Tagged: art supplies
Why Not?
The other day I got a new calendar type planner. I really like it because it’s small and has lots of pockets to carry important things in like stickers business cards. I had to order the page inserts and you may think that already being April the calendar inserts for 2015 would be on sale. You would be wrong! I found a shop on Amazon that had exactly what I was looking for and they only cost 10 cents. Of course shipping was $5.50, but that is still cheaper than I found them anywhere else. So while I was shopping at this particular store on Amazon I noticed they also carried some art supplies. So here is what I went online to shop for…
And here is what else I purchased…
I ordered the Sharpie markers because I saw a cool technique on Pinterest that I wanted to try. So the first things I decided to play with were…
Sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol. Dollar Tree didn’t have clear alcohol so I figured I could get away using the green. The first thing I did was scribble with three colors on a piece of glossy card stock.
Then I dropped alcohol from a dropper bottle on the page.
It was supposed to blend all the colors together and look really cool. It didn’t do that much except make a few puddle marks. I was not going to quit here though so I took out the Twinkling H2Os I bought and used the orange and yellow colors to fill in the white gaps on the page.
Then I just added some background paper and images.
Added some more layers and text and then made it into a tag.
Even though this technique didn’t work how I wanted it to, I noticed the back had a really cool design caused by the alcohol bleeding through the paper. I may explore this technique in the future and use it as the main background in a project.
So next time you are shopping for something you need and you are tempted to try some new art supplies it’s okay to say, “Why not?”.
Artsy Art Supplies Part 1
It’s amazing what big business art and craft supplies has become. I’m guessing billions of dollars each year are spent on all kinds of creative endeavors. And while I do see the need for things like paints , certain adhesives and some specialty tools, I think most crafters spend way too much money on items they don’t really need or could make themselves. After all, if we are supposed to be creative, why do we have to buy the same stuff as everyone else?
In an effort to be more original and save money I decided to make my own washi tapes to use in my junk journals and mixed media pieces. Here is a quick run down off the process I used.
Tape strips of masking tape to a non-stick craft mat (yes, that is a necessary item!).
Randomly spread paints over the tape strips. I used a brayer (yes, that is also a necessary art tool!).
Make sure all your tape is covered with paint.
Stamp, paint, draw, ink and anything else you want all over the painted strips. The paint circles on top were made by dipping various lids and tape roll centers in the paint.
Here are my finished designs. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone and splattered some India ink on the top strips.
Once the strips are finished and dry, transfer them onto the shiny side of a piece of waxed paper. This allows the tape to be stored without losing it’s stickiness. I cut the waxed paper into strips after attaching the masking tape.
And here is how I store them. All I have to do is peel the tape off the wax paper and they are ready to use in my projects.
So this is my first hand-made “artsy” art supply. Now you can make washi tape as unique as your projects!
glitteronmyface 