Mixed Media ATC's Tutorial

Hello lovely creatives!

What are ATCs? The abbreviation stands for Artist Trading Cards. These are small artworks that measure 2.5 x 3 inches (64 mm x 89 mm) which are typically traded between artists, either online or exchanged at trading sessions. Each ATC is a unique piece of art signed by the artist usually on the back of the card. Artists can use multiple techniques to create them. Here I used blank white cards as my base and covered them in handmade collage. I worked with black gesso to get a grungy look and added more layers, such as stamping and mark making on top. Final touches include a piece of thread for texture, a stamped motif and a title. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures  of the process again. I need to remind myself to grab my camera and place it on the work table right in front of me :)

If you are short on time, you can watch the quick version below or scroll down further and watch the full-length tutorial:

I hope you enjoyed watching the video. And if so, a "thumbs up" would be very much appreciated! You can also use the above picture to pin to your pinterest board for future reference and share with other ATC artists out there. Have a great week!

Duni's Flohmarkt ♥ Sammlerstücke zum Liebhaben ♥

[Werbung]

Hallo ihr Lieben!

Nachfolgend biete ich diverses Porzellan und Keramik von Designermarken zu einem sehr guten Preis an. Die Teile sind weitestgehend zu Dekozwecken benutzt worden oder sind noch in der Verpackung. Die Bilder sind durchnummeriert. Die meisten Teile sind Einzelstücke, aber es gibt einige, die ich mehrfach verfügbar habe. Bitte die Kurzbeschreibung zu den Bildern genau lesen.

Bei Interesse bitte mit Angabe der Nummer an folgende Email schreiben: duni.buesken(at)gmx.de Bitte NICHT via Instagram - das ist einfach zu unübersichtlich ;-)

• Alle Preise sind Endpreise zuzüglich Deutsche Post/DHL Paketversand. Die Versandkosten werden nach Größe und Gewicht berechnet.

• Keine Rücknahme - da Privatverkauf • Wenn weg, dann weg - keine Garantie

Viel Spaß beim Stöbern!

GreenGate

Latte Cups drei verschiedene Designs Euro 7,50 / Stück 1 + 2 VERKAUFT

Fassungsvermögen: 300ml

Spülmaschinen - und Mikrowellengeeignet

Espresso Cup Rot mit Herzen Euro 4,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 4 Stück)

Mini Porzellanschale Rosa Ø 8cm  Euro 4,00 /Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück) VERKAUFT

Porzellanschale geblümt Ø 10cm Euro 5,50 VERKAUFT

Porzellanschale getupft Ø 10cm Euro 5,50 VERKAUFT

  Kaffeetasse mit Unterteller Rot Punkte Euro 9,50

  Kaffeetasse mit Unterteller Rosen Euro 9,50 VERKAUFT

  Kaffeetasse mit Unterteller Mint Euro 9,50 / Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück) VERKAUFT

Eierbecher Steingut Euro 3,00 / Stück

Porzellankrug Rot Geblümt Höhe 12cm 0,5 l Euro 10,50

Backform mit Herzen Steingut Euro 4,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück)

 Greengate Kuchenteller Ø20,5 cm Euro 10,- /Stück

Nr. 15 (Verfügbar: 2 Stück) VERKAUFT

Nr. 16 (Verfügbar: 2 Stück)

Nr.19 VERKAUFT

Nr. 17 / 18 VERKAUFT

Ib Laursen

Die nachfolgenden Teile sind aus der MYNTE Serie. Keramik. Geeignet für Ofen, Mikrowelle und Spülmaschine.

Ofenform Rosa Ø28cm Euro 14,00 VERKAUFT

Rührschüssel Groß Rosa Ø 18cm Euro 10,00 VERKAUFT

Rührschüssel Klein Mint Ø 11cm Euro 4,00 VERKAUFT

Muffinschale ca 10 cm

Rosa Euro 2,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück) VERKAUFT

Rot Euro 2,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück)

Weiß Euro 2,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 2 Stück)

Mint Euro 2,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 1 Stück) 

Sophie Allport Feines Porzellan

Teebeutel-Ablage mit drei verschiedenen Designs.

Euro 4,50 / Stück

Rose (Verfügbar: 4 Stück)

Herz (Verfügbar: 6 Stück)

Ilex (Verfügbar: 8 Stück)

Porzellantasse mit Henkel Herz Grau Euro 7,50 /Stück (Verfügbar: 6 Stück) VERKAUFT

Porzellantasse mit Henkel Weihnachtsspruch Euro 7,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 6 Stück)

Porzellan Eierbecher mit Rose Euro 3,50 / Stück (Verfügbar: 8 Stück)

Keramik Milchkännchen Grau mit Goldrand Euro 6,00 / Stück (Verfügbar: 3 Stück)

Diverses

Krasilnikoff "Sweets" Schale Dunkelgrau mit Sterne Euro 6,00

Bei Anfragen / Interesse bitte an die folgende Email schreiben: 

duni.buesken(at)gmx.de

Liebe Grüße,

Flower Pop Series 2025

Hi everyone!

At the beginning of this year I set out to create a series of floral paintings. I wanted them to be colorful, cheerful and expressive. These 20 x 20 cm artworks are painted with acrylics on wood panel, which give them a unique textured feel. While each original painting can be displayed on its own, the whole series comprises six panels, and when displayed together will turn an otherwise plain wall into a colorfeast for the eyes! I used premium wood panels and primed them before adding a base color. For my motifs I drew inspiration from flower shops, magazines and my own garden to create little bouquets of expressive flowers. I built up the layers over several days, shading and adding details. I sealed each panel with a semi-gloss finish. I enjoyed painting this series. Which one is your favorite? 

20 x 20 x 2 cm acrylics on wood panel

Thanks for reading along and Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday

...well almost :)

I planted these Azaleas last month. They are only about 30 cm tall, but happy to report they have started blooming. I love those clusters of tiny funnel-shaped blooms. I'm sure by next year they will be more lush.

Last year I planted a very young cherry tree. Actually, you can barely call it "tree" - it's more of a thin stalk with a few branches shooting from the top. Nevertheless, it gifted me with a few cherry blossoms a couple of weeks ago. I had the presence of mind to take a picture before they wilted. Their flowering time is sadly short lived.

I felt like I needed a bright pop of color in the garden, so I treated myself to this gorgeous pink rose (Leonardo da Vinci). It's currently in a plant pot just outside my studio. I might have to replant it when it grows. Pink is such a cheerful color!

And finally, I had a sweet visitor the other day! There are a few regulars who pass through my garden every now and then, but I haven't seen this tuxedo cat before. It was resting on the mat, but when I opened the door to gently put food out it scurried away. A strong indication that it's a stray cat. I will keep my eye out for it and who knows? I just might become a cat mom again :) After all, this is how Leo came into my life all those years ago.  

Easy Mixed Media Tags

Hello crafty friends!

Making tags is one of my favorite paper crafts. Type "gift tags" in the search bar at the top right of this blog and plenty more tag tutorials will show up.

Today I am creating my tags from scratch or rather from one of my gelli prints. The paper I used is 160 gsm, as I find this is a good weight for making tags. Scroll down to watch the video, which also explains how I made the gelli prints. Be sure to read the info in the description box as well. Today's craft is all about layering. I adhered tiny paper scraps including ticket stubs, which I found in the back of a drawer the other day. Looking at the date...wow, they are so old :)

Here's a step-by-step instruction - unfortunately it was an overcast day, so the photos aren't the best.  Scroll down to watch the video, which is a lot brighter.

Step One: measure a rectangle 7 x 14 cm on the gel print, mark with a pencil and cut along the lines. 

Step Two: flip the tag over and using a set square align the top edge with a parallel line and until the corner meets the edge. Mark with a pencil and snip off. 

Step Three: Add stamping

Step Four: Add marks with crayons

Scroll down to watch the video in full.

Step Five: Glue down pieces of collage.

Step Six: Embellish with a focal image (leaves, flowers, animals, words etc.)

Step Seven: Loop a ribbon through the hole

Tip: Plan a gelli printing session a day or two beforehand, then flatten the prints with a stack of heavy books. This way they are ready to go when you decide to make those tags. Happy crafting!

Studio Makeover

Hello lovely creatives!

Those that have been following me for a long time may remember, that we've been fixing up, renovating and generally updating our house, including the garden. To date this has been our biggest project. We started with the garden in 2018 and apart from planting some shrubs and flowers, we are pretty much done now! Our main goal was to make it low maintenance.

Here's the view from my studio:

The house, which was built in the 50s is another matter. The last time it was renovated was in the 70s, complete with 70s decor! We've been updating the upper rooms slowly for at least a decade - then last year it was finally time to relocate my then studio to a new space downstairs. This coincided with my transitioning from fabrics/sewing crafts to mixed media art and developing and teaching private workshops. The designated space needed new flooring above all. I found some suitable floor boards in a vintage grey, which are durable and easy to clean. In the below pic you can see how it looked before and after. The door was still missing in the second pic.

I'm super pleased with the flooring, but of course, most of all I'm loving the big garden-facing windows, letting in so much more light than in my previous space upstairs.

The two white cupboards above are the only furniture items that I bought. I was lucky that they had been on sale at the time! I placed a bookcase in between - it's a bit shorter, but overall it doesn't look too bad. All other furniture is from my old studio and/or repurposed from other rooms. The big work table used to be my cutting table from when I still had my shop. Now it's perfect for my art making, as I prefer making art standing up. Plus it's where I make video tutorials for my YouTube channel. My set up is really simple, but it works just fine.

As you can imagine this is my absolute favorite place to be. I like to sit in the chair in the corner by the window in the early mornings with a cup of tea and look out into the garden, listening to bird song. It's here that new ideas form. Below is a short clip of my art studio. I've hung some of my abstract pieces on the walls.

And this final clip is from my beloved Leo, two weeks before he passed. He used to hang out by my studio. I miss seeing his cute, fluffy face.

I hope you enjoyed a behind the scenes look at my new studio. I've been told mine looks very clean and organized :) Well, I don't believe artist's studios necessarily need to be cluttered, even though that is the general vision people have. What's your take? Tidy or messy?

Wishing you a beautiful weekend, wherever you may be.

Mini Art Journal - Collage Art with Gelli Prints Tutorial

Hi everyone, welcome back to another art journal tutorial!

When things get very busy around here, I still like to squeeze in a little "art time" - that's when my A6 mini journal comes in handy. This spread came together quickly. I used my handmade gelli prints to collage a background, added some marks with crayons, stamps and ink splatters, and finished it off with whimsical focal images stamped with black ink on white drawing paper, that I cut out and adhered together with some inspiring words. The quirky stamps are from Art by Marlene.

Enjoy watching the video tutorial:

 

Btw, if you haven't any gelli prints you can easily substitute those with colorful scrapbook paper. 

I selected some papers that harmonized well with each other and had interesting patterns. I tore them into random pieces and glued them on the surface with a glue stick. 

Next I added some marks with wax crayons in contrasting colors and also stamped some images for added texture. Note: the below spread is actually from one of my workshops, therefore the collage is a bit different than in the video, but the process is still the same!

I stamped my chosen focal images on white drawing paper and cut them out. These silicone stamps are from Art by Marlene, who is known for her whimsical style. 

And finally, I made some splatters with white ink all over the spread!

This collage only took me about 20 minutes, but I'm loving the result. I think I mentioned before that I love round shapes, therefore most of my marks are circular, but you can make any type of mark that you wish. Happy art making!

Pretty Spring Flowers Mixed Media Page

. 

Hi lovelies! 

A year ago I decided to create a YouTube art channel, which was a big step for me, as I had never before considered doing art videos. In fact, I had never made any video before, apart from one or two personal travel videos! Suffice to say, it was a very steep learning curve :) I had a few hiccups at the start, as my audio wasn't up to standard, but I later invested in a better microphone, and I do believe the sound has improved since. My goal from the beginning was to create fun videos in under 10 minutes. I'm well aware that most people are simply too busy to watch hour-long tutorials. I also wanted my tutorials to be beginner-friendly and to encourage people of all ages to explore art making, specifically mixed media art journaling. If you have watched any of my videos you'll have noticed that the general tone is quite relaxed. Above all, there is no pressure to create a "masterpiece". It's more about the process, the playing with paints and tools and exploring different styles etc. You can check out my blog post on mixed media supplies here. 

In honor of my one-year-anniversary I made this Spring-inspired tutorial featuring cherry blossoms.

I taped off the edges for a clean look and added stamping in some areas with my silicone text stamp and black ink. 

In a somewhat messy manner I brushed on a layer of light and candy pink acrylic paint. 

After this has dried I applied watered-down green acrylic ink with a brayer making a curved motion. I simply let the paint flow without touching it and letting it dry completely, before adding stencilling on top. 

I had prepared my flowers in advance, by stamping the images on a sheet of white drawing paper. I colored those in with watersoluble crayons and spread the color around with a small round brush. Once those have dried I carefully cut them out.

 

I arranged all the pieces on the page to my liking and then simply adhered them with a glue stick. I also added a little sentiment to the page. The entire process can be watched here: