It's "Hip 2 B Square": Oomphing Up a B&W Project with...GLITTER (yeah, baby)

Greetings, crafters and craftresses!

September 4th is the FINAL DAY over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity's challenge contest event "Hip 2 Be Square"...which means you gotta hurry and enter your own squarey art project to win prizes like gift certificates for a shopping spree at Lost Coast Designs (purveyors of the most deliciously quirky stamps out there)!

As a member of the Lost Coast Design Team, I have a featured project over at the Portal today: a glitter squares tile. Here it is...BEHOLD! (But, darlings, what makes this look so cool IRL doesn't photograph well. What would that X-factor be, you ask? Why, GLITTER! Opalescent light-refracting eye-catching GLITTRAGE. You know I love me some sparkle and shine...)

How did I get the glitter factor going on this tile of squares within a square? Why, dear reader...'twas glittered embossing powder.

I stamped the Bird Square from Carmen's Veranda in black ink on two pieces of white cardstock, then embossed the images with Black Sparkle EP...

...then cut out the white squares and mounted them on squares of black cardstock.

(Here's a closeup of the black embossing, showing a little of the glittering going on!)

Next, I stamped the nicely coordinating Calligraphy Square (also from Carmen's Veranda) (you may note that there are quite a few of these square tile stamps over there that harmonize nicely together) in white ink onto two pieces of black cardstock. I covered the ink with a homemade mixture of opaque white and clear glitter EPs, and melted it with my trusty heat tool. Then I cut out the black squares and mounted them on squares of white cardstock.

Here's how the white looks all a-glitter:

I then mounted all four glittery squares onto a larger square of black board, and topped it off with a square faceted black rhinestone. You know, for shine and all.

Easy-peasy, but with a little sparkle to make it speshul.

You see that comment box below right there? It's for you! (It's much more fun when I have you to talk to.)

Medieval(ish) Stamp Art: "Le Lièvre" (The Hare)

Greetings darlings! Today I have some art featured over at the Lost Coasters' Review blog as a little designer's inspiration for their "Hip 2 B Square" project challenge. (Share some of your art and be entered to win a gift certificate at Lost Coast Designs' stamp store! Click here for details!) 

I thought I would tell you a little more about the thinking behind my featured piece--"Le Lièvre" (The Hare)--and how it was made...

For the "square" theme, I chose this Rabbit Square stamp  from Carmen's Veranda:

Although I assume from the "cracks" indicated by the artist indicated that this image is supposed to represent a tile, its "feel" put me in mind of something from a medieval tapestry, perhaps along the lines of the famous series of The Lady and the Unicorn:

...and at first I thought I might try to suggest a tapestry in my project. But the image ALSO reminded me of an initial from a medieval manuscript...something like this one from Orleans MS 9 at the British Library:

So upon further reflection, it seemed to me that it would be easier as well as more natural to suggest a manuscript than a tapestry, since mine would be a paper project after all.

To give the proper "medieval initial" gestalt, I needed GOLD. (You may have noticed by now that I rarely pass up the opportunity for a little metallic shine.) So I stamped the Rabbit Square on heavy ivory watercolor paper, and embossed the crap out of it with liquid gold. (Yeah, baby!!)

I then set about laboriously painting the image with water-soluble oil pastels in shades of green, blue, and gray, keeping the bunny buff-brown and "white." I didn't want the color to look flat and even, but to have a bit of watercolor effect to lend some life to the otherwise static composition. 

Next I wanted a border. In keeping with the medieval theme, Lost Coast Designs has the most awesome, ravishing Antique Text Border stamp that HAD to go on this project. I just love it. You'll probably be seeing me use it every chance I get!

Isn't that gorgeous and amazing? The letters definitely looked very tapestry-like and more woven (rather than written) to me (shades of The Bayeux Tapestry?), but it was super-atmospheric, and it was going on my project!

So I stamped the border on a scrap piece of the watercolor paper (instead of stamping directly around the painted image) because I wanted to miter the corners instead of having them overlap. I embossed the text border with MOAR SHINY GOLD before painting with the oil pastels, then cut it out and mitered the corners around the center image.

The finished result looked like this:

BUT because the gold isn't really shiny enough for my liking in the photo above, here's another where you can really see it catch the light. AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh...

Aren't these cool stamps? I am such a history nerd that I found these quite exciting.  :)  And there you have my finished project: "Le Lièvre" (or The Hare--but wanted to keep that French medieval vibe, you know!)  ;)

And hey--there's still time to join in on the Hip 2 B Square challenge--it runs through September 4! Enter your square-themed projects for one or more chances to win a prize. (The rules are on the Lost Coast Portal To Creativity blog.) Join in the fun!

Talk to me by leaving a comment below! I love chatting with you guys. Would love to hear what you think of these historical images.