Unexpected Results and a Giveaway

I've been playing around with my Gelli plate recently and coming up with some interesting backgrounds for my artist trading cards.

I don't have very many texture tools (yet) and have been trying to find everyday items around the house to use to create different effects. I've used bubble wrap, popsicle sticks, yarn and cardboard tubes, among other things.

The one that I got the most unexpected result from was a kitchen paper towel. Doesn't this look really wicked? I was only trying to gently dab off an excess of paint from the Gelli plate but when I pulled up the paper towel, this design was left behind.

To be honest, at first I wasn't sure that I liked the resulting print but I knew if I tossed it, I'd be sorry. It was several days later that an idea how to use it came to mind.

I recently purchased the Dina Wakley Scribbly Women acrylic stamp set (with a 40% off coupon, of course). I stamped one of the images onto each of the cards. A couple of them don't stand out as much as I would have wanted but I'm pretty much committed now.

I did an online search for quotes that I could add to each card. I collected a long list of them but needed to narrow it down to six. It's more of a challenge than you think to find good quotes that are short enough to use on such a small canvas.

I was going to print the words on white paper and outline them with black around the edges but thought that it might be more effective to use yellow paper instead. I had to 'audition' both options before finalizing my choice. I ended up choosing white paper afterall.

Here are the final ATCs. I outlined the words with a black gel pen and went around the edges of the cards with archival ink applied with a sponge blending tool. I'm reasonably pleased with the results.

And now for the giveaway. To qualify, add a comment to the bottom of this post and your name will go into the hat. One winning name will be drawn on Wednesday, June 15th. I will announce the winner on my facebook page but will also contact the lucky person privately to arrange delivery of their prize, a Forever In Time clear acrylic stamp set. The sentiments are ATC size.

Don't forget to leave a comment below for your chance to win. Good luck to you all!

Update June 15, 2016: All the names of people who commented below were entered into Random.org and a winner was selected. Congratulations to Sarah Ruth! Your stamp set will be in the mail tomorrow.

New Camera

This little Sony Cyber-Shot (7.2 mega pixels & 10X zoom) camera has served me well. I acquired it many years ago with my Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum points. For the last couple of years, I have not been able to download photos directly from the camera, even with a new cable.

I had to purchase a card reader and remove the card from the camera each time I wanted to download photos. An extra step, for sure, but still relatively easy to accomplish.

My Optimum points have slowly been adding up and today I finally had enough, the very top level, to purchase a new camera. I've been waiting and planning for this day for months.

Here is my new camera...

To my surprise, when I went into the store this morning a big sign greeted me...Seniors Day - 20% off regular price items.

What a bonus day for me! Between the senior's discount and my Optimum points, I got this beautiful Nikon Coolpix L340 (20.2 mega pixels & 28X zoom) camera for under $20. I am doing a happy dance today! I'll will be spending some time this weekend playing with my new toy, you can bet on that.

Progress Made

The tablet weaving project is moving along, albeit slowly. It took me over an hour to recover from the broken thread but I finally got everything untangled and tied off so that I could continue. You can see by the photo that progress has definitely been made.

However, continuing issues with the tensioner have been challenging to overcome. It keeps requiring 'bandage repairs' in order for me to keep moving forward.

The problem is that the screw is stripped. The soft pine wood it is made from was not designed for the amount of usage mine gets.

So, I have to keep stopping and attempting to tighten it up as best as I can. Several wooden toothpicks and a wee bit of my sanity have been sacrificed along the way.

On the weekend, I went to Home Depot and purchased a hardwood dowel and the hardware to make a few more tensioners. Since I don't have the tools or expertise myself, I went to visit my youngest son.

After showing and explaining to him what I needed and why my current tensioner was no longer working for me, he agreed to make me a few.

Of course, he has a 'better' construction idea than mine and I'm okay with that as long as they work. It is way too frustrating to have to keep fixing this old tensioner every time I turn around.

By tomorrow evening, I should have the new ones. I can hardly wait!

Project Woes

I decided to change creative directions in order to get back on track. I've been stymied lately and really need to get myself motivated again.

So, I turned to the inkle loom. My Etsy shop could use a few more pieces of tablet woven trim. It's been awhile since I've made any new ones and several have sold over the last few months.

This project has been fraught with problems from the start. I selected burgundy and bright yellow crochet cotton to work with this time, a lovely combination.

I chose a very simple pattern that I've used before. I still consider myself a beginner at weaving but I have had success with this design before so it seemed like a good choice.

Then my troubles began. I started warping up the loom only to discover that the tensioner was not doing the job it was hired to do and I ended up having to cut my losses on that thread. I hate wasting supplies but there was no way to recover from it.

I had to get a friend to fix the tensioner for me before I could make another attempt at it. I began to warp up the loom once more. Step one  was completed successfully this time. Hurray!

Trying to establish the pattern is always a bit of a challenge for me. There was a lot of frustration and concentrated effort along the way but I finally got it going the way that I wanted.

I have about 6" of a 9' piece done, when one of the threads break! Are you kidding me? It is at times like this when I can see the value of 'scream therapy'. I cannot believe the bad luck that I'm having with this project.

My task this evening is to see if I can 'fix' it. I am going to be very upset if I can't. Wish me luck.

Artistic Block

I’m watching lots of art tutorials and admiring the work of so many fabulous artists online. There are so many techniques that I want to try, so many ideas swirling around my head.

But when it comes down to getting started...putting that first bit of paint down onto paper or canvas...I’m totally intimidated. What if it doesn’t look ‘good’? What if I make a ‘mistake’? The world will surely collapse around me! Right?

I know, I can hear you all now. There are no mistakes in art. Art is a creative expression of your thoughts and feelings. There is no wrong or right, no good or bad. Intellectually, I know and understand this.

Try to tell that to my conflicted brain! The right side (creative) and the left side (logical) start to battle as soon as I sit down at the work table in my studio/office. I pull out materials, lay them out in front of me, and freeze.

 When I have been able to suspend belief though, the results have impressed even me. Take this art journal page that I recently did. After watching a video and working on the cat for quite some time, I was going to throw it out. After all, it wasn’t as ‘good’ as the one in the video. And any attempt at 'fixing' it seemed to make it worse.

However, anyone that I shared a photo of it with thought it was fabulous. So, I took a few deep breaths and plunged in. I committed myself to moving forward and finishing the page in spite of my reservations.

Surprising even me, it turned out pretty good. How can I shut down that logical side of my brain more often and allow art to happen as it should?