Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Fun with Gelli Plates

Hi there!  Today I wanted to share a little something about Gelli Plates.  Many have done printing made from gelatin and have loved it.  I tried that once and i was a mess for me and didn't work out right.  So I purchased a Gelli Plate by Gelli Arts.


This one is the 8x10 size, now they have lots of other cool sizes.  There is so much you can do with this fun tool and I have only just begun.  So I want to share a few simple prints I made:


The plate is NOT made of gelatin at all.  It is made "It is made with mineral oil and is a hypoallergenic polymer material." (borrowed from the Gelli Arts site)  Here is a pic of mine:


It comes packaged in a clear snap close case with 2 plastic sheets on it protecting it.  Keep it packaged this way all the time and store it flat.  

You might ask what kind of paper I use.  Well you can use anything really from card stocks to tissue type papers.  Here are two I have used that worked well:


I did a search online to find the Delipaper but it is just that those pieces of paper that deli's used to wrap sandwiches.  The paper pad is from Target in the craft/kids section inexpensive and great.

The suggested color to use is plain 'ole acrylic inks simple and inexpensive.  Then you can use stamps & stencils to create patterns.  You just need to be careful and not use anything sharp so you don't puncture the plate. Simple blunt plastic objects to great texture works well also.

Well there you have it a super simple introduction to Gelli plates.  I will try to play more with mine and explore techniques to share in the future.  If you have any to share please leave us a comment below!

Thanks for stopping by!  

There is still time to play along in our first challenge here.  So come join us!

Maria

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Mixed Media Mojo Challenge #1



Hey there!  Our first challenge is going strong!  You still have plenty of time to play along with us.  You can make any form of mixed media that you love to make.

So here is a recap of our first challenge:

Our first challenge is a simple one:  Use Stamps and at least 2 Mediums on your project.  

Create what you want!  You can do an art journal page, make a card or use a canvas.  We can't wait to see what you create!  One person will be selected as our Mojo Diva for our challenges!  And in honor of our very first challenge I will pick one person who plays along at random to win a small prize from me!  You have until 9:00 pm, June 30th to play along!  


You can view the entire post about the first challenge here!  And you link your creation up on that page as well!

I hope you will come play!


Maria

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Samshing Mediums


Hello,

Do you like to get messy when you create?  
Smashing is one way to make interesting backgrounds for a variety of projects, and make a colorful mess. I learned about this technique from Tammy - Daisy Yellow.  She has a wonderful tutorial here, where she smashes acrylics. 
 I did a variation of this with acrylic paint, dylusions spray ink, distress ink, and paint.  Basically I added a blob of paint to an index card, and smashed it with several other cards, then I just continued to add the different mediums, and smashing the cards after each addition.  Finally, a little stamping, and embellishing.  This card would be perfect for a journal page.



Remember you still have time to join in this months challenge!
Theme:  Use Stamps + At Least 2 Mediums

We would love to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tameko 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

MMM Challenge #1 Recap

Hi there! Amber here with another art journal spread for our first challenge! Have you been thinking about what you're going to do for this challenge? I've been loving visiting your blogs and seeing all the amazing things you guys are creating! As a quick recap, this month's challenge is to use 2 different mediums and 2 different stamps.


This is a busy little page, don't you think? LOL! Obviously I was in my zone and just about put everything on this page I could reach! I've got acrylic paint on the background over a layer of gesso, stamps, washi tape, patterned paper, torn up pieces of a box, stickers, you name it. 

Click to enlarge

Don't be scared to try this challenge if you've never tried mixed media before!
I guarantee you'll love it :) Hop on over to the original challenge post for details and the linky list. Thanks for stopping by today!


Sunday, June 1, 2014

Mixed Media Mojo Challenge #1!



We are so excited you are here to share and hopefully play along with us and our first Mixed Media Mojo Challenge!  We want to encourage the fun mixed media play where really there are no rules!

However to guide you a bit here are some definitions that I shared in a previous post:

What is Mixed Media anyway?  Here is a simple definition from Wikipedia:

"Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed."

Pretty simple but then you may ask what is Medium? Again from Wikipedia:

"In the arts, a medium is a material used by an artist or designer to create a work."

So medium can be anything really some simple examples: inks, paints, papers, gels and pastes.  But the list can go on and on.  So if you are a carmaker/scrapbooker and haven't tried Mixed Media yet you can because odds are you have enough supplies to give it a go.  

My simple suggestion is to take a piece of card stock and add a layer of gesso to it or if you don't have Gesso try white craft paint.  It just gives the paper a surface some tooth for you to work on. Basically its a primer for your paper but looks like white paint.  But beware when using gesso as it does not come out of your clothes like white craft paint will.  So to begin with use what you have on hand.  I found inexpensive gesso at Walmart and with a coupon at Michael's its not too bad.  Next all you have to do is pick some mediums to use.  You probably have lots of ink pads and sprays that's a great start.  Toss in some of that "scrap" paper and stamps and you are good to go!  

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Our first challenge is a simple one:  Use Stamps and at least 2 Mediums on your project.  

Create what you want!  You can do an art journal page, make a card or use a canvas.  We can't wait to see what you create!  One person will be selected as our Mojo Diva for our challenges!  And in honor of our very first challenge I will pick one person who plays along at random to win a small prize from me!  You have until 9:00 pm, June 30th to play along!  

Now let's check out what our wonderful design team has come up with:




Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Maria