The Inspiration

This is Dale Ann here to share a page that was inspired by a song.  If you ask me what my favorite song is, I usually can’t answer just one song. And I usually tell you that it changes from day to day. Today, I have a clear answer, it’s a song called, “We Rise,” by Cageless Birds, and it has been like a spa for my soul this week. I cannot get enough of it. Here are some of the lyrics.

We rise by bowing, We live by dying

When we give what we can never keep

We gain what we will never lose

Like beauty from ashes, and joy from mourning

Only You can take brokenness

And make it something beautiful

The line about taking something broken and making it something beautiful reminded me of these #tinycollages I’ve been making lately. They are actually made from little bits and scraps of paper. The parts I didn’t want or use in another project. Some people might look at those little bits of paper and thought it was just trash and thrown it out. But then there are those people who look at those discarded remnants and see the beauty in them. A couple of days ago my daughter walked in the house and asked me what I was doing. I said, “gluing pieces of trash to other pieces of trash.” She just shook her head at me. I guess she couldn’t see what I saw. I saw little pieces of promise. Little bits of beautiful things that can be made into more beautiful things in the hands of a creator.

That my friends is what inspired this art journal page. I’ve been those broken bits that probably should have been thrown out. But He looked at me and saw the beauty hidden in the pile of my bits and pieces.  There is a lyric that says, “I’ll follow You anywhere. I’ll follow you anywhere You wanna go.” When you find someone who accepts you and all your broken pieces, you don’t want to let them get away.

So here’s my page, I hope you like it.

The Page

The Details

Here is a close up of my tiny collage.  It is attached with double sided tape.

I let the tiny collage determine the colors for the page.  I have used the following paints from BGC”s Haute Mess collection on this art journal page.

Caution Tape

Distortion

Sweet Candy Kisses

Drop Dead Gorgeous

The Process

I have mixed the Caution Tape and a little Distortion to get the warm shade of yellow I needed.  Then I made that my base color.

Next I scraped the very last bit of my Sweet Candy Kisses out of the jar and spread it through a stencil to get some color, texture and floral design on the page.  After that I used some white gesso to push the bright colors into the background a little.  I then proceeded to splatter on some Drop Dead Gorgeous and a black acrylic paint across the whole page.

The words came directly from the song, and I printed them out on my printer and cut them out.  I took a pen and drew messy lines around them and splattered them with some black and Drop Dead Gorgeous.  Then I just attached with a glue stick.

The Final Look

I just love how my Paper Doll Palace art journal is filling up! I love to have the pages opposite each other coordinate.  It’s almost full and so beautiful!

Here is one more photo, up close.

Well, that’s a wrap for me!  I only have one more page left to post for this month!  Be sure to come back and check out all the gorgeous work from my fellow Bad Girl Couture Artists!

Dale Ann

Good morning all you crafty bad girls!  Are you sleeping in this morning?  I wish I was!  By the time you’re reading this I will be on my way home from a weekend out of town.  I am writing this post on Friday, before I leave.  Can I tell you, I am already tired and I haven’t even left yet?  Probably because my laptop locked up on me, and I have been working feverishly all week to get this video tutorial together, edited and uploaded from my husband’s tiny tablet, so you could watch it today.  It has been a traumatic ordeal to say the least.  With that said, let me apologize for the quality of photos and video, as I have had to operate without my usual tools, and am feeling very insecure about the results you are getting ready to see.  I’m hoping the content will make it worth the poor quality visuals.

But enough about that, how about we talk about one of my favorite mixed media tools, the totally sexy Gelli Arts printing plate!  That’s right, this little piece of gelatin like, squishy rectangle is so hot right now!

There happens to be an Instagram challenge going on right now with Birgit Koopsen, centered around this magical tool.  So, I decided to do a tutorial video with mine using my Haute Mess Acrylic paints! That’s right, the Haute Mess collection is fabulous on the Gelli plate!  Here are a couple of my favorite prints from this session.

I do have a tip when using your Haute Mess paints with the gelli plate. Since our line of acrylic paints are thick and creamy, and made with the best ingredients, they do tend to dry quicker than those craft paints you can buy at WalMart.  This is a testament to quality of our product. However, when working with the gelli plate, I like to create layers with stencils and multiple colors. Using a cheaper craft paint that contains more water in it as your last layer will help to pull the entire print off the plate.

You can use stencils and any kind of mark making tools you would normally use in your mark making.  I have used the end of a paint brush, my fingers, various sized lids, toilet paper rolls, straws, bubble wrap and clear polymer stamps.  The possibilities are endless!

You can get great layered affects by putting on a layer of paint or marks, then letting it dry naturally or use a heat tool or hair dryer.  Once completely dry, you can add another layer of color or marks.  The more you play with it and experiment the more fun you will have!

You will see that I like to use a selection of different kinds of papers to print on.  In this session, I have used art paper, card stock, paper bags, printer paper, vintage book pages and paper tags. I also like to use magazine pages, waxed paper, parchment paper and sheets music.

Once I’ve created these prints, I use them as the base for lots of things!  I usually add doodles or more paint to them, and then use them as collage papers or make things like tags and cards out of them.  I am currently using them to create a unique and very personal junk journal. But that’s for another day.

Here’s a look at some of the tags I made.

I have prepared a video for you,  so you can see the process. I hope you

Thanks for watching friend! If you have any questions, you can leave a comment here, and I’ll happily answer!

Until Next Time,  Dale Ann

It’s that time again and we are EXCITED to see all of the new entries!

Bad Girls Couture Design Team Call

2019-2020

www.badgirlscouture.com

Entry Period: 9/24/19-10/8/19

Open to all US and INTERNATIONAL Artists

Wanna be BAD??!!!!

Bad Girls Couture is a private label, small batch manufacturer specializing in state of the art mixed media acrylic paint , art journals, embellishments, and authentic vintage products. Bad Girls Couture prides ourselves on being a green company, helping to sustain our environment by manufacturing products that are eco friendly. We believe in providing our community with an exceptional experience through a team of artists who come together to teach, inspire, and instill an ever evolving atmosphere of innovation. Matter of fact… if you are a RULE BREAKER then you are in the right place! We are looking for artists who create art with no fear and are not afraid to break every single rule, push the envelope, and who have no boundaries! If you want to join the best in the industry and at the same time gain some really good exposure,  and get to create with some of the best products then you are who we are looking for!

Qualifications:

Passion for creating art journaling pages and projects with a broad knowledge of mixed media, and the ability and desire to grow as an artist and try new products. You must be adept at working with acrylic paint, art journals, mediums (gesso, moulding paste, gel medium, clear gesso, etc.)

Proficient with excellence in photography and knowledge of video taping tutorials and classes. Must have prior Design Team experience with knowledge of typical duties and the mixed media art industry.

Must be a self starter and knowledgable using a WordPress Blog interface.

Must work well under pressure and tight deadlines.

Must be a team player and participate in Bad Girls promotions and contests.

Must be active on at least two of the top Social Media sites (Facebook, You Tube, Pinterest, Instagram, & Twitter). We will be looking at your Social Media for someone who shares often and has a good following.

Other Manufacturer and Kit Club design teams are acceptable. Our paint line is 27 different custom and unique colours and we expect our Design Team members to promote our paint solely in your online and print work.

You must be able to contribute a minimum of 1 Video Tutorial and 2-3 Blog Posts per month.

You must be able to commit to posting all your work for us on your Social Media, Blog, and Online Galleries where permitted.

Graphic Design experience is not required, but a definite plus.

Entry Requirements:

Submit  3 art journaling pages and one mixed media altered art or give us a link to a gallery on a  Social Media account that features a good selection of your artwork.  Make sure this is your best work and it epitomizes your unique style and abilities.

Submit your resume, links to any online galleries, your Blog, your Social Media accounts, and anything else you deem highlights the exposure of your art, social media, and ability to advertise it.

Please indicate which Design Teams you are currently on.

Tell us why you would like to be a BAD GIRL! What makes you a good fit for our team? What would you like for us to know about you?

You may submit your completed entry to:

Wendy@BadGirlsCouture.com

In the Subject Line please write Design Team Entry/Your Name

Include your name, address, email address, phone number.

Artists will be notified no later than 10/12/19.

If you have any questions or comments please send to: Wendy@BadGirlsCouture.com

Good Luck to all you BAD GIRLS!!!

xoxo

Wendy

The Page and the Junk

Good morning!  Welcome to the blog on this very lovely Thursday, where I will be sharing my latest page with you showing you a Girl with a Repurpose spin!  I have chosen to work with a black card stock page from my Paper Doll Palace Art Journal, a layered art bit I made by recycling some old pieces of art and little scraps left laying around my desk, and this fabulous piece of . . . well I have no idea what to call it.  It is the inside binding from a vintage book.  I had ripped all the pages out, and removed this piece and thought it was so cool looking, I kept it for just this sort of project!  Take a look.

Is it just me, or is that piece just amazing?  I am so glad I kept it!

I also used some of my favorite Bad Girls Couture Haute Mess Acrylic paints:

Torrid, Caution Tape, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Fallen Angel

Breaking the Blank Page

I went right in after this blank page with a dry paint brush and some luscious color.

I also scraped some white gesso over the page and scraped it into the paint for some texture.  Then I diluted some of the Torrid, Caution Tape and some black acrylic paint and proceeded to make some splatters and spots all over the page to grunge it up!

Next I attached my book binding piece and the little collaged art bit with some double sided tape, to secure it and to give some dimension to my page.  I also dug some black thread out of the trash that I had thrown away, and used some Clear Gesso to attach that to the page, coming out from under the other elements.  If that isn’t recycling, I don’t know what is.  Am I right?

The Finished Page

I cut out a little butterfly, inked up his edges and used some found words I cut out of the book the binding came from, and it all just came together beautifully!

I have to say, I think this has turned out to be one of my favorite pages in my art journal. I hope you enjoyed following along with me today, and I hope you found something to inspire you to go find some trash to re-purpose into your very own art treasure!

Until Next Time,

Dale Ann