Challenge 263 and The Sunny Window

Challenge #263

It's been quite a while since I have posted and participated in the challenge.  Life gets so busy at times that when you need it the most you don't even get a chance to relax and create.

This week's challenge (here) was quite fun... even though I just saw it today, I just had to do it :).  I'm not thrilled with it, but since it is the first I have created in weeks, it will have to do.  I still had fun, so that's what's important.

The Sunny Window

In our bedroom we have a wall of windows; I absolutely love them as I love light.  The only problem is that the semi-circular window lets in a lot of light as it does not have a shade. 

So, I have been thinking about what I could do to block some of the light, but not too much.  Here is my solution - window art made with used tea bags, and lightly painted with Inktense.  We will see if it will last :)  If not, then at least I loved using recycled materials.

2 layers of tea bags (one horizontal, another vertical) on top of freezer paper.  I used about 1/2 of Mod Podge mixed with 1/2 of water.

While the tea bags were drying, I drew the design on a large piece of paper.

Added the design to the tea bags.

Went over the design with 3-D paint.

And this is what it looks like at this point when you turn it towards the light.

Then I painted the different shapes in yellow, green, and blue tones of Inktense.

This is what it looks like against the dark floor...

... and here held up against the light.

Here is the window now with the sun hitting it.  The colors sort of disappear in the sun, but at night they are quite visible.  I will leave them as is for now; can always add more color later if I want :)

Of course, now I want to try small pieces, and experiment with other materials sandwiched between the teabags.  Lots of ideas, just need to find the time :)

Challenge #247 and New Stencils Gel Printed

Challenge #247 - African Artist by Tina-Akua Hunziker

This week's challenge (here) was to use Tina's tangle "African Artist".  I had to keep looking at the step-by-step instructions to make sure I got it.  Even so, I messed up on this one, but decided to post the first attempt, anyway.

I also am not that thrilled with the tile; it feels very heavy to me.  Oh well... better luck next time :).  I did enjoy the tangle after a while, and am definitely going to try it in different ways to see if it doesn't feel so heavy.

New Stencils Gel Printed

You might have seen the stencil I designed and cut last week; I decided to do another one this week and then try both on the gel plate.

I had a lot of fun with them, and took a lot more prints than I had intended.  Isn't that always the case with the gel plate?  It is for me as I keep thinking "what if" I did this or that, and next thing you know I have prints all over the place :).

Here are some of the prints:

Stencil designed and cut last week

New stencil drawn and cut this week

Challenge #240 from a Gel Print

The Diva Challenge for this week (here) was to be inspired by the season.  Since it is Fall here in New England, I had to go with leaves.

As you know, I've been playing around with gel prints, and have created a few books with them.  The idea is to use them as art journals, and go back to each one of those prints and play with them.  So... I looked for one of the prints with leaves, and tangled away.  I also used Inktense, colored pencils, and black and white pens to transform this print.

This is the "AFTER" version

The "BEFORE" version is the 6x6 inch gel print on the right.

If you are interested in seeing more unfinished prints from this art journal, you can see them in the video below.  I have actually added a lot more pages after I created the video, but have not redone it.  Maybe I will do another in a few months, when I have a few more pages already transformed.

Challenge 216 Brella

The Diva's challenge this week (here) was to use the tangle Brella created by Bunny Wright. 

I am not going to have much time this week and I wanted to do the challenge, and play a bit in my mini accordion journal I posted about last week (here).  So, I decided to do this week's challenge in 2 of the pages - that's why it is so colorful :)

This is probably my shortest post ever, but it is content that counts, right?  :)

Enjoy your week!