Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is upon us again!

 For this card, I used Rubbermoon stamp Winter Solstice (jc1033).

I busted out the Art Spinner to create a floaty space background.  A toss of glitter across wet paint was a fine addition.

I stamped Winter Solstice girl using Staz On black ink and colored her in with Caran d'Ache Watercolor Crayons.

 I cut out the funky lettering from a old issue of Alaska magazine.  My letter "C" is actually an altered "G".  Each letter was then boxed off with white pen.

Let the celebration of light begin!

Happy Solstice from Kersten!

Life Glitter - Rubbermoon * Imagine Crafts Cross Promotion

Be sure to visit the IMAGINE Crafts and RubberMoon blogs daily for more projects and ideas!

Life Glitter - Rubbermoon * Imagine Crafts Cross Pomotion

Here is the gathering of goods, the step in the creative process in which all possible art supplies get stacked on the top of my desk for possible use.  In this case, Kae Pea's New Moon stamp paired with a VersaMark Marker and two bottles of Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko.

Additionally, Tsukineko Fireworks! and Staz On ink rounded out my pile, along with bits and pieces of pretty paper, ribbon, and other ephemera.

Fireworks! on the page, emboss dried before stamping and embossing Kae Pea's Wings.

Streak directly to paper Staz On Ink, Blue Hawaii.  I must add that these midi ink pads are amazing! :)

Finally - assemblage.  Layer pretty papers, wings to the moon, "Life glitter" circles, and dusting of glitter here and there.  This is my Life Glitter.

Reindeer Moon Child of the Universe Postcard

Sometimes you just have to run with whimsy.


Yes, a moon child can have antlers.  She can be whatever she chooses to be.  And in this case, she is reindeer moon child with cool witchy shoes.

She started out as a Bingo card with an added layer of torn, vintage paper.  Red Lead Paperworks provided the background star stencil for for this occasion.  I inked red and olive green stars to the card and outlined most of them with a gold Sharpie pen.


The little dress is a layered affair using a scrap of red toile, red lace, and two layers of white mesh material from Linnie Blooms.  An eyelet strategically placed under the layer of vintage paper adheres the four layers together, as does the button in the middle of the dress.  German scrap wings and crown were also attached.  The shoes were borrowed from Third Coast.   They're a bit large, but a reindeer moon child really doesn't mind.

Mystical messages abound:  "Cosmic offerings" and "From one MOON GODDESS to another."  Note the use of Rock Candy Clear Distress Stickles on moon face and edged along watercolor crayon-painted antlers. 

The final touch?  Little green sparkles.  Chasing whimsy, I tell ya.


Images from Rubbermoon:
Cosmic Offerings, Moon Goddess, Kae Pea - New Moon, Antlers

Sunday Postcard Art:  Shoes

Red Lead Paperworks:  Christmas Stencil/Stars All Around

Spooky RubberMoon ATC Book by Kersten Christianson

Halloween is in the air and on the page!  And in this case, on what started as a sheet of watercolor paper that morphed into ATCs and became a mini book of Halloween goodness.

 First, I used my Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons to create vibrant background color for each stamp used.  It was a kind of scribble and add water effect.  Next, I used StazOn Jet Black ink to stamp each image on top of my watercolor scribbles.  The jack o'lantern is the only image I stamped first, and colored after.

Rubbermoon stamps used for this project include:  Witch Houses (ge2602), Blue Ribbon Pumpkin (db4795), Hanging Jacks (db4924), Scary House (ge2740),and Scary Neighbors (rm2827).

 I used a heavy black cardstock for the background of each ATC.  From there, I trimmed or square cut each stamped image to my liking.

 This ATC back took a bit of direct to paper Peacock Blue Distress ink and dry brushed acrylic orange paint.  Wouldn't a tree of Hanging Jacks be a funky sight to encounter out in the woods?

More acrylic paint added to this background with a yellow gold trim added after the card's assembly.  The spooky words are add-ons, ephemera from Retro Cafe Art.

 Here is the growing piles of ATCs.

 More acrylic painted background effects.

This little house is about one of my favorite Halloween images.  Once I had stamped the primary image, I applied a thin layer of Gesso to newsprint paper and restamped the house on this.  The image was then cut out and applied to my ATC.

An eyelet was added to the upper left corner of each ATC.  Through each I ran a piece of skull ribbon and voila!  Happy Halloween! :)

Hellos and Goodbyes

We interrupt our regular Friday post to introduce you to our NEW Creative Dream Team!

As you may know, RubberMoon, has a 'call for artists' every few months. We look for mixed media artists, paper crafters and rubber stamp enthusiasts who would like to participate in making stuff and sharing it here on the RubberMoon Arts Blog and on their own social media sites!

This new term, begins today and goes through December. We were so thrilled and quite happily surprised to receive over forty submissions! It was quite a challenge to go through all of the applications and pick just a handful. So many great artists applied, we were blown away and very honored. It was a tough choice!! Though the art was definitely a consideration, we also looked for artists who are enthusiastic and savvy about social media and who are wanting to think outside the box.

While we added six new members, we also have a few alumni members who will be returning plus a few past members who have agreed to be regular guests!! It just can't get much better!

So without further adieu, please help me thank our last team as we say goodbye (for now) and welcome in our new team as we begin a new term...


Please click here to meet all of our team members, and read a bit about them! 

Make sure you come back every Tuesday and Friday to see their art, projects and posts.


sending moonbeams,

Digital Crafting with RubberMoon Stamps

Hello Everyone, It's me, Jeannie, with another creation using RubberMoon Stamps.

Today, I am using Barb Roger's Party on Wheels stamp.

To start off this digital creation, I stamped the trailer in black ink on white paper.

Next, I scanned the image and opened it in my photo editing program.

As you can see, it did not scan perfectly, so I needed to adjust and do some fill in and clean up on the image.

Here is the image all cleaned up and ready to go.  To use stamps like this and color them in, the way I do, I have to make sure that all the lines touched another black line, so that the color I used to fill in would have a stopping point.

(I hope that makes sense.)

After I did the digital coloring, I played around a little with some preset brushes and this is the final product.

Then I had to lift, for lack of better words, the image from the background so that I'd be able to move, just the trailer without the white background the original image was attached to or part of.

(Again, I hope that makes sense.)

Next, I found an image I wanted for my background. Then I altered it to my liking, as seen below.

Next, the FUN part!! 

Add your sentiment/phrase.

The beauty of creating digitally, you can use any sentiment you want!

After the background  was done, I dropped the trailer on the background.  

I fine tuned it by adding drop shadows, etc. to the image and phrase and this is the final image.

I printed 3, 4 x 6" images on one sheet.

I then cut out a trailer from one of the images.

I applied ink around the edges to add to the depth when used as a 3-D effect.

Then, I put all my pieces together and created a quick simple card.

This is a tri fold card and was a bit difficult to photograph.

You can see how the trailer image is raised in this photo.

This is how the card looks when opened.

Here is the inside of the card...

Bonus side view  ;)

Since I did not use the 3rd image for the card, it becomes a Postcard! 

 It is sized perfectly and has a fun image and sentiment, in addition to meeting postal standards!

If needed, I could have made the trailer bigger or smaller for whatever project I was using it for.

That is the beauty of creating digitally with your craft stash and RubberMoon Stamps.

I hope you enjoyed my post today.  

This has been Jeannie from The Polka Cabana.  

Have a wonderful week.

A Rubbermoon Valentine!

The end of January and thus begins the flood of Valentine's Day art.

 

I've never been keen on shades of pink, but these things even make me a little giddy this time of year.  There's something fetching about pairing all pinks, all reds and images rooted in whimsy.  Like a hare carrying a heart. Embossed, of course.

 

The shape of a Gothic Arch proved itself to be the perfect palette for all things paper:  washi tape, patterned paper, sequins, ticket stubs, felt hearts, and a bit of ribbon.

Be sure to check out all of the Valentine goodness at Rubbermoon!  And Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Tomorrow is the Solstice, the shortest day of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere.  We will gather with friends and family for a feast, candles, talk and music.

It has been on my mind this week. We leave for work in the dark and return home in the dark again. It isn't until the weekends that we sponge for daylight and hope for sun. 

But there are also perks within these darkened days - clear, cold nights with bright stars and the aurora borealis.  Hence my Solstice ornament!

  

Dab a mixed color palette of Distress inks on photo paper.  Blend with paper towel. When dry, use StazOn ink (Jet Black, here) to stamp New Moon.  Paper punch and set aside for layering.  

Start on your background. I used a heavy black cardstock with a stardust appeal.  On it, I painted the northern lights using acrylic paints:  teal, magenta and lime.  I used a paper scrap cut die of evergreen trees to line the bottom edge of my skyscape.  From there, I added white ink for snow on the tree boughs, along with a bit of glitter glue.  Finally, star gems and moon.  Set aside.

Now the fun part; the frame!  Roll out a slab of Polymer clay, fairly thin, but sturdy once baked.  Press image, Moon Stage, into clay.  Trim out the middle, the edges and bake.  When finished, I painted a base layer onto the clay.  From there, various acrylics, including my base layer Midnight Blue.  Once dry, I touched up certain areas with Distress Inks/Brushed Pewter, to add a bit of shine.

Once finished, adhere frame to background with glue, trim, and Happy Solstice!

A Winter Shrine

Yes, I'm feeling the darkening of days.  We are down to about 7 hours of daylight in later November and still a month out from Winter Solstice.  This week even brought our first significant snowfall which has since melted with the rains and the winds that have returned.

So in response, a winter shrine.

The first step in this process is to paint a layer of Gesso on tin.  for this project, I popped the lid off from an Altoids tin and painted the base.

I rolled out my Polymer clay and using molds, fashioned tiny moon heads and wings.  These I spray painted and later added additional colors as needed.

Back to the Altoids tin, I added five layers of color using metallic acrylics:  blue, gold, red, green and violet.  It was my hope to achieve a northern lights effect. 

From there, the most creative piece comes into play:  design.  Directly to the back of the tin, I stamped Rubbermoon's Houses at Night (RM2827) and Paint Splatter.  To paper, I stamped New Moon.  I added a sprinkling of confetti stars to they sky for good measure, for what is moon without stars?

To the front and interior of tin, I added Rubbermoon's stamped image for Woman Crow on Boat (GE2772) and stamped directly to tin Once in a Blue Moon.  Another handful of stars added here.  A layer of gel medium should be used for good measure, just to seal the work that has been done.

Shrine is then ready for bookshelf, gifting, or winter!  Here is an image of the front and back of the shrine:

 

Grab a hot cup of tea and visit the Rubbermoon blog for all kinds of creative goodness.