Tiered trays are all the rage for decorating these days. You can decorate them according to season or to your decor, and they are super easy to change out. Here's my tiered tray that I decorated to match my cute kitchen decor. All the supplies need to make it can be found here.
Hey, Everyone! Thanks for stopping by! My latest mixed media projects turned out super cute, if I do say so myself! I got a lot of great ideas from a bunch of artists on YouTube and attempted to re-create the ones that caught my eye the most. Collage is so much fun!
This first one, Enjoy the Journey, was some scrapbook papers I ripped up into rectangles and then glued down overlapping one another, kind of like brickwork. I painted over with a light coat of gesso and used some water color pencils and a fine tip marker to add some details. I like to take my time and tend to have quite a few "Squirrel!" moments of crafting distractions, so it took me a few afternoons to get it done.
Well, my break from social media didn't last long! During the past week, I have been trying to reconnect with my crafting soul. It got lost somewhere during the past few years (I'm blaming Covid!) and while I was crafting, I just wasn't feeling it. So the little hiatus was good for me! I found some crafting sites on YouTube and became instantly hooked on the style of Mixed Media. I now have a purpose for all those craft supplies I haven't used and have been hoarding saving over the years. 😂 I guess I knew deep down there would come a day when they would all come together for a common project.
I literally watched dozens of videos of different styles of Mixed Media by different artists; Laly Mille, Tiffany Solorio, Keren Tamir, Graphic 45, Prima Marketing, and a bunch of junk journal artists, to name a few. Each has a different style, but the techniques were pretty similar. My first attempt at it was terrible. Made no sense whatsoever because I tried to do it all at once and in way too many colors. 😂 I was way to excited and couldn't wait to give it a go. Then I stepped back, tried a couple techniques to see if it would work, and then I jumped back in and made this little beauty, which I am quite happy with!
If you are not familiar with Silhouette America, the Silhouette Cameo 4 is a desktop cutting machine that lets crafters cut (or draw) digital designs out of paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and a variety of other materials. The software used is called Silhouette Studio and the basic version of the software is available for free, with paid upgrades depending on your crafting needs. I have been a Silhouette user since way back when it first came out under the Quikutz brand about 15 years ago. The software back then was very intimidating and there wasn't a lot of training available, but I figured it out and have come across tons of helpful videos and training since.
For this project, I used my We R Memory Keepers (WRMK) Foil Quill. This tool is a like heat pen that goes into the blade holder and is used with a special type of foil to add designs to cards and scrapbook pages. I'll start at the beginning on how the project process worked.
First off, I got my design sized up in Silhouette Studio and added the sketch and cut lines.
These purple lines are where the Cameo will sketch with the foil quill heat tool over the foil I taped onto the cardstock.
These red lines are where the Cameo will cut out the wreath with the Autoblade.
Then I printed it out on cardstock with the registration marks; they help the Cameo read where to cut (red) and sketch (purple). I taped the foil over top of the design, being careful not to hide the registration marks. Then into the machine it went. The machine reads the registration marks and then proceeds to "draw" the lines as they are on the screen.
After the cardstock had been foiled, I'd removed the mat from the machine and gently removed the tape and the foil to expose the beautifully foiled designs!
