GPP Crusade No. 55: Disappearing Act - with Stamps and Stencils

Journal page close up.

Do you want to have fun creating lost and found edges?  What does that mean?  The above stamped image shows distinct edges and places where the edge is "lost" when the stamping colors merge with the background.

To learn how to create this look, read Michelle Ward's great tutuorial on this month's challenge.
Just follow this link.

 The first two journal pages were prepped with gesso.  Then I brayered Phthalo Green, Phthalo Blue and Green Gold on the pages.  Next I brayered the same color sequence over a stencil that I laid on the above page.

 I stamped on this page. Once again, I used the same colors of paint on the stamp that I used to color the page.

 I put small squirts of paint on the palette and a streak of matte medium.  They gently blended when I rolled the brayer back and forth through the paint.  I was careful to keep the roller in close alignment with the paint so the colors wouldn't blend all together and maintain some of the pure colors.

This stencil is by the Crafters Workshop.

 You get a better idea of the gradation of colors on this shot where I rolled the paint through the stencil on a white page.

 This stamped image shows what I stamped on the prepped page.  I continued to stamp off the paint to get the ghost images on the page.

Following are the pages that I created in my journal where I attempted to make lost and found edges.  I was using up paints on my palette from a different project. I applied paint with a stencil brush over a variety of Crafters Workshop stencils.  They weren't as effective as I'd hoped.  I learned there is trial and error involved with this process... easier said than done.

Thanks again to Michelle Ward for her inspiring and informative tutorials at the Green Pepper Press Street Team Blog.  Check it out!

GPP Crusade No. 43: Text Messaging

The latest challenge by Michelle Ward for the GPP Crusade gave me the opportunity to use ephemera I saved from the office.
As in the last crusade, I started with a page previously monoprinted from an earlier crusade. I softened the color with a wash of gesso. I tore strips from security envelopes that had been washed with acrylic ink.

When I decided some stenciled lettering would be nice, the stencil I grabbed had bumps on the back. It was designed for tracing. So I just flipped it and stenciled with a dry brush as usual. This reversed the letters, but I was just going for the color and pattern. I think having the letters reversed worked to adantage in this case.


We get a regular stream of URGENT NOTICE junk mail at the office.
This page gave me an opportunity to vent a bit with my journaling. People are very brazen with this phrase to use scare tactics to urge you to buy goods and services you don't need.

GPP Crusade No. 37: Love Letters (part2)

Could it be any plainer?

This is a love affair with X's & O's!

Have you visited the Green Pepper Street Team yet? Take this link to the site where you can link to other artists who are participating in the challenge. Their names are on the left side column.

As you can tell by the post title, this is my second entry. I worked this journal spread during the same sessions as the previous post. It's good to have simultaneous projects going. It helps me stop long enough for a layer of paint to dry before going on to another and causing a muddy mess.

I used the same magenta and phthalo turquoise as the previous spread, but the look is very different because I omitted the gold. As a result, I didn't get the range of secondary colors.

I'm not sure if I will do any journaling on these spreads. Thinking about it. I did a bit of research on the origin of X & O which was interesting. Just google the phrase with your question. It's amazing how much info is on the web! I think I should scan these pages before I write anything. Maybe I could write on the print out because these pages have lots of texture from the gesso spattering and writing could be a challenge.

XOXOX

GPP Crusade 36: Braving the Elements

Michele Ward has given a new challenge with the GPP Crusade No. 36. Read about it here. Last month I prepared watercolor paper journal pages inspired by Teesha Moore. Check out her fun videos. When Michele suggested we make snowflakes to use as masks, I knew where I would draw my inspiration. Last fall I added "The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils" by Kanako Yaguchi to my personal library. Even though I have a tried and true method of making six-pointed snowflakes, I wanted to explore Kanako's ideas. I started following her designs pretty closely. That was a good warm up and then I started cutting more intuitively. These ended up being my favorites.

This spread was prepped with layers of aqua paint. Then I added gesso with the snowflakes as masks. More aqua was added and rubbed away for a distressed appearance. More gesso was applied with the masks in place.

The snowflakes were cut from scraps of drawing paper. It was a little heavier than origami paper which made it a little more difficult to handle for cutting, but it held up well to the painting process. Stencil glue helped keep the snowflakes in place while I worked.

Yesterday several inches of crisp, fluffy snow fell. Last night when I drove home, it was like I was driving on a sparkling crystal carpet. That inspired me to add a bit of glitter to my spread with glittered embossing powder.


I added some journaling with a Sharpie. I wanted to use a fine line marker, but it didn't want to write on my surface.

This is another journal I have been working in. I have an idea for text that I'd like to add, but I'm feeling reluctant since I really like the pages as they are.

GPP Crusade 28: Portion Control Part 2

It was our favorite night of television, but the circle was calling me! So I sat in front of the tv with some art supplies and started drawing. I used a Pitt calligraphy marker to trace a small circle. My thoughts went to a string of pearls. (Yes, I am that simple.) Well, that's how the queen of O's was started. After drawing the necklace, I sketched the rest with a pencil. I can't tell you very much about what was on tv, since I headed for the art table so I could apply paint to paper. I've been using up paint on my palette that is left over from my bird of paradise painting. I just used sequin waste and a stipple brush to stencil in the background. I layered it for depth and to break up the circles a bit.
Now my engine was fired up and I was ready for more. What else could I do with the same tools - sequin waste and circle templates. By placing the sequin waste down first and laying the circle template on top of it, I came up with some pretty nifty circles. I used the same stipple brush and acrylic paint. The paint was a little wetter than I would use for a clean edge. I purposely smudged the edges a bit after removing the template. I saw a group of topiaries, so I just filled in with simple shapes.
This technique could really be expanded on and I think I'll be playing with it a bit more. I did one more page that night, but I'll save it for my next post.