More Background Fun!

 More fun creating backgrounds, this time

using Tim Holtz Distress paints and inks.

 I love the way this Distress paint reacts to water spray!

 I used a variety of rubber stamps from 

Tim's collections and also Michelle Ward.

And stencils from Tim's Layering Stencils and

 two of my all time favourite
 Mary Beth Shaw stencils- gears and web.

A lot of fun experimenting and seeing what the results were!

I've got Proof!

A month ago I posted about carving my first BIG stamp.

I've since been proofing it and re-carving 

 and proofing and re-carving.

Here are a couple of results on 12x12" scrapbook paper. 

 Getting better, but still some to go.

A Cut Above!

 Last October at a workshop with Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby, Anne showed us how to transfer photo copies of patterns and designs onto large (12x12") slabs of  Safety Kut (a material for making rubber stamps).   I did the transfer - using matte medium on both the Safety Kut and the copy, and let it dry over night.  Then sprayed water on the paper and rolled it off until the what was left was the Safety Kut with the design transferred onto it.  At this point it was ready to carve.  And so it has sat in my studio for the last 8 months.

I watched Anne do it at the workshop, I watch her (several times) on her DVD doing it, but I was nervous of making that first cut. So last week during my time off I thought "OK, now's the time!"  I got out the Xacto and the lino tools, took a deep breath and just went for it.

It was not as scary as I had thought it would be.  I sliced through a few stems and leaves I hadn't meant to, but on the whole - not bad for my first time.  I will proof it several times to see what needs to be fixed and then start stamping away.  I know it will be easier next time and will not be another 8 months till I try it again!

Paper Neighborhood!

For our anniversary Margot surprised me with this cool set of architectural stamps from Paper Neighborhood.  By using them one can recreate any/all details of Italianate  buildings.

 I have barely started to play with them, but am looking forward 

to many fun hours of being an architect!

 
They come in a faux paint can with their own ink pad, though I'll use Rangers' Jet  Black Archival.  I'll post some results when I've designed my first structure!