Pattern, pattern, pattern...

I showed you the start of these fun foam prints a couple of weeks ago, and thought you might like a view of the plate after the first print:

Of course, one can't do just one print with fun foam plates, especially given they pair so nicely with  gel plates.  The prints on the left are done with Golden Open paints on the gel plates with the ones on the right done from there directly onto white cardstock.  I can see there will be more of these in my printing future on both counts.

Blaming another recurring addiction directly on Lynne Mizera, I have to tell you we got stencil burning this past week...she'd taken a class a couple of years ago with me, but hadn't done her own since.  

We were so into the whole thing;  I used her Natalie Kolbach stamp to create paper mask and stencil and soon there were flying elephants all over the place.

The first elephant materialized when I used the mask portion over a gel print...yummy colour, don't you think?

Of course, I had to go back in with some gel pens and play some more - a whole lot more, in fact.

Then I used the paper stencil to create an outline on the house wrap, and started burning.

I was going a little bit googly-eyed, so I put a colourful print underneath the glass so I could actually see what I was doing.

It showed up really well, I thought.

Pretty soon there were elephants everywhere; they seemed to multiply faster than I could corral them.

I used the burned stencil portion over another gel print, and then the paper mask to pounce back into it for the background.  More gel pen play, and this happy, heart-ful elephant is well on it's way.  I think she looks like she's going on an adventure, don't you?

What have you been up to this week?  I love hearing about your own adventures during these hot summer days!

This week in the studio...

... I've spent a great deal of time working on a house wrap stencil (the wrap is actually  fibreweb by Typar).

I spotted the design on the bottom of a plastic tray for plants from the greenhouse...I stole it from long-suffering John, of course.  He knows that nothing is safe from my thievery if it's patterned, and knows enough to lock away any similar items when he thinks he'll need it later.

Transferring the design with a black pen, I then used my trusty stencil burner for hours and hours and then even more hours (it's a 12" x 14" stencil).

I love the pattern, cutting mistakes, warts and all.

While I'm rarely happy with the first print on a Gelli plate pull,

 I love the ghost prints,

which range from strong to subtle.

 And of course, after a while the stencil itself gains some beautiful colour.

Helpful Hint:  When using a stencil burner, ensure that your glass support is tempered, and that you use a steady slow motion.  It's particularly tricky burning a house wrap 'fabric', as they tend to be lumpy, bumpy and grooved.  I like this brand for its linear quality, though, which adds another dimension, particularly to Gelli prints.

I love these hand-burnt stencils for a couple of reasons - they are very thin and lovely to place underneath a commercial, thicker stencil, and because I cut them myself they have that hand-crafted look that is unique to the maker.  Check out Tuesday's post find out how you can learn more about Gelli printing!

It's so ugly,

...even a mother couldn't love it.

It all started when I tore back into the studio to burn some Tyvek stencils, which is always fun.

I even like the cut-out shapes - think they'd make good masks.

The first photo above was originally an aborted attempt at a Gelli plate technique I'd not tried before - it desperately needed rescuing. I think the white knight should have been shot at sunrise, don't you?

I had rather more success with some other Gelli prints.  I'm a huge fan of circles and reds, so this one pleases me immensely.

John encouraged me to use an old lace pillow cover on a test drive - love it!

And now I've got a mystery I'm hoping you can solve.  While having tea with Andrea Revoy the other day, she showed me this little goody she found in her yard.  Man-made?  Organic?  What the heck is it?

 About four inches long and an inch or two high, it's surreal to the max.

There's a prize for you if you can tell me what this is - and make me believe you! (Don't ask me what - I've no idea yet!)

If you're out and about near Creston this weekend, I hope you've got tickets to the Blossom Valley Singers concert.  There's no prizes there, but definitely fun music!  Happy weekend, all.