Flipping pages...

As I mentioned previously, I have been working in my "flippy" art journal with a French theme. Below are examples of how the pages "flip out" horizontally:

You can see how the page unfolds. I plan on bringing home some fun ephemera to use to finish the pages of this book!

French Journal

Thought I would share a page from a journal I made in a Kelly Kilmer class. We called it the "flippy book" since the pages folded out, up and down. As I was collaging the first page, it became apparent the theme of the book was French:

I used a variety of patterned papers and Washi tapes with my images. Watercolor wash was added to unify.

Watercolor Mailer

As I mentioned during my "spray paint period", I have been following Maryjo Mcgraw's "secret blog". The next project was a watercolor mailer. I did not have the exact same size of watercolor paper, but was able to make this smaller size work. I thought I would go with a theme when picking colors and stamps. Below is the front side:

I was impatient for the colors to dry - so they mixed a bit more than Maryjo's example. I used Distress markers and the brush less watercolor technique to add the images.
This is the back side of the mailer:

As you can see - land and sea was the theme! Images were stamped using the same technique as the front side. Stamps from Stampin' Up, Club Scrap, Artistic Outpost, Memory Box, and Printworks.

Playing with Distress

Life has been getting in the way of my creative time these days. I did have a bit time, so I grabbed some tags and reviewed some Distress techniques.

Distress ink was applied to the tag and water drops flicked on the inks. I used a heat gun to dry.

A little "wrinkle-free" Distress used on this tag. I love this little rabbit (Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz).

 

The "brushless watercolor" technique was used on the watercolor paper. Stamps are from Stampin' Up.

Tip Follow Up

I mentioned using plastic wrap for texture in Tuesday's Tip this week. I thought I would show a little of what it looks like. I used this technique in the art journal I am working on. After laying down a thin layer of gesso, I scribbled on the pages with a deep blue Gelato watercolor. I sprayed it liberally with water, moving the book pages around, wetting my finger and smudging, etc. I scrunched up some plastic wrap and let it dry for a day:

This is how it looked as it was drying. I took the plastic wrap off the pages:

You can see the areas of pooled colors. The photo below is a close-up of the left page:

I will be adding to this page, but you could easily use it "as is" or a card background.

Tuesday's Tip

Last Tuesday, I mentioned checking out/reading the labels of your products to determine what they can and cannot do. Now, start trying your ideas! One of my "go to" techniques is using a variety of household items for background texture. Scrunched up plastic wrap and scrunched up paper towels are two of my favorites. To use them with wet mediums (watercolors, paints, re-inkers), scrunch them up and set them onto the wet(painted/water colored) card stock or journal page. Then let it dry. I tend to check on the paper towels and remove them before it is too dry, otherwise it may stick -which is sometimes a good thing and provides more texture. You should have no problem with the plastic wrap.

Now, go play!

Stenciling with Watercolor Pencils

I was playing with stencils  - so nice to feel better! Usually, I use my art sprays, watercolor crayon and Gelatos. I really like the leaf stencil, but did not want to use sprays, so...

I used a watercolor pencil to sketch through the lines of the stencil. After removing the stencil, I went over the lines with a water brush. Quick and easy - and I really liked the look!

Acrylic Watercolors

I have been playing with watercolor crayons and my acrylic blocks, making backgrounds for cards. I decided rather than spray the crayoned blocks with water, I would spray them with mists.

I colored with 3 different blue watercolor crayons. Then, I sprayed the block with Sea Glass Glimmer mist. Unfortunately, you can not tell from the photo, but there is a slight shimmer to the background. This is a fun and addictive technique - just remember to use a lot of water or mist.

Acrylic block Watercolors

I was playing with my watercolor crayons and acrylic blocks, making backgrounds. A simple and fun technique that takes no time at all. You can color on your block with the crayons, spray well with water, and stamp the block on paper.

For the above card, I colored in blocks on the acrylic block. I stamped the watercolors onto paper and allowed it to dry. Then, I trimmed and stamped to make the card. You can also color in a specific pattern to be used with a specific stamps.

I placed my block onto a rubber stamp and colored in the image.

I sprayed the acrylic with water and stamped it on paper:

Here is the completed card:

Fall Pages

I have decided that I really like to add color to my pages with inks and paints - as well as papers and ephemera. Again, a fairly normal page I created. There are layers of stamping and Gelato water colors on the right page - it is difficult to see all the layers in the photo. I really loved the image on the left. I cut it from a Juxtapose magazine.

She Flew....

A little bit of mail art love! I was very pleased with the watery sky - a thorough soaking of the paper helped!

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.