Mixed Media Technique – Faux Resin Paper

I’ve seen some awesome tutorials out there regarding resin paper, usually using Ice Resin, thanks to my friend.  The result is a piece of stiffened paper which has become translucent with the addition of the resin.  While I think the technique and finished result are cool, Ice Resin takes (up to 24) hours to dry and must be applied using a sponge while wearing gloves.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am far too impatient for all that!

I wanted that translucent paper look without all the hassle of using resin.  I found a great, cheap, and ultra-quick alternative!  BEESWAX!  Melt the beeswax on the paper using a cheap iron and it instantly turns translucent.  Some quick tips I didn’t mention in the video:

1. Make sure you peel the paper up from your scrap paper before the beeswax dries or it will adhere to the scrap paper.  You could always remelt the beeswax to release the paper, but just a friendly heads up!
2. I’m pretty sure wetting the paper gave me better results, but it could have been the fact that the paper was different in the second example in the video.  Try it different ways and see which one works better for you.
3. The paper tears BEAUTIFULLY!  Take THAT resin paper!
4. This stuff doesn’t like to be glued down.  You could either use hot glue (which worked beautifully) or Glossy Accents, but I can tell you from personal experience that Aleene’s will not work.

DIY Permanent Spray Inks!!!

Check out this cool trick I found to create permanent spray inks with Distress Ink Reinkers!!!

Pinterest Amnesia aka “Pamnesia”

I cannot be the only person who has spent hours looking at stuff either on Pinterest or to pin to Pinterest and then sit in my studio thinking, “What in the world should I work on?”, can I?  I highly doubt it.  Pinterest affords crafters and artists to pin all sorts of things that allow us to get ideas to make things or inspire us to make something; however, I find myself rarely going back to my boards to see what I pinned and why I originally pinned it.

Usually, when I get artistically dumbfounded, I go to Pinterest in search of something NEW to inspire me.  In my head, I think, “I’ve already seen what I’ve pinned, why should I go look at those again?”.  We should go back and look at our old pins because it’s really easy to pin something and completely forget all about it.  I am completely guilty for this.  I am constantly in search of some new art journal technique or idea and when I find it, I’ll pin it and then I’m off to find something else.  In the interim, I’ve yet to try that last pin that totally pinspired me and made me say, “Whoa!” in the first place.

As such, I challenge you to fight through your Pamnesia by going through some of your old boards and see if something will inspire you all over again.  You pinned it in the first place, why not go back and look at it in a new light and make something inspired by it?  In short, Pinterest Amnesia is a disease plaguing the art community and diminishing creativity.  I beseech you to try and fight against…what was it again?  Oh, yeah…Pamnesia.  I think.

Art Journal Prompt!

Time. There is never enough time in the day, right? We never have time for anything. We do, however, seem to usually have enough time for television, though.

Art Journal Prompt: Fifteen minutes of free writing in your art journal a day will help you stay focused on your own well-being and to be honest with yourself. The beauty of an art journal is that you can pour your feelings onto the paper with ink and then cover the ink with gesso and paint to disguise your emotions to others. Your art journal is yours to do with what you would like. Use it to your advantage.

Honesty Moment: I frequently use this method to conceal some of my most personal thoughts. I then use my art supplies to cover the words and use a single phrase or word to remind me what I was talking about. I usually don’t remember every word I write but do remember how I felt and the gist of my journal page. Honesty is so very freeing.

Holey Crap!

One of the most popular stencils in art journaling is punchinella, or sequin waste, which is essentially a bunch of circles, usually. Create your own punchinella by cutting out a ton of circles on your Cricut or by using a handheld hole punch in either foam or acetate. Circles are simple basic shapes that can help define an awesome art journal page and juxtapose the straight lines of the actual paper. Use circles to your advantage.

ABC Art Journal Series-E “Enjoy the Process”

Here’s the fifth installment of my ABC’s of art journaling! Hope you enjoy!

ABC’s Art Journaling Video: “B”

Here’s the video for my Aleene’s Tacky Glue texture page!

ABC’s of Art Journaling: “Bring your old supplies to the table and use them in new ways.”

So often, we forget that there are no rules in mixed media art.  You can do whatever you want whenever you want as long as no one gets hurt and it isn’t against the law.  😉

I sat down to do this page and kept thinking “Be inspired”, “Be imaginative”, “Be…” and I realized how uninspired and how unimaginative those statements were.  Then, I sat down to do this page and remembered Aleene’s Burnt Bag technique which is so cool but thought I could do it with a heat gun to give me the texture it created without the soot the candle creates.  If you haven’t seen the video, here’s the  link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOjdgpyAWc.

The video is being created/uploading now, but here’s a sneak peak at the page I made for the letter B in my ABC’s of Art Journaling journal.  Hope you enjoy it!  Stay tuned for more!

ABC’s Art Journaling Video: “A”

Here’s the video for most of the page being made.  Enjoy!

New Series: ABC’s of Art Journaling “Anyone can be an art journaler”

This is the first spread in my new series of art journaling videos/blog posts.  I decided to do a new journal all about the ABC’s of art journaling.  Each page/spread is going to have a title starting with a different letter of the alphabet.  Wow, how dumb do I think you are that I had to describe that?  Not dumb at all, just wanted to describe my thinking!  Hope you enjoy it!

This first spread is all about “A”.  Anyone can be an art journaler.  No serious art journaling techniques here, but tons and tons of layering.  Stay tuned for more!