My scrappin' life

Crew Member Wednesday With Femke

Hello and welcome to Crew Member Wednesday! Today we have Femke with a beautiful scrapbooking spread in her art journal! I love how she uses her Dina Wakley Media Journal as a scrapbook combining mixed media with photo's and embellishments. And isn't it clever how she used the burlap as her titel page?!

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Maybe you remember my scrapbooking layout in my art journal I made in june? Well, I liked it very much! So I made a layout in my art journal again.

And this time I used this beautiful stamp “Stitched Mixed Media background” by Birgit Koopsen and a lot of Colorburst by Ken Oliver.

 

 

I first strawed some of the pigment powder on my paper and then activated it with water. I love the effect of that!! And after putting in some paperwork and some embellishments it was a very quick and easy project. But I really love the result, if I may say so myself :)

 

And here are some details:

 

And as always I also made a process video of my project: 

 

I hope you enjoy my project and the video. Thank you for watching! And If you like my work? Don’t forget to subscribe! Or follow me on facebook.

Stamp used for this project:

Femke

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Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Make sure to drop by every Wednesday for ongoing inspiration by my fabulous Crew!

We would love to see your creations on Birgit's Mixed Media Art Crew Facebook page so if you created something inspired by one of the Crew Members or using any of my products then please share!

My New Designs For Carabelle Studio

Last week at Version Scrap in Paris was the release of new designs at Carabelle Studio!

My collection was extended with 4 new stamp sets and personally I am very excited about my flower set (Life is pretty awesome) that is so different than the rest of my collection but I see so many possibilities! :D

I had just a little bit of time before Version Scrap to play with them but here are some samples I made for the booth using the "Life is pretty awesome" set:

 

I'm also very exited about the 18 sets of embossing folders, new items in the Carabelle Studio collection.

How about this one, inspired by my "Circles and Dots" stamp?

I can't wait to try these out!

But there is more! All together the new release incorporates more than 50 stamps for the different Carabelle designers and also 10 new Art Printing plates designed especially for gel printing, how cool is that?

You can find all the new items on the Carabelle website HERE!

Home Is Where The Heart Is - Art Journal Page

Today I created this art journal page. 

I had nothing specific in mind, just wanted to play with paints and colors. So I started out with 2 sheets of white watercolor paper (I bind my journal later) and some spraying, stamping and stenciling. I created permanent spray paints by mixing Liquitex Acrylic Ink with water in a spray bottle. This picture show the first layer/stage.

Then I added some more color. I mixed some Brushos with Matte Medium which resulted in a nice transparent glaze, which allowed me to add a second layer of color still showing the first layer. I also added collage papers, book paper and music sheet.

And more collage paper... I have a big pile of colorful deli paper on which I stamped and stenciled while gelli printing and they are perfect for collage!

When the background was done I took a black and a white pen and started doodling. I also used Liquitex Paint Markers and watercolor pencils to add more color and details and did some more stamping to add texture to the background.

I certainly did not intend to make houses. I have never made houses before and it was not what I had in mind to do. But then I saw an IKEA add and the quote "Home is where the heart is" popped up in my mind. And this just happened. Funny how inspiration comes to you, isn't it?! :) It made me totally happy on this gray and rainy day!

Here's a closer look at the left side:

And the right side:

All stamps used are from Carabelle Studio.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I would love to hear what inspires you!

Pssstt... have you seen my previous post? I will be teaching at Wanderlust 2016! A year long online course with 26 teachers from all over the world. Tons of inspiration and techniques guaranteed!! Check it out here!

Love,

Art Specially 2015 - An Amazing Weekend

Last weekend was Art Specially Event in Nijkerk. THE stamp event in The Netherlands.

This weekend was the official launch of my new stamp designs for Carabelle Studio and I had the honor to show and promote them during two days of make-and-takes in the Scrapbookzolder booth.

Scrapbookzolder not only sells my stamps but the largest collection of Carabelle Studio stamps and stencils of the country! Make sure to check out their website!

Saturday started with coffee and a very sweet and fun surprise. Saskia brought cake with a picture of my  stamps on top to celebrate the new releases. How cool is that?!

During the m-a-t you could create a little card using the new stamps and the gelli plate. Over the weekend I taught my little make-and-take workshop too 180 people and on Saturday evening I did 2 longer workshops for 10 people each.

People had to sign up for the make-and-takes and they were fully booked. Great for me, of course, but a bit sad for all the people that didn't get a place. But who didn't have a place could at least watch. It was so nice to see that there was a little crowd around my table all the time. So awesome that there were so many people interested in my stamps and in gelli plate printing!

On the other side in the Scrapbookzolder was Marsha's table. She taught an awesome workshop using ProMarkers and the Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer. No wonder that her make and takes were fully booked too! :) Marsha was not only my companion at the show, she was also my lovely host. I spend 2 nights at her house, she made me tea and lunch and took really good care of me. Thank you so much Marsha :)

It was crazy busy, the weekend flew by and at the end my throat hurt from all the talking and I have to admit that I was a bit tired ;) But it was fun, fun, fun!!

Thank you Scrapbookzolder, for everything! And thank too all the sweet, funny, enthusiastic, interested and cheerful people who sat down at my table or came by for a short chat or to say hi, it was wonderful to see you all!

It was a really good weekend and all the wonderful response to my new stamps put a smile on my face that will last for a while.

Love,

The Cherry On Top - My XXL Stamp Design For Carabelle Studio

So, last week I showed my new stamp designs and told you that there was one more coming. One I am very excited about. I think this is my personal cherry on top of the stamp design cake :)

Circles Background is an XXL stamp. It is A4 size, so 8x11 inches, produced from awesome quality white rubber and because of the grand size an acrylic block is included. Yes, that makes it a bit more expensive, but the block is really handy and not only for the XXL stamp. Just imagine creating a collage of stamps on the block and being able to print it in one go…. just saying :)

So here it is, my grande finale, LOL!

I hope you like it just as much as I do! 

Only 4 more days and I will be at Art Specially, where I will be doing make-and-takes in the Scrapbookzolder booth all day and the next (april 11-12). M-a-t are free so please stop by for a chance of trying some of my new stamps together with a gelli plate! Of course Scrapbookzolder will bring all of my stamps + a large variety of all the other awesome Carabelle Studio stamps and stencils!

If you are not able to come to Art Specially then you can buy the stamps in the online store. The new releases will be available this weekend.

Check out all about Art Specially here!

I would love to see you there :)

My New Stamp Designs Are Here!

I am excited and thrilled to share my new stamp designs with Carabelle Studio that will be released the weekend of April 11-12.

Your first chances to buy them are at Version Scrap in Paris at the Carabelle Studio booth OR at Art Specially in Nijkerk, the Netherlands at the Scrapbookzolder booth where I will be doing make-ad-takes on both days. Of course you will get the chance to use the new stamps there :) So make sure to stop by if you're coming to Art Specially!

And here are my new designs:

The first one is a new size stamp which is 30x5cm. Because of the unconventional size an acrylic block is included.

 

Can I say I love this one?! :D

And then there are 3 10x15cm sets that come with english AND french texts:

   

   


And…. there is one more! One that I am extremely excited about… but that one is going to be a secret for just a liiiiitle bit longer :)
So, if I made you curious… make sure to check back later! 

Meanwhile, check out the Scrapbookzolder website for a large variety of Carabelle Studio stamps and stencils.

Happy stamping!

Love,

Coffee Break - Art Journal Page With Carabelle Studio

I made this art journal page a while ago using a.o. the leaf stamp I designed for Carabelle Studio.

When I am painting or mono printing I always have an art journal open next to me. I use the pages to clean my brayer or brush. This way I don’t throw away any paint and get some awesome backgrounds for my art journal to work on later.

This is one of those pages that was used to clean my brayer and it looks as if I also used it to take the last paint off my gelli plate.

The text comes from a one-quote-a-day-calendar from Flow Magazine.

I used the gorgeous flower stamp designed by Azoline and one of my leaf stamps. I stamped the leafs on spray painted dell paper using a permanent ink, then cut them out and applied them to the page using matte medium. To make the blue background more interesting I used a stencil to finish this page up.

I think the step pictures are enough to explain the process:

And the final result:

Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy art-journaling!

Love,

 

Products I used in this project:

Stamp: Fleurs d'Azoline

Mask: Composition avec des galets

Leafs Stamp Set - Birgit Koopsen For Carabelle Studio

InLinkz.com

My Stamp Designs - Featured Artist Riikka Kovasin

Last week Marsha was the first featured artist here on the blog and today I want to introduce to you Riikka Kovasin and her projects using my stamp designs for Carabelle Studio.

Riikka and I "met" online when I was invited to an event in Finland a couple of years ago and she was my contact person. Since then we met several times in real at events in Helsinki, Utrecht, Paris... and she is the sweetest person!

Riikka's layouts are always full of techniques and details. Her colors go from grays and purple to bright yellows and turquoise. She adds lots of embellishments and fun little things to her work.

I love the layers in this layout (actually you will find awesome layers in all her work) and the placement of the elements leaving "white" space in the middle. I think the "I Heart Washi Tape" stamps, embossed with glitter, add beautiful texture!

On the next layout Riikka used the "French Lily Background" stamp next to the "I Heart Washi Tape" set. Love the vibrant orange and yellow and those fun wire circles!

See how beautiful the stamps look with multi colored embossing on them!

And how about this beautiful mixed media canvas?! Don't you just love the colors and the texture?

Riikka explains the technique of stamping in modeling paste on the Scrap 365 blog in a shared blog post with Marsha where you will also find a little "how to" video from her hand.

Talking about video's... Riikka has her own You Tube Channel: Paperiliitin. Check it out, you'll find 30 something inspirational video's there!!

In this last layout Riikka created her own background paper by simply stamping the "Layered Strips" over and over in different colors. I love how she stamped the "I Heart Washi Tape" on colored paper and then cut them out to incorporate them in her paper layers underneath the photo! Note the fun "water drops" she created with crackle medium! 

You can find more of Riikka's work in the Inspiration Gallery and of course on her blog: Paperiliitin.

You can also find her on Facebook and on Instagram: Paperiliitin

Stamp set's Riikka used in these projects:

     

Information on where to buy these stamps you can find in the "Where to buy my stamps" section in the navigation bar or by clicking here.

And in case YOU created something with one of my stamp sets, please drop me an e-mail with a picture or a link. I would LOVE to see!! Thank you for stopping by today! Merry Christmas!

Love,

Aladine IZink Textile Dye And Paint - Product Review

Today I want to share with you some of my experiences with IZink Textile Dye and Paint from the French manufacturer Aladine.

 

I have been working a lot with the IZink acrylic inks from Aladine over the last year and a half and I loved them, but I never used their textile paints before. I had them sitting on my table for quite some while and now it was time to sit down and experiment!

 

First thing I noticed about these paints was that they have the same bright, vibrant colors as the acrylic inks, which I love!

 

 

I got to play with a large range of colors, both the Teinture (dye) and Peinture (paint).

 

I also got some sets of foam brayers and accessories (a kit containing 3 different bottle tops to use for stenciling, stamping and drawing/writing and a spare bottle.)

Also available are specialty fabric stamping inks which I didn’t have available.

 

The only fabric I had on hand to work with was off white canvas. I love the texture of that but I was a little bit concerned that it would make the colors look dirty. That wasn’t the case; the colors are opaque enough to still be bright and vibrant on the gray fabric.

 

I first dyed the canvas with the foam brayer. This makes the dye soak into the fabric and create a nice cover. I was amazed that I didn’t need more paint but it seems like one bottle goes a long way. The dye smells a little but it is not a bad smell and certainly not irritating. 

And then I had to wait.  It takes 3 to 6 hours for the fabric to dry. That was hard on me as I am not the most patient person :) But I found out that I could speed that up a little by hanging the fabric in front or even over the central heating. I also found out that after stenciling and stamping, where the fabric doesn’t get as soaked, there is nothing wrong with using a heat tool.

 

When the background was dry I started stamping and stenciling and here is where the accessories kit comes in. You can change out the lids on the paint bottles.

 

 

Put the desired lid on the bottle and keep the bottle up side down, squeeze the bottle a little until you see the paint floating into the sponge, then dap until the whole sponge it filled with paint. There is one with a flat, circle shaped sponge that can be used for stenciling.

 

 

The second is a triangle shaped sponge that can be used either to paint directly on the fabric or to apply the paint to stamps, it works just like a stamp pad and make it easy to apply the paint evenly to the stamp. It worked great with rubber, foam and clear stamps.

 

 

 The 3^rd lid is a small tip that allows you to paint, draw and add little dots.

 

 

I worked in layers and made sure to dry the different layers in between because I didn’t want my paints to mix. This keeps the colors bright and crisp.

 

Although the sponges were quite wet, I was amazed that the paint didn’t run under the stencils more, even though I didn’t work very precise and the fabric was not completely flat.

 

 

 

To clean the brayers and sponges I just held them under hand warm running water and squeezed the sponges until the water stayed clear. This worked really well, the sponges were clean in no time and after drying could be used over and over again.

On the packaging of the accessories kit it says that the spare bottle is meant to clean the sponge lids. You have to add water and then dap until the water stays clear but I preferred holding them under running water, which was way faster. 

 

In my opinion it would have been great if there had been an extra closing lid in the kit. I would have loved to mix my own colors in the bottles and being able to close the bottles and store them.

 

After some little experiments I worked on a larger piece of fabric and I really love the result! 

When the fabric is completely dry you can iron it to fixate. After ironing, the fabric can be washed at 40*C.

NB: If you want to fixate the paint you NEED to iron it, heating it with the heat gun does NOT fixate the paint!! I used the fabric to cover a mini album:

 

 

 

Conclusions:

* Wonderful, bright colors that keep their vibrancy even on not completely white fabric.

1 bottle goes a long way, so good value for your money.

 

 * Easy to work with, the accessory kit is a great addition!

 

* The drying time is quite long but can be speeded up by hanging the fabric in front of a heater or using

        a heat tool. This does not affect the colors.

 

 * The tools are quick and easy to clean with hand warm water and can be used numerous times.

 

 *  I missed an extra lid in the kit, which would have made it possible to mix my own colors.

 

*  It would also be great if there would be a lid that closes the sponge lids. Not so much to store the 

         bottles like this but if you have to leave your project for a short time it would be nice if you don’t 

         have to clean the sponges all the time.

 

All together this is a product that I really loved working with and that I definitely want to explore more. I absolutely recommend these textile dyes and paints for any project you have in mind using fabric!

 

Where to buy:

IZink: Aladine

Stamps and stencils: Carabelle Studio

 

Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy crafting!

 

Products used:

 

    

My Stamp Designs - Featured Artist Marsha Valk

A couple of months ago I got my own stamp line released with Carabelle Studio. Six beautiful sets of rubber stamps designed to be used in mixed-media, scrapbooking, art-journaling and card making. An amazing list of talented artist friends helped me promote these stamps and created some beautiful work.

In the upcoming weeks I will place these artist in the spotlights one by one, as they deserve, and today I'm introducing to you my dear friend Marsha Valk!

Marsha is an all-rounder. She goes from painting to scrapbooking and from art journaling to altered objects. I love her use of color and her brilliant out of the box ideas! I mean, come on... turning leafs into little fish... you just gotta love that, right?!!

The Dutch quote Marsha used says: Are you going to the beach? When you come back, can I have the sand from your shoes to put on the bottom of my aquarium? :D

Aren't those fish just awesome?! For this page Marsha used the "Leafs" set, which is one of my personal favorites.

I love the colorful strips Marsha created with the "I Heart Washi Tape" set on the next layout. And of course the picture of a happy Marsha who just received the stamp sets :) And how about the cool background paper of which she stamped the bottom half with the "Punchanella Background" stamp?

Note how the colorful circles, punched from stamped leafs add a fun extra accent to the page!

 

The colors on this mixed media canvas are to die for!! Oh my, I love them!

And the texture in the background created with modeling paste and the "I Heart Washi Tape" set is so yummy!

If you want to know how this background was created you can visit the Scrap365 blog where you will find a fun little tutorial with video on this by Riikka and Marsha.

If you are just as enthusiastic about Marsha's work as I am and you would like to see more from her then don't hesitate to visit her blog here.

Or find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marshavalk or on Instagram: Marsha Valk.

Thank you for stopping by today!

And in case YOU created something with one of my stamp sets, please drop me an e-mail with a picture or a link. I would LOVE to see!!

 

Stamp Marsha used in these projects:

   

 

Information on where to buy these stamps you can find in the "Where to buy my stamps" section in the navigation bar or by clicking here.

Happy crafting!

Love,