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Merchant Kitty

Category: Paper Crafts

Anything that is made primarily from paper

Gentiva Hospice
Gentiva Hospice Volunteers
All the card making projects were ready to go when we arrived Thanks to Sharon

I recently attended an activity with the Gentiva Hospice volunteers.  These volunteers minister to Hospice patients in the Clovis area.  They get together about 4 times a year for team building and do something special for their patients.

Gentiva Hospice making Valentines

They gathered at Unique Creations, a local crafting mall and studio, to make valentine cards.  In a few hours, 15 guys and gals were able to crank out almost 100 cards. Their leader, Sharon Null had everything ready to go ahead of time.

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Gentiva Hospice Volunteer Group
Volunteers busy creating valentines
Gentiva Hospice Volunteer Group
Snacks!

Volunteering with Gentiva Hospice benefits both giver and recipient.

Card making and any craft is a great tool for bonding and team building. There is the added benefit of having something to show for your team work!  People may not realize it, but art actually releases endorphins which not only feel good, but are good for your immune system!  Bonus!

Gentiva Hospice is a great way to serve the community. You can help people and make lasting friendships.  If you would like to become a volunteer or just get together with the group for their next project to help out, contact Sharon Null at 575-749-2086 or send her an email.

Gentiva Hospice Volunteer Group
Gentiva Hospice Volunteer Group gathered to make valentines for the Hospice Patients
Cardboard Mixed Media

I love mixed media.  If you are not familiar with mixed media, it just means no limits on materials and mediums.  You can use paint, ink, markers, pastels, transfers, and you can use canvas, wood, metal, cardboard.  You can layer all the fun elements you have ever loved.  What I love about mixed media is you can just keep layering and it just keeps getting better and better.  I saw this pin with cardboard:

Mixed Media with Cardboard
Mixed Media with Cardboard

I am seeing all these great pressed board embellishments but I can’t find them at my local craft store.  ( the down side of living in a small town.  You don’t get murdered when you go to the store, but the stores don’t have anything fun to buy anyways.  It’s the price you pay.)

I also found this great tutorial working with cardboard:

Experimenting with Cardboard Mixed Media

So I just had to run out and find the nearest hunk of cardboard to experiment on.

One thing I learned is that all cardboard is not created equal.  To make good use of the corregated look, you want your top and bottom layers to not be too thick.  It makes it hard to cut.  Thicker corregation with more ripples also makes your project more sturdy.  Once I removed the top layer of my cardboard, my base was flimsy.  If I was creating a serious piece of art, I would have had to mount it to some pressed board or wood.You need a very sharp blade or you will get jagged cuts.

I will be the first to admit, this is not my best work, but after all, that’s what art journals are for.

20150205_112422 20150205_112626 20150205_112548 20150205_112527 20150205_112513I basically just went around the house and looked for a few odds and ends.

Another new item I was trying out was Pearl Ex powder.  I found a clearance bottle at Hobby Lobby and was curious to see what it was like to work with.  It has been a bit difficult for me to research exactly what to do with it.  I ended up mixing it into some paints, and then I mixed it in with glue.  It is pretty and sparkly, but so far I prefer to by the metallic paint.  A bottle seems to go a long ways, so I will have to do some more research.

The dragon was also a jar of mystery I bought on clearance.  It is called Snow Tek.  I am sure I grossly misused it, but it has been sitting in my drawer for more than 2 years.  It was fun to work with.  The texture is like floam.  It probably IS mico floam.  It was fun to sculpt with.  It dried overnight and holds up well even when thick.  It also paints easily as you can see.  I would definitely try to find something else if I had to pay full price for this product.  It would get expensive quick, and it is not intended for sculpting.  It is really made for adding snow texture to wintery scenes.

While my first attempt at cardboard mixed media was kindof a flop, I cant look at all this great art and give up just yet.  Check out the inspiration!

Something that yields spectacular results with zero investment?  Sold!  Let’s go find a dumpster!

 

 

Here are a few invitations and tags that I made up for the Princess Party.  I was excited to get to use my Prima Doll stamp.  I just colored her in with colored pencil and stamped her dress on craft paper!

princess invitations
Prima doll stamps were used to create these invitations
princess invitation
Scraps of paper create the folds in this princess invitation
princess invitations
Fancy dress invitations with scrapbook embellishments