My husband found an old flat strainer with a handle and was like "hey, you could used this for your art right?" Um, could I EVER! The pic on the right is using Dylusions spray ink and it keeps the tiniest patterns without running together!
My husband also found me a handful of Prismacolor double tipped markers that worked (6-8) of them. He also suggested I use a metal organizer for paints to add an artistic pop of color, not knowing it was for K-cups. Either way win-win and it spins! Old books, sheet music, old letters handwritten things just tossed out. It was a fun day the 2nd time for $7. They rotate all the stuff within a day also, so you can find really great things.. oh and furniture!
Crazy fun. I suppose I'm a little off track and should write two posts, but who are the blogger police here anyways??
I participate in quite a few different type of swaps, but my recent favorite is the MEGA ATC swaps. I had seen this one and wished I had joined but it was closed. Ocean theme. Hm...so many possibilities. I was able to jump in anyways and the gears in my brain were smokin' with ideas.
I created the backgrounds with a Gelli plate. I have to admit I didn't use it much at first, but I do now! I used some blue acrylic paints of different values and just covered the plate. I used a soft edged tool and removed some of the paint in the shape of waves. I made this pattern all the way down the plate and printed my papers...I loved it! I wanted more texture so I used some lighter blue colors and used the same smooth tip tool and drew curled waves this time. I printed them over the blue straight waves. EVEN BETTER!! After the waves were dry, I used a piece of tulle wadded up to pick up colors of orange, pink, and green to imitate coral at the bottom. I used a metallic green to create the seaweed.
Great for an ocean theme background, but what was my main focus going to be? I love octopuses/octopi, but I went with jellyfish for a couple of reasons that you'll see in the techniques I used. I painted the yellow tops of the jellies, and hi lighted them with white gesso. The tentacles were squiggly white gesso drawn over with a watercolor red pencil.
Here's the fun part. I used Mod Podge dimensional magic on the bodies of the jellies. It applies itself as a cloudy liquid and dries as a clear, shiny, dimensional pieces on the project. This makes the jellies glisten and have a more dimensional quality.
What's next? I used a stabilo marks all pencil in black just under the bottom of the jellies to give them depth from the tentacles. Last but not least I used the bejeweled stickers to represent water bubbles above the seaweed.
I decided to start getting more "official" with my ATC's and actually filled out a trading card info piece that I attached to the back of them. In total I completed 13 of these. I sent 12 in the swap..ooops one extra, and I always keep one for myself. Hope you enjoy them!
