Making Gift Wrappers with Intricate Paper Stencils

Martice Smith II who is the creative director of Martice Smith II has established herself as a freelance Illustrator and graphic designer after receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree. Below is her tutorial on how to make a gift wrap while using Intricate Paper Stencils:

• Put your tools together and if you have used watercolors, water-soluble pencil or any other water-based mediums spray 1-2 light coatings of varnish.  This will result to sealing and prevent bleeding or mixing of colors on your stencils.
• There’s no need to work on large areas unless your stencils are very large so position your stencils on craft paper.  Do not clutter too much of your stencils
• Apply spray adhesive and this should be done from outside because of the strong fumes. Each stencil should be sprayed individually with even layers of adhesive
• Generously apply Mod Podge® directly to the stencils with a large, bristle brush or a foam brush.
• Let them dry ad trim the excess and a 15 minutes should be good timing to allow drying.
• Continue adding more of your intricate paper stencils if so far you love what you have already done. Once you are done cut off what you need to wrap a package or you can re-roll the kraft paper.

You are now ready to wrap your gifts and you can start the process all over again.

Nature Inspired Mixed Media Art

Learning and discovering new techniques and materials are two activities that Cecilia Sanchez (CeciScrap) loves to do. Besides, her three gorgeous sons inspire her everyday with their crazy ideas. The art journal is a real diary for her, because sometimes she needs to express feelings with colors and shapes. It is from shapes, colors and textures of nature that she also gets her inspiration.  From her early childhood days, Cecilia liked the photography, drawing, collage and make photo albums with cuts and travel souvenirs. Thus she generally loves crafts and it is only a few months after the birth of her twins that she discovered scrapbooking where she began with digital first which was then followed by the traditional scrapbooking. She contributes with some blogs and digital magazines and organized Scrapbooking workshops in Malaga where she lives in Spain.

She started by trying to reproduce the shapes, layers, shadows, though not knowing how it would end and gradually the creative process led her into a final draft.  According to Cecilia sometimes you can see the end result from the beginning while other times you ought to wait for a couple of days to see the results. What she loves most is the 30X30 pages, cards and mini albums. With the fascination she has of the Art Journal, all she can think of now is getting her hands dirty with scrapbooking.

Recycling Wooden Cigar Boxes

Kathi F. Rerek is a mixed media artist and has been crafting for almost fourteen years. Her father used to smoke cigars that were packaged in wooden cigar boxes which he re – used to store various items like nails, screws, keys, and batteries. Kathi claimed many of those boxes after her father passed away and she has since used those boxes to feature colored stamped images, a painted surface, and seashells from her collection of art. Here is how she does it:

• Smoothening the wooden surface with sandpaper so that there are no splinters or jagged bits. Thereafter sealing the wood and providing some tooth for the acrylic paint. This is done by coating the exterior with a layer of gesso.
• Painting the box surface with Mermaid, Bora Bora, Sky, and Beach Hut Fresco Finish acrylic paints  – Top and sides
• Gel medium was sponged over the die-cut, image panel, and the top of the box, excluding the “sand area”. Shells and pearls were adhered to the sand area and the oval respectively.
• Painting inside the box with black acrylic paint.
• Patterned paper from my stash is cut to fit the interior of the box while gluing more shells from various collections

At the end of the whole exercise, Kathi says she is usually so spirited to go on and on using these boxes. Her blog kathstales.blogspot.com can tell the rest of the story. She has also been lucky to have served on several design teams.

Seth Apter: The Passionate Mixed Media Artist

“The wonderful or not so wonderful thing about the craft industry is there is always something new.” It allows us to give ourselves permission to play and experiment. And you just never know which product or combination will spark a new idea or move your interests in a new direction as there are always new products to try.  While the true definition of “mixed media art” is extremely broad, there are three main categories in abundance on the internet at the moment – mixed media painting / collage, journals / books and mixed media assemblage.

Michelle G. Brown is passionate about mixed media art and enjoys sharing her knowledge and techniques with people to allow them express their own creativity.  Michelle loves Seth Apter’s pieces of art which appeal to him. Seth is surrounded by inspiration every time he steps out of his front door – the energy of the city, the architecture, the culture and the shops all provide a dose of daily inspiration. This allows Seth to see his work differently and what may have appeared finished at first glance actually needs more work.

Seth will then use the new products, like inks and sprays as adjuncts to the core of his designs. He loves bookmaking and likes to use Gelli printed papers to cover book board, either to create a book or to use as a layer in his collage. By learning a few basic techniques the amazing world of mixed media art is accessible to everyone.

Making Intricate Paper Stencils Part 1

Martice Smith II is the creative director of Martice Smith II – Illustration & Design Studio and she loves creating her own backgrounds for her art journal pages. However, she can go through stack of papers when learning a new technique but she will not throw them away; instead re – purpose to create something different with them.  She will create intricate, paper stencils using pages from a phone book. Below are the tools and supplies she gathers for her project:

• Old phone book with torn pages will give you decorative paperwork. Two pages stuck together will give you more stability and strength.
• Glue and Gesso which will be used to stick the pages together. The foam brush will be good enough to apply the Gesso because it applies on an even coverage.
• Paint for decoration. You can use acrylics, watercolors, oil pastels- whatever. However keep in mind that the more layers of paint added, the heavier/sturdier the final stencil will become.
• Fold the paper diagonally and be sure to crease all folds with a bone folder. And because Phone book pages are trim off the excess paper after the folds.
• Use scissors to cut out the largest area(s).

Eventually, add the finishing touches with distress inks, more paint to accent certain areas, embellish with textured stamps or add some glitter.

Inspiring Yourself in Becoming a Full – time Artist

As a paper-crafter and mixed media artist, Keri Sallee believes that everyone was made to create and though pursuing a dream is not an easy task, you must have the strength of heart, heap of patience and a dash of insanity.

She quit her job to become a full-time artist in the paper-crafting/mixed media world something she had never considered until she met an amazing woman named Cheryl Boglioli. Cheryl is a home school mom/medical transcriptionist turned full-time artist and social media maven.  The following are the practical tips Keri learnt from Cheryl of becoming a full time artist: –

• Do your research! Take time to figure out what kind of business is right for you. You can Seek help from those who know more than you.
• Find a mentor who will not do the hard work for you or act as a business coach but one who will be an example of a professional designer and to be your sounding board for questions.
• Be prepared for rejection and don’t take it personally. Instead be open to critiquing; in the long run, it will make you a better business person and artist.
• Be organized and have a plan because it helps keep the lines of communication clear.

From the Artist’s view Keri learnt that you must also believe in yourself that you can do it. Stay true to yourself by asking yourself self – evaluation questions and by being inspired by those around you. “Inspiration Does exist, but it must find out working.”

Make your Own Tape using the 5 Easy Steps Below

Sandra Parés loves working with mixed media because the colors and textures leave her amazed. She enjoys creating and getting her hands dirty with paint and gesso. Additionally, she has this understanding that mixed media allows me to create her own decorations and customize to the personal style that she prefers best. Some of the supplies she uses for her work include masking tape, permanent markers like Promarker, black permanent ink like Stazon, paper figures punched, templates and paints among others.

Here are the 5 easy steps that Sandra did:

1^st step: – using color of Silks Acrylic Glaze while painting the whole tape with a brush give a basic background color. Silks Acrylic Glaze gives good transparency and adds a nice shiny appearance.

2^nd step: – Promarker color paints the background of the tape and also with transparency.  Once the background is ready, choosing a template is the next big thing while you stencil a pattern with acrylic paint.

3^rd step: – Using different Silks Acrylic Glaze to paint the background. We have to paint with a large quantity of paint in the tape, and we can mix the colors.

4^th step: – Doing a background with paint or permanent marker while stamping a stamp with a permanent ink making again a pattern throughout the tape.

5^th step: – Doing a background with paint or permanent marker but this time small paper figures are pasted

There you have it!

Need a Dose of Mixed Media in Melbourne, Australia?

Hello Creative Ones,

Michelle here! If you are in Melbourne, Australia (or willing to travel) we at Mixed Media Art are having a Pop-Up Store at the Pictures to Page Papercrafts Show – May 17 & 18, 2014. We want to bring you a range of mixed media tools and materials to spark your creativity and take the next step in your artistic journey!

Gelli Plates

We will be selling Gelli plates and now is your chance to purchase one without the shipping costs (they are heavy little things!) We will also have everything you need to get started; paints, brayer, stencils and texture kits!

Studio 490 Stamp It – Stencil It Range

This unique range of stamps and stencils in the one kit are a great way to STAMP and then colour in the stamped areas with the stencils – makes it nice and tidy!

Stencil Girl Stencils

We will also have a range of Stencil Girl stencils – we couldn’t possible stock ALL of the range but have chosen a selection that are perfect for Gelli Plate printing or art journalling.

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If you need more information, head over to our Mixed Media Art Facebook Page

Happy Creating,

Michelle

 

Seeking Inspirations from Art

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874-1965) described himself as “an English-Speaking Union,” being the son of Lord Randolph Churchill and the American heiress Jennie Jerome. Victoria Warren-Mears who is full time scientist and part time artist working in paper and mixed media is a big fan of Sir Winston Churchill and whom she describes as an orator/leader.

While Victoria is particularly fond of the speeches given by radio to bolster Britain, she wrote a journal page on one of Churchill’s speeches in pencil in her mixed media art journal. Having all the supplies she needed at hand and from her studio she painted the background of the speech a wash of 2/3 part water and 1/3 part lemon yellow acrylic paint and after drying, she began the layering process.

Next it was to mist with Italian Sunset and after allowing it to dry she misted with Alaskan Salmon. After drying it thoroughly she stamped with pink grapefruit and key lime ink.  She also used a plastic doily and inked over it with Pink Grapefruit ink.

Victoria then transferred the photo of a young and old Winston Churchill from a transparency, using hand sanitizer and a rubbing tool and finally used various rub ons and tape to complete the mixed media page.  She still enjoys reading bits and pieces of the speech and has a wonderful series of images of the orator for her inspiration. Her parting shot is that “Great inspirations for art are the heroes and saints among us”.

A Late Afternoon Elk Meadow Painting

The scenery of Elk Meadows which is a region in the Rocky Mountains is vibrant with fresh and brisk atmosphere. You will come across Cascading waterfalls, rivers and brooks abound with rock formations in many shapes.

Gloria Malouf-Marsh gets creative ideas for painting when she is in nature. She loves listening to nature’s sounds, watching and hearing the birds. She would do various paintings in an effort to experiment on nature. Manipulating the swirls, tucks, turns and working with the gesso in creating texture and shapes is all fun for her.  She developed this when she once sat in a class and as she skimmed through the books, her imagination had ideas of free flowing curves and instead of defining scenery, she wanted to listen to her intuition and carry it out without criticism or judgment.  That is how she was able to choose an area in the Rockies with snow-capped mountains.

She rises early to go for brisk walks, do her yoga practice and she inspired to face the day with inspiration and confidence. She is in the process of developing discipline in creating and making time for herself to daily paint since she wants to hone her skills and techniques in the art medium. She is curious to further her techniques.