Thank you Bonnie!

There they are, I can see them!! Bonnie you are a sweetheart for taking the time to scan this in and email it to me!

Bonnie is a kindred spirit working in polymer clay and designing jewelry, you can see her shop Bleekcreations on Etsy.

Angie

On the hunt

I need to find this! The August/September Issue of Beadwork Magazine...

why???

because I've heard from some wonderful Etsy shoppers that my faux slides made it into the "Cool Stuff" section (pinch me)

I stopped in Borders..no luck..grrr

Went to Barnes and Noble, they only had older issues...argh what's a gal to do!!

If I can't find it... guess I'll resort to ordering it online...but this immediate gratification gal is really hoping I can find it locally.

Montclair to Whitman

In 1903 it took a letter 14 hours (and 2 cents) to travel 238 miles...for some reason I thought it would have taken longer. Really appreciate that the post office took the time to stamp the envelope with such detail so I could figure that out.

image transfer on a vintage envelope

Stealing Moments

Still trying to find our summer groove. The kiddos are finishing up some summer camps this week, then they are free as jaybirds the rest of June. In the evenings I've been working some more with transfers and collage, looking for some unusual places to put them...last night it was recycled tags.

Take care,

Angie

Not on the to-do list

It's the first day of summer vacation for the kiddos. We did a few projects around the house like cleaning the patio furniture and the grill. The to-do list included cleaning up the studio from my latest round of creativity but it just didn't happen. Instead I called a friend and while we chatted I made this:

Now tonight I will clean the studio...no seriously...I will. :-)

Angie

Experimenting with image transfers to paper

Wanted to document my experiments with image transfer. I started here, More than Photography, read up on Nitsa's process. She posts her steps using both copies of images in ink jet and laser. She really likes using Mod Podge to create her transfers occasionally mentions using gel medium. I decided to run a side by side comparison.

Using watercolor paper for all the transfers, I tried half with Mod Podge and half with Golden's Regular Gloss Medium. I used 4 laser color copies from Kinko's and 4 inkjet copies with my Epson using Durabright pigment inks.

The process: Coat the substrate (in this case watercolor paper) with medium (Mod Podge or acrylic gel), also coat the image you are transferring then place the image on the substrate and gently rub out any air bubbles. Let it dry completely ( overnight) then lightly mist the image letting the paper saturate and rub it away leaving the image embedded in the medium.

Let's start from the best and work our way to the not-so-great:

These two transfers were laser copies with Golden's, I love how the image is transparent and when the transfer is done on a collaged background the paper shows through.

click on the pictures to see the detail

These two (below) were laser copies with Mod Podge, the transfer was good but didn't hold up as well to rubbing the paper off, I seemed to lose more of the ink.

The inkjet copies were by far the weakest transfer regardless of the medium. The paper pulp never completely rubbed away and the ink didn't stick to the medium, instead it balled up and made a muddy mess, the more I rubbed the more ink and image was removed.

Didn't know how many others may have tried this process, if you have and you have insight I 'd love to hear.

Angie

Enamored with old things

I love old things, I get this from my mother...can't exactly pinpoint why but I really admire the craftsmanship of old objects. I was always on board when she wanted to go to an auction or antique mall. I enjoyed looking for something I hadn't seen before...or maybe an object that I couldn't be sure what it was or what it would have been used for.

Recently I came across one of these ornaments in a case at the local antique mall. Definitely out of my price range but that didn't stop me from pressing my nose up to glass to get a closer look. Intrigued I went home and did a bit of online research, they are made of blown glass, Victorian scrap and silver tinsel...they are quite rare so even finding a few pictures online is tough.

source

source

One thing leads to another and I sketched a few ideas...not looking to create replicas but instead a representation using a few of my favorite things.

Vintage paper canoe instead of a glass ornament, the little children are made with transfers on clay, finally a bit of gold wire gimp and buttons.

After making the three canoes I tried a a row boat shape, thinking they might stand alone...but they tend to tip over....oh well.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

Angie