Busy, busy, busy...

I am so sorry I have been absent without a word.  Life can definitely get busy and sometimes unexpected events lead to adjustments.

I will be posting again soon.  In the meantime you can look for me on Instagram and Pinterest as well as enjoy a nice peek at some artsy goodness while you're patiently waiting.  And I really do appreciate your patience in all this.

 

 

Some stash busting tape I made using shipping tape, die-cuts, paint, and stencils.  I posted this and another photo on my Instagram page is you'd like to take a look!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you do to bust your stash!

Mini Art Journal Day 4

Hello my crafty friends!

I'm so glad you're visiting!  I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 4 - Think

 

I have done my fair share of thinking, and then some.  About everything.  The direction I want to go in life, the choices I need to make; thinking is a neverending process.  Thinking take up a good portion of most everyone's day, regardless of how big or small the choice is.  I also hink about art supplies and what direction I want my projects to go.

Part of thinking of where I want my projects includes what parts am I going to compose my project out of, and do I need to get any of them?  That may, of course, require making a purchase.  That's why I've been working on a couple different strategies to increase my cash flow.  One is being an Amazon affiliate.  All you have o d is follow the links Ive included to some of my favorite products and make a purchase. I get commission, but your price does not increase.  Another avenue I'm pursuing is a very simple e-mail system called Cliqly.  You log in, spend 10 minutes sending e-mails, earning click commissions.  If you include your referral link, you can also earn referral commissions.  You don't pay to get the referral link and this isn't a scam.  Anyone can do this, no tech experience needed.  I'm not messing around, at least not when it comes to this.  I mess around with art, not making money.

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge #260 - Anything Goes

Crazy is Our Fame August Challenge

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what's she's making for each prompt.  For those just tuning in, I'm working in a mini art journal I made out of envelopes, but you can use many different things, including scrap or underpaper, so some pages already had stuff on them.  A hole punch and some baker's twine later and a mini art journal for the challenge is born!

I'm planning to post all of my pages, though some may be individual pages and some may be in group.

I covered my page with a couple different paints colors, including black through a handwriting stencil similar to this one and some yellow through my chevron stencil from The Crafter's Workshop.

I added some details using some circle stamps from a set designed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and a red dye stamping ink cube from a rainbow set I've had forever.  I also put some darker green paint through an older Dylusions stars stencil and then offset the stencil a little, grabbed my Sharpie pen and traced the stencil with my pen. 

The doodle border on the side is me playing with my Sharpie pen.  The letter tiles are from a old kit from Studio Calico, I think.  I have a set in blue as well.

My thinking girl is from Oddball Art.  I love my Oddball Art images.  So fun, and a little bit sarcastic.

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my art journal page.  Bye for now!

Gelli, gelli, who brought the gelli?

Plate, that is.  If you've never heard of it, that's okay.  I gotta tell ya though, it's a wonder.  It's magic.  It's so versatile and lovely.  Okay, I'm done now, maybe.

You really can do so much with a gelli plate.  It's jello made in a scientific way to it doesn't go bad and instead makes artistic wonders.

 

To gelli print you need a few supplies: gelli plate, brayer, paper, acrylic paints, and texture tools.

Here's a couple different gelli plate options:

Gel Press Gelli Plate 8x10

Gelli Arts Gelli Plate 8x10

 I believe Speedball also makes one.  Gelli Arts and I think Gel Press make several different sizes.  Gelli Arts also has small ones in different shapes.  So the possibilities are really endless.

A brayer is like a paint roller, only smaller and for art, not painting a room in your house.  Brayers also come in slightly different designs, but are very similar and work the same.

This is the one I have, and it works well for me.  Here's a couple more option as well:

Rubber Brayer, 4 inches

Speedball Rubber Brayer, 4 inches

When it comes to paper, you can use almost anything.  I've used notebook paper, cardstock, heavy white paper, deli paper, tags, manila folders.  According to Gelli Arts, newspaper ink can get absorbed into the plate as can photo paper coating.

 

Any kind of acrylic paint can be used, but I have found that less is more.  Too much paint, and its rolling over the sides.  You can always add more.  You want a thin layer, otherwise the texture can get lost.  I've done it myself, and it's not horrible, but I prefer the clearer prints.  This is actually where the type of paint is important.  I've used fluid or free flow paint before, but since it's thinner, you could end up with more than you bargained for.  Fluid or free flow is good for some things, but use a careful hand when pouring.  Or pour it on a piece of paper, roll the brayer in it and then roll it onto your plate.  All that being said, it's entirely possible for some bits or sections to stay on the plate.

In that case, you can do one of two things.  You can pull the paper off enough to see if it's sticking, and press down on the paper more to pull the paint, or you can do clean-up or ghost prints.  Another trick I've learned from printing and watching videos by other artists is you can apply white paint to your plate and that will pull anything leftover onto your paper.

 Last is texture tools, and these can be so many things.  Anything really.  A bamboo skewer you use to make lines, fabric, leaves, stencils.  You can also take old credit cards and gift cards, cut notches into them at different points, and drag them across for texture before pulling prints.

As you do it more, you'll learn you can experiment with many things.  I've seen videos for image transferring and using alcohol ink.  I myself have used packaging from other items to make circles or just weird random patterns that only that object can make.  When it comes to stencils, you can also pull the stencil print, then pull the other print separately, or add another layer of paint for a little or a lot of contrast and pull the print.

 

I've included some recent prints from a session, some of which has already been cut up and used on other projects.

Thank you so much for visiting!  Bye for now!