AlteredPages Artsociates

Getting ready to ring in the New Year with a few of our projects from past New Year's! Click on the links below the images to visit the original posts!   New Year Tag - Barbara Rankin   Dance the Night Away Tag - Lyneen Jesse   New Year ATC - Danie May   New Year Countdown Card - Ink Stained Roni        WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!    

Today I have a few St. Patrick's Day ATC's to share with you.... They were all made using various pattern papers , textured cardstock , paper borders , washi tape  and dew drops .  All of the images are from the Altered Pages collage sheet Erin Go Bragh .   And my organization idea for today is two words...cigar boxes!  Yep, I love all things vintage so why not use something vintage for storage as well.  Whenever I'm at garage sales, flea markets, auctions, etc I always snatch up vintage cigar boxes and use them when I need a bit of storage. I don't put labels directly on the boxes (after all they are vintage!) so I make up little hang labels that get tucked inside the edge of the box.  I can change them as needed and I always know immediately what's stored in each box.

Today I have a couple fun cabinet cards to share with you...both made using some of the wonderful collage images available from Altered Pages  as well as vintage text , and more! We're also getting organized here at Altered Pages...offering you tips, tricks and storage ideas that we use in our own artsy areas. My tip involves embellishments... I like em...a lot!  So I wanted a way I could stay organized at a minimal cost but I also wanted something that was going to withstand lots of use. My solution...small parts organizers from the hardware department of my local farm store!  These handy dandy cabinets come with drawers in all shapes and sizes which are perfect for storing all sorts of things!  They are sturdy enough to hold all the weight of my heavier metal embellishments... All the way down to my itty bitty brads! I have 4 different cabinets with various sized drawers that keep me organized and the great thing is when I need ...

Deco Arts Media products are so versatile and one of my favorites is the Matte Medium - as I mentioned in my post earlier this month it can be used as a collage glue which is how it was used below... But it can also be used for image transfers!  For this canvas I transferred several butterflies to my canvas using only the Matte Medium.  I glued the images (face down) making sure not to get any of the medium on the back of the image.  Let it dry then wet with water and rubbed off the layers of paper...some more than others.   Once the image had dried I used the Matte Medium again, this time as a sealer for the transfer.  I also played with the Fluid Acrylics to add a bit of color to the canvas.... At this point to unify the colors I covered everything with a layer of the Titanium White Antiquing Cream - brushed it on and wiped it off with my hand to give it a muted feel. Oil Pastels were used to highlight the image transfer...

Altered Pages has an amazing Design Team today we are honored to introduce you to   Roni Johnson Veronica (Roni) Johnson (Albion, Indiana),   a life long artist is the author of the daily rubber stamping and altered arts blog – InkStainswithRoni. Roni is also the author of “ Teach Yourself Visually ~ Collage & Altered Arts” .   Like her blog, this book is a technique oriented book that encompasses a wide variety of projects, mediums and areas. In addition to the blog and collage book Roni also designs for various manufactures and retail companies in the rubber stamping and altered arts    When she isn't creating Roni enjoys spending time with her family on their small farm in rural Indiana, scouring various flea markets or antique malls for unique vintage finds, reading and pursuing her love of photography.     Be sure to visit her at   InkStainswithRoni     Roni's DecoArt ATB Heart  

By now I'm sure you know that the AP team is sharing projects created using DecoArt products during the month of January.  I am so happy and excited about this as DecoArt has a newer product line called DecoArt Media which is an entire line dedicated to mixed media artists. I decided to start off by making an Artist Trading Block ... I used several products from the Media line and thought I'd share a bit about each....   I started off by gluing down my vintage text and collage images to the block using DecoArt Media Matte Medium .  It can be used as a collage glue, photo transfer medium, a clear ground and more. The consistency of this medium is very nice - it's slightly thicker than most of the thinner "white glue" like collage glues on the market which makes it far easier to control and I found it to be less messy.  I love the matte finish - it's great as a "clear gesso" and doesn't dry "slick" or glossy like ...

Tis the season... BE MERRY!!! Another fun creation pairing lovely vintage images and supplies from Altered Pages with fun holiday stamps from Just For Fun Rubber Stamps !  This time I have a Christmas Gothic arch that has a hint of things to come...but I'm not going to reveal what that might be - tee hee hee! Here is a closer look at the bells & holly stamped image... And the kitties all dancing around the Christmas tree! Supplies: JFF Rubber Stamps: Bells & Holly ; Sentiments UM Sheet #1 Altered Pages: Christmas Kitties collage sheet; Glitz Pattern Paper ; Mini Edges ; Stickles Glitter Glue ; Memento Ink ; Delicata Golden Glitz Ink Other Supplies: DecoArt Crackle Medium, Antiquing Cream; IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko Pico Embellisher; Markers; White Gel Pen Hope you're all enjoying a crafty and inspired holiday season so far!!

This month Altered Pages is teaming up with Just For Fun Rubber Stamps  and their design team to share lots of inspiration and creativity. Today I wanted to share my first project.  You all know how much I love to recycle things and today I have a fun "green" project that is both functional and pretty.  A Laughing Cow Cheese Box (you know they are just too cool to throw away) that I turned into a fun Christmas Ornament that doubles as a gift card holder! And this is what it looks like inside....  Here's what I did... I started off by reinforcing the hinge area with a piece of really sticky fabric tape. This is much more durable than say masking tape, double stick or washi tape.   Next I painted the inside of the box with Deco Arts Glorious Gold Metallic Paint and the outside with black acrylic paint.  While the box was drying I stamped a piece of white cardstock with Tree Line stamp.  It was then colored with a bit of ink and ...

  I have had lots of fun using Craft Attitude printable film this month and I have one final project to share with you.... I transformed a pair of vintage ice skates into a fun piece of art that you could use to decorate your home, give as a hostess gift or as a fun personalized present for anyone on your gift giving list!   The best part...you can decorate both sides differently.  I went with a Victorian Christmas on one side and an Ivory Angel on the other for a generic Winter feel so that it can be displayed for several weeks this holiday season. Craft Attitude Printable Film Altered Pages: Victorian Christmas ; Christmas Ivy ; Ivory Angels ; Aleene's Tacky Glue; IMAGINE Crafts Ink And here is a handy little Snapguide on how to go about making one of these Vintage Skates all your own: Check out How to Alter a Christmas & Winter Themed Ice Skate by Roni Johnson on Snapguide . Thanks for stoppin' by ~ Ink Stained Roni

I've been having so much fun playing with the Craft Attitude film this month.  It's so much fun to see how you can transform plain everyday items using this film paired with Altered Pages collage sheets.  Today I wanted to show you how I transformed a plain old pottery vase into a real show stopper...  I found this vase in the bottom of a mystery box I bought at an auction this past summer.  You know those boxes filled with everything you can think of.  Well, this vase was just a plain white vase and I originally thought about just giving it away but I'm so glad I didn't.   I started off by printing an entire sheet of vintage rose images from the collage sheet - Paper Roses . I sized the roses between 1/2" - 2.5" tall.  Those were adhered to the top and bottom portion of the vase. Next I printed off a frame from the collage sheet - ATC Decorative Borders and "Paris" from the Paris collage sheet on a sheet of Craft Attitude ...