Trying to revive my muse

It's been awhile since I've done much artful creating. What with the remodel and then refinishing lots of furniture, I have not been in my art room except for a few small swap pieces to send off.

Things are settling down now and I'm taking a break from the furniture painting - at least for now as there are more pieces I would like to redo - so I'm trying to find my muse again.  This came in the mail yesterday. I was about to throw it away but since it's basically a big sheet of sticker paper, I thought I would art it up for future stickers.

First I spread a light coat of gesso on it to subdue the colors and writing.

And this is what I ended up with after several layers of scraped paint, stenciling, stamping and splatters. It was fun to just let loose and not care about the outcome! And you can't even tell what it was originally.

Now I have some great background paper to punch or tear to add to future art journal pages or mixed media projects.  Here's an example of a punched 2.5" circle which is perfect for the start of an Altered Trading Coin.

So, the muse is taking baby steps back. Hopefully she will jump right in soon!

Vellum Backgrounds

I love techniques! Some days when I don't feel particularly creative, I still need to do something artsy. So I like to play with different techniques and just make random backgrounds. The monthly technique on the Creative Cards Yahoo group for April is backgrounds made with Marvy metallic markers on vellum. Here are four results from my recent attempt at this. A short tutorial follows.

Supplies needed:
vellum
Marvy metallic markers - 2-3 colors
non-stick craft sheet
scrap paper to lay finished papers on
heat gun
spray bottle with water
rubber gloves (unless you want tie-dye hands!)

Cut pieces of vellum into manageable pieces. (I cut 1/4 sheets which will be a good size for card fronts.) You can use any weight of vellum. Lightweight vellum will probably buckle from the moisture and heat. My vellum was quite heavy so I thought it would do fine. As it turned out, it didn't buckle much, but rolled up! Weighting it down with heavy books has not improved it much. When I do use it, I will have to glue it down heavily or use brads or some sort of attachment in all four corners.

Take 2 or 3 colors of Marvy metallic markers and make several dots of each on the craft sheet. Do not let colors touch. The more dots you use the darker the finished colors will be.

Spray with water just until colors run slightly together. If you use too much water, all the colors will mix too much and become a muddy color.

Lay piece of vellum down over the misted colors and smoosh lightly (or more if you want more color and intermixing). Pick up vellum and lay on scrap paper. Dry with heat gun. Depending on the amount of liquid left on the craft sheet, you will probably be able to color several pieces. You can also keep adding colors, or wipe off and start over.

Weight the vellum under heavy books to flatten and use as backgrounds for stamping or other artwork.

Have fun!