I think this image of a 60s surfer girl totally rocks. It's a terrific photo with all the splashy ocean spray, her bathing suit is pretty cute, and the colors are lovely. What I like the best about this photo is her pose. She looks like a still image from a Bob Fosse show, yet on a surfboard. Totally amazing! 

Although I've lived only a mile away from the ocean for most of my life I'm a terrible swimmer. Boogie boarding in the little kids area is as close as I get to real surfing (but it's great fun and I can totally pretend that I am really surfing, just like the little kids). 

Still, I really identified with the image of this surfer girl. I mean, who wouldn't want to be her? I decided to place her on top of a cascading pile of layered vintage papers. Now she's in my element, collage. What's your element? 

My Chine Colle explorations have been going well in terms of fun and creativity but not so well technically. I've been using a (new to me) printmaking paper, Rives BFK. And my work has been wrinkling like crazy when using a water base (Methyl Cellulose) adhesive. 

Rives Advantages: This paper has a beautiful creamy color and texture. It also rips easily to create lovely edges. If you like to use white space as a design element, your collages will look at least 20% better on BFK as opposed to a standard mixed media paper like Strathmore. It's basically like putting a Spanx on your work (collage or drawing). 

Rives Disadvantages: Because this is a printmaking paper it will stretch when it gets damp, whether or not you are using a press. The area where you adhere your collage papers will not stretch at all. This can result in some major buckling. Once the wrinkles set it they are pretty much permanent.) I did have some luck re-dampening and ironing my collages on the reverse side.) 

Takeaway: When using a printmaking paper like Rives BFK use the "driest" adhesive you can: a light swipe of a glue stick or spray glue. Let the collage air dry quickly rather than put it under a stack of books. 

I've tried pre-stretching a few sheets this week by dampening them, running them through the press and taping them to a board to dry. Will post an update.

What is your favorite paper or substrate for collage? 

"Chine Colle" basically translates to "thin paper collage" in French. It is done with a printmaking press, and most often used to print on paper that is too thin and delicate to go through the press on its own, and to add texture and color to etchings. I decided to try this technique to create transparent/translucent layers using collage elements. 

I used powdered methyl cellulose, a traditional bookbinding adhesive as my glue. Because I loved the look of Chine Colle (but am not a printmaker) I "cheated" by drawing on tracing paper and using these pieces as collage elements. 

What worked?
I love the way the collage papers seems to really bond with the background paper. (I used Rives BFK.) Loved the Rives paper, it's not just for printmaking. Also, combining drawing with collage is something I'm now very interested in exploring. 

What didn't work so well: When the paper came out of the press is was completely flat, and very damp. I placed each collage on layers of clean newsprint, covered with a sheet of freezer paper (face down to prevent sticking) and put my collage sandwich under a heavy stack of books. At first it was completely dry, or so I thought. After a few days the paper started to curl ... alot! In the future I'm going to change the newsprint and leave the collage under the books for at least a week.

A friend gave me a vintage wooden ruler with a metal strip on the edge and challenged me to make something with it. I used the metal strip as a base for this pendant. Here's how I did it:
1) I removed the metal strip, created a teardrop shape then wrapped the top with wire. 
2) Traced & cut the shape from a vintage dictionary page, then filled it with Ice Resin.
3) Used Glue 6000 to glue vintage rhinestones around the edge. 
4) Attached the pendant to a vintage rosary. 

This year I dove into my collection of mid 60s Women's Day magazines to create my annual holiday card.  I quickly found myself floundering in a sea of tacky nostalgia: colored toilet paper, Sea Monkeys and other mail order fantasies, virtually inedible jello molds, and impossibly difficult (and often hideous) holiday crafts. 

Christmas with my mom pretty much centered around the pages of these magazines. We found so much joy making the budget friendly treats and holiday ornaments featured in Woman's Day and Family Circle.  We made a clever center pieces from evergreens in the yard and sent away for gifts in the special advertising section that practically never panned out, like a tiny working spy camera and a lemon tree that (never did) grow real lemons. 

I finally did make my collage Christmas card, but it took me a really, really long time because I enjoyed reading the magazines so much! 

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Don't you just love this pair of creepy girls is from the Lunagirl Edwardian Gothic digital collage sheet? I happened to find some paper dolls that were just their size and thought they could do with a a makeover. They've been wearing those some old white dresses for over a century! And once they got  dressed it seemed fitting to give them a few friends to go trick or treating with. This collage really makes me laugh because in spite of they fun outfits and fun friends they still refuse to crack a smile. 
I did a little research on why people rarely smiled in old photos. One reason is that they had to hold a long pose for the long camera exposures. Another seems to be about what was "in" at the time. People with big smiles in photos were considered to be lewd, poor, drunk or stupid. Throughout the history of portrait photography people have the same goal, they want to impress other people. So being serious in a photo back in the day was just as important as looking like you're having fun in a selfie is today. 

Do you have an old photo album around the house and wish you knew something more about the people in it? What are their names? How are they related? What were they like?
I have a very old photo album I found in that attic. I don't know if the people in it are relatives or if someone in my family thought it was super cool and picked it up as a garage sale. I find it really interesting to look it over on a rainy day and imagine what they might have been like. 
I chose several photos from the Lunagirl Edwardian Gothic digital collage sheet and decided to experiment with the idea of giving them a story.  A vintage Nancy Drew book was used as the base and Golden Matte Medium strengthened the vintage book pages. It worked really to preserve the delicate look of the pages and provide a substantial surface for the paint and collage elements. 
I'm on the Lunagirl design team and the challenge for October  is  "Gothic". Its really been a lot of fun! The challenge is open to create in any media and is open through the end of the month.