Mixed Media Art Journaling Playtime

Sometimes there is nothing more fun (and therapeutic) than some mixed media art journaling playtime in the studio! So when I got the chance earlier this week I took advantage of a day for free play.

I started by pulling out my Gelli Arts printing plate and loaded it up with  pastel pink acrylic. Then I layed some yarn down on top of the paint and pulled the first print. In this pic above you can see the print at the top and the gelli plate with the yarn and residual paint in the bottom half of the pic.

Following a few more prints to cover the paper and create some layers, I added some stenciling with more acrylic paint.

After adding some watercolor, colored pencils, stabilo pencil and paint pens I ended up with this.

I made another page in the same manner with a different color scheme but I have had a thing for pink and red lately so this is my favorite.  This is a larger piece of watercolor paper so I'm not sure what this will end up as. Maybe a journal cover, or background, or maybe for cards.

Oh - And it passed inspection as you can see below . . .

Cats can be pretty particular, you know  ;)

I hope you got a chance for some fun and messy art play this week.

-Laney

Linking up with Paint Party Friday.

Of Words and Art

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year celebration and that your 2015 is off to a good start.

Many artsy people in blogland choose a word to act as a guide for the coming year. My friend Michelle at Shells in the Bush is hosting a blog hop for One Little Word. She is leading us through several steps related to choosing your word and being inspired and motivated by it. So I am joining in the fun.

Or at least I thought I was.

I can't seem to find my word. Nothing is jumping out at me or grabbing me.  I didn't choose a word last year, but did in 2013. (My word in 2013 was "true.")  I made some good decisions last year - and made some good art - all without the guidance of a word.  ;)

So, for now at least, I don't have a word for 2015.  But I can be inspired by those of you that do.

Now, on to some art!

Based on this painting I did a year or two ago . . .

 I have this fiber art/art quilt in process:

This piece has been hanging out for awhile and I really need to get back to it. The flower petals have been sewn down, but nothing else. You can see the pins all over the place!  Still quite a lot of work to be done.

I do a raw edge fabric collage/applique technique - some fused, some not, then stitch by machine. Really love working this way - which is a good thing since there is so much left to do!

We de-decorated the tree today, packed up the Christmas stuff, and vacuumed all the pine needles off the rug. That took all morning! But it feels good to have things back in order. I got in some exercise. 

And this afternoon the mailman brought me this:

A fat quarter bundle of bright solids from Connecting Threads! Look at all that gorgeous color!  This is my first order from CT and so far I am pleased. 

So what have you been working on? Do you choose a word for the year?

Linking up to Paint Party Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Linky Tuesday, Creative Everyday, WIP Wednesday

Monoprinting with Ink and Freezer Paper Tutorial

Last week I posted about some ink printing I had done. It's really fun and easy so today I thought I would post a tutorial of the process I used. 
It's really a fun and easy process and a great way to make pages for journals, collage, cards, etc., etc.

SUPPLIES

Ink  - I used Dr. Ph. Martins Bombay India Ink
Freezer paper  - to be the printing plate
Masking Tape - to secure the freezer paper
Paper to print on  - I used card stock from the office supply store.
Paper towel roll
Container for some water
A paint brush or stick

Optional
Brayer
Spray bottle

THE PROCESS

Tear a piece of freezer paper larger than the paper you are printing on, and tape it to your work surface.

Next, use your fingers to sprinkle some water drops on the freezer paper.  Then use the dropper in the ink to drop some ink on the page.

Using the handle end of the paint brush drag the ink around on the freezer paper.  The ink will blend with the water droplets in places.

Place a piece of your paper down onto the freezer paper and rub the back of the paper with your hand. or you could use a brayer. 

Then carefully peel the paper up off the freezer paper.

Below is what my first print looked like.  You can see how the ink blended with the water in places to make a pastel color, and you can see the lines from dragging the tip of the paintbrush handle through the ink.

If there is lots of wet ink left on your page you can just roll the paper towel roll across the paper to blot it.

This next one is done in the same manner but with two colors of ink dripped onto the freezer paper and I dragged the paintbrush in vertical and horizontal lines.  Be sure to wipe the freezer paper off between prints if you don't want the lingering ink to color your next print. But that may give a nice effect depending on what you are trying to achieve.

Now let's try a different technique.  This time put a good amount of water on the freezer paper and rub it all over the surface. Kind of like when you finger painted as a kid.  Then, drip drops of ink onto the wet surface.  The ink will spread and "bloom."

You can do two (or more) colors of ink at once.

Here's the print I got from the above ink.

You may notice that your freezer paper is becoming stained by the ink.  That's a bonus - another texture of paper for you to use in your mixed media art!

Now it's time for another technique.  Lets drip paint onto the dry freezer paper and use a brayer to roll it around over the freezer paper.  Below: Left - the print I got; Right - the plate before printing.

Next, some of the first papers you printed are probably getting dry now. So keep going and start printing another layer on them. 

Get creative and try some new techniques - like drawing with the dropper. Or put some diluted ink in a spray bottle and spray onto the paper.

Soon you'll have your own stack of papers to use however you like.

  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and will give it a try!  Let me know if you do. I'd love to see what you create.

 Linking up with Art Journal Everyday and Paint Party Friday

Monoprinting with Ink and Freezer Paper

I love printing with ink but had not played with that in awhile.  I used freezer paper for a printing plate and used Dr. Ph. Martins Bombay India Inks full strength and diluted with water. It's always fun to see what you will get.  Here are a few examples.

I love the pastels you get with the diluted inks.

And all the layers show through nicely!

Using the inks full strength either on top of the pastel prints or alone gives stronger color.  If you try it - fair warning - hours can go by quickly!

I printed these on white cardstock and they would make great journal pages or cards.

Questions?
I've got a tutorial in the works.

Linking up with Art Journal Everyday and Paint Party Friday