Using Stencil Girls stencils to create faces with Dina Wakley's Scribble Sticks

I'm using Pam Carriker's face stencil and color wheel stencil here to create a portrait.  Stencil Girl makes several different face stencils by different artists, there is one for all different styles and tastes.  I wanted to try out my Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks on gessoed water color paper and this is the result.  I've written the colors I used right there on the right hand side of the page.

Very fun and very easy to do using the crayons and baby wipes.  Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs, Renee

Inspired by Karen O'Brien

I'm still plugging away, working my way through Karen O'Brien's inspirational book Imaginary Characters.  Here is my latest technique driven character.

I might add some other touches to her later.  I hope you get a chance to check out Karen's book, it is really fun to challenge yourself with new techniques.  All of my work is done in a small 5.5" by 8.5" Mixed Media notebook so each drawing is not overwhelming not to mention the notebook is portable, it fits right in my purse.
I hope you're having a colorful day!  Thanks so much for stopping by, leave a comment if you can.  It's always fun to hear what you think and what YOU are working on at the moment.  Hugs ~ Renee

Supplies used:  Gesso, Peerless Water Colors, Artistcellar Sea Foam stencil, Stabilo Pencil, StazOn Jet Black ink & Stampers Anonymous stamp, water brush, Strathmore Mixed Media notebook

Playing with Tim Holtz's new Distress Crayons and Karen O'Brien's new book

I'm still enchanted by Karen O'Brien's Imaginary Characters and decided to give my new Distress Crayons a workout in my art journal to add color to my sketches.  Of course I had to add some stenciling into the mix.

I drew the image with my Stabilo pencil.  When water is applied it creates the shading.  I mixed the crayons with a little water on my craft sheet and applied the colors with a foam brush.  When I liked what I saw I added some rubber stamping with black permanent ink.

Very fun!  I highly recommend her book if you like this style of whimsical characters.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hugs ~ Renee

Art Journal Play Time

In my studio I have multiple art journals, some are for Zentangle, others for Dylusion sprays and of course there are the AJs that are just random elements, remnants from other projects.  Today as a warm up I decided to play in one of the random books.  I have stamped off images and extra paint slopped onto the mixed media paper, just waiting patiently for a moment to be remembered and allowed to shine.  This page had eyes stamped onto it and out came this face with a little help from Ranger's new Distress Crayons.

Have a lovely weekend!  Our weather here has been outstanding in spite of the heavy pollen that has coated everything outside.  Hugs ~ Renee

Stenciling on art journal pages

Last week I shared with you some art journaling pages that I had just completed.  Several people wanted to see the step by step process of these pages with photos.  If you click on this link it will take you to the Artistcellar blog where I have shared the photos and process that went into creating these pages.

So if you're interested and have a few minutes I invite you to grab an appropriate beverage and take a look!  Today is my actual physical moving day.  Whew, the studio took days to pack up.  I'm sure my new one will look nice a tidy for a while.  I have set up some posts for the next month.  I'll keep you all posted.
Thanks for stopping by, as always I truly appreciate your visit.  Hugs, Renee xx

Art Journal Pages with Studio Glaze

I love the new StazOn Studio Glaze product for art journal pages.  They can add just a hint of color to your pages or can be used for very intense colors, your choice.  Today I'm sharing a two page art journal spread, the photo is here and the directions can be found on the IMAGINE Crafts blog.  Here is the link.

I hope you'll pop over and take a look.  I'd love to hear what you think.  Hugs ~ Renee xx

Art Journaling with Stencils

It is Tuesday, so it must be Artistcellar Day!  I created a two page spread using my stencils today and a new stamp.

Here are the steps I went through to do these pages.  First I gessoed both pages lightly.  When the gesso was dry I stamped Dyan Reaveley's number stamp randomly on both pages too.

Next I applied Blue, Teal and Purple Gelatos to the pages and sprayed water on them to blend the colors.

I placed my Sea Foam stencil on the pages, sprayed more water and blotted it with a paper towel.  This way I could lift off just a little of the color.  Next I stamped Donna Downey Studios stamp called "She Pauses" on the page using StazOn Jet Black ink.

I stenciled my Believe stencil on the opposite page with gesso and let it dry.  Her face received a light coating of gesso at this point.  Now I had a great surface to use Pan Pastels on to give her some color.  All the little bits here and there on the pages are past mistakes that were recycled in this project.

There you have it!  Now it is your turn to get those stencils out and have some fun.  It sure beats shoveling snow.  :-)  Be safe, stay warm.  Hugs ~ Renee xx

Craft Stamper Challenge::Tissue Paper Stamping halfway point

We're at the half way point of the CS Challenge of stamping on tissue paper.  I thought I would do some work in my art journal using the stamped tissue paper.  For the challenge I did a two page spread in my art journal with a tissue paper skirt on one of my ladies.

I began by applying a thin layer of gesso through a stencil and allowing it to dry.  When it was completely dry I painted some DWM acrylic paint in Turquoise and Lime onto the pages.  I wiped off some of the paint with a baby wipe exposing the white gesso in spots.

Next I tore off a piece of tissue paper from an old sewing pattern, this would be the skirt for one of my girls.

I stamped on the paper with Jet Black StazOn ink and then folded the paper into pleats.

Using Creative Gel Medium I shaped the folded paper and attached it to the page.  I added some map wings to the area surrounding her stamped torso.

I added more color with DWM Ruby and white paint applied through a Julie Fei-Fan Balzer called Blazonry.  First red and then white were applied.

I outlined the stenciled painted areas when dry with a Fude Ball permanent marker very loosely.  I started stamping phrases from the new Dina Wakley stamp collection.  The heads are from Dyan Reaveley, stamped on tags and then colored with markers and trimmed out.

I wanted to pull both pages together so I painted black chalkboard paint across the middle of both pages.  When this is dry it is easy to write on with a white Gelly Roll pen.  I wrote the lyrics of the song "Do You Believe in Magic".  The Bahama Blue drippings are from Imagine Crafts "irRESISTible" texture spray, applied with a paint brush and allowed to run down the page.

I am not good at drawing arms and hands so my lady on the right received two sets of die cut map paper wings instead of arms.  Her dress was a left over piece of stenciled paper retrieved from my recycle box.

You have plenty of time to create a stamped tissue paper project and join in the fun at the Take It Make It Challenge.  There are plenty of inspirational samples on the site, go take a look when you have time!  Thanks for stopping by today, I do appreciate your visit.  Hugs ~ Renee xx

Artistcellar Stencils~Sacred Hearts Series

This is my first post for Artistcellar as a member of their Design Team!  I received the beautiful Sacred Hearts Stencils in the mail last week and have been playing around with them ever since.  There are four 6" by 6" stencils in the pack and each one is different.  I will be posting a different project every Tuesday this month showing each of the stencils in the pack.

I chose the one with the crown as my first stencil in the series to demonstrate.  I thought it would make a perfect background for a two page spread in my art journal.  This is the finished project, if you would like to see how this was done just keep reading and I will show you step by step in a short tutorial.

First I applied a light coat of gesso to my journal pages and allowed it to dry.  I used Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts Fireworks! spray inks, they have a really concentrated color that can be blended and there is a little bit of sparkle to them.  I used Spring colors and just kept moving the stencil around on both of the pages.

My stencil is dark only because I previously used black permanent ink on it and haven't cleaned it off yet with alcohol.  I started with Bahama Blue Fireworks! and then used other shades of blue, yellow, pink and purple.  I tried keeping all the colors in a Spring palette.  I did bring in other stencils by The Crafters Workshop such as the one called Spinning Tops and Silhouette Script which I felt added more interest.

After spraying the inks through stencils, I carefully lifted off the stencil and blotted the paper with a roll of paper towels and dried it with a heat gun.  Then I used my heart stencil again but this time with Modeling Paste.  I applied a thin layer of Modeling Paste to the pages and allowed them to dry completely.  Be sure to wash your stencil thoroughly after you've finished applying the paste, you don't want it to dry on the stencil.

I moved the stencil around several times on each page repeating the modeling paste application.  When it is dry it has a translucent effect that doesn't take away from all the colors previously applied.  It has great texture, too, when you run your fingers across the finished pages and feel the raised designs.

I decided to stamp a large face, her name is "Missy" (found at Beeswax), on a separate piece of white paper, trim it out and glue it to the art journal page with PVA glue.  The words are rub-ons from Idea-ology.

I made her necklace out of ribbon and a flower that I had in my stash.  Later I colored in her eye and lips with Pan Pastels.  A few black lines applied with black gesso and an old credit card helped to balance out the colors on both pages.  The words are made of Grunge Board letters and the quote is one of  Wendy Vecchi's stamps.

I hope this tutorial helps you to see the versatility of stencils and the beauty of the new Sacred Heart Series by Artistcellar.  By the way, there is a blog hop taking place this week showing how different artists are using this group of stencils.  Of course there are prizes to be had.  In case you would like to join in and put your name in the hat to take advantage of  the give-aways I have included the blog hop list for you.  Thanks for stopping by today, take care ~ Renee

 Here is the Blog Hop list found on the Artistcellar site:

We’ve got a nice line up artists here, be sure to visit their blog on their day of the hop. As usual, we will be giving away a free set of stencils to one lucky person who leaves a comment on each blog. Including this one! I will leave comments open until Friday night, even though the blog hop ends on Thursday :-)  Here’s the lineup:

• Saturday, March 29th – Artistcellar Kickoff
  
• Sunday, March 30th – Jill K Berry
• Monday, March 31st – Chris Cozen
• Tuesday, April 1st – Effy Wild
• Wednesday, April 2nd – Tamara Laporte
• Thursday, April 3rd – Guadalupe Brizuela Cabal

Art Journal Page

I've been working in my art journal lately.  I try to get in there at least once a week, I wish I would do it daily but it just doesn't seem to happen.  It is a wonderful way to unload unwanted feelings even after you have seemingly set them aside.  Put those thoughts and feelings down on paper and just let them go!  You can always cover up things that you don't want others to read with just a little gesso.

DUPLICITY

There, I feel better now.  It is a sunny but chilly day here in New England.  The leaves are still beautiful but my garden is ready for bed.  Hope you're enjoying the fall weather too.  Take care ~ Renee

Tim Holtz/Creative Chemistry 102 online class

This is Day two of The Creative Chemistry 102 on-line class.  I took the first class last year along with I'm sure thousands of other people and I liked it so much I thought I'd follow up with the one this year.  The reason I enjoy it is because I can follow along at my own pace and  if I don't have the exact thing Tim is working with I can easily substitute a like product.  For example he does his techniques on tags but I've chosen to do my project using his techniques in my small Dyan Reaveley journal.

For today this is the project I have completed in my book.  It incorporates an ATC I made with a Stampotique stamp made by France Papillon.  When the pages were completed I sprayed them with GooseBumps to give them a little shine.

  If you are interested in the on-line class it is not too late to sign up and you have unlimited access to the classes.  I hope you're having a great day.  Take care, thanks for stopping by! ~ Renee

Dina Style

I purchased Dina Wakley's new book recently "Art Journal FREEDOM" and it has been interesting to try work to my way through it.  I was recently interviewed by a magazine that asked me how I learned to do what it is that I do.  I told them I read books, like Dina's, and watch YouTube videos on anything I'm interested in doing.  I always think I'm doing EXACTLY what the artist is doing but at some point my work goes off on a tangent and I'm usually shocked to see that my piece barely resembles the work I'm trying so hard to emulate.  That is exactly what happened here.  This is my point of view using Dina's Gel Medium Resist on page 86 of her book.  I have an image and a tag like hers and that is about it.  Oh well!  The work other artists share is supposed to be for inspiration.  So this is what Dina Wakley inspired me to do today.  Thank you Dina!

I invite you to get out there and get inspired!  Have a great weekend and as always I thank you for stopping by.  Talk to you soon.

Hey everyone!  In response to Annie's comment/request, this is the page I used for my inspiration and a photo of the cover of Dina's new book.

Have a great weekend.  

Creating An Art Journal Page::Spring Fling Project

When I first felt the desire to create art journal pages I was really stumped as far as just how to do it.  My first attempts had so much color on them they seemed too dark to me.  After taking some classes and watching a lot of YouTube videos I feel like I've made a lot of progress.  At least I am happier with my results.  Today I'm going to show you my process, everyone has a different process, but this is how I do what I do.  My products for this page have been very generously supplied by Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts.  This is my third project for them this month as an "AIRs" (Artists in Residence) team member.  It is my themed project for the month of March called "Spring Fling".  This is a VERY long post so please grab a cup of coffee or tea and put your feet up.

I started with a 9" by 12" piece of watercolor paper 140# and coated it with a light frosting of gesso, allowing it to dry before proceeding.  I recently purchased some Yellow Ochre Pan Pastels and couldn't wait to use them so I applied some on the paper with a dauber applicator from Imagine Crafts.  After rubbing this into the paper I sprayed it with water and some Dandelion Fireworks! spray and Tangelo Fireworks! spray.  These sprays have a concentrated color with a little shimmer to them.  I sprayed some additional water on these colors and let them move around on the paper by lifting the paper and turning it.  After blotting the excess ink and water off I used a heat gun to dry the paper.

Next I put a small amount of Liquitex Titanium White Acrylic on the page and spread it all over with an old credit card.  Using a baby wipe I lifted off some of the white paint until I was happy with the color.  Memento makes some lovely colors of ink and for this project I used Peanut Brittle and Morocco on a stamp called "Geometric Swirl" by Rubber Stampede.  I just randomly stamped the image and the colors on my page.
I used TCW's lacy stencil and a chevron stencil to spray Tsukineko Walnut ink and Willow Walnut ink onto the paper.  After spraying these and blotting the page I dried it thoroughly with a heat gun.  I added Cottage Ivy Fireworks! spray onto the page and used a paper towel roll to towel it off.  Since I wanted more of the green I used Memento's Cottage Ivy ink pad and applied a touch more with my dauber applicator.  I blended it in with a baby wipe until the color was just what I wanted.  In a few areas I added white gelatos and orange gelatos for more color.  These can also be blended with water or a baby wipe.

Using Dyan Reaveley's small diamond stencil and some gesso I added a little more interest.  Not completely satisfied I used a circle stencil from the local office supply store to apply some more gesso in the upper left corner.  After the gesso was dry I laid the same stencil back over the white dots, moved it off center just a little and sprayed the Cottage Ivy Fireworks!, blotted with a paper towel roll, dried with a heat gun.  When this was dry and the stencil had been cleaned, I laid the stencil on the green dots and sprayed the area again but with the Willow Walnut Ink spray.  I carefully removed the stencil and blotted it with the paper towel roll, then dried it even more with my heat gun.  Bringing out the Memento inks again I applied more Peanut Brittle and Morocco inks to the edges and blended them with a dauber applicator.

For more texture and depth I made small lines on the page with an old credit card.  Using StazOn Cotton White and Ivory Black Opaque Inkers I dipped my credit card edge in each and made small marks on the paper.  With an old lid dipped in Golden Gold Interference paint I added circles for a metallic pop.  At this point my page is pretty much layered and ready for the focal point.  My focal point is a piece of clip art from DeviantScrap.com made by itKuPiLLi imagenarium.  She was giving this away as a freebie on the site last month and her work is incredible!  There is a quote included that says "Love of beauty is tasted.  The creation of beauty is art." by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I tore this out, edged it with some of the Walnut Ink spray on an applicator and set it aside.  After cutting out the lady I used Matte Medium to adhere the image
to the page.


 



I had some white self adhesive pearls by Queen & Co in my stash so I applied those to her hat band and a stray one to her necklace.  I felt like she needed a little more detail on the hat so I stamped a flower on white card stock with clear embossing ink three times, applied Detail White embossing powder and melted it with my heat gun.  When this had cooled completely I sprayed the Lilac Walnut Ink spray on the flower images and wiped the excess off with a paper towel.  I applied a tiny bit of Goosebumps in the center of each flower and set it aside to dry before trimming it out.  Then I glued the flower down with a piece of black grosgrain ribbon underneath.

The sheen on her hat is some leftover Gold Interference paint that I had on my craft mat.  I decided that Spring time always makes me think of traveling to far off places so I stamped some faux postage in Black StazOn ink randomly around her image and a few stamped cancellation marks for good measure.  To get more depth and definition around the image I applied some Black Gelato and blended it down with my finger and a damp paper towel.  When I want to journal but have absolutely nothing to say, at this point you're thinking "after this long winded blog posting how could she think she has nothing to say?", that's when I use a quote from someone else.  Happily for me this quote was provided in the clip art.  I wrote the words of this quote that I glued to her shoulder all around the image with a Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen in White 101.  A little distressing around the edge of the piece with VersaFine Olympia Green and an Ink Blushers applicator and Voila!  My art journal page is completed.

I apologize for the length of this post but you can't fake the layers on an art journal page.  Just remember to dry everything between each layer and enjoy yourself.  You could easily turn this into a calendar page by using the small transparent calendars and applying that to her shoulder instead of the quote.  The beauty of journaling pages is that it is all about YOU and what YOU like on your page.  There is no right or wrong.  You might have noticed how similar this page is to one that I did last week.  It just shows you how the central image can be the same but the colors and theme are completely different.   So if you have an image that you love to use repeatedly, feel free, just mix it up a little.  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, I really appreciate your visits.  If you have time to leave a comment please do, I love to hear from you!  Here is a list of all the products I used on this project.

Products

Watercolor paper 140#

gesso

Matte Medium

Yellow Ochre Pan Pastel

Imagine Crafts Dandelion Fireworks! spray

Imagine Crafts Tangelo Fireworks! spray

Imagine Crafts Cottage Ivy Fireworks! spray

Liquitex Acrylic Titanium White

Memento inks in Peanut Brittle, Cottage Ivy & Morocco

VersaFine Olympia Green ink

Black StazOn ink

Imagine Crafts Willow Walnut Ink Spray

Imagine Crafts Walnut Spray

White, Orange & Black Gelatos by Faber-Castell

StazOn Opaque Ivory Black & Cotton White Inkers

Golden brand Gold Interference paint

Faber-Castell PITT white 101 pen

Queen & Co self adhesive pearls

black grosgrain ribbon

Embossing ink and White Detail Embossing Powder

Tools

Paper cutter

scrissors

old credit card

DeviantScrap.com clip art

Stencils of your choice

Stamps of your choice

heat gun

dauber applicators

Imagine Crafts Ink Blushers sponges

Spray bottle of water

paper towels

baby wipes

Art Journal Pages with Dylusions

Hello everyone....no snow as yet but tomorrow sounds like it is going to be a stay at home kind of day.  I've been playing around with the new Dylusions spray inks that I was able to get my hands on, Cherry Pie and After Midnight.  The colors are very dramatic and fantastic on the gessoed journal pages.

The silhouette is just one cut out of a magazine surrounded with black Gelato by Faber Castell.  The words are K and Co.Wild Saffron Adhesive Chipboard.

The sentiment is random.  I don't know where it came from other than the Web so it is just anonymous.

A few stamps using StazOn black ink and some tangling with a Fude Ball pen.  Ever have a day like that?  "One day she awoke to discover that she had become the wrong person".  If you do, just change it and become the Right Person.  Easier said than done. 

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment if you have time!  I always love to hear your thoughts.

SDC 81::Stampotique Challenge/Journal Page

It is time again for a Stampotique Challenge!   the current challenge is to make a journal, calendar or diary page.  I have made a journal page that can be written on whenever the spirit moves me.  It is a reflection of the weather here right now and it is COLD outside.  The children across the street love to make snowmen every year and within a few days they normally look like the snowman on the left.

Products used:

Stampotique Stamps

Dyan Reaveley Stamps

Tim Holtz Stamps

Idea-ology Tissue Wrap 

Gesso

Brilliance Platinum Ink

Brilliance Cosmic Copper Ink

Staz-on Black ink

Faber Castell White and Blue Metallic Gelatos

Memento Markers

Gesso

Essential Glue Pad

Glitter

Snowflake Stamp

Old Book Paper

FUDE BALL black ink pen

Stay warm!  Talk to you soon.

Art Journal Pages

I've been quietly busy with my art journal this week.  There are so many techniques to try out, I just. can't. stop.  The one I completed today is called "It's not easy being a Princess".  This poor little girl had to kiss a lot of frogs to find herself a Prince.

The images are by Hidden Vintage Studios at DeviatScrap.com, it is their "Tangled Up" download.  I did the tangles on her blank dress myself this time.  The crown is also theirs.  Washi tape and a Tim Holtz stamp are also on the page.  I've been having a problem with my Google account but hope to have it remedied by next week.  I'm trying to add more storage space for photos but I can't get them to take my money!  I wish we all had problems like that.  People want to give us money but noooooo we won't take it.  I'm sure they'll fix it by next week.  In the meantime.......Have a great weekend!