All posts by HobbyLoco

Inchies

Inchie-A-thon

Inch sized paper doll cat
Inchie sized cat paper doll

I have been participating in the Inchie-A-thon that is going on over at ATCsForAll.com (which continues through Jun 22).   An “Inchie-A-thon” is an online art party where artists gather in an online forum to make, share, and trade art.  Because artists from around the world participate, the party goes on around the clock.  You can play a little while or all week – depending on your schedule and interest.

Above is shown the coolest thing I made over the weekend.  An inchie sized (1″ x 1″) kitty cat paper doll.  The head, bow, legs, and tail are attached with mini brads.  It was surprisingly simple to make.

Below are a few of the other inchies I made this weekend:

“late for breakfast” inchies
colored pencil cats
image and text collage inchies
bunny inchies: colored pencil and Indian ink

Most of my inchies were drawn with Faber Castell Indian ink pens and colored pencils, a couple were made with printed image and text collage.

Journals / Notebooks

Junk Mail Journal

Junk Mail Journal

Awhile back (circa 2008), I made this little art journal from my junk mail. I gathered all the little postcards and card stock weight ads that collected near my computer, cut the larger ones down to size (approximately 4″ x 6″).  I punched and bound them into a little book.  *The photo above shows the plain book right after binding.  There are 11 cards bound into the book – one folds out to double its size.

Here are some of the finished pages:

Junk Journal Page - Lio and Fish

I decided to play around with some of my paper scraps and see what developed.  This page was made from scrapbook papers, newspaper clippings, a sticker, stamping, doodles, Indian ink pens, a paint marker, and sparkly gel pens (the entire fish is colored with sparkle).

Junk Mail Journal Page - Free Dream

Just magazine and catalog bits glued to a piece of junk mail, with a bit of doodles thrown in for good measure.

Junk Mail Journal - Skulls

I started cutting skulls from magazines and catalogs, and pasted them on the page. I added a layer of gesso tinted with a drop of blue acrylic paint to blend the background layer. I then drew skulls with pens and markers on pieces of junk mail and paper scraps, and pasted them all over the page.

Junk Mail Journal - Adventures

This page is made up of collage, paint and doodles. All of the text was cut from junk mail. The doodles were drawn on the pattern side of security envelopes from junk mail. The page itself started out as a sales postcard.

Junk Mail Journal - Choose

This was one of the first pages I worked on.  It features a collage of scrapbook paper and magazine clippings, with acrylic paint, Indian ink and paint pens.

I have a large collection of journals,  junk journals, notebooks, and doodle books.  I hope to have time to feature more pages from them soon!

 

Pocket Shrines

Valentine Matchbox Shrine

Valentine Matchbox Shrine

This pocket shrine was made from a standard matchbox measuring about 2-1/8″ tall by1-1/2″ wide and 1/2″ deep.

I covered the box with printed scrapbook paper, which I also used for the inside background. I added a touch of metallic gold to the edges.

Materials used in the making of this pocket shrine include printed images, glitter gel pens, punched shapes, string, and a rhinestone.

Related Supplies:
Pocket Shrines

Day at the Beach Matchbox Shrine

Beach Themed Pocket Shrine

I created this shrine for a birthday RAK. I used a standard 1-1/2″ x 2″ matchbox for this shrine. To begin, I painted the box interior light blue. I used a palm tree punch on very heavy cardstock to cut out my palm tree shapes.

Using scissors I cut a little island shape from the heavy cardstock and glued the palm trees to the island. Next I painted the island and trees using acrylic paints.

I then painted the water blue and added a bit of painted white foam to create waves. The sandy beach was also painted with acrylic paints. I creased the painted scene in the middle to create a dimensional image

Clouds were created by gluing bits of fiberfill to the sky. I then glued the painted scene into the match box. The top edge (trees) stand out from the background, with the creased center edge attached to the bottom/back edge of the matchbox. The foreground (beach) slopes towards you and is attached to the lip of the matchbox.

I used Diamond Glaze to topcoat the water and give a shiny appearance. I added tiny seashell buttons (with the shanks removed) to dress up the beach.

The exterior of the box was covered with scrapbook paper, a sun image, and colorful fibers.

Products used:

 

 

Art Dolls

Lavender Lovely Art Doll

art doll assemblage

As I was sorting through a box of random beads and broken jewelry, I came across this large purple bead with gold splatters on it.    I felt inspired to use it in a project and started to gather color coordinating bits and pieces.

What evolved a few hours later is this “Lavender Lovely”.   I used heavy black  jewelry wire to attach some broken jewelry pieces for legs.  I ran the wire through some purple buttons and the large purple bead, which I used for the body.   I attached beads and charms for the arms and added a loop in the back for hanging.

I nested two paper flowers and glued them to the top of the bead to frame the face.   I used a 1/2″ circle punch to cut the face from some printed material I had on hand.   After I glued the face to the center of the flowers, I coated it with Diamond Glaze to seal and add some shine.

I think she turned out pretty cute!

Related Products:

 

Inchies

More Framed Inchies

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I have traded many inchies over the years.  I currently have 6 frames, holding 100 inchies each, hanging on the walls in my apartment.

Inchies are miniature artworks that measure 1 inch square.  Inchies can be drawn, painted, stitched, beaded, collaged, made with Origami or cut paper, made from polymer clay, metal, or any material that you can think of.

inchies_frame_6

Inchies can be flat or dimensional, they can be interactive and fold or slide open to reveal a hidden area.

Most commonly inchies are drawn, collaged, or painted on card stock or other firm strata such as watercolor paper or recycled boxes, that has been cut or punched to a one inch square size.

Highly rated 1-inch punch:

More inchie info can be found here:
http://hobbyloco.com/inchies.html
 

Chunky Pages

Fabric Chunky Page – Butterfly

chunky_fab5a

I made this chunky fabric page for a swap.  I started by piecing together brightly colored cotton fabric in “quilting style”.  I added some heart shaped buttons and a piece of black satin ribbon to make the butterfly.  I added letter beads to spell “FLY HIGH” and some detail stitching to finish.

I used felt to pad the middle and backed the page with cotton fabric.  I added a flowered ribbon to dress up the back.  I added a small stitched piece of 14 ct. Aida fabric to add my info to the page.

I completed the page by using embroidery floss to do a dense blanket stitch around the edge and adding coordinating fibers.

I love the bright and happy colors used on this page!

chunky_fab5b


Inchies

Inchies

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Inchies!

    top row:

  1. cut image, collage text, painted border, stamped text
  2. painted background, shrinky dink rose, stamped text
  3. painted background with torn paper, origami tree
  4. string art on a pierced background
  5. cut image, collage text, painted border, stamped text
    second row:

  1. pen and ink doodle art
  2. painted background, hand drawn fish, glitter glue, thread
  3. paper collage and punched stars
  4. hand drawn images on a book page background
  5. cut image from stamp, collage text, tiny star glitter
    third row:

  1. hand drawn images on a book page background
  2. string art on a pierced background
  3. doodles and glitter on a handmade paper background
  4. hand drawn images on a bleach painted background
  5. collage images on a handmade paper background with a gem
    fourth row:

  1. hand drawn images on a bleach painted background
  2. cut image, collage text, painted border, stamped text
  3. pen and ink doodle art
  4. cut image, collage text, painted border, stamped text
  5. punched images and stamping on a book page background
    fifth row:

  1. collage images embellished with gold metallic pen on a watercolored background
  2. paper collage and punched stars
  3. shrinky dink heart and stamping on a book page background
  4. pen and ink doodle art
  5. painted background, hand drawn fish, glitter glue, thread

Made for a swap.

Art Dolls

Embroidered Art Dolls

artdoll_01A

Shown on this page are art dolls that I stitched several years ago.

They are embroidered by hand using primarily the chain stitch.    The doll shown above is the very first one I ever made.  She has hand made paper beads attached for her hair (or crown).

artdoll_02A

I cut the body shapes from felt, which I then stuffed firmly and stitched shut.  The embroidery was done free hand in chain stitch and each took many hours to complete.

art_doll250x350

These dolls were a lot of fun to make and the stitching was quite relaxing.

Photos below show both sides of the dolls.

artdoll_cas01
Embroidered Art Doll by Cheryl A. Smith
artdoll_cas02
Embroidered Art Doll by Cheryl A. Smith
Artdoll6
Embroidered Art Doll by Cheryl A. Smith
Art Dolls

Shrink Plastic Art Doll

shrink art dollThis little art doll was created from an original 9 piece pattern.

My colorful “doodle” design was done with a black ultra-fine sharpie marker and colored pencils.

I incorporated summertime graphics into the design – a sun, a beetle, a bee, a butterfly, a storm cloud, a sunflower and some vines.

I punched a row of holes across the top of her head before shrinking, and attached colorful fibers to create her hair. I added the little purple satin rose with craft wire.

Shrink Plastic Art Doll

The body sections were joined using silver jump rings. She measures just over 5-1/2″ tall. I am very happy with the results! This project was so much fun!