NEW Goods, Peerless Water Colors, and Bust Fun!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are having a great February so far! I have some NEW GOODS to tell you about but first I want to show you a few things I've been making in the studio. Lately I've been having a blast playing with our Female and Male Stand Up Busts. I wanted to challenge myself to create them in several different styles. So we have "Abstract/Journaling", "Collage", and "Stamping" (or at least that was what I was going for!).

For the "Abstract/Journaling" Bust I started with an Extra Large Male Bust. I simply traced out some watercolor paper to fit the bust and stand and then I went to town using the NEW Peerless Watercolors Complete Edition Book and a Detailer Waterbrush. Next I did a bit of stenciling using the Small Diamond Stencil and added a touch of white acrylic paint here and there. Finally I used a black Sharpie Paint Marker for my text and doodling and attached the pieces to the Bust using Mod Podge. Easy!

For my "Collage" Bust I started with the Large Female Bust. First, I fussy cut the Marie Antoinette Head from the Beautiful Marie Collage Sheet to cover the head. Then I covered the other pieces with papers, fabric, and a bit of white acrylic paint. I added some Large Masonite Wing Cut-Outs, Glasses Cut-Outs, Purse Cut-Outs, and Scissors Cut-Outs. The crown and heart come with the Bust. "Queen of Arts" indeed!

Finally for my "Stamping" Bust I started with the Extra Large Female Bust. First I used Rustoleum Gold Metallic Spray Paint (this stuff is the bomb) on all of my pieces. Next I stamped a face, cut out of cardstock, and colored the cheeks with a pink colored pencil. To embellish I used the Steampunk Gears II and Mini Steampunk Gears II spray painted black, Large Gold Halo Dresden (love the way this turned out) and some vintage rhinestone bits, all attached with E6000. The heart is painted with acrylic paints, collaged, and doodled with a black Micron pen.

Love the Rustoleum Spary Paint. Just look at that shine!

On my Bust above I used our NEW Peerless Watercolors. I also started this journal page background using Peerless Watercolors and a Broad Waterbrush. Just look at those BRIGHT and VIBRANT colors. And with the Waterbrush they are so easy to use. Just squeeze the brush a bit to release some water, pick up some color from the sheets, and blend/squeeze as you paint. You control how much water and how much blending. And between colors just squeeze the brush onto a paper towel and wipe! It comes perfectly clean each time and the whole set up is SUPER portable for journaling on the go. I'm smitten for sure!

And on to even MORE new goods. New Shrine Kits! Are they dolls? Are they Shrines? YES! I'm super excited about our brand new Articulated Doll Shrine Kits in both Male and Female. They are super easy to assemble and yes the specialty brads are included too! They hang on the wall and you can pose them as you please. You can use any of the above Bust techniques on them too!

And give us a hand! Yes, NEW Hand Shrine Kits in two styles. They are a great size, just about the size of an average adult hand. And ready to hang on the wall with the built in hanger! I would love a whole wall of these in different styles. You could include a personalized photo and use them to honor a loved one (pets included!).

Pheeww... that was a lot of awesome. In honor of Valentine's Day next week, you must have a look at the Vintage Valentine's Day Shrine created by Design Team Member Linda Cain using our Adore Shrine Kit. Isn't it fabulous! Hop on over to Linda's Blog for more photos and a complete tutorial!

And if you participated in our Valentine's Day Heart Book Swap or ATC swap, all returns have been mailed and should arrive any day. I loved having so many people as my Valentine this year :).

Have a great weekend and don't forget to check out all the other NEW GOODS not mentioned here! xoxo