Product Review- Collage Pauge

My absolute favorite collage material is Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage from Aleene's.  I picked this up one day at  Artco, which is my favorite local (5 miles or less) craft store.
If you read my Urban Grunge Heart Tutorial, you know I bought this because one day when I went they were making glass magnets in-store, and my oldest daughter adored making the project, and begged me to buy all the stuff to make them at home, which included the Collage Pauge.

I bought a 16 oz bottle over a year ago and still have plenty left, after making magnets, canvases, altered items, plaques, and more. I have been very impressed at how long this stuff lasts.

I purchased the glossy version, but it comes in a matte, and the website says there is a sparkly option as well. This dries clear, and does not have that sticky feeling that some products have even when dry.  The texture is thick, and it has a greenish purplish cast when it is wet, but that goes away after drying.  I've managed to get this stuff to stick to paper, wood, canvas, plastic, glass, and cardboard. Once dry, this is pretty durable stuff.  I can't get this off my kitchen table, which is also the craft table, and kids table, so the whole thing is pretty much a mess with stickers, collage pauge, acrylic paint, markers and whatever else. Thank goodness for tablecloths!
 I have not had problems with this bubbling, and it seems to level itself as it dries, so paper I adhere has warped wet, and then dried flat.

I had to google the lady on the front to see who she is, because I had no idea. Traci Bautista is a mixed media artist with a bright and eclectic style.  According to the Aleene's site, Traci designed the art on the bottle. 

The only caution I can give for Collage Pauge is to test any ink you are using on scrap paper before you use the medium on it, as many inks such as pens and markers are picked up by this product despite being permanent or waterproof. If you test first, you know how it will react, and what to expect in your finished product.

My overall rating: 5/5

Gift Box

 

 I first learned about Kiwi Lane through Scrapbooksteals.com, and I picked up a few templates to play with.  I've done a few layouts that I will share later on, but I also used the templates to make this gift box.

I started with a Kraft colored paper mache box, and selected some papers that I wanted to use for the holidays. 

I used the mini wildflower templates, scallops, and the strip templates.  I plan to give my Mother-in-Law this box with her Christmas gift (nope! it's not bigger than a bread box!)

For me, the magic of the holidays is beautiful wrapping and decorations. It makes everything seem so very special, and I try to make sure my family gets to enjoy the beauty in even simple gifts.
Have you begun your holiday planning yet?

 

 

 

Our 3rd Anniversary

Creating something for the purpose of giving it to someone sometimes makes the process of creating easier. The emotions, memories, and thoughts you have around that person brings a depth of history to the creating process. I share this collage canvas because it captures a simple statement, a moment and celebrates my 3rd anniversary. A simple gift, a heartfelt gift, for my love. I used Authentique Celebrate, Free Bird, and Uncommon for the papers, and this little canvas says a lot without actually saying it. 

The background is a floral, but it looks a little like the large snowflakes that fell after our wedding, large and wet, which was a perfect ending to our day. The flowers remind me of the way he was always working in the yard when I would stop by, him wearing a cowboy hat and cursing at not being able to tell the difference between the weeds and the flowers.  They also remind me of the statment he made to me after we had been dating for some time, "I've been known to give flowers." The funny thing was, he may have been known for it, but had never given any to me.  To this day, I have recieved flowers from him once.  We still laugh about that. He told me he loved me the first time by saying "I could fall in love with you." The photo, taken at the swap meet, really captures the fun we have together, no matter the setting.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, I am looking forward to many more.



Valentine Canvas

I am loving making altered canvases.  This one was made for my husband on Valentine's day.  There is something fun about mixing media, and I adore how this turned out.

Supplies:
Paper- Authentique Journey
Paint- Daniel Smith Acrylic
Ribbon: May Arts

Spring

I have wanted to do a canvas for a while, and I got the inspiration to honor my favorite part of spring, the cherry blossom.

I collaged the background and the branch, and punched the blossoms.

Paper:
Authentique
Free bird
Uncommon
Gathering

Kissing ball redux

Some projects turn out so pretty that it's fun to explore changing them up. I did a second kissing ball for a friend who requested a neutral color scheme with robin egg blue.

I just love how this one turned out too.

Ribbon- May Arts
Paper- Authentique foundation. Journey and Gathering.

Kissing Ball

The intern in the office loves to decorate her cubicle for holidays. I thought this would be a sweet gift that fits her personality.

Coasters

My dearest friend Heather and I craft while our hubbys watch football and our kids play. Yesterday, she decided to make some amazing coasters and asked if I'd play along. I'm always in for a project with Heather. The funny thing about Heather and I is that we are very much inside each other's head. I had been meaning to make coasters for about 6 months.

Of course the project started with a trip to buy tiles. While the tiles were needed, the trip was needed more. We each have spent the last full week stranded in our homes with our wonderful husbands and children, who turned out to be less wonderful in a large dose with no escape. It snowed, then iced, then snowed. On my street each day began with neighbors digging out their cars only to get stuck, spin out, and eventually giving up to return home. Except for the one set of neighbors we helped dig out three times because they had to work. The weather brought a stout dose of cabin fever, so the supply run was a welcome escape.

When we returned, we sat down and began the task of making the coasters, about halfway through, T, Heather's hubby, walked through and surveyed the scene.
"What are you making?"
"Coasters"
"You know that's paper, right?"
"Yes"
"It's gonna get wet"
"Yes"
"It's paper" (at this point he calls Greg in to survey the situation.)
"Greg, they're making coasters"
"Cool" (Greg has learned not to question our awesomeness.)
"It's gonna get wet, so are you gonna seal that or something?"
Heather quickly answers "We're sealing it"
"But you need spray or something"
"You mean this spray?" Heather points to the spray can on the table.
Meanwhile, the game does something interesting, and the boys wander back to the TV.

After we have a laugh at the boys, we continued on. The coasters turned out beautifully. Each set turned out to really represent our style. Heather's in the muted pink and and grey paper, and mine in the vibrant hot pink.

ATCs Again

I am loving making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). I enjoy the limitation the size brings. It's a fun challenge to explore an idea or theme on a mini canvas.

For this round, I wanted to touch on an Asian theme. I mixed Kaiser Kraft and Crate Paper patterned papers with some black and white cardstock elements.

I like keeping a hand designed element on my cards, so I used a white Signo pen to draw designs on the seals.

To design my ATCs, I sketched out some ideas to get an idea for proportion and layout. I had decided to make these cards limited to stash items, and the Kaiser paper was one I loved, and it fit perfectly with the theme. The Crate Paper was left over from a layout, and was literally lying there when I was trying to put things together, which was a happy mess. I used my sketch to finalize the idea and made a prototype. Once it was fleshed out the rest of the series were created assembly style.

Artist trading cards (ATCs)

I made these for a swap. Each heart is hand drawn, and the cards are collages with a plain Kraft paper, and two text pattern papers, the darker is 7 gypsies.

I am excited to see what the other artists created. The challenge in making ATCs is adapting a technique to a 2.5x 3.5 in size. Many patterned papers are too large for the format, creating a unique way to share talent in a compact size.

Have you tried ATCs?