a match made in heaven...

THANKS to ALL who shared their ideas for repurposing "items" into stencils that we can use for our art...

there are lots of great ideas...

lots of fun things to try!

sharing is good & benefits all of us!

A MILLION...THANKS!

here's one idea that I didn't see mentioned...

brass stencils...

many moons ago I did dry embossing...

with the light box deal...

if you did too...

you may have some brass stencils left...

and another I shared many moons ago...

tim's tissue tape...

I like to tap it onto my jeans to remove a bit of the stickiness,

then apply it in stripes... or plaid patterns...whatever appeals to you...

ink or stain right over the tape...

the tape acts as a mask & keeps the area under it un-inked...

this makes a very fun background too...

and speaking of backgrounds...

I needed to make a few samples for my Beyond Basic Backgrounds class...

I *might* sound like a broken record...

here's the original post...

the KEY to these backgrounds is Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper...

you will be amazed @ how much water/liquid you can use for techniques & not affect the surface of the paper...

the 2 pieces I'm showing today have been blasted with a big dose of water...

probably 10 times each!

here's another match made in heaven...

art parts covered with the Specialty Stamping Paper...

seriously...

be still my heart...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff...

for the piece below, I covered a small art parts creative cover with the specialty stamping paper...

using Ranger's Glue N Seal...the matte finish...

now I have a nice solid base with an awesome surface...

the background is all distress inks & stains, a Lady Dy stencil, some sequin waste, lots of water & archival inks for stamping...

I like pale ochre archival for really "in the background" stamping, then some jet black for some main "in the front" stamping...

the flower is my stamp...

stamped lightly with pale ochre & accented with a Stabilo pencil...

the stem, leaf & heart were free handed...

I RARELY do this...

that's why I have STAMPS...lol...

but I felt BRAVE...

tim's new water brush is awesome for adding specks/dots of color...

load the brush with your distress stain...

then tap it against your finger to create the spots...

here's a tip...this is cool...

keep tapping without reloading more distress stain...

you'll see that as you use up the ink, the dots get lighter...

keep tapping & you get plain water drops...

this is my new fav way to add colored dots & water spots...

here's another...

this background started out with these distress stains...

stormy sky, peeled paint & scattered straw...

stenciling with a Dy stencil & sequin waste...

really "in the background" stamping with french ultramarine archival with this new background stamp...

and again...

the main stamping is almost always done with jet black archival...

the art parts flower is inked with faded jeans stain...

stamped with polka dots and misted with sunflower sparkle Perfect Pearls mist...

it's the ULTIMATE bling in a bottle!

oops...

the heart was traced & then accented with the pencil again...

and the flower center is one of my "embellish your art" pieces from Blossom Bucket...

so, what I wanted you to see is that if you like backgrounds, inks, stains, stamps, stencils & PLAYING...

give the Specialty Stamping Paper a try...

you WILL love it...

these 2 pieces also show that you can play with journaling type backgrounds, but use them for "out of the journal" art...

these backgrounds are also a great start for card makers...

hmmm...what else do I have to say?

here's something I discovered with the new distress markers...

keep in mind that they are a water based ink...

just like the distress inks & stains...

and the Blossom Bucket pieces don't appear to be a porous resin...

so I didn't really expect a good result...

but this is one of those things I HAD to try...

I used the walnut stain distress marker on one of my Blossom Bucket post marks...

on the left, you'll see the original...

on the right, after I inked it with the marker & blasted it for about 20 seconds with the heat tool...

the marker actually did change the color of the postmark...

YIPPEE... another option!

now if you go back to the photo @ the top of the post...

you'll see the same post mark, altered with butterscotch alcohol ink & a little coffee archival...

I LIKE options...

LOTS of options...

and the choice of LOTS of different effects...

which explains why lots of the Blossom Bucket cuties are a natural color...

now we can alter them to fit any project we're working on...

now I bet you're wondering about the random winner...

congrats to...

stampinfranni said...

Wendy, I am really, really, really enjoying reading your blog these days. Everything you do is so inspiring that I just want to play hookie from work and get messy with you. I'm really looking forward to taking your Beyond Backgrounds class at the Paper Niche. While I love Dyan's bright, bold colors, I'm also loving the softer look you achieve.

So, to answer your question, two old-time faves I use as stencils are bubble wrap and sequin waste. I also have some card-size stencils which I purchased about 14 yrs ago to create a checkerboard pattern, and another one to create a frame design around a card, that I've dug out and am using again.

See you again soon!
Fran

March 29, 2012 9:37 AM

and since Rick is going to the PO...

how about a second winner?

Julie S. said...

Sometimes I use those red net bags that fruit comes in or cut-apart plastic fruit baskets (my husband claims I'm a pack rat-hoarder. What does he know?!) :)

March 26, 2012 9:30 AM

please email me with your shipping info...

wbv1213@me.com

one more thing before go...

yesterday I got a look @ several of the finished dimensional Blossom Bucket pieces that I designed for the gift industry...

I did a happy dance...

I'm thrilled with how they look & I can't wait to show them here...

I only saw about 8 or 10...

so I'm still waiting NOT TOO PATIENTLY to see the other 40 or so...

ok...

all this talk about inks, my fav paper & stamps has me ready to...

make art!

wendy