Challenge #202 and ATC Swap

Challenge #202

The Diva's Challenge (here) this week was to use only Chebucto and Copada.  This was really challenging and both of these tangles are more border tangles than tangles to fill areas with.  So, I went with a Bijou again (2x2") and am not thrilled with it, but it will have to do :)

ATC Swap

I'm finished with my ATCs for the swap.  As I was running out of time and ended up throwing away a couple that didn't cooperate :), I grabbed some I had done before and some half-way done and finished them.  I hope you enjoy them.

Pen and Ink

Acrylics, colored pencil, pen and ink

Book page, H2O's, pen and ink

Watercolors, Pen and Ink

Acrylics, Colored Pencil, Pen and Ink

Watercolors, Pen and Ink, Colored Pencil

Watercolors, Pen and Ink, Sakura pens

Gesso, Watercolors, Gel Pen, and Pen and Ink

H2O's, Pen and Ink

Watercolors, Sakura pens, Pen and Ink

Acrylics, Graphik Line Painter (white), Sakura Pens

Acrylics, Graphik Line Painter (white), Pen and Ink

Metal and acrylics

Diva's Challenge #201, Gelli Printing, and ATCs

Diva's Challenge #201 Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day 2015

The Diva's little boy has Moebius Syndrome and the challenge this week is to use the Moebius Syndrome Foundation logo to help raise awareness for this disorder.  You can learn about the syndrome and the challenge in Diva's site here.

My submission for this week is a bit late and a bit tiny :)... it is a Bijou.

Gelli Printing

Last week I had a couple of hours with the Gelli Plate and as usual, had lots of fun.  I wanted to try out the new masks and stencils I had cut, and I did, but also ended up using some of the old leaf masks I had created before from Tyvek.

I had a bit of trouble with the paint drying on the gelli plate before I was done taking prints.  I think next time I will have to mix some glaze with it since I'm not ready to spend money on Open Acrylics yet.  Anyway, I still had fun, as you can see :)

ATCs

It's been a really long time since I've created a 2.5" x 3.5" card, but even longer one to trade.  Well, I decided to create some and enter a swap, since there is really no pressure on how many you have to send in.  You can trade up to 15, but if you send less, you will receive as many as you sent in.  Cool!

So, I've been thinking of some of the things I've done in the past that I enjoyed, and some of the things I would like to try.  The great thing about this small size is that you can try so many different techniques and if you don't like it, it isn't usually a big investment of time.

Here are 3 I have finished.  I have 2 others in progress, and ideas for a few more (including using some gelli prints :).  We'll see how it goes.

Challenge # 200!!!! Carving, Stamping, and Journaling

Diva's Challenge # 200

Wow!!  It takes a lot of time and effort to create and think about an interesting and creative challenge!  But 200!!!  I'm really impressed, and I'm sure it has not been easy with 2 little ones!  I have only joined in the fun a few months ago, but I can always go back if I want to, right? :)

OK... so, this special challenge # 200 (here) was to use your go-to tangle all the way to the edges of the paper - no border - and have the number 200 somewhere.

I grabbed a couple of number stamps I have carved a long time ago and never used and went at it without a string.  It turned out very blah... if I get the time and energy this week, I will try another one.

Carving, Stenciling, and Journaling

I really enjoyed the carving inspired by the Portuguese Ironwork window, so I played with it a bit.  You can see the original post and the carved stamp here.  I wanted to see if the same stamp could be used to create different patterns, maybe a border?

And then used it on one of my art journals.  Painted around it in black to see if it would look like stained glass, and added some more details with H2Os and Sakura pens.  I also added some of the things I didn't want to forget about the stamp in white.  I may end up doing more on the black, but it will stay like this for now.

I can really see how useful stencils are especially for Art Journaling and Gelli Printing - 2 things I would like to do a bit more of - and, like anything else, I would rather use my own designs.  I finally decided to try making one myself, so I grabbed a transparency, a stencil tool, and went at it.  

Well, I can say the lines are not even close to perfect, like the ones you buy, but... they are unique and I made them.  What I hear is that with a bit of use, they will lose some of those little blobs of melted plastic.  Even if they don't, it's ok, the image is good enough for me for now :).  The first one is the window, but I haven't made the border yet - still thinking how I want to do it.  The second was completely random... just kept cutting our shapes until it was done.  I'm not sure about it, but it will be fun to test it out different ways on the Gelli Plate.

Priscila's Window - Bottom is the stencil, and top is the image it creates

Abstract - Random Shapes - Top is the stencil, bottom is the image it creates

I hope you enjoyed these.  Feel free to comment.

Diva's Challenge #199 and Hand Carved "Window"

Diva's Challenge #199 - Hitched

Wow!  It's been quite a while, with selling and buying a home, moving, and Christmas...  things got a bit out of control :)

Now I'm back, and happy to be creating Zentangle Inspired Art again :), although a bit out of practice.  

The challenge this week HERE was to use the Tangle Hitched - created by Heidi Sue.

This was what I came up with:

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with and posted in the Diva's blog.  I'm always inspired by the different way people create such wonderful and unique pieces using the same tangle.  I've decided not to look at any of the entries until I have done and posted mine; like a treat after finishing my post :)

Hand Carved "Window"

I have a niece in Portugal who loves to take pictures and has a very unique perspective and way to capture beautiful things that most people don't even notice.  I always enjoy her pictures, but when she posted one of a window with ironwork I knew I had to carve a stamp to capture it.

Here is the window; I just found it on the web - this picture was not taken by my niece, HERE is where I got it from.

So, I drew it and then carved it on a soft block.  Then I got to stamping it and then playing with the print.  You will notice it is not exactly like the window, but similar.

I'm having a really good time with this stamp.  I've tried it as a border, and to make different patterns, but of course, I think it looks wonderful in the round.

I have also stamped it on a painted page of one of my art journals and painted the rest of the page black; it makes it look almost like a stained glass window.  When I'm done with it, I'll post.  This will be all for today :)

Update and Junk Mail Journal

Update

The last few months have been hectic:

• Took on further responsibilities at work and so it has been pretty crazy!  Hopefully it will settle down in a couple of weeks :)
• Sold our condo, bought and moved to a new house.  It will take a while longer to get it in shape and organized, but at least I have most of my art stuff now :)
• Finally went to the doctor and found out why I have been feeling so crappy for so long - need iron!  OK!!  That explains it!  So I should be feeling a bit better in a month and back to normal in 9 to 12 months.  Back to normal is good :)

I hope to start back on the Diva Weekly Challenge soon, and posting more regularly.

Junk Mail Journal

New video of my art journal made with junk mail and other recycled papers (including used tea bags for the covers).  I wrote about it in this post here, but it took me this long to finally create the video :).  I can finally play with it now that the video is done :).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all those small pieces in the pockets, but I certainly have a lot of them!  I do love to play with hand-carved block prints, using different materials and techniques.

I hope you enjoy it.