Painted Backgrounds

 Playing with art supplies seems to be the continuing theme these days. I dug out some acrylic and water color paints and stamps, deciding to wing it. For the above panel, I stamped with Microglaze onto matte coat card stock. I then dumped a couple of colors of acrylic paint on to the card stock and stippled it around. Once the paint was dry, I buffed the areas of Microglaze. It was difficult to get the Microglaze off as I let it sit a little too long. The photo does not show the depth of colors - there are opalescent fuchsia and blue in the mix with black. Next time, I may use a little less black.

These 2 panel were made using the same technique, but with watercolors. Again, the depth and variation of color are not quite visible in the photo.

Have you made time for play yet? Get those creative juices flowing and create some panels of your own. Then, when you need to make a card (and do not have a ready made stash), you can pull out a panel and you are half way to completion.

Backgrounds for Cards

 I made a handful of backgrounds for cards at Mary Jo's class at the Judikins warehouse. We used Microglaze as a resist (create a small flat dab to use to "ink" up your stamp) with chalk inks. Chalk inks are very versatile inks. They are great for basic stamping and embossing. But, did you know that they are the only inks that really do resist themselves?  The color variation that you see in some of the above panels are the result of layering various chalk inks on top of each other.

For the above card, I cut one of my prepared panels to create the central image. I stamped the image in light chalk ink and in Microglaze. I then brayer a darker ink over the top and allowed it to dry. Using chalk inks in this way, really shows the depth of field that can be created fairly quickly. Do you have chalk ink? If so, start playing around stamping it onto matte coat paper, and layer other chalk inks over it. You may be surprised!

Ink and Microglaze

While I was down in Southern California, I stopped in at the Judikin's warehouse for some playtime with one of my favorite people, Mary Jo McGraw. For those of you new to paper arts, Mary Jo has written a number of books and is THE expert on all things ink, stamp, art material related. Even if you think you have heard it all, I guarantee you will learn something new every time you talk with or take a class from Mary Jo.

Monday, we played at the warehouse with chalk, mica, dye inks and Microglaze. We made a variety of backgrounds, and explored various Microglaze techniques. I have a number of older posts in which I use Microglaze as a resist and as a stamping medium..  The above is an example of some of the master boards we made while playing. Unfortunately, the photo does not do this 8 1/2 x 11 sheet justice.

Playing with inks and materials helps fuel creativity, particularly when you do not  have a specific goal in mind. Chalk inks are great to apply direct-to-paper as they are the one ink that resists itself. The variety of layering effects and very interesting. Throw in some mica and dye inks and you will get a variety of depth's and textures. The panels I made will be cut up and used for cards. As I post, I will let you know what I did to make the background.  If you are further intrigued, visit Mary Jo's blog (see my side bar of blogs I follow). She has a variety of uses for Microglaze, as well as Diamond Glaze.  Then, get out your re-inkers and ink pads and make some discoveries for yourself!

Alcohol Ink and Microglaze

The above photos were the ones I was attempting to upload the other day. The top photo is actually a finished card made using alcohol inks, Microglaze, stencils and a "spinner". The 2nd photo shows glossy cardstock with a stencil overlaid. Microglaze is applied to the openings. Photo 3 is the cardstock with the stencil removed - you should be able to see the raised Microglaze image. The next photo shows the cardstock inserted into a Spin Art machine. Does it look familiar? They are available at some Micheal's for around $10 (less with a 40% off coupon :)) And, lastly, the cardstock after alcohol ink was applied to the spinning cardstock - the Microglaze is the scrapped off. You're ready to trim and decorate the card!

More cards and techniques to come soon!

Stencils as Masks

I've been finishing up swap cards for an ATC swap I'm in. It calls for the use of masks, so I decided to use once of Club Scraps stencils (a favorite!) to make a mask and color the background.

I placed my stencil, a starburst design from the "Sparkle" kit, on a sheet of white glossy cardstock and rubbed Microglaze from Judikins in the open areas. I then repeated it all over the cardstock. The Microglaze will leave a raised design in the shape of the stencil. I sprayed the cardstock with a combination of Glimmer Mists. After the paint had dried, I scraped off the Microglaze - leaving the white starburst pattern. The first photo above is for the ATC swap. I had some backgrounds left over so I made the "Smile" card using Club Stamp's Retro stamps and "Simply Beautiful" cardstock.

I'll be posting the card in the Club Scrap Pro Scrapbooking League Galleria for my cardmaking team.