Creative Projects That Inspire My Heart

Today we're celebrating Unruly PaperArts blogozine's Inspire Your Heart With Art day. This is the place to link up something you've made that makes you happy to be an artist.  Something that is not restrictive to the creative process.

HOW TO JOIN THE PARTY--all directions in the 4 comments refer to the Unruly PaperArts blogozine.   Example:  #2 means follower of UPA, not me.

1. Link up any of your own creative projects (papercraft or mixed media) that inspire your heart, ie. uses products and colors you love and styles and imagery that makes your heart swoon, or that were simply created from the heart.  This means no Design Team or other Challenge Criteria should be used to make this project.  It is simply what you love to make with no restrictions or limitations as to what you do or use.  You can share your project throughout the event period (31st Jan to 2nd Feb) using our Party Link Up. The Party Link Up will be listed here below and open from 12.00am 31st of January.

2. You must be a follower of this site.

3.  Leave a little love for others, by commenting on at least the blogs of the person listed in the link up before you and the two people behind you.

4. Display our Party Badge (shown above) on your blog and link back to UPA HERE when you post your creation to your blog, galleries etc.


As you know, I see myself as a paper crafter.  What makes me "heart art" is when I can play with all those messy art products I've purchased, get out of my comfort zone, and just "let it go" ....

think song lyrics here to the popular movie, Frozen:

It's time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

No right, no wrong, no rules for me

I'm free

Let it go, let it go

Immediately I am somewhat breaking Rule #1 in that there is some challenge criteria used in my projects, but they are just a starting point--suggestions--to start the creative process.  And for me, what I love to make always hinges on where I can display it.   For me to learn, I seek tutorials from "the product designers" and then experiment with the products I've been introduced to.  It's great to get them off the shelf, break the seals on the packages, open them up, and then just play and see where the elements take me.

So here is a tag I made that takes me out of my comfort zone.  I created my own theme of "heart art" specifically for today's UPA link up party.  I chose ChitChat words that define what this art journey means to me.

Materials:
#8 manila tag
Tim's tissue wrap
Glue and Seal
Distress Paints:  Peeled Paint and Broken China
Distress Stain: Walnut and Tarnished Brass
Water mister
Chit Chat words
Black soot and Vintage Photo Distress Ink markers
white acrylic paint with splatter brush
gold ribbon
gold marker to edge tag



misc. chipboard letters and heart covered with
white gesso, painted with
Tarnished Brass Stain, coated with
matte gel---then art letters covered with
fine micro beads, heart covered with
Stampendous gold halo mix glitter













I used matte gel and micro beads as demonstrated by Finnabair in her CHA video.

I'm sharing this tag here:  

Tim Holtz 2015 Tags:  January
Finnabair Sparkle and Shine challenge
A Vintage Journey:  Love is In the Air


While I was at it, I decided to get Week 16 done for Claudine Criner's Altered Playing Cards challenge.  You can see her two card samples at her blog HERE.  She uses paint and Tim's tissue paper in her samples.  Since I had these supplies out on my work counter for the tag, I got these cards done too.  (I'm so far behind--anything to help me catch up!!!!)

Again, although there are some suggestions, this project is just for fun and we can create anything we wish!

I used Tim's Distress paints for the base coat.  I started with Peeled Paint on one card and decided I didn't like it as a color under the map so I wiped off as much as I could with a paper towel and then put on a top coat of Broken China.  On the other card, I used Seedless Preserves.

I chose digital images from Vera Lane Studios etsy shop to color, fussy cut and place on the card bases.

Plum card:  sticking with the "I heart art" theme, my card focuses on making art.

Green card:  I knew from the start when I changed the base color to green that I wanted to do something with that map on the tissue to represent a "go green" earth day theme.  I thought this digital was perfect for finding art in nature. I was sooo tempted to add pearl centers to the flowers but I'm determined to keep these cards "flat" for shuffling.


While I was printing out these digital images, I added a few more on the page to make a couple of greeting cards.

This is a thank you card for a teenage girl who gave up her room while we were visiting so that we'd have a great space to stay in!  I used Copics in colors that matched her bedspread.  Actually, I chose these particular Vera Lane Studios images because they looked so much like the bedspread design. My random paper patchwork colors are from the Christy Tomlinson She Art collection. You'll note the card doesn't actually say thank you-because the images and sentiments I chose are highly personalized.

And that is how I make art from my heart. Start with some on-line inspiration. Do my own thing. Share it.  As you can see, there usually is a snowball effect--one thing leads to another.  How did I get from chitchat stickers to inspirational word clouds?

I hope you share something artful that inspires your heart.  I'd love to see it linked up at UPA here.