If you live in Austin be sure to pick yourself up a copy of Rare Magazine.  The local glossy mag has a feature on yours truly!  I mentioned to the editor that I used a past issue of Rare to make the Shredded Junk Mail Necklace on the cover of The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry and the matching Shredded Junk Mail Bracelet pictured here in extreme close-up.  If you don't live in Austin and can't grab a copy, which is too bad because they make great jewelry, you can still read the article below.

Today concludes our 3 part series on unleashed collaging with Traci Bautista here at Naughty Secretary Club.  We started with a pair of collaged earrings, sandwiched in a framed piece of collage art and are wrapping things up with a chunky collage necklace & yet another pair of ear bobs.  Can you really have too many pairs of earrings?

After several days of having collage party USA my once clean desk was covered with various painted papers, art supplies, and by this time Traci and I had started to get into the jewelry supplies to see about truly meshing our respective arts.

If you recall on yesterday's post the collage technique I utilized created two sheets of hot pink, orange and yellow paper.  I used one sheet to create my framed key art, but that leaves me with another back up sheet to collage with.  Traci and I had been playing around with making our own stamps out of fun foam, using sequin waste as a stencil and had even busted out the textured wall paper - but I needed more kitsch.  Something was missing for me.  WARNING: More pictures in jammies and sans makeup coming...

This is when Traci and I started to go through my drawers of beads and baubles looking for inspiration.  Traci headed straight for my giant bucket of vintage plastic flowers that I often incorporate into my jewelry and started getting stamping crazy.

I on the other hand headed over to my stash of vintage cupcake toppers and started thinking deep stamping thoughts.  Eventually a little menagerie of plastic farm animals caught my eye.  I noticed the design was outlined in a raised design that would work perfect for stamps.

I broke off the cupcake toppers stand, stuck him to a piece of fun foam, covered him in black paint and got my stamp on.  The results were cute as they could be!  Given some stamps came out better than others and if I had it to do over I would mix up the animals and make it more random, but it was my first time stamping with a baked good accessory give a girl a break.  I thought it came out with a nice Warhol like feel.

I was particularly smitten on the little squirrel print, with Mr. Piggly Wiggly coming in a close second.  I thought the little prints were just too cute to leave as is, so I needed to take them to the next jewelry making level.  Hobby Lobby just so happened to have these tiny baroque picture frame Christmas ornaments on 50% sale that called out me to be used as pendants.  I traced out the perfect squirrel and cut him out with my hipster Fiskars skull scissors that everyone tries to steal from me.

Next step remove the string to hang the ornament on your tree and substitute with chunky black plastic chain.  I had my good friend Cory Ryan model for me yet again and I think she looks rather dashing in her new groovy squirrel necklace.

But wait there's more..... Remember I said there was another pair of earrings that I whipped up?  Did you think I was lying?  Using some random scrapbook paper, collaged fabric that Traci had brought along and Decopatch tissue I whipped up a small sheet of collage

I had some left over Hambly Raffle Leaf Overlay from my framed key art collage that just so happened to match my project perfectly!  See you don't have to be a scrap booker to use all the toys!

Once my Collage Pauge dried on my art I cut out 4 circles.  I cut out 2 larger circles from the overlay and using glue sandwiched the overlay in-between the two collaged circles.  Once all the glue had dried I used my Dremel to drill a hole in each and then busted out the jewelry findings to make my collage wearable.  Again, Cory Ryan ladies and gentlemen....

After a weekend crafting with Traci I feel recharged in the creativity department.  Sometimes stepping outside of your crafting comfort zone is just what you need to rev your engines.  I even finally busted out my copy of Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith which I had been threatening to start for ages.  Look at me go stenciling sequin waste onto the "Fill this page with circles" tutorial!  I think I might have officially unleashed my inner collage artist!

Today is part 2 of the Naughty Secretary Club 3 day special on collage.  Yesterday I chatted all about my adventures taking a piece of paper with purple paint and transforming it into a pair of one of a kind earrings.  Today is about using collage in more of a home decorating type of way.  Over the weekend while chatting with my collaging partner in crime Traci Bautista I mentioned that I had the urge to create some art.  Not the kind that you wear, but the kind that you hang on the wall.  I'm never going to have art hanging in the Whitney, but I managed to whip up something that I would not be embarrassed to hang in Casa Perkins.

The basis for my picture started out using a little different collage technique that Traci taught me which was fill your paper with paint and smoosh another piece of paper on top of it.  I opted for some groovy bright 60's colors.  The added bonus of this technique is I have two pieces of collage background to play with.

I have a big jar of keys that I bought ages ago at a Flea Market knowing that one day they would come in handy, and this weekend their day to shine finally came.  Using my sticky back fun foam and various keys that said things like "Sears" and "Donner" I made myself a custom stamp.

Next I covered my stamp with aqua blue paint and stamped the key pattern all over my hot pink, yellow and orange collage paper.

I needed to let my collage dry and by this point it was the wee hours of the morning and Traci and I were getting sleepy.  I hate going to bed with an unfinished craft project looming, but alas as a pregnant chick I don't have much control over getting tired these days.

The next day my collage was dry enough to run through my printer and make a copy.  That way I can use my original collage over and over again for various projects.  On the color copy I applied one of my Antique Frame Hambly Rub-On's around one of my favorite key prints that said "Sears".  You might recall the rub-on's from the Transfer Me Jewelry project in The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry.

I knew I wanted to mount everything on a large wooden oval (the same I used for the Phoning Flo Necklace in The Naughty Secretary Club book) and traced this oval over some Hambly Mini Bicycles paper.  Last of all I painted the wood a maroon color that matched my frame and let dry.

After the paint had dried I trimmed the oval in aqua blue yarn around the edges.  Realizing now I wanted to frame this piece, there was really no point in me painting the back, but to start I didn't know if this was going to be a large pendant or not.

While the glue on the yarn dried I took Traci to her first Hobby Lobby where her line of Collage Pauge was spotted yet again!

At Hobby Lobby Traci and I scored various crafting supplies to add to our collage madness.  I was looking for a small frame to put my key art inside and brought home two options.  I also picked up some yellow scrap booking paper to use as a background to lay my Hambly Raffle Leaf Overlay over in the background.

Here's my little project all framed up.  Whatcha think?  Should I quit making jewelry and start trying to book art shows?  I once won an art contest in 7th grade for a picture of Axl Rose I did with colored pencils, maybe art is my true calling.  Then again maybe not, but either way I had a ton of fun making this collage and can't wait to find just the right place to hang it up.

Remember tune in tomorrow for the 3rd and final installment on collaging with my buddy Traci. Tomorrow I take collaging to a whole new jewelry level with necklaces and earrings!

Saturday night my friend Traci Bautista came to stay with me for a few days.  She had been in Houston for the quilt show so she took a quickie flight over to Austin to hang out, and I'm oh so glad that she did.  I got free personal Collage Unleashed lessons for 2 straight days!  I met Traci when she was a guest on Craft Lab and we have been friends ever since: hitting Vegas together, going to craft conventions and keeping in touch crafty style.  I used her amazing papers on the Paper Clip Necklace in The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry. 

The next 3 days worth of blog posts will be a pictorial guide to what Traci and I whipped up during our adventures.  Look for chunky jewelry, art made from keys and fun foam, cupcake toppers converted into stamps and oodles more.  Today I'll start with a pair of earrings that I collaged, stamped, heat pressed, hammered and more.  Dang mixed media arts take a lot out of a person.

So first things first we had to go shopping for supplies.  I had lots of things already in the studio and Traci fresh off of teaching workshops was loaded.  This didn't stop us from heading to Austin's local Joann's Super Store.  We found Traci's Collage Pauge on the shelves and of course had to take the above picture.  We loaded up on paper, paints and brushes.  Don't mind us crafting in our jammies and without make-up.

First things first, we had to make bases for our collages.  I started with a couple of shades of purple and Traci went with an aqua/green combo. 

Recycle your old hotel room keys to use as a paint spreader.  We smooshed the paint all over our water color paper for a nice smeared look with even coverage.

Using some fun foam, scissors and a little creativity we whipped up some custom stamps.  I went for various squares and rectangles.  Once my purple paper had dried using yellow paint I stamped my design all over.

Once my yellow stamp had dried I tore up sheets of zebra print Decopatch Paper and collaged them to my paper.  Click the link to learn how to make your own Show Pony Necklace using Decopatch!

I had been collaging on top of a manila folder as not to mess up my desk too much.  Traci coached me to always wipe off my brush on it and wipe all excess paint on top of it.  Eventually it turned into it's own piece of art which I decided to cut into circles using my handy dandy Fiskars Circle Cutter and incorporate into my Mixed Media Collage Earrings.

Our hotel room keys were all gimped up so Traci and I decided to cut up my laminate badge from Maker Faire to spread our Collage Pauge with.  I just randomly laid my circles out on top of my collage.

Traci was collaging her scraps.  We were both attaching the paper to a canvas like material using modeling paste in the middle.

Eventually Traci realized I had a heat press in my studio.  My aunt had given it to me years ago and I had used it one time to laminate some Christmas things.  Traci was so giddy with excitement she drug a pregnant lady out to Wal Mart in the middle of the night for Parchment and Freezer paper.  We sandwiched our collages in-between the paper.

Traci manned the heat press which made my entire house smell like smoke.

The heat press basically cooked our collages and flattened them out and made our top coats of gel medium baby bottoms smooth.

After my collage cooled I cut them out into larger circles so that you could see both sets of patterns.  I painted the edges black with paint and a fine brush.  I applied a shiny top coat of Diamond Glaze to both sides and allowed to dry.  After that I used my awl to punch a couple of small holes and set some eyelets for a fancy hole.

Using my usual jewelry findings what was once a piece of paper with purple paint drizzled on it was transformed into a one of a kind pair of earrings.  Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  I love them so much I'm not sure I could bear to sell them on Naughty Secretary Club and may need to keep them for myself.

Remember check back in on the Naughty Secretary Club blog tomorrow for a tutorial on how I used collage, yarn, keys and a trip to Hobby Lobby to make a framed piece of handmade art.  Thursday stop by for my third installment on collage where I whip up a different pair of earrings using collage, overlays and fabric.  Not to mention a chunky necklace that involves cartoon squirrels and neon pink paint!

So you have taken tours of my studio and if you peeked at the book of Kitschy Crafts you could see my old living room and pink bathroom, but have you ever wanted to see my house in its complete entirety?  The guest bedroom you would sleep in if you came to visit, the bowling trophies you would see in my Florida room and my grandmothers Electro Hygiene Vacuum - you know you are dying to see!  Well now you can if you just pop over to Apartment Therapy for a tour of my casa and article on my home decorating sensibilities.

I'm a little scared for the response since with the preview article about my version of magazine storage the term wack-a-doo was already thrown out.  If you have an Apartment Therapy account and of course if the looks of my humble abode tickle your fancy I would love you forever if you left a nice comment and took the virtual home tour.  49 whopping pictures of polka dot floors, beauty parlor chairs and Tiki Gods! Thanks tons to the amazing Adrienne Breaux of All Things Austin Design for taking a chance of my kitschy casa!

What home decorating blogs do you frequent?  Are you as addicted to Top Design as I am?  Do you covet your copies of Pad & My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living as much as I do?  I do love me some wack-a-doo home decorating and as the article says "After all, I am the girl known for making jewelry out of plastic gnome cupcake toppers did you really expect my house to look normal?" that pretty much sums it up.