Tag Archives: mixedmedia

A Weekend of Crafts and Fluid Art

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Yesterday I decided to craft on the back porch. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the screened porch is surrounded with big lush Maple Trees. I am starting a new altered art journal book and I decided that for this project I’m going to use my painted papers and most of my hand-made mixed media embellishments for this project. I am using a few things from Tim Holtz and the Dollar Tree. Painted papers are one of my favorite mediums to use. These papers were made with left over paint, distress spray stains and inks from other projects. There are so many fun art projects you can make with them as I have blogged about before.

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After I finished my pages and was getting a bit to eat, my daughter called me and asked if she could use my printer and get some canvas from me. She asked about Fluid Art and we got to talking about it. I gave her the old pouring medium I had left over and gave her instructions but then we decided to play around with it straight away. I did not want to use my good paint for this experiment so we went down to the basement and dug up some old clumpy acrylic paints that has to be years old. They came out pretty good for having to used art supplies. We had a great time and it was a treat to hang out with my daughter. -Stephanie Hopkins

 

(Images may be subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work, photos and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie.)

To Practice Any Art

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“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So, do it.” — Kurt Vonnegut

I hope you all have a wonderful, creative and relaxing weekend. Today I’m sharing a few pages from my journal that I recently created. I am still doing my Art 30-Day Challenge and can’t wait to share the final pages when the time comes. Please be sure to check out yesterday’s post here and I want to inspire those who have not read a story in a while, to find a book you might enjoy and read. I’m hoping to start The King’s General on Saturday. I’ll be listening to this particular story on audible.

As we know, there are so many wonderful benefits of reading and one of those is finding creativity. Often times. I’ve been inspired to create fun journal pages from stories I’ve read/listened and love. -Stephanie Hopkins

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(Images may be subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work, photos and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie.)

 

 

 

The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier

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Shamefully I’ve always assumed that Daphne du Maurier was wildly known for her works, Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and Jamaica Inn without really looking into her other stories. Yesterday, I saw someone mention her book, “The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier.” I quickly jumped on Amazon and goodreads to check it out and have added it to my 2020 to-read list. Most likely I will be listening to the audiobook since I have two credits available and I’m saving my pennies for research books. Anyhow, I can’t wait to get started on this novel! If you read the story, please let me know what you thought. -Stephanie Hopkins

The King's GeneralAbout the Book:

Honor Harris is only eighteen when she first meets Richard Grenvile, proud, reckless – and utterly captivating. But following a riding accident, Honor must reconcile herself to a life alone. As the English Civil war is waged across the country, Richard rises through the ranks of the army, marries and makes enemies, and Honor remains true to him.

Decades later, an undaunted Sir Richard, now a general serving King Charles I, finds her. Finally they can share their passion in the ruins of her family’s great estate on the storm-tossed Cornish coast-one last time before being torn apart, never to embrace again.

30 Day Mixed Media Art Challenge

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On May 12th I started a 30 day art challenge of using black, white and pink stains, paint and ink for background colors. I want to see how many creations I can come up with just using those combinations. I’ve created quite a few journal pages so far and will be working on other art projects with this challenge.

Below is a sneak peek of just a few that I’ve made and at the end of the 30 days I will be doing a slideshow of all the art I created with this challenge. I left a lot of free space on a few of the pages to write down some thoughts, quotes, my poems and bible verses.

Stephanie Hopkins

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(Images may be subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work, photos and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie.)

Stitch Stories: Personal Places, Spaces and Traces in Textile Art by Cas Holmes

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Today I’m highlighting one of Cas Holmes art books about creating art inspired by place, space, objects and more…Below I share a link to her website and I highly recommend taking a look. Her work is extraordinary and expressive with each stitch and collage. I could spend hours looking at all the detail and escape in the story she tells. -Stephanie Hopkins 

9781849942744.jpgStitch Stories: Personal Places, Spaces and Traces in Textile Art

by Cas Holmes

The events of your life, from local walks to exotic trips, can provide endless inspiration for textile art. This inspiring book shows you how to record your experiences, using sketchbooks, journals and photography, to create personal narratives that can form a starting point for more finished stitched-textile pieces. Acclaimed textile artist and teacher Cas Holmes, whose work is often inspired by her life and the journeys she makes, helps you find inspiration through your own life and explains how to record what you see in sketchbooks and journals, which can often become beautiful objects in themselves. She explains how you can use photography, both as documentation and as inspiration, and sometimes incorporate it into the work itself, along with found objects and ephemera. Throughout the book are useful techniques that can be harnessed to add extra interest to your work, such as methods for making layered collages, how to ‘sketch’ with stitch, and advice on design and colour. If you want to create beautiful, unique work inspired by your life and travels, this is the perfect book for you.

About the Artist:

Cas Holmes was born in Norwich, U.K in 1960 and graduated from University College of Creative Arts in the mid-eighties. For thirty years she has traveled, taught and exhibited and is renowned for her use of ‘the found’. Her many-layered, atmospheric pieces have been shown and collected around the world. She received a Winston Churchill Memorial Award and Japan Foundation Award for research into paper-making and textiles in Japan.

Since 2005 she has run courses for the Edward James Foundation at West Dean College as well as continued workshops in the UK and overseas. She works to commission and has pieces in the collection of the Museum of Art and Design New York, Rochester Cathedral and Arts Council England.

More recently, an Arts Council Award led to research in India and subsequent exhibition. This led to a Pride of Britain Award by the NRI Institute for excellence in her field.

The Found Object in Textile Art is her first publication for Batsford.

You can see her profile and work  HERE

How Painted Papers Evolve

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This pass Saturday I created mixed media homemade ephemera with my painted papers I made with left over paint, inks and gesso from various art projects. Then I cut out different shapes using file folders for the base. The paper dolls and lettering and number 5 is by Tim Holtz. I forgot who the ribbon is by. I love blending abstract with vintage themes and seeing how they come together. This is a great craft for meaningful imagery for your art projects and journals. -Stephanie Hopkins

“I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.” -Pablo Picasso

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Start Living Today

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“Who you are tomorrow begins with what you to today.” -Tim Fargo

“Keeping a journal of what’s going on in your life is a good way to help you distill what’s important and what’s not.” Martina Navratilova

Art Journal Pages by Stephanie Hopkins

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(Images may be subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work, photos and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie.)

Cover Crush: The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse

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The Key to EverythingI love vintage images and this one is really atmosphereic. I like reading period pieces and this one looks good even though it has a sad tone to it in the description. The genre is romance and I normally don’t read those kind-of stories, but I will be keeping my eye on this one. -Stephanie Hopkins

The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse

Revell

Romance

Pub Date 02 Jun 2020

Description

Peyton Cabot’s fifteenth year will be a painful and transformative one. His father, the heroic but reluctant head of a moneyed Savannah family, has come home from WWII a troubled vet, drowning his demons in bourbon and distancing himself from his son. A tragic accident shows Peyton the depths of his parents’ devotion to each other but interrupts his own budding romance with the girl of his dreams, Lisa Wallace.

Struggling to cope with a young life upended, Peyton makes a daring decision: He will retrace a journey his father took at fifteen, riding his bicycle all the way to Key West, Florida. Part declaration of independence, part search for self, Peyton’s journey will bring him more than he ever could have imagined–namely, the key to his unknowable father, a reunion with Lisa, and a calling that will shape the rest of his life.

Through poignant prose and characters so real you’ll be sure you know them, Valerie Fraser Luesse transports you to the storied Atlantic coast for a unique coming-of-age story you won’t soon forget.

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Daily Art Therapy

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Last night I sat down and created two new pages in my Mixed Media Altered Book. I love how they turned out and how much it helped me to end my day on a positive note. -Stephanie Hopkins

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“Imagination is tapping into the subconscious in a form of open play. That is why art or music therapy, which encourages a person to take up brushes and paint or an instrument, and just express themselves, is so powerful.”
― Phil ‘Philosofree’ Cheney

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(Images may be subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work, photos and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie.)

Cover Crush: Louisiana Lucky by Julie Pennell

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Louisiana Lucky by Julie PennellWhat is not to love about this cover? Images of cupcakes! Yes please! Love everything about this cover. The premise sounds interesting and I love the title. -Stephanie Hopkins 

Louisiana Lucky by Julie Pennell

Atria Books

Pub Date 04 Aug 2020

Description

From the critically acclaimed author of The Young Wives Club, a “heartwarming story about friendship, heartache, and self-discovery” (Karen White, New York Times bestselling author), comes a charming novel reminiscent of the works of Mary Alice Monroe and Kristy Woodson Harvey, about three sisters who win a huge lottery prize and learn what it truly means to be lucky.

Lexi, Callie, and Hanna Breaux grew up in small-town Louisiana, and have always struggled to make ends meet. For years, they’ve been playing the lottery, fantasizing about how much better life would be if they had the money.

For Lexi, it means the perfect wedding; for Callie, it means having the courage to go after her career dreams; and for Hanna, it means buying a house that isn’t falling apart and sending her bullied son to private school. When the incredible happens and the Breaux sisters hit it big—$204 million dollars big—all their dreams come true. Or so they think. Because it’s actually not a cliché—money isn’t the answer to everything, and it often comes with problems of its own.

Heartfelt, engaging, and featuring characters you’ll root for from the first moment you meet them, Louisiana Lucky is a satisfying page-turner from a rising star in women’s fiction.

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