October Creations

Day 3 Onlinecardclasses.com - Stencils Texture and Dimension with Pastes Revisited

I loved the silver and white stars done with the paste and embossing powder- but that felt more like Christmas to me.  So, I decided to add color.  One of the fun things about designing cards is finding additional embellishments to create an appealing layout.  Below are some samples I created with die cuts from my extra's box.  The cards remind me of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris- but I think I will embossing the finalized embellishments in silver as well.

 

 

 

Online Card Classes- Stencils Day 2 - Template Techniques

I see a lot of fun and diversity being added to stencils by pairing them with your stamps.  For stamping stencils technique choosing a more open stamps allows the stamp designs to peek through.  I chose to practice with by circles stencil and some victorian people stamps by Flonz Stamps and other designers.

 In order to not muddle other open stamp areas, its important to mask off around the space you are wanting to stamp.  I could have stamped monochromatic to the color I was filling in each circle for a water mark effect but I chose to use the black in for greater contrast due to the details of this stamps and the smaller open space on my stencil.

I really love how this card front turned out.  I chose to color the background spaces in Brushed Corduroy to continue the vintage theme.

Normally when I think of stencils and paint- I think of acrylic and use of my gelli plate.  But today I experimented with using watercolors or in this case my twinkling H2Os and the stencil template. Watercolor stencil technique gives a much softer and loose look. I love the shimmer effect the twinkling H2Os give the project.  I think I need a little more practice so I don't have color leakage underneath the stencil.

Using a black sharpie marker, I highlighted the birch trunk markings so it would seem more realistic.

Scribble stencil technique is good when your on a time crunch.  I liked the recommendation not to outline or trace the image but really either approach would create a wonderful look.  In trying this technique I realized mid project most of my stencils have very small open spaces.  Larger open spaces would work better.  I also need to find my pencil sharpener- most of my pencils were dull.
The scribble stencil technique feels very playful and light hearted at least with a vibrant color palate.

 I have one more technique to try from day 2 but it will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.  Thanks for visiting my blog.  Any feedback is appreciated.

Online Card Classes Stencils Day 1- additional projects- Embossing with stencils

I wanted to take time to explore all the techniques from the class so here's my creations using a stencil for embossing.  I didn't have the heart mosaic stencil that the demonstrator used so I took a stencil that I owned and masked it off to create the heart shape. The masks were recycled from another project but they worked just fine.  Once masked off, I smooched the embossing ink pad onto the stencil in the area of the heart and then removed the mask and used white embossing powder.

I chose to use a more vintage color palate of distress ink in browns- the demonstrated used vibrant orange, pink, and yellow.  The framework of this card is very versatile and could be done with many color variations to match your recipients' favorites. 

The card is embellished with twine and a sentiment stamped tag. The demonstrated used thread, tissue paper, and a sentiment tag. I think both work really well.   I realize after working on this card I need to get a stamp-a-ma-jig so I can align wooden stamps better- I actually did it off center twice so just went with it.  To create the sentiment I wanted, I took a stamp and masked off the words that didn't apply with tape, inked the stamp, pulled the tape off and stamped the sentiment.  

I think I'm going to start investing in more clear mount sentiment stamps to make this process easier. But this worked in a pinch.  So Voila-- here is my card using the stencil for embossing.  

Online Card Classes- Stencils Day 1

The Stencils Class started today at onlinecardclass.com .  I got home late from work but I still wanted to make sure I took some time to watch the lessons and to play.  I chose two of my favorite stencils-  both are from Crafter's Workshop.  Tonight I used the misting technique accompanied by slightly rotating or shifting a stencil while using the masking technique over my mermaid stamp.  The tree design I had planned on creating an ombre effect with just misting sprays in blue tones but because the stencil has such small branches/details the mists leaked underneath and initially I could barely see the stenciled tree design.  To spotlight the stencil design of the tree I then added some red but it still didn't provide the contrast I was looking for.  I then used the sponging technique and used black distress ink around the main parts of the tree.  I think this really off set the tree nicely and still gave me a stormy night effect I was going for.  I still want to repeat some of these techniques with different stencils and also try the other techniques from day one for getting more out of one's stencils.  I'll post again tomorrow. 

Gelli Arts Plate Play

I've been so excited about all the new CHA 2014 upcoming releases and waiting for orders placed to come in I haven't been posting any creative endeavors.  Last night was fun playing with my new Gelli Arts plate and making mono prints.  I'm still getting accustom to how the paint plays whether it is a shape print, shadow print, ghost print and so forth.  Looking forward to finding interesting things to incorporate as stencils or even making some of my own for future projects.  I find I need to retrain my brain to think in reverse and layers.  Hope to have some more fun this weekend with the Gelli Arts Plate.