It's been how long since I posted?!

 Hey there. . .if there is anyone out there ;)  I know I haven't posted in a while, and to keep you from getting bored, I won't share all of the details.  Let's just say with a lack of design teams and a pretty extensive knee surgery, I've been away from blogging.  It's not that I haven't been creating, I've just had a lack of motivation to post any of it.

I have been dabbling in the art of mixed media a bit more since leaving all of my design teams.  It's been freeing and fun.  I'm still stamping cards, but I'm really having a great time using lots of different types of media to create all kinds of art.  I've even sold a couple of canvases!

So, what is this that I'm posting you ask?  Well, I joined a challenge called the You & Me Challenge, hosted by Cindy Utter.  You give her your name and address and she sets you up with another participant.  You send your partner some fun goodies following a few guidelines, and then you create with what you're sent.  You make 2 projects and send one to your partner and keep one of yourself.  My partner sent me these goodies:

The project you create is an index card, so I started by attaching the napkin to the card and then painting the card with various acrylic paints.  I used some modeling paste through a stencil, and here was the result.

Here's the end result.  I will say, this was so fun that I ended up signing up to do it again.  I may end up posting some pictures of that one, because I honestly love how that once turned out.

I'm not sure if I'll be posting on a regular basis or not.  I'm so out of practice, it's almost comical.  I'm just now realizing that I don't even have my watermark on these pictures, lol.  Oh well.  Thanks for stopping by if you did.  I'd love to hear what you think or if you'd like to see more.

Documented Life Project Weeks 13-15

Happy Monday, friends!  I wanted to update you on my Documented Life Project.  It's my weekly art journal using prompts from the talented ladies over at Art 5 Academy.   Every Saturday, those lovely ladies offer up a journal prompt and show us what they've created, and it's free to join in.  Who doesn't love a free challenge?

I'm doing these a bit out of order, because my picture for week 13 is pretty bad/fuzzy, but I'm IN LOVE with my week 14 page!  Week 14s challenge was watercolor with the prompt being 'it's water under the bridge'.  I started out by gessoing the pages, then using my Dylusions sprays I put dots of color on the pages and then blew those around with a straw.  I drew in the bridge with a Stabilo pencil, and finished it off with by writing in the prompt.  I LOVE how it turned out, and it was fun.

Here is week 13.  I'm keeping the picture small, because the quality is pretty bad.  The challenge was to create your own element, so I made the boat out of washi tape.  The background was colored with my PanPastels over book text as the river banks.

Week 15 had me stumped for several days.  The challenge was acrylic paints.  I started out by putting tearing some under paper into tears, since the prompt was 'cry me a river'.  I tried doing some drips of acrylic paint, but it was just too much, so I toned it down with gesso.  I used a baby wipe to clean up the tear drops.  After tearing up more under paper, I made a river.  The edges needed something, so I used some modeling paste and smeared it over the edges and used a glaze.  The Stabilo pencil rounded it all out, and I ended up being pretty happy with the end result.

One of these days, I will film my process.  Thanks for stopping in!

Documented Life Project Weeks 10-12

Hey Crafty friends!  I hope y'all are having a wonderful Wednesday!  Productive day for me. . .coffee with a friend, homeschool (naturally), grocery shopping, and now posting.  I have a couple of new projects to show you from the Documented Life Project 2015.  I've done a great job (so far) with keeping up with the challenges, so I'm going to show you weeks 10-12.

Week 10s challenge was Doodles and Marks as a Layer Element.  I doodled some rain/snow all over the background and covered it in gel medium.  I love the look it gave when I wiped off the distress paint with a baby wipe.  That was a rough week for me, so this picture says it all, and the prompt was a perfect one.

Week 11s challenge was doodling a border, with the prompt being Madonna's song Borderline. . .once again perfect.  I ended up using some underpaper, because I just had nothing.  Once I doodled the border, I just went with the face. . .it's basically part of the background, which is how I was feeling that week.

 Once again, the following week's challenge was simply perfect for my mood.  Week 12s challenge was to use doodling as a focal point. . .hence the flower.  I found this amazing quote, which was exactly what I was needing.  'Find what you were made to do, and life will come into focus'.  After the previous 2 weeks I had had, God was pointing me in the right direction (as He always does).

I do have Week 13 done, but I'll blog that one later.  Thanks for stopping in!  I think I'll go play now ;)

Taylored Expressions: Wall Art & Stencil Making

Hey friends!  I hope you have a lovely weekend!  I'm so excited to show you this project that I made using new products from Taylored Expressions.  I've really been enjoying making wall art, and TE products are perfect for them!

I started with a canvas board and some Gelatos.  After rubbing them around and blending them well, I decided to make my own stencil using the Quatrefoil Cutting Plate and some clear plastic sheets.  The trick with that is using the metal shim and running it through your machine a few times before pulling it out.  I now have a stencil I can use again and again!  I wiped a baby wipe through my stencil to give the look I achieved.

Then I just splattered some white acrylic paint with a toothbrush.

I stamped the Shade Tree Scripture stamp using black acrylic paint.  The other dies I used were the Postage Stamp Stacklets, and the new ones Garden Arbor and Gate & Arbor Fence, along with Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers, and Little Bits Flowers & Stems.

I'm just LOVING how it all turned out.  I don't know if I should give it as a gift or keep it all to myself ;)

I better get going.  I'm sure I can find all kinds of things that need to be done around the house.  Thanks for stopping in, and if you have any questions about this project, shoot me an email:  cassandratrask@yahoo.com

Here are the links to the products I used from the TE store:

Garden Arbor & Gate	Arbor Fence	*shade tree scripture	Quatrefoil Cutting Plate	Postage Stamp Stacklets
Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers	Little Bits - Flowers & Stems	Clear Plastic Sheets	100% Wool Felt - Dark Berry	Premium Cardstock - Sugar Cube
Premium Cardstock - Oreo	Premium Cardstock - Strawberry Milkshake	Premium Cardstock - Sweet Basil	Metal Adapter Shim

InLinkz.com

Gelli Plate 'Thanks'

Happy Monday, friends!  Christmas break is over (boooo), and it's back to a regular schedule in this house, but we are going to make the most of it and embrace it the best we can.  I think I was made for retirement, haha, and not even a lavish one ;)  For Christmas this year, I received a gift from my awesome father-in-law.  He picked my name in the family drawing, and he went above and beyond.  I had made up a 'wish list' on Amazon for my husband, but my FIL had peaked in on it.  He took an idea and ran with it!  I was so excited and proud of him for what he got me!  I ended up getting a couple different sizes of Gelli plates along with an idea book and a brayer!

As a 'thank you' to him I made this card using the Gelli plates, acrylic paints, a couple of stencils, and a paint brush.  Oh goodness, this is so fun, and I can see making so many great and unique backgrounds!  The die I used came from Taylored Expressions.

Thanks for checking in and having a look!  I hope you are finding new to challenge your art :)

Documented Life 2015: January 1, 2015

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope your year is off to a great start!  We are fighting some sort of sinus bug in our house after traveling to California, but thankfully we are mostly on the mend. 

With a new year comes newness all around.  I'm going to be more intentional about sharing my mixed media projects, in the hopes that it will make me more accountable.  I started the Documented Life Project 2014 in the middle of the year, because that's just when I happened to find it.  I love trying new art mediums, but like with all things there have been some growing pains.  Most of my stuff is just 'unsharable' in my opinion, however, I love the process and like all things it will hopefully get better with time.  Once again, I am doing the Documented Life Project 2015 with the lovely ladies from Art to the 5th.  It's a great way to art journal your way through the year, and I encourage you to check it out!

Our first challenge was book paper and the January theme is the blank page and how to tackle it.  The journal prompt was 'Your own goal Keeper', and since I'm usually pretty private about that, I chose to hide mine under a black tag that I decorated.  

My main mediums were acrylic paints, although I did use some perfect pearls and water, which as you can see can make ink smear.  I don't care, because I like the look of it here.

Thanks for stopping in!

Mixed Media Fun!

As I've said before, I've been dabbling in the art of Mixed Media!  Last night had jumped full in by attempting to paint a person.  As you can see I wasn't brave enough to do a face shot, but I did use a piece from a magazine and made it all my own.  There are layers of sheet music in the back as well that you can see faintly.  I have so much to learn, but one of my favorite things about it is being able to cover up mistakes.  I used acrylic paints, watercolor crayons, gesso, black pens, stabilo graphite pencils, and several stencils.

Thanks for taking a look!

Plan.Journal.Play - a Planner made for Art Journaling

Hey there!  Did you have a productive weekend?  I feel like we really did.  We were finally able to empty the last of the boxes, and my craft studio is pretty much how I want it.  It could use some better organization of some of my stash, but at least it's all out of boxes and within arms reach.  Now to find what I need when I need it ;)

I also had an opportunity to work on a project that I've been excited about for quite a while.  I've been dabbling in Mixed Media for a little bit now; building up my stash, and working with and playing with it.  It's a fun thing to do, and a thing that will take lots of time to master.  I've watched lots of videos and played quite a bit.  Lots of things I've made I hate and a few things I love.  This planner goes in the 'things I love' category.  

I love reading Patter's blog, which is where I originally learned about the planner.  I took Lorraine Bell's Plan.Journal.Play class, and am so excited by what I feel I learned.  I definitely have a lot to learn, and and certainly used a lot of her techniques, but the more I play, the more I will learn and develop my own style.

 I really love how my tabs turned out.  I used some canvas paper along with an old labeler.  The planner is a Moleskine, and I used an old stamp from one of my past favorite companies (Clear Dollar Stamps).

The back is even pretty cool.  More than anything, I had fun making it.  So much so, that I want to make more, hehe.  The inside is just as cool, and I'll show a page in the next couple of days.

Stamps:  John 3:16 (CDS)

Ink:  Stazon

Accessories:  Moleskine planner, various acrylic paints, brick stencil from TCP, dots stencil from Tim Holtz, gesso, various pens, various ink misters

Thanks for stopping in!

1 Corinthians 16:14

Hey there everyone!  I've been absent for some great reasons.  This was probably the busiest week I will have all year.  Last Wednesday my in-laws made it into town for my husband's graduation from Auburn for his Masters Degree, we had ballgames and mud run 5Ks, a wedding, and then my in-laws left.  It has been a great, crazy few days.

What I'm showing you today was made for the special couple as a wedding gift.  I have really been enjoying Gelatos recently and making home decor items.  Playing around with the different products has proven to be very therapeutic :)

I started out by painting and distressing a wooden frame I found at a local craft store.  That took no time and dried quickly.  The next step was simply coloring a canvas board with the different Gelato colors.  You can get so many different looks by just mixing and rubbing.

After I got the Gelatos to look the way I wanted, I used a stencil from Simon Says stamp called Moroccan.  It's a great technique that gives an awesome look buy using a baby wipe.  The final step for this background was to splatter some white paint using a toothbrush.

The final product is show above.  I used some cork, a doily, some Prima roses, Chalk Board Paint form Faber-Castell, and a few other products.  The die cut I used comes from Taylored Expressions and is called Label Stacklets 2.  The stamp is a wood handled stamp that I thought was perfect for the happy couple.

The above is a close up of what that baby wipe/stencil technique looks like.  I love it.

Stamp:  unknown wood handle stamp

Ink:  Craft White

Paper:  choice white

Accessories:  TE Label Stacklets 2 die, Gelatos, Prima roses. SS Moroccan stencil, cork, wood frame, white acrylic paint, doily, distress ink, Gold Viva Pearl Pen

Thanks for stopping in!

Taylored Expressions & Faber-Castell Blog Hop

Hello, crafty friends and welcome to the Taylored Expressions and Faber-Castell Blog Hop!  Can I just say, it's a match made in Heaven, my friends!  If you stumbled along to my blog, you're in for a treat as you keep up the hop.  There is so much inspiration in this fun 2 day hop!

Let's get started, shall we?  I had never used the Gelatos before, but I am officially in love. . .possibly obsessed with these sweet little babies!  For my first project I colored and rubbed those Gelatos all over a canvas.  When I had the background the way I liked, I sprayed some workable fixative over the project to ensure it didn't smudge.

The Chalk Board Paint is just as fun, people!  So many possibilities!  I painted on some Choice White cardstock, and after each application I heat set it so that it would dry quickly.  I ended up putting about 3 to 4 coats all over the cardstock.

Once I was done painting, I used the Banner Stacklets 2 die to get my panel.  I stamped my sentiment from the Taylored Expressions set called Shade Tree Scriptures.  That set is filled with beautiful sentiments.  The next step was really fun.  I made a stencil from the flower die from the Branches, Banner & Bloom die, and used the Pastel Pencils to color the flower.  It's such a great technique on the Chalk Board Paint, and really gives it that chalkboard look!  One of my favorite memories as a kid in elementary school was when the teachers would let us use different colors of chalk on the chalkboard :)

I used the other dies in the Branches, Banner & Bloom die set to make the vines and added some lace ribbon.  I just love how the finished project turned out :)

Stamps:  Shade Tree Scriptures
Ink:  Craft White, Vintage Photo distress ink
Paper:  Choice White, SU Garden Green, SU Blush Blossom
Accessories:  Faber-Castell Chalk Board Paint, Faber-Castell Gelatos, Faber-Castell Pastel Pencils, TE Banner Stacklets 2 die, TE Branches, Banner & Bloom die, spray fixative, canvas, lace trim, foam tape

Here's a closer look at how vibrant those Pastel Pencils are on the Chalk Board Paint.

Here are a few more projects I made with the products:

I used a watercolor brush with the Pastel Pencils, and stamped the image using the Stamper's Big Brush artist pens.

Stamps:  TE New Beginnings

Paper:  TE April 2014 KI Kit

Accessories:  TE Label Stacklets 4 die, TE Scribbles Cutting Plate, Faber-Castell Gelatos, Faber-Castell PITT Big Brush art pens, Faber-Castell Pastel Pencils, spray fixative, watercolor brush, foam tape

Before you head off on the rest off the hop, there is a giveaway!

Giveaway Details:

Simply comment on any (or all!) of our Blog Hop posts from April 24-April 25. For each comment, you will be entered into a drawing to win one of two fabulous prizes: One lucky winner will receive a $75 Faber-Castell prize pack of Gesso, Glaze, Gel Medium, and 10 new Gelatos Double Scoops and one lucky winner will receive a Taylored Expressions stamp set and die of choice! Comments close Sunday, April 27 at 8pm PST. 

Faber-Castell Blog

Sankari Wegman

Mou Shaha

Cassie Trask

Rita Barakat

Keia Shipp-Smith

Taylored Expressions Blog