Happy...Shabby Chic Mixed Media Collage Card...

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm starting off the week with a mixed media collage card. I experimented with a new medium (new to me, that it), Spectra Bleeding Art Tissue papers. I can see a lot more fun about to happen with these!

I'll post some stepouts at the end of the finished pictures, but in the meantime, here it is:

The only sentiment on it is the word "happy"...I have a special use in mind for this card, but if I change my mind, I have options for later use with that simple one-word sentiment front and center...

I die-cut the heart from kraft cardstock, then dry brushed it with white craft paint, and finished off by swiping a deep purple ink pad over the edges...

It's been too long since I used one of my favorite shabby fabric roses on a card. I still have several of these left in my stash, in a variety of colors...

I love the way texture pastes pick up the colors of the (water soluble) medium just beneath them. This is a good example of how it worked in my favor on this card - you can see more of the details in the stepouts below...

Supplies:

Dies:   Spellbinders Lace Hearts;   Sizzix Flowers Branches & Leaves

Stencil:   Memory Box Honey Comb

Stamps:   Tim Holtz/Stampendous "Ultimate Grunge"

Fabric rose:   Frogfeathers on Etsy          Small flowers:   Wild Orchid Crafts

Pearls:   Recollections          Ornate label plate:   Tim Holtz          Butterfly punch:   Martha Stewart

Mixed media supplies:   Spectra Bleeding Art tissue, watercolor paper, gesso, Studio 490 Crackle Paste,

washi tapes, Tim Holtz tissue tapes, matte medium, cheesecloth, twines, white craft paint, Dymo labeler

I must apologize for the quality  in the stepout photos below. I was working late at night, so there were only my Ott Lights available for photographing, and to get enough light on the pieces, there was a bit of glare. I tried to edit out as much of it as possible for the sake of your eyes...LOL

The first step was to adhere a piece of patterned paper to a piece of 140 lb cold press watercolor paper using matte medium (I used watercolor paper because it was sturdy enough to hold all the moisture from what I was about to do to it). I chose a patterned paper that literally is a "pattern" paper...it looks like a piece from a sewing pattern.

When that dried, I applied a thin coat of gesso, leaving the very edges of the piece "clean."  That's when I applied the bleeding tissue pieces and spritzed them with water and let them sit for a minute or so before removing the tissue pieces.  I let the paper dry completely (took about 1/2 hour), distressed the edges with a Tonic edge distresser, and this is what it looked like so far...

You can see that the colors of the tissue over the gesso are a bit muted, but are much more concentrated around the edges of the paper, where I didn't apply the gesso. That's the effect I wanted.

By the way, Spectra makes non-bleeding tissue, also, so if you want to purchase some of this to play with, make sure it's the "bleeding art tissue" you're purchasing.  Here are a few online links to get you started - here   here  and here.

The next step was to apply a few strips of washi tape and tissue tape to the page...

Next was stamping (using Archival Ink or another type of water resistant/waterproof ink) a couple grunge stamps, and applying texture to a couple corners using a stencil and crackle modeling paste. See how the colors left by the tissues seep through the modeling paste on the lower left and upper right corners of the paper? Aside from the muted center/deep colored edges effect, that was another reason I applied the gesso first, then the tissue colors. Modeling paste picks up the colors of any acrylic paint/watercolor/other water soluble medium beneath it as it dries. The sharp line between aqua and white in the lower left is caused by the tissue tape beneath the paste. ...

And now the piece was ready to embellish. :)  These pieces can become pretty heavy when using watercolor paper and all the mediums and embellishments on top, so I attach them to the front of my cards using Scotch foam tape around the four sides and in the center before I start applying embellishments.

Thanks for visiting today! I'll be back in a couple days with a CAS watercolor card...a real change of pace. :)  I hope your week is starting with a smile!