly, and the book itself is easier to press than individual sheets of paper. My press is made of two 12" squares of 1" pine with holes drilled in each corner for long bolts and wing nuts.

Once I’ve gathered material, I arrange it carefully on a page, starting at the back of the book and leaving at least fifteen empty pages between each filled page. When I’ve filled two phone books I insert them between the pinewood squares and tighten the bolts. I tighten the bolts more each day, as the plant material dries and is flattened by the increasing pressure.

The material is generally ready to use in two weeks, depending on humidity. or the time can be spent outdoors joyfully exploring and discovering more treasures among the weeds.

To make the cards

Dried blossoms and leaves blend beautifully with the texture of handmade paper, which is available in art shops or easily made at home. I work out an arrangement of layered torn squares of my own handmade paper and machine stitch the final composition onto a piece of cardstock the size of my blank greeting card. After securing the ends of threads on the back of the cardstock I stitch the card front to the card itself.

Delicate dried leaves and petals invite a gentle touch when attaching them to paper; very little adhesive and only slight pressure is necessary to hold a fragile blossom or leaf. I find that a minimum of glue stick applied to the surface of the paper is a simple way to secure the final embellishment, a gift from the natural world.

 

If it’s too difficult to make your own press or your flowers have not blossomed head over to Paper Imagery Designs and get some Floral Collage Sheets

Stripes Challenge

Here is my interpretation of this weeks stripes challenge. This sweet little image of Jinny makes me smile she is so cute!

Weekly Challenge....

Each week I host the Challenge for the Paper Imagery Designs Yahoo Group.

The challenge this week is STRIPES

I Love Paris

Or I should say, I love PID collage sheet #627, My Paris. I've been using it on the pages for the chunky book swap going on at the PID Swaps group. I think this is one of the most beautiful and versatile sheets I've seen in a long time. I trimmed the 4x4 page with some copper foil, also available at the PID shop.

Eileen

Playing with dolls...

...and yarn and embellishments...is just what I spent the evening yesterday doing. I just had to share. I've had these beautiful little dolls sitting on my work table for the longest time and yesterday an idea struck me to make a pin with one. I really had fun with this one. You can check out the dolls here...
http://www.paperimagerydesigns.com/CartGenie/prod-7847.htm

What's a Fobbie?

What's a Fobbie?
Something helpful, creative, and a lot of fun!

No, a Fobbie is not a character from a Tolkien book or the “Harry Potter” series. It is a tool to help you add a decorative element to packages, book arts, and other creative pursuits.

Liz Mrofka, who invented the Fobbie, explains her concept and its creative possibilities in this Q&A.

Q. What’s a Fobbie and how did you come up with it?

A. I had the idea for the Fobbie® a few years ago when I was reading a magazine that showed how to make homemade gift tags for your packages. At the time I was recycling pest-killed trees on my land by making rustic ornaments that were stamped with images of moose and bear. I thought they would look good as package décor and wondered how I could incorporate ribbon into the ornament to tie it to a package. Many hours later in the middle of the night, I woke up with the idea for my parallel slot system. After many prototypes and ideas, it developed into the patent pending product you see today.

Q. Why is it called a Fobbie?

A. The Fobbie name comes from the word fob whose definition is “an ornament that hangs at the end of a ribbon,” which describes it perfectly.

Q. Once you had the idea, how did you turn it into a product?

A. I started by attending a meeting at my local inventor’s club, the Rocky Mountain Inventor’s Association. I learned about the process of patenting a product, manufacturing, marketing and more. If this is something others are interested in, there are many organizations on the web that can help, starting with the United Inventor’s Association or the Inventor’s Digest.

A beaded pin makes a focal point on a package. A pin cushion with tape measure “ribbon” is the perfect presentation for someone who sews. Photos by Liz Mrofka.

Q. How can mixed-media artists use the Fobbie in their work?

A. Lots of ways! You can write or draw on them, glue things to them, stamp and emboss them, punch them—use your imagination. The Fobbie is an easy way to attach an artistic element to a collage or book, as well as personalize a gift with your creative touch.

Click here to buy now!

Charmed!

I am working on some charms for a local swap I'm in, and just had to use the images from a great new PID collage sheet: Angie's Nest 628. Melissa designed this sheet, inspired by some of Angie's charms, and it is LOADED with 1" circles, perfect for a charm (or a bottlecap magnet, or an inchie, or....anything!).

I punched out the shapes with my 1" circle punch, glued them to both sides of a chipboard circle, inked the edges, and covered them with a thick layer of UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel...but you could use the sealant of your choice). A couple of small holes, some charms and dangles, and it's finished.

I think the women in my swap will love this charm. Thanks, Melissa (and Angie)!

Doodle Challenge

Here is my take on the " Doodle" weekly challenge on the PID yahoo group. It is hard to see some of the doodling I've done with a white pen on the scan but it's there. Along with using a white pen on this piece I also used a black gel pen, an aqua colored prism pencil and a charcoal pencil. The charcoal pencil is a fun way to add shadow to your piece. It is also great for making your focal image pop off of your background.

Weekly Challenge....

This week the Paper Imagery Designs Yahoo Group Weekly Challenge theme is....

DOODLE....

Hope everyone will grab some pens and have FUN with it!

Tessa...Under Glass!!!!

Have you ever seen such a sweet little face???

Here is Tessa with a bunch of Idea-ology pieces from the PID shop. Use any image with some rub ons, stamped images and Distress Inks for a wonderful little vintage piece.

Just have fun....so simple!

PID ONE ANNIVERSARY SALE

Check out our latest Newsletter online and read all about our First Anniversary Sale

Newly Listed on ETSY!!

Altered Vintage Glove by Arlene Mobley

Materials

Vintage Glove
PID Image from Antique Photos Sheet # 353 +
Inchie Kids image sheet #318
Vintage lace, fabric & trims
Muslin
Tea dyed cheesecloth
Sewing needle & thread
Alphabet stamps
Blue Moon Bead Shop Acrylic Drop Beads
Polyfill
Glue
Mini Clothespin
Goldens soft gel medium
Vintage style charm
Vintage buttons
Copper wire to make hanger


Select a vintage glove to alter from your stash.

Using the image of a vintage woman from Antique Photo sheet # 353 make a transfer onto a piece of muslin. Trim around transfer leaving a border of muslin.

Gather some of your vintage fabric and laces, keeping to a color scheme that works well with the color of your vintage glove.

Layer a piece of wide lace, a piece of fabric, a piece of dyed cheesecloth, a narrower piece of lace and lay it onto the top area of your glove to see how you like the arrangement. Play around with different widths of lace and colors of fabric until you find a composition that is pleasing to you.
Pin your sandwich of fabric to the glove to keep your composition together as you continue to work.

Tear a narrow strip of muslin and stamp the word Mother onto it.
Use a bigger piece of muslin then you need so that you can tear strips off of each side to give it a tattered look.



Now pin this piece of muslin on top of your sandwich of laces and fabric.
Sew all of the layers to the glove by hand using a contrasting color of thread.

Trim around your transfer and make another layer of fabric, muslin and lace. Sew that on to your glove.
Glue or sew some vintage buttons onto the glove.

Cut out five small images of children from image sheet # 318. Glue each image onto an acrylic drop bead. Layer a piece of dictionary page or scrapbook paper on the back of each acrylic drop.

Sew each acrylic drop onto the tip of each finger of the glove.
Stuff the glove with Polyfill and sew the top together

Make a hanger out of some copper wire. Attach the hanger to the top of the glove with the mini clothes pins.

Cut some strips of cheesecloth and lace. Tie to the top of the hanger and fashion a bow. Sew a charm onto the bow.

Bracelet by Monique Verbeek

Its base is a K & Company bracelet. I filled in the empty spots with PID images. Used an embossing pen to apply embossing ink and used a fine embossing powder to create a clear finish of the images.
I then added beads and embellishments. Enjoy!!

Little David Slider by Linda Cain

Materials
Little David 281
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Foliage, Corners, Ornate Plates, Ball Chain and Sprocket Gears.
Background stamp
Background paper
Grungeboard
Plain heavy cardstock
Distress Ink
White glue
Tacky Tape
Metal hole punch
Acetate

Directions
1. Hold acetate over back of Ornate Plate opening and trace line to cutout. Trace and cut picture of David to fit. Glue picture to cardstock to add thickness. Glue plain grunge board rectange to back to hold all in place.

2. Trace and cut top of slider tin onto paper of your choice. Distress ink edges. Add dotted background stamp. Glue to top of slider.

3. Using needle nose plyers, curl edges of corner piece over the end of the slider tin. Using tacky tape under corner, glue in place to slider.

4. Punch holes in side of tin and insert ball chain. Layer up leaves, gear, and flowers and add to plate with brad. Add piece to front of slider with tacky tape.

Make Metal Magic

Make Metal Magic

The Creative Metal™ Beginner Kit comes with everything you need to make beautiful designs with craft metal:

• Texture tool
• 2 embossing tools with 18 interchangeable texture tips
• Sample piece of metal
• Metal ruler
• Metal scissors
• 5" x 7" foam mat
• Mini leaf design
• Storage case
• Information guide and instructions for three projects

Click here to buy now!

Embossed Copper Book Covers

Embossed Copper Book Covers
with Judy Coates Perez Source Cloth Paper Scissors
If you were lucky enough to attend the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last month, you might have watched Judy Coates Perez working on some small painted bird and flower books in the Open Studios at Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors®.

Click here to buy the Mixed Media Painted Fabric (DVD)!

She has now finished the books, and has graciously offered to share her process with you:
I drew several designs to use for front and back covers for two books, one titled Flora, the other Birds & Bees. I used the “Creative Metal Beginner Kit” Click here to buy now! from Walnut Hollow to emboss the metal. It has a lot of different metal-working tools to add texture and shaping to the metal. All in all it is everything you need to do some serious metal work.

 

I begin by taping the metal to a foam mat and then taping the drawing in place over the metal. I transfer my image to the metal by tracing over my pencil lines with an embossing tool. I remove the paper and use the embossing tool to deepen the lines on the metal and add details by working on the front and the back side of the metal, creating dimension.

On this piece of copper I made a small outline around my whole design and filled in the background with stippling by tapping the point of the tool repeatedly over the surface of the metal. This helps the main design stand out from the background.

 

I found the best product to color metal is Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks Click here to buy now!. You can apply inks using a felt pad or paintbrush. I wanted to paint color in specific areas so I used a brush to apply the ink. You don't need much when working with the inks, just drop a few drops of ink onto a paint tray and use a paintbrush to apply the ink to the metal.
Here is the finished Flora cover.

Easy Photocopy Transfers

By Lyric Kinard
There are many wonderful photo transfer techniques out there, all fun and useful. Here is a very low-tech and inexpensive option to add to your techniques for when you just need a little instant gratification. I demonstrate this one in my new QA Workshop DVD, Click here to buy now!
Materials:

• Citra-Solve® — an orange-based cleaning solvent (I buy it at Whole Foods.)
• Cotton ball
• Metal spoon
• Non-porous smooth surface (I use glass or my countertop.)
• Masking tape
• Fabric of your choice

Directions:
1. Find a fun image of your favorite person or pet. Or even an Art piece.
2. Make a photocopy of the photo, sizing it no larger than 5" x 7".
3. Cut away the background and make another photocopy of the image.
4. Draw in any lines that need emphasis or add any fun scribbles you like. Maybe Grandma always wanted a tiara or your puppy looks great in polka dots!
5. Make a final photocopy. (Note: Laser and inkjet prints don’t work with this method.)
6. Tape a clean piece of fabric to your non-porous surface; stretch it tight.
7. Trim the photocopy so it has 1" of paper around it; tape it face-down on your fabric.
8. Use the cotton ball to dampen (not soak) the back of the paper with Citra-Solve; you’ll see the image show through the paper.
9. With the back of the metal spoon, rub, rub, rub like crazy in all directions. You are moving the ink from the paper to the fabric.
10. Pick up just one corner of the paper and peek to see how the transfer is working. You can put the paper back down and rub some more in any places that haven’t transferred yet.
11. Toss the paper in the trash and let the solvent evaporate.

Hot Pink and Lime Green Earrings by Eileen

I love the color combination that Angie chose for the new challenge. I decided to use those colors in a pair of earrings.

First I punched some flowers from hot pink patterned paper and layered them together. I topped the flowers with one of the loveliest PID collage images: Sarah. I then coated the whole piece with Glossy Accents, which will protect the earrings as well as give them a nice shine.

Then it was just a matter of adding some pink and green beads to a head pin, and attaching the flower to the head pin, and the head pin to an ear wire.

It's MONDAY!!!

Hope everyone had a FABULOUSLY FUN weekend!! It's time for the Paper Imagery Designs Yahoo Group Challenge. This week's theme is, please remember to include a PID Image....

HOT PINK and LIME GREEN

Happy Mother's Day!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. Hope everyone is having a Wonderful weekend!!
Here is a card I made for my Mom (with a Beautiful Paper Imagery Designs Image of course)

(sorry about the funky scan ... don't know why the bottom right corner scanned wavy..it's not but tried several times...scanned that way everytime...strange)

Mother's Day Sale !!

For our VERY Wonderful Talented Mothers !!!

15% Off on our Wonderful Collage Sheets!! 26 YES 26 NEW Collage Sheets for you to choose from http://www.paperimagerydesigns.com/CartGenie/prodList.asp?scat=174

Plus over 600 MORE....

What a better way to spend Mother's Day then browsing these wonderful Sheets!! A lot of our NEW sheets are inspired or designed by our VERY talented Design Team !! Tell your Hubby and children this is WHAT YOU WANT!!

Get them before anyone else ... show off your art and tell them where you got them from ... PID!!!

Use promo code mom HURRY sale ends Midnight tonight!!!

Take an Artist Survey for the Chance to Win $100 and Help the Art Community

American Artist magazine and The International Art Materials Trade Association (NAMTA), a trade association dedicated to the art materials industry, have teamed up to create Artist Survey 2009. This survey measures a range of categories, from your life with art, where you come from as an artist, your art, and your buying habits. Would you like to take the survey for a chance to win $100? By completing the survey you will help the art community and yourself by: Raising money for visual arts scholarships. Helping advocacy for art education and funding. Getting what you want from stores and suppliers by telling them what you'd like. Knowing your world - get a free summary of the survey results. Gaining a chance to win one of five $100 prizes. The results of this survey will appear in the first-ever national report Artists & Art Materials USA 2009. This survey is independently conducted by Hart Business Research, a firm specializing in creative markets. All survey responses are anonymous and will not be used to market to you