Paper Making

Here's my first attempt at making handmade paper.  I used a bunch of scraps from mostly white paper with little to no script on it.  It turned out pretty good for my first try.  It's quite thick, but I hope to improve.  And - homemade paper tends to be a bit thicker with texture - which is what attracts me to it in the first place :)  

I used geranium petals and rosemary leaves.  It's fun to forage for items to embed in the paper.  I'll try different colors of paper next time to see how it turns out.

Last month I spent writing letters for A Month of Letters or Lettermo.  It's always a lot of fun to receive mail from people all over the world.  I've been looking to find a wax seal for awhile now and finally found this bee.  It looks great with the bronze wax.

I bought a few different colors of wax, like this metallic blue.  I decided to put my seal on a paper inside the envelope instead of sealing the flap on the outside, as usual.  I think with the modern machines the postal service uses, it wouldn't be appreciated and would probably come off during processing.  I could take it in and have it hand stamped I suppose, but I live so far from the post office it wouldn't be very convenient.

I discovered a tea company that I haven't tried and put in an order for my favorite Harmutty Assam.  Of course, to get free shipping I ordered a few more items to sample and have been very happy I did.  

I used to collect cups and saucers as a kid and I've saved a few favorites.  I just happened to have this pretty violet teacup to try out my new violet tea in.  Sometimes things just work out that way!  


Peace All  

Junk Journal

So, this is my version of a "junk journal".  I take any excess paint that I have leftover from a painting session and make little abstracts with it.  I've been using an old card deck for this, but I'm sure I could come up with other things to paint when the deck runs out.  

I can then stencil, sticker, paint, use pens, or whatever on top of the paint to add interest.  Then I seal them with a matte sealant and they're done.  Good for informal art swaps or even just for looking at when I want a blast of color therapy.

I think back on the days when I used to throw out excess paint.  WHAT!  I don't know where my head was at - but, then I'm not always sure where it's at on any given day, haha!  

Altered Rolodex Fun

I'm trying my hand at making altered rolodex cards.  What's a rolodex card you ask?  Yup, I know - this will date me considerably, haha.  Before computers, before cellphones, to keep track of contacts and their information, they'd be written or typed on a card set in a circular (or flat) holder that you could flip through.  Hence the notches at the bottom of the card.

Anyway, this is my first few altered cards that I've made and I have to say, I think I'm addicted!  I've been a bit conservative with my collages, but I feel like branching out and getting a bit more adventurous now that I've figured out how to go about it.  Those notches are definitely a little difficult to maneuver around.

This is the back side of the card above.  (It's true - I'm terrible with straight lines!)  The pretty toile paper above is some giftwrap that I had left over.  

This one I made as a little thank you to my art friend that inspired me to create these.  She was so generous to send me blank cards to get started!  There's apparently a device to cut out card blanks from cardstock that I'll be looking into.  Otherwise, you can maybe find an old rolodex set at a thrift store or maybe online.  

The hearts are cut from a gelli print that I did awhile ago.  I love being able to use up scraps of pretty paper.

This is the flip side. I really don't have a theme or even think about what these collages mean.  It's just stuff I have around that I like to use up.  I guess that's part of my creative process - seeing things emerge as I go.  

I apologize for the light glares on these phone shots.  My work table is tile and cleans up like a dream, but I'm finding that it glares quite easily.  I can fix that though in the future, no problem.

I painted the background with acrylics, used a marbled paper that I did with the shaving cream technique (older post) and some cutouts from magazines and a beautiful stamp one of my friends from England sent me.

Used an old book page for the background and some antiquing ink to age it a little.  I seal all of these with a matte sealant just in case the ink might come off on anything.  I'm not quite sure that it's necessary as I use permanent, waterproof inks, but I like the feel of it after it's been sealed as well.  

This is the other side of the above card.  It's also the bottom half of the image of the lady I used on the other side.  I don't know - why not, ha!  I added the rose because the title could be for either.  I'm not sure my antiquing was all that effective.  Does it look like it's just dirty?  

Well, it's always fun to try new things, especially when I discover them to be fun and a rewarding experience.  I hope you're trying new things too!  

ATC Swap

Here's a couple of ATC (Artist Trading Cards) that I made for a recent art swap.

The theme was Sealed with a Kiss, and the one requirement was to have "kissy lips" somewhere on the ATC.  Well, I guess mine doesn't really apply very well to the theme.  But, when I sat down to create - this is what came out. 

I use a lot of tribal imagery in my paintings.  I've always been interested in different cultures.  

I made these on a heavy watercolor paper.  Used a marbling technique for the backgrounds and finished up with stickers for the lips and acrylic paints.  These are 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size.

Fingerpainting Swap

Today I sent off four postcards I made for an art swap.  

The theme was fingerpainting.  Well, I don't mind getting messy, so I decided on some colors and smooshed them around on the card stock that I had cut into postcard sizes.

Rules allowed the use of a stencil if you used your fingers to push the paint through it.  I don't have very many stencils, but I found an old fancy paper cupcake holder and used that to make the turquoise highlights.

I'm always on the lookout for items around the house or outside that I can use in my art.  The more unusual - the better!  :)

Easy Marbling Technique

I finally tried the shaving cream marbling technique.  And I'm so happy I did.  What fun!  And it was easy!  

There's videos on Youtube that can easily be found.  But basically, it's just putting shaving cream (bought at the dollar store) into a shallow pan, putting a few drops of acrylic paint on top and then swirling it around to make a pattern.

Then whatever paper you want to "print" on, just put it on top of the swirled paint and lightly press down.  Push around to all of the edges so it gets pressed down all over.  Peel the paper off from the paint/shaving cream and use a ruler or squeegee to scrape the excess off from the surface.  Let dry.

I made some papers and also did a few envelopes.  I protected the envelopes with a matte sealant so they could be sent through the mail.  

Here's some pink papers and envelopes that I did because I loved how the blue colors turned out.  

Think I'm inspired to make some in more autumnal colors next!

And I hope you're inspired to give this easy technique a try!

Feeling Like Halloween

Wooooooo - doing some spooky Halloween themed postcards and envelopes to send out to my like-minded art friends and family.

This Dogman is headed to Wisconsin to someone that has an interest in the many reports in that area.  Of course, I've never seen one, so I have only my imagination to draw from...I think he looks rather frightening.  And it was fun to create a subject matter I'm unfamiliar with.  I'm hoping our postwoman will be entertained.

Here's some colored pencil silhouettes that were fun to do.  I usually do something like this while watching football or whatever program we happen to have on.  I'm kind of partial to the Haunted House.  That one's headed to Scotland.

And here's some less scary options for those that don't like a spooky theme or don't recognize an All Hallows' Eve type day in their country.  I'm not done creating yet, but I'd better get on it or they'll miss receiving them this month.  

It's been awhile since I've posted on this blog.  We downsized this summer and the move was a bit stressful and hectic.  I hope now that we're getting settled in the new (and it sure feels little) place, I can contribute here a bit more often.  Thanks so much for checking in.  Please excuse quality of photos here today, I took them with my phone instead of the Nikon.  

All of the above were created with colored pencils and ink on cardstock or plain white envelopes.