New Mercies Art Journal Page- Unity Stamp Co.

After my last post I am sure you are surprised to see more of my grungy funky side. These are projects that I took to CHA, so I want to post all of these before I get into creating more. This page is an art journal page that I created using a paper bag that is washed to look like suede. A simple technique I learned in kindergarten that apparently my artist heart couldn't let go of.

Art journaling is such an amazing way to express on paper what your heart and mind may be trying to tell you. I started art journaling during a tough time in my life, yet I continue to do so now just because I find that it is a great way to allow myself to stop and process things life and any sort of circumstances that come my way.

Mercies Art Journal Page 

Products used: Crafters Inks, Glitter (Clearsnap Inc.), Stamps (Liz Hicks Studios for Unity Stamp Co.), Adhesive (Dry- Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L and Wet- Beacon Adhesives), gesso (Liquitex), Pen (Sakura of America) Resin Paper (Created with Ice Resin), Punchinella, Doilies, Mylar  (Unknown). Sticker Letters (Prima Marketing Inc.)

 

By creating monochromatic papers with the stamps, I was able to create the mosaic background of the mountains and sky. This art journal page is pretty simple, even though it may look complex. Layering textures is a great way to "paint" with paper and in all honesty takes no time at all. It is a quick and simple way to create in a short amount of time with minimal clean up :)

If you are interested in purchasing these background stamps click here to see the Liz Hicks Studios page on the Unity Stamp Co. website. As of this morning the stamps are still on sale for 40% off, my Alphabet stamp is over 50% off! Great deals for stamps that are brand new, never released designs.

 

 Thanks for stopping by today, and remember to check out the giveaway we are having to support the launch of the new stamps. Check it out here for the details!

~Liz Hicks

Creative Crayons- Clearsnap Giveaway!

We are counting down to the last TWO episodes of Everyday Creative on My Craft Channel. I hope that this has been a fun adventure of techniques for you to enjoy. I know I have enjoyed getting to share each week with you a little tidbit of fun.

Next week is our GRAND FINALE which we will be creating a faux encaustic canvas. Along with that, we are having a BIG GIVEAWAY full of prizes from all of the companies that have participated with giveaways. So you will want to make sure you check back for that.

For this weeks episode, I am sharing a bit of creativity with wax crayons. you may remember a video I had created back a bit with using crayons in a glue gun... well this weeks video of Everyday Creative shows you that and BEYOND. Watch it here. Here are the two projects I used it this weeks episode.

Thanks 6x6 Card

The Real Me Art Journal Cover

Originally a part of PAJWLH (Progressive Art Journal Workshop with Liz Hicks) seen here.

Products used for both of these products are from Prima Marketing Inc and Clearsnap Inc

Both projects were created with techniques using crayons  and are featured on the episode of Everyday Creative- Creative Crayons. The art journal is a part of the free art journal workshop I offer here on my blog. If you would like to see more art journal prompts, click here.

The winner of last weeks prize package is: KATINA! Congrats!!!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


And for this weeks giveaway... We are featuring a collection of Clearsnap Goodies (Smooch ink and Smooch Spritz!) to enter in to this weeks prize, use the widget below. If it doesn't show up, refresh the page and it will load.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

This was another fun episode to share. I can't wait for next weeks episode... It is our last :( but It is good... and a whole lot of fun!!!

Thanks again!

~Liz Hicks 

Everyday Creative- Creative uses for Glass Bead Medium (GIVEAWAY)

So it is that time of the week again! A time to share this weeks episode for Everyday Creative with Liz Hicks over on My Craft Channel! Today's show is one of my favorites. For this show I am sharing some creative uses for Glass Bead Medium. What is Glass Bead Medium, you ask?  Well it is an gel based medium that has clear micro beads suspended in it. I haven't actually checked to see if the beads are glass, they seem to me to be more of a synthetic of some sort (depending on the brand), but either way it is gorgeous and sparkles beautifully. Your result is a beautiful clear gloss with a bumpy organic texture, pure and clear and absolutely beautiful... that is until you get creative with it and make it GORGEOUS!

Here are a few of the samples I used for this segment of Everyday Creative with Liz Hicks over on My Craft Channel.

Hope is the parent of Faith (Mixed Media Canvas Board)

 

Here is a close up of technique one I share on the video... For this technique I am using Creative Imaginations products with Glass Bead Medium

Bloom and Grow (Mixed Media canvas Board)

Close up of technique two I share using Clearsnap Inc products! 

 

And our WINNER for last weeks giveaway of Ice Resin and Clearsnap Products IS.....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for this weeks giveaway... we have a wonderful giveaway of prizes from BOTH Clearsnap AND Creative Imaginations! Make sure to use this widget below in order to enter into the giveaway (If it doesn't appear, hit refresh) ... There are some fun ways to enter that hook you up with these great companies!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks again for your support and for viewing the videos that I created for My Craft Channel. I hope you have enjoyed them, and feel free to let me know what you would like to see more of.


 ~Liz Hicks ♥

PAJWLH- Getting Started...

So this is our first post for our Progressive Art Journal Workshop! WOO HOO! I am so excited to get started :)

Right now I am sitting in a hotel room prepping for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association trade show) yet all I can think about is this fun amazing adventure we are all about to start! For our first post I thought I would keep it easy and share a simple prompt and supply list.

I have had a couple of you email or message me in regards to supplies for this art journaling workshop. Well this is a bit tough to write down in a list form as this is not exactly like a regular class that you would take.  The only items you will definitely need will be a surface (journal or pages) and a pen. I encourage you all to use what you have. There really is no reason for you to buy anything unless you see a pressing need for it. I will share with you products that I use and that I love and may even show you some fun techniques with these products but to purchase them is your choice, they are not mandatory for this course. Because we all have different tastes and aesthetics I would hate to see any of you spend your hard earned money on supplies that you might not even favor. So this list that I am providing is not a necessity list, mainly just some products that I really enjoy using. I will be adding supplies to this blog post as we progress through this year, especially if we find some products that are fun to share. This list should act merely as a list of suggestive items that I enjoy.  

Surfaces 

Depending on your work surface preference, you can work on pretty much any porous surface that you enjoy. Here are a few ideas to get started.

• sketch book
• drawing paper
• canvas sheets
• stretched canvas (If you choose to display your work)
• journal
• 80 lb (or heavier) cardstock

Pens and Pencils

• Micron Pen (20 and 05) These both are great for writing in your journals
• watercolor pencils
• oil pastels
• chalks (I use these very rarely, but they are cheap and come in handy)
• grease pen (China marker) This is something I use to outline a lot. Works great on most surfaces
• carbon pencil- basically this is a charcoal pencil without the organic iniquities. this is great for creating shadows and blends nicely with collage mediums. Here is a great guide to pencils if you are wondering the difference between the many types that are out there.

Paints/mediums

• acrylic paint, if you are just working in a personal journal craft paint (usually about .69-99 a bottle) should work just fine. If your art work is for display or gift try and use student or artist grade as the quality and pigment value will be higher and more durable.
• gesso- this might be another thing that you might use ofter. For one of the workshops we will work on starting over or prepping a page. Gesso works great for this, or even a few coats of white paint, but we will get into that a little later.
• watercolors- there are so many out there right now, especially in the scrapbook market. I use Clearsnap and Creative Imagination products and have found that they would wonderful, but again use what you have :)
• dyes- stamp pad re-inkers have become my go to for dying. I use Clearsnap for this as I have them on hand and have found that their concentration is strong. This just helps with having more flexibility if you use it as an additive to anything.
• modeling paste- This is just a fun product to play with and add depth to any project. This first project below I used a lot if modeling paste.
• gel medium/collage paste- basically something to stick stuff down with. You can use glue or modge podge for personal journals, if you are displaying your work I recommend gel medium as it is made for being displayed for long periods of time and I believe it has a UV protector in it.

Misc.

• Glitter- hardly ever do I create something without glitter. Glitter paint, glitter pens, dry glitter... the more sparkle the better in my book :) Glitter equals Happiness. Period.
• Patterned Papers- I have a basket that I throw my scraps into. This makes for quick and easy access for tidbits that I can grab as needed. I like to keep a variety of colors of patterned papers around. Helps to add visual depth yet still gives a fun pattern or hue.
• Handmade papers- These are sometimes pricey so I mostly use scraps from projects in my art journal. These papers are usually made of mulberry which has a beautiful organic texture to it. Now there are tons of additives that are thrown into the papers... they just keep getting better and better.
• odds and ends- any sort of ephemera that catches your fancy.
  

Places to find tools for this class:

First check your crafting closet. This is a great time for you to get resourceful with what you have. Don't have paint... use patterned paper and create a mosaic from your scraps. Can't find your scissors... just rip it. Another great place is your kids school supplies. I constantly use my kids art supplies, water colors, pastels, markers crayons. If you need color you can easily find it in your house in some way or another :) Anything else that I use I will recommend some places to purchase the product if you choose. Feel free to comment in any thread if you see a deal or bargain on art supplies, just please do not advertise for a company or store you work for. This is a safe place to create, we are here to support and help each other, not pressure anyone or load info that is not relevant.  

Prompt One:

Ok, so I am going to keep this one simple. This is a project that I created for the Charity Wings auction for this CHA. It is being auctioned off for the charities that they are promoting. With this project I started with no idea what I was doing... I simply sat down with some fun new products that I wanted to experiment with and had fun.

supplies used: 14x14 canvas, Paint (Plaid Industries) Grease Pen (Sharpie) Mask and Watercolors (Creative Imaginations), letter stickers Prima Marketing Inc. Inks, (Clearsnap, Smooch accent) Tsukineko (Staz-On Black), Vintage paper, Decoupage medium (Beacon, Fast Finish Decoupage), sequin, gems.

Side profile view showing flowers created with modeling paste and a Creative Imaginations mask. Canvas inked to show depth and add faux age/wear.

Close up of the verbaige... my son came up with this one ♥

 So for this part of the workshop let's start by creating a free form (meaning no specific guidelines) page to get the creative juices flowing. The title of this piece above was told to me by my 10 year old son. I love that even though he is young, he inspires me so. For the title of your page, use words of encouragement that you might give to someone. This is going to be a page that we will use in the future and revisit but for now, this will give us a good start at getting into the swing of creativity. Make sure that the back of your page is blank we will be doing something with that later. Also, if you have a blank cover to your project, keep it blank for now. When I return from CHA I am going to film a video of a cover idea you can use if you'd like. Feel free to post links to your page here. Seeing everyone's pages will be inspiring for all of us.

I hope this helps get things rolling for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I will try and get back to you while I am at CHA... but being that it is a little crazy right now please give me grace. I will try and respond to you quickly :)

Since I will be here at the show PLEASE let me know what it is that you would like to see. I am walking the floor (the first time, I am not in a booth... woo hoo!) so I can get up close and personal with products you might want to know about. Please let me know. Just comment here what you want to see and I will take pics, ask questions and video if I can.

Thanks for taking this first step with me on our creative journey. We are going to have fun this year!!!

~Liz ♥

Pin It

Quick and Easy altered Girls Shirt

If you haven't already figured it out, I am a fan of semi-homemade. Altogether this option works so much better for me than either trying to hunt down that perfect present, or hassling with trying to complete my idea from scratch. 

Anything from cooking, sewing, jewelry making... well anything crafty, has some sort of semi-homemade alternative. Although I still love to learn new crafts and adapt to my needs, around the holidays... Semi- Homemade is about all you can get out of me when time is so sacred.

I found this T-Shirt for our daughter on the clearance rack of Marshall's for about $4. It is a nice dark fushia (the coloring of the pics are a little off) With silver thread finishes. 

Since this shirt was already kind of sparkly, it made a really nice base to alter to my liking.

Here is the neckline which I hand stitched different elements to.

Here is a close up of the detail of the hand beading I did along the original stitched neckline. For this use a thin beading needle and some bugle beads and simply follow the outline of the original stitching to create this nice sparkly detail.If you are making this for a young child, you may want to double stitch or knot in between stitches just to make sure that the beading remains durable. If you knot in between, this will also insure that if a bead does come off, it will not effect the remaining beads, and you will only have to replace one.

Here is the floral cascade that I created with some Prima Marketing Inc. trim. This trim is pretty popular. If you don't find this trim at your local scrapbook store, you could possibly find it at your local fabric/trim/craft store sold by the yard. I hand stitched each rosette starting from the middle and worked by way to the outer edge by spiraling my stitch out towards the edge. This is a basic stitch, nothing fancy. The one recommendation I do have is that you use a like colored thread and also hide your stitches by stitching the netting backing rather than the rosette itself. This will allow the rosette to remain full as intended.

Here is the full shirt, again... not sure why the coloring is off, but since I wrapped the present already, I can't take new pics... (Note to self, check pics BEFORE wrapping next time!) But being that these pics were taken with my I Phone... I really can't complain :)

 

So if you are in need for a last minute gift idea, but don't want to break the budget (time and money!) this is a simple and easy solution. And it would be made by you which makes it extra special :)

So check your local clearance rack, pull out some thread and maybe pick up some beads and trim (5 rosettes) and create something beautiful! I think the retail value of this project is around or under $10 so it is handmade affordable, which is always a plus in my book :)

Enjoy!

~Liz ♥

Prima Class at CHA, MY ROMANCE

I was asked a short while back by Prima Marketing Inc to teach one of their CHA classes. They have this great program available at CHA where they open up their booth to attendees to take some fun classes offered by some of their teachers. I was kind of in a scramble to get things together for this, but I think it is a pretty little album, full of romantic goodies. I used their Botanical collection for this sweet album. Can you imagine the sweet memories you could fill in this album! It seriously could be used for any occasion. I will also be using some fun Ranger Ink products in this class too!


If you are attending CHA, I will be teaching this class on Saturday January 29th, 3:30 pm - 5 pm. To sign up either email Rebecca Gawryl at Rebecca@primamarketinginc.com or call her at (909) 627-5532 extension 206.

Hope to see you there!

~Liz

This girl has STYLE...

I am not sure exactly at what point my daughter began her fashion sense. I would love to say that she gets it from me, but let's be real here... she has barely seen me in anything but jammies and jeans since she was born.

I guess it is just the girl in her. In this picture she has quite a few things going on. She was wearing a bright printed tunic, with this leopard print hat and she had just had her adorable face painted. But even with all of this going on... this face is simply her and just so cute!


Here is the layout that I did for my Guest Designer Spot over at Couture Cardstock in full, I re purposed a frozen pizza insert for the circle. I then drenched it in Marshmallow Glimmer Mist and added some Tinsel Town Glimmer Glam for that added POP. together this really made the cardboard circle look like pressed metal.

You can see here that the Prima pearl and flower swirls were painted with Oil Slick Glimmer Glaze. I just love the look of these black roses.


Here is a close up picture of one of Heidi Swapp's new Custom Cut out tags that was Glimmer Misted with Frozen Lake and then glammed with Chandelier Glimmer Glam. The trim around the circle is silver sting of pearls from a craft store.

I TOTALLY LOVE THIS! This is some white rosette ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby. I glimmer Misted it with Turquoise Blue and Sapphire Glimmer Mist and then added a hint of Tide Pool Glimmer Glam for that little added sparkle. You can see the glitter on the netting. I LOVE this!!!!
And well what over the top layout wouldn't be complete with a feather? LOL. I had these feathers left over from Halloween and put them to good use here. Well one to good use, I mean anything more and this layout would have been gaudy! (-I say this in jest... I know... I am gaudy with about most I do...but I embrace it!-)

And tucked on top of glimmer misted party crepe (I sewed a seem down the middle to gather the crepe) is this gorgeous title in the brand new Heidi Swapp Gothic Alphas. These have a resist on the letters that make a nice two tones effect when you use an art medium over them. I used Cinder Glimmer Mist which is a beautiful pitch black with a blue glimmer.
I know... As if this layout didn't have enough going on... I added lace to the black background. This is that gathered lace that you buy by the spool (the kind that looks like a lace ruffle) This made a nice frame around the center of the layout and since the center of the layout is circular, the lace circled the layout nicely. I just sewed down the frame of the black cardstock and trimmed the excess lace off.

And last but not least... this gorgeous bloom flanks the right side of the page. I created the base of this flower in a video I did for the Wear Your Adhesives on the outside" Blog Hop. The center is Prima Crystals that I assembled with my Crafty Power Tape.

I know this layout is a bit much, but I can't help but love the vibrancy of color and texture that it has. So many things going on with this layout, but they all make me smile...


Thanks for stopping by today :)

~Liz

A little bit of ROCK AND ROLL...

A few of us on the Tattered Angels team were asked to alter a Clip it up by Simply Renee. These fabulous storage units take up little space, yet offer a great way to organize. I used mine to store my glimmer screens and stamps.






Hop on over to the Tattered Angels blog to see more pics and my story behind why I decorated my Clip it Up with a little Rock and Roll. Kind of a funny story, but what can I say... have to stick true to who I am :)


~Liz

A big THANK YOU Giveaway!!!!

Well, we are wrapping up our month long blog hop and have truly enjoyed the wonderful and amazing support all of you scrappers have shown us. Our challenge for our "Wear your Adhesives on the outside" blog hop for SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L was to have everyone participate in our techniques. But being that most of you probrably don't have the time or all of the supplies that we shared, we did not get a response to our challenge. SOOOOO what me and Nathalie Kalbach are BOTH doing is a GIVEAWAY of some awesomely fantastic products. All you have to do is.....

LEAVE A COMMENT RIGHT HERE ON THIS POST

And you will be entered into a random drawing for a GREAT prize including a ton of SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVE BY 3L products AND some of the favorites that were featured in our blog hop tutorials. You have until SUNDAY APRIL 11TH to post. A winner will randomly be picked and posted on Monday.

How simple is THAT???

Thank you all again for checking out and interacting with our blog hop. It was tons of fun. So much fun that I have decided to do it again this month with another "out of the box" crafter. I will be joining forces with Marion Smith from A Piece of Craft. We have a very similar approach to product and I hope that our wild and crazy ideas will spark some ideas of your own! We are still figuring out the details, so as soon as we figure a start date and such... I will let you all know!


Thanks again!

~Liz

Another yummy inexpensive Christmas treat...

So this is a recipe that I found on the Prima blog a few years back, it is again so very easy and so very yummy! Check it out here:


Prima Christmas Tin and Oreo Cookie Truffles courtesy of Brittany Laakkonen

I hope that this is getting your creative wheels turning on some inexpensive yet yummy gifts to give for the holidays. I truly believe that hand made shows a certain quality that store bought just can not replicate.

I will try and whip up some samples of this truffle recipe to share pics with you all this weekend... Until then enjoy your sweet treats!

Birthday Giveaway!!!!

So today was my birthday and although I turned 31 ( you have to admit 31 is not one of those years that you expect to be big) you would have thought it was momentous occasion considering the day I had.


It started with the sweet chorus of my family singing Happy Birthday CHA CHA CHA to me. The more CHA's the better!

I was only suppose to work for three hours today, but as any job goes the hours were just not enough so James offered to take off early and pick up the kids so I could finish up. Although I didn't leave there till after 5:30, I was so blessed to have that time to catch up. What a great feeling knowing that monday I can start fresh and not feel the burden of lingering items.

The creme de la creme was my cupcake celebration!

Here are some shots of the sweet cupcake bash that Tattered Angels threw for me.

I had to run and grab my camera for this nice little shot.

Wendy took this pic of me blowing out the candle.

And of course digging into my cupcake.
Me and Michelle trading frostings, we had the most amazing cupcakes!
And the after math leftovers. We had chocolate with butter creme frosting, vanilla with chocolate fudge frosting and my favorite red velvet with cream cheese frosting!

After all of this I came home to a warm house with my kids screaming for me. It's doesn't get any better :)

So of course in honorary tradition... There must be a birthday giveaway!

I am thinking that I am going to dig into my Prima stash and find a nice little assortment of product to give ( I still have a TON of Winter CHA 2009 product that I have yet to open!) also some great adhesive from SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L and also your choice of 3 bottles of Glimmer Mist.

So here is the deal:

Post a comment to this blog post about what you have liked about my blog and what you would like to see in my blogs future. I am swirling with ideas on directions to take my blog and would love to hear feedback from all of you. Also with 31 being one of those non descript years, I really want to make this year count and what better way than to do so with my friends along side with me!

I will then pick a winner on Monday randomly from all of those who post a remark to this thread. If you post more than once it is ok, I am looking for ideas so the more the merrier!

Thank you all for your continual support and friendship and here is to making 31 COUNT!

My bit of Joy to share... with of course a giveaway!

It is official...

I can now announce that I will be joining the staff of Tattered Angels. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching and designing for them and now I will thoroughly enjoy working for them! I have been hired by Tattered Angels to be their Education Coordinator. I will be assisting the team with all things educational and also helping to develop and stream line educational system for them that will insure that no matter where you are or who you are being taught by, you will get the same educational experience.

This being said, you will notice some changes in my blog... I will no longer be an Endorsed Educator for Prima Marketing Inc. I have enjoyed my time with Prima and am excited with where their team is headed, but with this new position I need to readjust my priorities and make it a point to give my full attention to this new position. I will finish off the remainder of my contract and teach Prima classes through the end of June. I will continue to design for Bad Girls kits and SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L as I really do enjoy having a creative outlet to retreat too!

So with my good news, I want to pass along an RAK or giveaway to celebrate!!!

I will randomly pick a winner for TWO prizes:

First prize being a set of 5 one ounce bottles of GLIMMER MIST in a variety of colors. For this prize I will randomly pic a winner from anyone who posts a comment to any thread on my blog from today till friday (midnight PST). I will announce the winner Monday Morning after I tally the comments and pic a random winner.

The Second will be a BIG assortment of my Prima goodies. (acrylic album, lace, flowers, bling, the works!). This prize will be randomly picked from my subscribers list, so if you are a subscriber, you are already entered! If not, just sign up to the right and you will be entered into the rak. For all subscribers, you will get updates when I post something new on my blog and if I do any RAK's or have any information of manufacturers releases or RAK's than you will be the first to know! I will pick a random winner on Saturday so you will need to be a subscriber by friday at midnight (PST) to qualify. I will post the winner on monday when I post the other winner.

So you can see where my heart was on monday when I did my previous post. I just cannot express enough just how important it is to be confident in who you are and what your purpose is. I know that I may not always be doing what it is I am doing now, but I do know that regardless of where I am or what I am doing, that it is purposeful and that it is in the hands fo God. I would much rather be yanked away from doing something I love than to be going against his purpose for me. And even if you are not sure just what your purpose is at this moment, just have peace in what it is you are doing right now, when the time is right... it will find you! It may not always be what we WANT it to be, but it will always be what we need it to be at the right time!

Thanks for all of you love and support through the years! Here is to new adventures and new friends to be made along the way!

~liz

Upcoming Classes -Chino and Monrovia

Hey Everyone!!!

Before I forget, I wanted to announce some of my upcoming classes. These will be the only classes I will be teaching for now. June will wrap up my local classes for a while. During the summer I have been asked by Tattered Angels to teach at a few conventions and I am also teaching a CHA class for retailers sponsered my Tattered Angels and Graphic 45. So because of this I have to put my classes on hold for the summer. I really hope you can come by one of these classes and say hello!

Chino Scrapbook Company has Changed their name to Metropolitan Scrapbook Company!!!

They are celebrating their 1st year anniversary and have asked me to come by and teach a class to help celebrate!

LIFE in COLOR- Prima Creative Paintable Class

June 13th, 2009 3:30 pm

Metropolitan Scrapbook Company

4479 Riverside Dr

Chino, Ca 91710

909-547-2008

http://www.metroscrappin.com

info@metroscrappin.com

Natural Beauty- Tattered Angels Mini Album

Scrap N' Yap

830 South Myrtle Avenue

Monrovia, CA 91016
Tel: 626-35-SCRAP

626-357-2727

info@scrap-n-yap.com

http://www.scrap-n-yap.com/index.html

**NEW** Catch a WAVE Tattered Angels Summer Mini Album

This class will be a little different than the Nature album. In this class you will learn some brand new techniques such as Using Glimmer Mist to emboss AND Reverse imaging.

Scrap N' Yap
830 South Myrtle Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016Tel: 626-35-SCRAP
626-357-2727
info@scrap-n-yap.com
http://www.scrap-n-yap.com/index.html

I really hope to see some friends and meet some new friends at these upcoming classes. If you have any questions feel free to email me at primadonnaliz@yahoo.com

Thanks and have a great week!

~Liz