Bad Girls Project 52 Challenge #9 Wooden Blank/Botanical/Wire

That time again...

Bad Girls Project 52 Challenge #9!

http://wendyrago.typepad.com/project52/2010/02/challenge-9-wooden-blankbotanicalwire-mixed-media-.html

Required:
~Wooden Blank
(any shape/subject, found, repurposed, or purchased)
~Theme – Botanicals
(flowers, leaves, trees, tropical, forest, real/fantasy, or etc…)
~Required material – Wire
(metallic, old/new, covered, colored, thin/thick, or etc…)"

STEAMPUNK!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

Recently my fiancee and I have re-discovered a fascination with this genre...

and it allows for a plentiful bounty of fun sh-tuff to create in, around and for it!

I started with my wood base, a clock face. It's already been 'harvested' of the hands and general mechanics for other projects.

Printed off a title & blurbs on both The Chaos Theory and The Butterfly Effect. Same sheet had the Delorean, Tardis and other 'time machines' on it.

Wanted this to be a Steampunk 'statement' on some of the 'dangers' of time travel. ;O)

Printed a vintage Butterfly sheet, wasn't sure which one I'd be using til the rest all came together. Gathered together some VCR Cogs and bits we'd already harvested, spray painted most of them. Raided all my crafty bins for lace, tattered ribbons (great use for stained and crumpled things!), jewelry bits, clock faces, dice, thread... stuff! This is one of those projects that makes me very happy that I save all sorts of lovely, junk-y, bits & pieces...

Just. for. times. like. THIS!!!

Then I set to work... heavy on the Glue Gun.

The written papers were ripped & crumpled and then soaked in brown, then yellow water 'tinted' with reinker. The pictures just in brown. The butterfly was carefully cut out, then coated in Crystal Effects and sprinkled with Art Glitter to get a 'resin' look.

I took a LOT of photos, because this is just such a full project.

Lots to see and read...

ENJOY!!!

I'm deliriously happy with how well this turned out.

Now proudly displayed in our living room.

Some of the supplies, before:

Full Project:

Close Up at the Bottom:

Close Up at the Top:

Closer to the Center:

Closer to the Writing:

The Hanging Decorations:

More detail Shots:

The Butterfly:

For My Sweetie...

This year I made Greg an 'ABC's of YOU!' book.

Looooooots of time but not to expensive... God Bless the $ stores! lol

It's a bound and sewn book.

I started by using leftover cardboard from the back of a pattern paper pad, covered with pattern paper with a pattern paper liner on the inside. Also covered an addition piece of cardboard for the spine binding. The pages are colored (light) cardstock glued back to back. I Crop-O-Dile punched everything and 'sewed' it together with sheer ribbon. I prepared and decorated all the pages before stitching it together so I'd know how loose to make it, to allow for the bulkier embellishments. I did it a ~little~ snug so it'd be more of a 'display on a shelf' book than a 'sit in a pile' book...

IE. It's puffy!

Each page has a tab on it, I did these very random...

The ABC's were all printed out, cut, inked then glued in. The 1st letters are foam ($ store purchased, 1/2 left) traced over with a silver paint pen.

Some of the pages are backed in Memo-Pad Paper, most in pattern paper...

Quite a few of the images are from a set of vintage-y Valentines I picked up at the 2nd hand store for 25 cents (still have 1/2 leftover for future projects too), some of the images were free-clip art. The rest is a assortment of sticker's from the $ store. I killed off 4 sheets... lots of hearts and dragonflies (which are important to us both).

The paper, tabs and strips were all from a Fiskars kit I got for $5 at Staples because 2 of the photo corners were missing (tooooo good to pass up!) Gems and Bling all snagged out of my regular stash.

The charms are an assortment of old jewelry (vintage rose heart), kid offerings (2 crystal hearts Thomas brought my home from school) and actual Charms (lock, key and dragonfly).

As perfect as I wanted this to be... *le sigh* I still managed to goof something!

The 'S' and the 'R' are reversed. ahh... well... it's as quirky as me. ;O) I know Greg'll appreciate that.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

XOXOXOXO

Front of the Book:

Back of the Book:

Full Cover folded out:

Close up if the Spine Binding:

Side Views:

Charms:

Inside the Book:

THICK Art Journal Page...

Week 5 Art Journal Prompt on 'Your Life Spelled Out'

http://yourlifespelledout.blogspot.com/
Prompt: My Voice
I know you can't see it but this has at least 12 layers of paint on it... I started with a print off of all the words from the 'Mom Song' by Anita Renfroe
You NEED to see the video if you havn't already:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8813101202766308044#

Journaling:
If you've ever heard the
Mom Song by Anita Renfroe you
know how my day goes with 4 boyz,
2 dogs, a bunny, a fish and a fiancee who's
schedule that leaves me Solo-Parenting

about 98% of the time. It's no wonder
MY VOICE becomes WHITE NOISE and
I'm left frustrated and SEEING COLORS!

Mom Song Lyrics:
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/anita_renfroe/the_mom_song.html

Gutter Girlz Challenge: Prompt #33

Rumours of my death are not nearly as exaggerated as they may seem. ;O)
Due to a condition I have as a result of kidneys that no longer work 100% I take a medication to help process purine and unfortunately the major side effect is that it lowers my white blood cell count. We've had a few drippy noses and coughs this season but luckily nothing too serious, still it takes me longer to recover than everyone else. This time we got a WHOOPER of a bug. I'm into week 2 with no end in sight... yet. So I've been sleeping and whining, whining and sleeping... enough already!
I dragged myself to my crafting 'nook' and made myself work today...
I worked on the newest Gutter Girlz Prompt:
http://guttergirlz.blogspot.com/search/label/Challenges
THE PROMPT:
Kiss My ASS
THE SONG:
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE:
Chain"

I LOVED doing this... lots of fiddly little bits & pieces...
This is the final Full 12 X 12 page:

Journaling:
2009 was the last year of my old painful life.
I've locked that time away and thrown away the key...

An' I only feel good
When I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
~Joan Jett~ Bad Reputation

2010 is the year I take charge...
This is the year I'm doing what I want to do.
not what the world wants me to do!

An' I'm only doin' good
When I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
~Joan Jett~ Bad Reputation

This year everyone can...
kiss MY ASS-itude!

Rub Ons:
Freedom
Dream
Love
Live

Close-Up of the 2009 Chest:

I printed of a 'free' image of a an old trunk, glued it on light cardboard then cut it out with an exacto knife. Attached the chain and locks with (my favorite) Craft Goop. Then attached the whole sh-bang to the page with more Goop. Added a skull & cross bones rub-on.

Close-Up of the 2009 Keys... being tossed:

Attached with... you guessed it! More Goop!

Close-Up of the title:

Lips and Crown are rub-ons... The 'M' is actually a 'W' I thought it made more of a statement than the little 'm' that came with that set. The 'Y' is a 'V' trimmed off with the top curl from a 'G'... again, just more oompf!