Gelli Plate Printing

A couple of months ago I got a 6 x 6 Gelli plate and have started playing with it.  I absolutely love it!!  I need a few hours each time I use it as I keep thinking "what if..." and I cannot stop until I've tried at least some of these what ifs :).  Because of this, I have only had maybe 4 or 5 play sessions with my gelli plate, but boy oh boy!  have I had a lot of fun!!

Here are some pictures taken with my phone of the "mess" I made during these play sessions.  

I started to think about creating an art journal with some of these prints, and also do some collages to start with.  I also want to see what else I can do with these (during the last session I tried it on fabric as well).

Here are two quick collages I've done on Tyvek - this will allow me to do some sewing later on if I want.  This was just the first step, I will now play with these prints and eventually turn them into a finished piece of some kind (don't know what yet).

Last week I started playing with a couple of the not-so-good prints, to see what I could come up with.  I had a lot of fun with them :)

And so, inspired by all the fun I had with these 2 prints and 3 awesome books I got from my nieces for Christmas (about book art) I finished my gelli print art journal yesterday.  You can take a look at it here:

I feel this is just the beginning :)

Challenge #185 and Well on Fabric

Challenge #185

The Diva's challenge this week was a Duo-tangle challenge: to use only the Phicops and the DivaDance tangles.  You can see the challenge and all entries here.

I know it is getting tiring, but I had another week of absolutely no free time.  This little ATC was all I did art-wise this week.  I did have a lot of fun with it; I couldn't quite remember the Diva Dance, but I sort of made it up as I went along.

Well on fabric

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, in this post, that I had stamped my Well-inspired stamp on a piece of old jeans.

So, here is the full piece.  I started embroidering... making it up as I go along, of course.  I think I will stick with blue tones; we'll see.

This is a close-up of the top left corner.  Don't cringe, if you're an expert embroiderer :)... I'm just having fun with color and pattern.

Our condo is under contract again, and we really hope this time the sale will work out without a hitch.  If so, we will be in our new home at the end of October... YAY!!!  Can't wait, but I'm trying to be very patient.

Challenge #184

This is all the time I've had for fun this week.  The rest of the time I've been working hard and dealing with finding another buyer for our condo.

So... about the challenge (here):  use the newest Zentangle official tangle ING.  I like it a lot, and I think that with some practice and creativity it can be a really fun one to use in different ways.  I certainly had fun and look forward to seeing everyone else's entries.

My tile is mostly ING :)

Challenge #183 and Stamp and Art Journal Play

Challenge #183

This week's Diva Challenge (here) was to use a new tangle by Annette Carlo called X-Did.

I had a lot of fun with it, even though I haven't really had very much time to explore the possibilities.

Please check out the beautiful art always displayed on the Diva's challenge by all the participants.  I have not had a chance to do it, yet, but will definitely try to make time for it this week.  It is always a treat to see everyone's interpretation of a new tangle and it is always a source of inspiration to me.

Stamp and Art Journal Play

I started getting into art journals a few months ago, but have not had much time to dedicate to it.  So, I created a journal a while ago (shown here) from junk mail with lots of pockets.  The pockets are supposed to hold work-in-progress pieces that I can work on when I don't have much time.  This is exactly what I did this week.

I had about 10 minutes one night, and I painted this little piece with watercolors.  The following night, I had about 10 minutes again, and I added some details with pen and ink.  I'm not sure what I will use it for, but I felt pretty good to have spent those 10 minutes each night doing something fun and relaxing.  Sometimes it is all the time I will have, so this method of using the pockets for something I can work on a bit at a time, is working for me.

This is a bit less than 2 x 2 inchies... so, pretty small

Last Monday was Labor Day in the US and so I relaxed a bit finishing this piece.  It was stamped with my "Well Inspired" stamp, painted with watercolors, with details added in with pen and ink and colored pencils.

I also took another print of a hand-carved stamp from one of my journal pockets and worked on it while watching TV with my husband.  This stamp was created during the workshop (here) and I hadn't done anything to any of the prints I took at the time.

I added details with colored pencils and pen and ink

Regarding the new house... things are still uncertain right now.  I'm trying to keep positive and hope everything will work out. :)

Challenge # 182, Stamp Fun, and New House

Challenge # 182

This week's challenge (here) was pretty simple: stripes.  So, rather than go with straight stripes, I twirled them (OK... maybe just in my mind).  I wanted to use tangles you wouldn't usually associate with a stripe, and I had fun, as usual.

More Stamp Fun

This week, I barely had time, but did have a couple of hours to relax last weekend.  So, I played with a print I had already painted with watercolors, and outlined with ink (you can see it here).  So I added a lot more pen work, a bit of shading with watercolors, and some colored pencil.  I think that's it for this one:

I also wanted to stamp some of these on fabric and try some embroidery.  I don't know much about embroidery, but as usual, I'll make it up as I go along and will learn what I can from the internet and books.

So, I grabbed a pair of my son's old jeans, cut a piece, stamped it, and started working on it while watching TV with my husband.  I have not gotten very far yet, I will post pictures next week.

New House

The closing on the sale of our condo and purchase of our new house was scheduled for yesterday.  Unfortunately, the buyer of our condo could not secure a loan with the lender he had chosen, so it didn't happen.  The good news is that it seems he will get it from another lender, and therefore it is just a matter of a couple of week's delay (WE HOPE!!!).  So, this week it was all about getting some info to help with the lender, and undoing everything we had already set up for the move.  So... not much time for anything else.

Last weekend, though I wanted to check out the reservation 1 block from our new house.  I loved it!  We only spent an hour walking and hiking, but we loved what we saw; a really beautiful place.  Here are a couple of pictures I took with my phone, not great pictures but I think you will be able to see what I mean.

I'm feeling so lucky to have such beauty and inspiration so close to my new home!  Let's hope it all works out soon :)

Challenge #181 and Play with hand carved stamp prints

Challenge #181 Water

This week's challenge was to use water in your tile; either water tangles, watercolors, or... anything else you can think of water related.  You can see the challenge description here. 

I went with another Bijou (trying to get used to the size), a couple of water tangles (Waves and Agua), and a lot of fun :)  Since I didn't get a Summer vacation, this will have to do :)

And here are my first 3 Bijou's so you can see the size:

Play with Hand Carved Stamp Prints

As it is getting closer to our move (a bit over a week) free time is almost non-existent.  So, I just grabbed some of the printed hand-carved stamp patterns I still have around, and played with them.

This is one of the triangle repeat stamps I carved for the workshop.  You can see the original print here.  I added some details with black Micron, white, and purple gel Sakura pens.  The print had already been painted with watercolors.

That's it for today.  I'm working on a couple more, but they are not ready yet.

Have a fun week!!

Challenge #180 and Well Inspired Stamp

Challenge #180

First of all... THANK YOU to all you wonderful people who leave such nice comments on my posts.  I absolutely love getting comments, reading them, and answering them.  With my lack of time lately I have not been able to answer as many as I'd like, but know that I really, really appreciate them.

This week's challenge (here) is to use the tangle MacDee by Anneke Van Dam.  I went with another little 2x2 inch tile again this week - I'm trying to get used to the new size :)

Well Inspired Stamp

I love the Well tangle, and a few months ago I carved two little stamps so I could play with the tangle in different ways.  You can see a couple of the prints in this post.  I still like these as I can do different things with them.

When I got home on Friday, I decided to create a bigger stamp with 2 squares to make the Well pattern.  I added a few other shapes to the stamp as well; I hope you enjoy it.

Created this card for a friend's birthday on Saturday.
Here I just outlined the bigger shapes painted with watercolors.

This one (SIL's birthday) was also painted with watercolors,
but I added a lot more detail with some tangles thrown in :)

After giving those 2 away right after I was done with them, I decided to make one for myself :)

Just a little test with the first print and Inktense

Challenge #179 and Apple / Pig Nose / Alien Carved Stamp

Challenge #179

Diva's challenge this week was to create a 2'x2' tile... ok... that's really little!!  You can read all about Bijou's story, the challenge, and the new small, fun tiles here.

So, I cut a few 2x2 inch squares from Bristol paper, and thought for sure I would only use 1 tangle per tile.  Hmmm... it didn't turn out quite like that, did it?  I spent about the same time as I do on a larger tile, and by the time I was done I was not thinking about the size of the tile anymore.

Size relative to mechanical pencil - tiny, isn't it?

Apple / Pig Nose / Alien Carved Stamp:

So, to relax this last weekend, I decided to carve a triangle stamp, that when printed together would form a pattern.  Well... it turned out really weird :)... and it made everyone at home think of completely different things when looking at it.

This is the original printing of the triangle stamp

And this is the same print after having been painted with watercolors, and outlined with pen

So, what does it make you think of?  I think of apples, but my husband and son came up with aliens and pig noses :)  I had fun, anyway :)

Challenge #178

Challenge # 178

This week's challenge (here) was to use two tangles that start with the same letters as your name.  So, I went to this awesome site (tanglepatterns.com) and chose one tangle from the M tangles and one from the H tangles.  They were both new to me and I had a lot of fun learning them.  I practiced on a paper cup at work, so, if I remember to take pictures tomorrow I will post below.

Mumsy (the 3 large flowers in the middle) and Henna Drum

Mumsy and Henna Drum paper cup - How I practiced these 2 tangles

This was all the time I had this week for relaxing.  Other than work, I've spent my week with house inspections, and paperwork to sell our condo and buy a house.  Fun, fun!!  (not!)  :)

Challenge #177 and Triangle Repeat Stamp Carving

Challenge #177

I just finished challenge #177 yesterday (Saturday) since I had a very busy week.  We accepted an offer on our condo on Monday, and spent the rest of the week searching for the right house for us to move into.  We found it, made an offer and had it accepted Friday night!  It was exhausting, but well worth it.  We'll be moving at the end of August, and it will be so awesome to have all my art stuff back :)  In the meantime, lots of paperwork, and simple art pieces :)

So... challenge #177... use Truffle by Caroline Broady - steps in the challenge itself here.  This was a really tough challenge for me; the tangle is easy and quite fun, but I had a hard time incorporating other tangles into the tile.  I'm not sure why, but this was my 3rd try... the others only have truffles :)

Stamp Carving: Triangle Repeat

This was the last assignment for the workshop based on Julie Balzer's Carve Stamp Play book.  I'm sorry to see it end, but I know I will continue to experiment with stamp carving and to use the stamps I carved for the workshop.

So, I designed and carved the image on the top left on a small triangle.  Then I printed it and created the red pattern below.  I also wanted to make the pattern work on a straight line, so I could create frames, and such.  So, then I tried it and... it worked :).  As usual, it also looks great (and a bit more finished) when it is outlined in pen and ink (right).

And then I tried it with watercolors

Watercolors and some pen work

And then... designed, carved and printed something completely different :)  So fun!

Challenge #176 and Stamp Carving: Quarter repeat

Challenge #176

This weeks' challenge was to Bring Your Own Beverage to your tangling session :).  So, spill your drink on your tile, or paint with it, or do whatever you want, then tangle over it.  Fun, fun!!  You can see the directions here.

 

I started with my morning tea and with the stirrer, made a few marks (the lighter ones.  Then once the tea had steeped, I made a few more marks with a corner of the teabag (the darker ones in the middle).  Then added some drops around with my afternoon tea :).

This tile was spilled on the same way (at the same time) as the one above.  I ironed both tiles today, and then chose the second one to tangle on.  Here is what I came up with.

 I decided to tangle only on the "tea painted" parts, and used the tea stains as my string.  It turned out really weird, but I really enjoyed the process.

Stamp Carving: Quarter Repeat

This is the next to the last lesson based on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's book Carve Stamp Play. :(  I enjoyed it too much!!

Here are the stamps I created for the quarter repeat.  Actually, these were just tests with a cheap eraser I got (that carved like butter!), but since our condo is up for sale all my art stuff was put away (even the little box I had separated to stay) and I have not had time or patience to go to the basement and look for it... these will have to do for now :).

I started out with a very simple one, all it has is a "leaf" shape from one corner to the opposing corner, with 2 squiggly things at each of the other corners.  When you stamp it several times, this is what you get:

Left: just the pattern printed over 5 times across and down
Right: the same piece, after being painted with H2Os and outlined in pen and ink

This pattern is also very simple: a squiggle at opposing corners joining at the center around a circle, and a V at each of the other 2 corners.

Left: stamped 5 times across and 5 times down
Right: after I played with it with H2O's and pen and ink

Challenge #175 and Stamp Carving - Mirror repeat

Challenge #175

We're in the process of putting our condo up for sale this week, so all of a sudden (while I was at work) all my art supplies were gone and packed away, all I have left are a few tiles, and my pens.  So, I feel very lucky I had put them in a nice plarn crochet basket I had made and they survived the packing :).

The challenge was to use Crux by Henrike Bratz - you can see the step outs here and Diva's challenge here.

I was trying out this new tangle at work during lunch time.  I looked at the step outs, and though... "OK, got it!" and then grabbed my pad of paper and went for it.  Hmmm... that didn't work!  OK, back to the computer to review the steps again, then back to the paper.  I must have done this four or five times, I hate to admit, I was just not getting it that you do one X on 4 grids!!  Somehow I was missing that, and obviously it was not working.  Once I got it, it was easy-peasy, and a lot of fun :).  

Stamp Carving - Mirror repeat

Continuing on with Julie Fei-Fan's book - Carve, Stamp, Play...

Mirror repeat is a bit deceptive as you cannot really print the mirror image of a stamp, but the idea is that you rotate your stamp and print it next to the one you just printed.  So, I played around with a few designs, but ended up going with this one:

Print of mirror stamp

Ugly stage - after it has been painted with H2Os

Finished

Printed the stamp in a way such that
I created 4x4 squares of each side of the stamp -
unlike above where you had alternating (1x1) squares