creativityUNLEASHED by traci bautista

day 15 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: fusion DYED collage

the evolution of a fusion DYED collage... you can find more ideas on this technique in my book Collage Unleashed and DVD.

draw and doodle on muslin or drill cloth with a black sharpie and a Pilot Toughwash pen. let dry.

collage dyed paper towels and shapes with Collage Pauge over the doodled muslin. when the paper towels dry, the writing will show through

 

add heart, squares and rectangle shapes--->stamp patterns on top

 

collage sequins and accent writing and doodling with Tulip Slick Dimensional paint

 

{leverage your art} take a photo of the final piece, make color and black & white photocopies, use this piece as a journal cover, scrapbook page, cut out circles and create ornaments, make gift tags, wrap a holiday gift with a collage, cut into smaller ATCs, stitch a piece on a greeting card, stitch a photo to the collage, experiment with the fusion DYED collage on paper, canvas, wood or a tote bag! 

ON A SIDE NOTE: posting daily is a big undertaking for me :) YOU KNOW if you've been following my blog for awhile that I'm not a daily, not even a weekly blogger...lol :) So I REALLY appreciate you coming by to check out what I've been sharing. I have been blessed with so many opportunities and inspired by so many people...I hope you are enjoying these daily tidbits of IDEAS and creative inspriation. Your continued support, notes, tweets, photos of work that you create that my art or book have inspired are greatly and truly appreciated. happy holidays...xo

day 14 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: journal pages

here's a sampling of the colorful backgrounds in in my visual art journals...

     I like to create "journal blocks"---->these are blocks of colors that later I can write in to journal my thoughts, ideas, words, phrases. my journals are kind of like a "choose your own adventure" book. I open my books to a random page, I don't work in any particular order. Most days I will work on 3-5 different pages and add marks, colors or words.

*adding white paint of gesso over sections creates nice blocks for writing {TIP} with your digital camera take a MACRO photo of cropped areas of your paintings to create interesting journal backgrounds

*collage photos and hand painted papers onto the pages, add colored masking tape

 

*one of my FAVE printing tools is needlepoint canvas, use it as a resist and stencil, add accents of color with dimensional paint lines, add washes of color by adding a little water to your brush when your paint

*RECYCLE---->paint on brown paper grocery bags. WRITE with a white out correction pen to add contrast lines over paint

*DRAW and doodle with a BLACK chisel tip sharpie over acrylic paint

 

*{journal prompt} what is YOUR creative process?

*create monoprints with transparencies by paint the design on a piece of acetate with dimensional paint and taking a print of it onto muslin. let dry then wash with paint

*add black lines with conte crayons and charcoal pencils---->scribble. CREATE a fun foam stamp with black acrylic paint.

*use oil pastels for thick outlines of shapes

having journal pages with color, lines, shapes and blocks gives you fun jumpstarts to SPILL your thoughts. have fun with creating backgrounds, work on multiple pages at a time and just PLAY!! remind yourself that your journal is an never ending experiment..a place to be wildly FREE, imagine, EXPLORE...give yourself permission to let go.

Don't forget to REGISTER for my upcoming online workshop creative SOUL portfolio! It starts Jan. 5, you will be learning about painting backgrounds like these...along with a plethora of creative inspiration!

 

 

day 13 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: girlie ANGELS

 

 LAUGE.art.Be {ANGEL} ~ Holiday paper ANGEL dolls

These fun paper dolls were made with bits and pieces of my leftover hand painted papers, fusion-dyed collage, printed transparencies and laser collage sheets. They have been attached to graffiti painted backgrounds, journals and dyed paper towels.

 

The background graffiti BOUQUET collage is now a journal cover.  I made this paper doll separately then took a picture of it on top of the journal cover, I think I might just stitch it right onto the cover :) The wings of this doll are black & white photocopies of my artwork. 

inpisre {ANGEL}

These will be listed in my ETSY boutique soon. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing.   

 

day 12 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: photo memories

HANDMADE {holiday} gift idea~ photo memories art quilt

The center image is a black and white photo of my nephew Mason, it was processed in the photo shop. I adhered heart and circle gold stickers from Sakura and used Gelly Roll Glaze and Soufflé pens to doodle over the top of the photos. The photo was stitched to hand dyed and painted paper, inkject prints of my original artwork are stitched over the top to create a contrast frame. I used WonderFil thread in the wild free-form stitching. 

this is my version of a scrapbook page ~ I machine stitch a few of hand painted papers and fusion-dyed collage to create a page base then stitch photos of my lil munchkins on top

a sample of my LIMITED EDITION art kits - you can stitch these pieces together to create pages, make ATCs, collage paintings or greeting cards. 

Here are the NEW LIMITED EDITION ~{holiday}WINTER collection

day 11 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: turquoise

so if you've been following my art for awhile or know me well..you know that my FAVORITE color is  TURQUOISE! I've had turquoise hair, I think I have a combination of about 20 shirts, dresses, pants, hats, etc. in that color AND I use it in almost every piece of art that I create. Those of you familiar with graphic design, know about Pantone PMS colors ~ the universal color matching system and standards for color. Well if you don't, get educated! They have a fabulous wealth of knowledge on their website with great info on trends, color palettes, etc. in design, architecture, interior and fashion. Just released by Pantone....2010 color of the year....TURQUOISE!

from pantone website...

"In many cultures, Turquoise is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that to many people, Turquoise represents an escape, taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting – even if it is only a fantasy."

INSPIRATION gallery from flickr~see full size photos here

my WORLD of turquoise...in {VIDEO). photos.images...

this is an inspiration board with one of my fave color combos with turquoise

the palette of nail polish~ I choose about 8 colors and paint sample designs, then teach my manicurist Lynn to paint ~ she's AWESOME..been painting my nails for 10 years!

one of my many turquoise outfits :) with my girl Bren at Playboy Club in Vegas

freedom with her turquoise barrette...miss u munchkin <3

a view from underneath the lights at the beverly center~los angeles

 

paintings on my studio table...lots of turquoise!

~Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate~

day 10 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: she's CRAFTY tv

Check out my episode of "She's Crafty!" I just found out that I will be on TV this morning, 12/10 at 7:30am PST on She's Crafty. In California, it's on KKPX Ion Television. In the LA area, it's channel 30 or 305. In the SF/bay area, it's channel 41 or 468. Check your local cable listings.

I filmed this episode of "She's Crafty" in January 2008. It originally aired on HGTV Canada and has finally made it's way to the US. I demonstrate a few of my painting techniques and how to make a collage FIBERlicious journal. Here's are a few pics from the filming in Vancouver, BC...we were on set for almost 12 hours, I had a cold and the staff took great care of me...made me FRESH ginger tea, got me some medicine and I was good to go! :) The AWESOME crew made me feel right at home, I had a great time!

on "She's Crafty" set ~ hangin out with host Wendy Russell..look at all the artsy goodies on the table!

 

FIBERlicious journal binding detail - woven fabric, ribbon, felted beads, pompoms & beads

 

the AWESOME "She's Crafty" crew

circle monoprints ~ one of the painting techniques that I share on the show

student artwork from FIBERlicious art book workshop

read more about my art journals in Autumn 2009 Art Journal Magazine

day 9 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: revamped collage

here's a fun way to revamp a collage...

{collage background} pieces of my hand painted papers, monoprints, dyed paper towels and black & white photocopies of my artwork adhered to a manila folder with Collage Pauge

draw over the collage with a Sharpie black permanent paint pen (oil-based)

color in the drawing with various paint color markers

sew the collage as a journal cover

day 8 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: giving back

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what could you do in 90 days?

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting the enthusiastic staff and learning about  Bay Area After School All Stars, a FREE after school program that provides education, enrichment, sports and fitness programs to K-8 youth in San Jose, CA. With all of the cuts in education, especially in arts and physical fitness, it's great to see programs that give students access to learn and excel in these needed skills. During my site visit I encountered laughing, smiling and happy faces of over 100 kids.  After homework hour, they were playing field hockey, glittering ornaments to give to the senior center, making duct tape bags and writing their own movie. Seeing the kids smiles was very inspiring and got me thinking about what I can do...

I am sharing their story because there are so many programs that do great work to help our youth that don't get the recognition they deserve. I know that not everyone can give back monetarily, but there are so many ways that we can share our creative talents with programs like this...like donating supplies, time, being mentors or spreading the word. so think about it...what could you do?  empower our youth...check out your local programs and see how you can help! happy holidays...

day 7 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: fabric.SEW.stitch

today's INSPIRATION post is a round up of fabric and stitched projects...

 

{above} This is a detail photo of the cover of one of my handmade journals. The patchwork art quilt was created by cutting hand painted fabrics into squares and rectangles and adhering them to Silence Cloth with Heat-n-Bond Lite. Freestyle machine stitching was done with my Janome sewing machine. I prefer to use two different colors of thread when I sew. The top thread is silk and the bobbin thread is cotton. I alternate between straight and zigzag stitching. This technique is great for making greeting cards, ornaments or photo scrapbooks. 

my studio table~work in progress.

I heart my cup of Zen & Simplicity fabric scissors. 

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~MORE projects/inspiration to check out~

fabric ADVENT ornaments by Donna Downey {above}

super CUTE~ crafter's HOLIDAY wreath by Crafty Chica {above}

sew, mama, sew! fabric ornaments

mitten ornament pattern by oliver + s

stitched ornaments by alisa burke

ruth rae's beautiful art quilts

lyric kinard's art + quilt

art quilting studio by stampington & co.

day 6 {holiday} INSPIRATIONS: art journals

one of my favorite things to make as gifts are journals. here are a selection of a few I've designed. most of my journals are made with collage covers, sometimes machine stitched. If I bind them by hand, I like to incorporate beads, baubles, macrame and fabric into the bindings. Inside all of my journals you'll find random sized painted pages of various found papers. i'm teaching a few art journal workshops in 2010..come PLAY!! enjoy!