Grunge - Day 12

The End - Back Cover

I can't believe this is the end of the grunge book journey. I hope you have learned a little about "Grunge" and what it represents and maybe learned a few techniques you haven't tried. 

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Grunge Board "Elements" - hinges

Mini antiqued brads

Large Jump ring

Stamp Pads - Brown, Weathered Wood

Embossing powders - Clear, Gold

Alcohol Ink - Copper and Black

Paint markers - white and black

Newspaper scraps

2 glass microscope slides

Adhesive aluminum tape

Soft gel medium or decoupage glue

Double-sided tape

 

What to do:

 Rub entire face of tag with Weathered Wood stamp pad, sprinkle clear embossing powder over entire tag, flick the back to remove some of the powder, emboss, and let cool. Using a brown stamp pad rub over entire surface making sure to get the edges and all the areas where there is no embossing. Wipe off any excess with a paper towel. 

Using brown stamp pad, stamp entire surface of hinges and keyhole, sprinkle with gold embossing powder, and heat. Use a marker to color any edges that are uncovered.

 

Using clear soft gel medium or decoupage glue adhere newspaper scraps onto one side of each glass microscope slide. Allow to dry completely. If you are feeling a little daring, like I was, I very gently tapped on one of the slides with a light weight hammer to crack it. The newspaper and glue medium are enough to hold the glass together until you can fix it to your page. Gently wrap sticky aluminum tape around edges of both pieces of glass to make a window frame. I then laid the "windows" face down side by side and attached double-sided tape down the middle seam and around all the edges. Peel off backing and place window in center of page, making sure to gently push down around all the edges and in the middle. Finish the windows with a rubbing of black and copper alcohol inks to dirty and age them.

The final touch was to graffiti "The End" on either side of the window. I did this using paint pens and a freehand method of puffy letters. Rub over the graffiti with a little brown stamp pad to dull the white.

And that's all folks! Thanks for taking this journey with me. This process has helped me really enjoy working on the piece and given me what I needed to let it go. Earla......I hope you are ready cause here it comes!

 

Grunge - Day 11

"The Heart of the Matter" - Page 10

Supplies:

Stamp Pads - White, Weathered Wood (distressed blue), black

Straight lines texture sheet

Printed heart graphic

Black acrylic paint

Pumice

Soft Gel Medium

How To:

The first thing I did was to rub a white stamp pad over the entire tag. This process did not make the tag white but rather a nice aged paper look. I then used a black stamp pad to ink up my texture sheet and lightly stamped the entire page. I wanted the look to be worn so I did not put even pressure when I stamped. Next, I rubbed the Weathered Wood stamp pad around the edges and toward the center to make an oval-like opening for my heart graphic. I then went back over the edges with a black stamp pad to dirty it up a bit. 

I cut out my heart graphic and adhered it with soft gel medium.

To create the black tar effect I used the same mixture as the road page (black acrylic paint mixed with a little pumice). I sort of haphazardly slapped that around the page until I was satisfied. Done!

Tomorrow will be my last post for the grunge book....."The End" back cover.

Grunge - Day 10

Black Gives Way to Blue - Page 9

Supplies:

Stamp pads - Black, and Weathered Wood (distressed blue)

Wavy lines texture plate

Alcohol Ink - Copper Mixative, and black

Aluminum tag

Stylus

Arrow brad

Print out of Black Gives Way To Blue album cover

Razor blade

Edge Distressing tool

Double sided tape

"Torn paper" scissors

Q-tips

How to:

Rub Weathered Wood stamp on right side of tag and work towards the left side stopping about 2/3 of the way. Rub a black stamp pad on the tag starting at the left side and blending into the blue. I did not try to get complete coverage on the tag but rather let some of the tag color show through. Load your wavy lines texture plate with black ink and stamp across entire tag. This is meant to look worn and not perfect. I then took a standard razor blade and dragged it across the page, really rubbing it in some places. With a q-tip and copper alcohol ink add some touches of rust to the tag.

I used a pre-cut aluminum tag and textured it using the same wavy texture plate above and a stylus. Then I rubbed black alcohol ink and a touch of copper with a q-tip over the entire tag. Set aside and allow to dry.

Next I cut out the album title using "torn paper" scissors then rubbed the edges with the Weathered Wood stamp pad. Poke a hole through the left end and thread brad through title and aluminum tag then secure brad open. Put double-sided tape on both the tag and title, adjust angle as desired and tack down to page.

Tomorrow we explore the last page of the book "The Heart of the Matter".

Grunge - Day 9

"The Numbers" - Page 8

These particular numbers are significant....can you guess what the numbers represent?

Supplies:

Large chip board numbers

Smooch Accent Sprays - red and gold

Black Crackle paint

Heavy Gel Medium

Black stamp pad

Sharpie

How to:

This page has big impact but is simple to create. First, distress edges of tag with a distressing tool or razor blade. Then spray tag with Smooch accent sprays with red and gold in random spurts. While the tag dries cover chip board numbers with black crackle paint. Use heat tool to dry numbers. If you have any edges showing through use a Sharpie to fill them in.

Accent distressed edges with a black stamp pad. Once everything is dry adhere numbers with heavy gel medium. Using your finger smoosh black crackle paint around to dirty up the tag. That's it, you're done.

Tomorrow "Black Gives Way to Blue" page 9

Grunge - Day 8

Hitting The Stage - Page 7

 Supplies:
Smells Like Teen Spirit Music (printed from the internet)
Photo of PearlJam concert
Graphic Stencil
Alcohol Inks - Red, Orange, and Yellow
Smooch Accent Sprays - red and gold
Black Crackle Paint
Soft Gel Medium
Blending tool for alcohol inks
Black Micron Pen - fine tip


How To:
First, I printed the sheet music for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" written by Kurt Cobain and a photo of a Pearl Jam concert. Since this book is for personal use only and will not be sold or published I figured it was okay to print and use these images. If not, shhhhh, don't tell anyone! I centered my tag on the music sheet, traced it, cut it out, and adhered it with soft gel medium.

Next, I cut the guy hanging from the girder from the concert photo and adhered that across the top of the tag with soft gel medium.

For the surface treatment I lightly spritzed red and gold Smooch Accent Sprays. Then I laid a graphic stencil down and using a blending tool loaded with red, orange, and yellow smushed the ink around. For added definition I outlined the ink pattern with a micron pen. For the last touch, I randomly brushed black crackle paint around to dirty up the scene.

Tomorrow "The Numbers" of page 8.

Grunge - Day 7

If you are paying attention you probably noticed the lack of a blog post yesterday. I have been laid up in bed for several days now with an undefinable upper respiratory something or other which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the terrible cough that no amount of medicine can ease. Anyway, I just didn't have the energy in me to blog last night so I will pick up where I left off.

Let's Get Dressed - Page 6

Supplies:

Used black jeans (child's size is best for a tag)

Used cotton t-shirt

Scrap of plaid fabric, cotton or flannel

A few inches of broken chain

2 Jump rings

Embossed dog tag

Metal eyelet

Heavy gel medium

How to:

Cut the rear right side of a child's pair of jeans from just below the waistband to right below the pocket. This will give you a reasonable size to work with. Use a razor or distressing tool to wear out the jeans a bit, particularly around the pocket area. Punch a hole in the upper corner of the pocket and set an eyelet. Lay the jean scrap on the tag and play around with the placement until you are satisfied then mark the edges of the jeans on the tag. Slather heavy gel medium on the tag and place the jeans down, pushing them down into the gel. Allow to dry and trim away excess jeans. Attach a jump ring at either end of your broken chain piece. One one end attach a pre-embossed dog tag or emboss one yourself. Attach the other end to the eyelet on the jeans pocket. Tuck the dog tag into the pocket.

For the t-shirt all you need is a 3x6 scrap. Make holes and tear until it looks well worn. Slather heavy gel medium over the exposed tag and the top of the jeans and place the t-shirt. I let the t-shirt hang loose at the bottom rather than gluing the whole thing in place.

The finishing touch is the traditional plaid shirt. Cut, fray and wear out until you are satisfied and adhere the same way you did the t-shirt, leaving the bottom edge free.

Join me tomorrow when we hit the stage on page 7

Grunge - Day 6

Hit the Road Jack - Page 5

Supplies:

Diamond Glaze

Acrylic paints - black and yellow

Alcohol ink - Silver Mixative

Pumice

How to pave the road:

I created the manhole by simply free handing the pattern and edging with Diamond Glaze. Allow to dry completely. Color with silver mixative alcohol ink. I used a combination of q-tips and cotton balls.

Mix black acrylic paint with pumice and spread over the remaining area of the tag. Dry with a heat tool. Use craft acrylics or watered down acrylics to paint the yellow road lines.

The clothing of page 6 is on tap for tomorrow.

Grunge - 5

Angst - Page 4

Nothing says angst better than a clenched fist!

Supplies:

Stripe patterned paper (this is another piece from my teenage blogger pack)

Red card stock or fist die cut (mine was cut on the Cricut with the Indie Art cartridge)

White crackle paint

White paint pen

Clear crackle medium

Edge distresser

Regular and soft gel medium

Brown and black stamp pads

How to show your angst.....

Adhere stripe paper to tag with soft gel medium and allow to dry. Distress edges with a razor or distressing tool. Paint a series of lines starting in the middle of the page and radiating outward with white crackle paint (this will make it look like the fist burst through the wall). Dry with a heat tool. Rub a black stamp pad over it lightly here and there to add a dirty look.

To make the fist I used my Cricut and red card stock and then painted in the highlights with a white paint pen. You could free hand draw one, use a stencil, or a die cut too. Once the paint was dry I applied a thick coating of clear crackle medium over the entire surface. I dried it with a combination of a heat tool and a little bit of patience (hehehe). While holding the fist with both hands I made paper do "the wave" back and forth. This helps define the cracks even more. To really define the cracks rub the entire surface of the fist with a brown stamp pad and wipe off the excess. Adhere to the middle of the white paint with regular gel medium. I didn't glue all the way to the edges because I liked the way the curling added dimension to the page.

Tomorrow we hit the street with page 5.

Grunge - Day 4

"Hardcore" - Page 3

Supplies:

Rock style paper (mine came in a teenager blogger paper pack)

Glossy white paper

Letters to spell out Hardcore (mine is a stencil sheet blank cut using Cricut Solutions Indie Art Cartridge)

Electric Guitar die cut or sticker (mine is cut using Cricut Solutions Indie Art Cartridge)

White acrylic craft paint

Scrap of black rubber cord

Black stamp pad

Grey marker

White Gel pen

Regular and light gel mediums

Two-sided tape

Spray bottle with water or ink blending solution

How to make it happen:

Adhere your rock style paper of choice to the tag with light gel medium and grunge it up around the edges with a black stamp pad. 

Either make your Hardcore letters/phrase with a Cricut or other die cut machine or use stick on letter (letters with a little thickness is best). Attach phrase with regular gel medium and paint over surface with white acrylic craft paint (you want the paint to be watery not thick). Before the paint dries, hold tag upright and spray with water, allowing the paint to drip down onto the tag. When you are comfortable with the amount of drippage lay flat and allow to dry. After the paint is completely dry dirty up the phrase with the black stamp pad.

My guitar was made using my Cricut machine and glossy white paper. I then colored the handle, frets, and electronic do-dads with markers and aged the edges with a black stamp pad. Next cut a small hole for the "electric cord" to plug in and string a scrap piece of rubber cord through the hole. Adhere cord on back side with two-sided tape. Add two-sided tape to the rest of the back and stick onto tag. Curl the cord and attach in the side binding.

That's it! A lot of impact with just a few materials. Look for page 4 tomorrow.

Grunge - Day 3

Page 2

Supplies:

Newspaper (the entertainment section or a local independent artsy paper works best)

Yellow Single Fold Bias Tape or yellow ribbon

Letter stamps

 Ink Pads - black

Black Crackle Paint

Black Sharpie

Light gel medium

Two-sided Tape

How to:

First choose a suitable picture or ad from a newspaper. The one I used was in the entertainment section and was featuring an artist's work which happened to have a rebellious graffiti feel. I cut it out slightly crooked for a more out of order feel then glued it down with light gel medium. Allow to dry and then dirty up the page with a black stamp pad. Next I haphazardly painted black crackle paint along the top and side edges which I then dragged down onto the page with my finger. Dry with a heat gun. With a black sharpie I scribbled around on the page for more graffiti effect and wrote society and crossed it out (going against the trappings of society is one of the main precepts of "grunge').

Then with letter stamps, stamp caution across the yellow bias tape (or ribbon). Attach with two-sided tape.

Check back for tomorrow's exciting rock page!

The Grunge Goes On.....

Page 1

Supplies:

Newspaper

Molding Paste

Brick mold

Stamp pads - red, brown, and black

Black crackle paint

Black paint pen

Skyline stamp

Light gel medium

Two-sided tape

How to:

Spread molding paste on 2/3 of the tag, press brick mold into paste and let sit for a while. When you remove the mold there will be some definite lines and some smooshed and peaked spots, this gives the effect of plastered over brick. Tear a piece of newspaper to fill in the rest of the tag and adhere with light gel medium before molding paste is dried. Dry molding paste with heat tool (or air dry if you are the patient type). To finish off the "brick" rub with red, brown and black stamp pads until you get the desired effect. Cut out a word or saying from the newspaper, scrunch it up, age it with the brown and black stamp pads and stick it down with two sided tape.

With the black stamp pad and the skyline stamp (or other desired image) stamp the bottom edge of the newspaper. Take your black paint marker or even a sharpie would work, and write urban or other words and symbols in graffiti style. Paint top edge of newspaper with black crackle paint and use your finger to drag it down. Heat dry for lots of crackles.

Finish the tag by going over all the edges with a black stamp pad.

Tune in tomorrow for page 2!

Ta Da - THE Grunge Book!

Well folks, this one was a challenge but in the end it was totally worth it!

The Challenge: A tag book in the theme of Grunge using 6 large tags for my yahoo group Art For The Creative Mind.

Having been a teenager in Southern California in the 80's, grunge is something I am familiar with. It wasn't my scene but there was plenty of it around me. I somewhat have an understanding of the culture and what the people who lived and breathed it were about. So this challenge was exciting and a sort of adventure into the world of grunge.

The Result: A book that pays homage to a culture and a time that has passed and hopefully brings in the end teaches us something.

I love this book...in fact, I don't want to give it up but alas it was created for a swap. So in an effort to preserve it for my memory and my desire to pass on all the techniques I learned I am sharing it with you here. Each day I will highlight a page, give you a supplies list, and instructions. Enjoy!

How it all began...

Front Cover

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Grunge Board "Elements" - hinges, keyhole, frame

Mini antiqued brads

Screw Brads

Rusty Key

Maple Business Card

Center back piece from suspenders

Chain, jump rings

Stamp Pads - Brown, Weathered Wood

Embossing powders - Clear, Gold

Distress Crackle Paint - Black

Alcohol Ink - Copper

Newspaper - assorted letters

Heavy gel medium

What to do:

 Rub entire face of tag with Weathered Wood stamp pad, sprinkle clear embossing powder over entire tag, flick the back to remove some of the powder, emboss, and let cool. Using a brown stamp pad rub over entire surface making sure to get the edges and all the areas where there is no embossing. Wipe off any excess with a paper towel. 

Using brown stamp pad, stamp entire surface of hinges and keyhole, sprinkle with gold embossing powder, and heat. Use a marker to color any edges that are uncovered.

Take the maple business card and rub it with a brown stamp pad, just enough to bring out the wood grain. Then randomly paint black crackle paint over the surface making sure to leave exposed wood. Use a heat gun to dry, this really makes the cracks deep and worn looking.

Paint frame with black crackle paint and heat to dry. Cut different letters out of the newspaper to create the word "Grunge" and paste into the frame.

Attach hinges, keyhole and frame with brads. Then use copper alcohol ink on a q-tip to rust them up a bit.

Next sand the suspender piece, or whatever you may have that will hold a key, and touch up with copper alcohol ink on the edges. Attach to with heavy gel medium.

Check back tomorrow for more.....

Lots To Do: Faces Challenge

For this challenge I did a Faces of Women "Tile". It is a 5"x5" wood frame painted black with 9 polymer clay tiles stamped and aged.