Mixed Up Art: August 2016

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Happy Birthday E-Card With Gel Press

Check out my blog post today over on the Gel Press® blog where I have a tutorial on how I made these E-Cards.

What's an e-card? Well, I've had this idea for a while because I am shamefully bad at sending my family and friends birthday cards despite having dozens of handmade ones on hand. I am, however, very good at making sure to wish them a Happy Birthday on Facebook. So I though I could make a handmade card that I can share over and over again online while still share my art with them.

I often use my art journal to work out ideas for projects and this page was my "warm-up" for my project today.

What I learned by doing this was that I needed more of a focal point. As an artist, it's invaluable to use my art journal in this way. Honestly, I didn't want to show you this page because I didn't think it was good enough to put out there on cyber space for all to critique. But I thought it was important to show my process and how I work through ideas. Many people think that artists are born with talent, and a lucky few are. But most of us learn through trial and error, schooling, or a few classes here and there. How do you work out your artistic struggles and get inspired?

Thanks for visiting the blog today and don't forget to check out the Gel Press Blog for my tutorial.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Back To Basics Blog Hop With Gel Press®

With all of the kids heading back to school, Gel Press® thought we should take you back to the basics! Everything is coming up circles for my Back To Basics blog post! I love this shape for whatever reason and it seems I'm not alone. Did you know that Gel Press® makes four round plate sizes: 8", 6", 4" and 3"(one of 3 shapes in the Petites A Set)? I had such fun making prints with these round plates that I made enough circles for three or four projects! I am sharing two of these projects with you today.

Gel Press® Circle Cards

Gel Press® Circle Layout: Lucy

Supplies

Round Gel Press® Plates: 8", 6" and 4"

Gel Press® Petite Set: 3" Round

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Paints

Stencils and Rubbing Plates

Strathmore Mixed Media Paper

Circle Cutters and Punches

Brayer

Tutorial

Place dots of paint in similar colors onto the round plate and press the rubbing plate into the Gel Press® to make a design. Look at that luscious color!

Pull prints onto mixed media paper and clean the Press in between colors.

The print below is the one I used for the cards.

I pulled several prints using black paper, adding Golden Iridescent white with the fluid acrylics to make the designs really pop.....

.....and stamping the rubbing plates off onto the paper to make even more designs.

Here is how I did the smaller plates with the stencils to get a great print: Mount the two smaller Gel Press® Plates onto acrylic stamping blocks. Place paper down first, then the stencil over the paper. Apply paint to the plate with a brayer then stamp it into the stencil to create the design on the plate. Then stamp the plate onto another piece of paper. This seems to make a really clear impression on the plate, thus making a good print.

Plus you have the initial print from creating the impression. This design is created from the openings in the stencil. (image in the middle) The gel print is the image on the right. I love these stencils designed by Michelle Ward I just ordered from The Ink Pad, a stamping and mixed media art store in NYC. They are designs of city grates, manholes, etc. Are they not the coolest!!!

Talking about "back to basics", do you remember the tool below? If you scrapbooked back in the 90's, you probably owned one. It still comes in handy for creating circles in many different sizes. Do/did you have one?

I told you I had enough for more projects!

Gel Printed Circles

I cut the large circle into quarters then stamped and colored the cards.

Gel Press® Sun Cards

For the scrapbook layout, punch 16-2 1/2" circles and glue them onto 11" x 11" white card stock in a grid-style.

I sewed the circles to add texture, but that made for a really busy background. To quiet it down a bit, I layered book text and drywall tape before adding my photos. I also changed my photos to black and white so that there is contrast between the colorful background and the subject.

There are lots of creative things to do with circles....layer them and making flowers, or sew them and make garland......to name a few. What would you do with them?