LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS now in stock!

"Honor"  (Namaste - I honor the light in you)

Etsy Listing - "Honor"

Hello friends;

I thought I'd share with you some of my recent listings in my Etsy store of a new line of limited edition art magnets I have had made.

These are all reproductions of my original mixed media work.  Each magnet is about 4" X 5.5" and has a semi-glossy professional finish to it.

They make great gift ideas (easily mail one in a standard No. 10 envelope).  You can jazz up your kitchen appliances or those boring office filing cabinets too!

More designs to come so stay tuned.

Thanks for looking!

"Enjoy The Journey"

Etsy Listing = "Enjoy The Journey" 

"Sing Your Song"

Etsy Listing - "Sing Your Song"

GELLI PRINT PACKING TAPE ART MAGNETS - HOW TO

Art Magnets Made With Gelli Tape Transfer Technique

Hi friends;

Here's a long overdue post for you on how I make those art magnets, using my gelli prints on packing tape.

If you haven't see the Gelli Arts video on how to make cool, arty packing tape with gelli prints, then go here first to see what I am talking about:

Gelli Arts Packing Tape Video

So, here are some photos of two of my Gelli plates with acrylic and dimensional paints.
 

12 X 14 Gelli Plate With Acrylic & Dimensional Paints

6 X 6 Gelli Plate With Acrylic Paints

And here is the tape I made from those two plates:

Gelli Tape - No Glitter Or Pearl Ex Powder Used Yet

Gelli Tape With Teal And Purple Glitter Added To Fill In The Sticky Areas

The tape was just about the perfect width for me to make backgrounds for my art magnets I create so often.  I use those sticky-backed business card-sized magnets you can buy at the office supply store.  They are 2" X 3.5" and are great for making small-scale art magnets.

Sticky-backed business card magnet blanks

All I had to do was peel off the white paper from the magnet, put the gelli tape on the magnet (remember, it's VERY sticky) and then trim the edges.

So now I have the backgrounds of the art magnets ready, what am I going to put on top of the Gelli tape?

I started by adding some of my doodly flower collage elements.  And then I added even more doodling on them with my Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll pens (this step not shown).

Next, from my ever-increasing stash of stuff, I pulled some cute vintage-style graphics that measure about 1" X 2" and which I had already put under those sticky-backed resin pieces you can buy for such purposes.  They are great to use for making pendants and domino art.  I believe these images came from Lisa's Altered Art.

Resin Blanks (left) and Vintage Images Under Resin (right)

I used some E-6000 (similar to GOOP) to adhere the vintage images that were now under resin to the magnet backgrounds.  Clothes pins held them in place until they dried.

And here are the finished pieces.  The scans really don't do them justice as they are very bright and shiny because of the packing tape and the resin.

If you go back to the top of this post, you'll see a couple of examples of another style of magnet I made using some sweet vintage images of ladies and their dogs, and with this same technique.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial and I'd love to see what you create with your gelli packing tape.

Until next time ...

Joanna

MIXED MEDIA ART MAGNETS - back to where it all began

Hello everyone;

Many, many moons ago (about 15 years), as some of you will know, I started on my artful adventure in mixed media by making little collages on magnets with recycled and salvaged materials.  I had been given a whole bunch of business card blanks (sturdy cardstock that measured 2" X 3.5") and decided to experiment in collage with them.  Their small size meant the process wasn't too intimidating and it was really easy to get work finished quickly.

At about the same time, I found out that you could get sticky backed magnets the exact same size and that lots of people used these magnets to turn their business cards into a marketing tool for themselves.  The light bulb went on and I still use these sticky-backed magnets to make miniature works of art to this day.

I am now, all these years later, a self-confession Gelli plate printing addict.  I use my gelli monoprints in all kinds of mixed media and collage pieces and always have interesting little bits left over, which lend themselves very well to becoming magnets.

The following are images of my most recent creations using scraps of Gelli prints along with collage elements.  I have deliberately chosen to keep the compositions simple so that the beautiful, one-of-a-kind backgrounds can shine.  You can't see it in the scans, but many of the magnets have also been treated to a little dash of glitter for a bit of sparkle.

I hope you like them.  A few are already sold but some of these are still available if you are interested.

Cheers, my friends!
Joanna

Any Flat Surface Will Do - Collage On Anything!

Art Magnet Made With Recycled Laminate Sample

There's a running joke in our household that if something is flat and not nailed down it will probably end up in one of my collages.  

As the "Queen of Recycling" (a title given me by friends and customers), I always look at recyclable materials with a view to whether or not they'd make a good substrate for my art. 

Case in point, about 12 years ago I was in the home improvement store looking at those little laminate sample chips you can pick up when you are thinking of replacing your kitchen countertop.  They come in a myriad of colors and textures and are strong and durable.  They have rounded corners typically and a hole punched in them, and are about 1.5" X 2" or so.  Initially, I used them to make art jewelry pendants which I sold on Ebay and Etsy for several years.  

Eventually, I found some larger pieces that were about 3.5" X 5" and started making larger art magnets with them.  I hadn't made any in quite some time, when I recently came across a stash of them in my studio and decided to play around with them again.  I had been wanting to use up some of my Gelli plate prints that I have amassed, so I thought I'd make some fun and funky art magnets.  Here's what I did:

Here's a couple photos of the fronts and backs of the laminate pieces.  I have chosen to do the art on the back (unfinished) side because it has a more grippy surface than the slick "good" side of the laminate.  Plus, that way the finished piece will have a really nice look to the back side as well as the front.  

Laminate Samples - Front

Laminate Samples - Back

I cut my Gelli plate prints a bit bigger than the size of the laminate sample, which is about 3.5" X 5."  I chose some of the brighter, more colorful prints I have because I was planning on making these collages into some of my smart-ass magnets and I wanted them to be fun and playful.  

To ensure good adhesion, I used heavy body gel medium (Golden) to glue the prints to the backside of the laminate and let them dry.  Then I trimmed around the edges of the laminate to remove the excess paper.

Collaged elements, doodling, lettering, and other paint treatments came next.  I ran a stamp pad around the edges of the piece to finish the magnets off and then sprayed each with three coats of high gloss sealant.  Two flat, sheet magnets (the kind used for business card magnets) were put on the back of each piece.

Back Of Lamnate With Two Magnets Attached

Art Magnet Made With Recycled Laminate Sample

Art Magnet Made With Recycled Laminate Sample

This was a fun and quick project with great results.  It has reminded me that I should re-visit my previous types of work from time to time, bringing with me the latest techniques and tools I am using.  It brings new life and a new spin to the tried and true.

Thanks for visiting and have an artful day!

Much love always!
Joanna

Miniature Art With Vintage Slide Mounts

Recycled vintage slide mount art magnet

I am often asked about my miniature mixed media and collage art so I thought you might like to see some images of a recent magazine submission I sent in.

These are vintage slide mounts (each is 2" X 2") that I have covered with a variety of salvaged papers, or  ink, paints, stamped images, etc.  Each one is one-of-a-kind and features vintage images and assorted recycled doodads.  

Some of these slide mounts have been turned into magnets, while others will become focal pieces for future cards or small art.