Maura's Musings

Tuesday, January 22

N*Studio Creative Squad: Let's Jump!

I'm over at the N*Studio Creative Squad HERE today, sharing how I made my Kokopelli figure. We are having a blast this month with Creative Jumpstart with its My Home is my Castle theme.

In case you missed my December project, here it is...

Warm Wishes

“Tis the season, right? Winter has arrived on the calendar, we’ve celebrated the Winter Solstice, and tomorrow is Christmas for all who celebrate. Happy Solstice! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! My winter started early this year in November with snow and cold, so staying warm is a priority. I headed for warm colors in my project and sketched out a mitten pattern to use as I rarely head outdoors these days without my mittens or gloves.

I have a small workspace, so my 6 x 6 gel plate works well with many projects. I started with a mix of Cadmium Red Hue and Cadmium Orange Hue and blended them on the plate with the brayer. I laid the large Toledo stencil on the gel plate and pressed my watercolor paper onto it for one print, lifted the stencil to print another, then printed again on the gel plate without the stencil.

Next, I blended Diarylide Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Hue, and Primary Yellow on the gel plate with the brayer, and used the Toledo Small stencil on the plate. I printed the next layer of color and design onto my sheets.

Time to add another bright, warm layer to my papers with a blend of Translucent White and Quinacridone Magenta. Once again, I used the gel plate and brayer to blend, and then stamped the Diamond Hex stamp into the paint, then on to my papers.

As you can guess, I like to build up layers, so went in for another one using the Translucent White and Quinacridone Magenta on the gel plate, then laid the large Toledo stencil down on it again. This time, I randomly pressed some areas of the paper into the paint.

I repeated the previous step with Translucent White and Cadmium Orange Hue.

I decided to add some shimmer to my papers with the Park Boulevard Mini and Shimmering Silver paint. I used a sponge and dabbed the center of the stencil (it reminded me of a flower or snowflake) randomly over my papers.

Now that my papers are created, it is time to cut out my mittens. I sketched my mitten onto scrap paper and used this to cut my mittens. Then I used a slightly larger mitten shape to cut out my background with the Peacock Teal card stock. I cut a cuff for each mitten and stamped another design onto the cuffs with the Antique Tile and VanVorst stamps and blue ink.

I adhered the patterned mitten to the teal card stock, added the cuff and decorated with ribbons. Then I punched a hole and tied on some bakers twine to hang these. They can be used as tags on a gift or ornaments for the tree.

Stay warm this winter with warm colors and mittens! Peace and Joy! Maura

Monday, January 21

Alcohol, Inks or Drinks

Hello Monday my friends! We have a fun theme for you this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Alcohol, Inks or Drinks! I think this will be a fun mix, so come and join us!

I challenged myself to use my alcohol inks and create a landscape, which I then put into one of my many art journals.

I mixed several of blue alcohol inks to create the sky.

**There are a couple of ways to change the pattern, one is to use your heat tool to stop the pattern where you want it (otherwise it will continue to change until it dries).

**The other is to add drops of the blending solution directly to the paper to keep the ink blending, or to add a few drops to the felt applicator and "stamp" it.

I used the lift ink and star/snow stamp on the sky. After you stamp with the lift ink, be sure to rub it with a paper towel or cloth to reveal it.

I used a mix of greens and browns to create the land. I added ghost trees to the background using the Lift ink, and then stamped trees on top with the brown ink.

I "painted" in some darker areas, like the rocks with the ink and a brush. Be sure to clean your brush right away. I also stamped a couple deer into the forest scene.

Alcohol Ink Landscape

I hope I've inspired you to try your hand with alcohol inks! (of course, you can also do something drink related). Our generous friends at Simon Says Stamp are offering a $50 voucher to one lucky participant!

SUPPLIES:

A great place to shop!!

Simon is on Instagram - use #sssmchallenge

Be sure to head on over to see how the design team interpreted this week's challenge!

Monday, January 14

Tamale Bag Upcycle

Hello Monday my creative friends! Let's do some recycling this week with our new challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - RECYCLE SOMETHING! What do you have around the house that you could repurpose?

My family loves tamales. It goes way back to a camping trip out in the southwest. We had broken down and were "stuck" for awhile at a little market/service station way out there with nothing around for miles. An older man stopped and set up a little stand to sell his wife's tamales, which were hands down the best ever! So from time to time, I try to find us some tamales, and the Texas Tamales are pretty darn good...and the bags are great for repurposing!

Texas Tamale Queen

Delicious and a bit spicy...

Be sure to slip a piece of cardboard in-between.

I gessoed both sides, and thought this was pretty cool when I pulled the cardboard out - it kind of worked like a silk screen. I'll have to save this for a future project.

I painted and stenciled one side with bright colors. Apparently purples are calling to me!

Next I stamped some images with paint, and later with ink. These awesome stamps are designed by my teamie Andrea Ockey Parr!

I kept it simpler on the reverse side with lots of dots.

I had fun with more stamps, more layers, building the design.

Then, I decided to whitewash this side and tone it down a bit.

Details...

Front

Back

Of course, either side could be the front! I love to upcycle things that might just get tossed and turn them into something brand new. How about you? Did you find something to recycle this week? Join in this fun challenge and you'll be entered into the $50 shopping voucher from our generous friends at Simon Says Stamp!