Texture Paste Resist Canvas

When Tammy Tutterow posted the Transparent Texture Paste Resist on Fabric technique on the Ranger Blog, I knew I had to try it. I’ve included the link here, so you can follow her instructions and see the beautiful project she created.

But, I also wanted to show you my take on her technique.

Use Archival Ink and a stencil to create the background on a canvas. Use washi tape to hold the stencil in place while working.

Use another stencil and apply Transparent Glossy Texture Paste.

 

Once dry, spray with Dylusions ink. Randomly blot and dry until you get the result you want.

Add ribbon with Scor-Tape (or similar). Adhere charm, wires and flowers with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive.

Use the Crop-A-Dile to create holes in the top and add to hang.

For Art’s Sake

I have finally jumped on board and tried art journaling. Art journaling is nothing new — it has been around for centuries and has even been “trendy” for the past three or four years. But I put off trying this new adventure, I think, because of what it is — creating for the sake of creating.

You see, in my world, everything has a purpose. Most of my kitchen decor is stuff I take off the wall and use — like decorative measuring spoons or colanders. Decorative boxes, baskets and bins hold my stencils, stamps and paints in my studio. Antique mason jars hold ribbons and twine in my living room. Even my animals are expected to provide something — eggs, meat, love.

So, to break away and make something that might never be seen by another, that will not decorate a room or make someone happy, well, that just did not fit me.

But, the more pages and techniques I saw, the more I wanted to play, too.

And then the inner me started wanting to come out. I’m not sure if it is my age, my place in life, the lifestyle changes I am making or the fact that I just had surgery, but I’ve gotten a bit deeper … I often find myself examining things or thinking about things and wanting to write down those thoughts. And, I thought an art journal might be a good place to record them.

I purchased a Dylusions journal from Ranger, grabbed some inks, sprays and stencils, and sat down to play. I got a bit carried away with the liquids and parts of my book started to fall apart and other parts bled in the binding, so you will see washi tape on most of my pages. But other than that, my art journal features a wide range of styles and mediums. The page above, for example, shows Dylusions sprays, stencils, Distress Ink, a new Fiskars punch, paint and even a Sharpie marker. This page shows some of the reasons I am making such drastic life changes and some of the goals I set. Whenever I get discouraged, I turn to this page and remind myself WHY!

 

I had planned to put photos here, but I love the background so much, I have a hard time covering it up, so it remains as is.

This was my first time playing with Distress Crayons. I later went over it with paint and stencils, stamps and some ephemera.

This is page 2 of my bucket list (I didn’t want to share the list with the world).

This is my opening page … the circles and deer are punched from a sheet of Mixed Media Paper I was using as a demo sheet at a crop … it was covered in techniques and products and I decided to use punches to make it into decorative pieces, rather than throwing it away.

This is where I was testing the new Distress Collage Medium with tissue paper and stamps …

And here, testing the new Distress Crayons and a stamp.

Some of my pages are far from done … I find myself making backgrounds and then, when I am inspired to write or create, the pages are all ready to go.

And, sometimes my old linear self takes over and my pages no longer have that free flow that I like … but it is a good place to keep the updates of my weight-loss journey.

I have found many uses for my art journal … yes, some pages are just art for art’s sake. But, I am also using it to showcase my weight loss with photos, goals and inspiration. I use it at crops to show different techniques. I record important things to me, like my bucket list.

And, perhaps my favorite use, is to use it as a test pad. I’ve been trying out new products and techniques right in the book. It is easy to grab and I am free to just spread glue or wipe paint and not worry about creating anything or wasting anything. It doesn’t matter if the technique works or if I don’t like it. I can easily be covered up or ignored. And there is no pressure to finish it … the pages can remain as they are for as long as I wish them to. In fact, some of my favorite pages began as “I wonder what would happen if I …” Now, in those wee hours of the morning when I am not quite awake, but no longer sleeping, I find myself designing ways to record those aspects of my life that are not easily written down.

So, there you have it. My art journal is a technique tester, diary, weight-loss tracker, motivational inspiration, a sales tool, random thoughts, pieces of me, a demo counter AND art.

Yes, art journaling is definitely bringing out the artist in me. And now I cannot imagine life without it!

The Magical, Musical Tour

A dear friend asked me to make some cards with motorcycle and guitar themes. I don’t normally create with those themes, so I perused the stores for some 3D stickers I could use. I found a few, sat down to create and then realized I had no appropriate paper. And, I didn’t remember seeing what I needed. Then I remembered my cousin Robin’s challenge to use some stencils and figured I would “kill two birds with one stone.”

So, I pulled out some stencils, Dylusions Inks, giant manila tags, Ranger Archival Ink and Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste and went to work. Once I finished making backgrounds, I cut the rest apart and added bits and pieces to the cards.

Many of the insides have stickers and punches in them as well, but I forgot to take photos of them before mailing.

Challenge: Black, white and one color

April’s challenge at Scrap It Girl is to create a project using only black and white and one additional color.

I decided to stick with mostly white — using black and yellow as an accent — and play with texture. Here’s what I came up with ….

This is one of my new chickens, Emma, an Ameraucana hen. She’ll lay blue eggs when she grows up. Chickens grow so fast and change so quickly, I take lots of pictures and I thought this one would be perfect for this month’s challenge.

I started by ripping a piece of paper (Stampin’ Up), folded the corner, stapled it and then adhered it to white cardstock. Then I used Texture Paste and a Dylusions stencil to add to the background.

I triple matted the photo to make Emma really stand out and cut out a little tag for her name. I also added some white embossed chicken feet to the area under the tag, but they are hard to see.

I also added a few ribbons and some vintage buttons to the page.

Then I added a few fibers and some little pearls.

(I know there is a pink cast to my pages … it was the only way I could get all of the white layers to really show up in the photo).

Now it is your turn. Create a project using only the colors white, black and one other. A project can be anything … a card, scrapbook page, home decor, banner, altered art, mixed media …. whatever you choose. Then share it at Scrap It Girl before the end of April. You could win a great selection of prizes! Good luck!!