"Jack Frost" with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Ambassador Heather Thompson

As the days shorten and the long nights of winter settle in, you can always find Jack Frost all around you.   Whether it’s in the Fall as he dances around changing the colors of the leaves to vibrant tones of reds, oranges and yellows or in the dead of winter, you will find this magical and sometimes mischievous persona walking through the forest leaving his mark of frost, ice, snow and sleet.

On those cold winter mornings, waking up from the warmth of your bed, you can find the fern-like patterns of frost on the windows. You know Jack has been prancing around spreading his scenic wintry fun.

So when the chill and frosty weather is nipping at your toes, you can always count on Jack being close by, causing some wintry mayhem and blustery cold weather.

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts® "Egg Shrine"
Relics & Artifacts® "Milagros"
ICE Resin®
Apoxie® Sculpt
Websters Pages Designer Trim
Aleene's True Snow
Tim Holtz Glitter Clear Rock Candy
Ice Resin® Crystal Opal
Swarovski Clear 4mm crystals
Stampin' up Background Stamp

Timeless Inspiration with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Ambassador Debby Anderson

Angels and spiritual ephemera are very dear to me and usually inspire my creative journey.

I love the Relics & Artifacts® Coquille set and find that the oyster shell is a beautiful substrate to work in miniature.

My inspiration started with a inkjet printed copy of this beautiful image of the Madonna and two angels. My design style is spontaneous while using many layered mediums, materials and techniques while striving to replicate in an "old world" and "time worn" fashion.

"We are each of us angels with one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." ~Luciano de Crescenzo


Supply list:
Relics & Artifacts® "Coquille"
Apoxie® Sculpt
KROMA Crackle®
ICE Resin® Iced Enamels- German Silver
Ice Resin®
Image of Madonna and two angels
Mod Podge® (seal inkjet image)
Rubber Stamp "Hail Mary"
Sand Paper ~ medium grit
Golden® Raw Sienna Acrylic Paint
Golden® Raw Umber Acrylic Paint
Mica Flakes
German Glass Glitter
Selection of tiny Shells, Pearls, Rhinestones
Rough faceted Quartz (crushed with a hammer)
Stand (top of vintage candle stick)
Hand forged wire for "Seven Sorrows" embellishment
 

"On Angel Wings We Soar!": A Very Cool Feature with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Ambassador Milagros Rivera

Since you already know our Christmas here in Puerto Rico lasts long into the New Year, I thought I would share this tree with you. If you take a closer look at the presents underneath the tree, you'll see they are all David Yurman bags.  Yes, David Yurman, the jeweler!  Don't I wish they were all for me, but an even closer look would reveal this:  Relics & Artifacts® ornaments!!!!

I made *50* of these beautiful chandelier pendant ornaments for this display.  My eternal thanks to David for rushing them out to me!

This year has been a whirlwind for me. I can't even begin to describe all the good things and opportunities I have been given.  The words "grateful" and "blessed" have been on my heart all year. Going back to the way it all started, I remember doing my New Year's Resolution this way:

It was actually good to go back and read my last post of 2015 and all the hope I had for 2016.  As the new year approaches, I bid you creativity, opportunities and wings, as I feel that on angel wings we soar!

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts® Chandelier Pendants

Introducing RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Newest Rockstar Team Member: Lynne Moncrieff

We are so thrilled to announce that Lynne Moncrieff will be joining our Relics & Artifacts® family!  Lynne's role is a bit unique to that of our Ambassadors.  You see, Lynne has been such a go-getter and a genuine advocate of the Relics & Artifacts® brand and line of products within the United Kingdom.  She is joining the team as our Marketing Liaison for the United Kingdom region!  Of course, she will also be sharing a bit of her world renowned creative magic along the way.

Shall we get to know Lynne a little more?

What fills your time when you are not creating?

Since I can remember, books have held a special place in my heart, I am a bookworm through and through.  Alongside books, Stampington & Company magazines are companions of mine, either fresh editions or much loved back issues.  With limitations enforced on my life, it is reading and creating which fill my time.

What are your favorite materials to use when you create?

For most stamping artists, ink is a favourite.  For me, it’s only a means to inking up a stamp.  I am more inspired by gesso, paint, in particular PaperArtsy's Fresco Finish chalk acrylic and their Infusions, which are little bottles of pure magic.  Their Grunge paste is amazing for texture.  Relics & Artifacts® became a favourite from when I first saw them.  Initially I was a cardmaker but now I want the freedom to dabble with different substrates.  Since their release, That’s Crafty surfaces were instant favourites. I am keen to explore further but already favourites are paperclay and Ice Resin®. 

Alongside all of those are tried and tested and forever loved walnut ink crystals and tea and coffee for staining.  I also enjoy seeking out supplies from around the home and garden, items that might otherwise be put into the rubbish bin – cardboard torn from mailing boxes, recycled brown paper, deli wrap.  I also have a compulsion for working with old book pages, fabrics, and laces

Where do you find inspiration for your art and how do you stay inspired?

Most often I am inspired by products - a stamp design, studying a piece from Relics & Artifacts® or sometimes it is the action of playing with supplies that will lead to inspiration.

There will be whispers in my ear of a story, a narrative unfolding or often it will be words that will float in my mind.  Sometimes, in my mind’s eye, I see images as though a movie reel playing or as though I am a bystander taking in the scene before me.

In a notebook I jot down solitary words that pop into my head or quickly scribble a narrative as it unfolds within my head.  The notebook is a precious log of thoughts, ideas and future plans.

I regularly submit to Stampington & Company, often submitting to challenge calls.  They are a particularly valuable source of inspiration, challenging me to create to a theme which I might otherwise have never considered. 

I also have the sense that inspiration creates inspiration.  The more we create and are inspired by words and images, the more inspiration will surround us.  In this community of ours, we cannot but help be inspired by those around us.

What is your signature style? 

The label vintage/shabby chic has been given to me although I find those terms can be slightly restrictive.  It makes me smile when people will say they recognize my projects because they are “so very Lynne”.  That is very humbling!

If I had to choose a label to describe my style, it would most likely be mixed media with an emphasis on the tattered and torn, timeworn and windswept.  Layers and tactile textures with fragments of this ‘n’ that, often a fragment of vintage lace or fabric or pieces of torn book text and loose threads which waft in the breeze.  Delicate is a word often attached to my art projects.

If you could meet with anyone, living or deceased, who do you feel you could spend hours in a chat over a cup of tea/coffee?

Of course there are renowned people who it would be wonderful to spend time with but my first response to this question - the Art Sisters in this community.  They are so friendly, supportive, encouraging and it would be fascinating to chat away about what inspires them, to listen and talk about our shared passion for creating.

What is your favorite quote?

I have far too many favourites, I could share a favourite for every day of the year.  Those that make me chuckle the most relate to the Peanuts characters.  I could never tire of them.

Once again, we'd like to send out a big, huge welcome to Lynne and we look forward to the magical doors she will open, both creatively and metaphorically.