GESSO CRACKLE

The technique for this fortnight I've called "Gesso Crackle".   It was purely an accidental discovery while I was doing another technique previously.  It uses Gesso (duh!), and the wonderful Golden Paints in the Fluids.  You need the Golden fluids for this technique, not the heavy body ones as they are too stiff.   Just don't go there okay?   lol

"Attack"...

"Bite Me"...

"Failure"...

 "What you see"...

This next one is just a quickie I made for my son's birthday.   Rather than make a card for him I thought I'd do an atc so he can stick it on his fridge next to the ones I've made for my daughter-in-law Elice.   As we've just bought a still, thought it was relevant.    Yes, that's a page from his old calculus book!

Finally, a last atc from the previous technique, Mini Collage with paint.

"Stargazer"...

Mini Collage & Paint

The first set of classes went off without a hitch in the new venue, the Jim Satchell Community Centre in Dianella.  The next technique that I'll be teaching is Mini Collage & Paint, Saturday's class is this week, the 12th of May and Tuesday's class is the 15th of May.  I think the girls that love playing with paint and colour will enjoy this week's technique....mini collage & paint.   It's mini collage because we're working on the atc size, 2-1/2" x 3-1/2".....kinda small so you can't overfill it like you would if you were doing a 12" x 12" canvas!    Of course I'll be using my Golden Paints but Jo Sonja's will work as well.  I just love Golden's because they are so pigment rich and you don't need much to get great depth of colour.   Natalie from Artability has some great Golden Paints for sale on the web-site as well as some other fantastic goodies - check it out!  Some samples....

"Family"...

"Melancholy"...

"Entwined"...

More samples to follow after Saturday's class.

Antique Foil Background

It seems like ages since I've posted here though it's only one class that has been missed between Scraptivate closing and the next classes starting up through the on-line store, Artability.  My first class is this Saturday, the 28th of April at the Jim Satchell Community Centre in Dianella.  I'll be teaching a technique that I've called "Antique Foil Background".   Gotta love that foil tape!   Add in some alcohol inks and some stazon ink pads and it just doesn't get any better.

"Haunt"...

"Away Often"...

"Sombreness"...

"Intimate"...

"No Head"... (get that mind out of the gutter!!!   lol)

I ummed and aaahhed over whether to put this next one in....it sort of belongs on my other xxx blog, but it doesn't really show anything so I thought, why not.  
"Be creative"...

These last two below are from my previous Canvas Painting class.

"Muse"...

and the last one...."Testicles".....

I look forward to catching up my students again on Saturday and Tuesday night of next week at the Community Centre and hope that it's going to be smooth transition for all of us.

Canvas Paper Painting

I've used Canvas Paper as a surface for atc's a few times, just love the linen-like texture that's on it. This fortnight's class is using the canvas paper and my favourite, Golden Paints for adding the colour. We'll be doing washes of colour but also using different implements to add further interest - like corrugated card, empty plastic or cardboard tubes, sequin waste etc. While I was doing my samples I discovered a happy accident which will become another class using canvas paper, gesso & Golden paints....that's for another time though.

Firstly I thought I'd show you a couple of pieces before I cut them down to atc size. The first one below is A5, so I can get 5 atc's from this sheet.

These two are both 2-1/2" wide x 7" tall so I can get 2 atc's from these pieces.

Samples now of atc using this technique for backgrounds...

"See"...

"Hope"...

"Ornament"...

"Dream"...

"Flourish"...

When I did the last technique, Paper Casting, I made a piece using my Dragonfly Legend stamp by Stampers Anonymous (a favourite of mine!) using the old fashioned method of laying the wet toilet paper directly onto the stamp and drying. This piece I made into a card front so it's larger than a normal atc.

"Dragonfly Legend"... (card)

"Mess"... (another atc using the paper casting method from the last technique)

Finally, this is a card that I made using gloss card from the technique before Paper Casting, Abstract Acetate. I still prefer the look on acetate than on gloss but for a card it's fine.

"One of a Kind"... (card)

Paper Casting

This fortnight's technique was shown to me by Mandy, one of my students (& a friend!). I had done paper casting years ago using rubber stamps and tissues with a bit of glue and water. Of course the worst thing about it is you have to wait for it to dry overnight before you can use it. Well those sort of techniques just have no place in my 2 hour classes so speeding it up by using the Cuttlebug machine and embossing folders and then drying with a heat gun is the way to get instant gratification....and I'm all about instant gratification!!! I used Glimmer Mists to spray the castings to add colour and then used Gilding Wax/Treasure Gold/Rub'n'buff to add the extra zing to the backgrounds.

"Silent language"... (on this one I used white gilding wax to add the highlights on the background)

"Industrial"... (sorry it's a poor picture, stupid jump rings just add too much depth for the scanner)

"Antisocial"...

"Chaos"...

"Ambivalent"...

More to come after I've done the 3 classes.

More Abstract Acetate

Here's the last couple of Abstract Acetate cards from the current technique. I have a few blank ones left - meaning no images or stamping on them, just the abstract background. I've added them to my "backgrounds box where they'll eventually get used. I love having a whole heap of backgrounds when I just feel like making up an atc quickly or using it as a focal point on a card.

"Mesmerise"... (this one is on acetate, as were the previous ones in the last post)

"Disobedient"... (this is done on gloss card. I've used the same colours as the one in the previous post called "Self Expression" - Eggplant Alcohol Ink and Terra Cotta Alcohol Ink as well as one of the "lights" in a taupe colour, the name escapes me at the moment. They look really different in the flesh as the acetate makes the colours just so much brighter!)

"Save Face"... (this is the final Salted Sprays atc from the class from a fortnight ago).

On a sad note, unfortunately the best papercraft store around will be closing it's doors at the end of this month. Yep, Scraptivate, where I've worked and taught for the past 5+ years will be no more. The good news is there will still be an on-line store called Artability which will stock all those hard to find arty bits & pieces and as soon as the web-site is up and running, I'll post it here. Natalie and I will still be teaching in Perth however, at this stage classes will probably be at the Ballajura Community Centre. I'll still be doing my atc classes and Natalie will be doing her mixed media & cardmaking classes there too! As soon as I have a calendar to direct you to, it'll be posted here. As so many of the girls have said, one door closes....another one opens.

Abstract Acetate

The technique that I'm showing the girls this fortnight is a Tim Holtz classic! Well, maybe not a classic as it hasn't been around as long as his other classic....smoosh, but a good background technique nonetheless! Whereas he does this on gloss card stock, I did it on acetate and much prefer the brighter background when you place the acetate against white cardstock to really make the colour pop! Good ol' alcohol inks....always perfect!

"Self expression"...

"Live life"...

"Twilight"...

"Frolic"...

"Flagrant"...

I also made a card using the gloss card and will post that next time I'm on here. Hope the girls like this technique!