Batch Work

I've mentioned working in batches before.  And it bears repeating, especially with all of us being so busy.

How often have you wanted to start a project, only to freeze up because you may not know where to start?

Or started a project, changed directions, or had the project morph and wasn't what you expected?  And maybe you feel your time was wasted because you don't love what happened?

Maybe you were impatient and you think you ruined the project because of your impatience?

Ooooohhh, let me tell you, so been there and done that.  I've watched videos, and they always look so perfect, right?  And doesn't that mean that whatever project you start should end up perfect as well?  Nope, nope, nopity nope.  Not in any way.

I have been there.  My ATC with feathers?  Not how I saw the project going.  And I'm still not sure I love it, or at least parts of it.  And that's okay.  More than okay.  No matter how much time you have under your belt making art, whether you're a newbie or you've been doing it for years, it doesn't matter.  Everyone, when they play, has unexpected things happen.

That exact thing happened to me when I was doing my batch work.  I had grabbed a piece of single-sided patterned paper that I wasn't a fan of and flipped it over to the white side.  I grabbed some supplies and started playing.

This time, instead of going for my big tubes of paint, I went with my little bottles.  Apple Barrel Bright Yellow, Craft Smart Grape Taffy, and Blickrylic Violet Medium are among the colors I grabbed.  Now Grape Taffy may be hard to find, but Lavender is not.  I also used some Dylusions color sprays, including Fresh Lime and Postbox Red.

Part of working in batches, or with any project, is letting go of expectations.  It's not easy, for sure.  You want this amazing project in your mind, and sometimes it doesn't quite work out.  However, that's part of the beauty of playing.

So absolutely, play, and expect the unexpected.  Enjoy creating!

A look at a work surface

 

 

Ever wonder where some artists and creatives get the weird looking paper with odd patterns and marks?  I know I did, and it's called underpaper.

I will share more tomorrow, but underpaper is any kind of paper that you put on your work surface that catches the drips, dabs, and splotches when you are working.  And it can e beauty in its own right.

Above if a peek at some of my underpaper.  And it includes leftover marks from TCW's Punchinella stencil and Liquitex gesso.

I've included some affiliate links for products I've used.  If you use the links and make a purchase, I get a small commission, with no price increase for you.

I really hope you enjoyed this peek and please join me again for more!  Have fun creating!

 

 

Working in batches

Do you ever work in batches?  Trying to do a bunch of work at once?  I find it's helpful when wanting to have several pieces ready to complete, or when you blocked when you have a blank slate to work on instead of some splashes of color or doodles ready to work on, especially given how busy our lives can get.  We can get pulled in many different directions: spouses/partners, kids, work, household, family and friends, and me time.  Everyone needs a little me time.  And sometimes the me time ends up being that working in batches time.  Because let's face it, making art is supposed to be fun and relaxing.  Now it can certainly be with people.  Lots of us have those craft friends that we get together with and have a craft, regardless of the crafting taking place.

 

So working in batches can fill both needs.  You get to be crafty and get a start on a bunch of projects while also making the most of the time you have to create.  Above is a peek at some batch work I was playing with awhile ago.  Now I don't clean my stencils after I use paint on them.  I do, however, always clean after using some kind of medium.  It could be gesso, matte medium; if it's not paint, I grab some baby wipes and clean off the stencil.  One detail I really like is the one that looks like chicken wire.  I grabbed TCW's Punchinella stencil and Liquitex gesso and added spots of all over my 12 x 12 page.  I didn't clean it in between, so the leftover gesso made a chicken wire look in spots as well.  I love when that happens.

I've included some affiliate links for products I've used.  If you use the links and make a purchase, I get a small commission, with no price increase for you.

I really hope you enjoyed this peek and it shows how you can combine all kinds of media to create amazing art.  Have fun creating!

 

Grunge it Up!

I've gone through phases in my crafting.  I've played with vintage, color, industrial, mixed media, feels like a lot more.  I don't know if I can say grunge was ever a technique I loves, but I don't mind it in small doses or if it has some good color along with the grunge.  I also will say I have a sailor's mouth, so I don't shy away from cursing, including in my art supplies.

The 12 x 12 patterned paper that I flipped over and just went to town with mixed media I then cut into a bunch of ATCs to continue playing with.  I took one for a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

I did a lot with this ATC, before it was actually an ATC.  I had stamped a pattern stamp from Dylusions with my tinted Ranger Embossing ink pad and Ranger Clear Embossing powder.  Then I added some paint and some Dylusions ink spray in London Blue, Lime Green, and Postbox Red.  I also took a stencil from a Polish company that's now defunct called 3rd Eye.  The stencil is block letters in all caps, that says "Foolishness and Fuckery."  I used black gesso on the stencil, but didn't try to make a completely clear impression with the stencil.  I thought adding the black and keeping the stencil a little cloudy, so to speak, would add to the grunge factor in that area.

 

After I cut it into ATC size, I added some stamped images from Badass Art, also a Polish company.  The "Blah, Blah, Blah" was stamped onto a ghost gelli print and cut out.  The "wtf" is a digi image that I added a little color to with my Tombow markers.  I used an orange paint marker from Uni Posca to fill in some of the stars I stamped, some doodle markings with both my water-based white Sharpie paint marker and my Fude Ball pen.  I absolutely adore my Fude Ball pen.  It writes on just about any surface.  I also added some dot stickers from Fancy Pants and some paint spatters using the same white Sharpie paint marker.

I really hope you enjoyed my attempt at grunge with my ATC.  I think it came out really well and I think I managed to keep the color vibe while going grunge.

You can find the challenge link below and see what everyone else has to offer as well.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

I have included affiliate links to many of the products I used to make this card.  If you use the link and make a purchase, I make a small commission, with no price increase for you.  I really appreciate your support and thank you for taking a look. 

A Feather in Your Cap

How is it the weekend already?  Sometime the week goes by in a flash, and sometimes it drags, but the weekend always seems to go fast.  I hope you're enjoying your weekend and doing something fun.  A big part of life is filling your tank.  I don't mean gas for your car, but kinda.  I'm talking your emotional tank.  Doing something fun, being with people you care about and who care about you, and maybe enjoying some outdoors.  Breathing fresh air, there's just nothing like it.

Now I don't know about you, but I like to play.  Paint, stamps, stencils, there's no end to the glory of art supplies.  They're all so awesome!  But sometimes I get stuck.  I want to just put everything together, but I don't always have the patience.  Sometimes I freeze up because it's not going the way I thought it should.  And I have to remember there's no should.  It's something I'm always practicing, because there's really no end to playing.

Case in point, this ATC.  It did not go as planned, but I was inspired by a video I saw on YouTube, only in the video it was a tag.  And while I didn't have everything in the video, I used what I had, including a stamp from a stamp set I had never used before this.

I have a bunch of ATCs and tags that have bits of paint and gesso and all kind of media on them.  This ATC is one of them.  I had put Liquitex Gesso through a TCW's Ledger stencil and it had some Liquitex Bright Aqua Green, neon yellow and neon orange paint.  I added more paint in a couple other colors, then used a Sharpie to trace ABC down the side.  After that I used Reeves Watercolor Crayons to add some color in the letters and used a waterbrush to spread the color around, going outside the outline on purpose.  It's not all about coloring inside the lines.  I have a few waterbrushes, all the same tip style.  You can get all the same or assorted tips.  Here's a set with different styles of tips, to allow for different effects.  If you want to dip your toe in, here's a single, fine tip waterbrush to play with.  I'm not sure if you can find Reeves crayons, but there are several other options, such as this set from Staedtler, a Faber-Castell set, and this set from Prang. 

 

There's a couple different stamp sets at play here.  I have a bunch of small ones in my stash, and I'll have to start using them, I guess, right?  Most I used my Archival black ink, but the "NO LIMITS" was stamped in Distress Ink Peacock Feathers.  I also used a dark purple marker to add dot doodles in a few spots, and a Uni Posca white paint marker to trace the triangles.  The sentiments are from my stash.  The feather I stamped on white cardstock with the same black ink pad as before.  Then I used the Reeves watercolor crayons and waterbrush to spread the color, and added some bits of darker color with markers.  I cut them out with Tonic scissors and used Alene's Tacky Glue to attach the feathers and thread that I bunched up for a little extra texture.

 

 

 

 

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge 

 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

 

I've included affiliate links to many of the products I've used or similar products, which means if you use the links to make a purchase, I make a small commission with no price increase for you.  I really appreciate your support.  I hope you enjoyed your visit and enjoy the rest of your weekend

Peek at a WIP

Something I like to is prep a lot of work at one time.  A quick post today to show you a little in progress work.  Hopefully it will help you with whatever art you want to play with.

This is a piece of 12 x 12 patterned paper that I didn't like, so I flipped it and started playing.

I used a lot of different products, and I'll list them as best I can a little later, but I wanted to give you a taste at least.

I used Dylusions Fresh Lime spray ink, as well as a Dina Wakley stamp with a Ranger Embossing Ink Pad and Ranger Clear Embossing Powder.  If you want to get a really thick embossed image, you can use this Ranger Ultra Thick Clear Embossing Powder.  You can also use a tinted embossing ink pad, so you can see the actual stamped image before you cover it with embossing powder.  Mine is tinted blue.  There's also this Ranger Grey Tinted Embossing Ink Pad, which will do the same thing.

I hope you enjoy and I'll share some more later!  Enjoy!

A new page turns...

Welcome, welcome!  This seems too surreal, huh?  I'm really glad you're joining me. and I hope we have lots of fun together.  This is amazing...I'm really excited to do this, but a little nervous.  Can you tell?  You know those jitters you get?  The butterflies in your stomach, hoping you do a god job?  Yeah, right there with you.

 

I wanted to give you a little taste of what I can do, and hope you love it as much as I had making it.  I really hope you it helps brighten your day.

Please enjoy and I'll share the full project with you in the future.  I'm so excited for new things happening!  See you soon, crafty friends!