What can you do with Stenciled-Gelli Printed Papers?

After creating some beautiful alternative gelli plate prints, using Cecilia Swatton's amazing stencil designs, (exclusive at Stencil Girl Stencils) this question always seems to arise:  What do you use these papers for?  And I always have an answer.  

There are many uses,  depending on the type of paper that I recycled.  The list is long and includes creating bound art journals, but this week I used these beautiful painted papers to create something new:  "Art Jewelry".  

Easy and lightweight!  These take only a few supplies such as: eyelets, hand punches for the shapes and rounded corners, Glossy Accents if you want the paper to look like polished stone, a cropodile tool to create holes and set eylets, plus miscellaneous jewelry parts to create earrings and pendants such as these.



































But since nothing is allowed to go to waste, even the negative cut-out shapes are put to use.  Here they were used to create some fun bookmarks to give as gifts.  Just need to pick up some tassles of tie some raffia through the eyelet and they will be finished. 

Welcome to the Artistcellar Blog Hop!

It is my privilege to participate in this current Artistcellar Blog Hop and Thank You for joining in on the fun.  I hope you have had a chance to visit all the other blogs on the list of participants (see below if you missed one!) and I hope you left comments along the way to be entered for a chance to WIN this amazing stencil set!  If you leave me a comment before midnight, Oct. 31st, I will enter your name in my drawing as well.  Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you along with your comment.  (If I cannot contact you, I have to disqualify you and I want everyone to have a chance at WINNING!)  Please visit the Artistcellar website to view many more designs and get your creative Mojo on!  The other Participants are:

Oct. 25^th – Lisa Cousineau (Artistscellar) Official Start Date of this wonderful Blog Hop!
Oct. 26^th – Effy Wild
Oct. 27^th – Lisa Chin
Oct. 28^th – Cheryl Sleboda
Oct. 29^th – Paula Phillips
Oct. 30^th –Cindy Powell (YOU ARE HERE)
Oct. 31^st –Cecilia Swatton

My technique for using Cecilia Swatton’s “Kaleidoscope Series” of stencils involves something unusual.  It involves the art of watercolor.  Much like acrylic painting, watercolor is a fascinating medium in that it is usually transparent and can be removed. 

 

In order to design backgrounds in a free form painting, I like to incorporate a variety of techniques but one of my favorites is removing paint through a stencil so that it leaves an imprint of the stencil behind.  (Similar to a ghost image if done correctly) 

 

Since I am using a 140 lb. watercolor paper I must be careful not to scrub the paint off, but gently remove it with a slightly damp sponge.  If the sponge is too wet, it will seep under the stencil and create an undesired effect.  (Just like too much paint on your brush). 

Another way to remove watercolor from the paper is to use a baby wipe, but these are moist towelettes, so if using them, this process needs to be done carefully.  Moisture from the towelette will seep under the stencil, but if you blot it on a paper towel first-like a sponge, it can be used with wonderful results.

 

I have used Cecilia’s stencil collection for many art projects including of course the Gelli Printing Plate to create background pages for art journals.  I won’t go into details as there is an over abundance of information out on the web about this topic.  But I will give you a tip:  I paint a lot of paintings on some of the most fabulous papers, but, not every painting is a keeper.  I never throw them out; I recycle them into awesome art journals by applying acrylics & stencil patterns over them.  Once bound, they become books full of ideas for future projects and experiments.

Whatever medium you use, stencils can add such interesting depth to your work, so I hope you will give this a try in your art journal or fine art piece.  Experiment and have fun with these unique stencils by Cecilia.  Don't forget to leave me a comment below to be entered to win one of these wonderful sets.  Or browse the Artistscellar website for more designs.

Updating This Blog

Our recent move has been completed and we are finally-well almost-settled into our new home.  We are loving the new location, which is central to the whole valley and closer to most of our friends.  We have changed a number of things over the past few months, downsized a whole lot and I'm able to devote more time to my beloved passion of painting.  I have started a new "Open Studio" paint group at the Taylorsville Senior Center on Plymouth View recently and it has been well accepted by the community.  Each Friday AM we have a small group of artists get together, but the group will be growing as the word spreads that there's a new paint group opened for seniors to join.  You don't have to live in Taylorsville to use the beautiful facilities, but you will have to be a member of at least one local senior center.
We recently went up to the canyon to grab some pics of the amazing fall colors.  This is a shot of Bonnie getting a shot of our darling hubbies taking a break in the shade.  An interesting photo, the shadow from the trees looks cave like.  There were so many people that we ended up parking in a no parking zone and of course, anticipating the outrageous crowds of illegal parkers, the state raked in the bucks from all the tickets that were issued!  Probably met their whole yearly budget!  LOL!  Seriously though, the parking needs improvement! 
We ended our day by having the experience of watching a D-box movie: "The Maze Runner".  If you have not had the experience of a D-box movie, save your money!  The chairs were the most uncomfortable chairs ever in a theater!  They were suppose to move, but ours rarely did.  They actually kept me awake the entire movie though.  I liked the movie but you can tell there will be a sequel because it leaves you guessing about what's next. 
I will be updating and working on this blog again in the near future.  I also will be participating in a new blog hop in October, so I hope you will follow the blog to get updated as the fun approaches.  I will have a stencil tutorial to share with you and there will be a blog giveaway!  Add your email in the sidebar to follow....

Carving Stamps

Are you a Pinterest Addict?  I sure am!  I had to set a daily, limited, time allowance so that I can actually get things done each day.  One of my boards is for hand carved stamp patterns, which is an art project I love to do, especially when I see the end results.  A couple of weeks ago I carved a few small stamps to use for my other addiction---art journals.  I had to experiment with adding color to these stamped images, so I decided to use watercolor.  I stamped the image on a Strathmore "Toned Tan" sketch paper first, then I painted an area with cobalt turquoise and stamped again.  I have to say I like the painted background image the best.  It's more dramatic!

Assignment 4

If you haven't been following Milliande through this journey of self discovery, it's not too late to join in the fun.  We are only at Assignment 4 and the previous assignments can be done in just a few minutes-maybe an hour.  Developing a pattern from shapes which is this assignment, took the longest.  I call this: "Three Sisters of St. Mary's". 

Brooklyn Art Library

In NYC, at the Brooklyn Art Library, are housed this years 22,000 entries for the 2012 Sketchbook Project.  You can view these amazing journals at their Digital Library  Simply scroll down to click digital library.  When you have arrived, if you know of an artist who has a journal in this collection, you can search for them by name.  Otherwise, plan to spend some quality time, viewing some amazing works by 22,000 artists! 

Cleaning House

Actually I'm de-cluttering, de-hoarding my studio-workspace.  It is extremely time consuming since I have so much crammed into such a tiny space, that it is near impossible to remember where everything is.  Shelves and shelves of supplies hidden away in chipboard shoe boxes.  Not any more!  I replaced those shoe boxes with see-through shoe boxes so that I can see at a glance, where everything is.  The clutter is still there, but better organized. 




So, I also hoard cardboard, chipboard and a variety of vintage papers that I need to dispose of, so I am going to make art journals from these recycled materials.  Using my digital software and the custom shape tools, I can create some interesting journals, which I love to use.  (I hoard these little journal beauties too!) 

Paper Ornament Tutorial

Today I found a wonderful site the has some printable Christmas templates. along with a variety of other interesting art projects and coloring pages for your kids.  I downloaded the Bethlehem star template and made a conversion to allow me to create this ornament in 3 layers and 3 different papers.   Here is the altered template I made, for you to download and print to create your own ornaments.  Once you have the template printed, select a variety of scrapbooking artist papers or cardstock.  I made a cardboard pattern to use over and over again, as I made quite a few of these ornaments to use as gift tags as well.  Trace your pattern pieces on the papers you have selected and cut them out. 
I ran all my pieces through the cuddle bug to dry emboss them and give the ornament more dimensional effects.  I also lightly sanded the #1 template pieces after they were embossed, giving more texture to the ornament as well. 

 Layer the different templates starting with #3, add #2 and finish with the #1 template, holding them together, create a hole in the middle to add a brad.  I chose to use several purchased paper snowflakes for the center adding a 3-D feel to the ornaments.  Then I used a ribbon hole-hand punch to thread ribbon through to create  hanging loops.  Mine are pretty simple, but you could definitely jazz these up with some glitter, tinsel, additional embellishments, etc.  Don't forget to sign your ornaments and hang them on your tree, use as gift tags, embellish packages or swap with friends.  These are headed to Bea for our LTMM yahoo groups November swap.  There's still time to play-come and join us!  The link is at the bottom of the left sidebar (I think-LOL-I know it is in one of the side bars!)

More Washed Out Ink Projects

 I had so much fun with this washed out technique that my daughter and I decided to experiment on a couple of those journal tablets, the cardboard covered comp books and this is what we came up with.  She used a wonderful scrapbooking paper stencil which really gave her lots of pattern.  She said her bookcover looks like silver foil where the spray paint is and I used a 4 pattern page of stencils that came in a kit of 8 patterns.  It's been fun having an art partner again these past few weeks!

Collaborative Journal is Finished

Quite awhile ago, I participated in a collaborative journal project that features the work of several artists.  The project was called: "Make Your Mark" and it was headed up by Leann, a fellow artist I met via an on-line art group.  The journal has been finished to perfection and is now housed at the "LaGrange Art League" for display.  You can see all the fabulous pages that were created on Leann's blog.

The inspiration we used for the page layouts we each designed was based on "Fortune Cookie Sayings"  Mine reads: "Time never speeds up, No matter how fast you go."  The background is painted paper towel, adhered to watercolor paper with a wash of thinned glue.  Layers of textured papers were then applied along with the 3-D paper mold of the dragonfly.  The Kanji lettering was painted using a custom made silk screen.  Strips of hand-dyed "Shibori Silk" was added to the top and bottom sections to frame the page.

Cuff Bracelets

I have recently been recycling a few of those knitted belts that come with sweaters into cuff bracelets.  These are really easy to make and just about anything that can be glued or sewn can be added.  Each bracelet is a work of art! 
The porcelain face in the first bracelet was recycled from another piece that Pam Crawford created for the book titled: "Jewelry Beyond time" (available by clicking the book cover in the right side bar).  The other bits were found at various flea markets or yard sales. 
The fringe was recycled fabric trim from yet another project, so these awesome bracelets were very inexpensive to make.  I just need to add a lobster claw closure and they are ready to wear!  Great Mother's Day gifts!

Easter Project

Easter is almost here!  Just a few more weeks and wanted to do something special this year so I took a sheet of bunny faces that I found while blog hopping a few months ago and decided to make something cute for my grandkids this year instead of sending the usual chocolate bunnies.  I used vintage tulle from a bridal gown that I've been recycling, added some vintage brass bells with decorative ribbon and glued the whole thing to a thin dowel.  "Whalla" Bunny Bell Wands!  Hope they don't drive their parents crazy with those tinkling bells!  Ha-Ha-Ha!   You can get these darling bunny faces here:  Bunny Faces

Pockets-Pockets Everywhere!

Here is a simple and quick way to make a 12 month pocket journal from recycled envelopes to hold 12 months worth of swapped items.  If you haven't signed up for these monthly swaps-please join us at The Latest Trends yahoo group for a new year of fun!

12-Pocket-Monthly Swap Journal by: Cynthia Powell

I love creating bind-it-all chipboard journals because they are quick and easy to make.  This year, once I had all my Christmas cards addressed, I had several dozen envelopes left over and what a better way to use them up then to create a pocket journal to hold our tag, postcard & ATC swaps during the coming year. 

You don’t need much in the way of supplies, just some:

♦ Recycled cardboard or chipboard to make the back and front covers larger than the envelopes

♦ Glue stick and artist papers to cover the cardboard

♦ At least a dozen left over envelopes-one for every month of the year

♦ Rubber stamps-I stamped the month on each of the 12 envelopes.

♦ Binding materials such as: ribbon, rings, bind-it-all or any other method you prefer.

Once I had the envelopes stamped, I removed the excess ink by stamping onto 6”x4” index cards that will become the filler in this swap journal, so I can write notes about each of the swaps.  At the end of the year, it will be a small record of the swaps I participated in.  A keepsake for 2011.

I have all the pieces done now and I’m ready to bind this together and start filling it up with some tags, valentine’s, greeting cards, ATC’s, charms, etc. I will also add a variety of paper clips, stapled items, found ephemera to help fill up these pockets!  Let the swapping begin! Come join us over at the Latest Trends in Mixed Media Art, yahoo group-link is in the sidebar!

Crocheted Hats for Christmas!

In our book "Exploring The Latest Trends in Mixed Media Arts-Vol II" (In the sidebar), one of Sherre's art projects is crocheted hats.  I have created one for each of my grandchildren, step grandchildren and Great niece for Christmas this year.  A total of an even dozen hats, varying in size from 9 month to 6 years old.  I'm in the process today of making the hair clippy flowers that can be used as a decoration on the hats, or used alone to pin back the hair.  If you live in the colder climates, these hats are a wonderful quick gift for someone special in your life!