Loaded Chipboard Tags

You've heard of Loaded Baked Potatoes? 

Well, these are my Loaded Chipboard Tags

for my Design Team post

from 

Retro Cafe Art Gallery!

So let's take a tour through the shop and pick up some fun

pieces of ephemera to "load" onto 

our Tags!

I started with a set of
Chipboard Christmas Magic Tags

 that are just plain 3 3/4 x 2 inch tags with great designs cut into the bottom edges.

And all you have to do to get these magical background
shimmers, is paint on a few
Opal Magic paints from Finnabair.

 In order to get the gorgeous shine to show up in a picture,
you have to have light shining on it.

So this shows the contrast between the tag and the paint....and my
well-used kraft mat.

I decided to use 3 tags so I wouldn't put you to sleep,
but these 3 show you how the colors are easily
blended to create a rainbow of color.

I used Jet Black Archival Ink and stamped onto the tags.

It works perfectly on the paints.

I listed the products under each tag for your convenience.
(I'm always thinking of you.)

The Metalliques were used on the Cut-Out Masonite pieces,
and were glued on using Soft Matte Gel.

I did base coat the Masonite with Heavy White Gesso so the
colors show up really bright and clear.

Compass Rose Cut-Out

Star Mix Cut-Outs

Heart Mix Set

Dress Form Cut-Out

Tim Holtz Heart Charm

Merry and Bright Collage Sheet

This one has a Relics and Artifacts cherib
in the center I painted as well.

White pen marks just brighten it up a bit.

Relics and Artifacts Facia Familiaris

Mini Baroque Frame

Victorian Flourish Cut-Out

Valentine Word Cut-Out

The little Hand Trinket Shrine front has a cute vintage
picture in it, and some white gesso stamping on the front.

The tiny Ornate Fleurs raise the Word Scroll up,
and the Heart Skeleton Key adds a bit more shine
using 2 shades of paints.

Hand Trinket Shrine

Ornate Fleur Cut-Out

Heart Skeleton Key Cut-Out

Aqua and Orange Collage Sheet

Christmas Word Scroll Cut-Out

These are the stamps I used, and the colors of paints. Most of the
Metalliques are mixtures of a darker and a lighter
shade to create contrast.

I love how the Fresh Orange and Royal Red blended for
a gorgeous color all it's own on the
dress form.

Finnabair Stamps - Net and Wire, Now Is The Right Time, Rust to Dust

Finnabair Opal Magic Paints - Blue-Gold, Violet-Gold, Yellow-Blue, Rose-Gold
Finnabair Metalliques -  Rich Turquoise, Light Patina, Royal Red, Lime Peel, Fresh Orange, Dark Velvet, and Gold Rush
Finnabair - Heavy Black Gesso, Heavy White Gesso, Soft Matte Gel

So dig into your stash, and create some fun little tags that you
can send off for Mother's Day or add to a page or card.

Put 3 on a small canvas and you've got a wall hanging!!!

Linda

Listen to Your Heart - A Journal Page

 I think more and more, people are so busy that they have little time to peruse blogs like they used to.

But I've decided to keep plugging away,
and share a bit of journaling with you using many products from
Finnabair's Mixed Media Place and 

Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

My two 

favorite places for supplies!!!

It's just for fun, so enjoy the ride.

I like to cut my pages out, work on them,
 and then add them back in with some Tissue Tape.

This is from a page in my large Dylusions Journal that I'd sprayed 

with Dylusions Sprays a long time ago.

Finding something already started is always a bonus!

You can see the stenciling and background color.
 I added Walnut Stain here and there and thinned with water,
and then did some ghosting to remove color.

The white stenciling is done using the Mechanica stencil and 3D Gloss Gel.
It dries shiny for a really cool effect.

You can add metallic paints and stamped images to them when dry.

The Chipboard Art Script Word Cuts 

from Retro Cafe Art Gallery 

are painted with several colors of Metallique Paints.

 I love them. 

Here I used sets #6 and #7. 

This just shows the beginning of the layering of colors.

I added Wild Fuchsia, Dark Velvet, Royal Red, Brass Hardware, 

and Gold Rush  to create a luscious rainbow of colors for the finale.

I added the Mechanica stencil again using Jet Black Archival Ink. 

When dry, I used a white Sharpie pen to add accents all around the page. 

Heavy White Gesso and the Harlequin stencil break up the deep color. 

The Blue and Black Gel pens are used to outline the stenciled areas. 

I love how the white gesso picks up the water-based sprays underneath 

to make a watercolor effect on the diamonds.

More stenciling is added around the page using Heavy Black Gesso and the Honeycomb and Checker stencils.

The next thing to add is a few rolled stampings with archival inks using 

the Messy, Wire Net, and Industrial Clear stamps.

I used several more pens to add highlights and shadows, 

but I needed more light and contrast. 

So I got out the white gesso to create rings and lines.

 It helped to break up the dark areas.

Links throughout the post are to 

Retro Cafe Art Gallery in the USA, 

and links at the bottom of the post are to Finnabair's 

Mixed Media Place in Ireland. 

Hope you're inspired to play and create a page of your own.

Your Friend in ART,

Linda

Mixed Media Place Supplies from Finnabair:

Heavy Black Gesso - Heavy White Gesso

3D Gloss Gel

(All 3 above items are in the Essentials 6 Pack)

Clear Stamps - Messy, Wire Net and Industrial

Stencils - Honeycomb, Checker, Harlequin, and Mechanica

Metallique Paints - Wild Fuchsia, Dark Velvet, Royal Red, Gold Rush and 

Brass Hardware

A Vintage Age-Old Journal Cover

Hello everyone!

I had soooooo much fun decorating the cover of my 

Finnabair Journal

with a bunch of the new products.

You will be amazed at what you can do with a few layers. I think it looks like something you unearthed at a dig sight.....maybe. 

I hope you'll follow along and get some inspiration to play. And don't forget

to jump over and see all the great tutorials on the 

Finnabair Blog.

I removed the cover off by gently separating the rings just enough to pull off the cover.

The new Moulds/Molds, (spelling based on where you live I guess) from
Iron Orchids Designs at Prima, were used to make several
pieces with black low-temp hot glue.

I painted the cover with Heavy Black Gesso and glued 2 pieces to the 

cover with 3D Matte Gel. 

Then I painted all around the molded pieces with Gold Rush . Next, I added a 

mixture of Steampunk Copper and Texture Powder on top in several spots.

This creates the rough, vintage plaster texture.

I decided I wanted more texture in the background, so I used 3D Gloss Gel and
the Lattice Stencil on the corners.

If I was any kind of a planner, this probably would've been better
as a step BEFORE gluing down the mold pieces. :)

You can see the 2 different colors create an aged gold patina.

Then I started adding more color with some Turquoise Inka Gold and 

Metallique Paints.

The foreground shows the Violet/Green Opal Magic brushed onto the stenciled area. 

I just went crazy with all the Opal Magic paints. They are too wonderful for words

when applied to a black background. Check them all out. 

I also added White Crackle Paste around the molded pieces and sprinkled 

Mini Art Stones and Art Stones on top while still wet. 

You can see here that I've started adding more color to the molds with paints and 

Mica Powders+Water Sprays.

Layers, and layers, and more layers.

I dropped Walnut Inks around the edges and into the stones so it seeps into

the Crackle Paste cracks.

I sprayed Walnut Ink and added water to tone it down, and then blotted it off.

This corner shows the brilliance of the many Opal Magic Paints I used on the 

Black Gesso and Stenciled areas, as well as more Mica Spraying with Blue, Bottle Green, Purple, and Copper in water.

The last layer is Black India Ink that created great contrast.

This is a detail shot of the Art Stones and the wonderful shine of the Mica Paints and Sprays.

The lower right corner is the knob closure with lots of yummy layers of color.

Each way you turn it, you get a different shine of Mica color. This shows the great

Copper color and slight tinges of purple.

I honestly wish I could tell you exactly how that occurred, but I would be guessing.

I think it's where the Purple and Black Cherry Mica Spray ran together.

This is just one more angle with the colors and contrast from the India Ink.

The Walnut Ink really aged the White Crackle Paste and seeped down into the
cracks for a bit of color.

I hope you've enjoyed this. I know I did.

 I really broke out all the sprays and Opal Magics to just add color everywhere with abandon.

Create Art!

Linda

Opal Magics Used:

Aqua/Rose, Yellow/Blue, Pink/Blue, Green/Gold and Violet/Green.