The Magic of Autumn

Happy Autumn Everyone!

Nothing gets my creativity flowing like that first chilly snap in the air. And the colors? Zowie! Endless inspiration is right outside the window.

One of my favorite mediums to work with is Alcohol Ink. If you've never played with them, get some! It's so easy to create marbled backgrounds or just splotchy fun backgrounds. Plus, it's fun to watch them mingle and spread and do their own thing. Although they come in dozens of colors, they definitely lend themselves well to that feeling of Fall.

I did all of the stamping on this card with StazOn Jet Black ink. I then colored in the tree and the stars with Sharpies (alcohol ink tends to repel and/or absorb water-based inks). To give the stars a little shimmer I dabbed on some Stickles.

That's all there was to it! Simple, yet tons of fun.

But, WAIT!!!

Kae Pea is currently on a road trip to Seattle and has authorized a sale! Through September 28th, get $15 off any order over $75.00 at RubberMoon. This sale is for stamps only (excludes art supplies, mounts, etc). The code to enter at checkout is: ROADTRIP2015

Where will your creativity take you?

RubberMoon Art Stamps used

Small Chubby Crow

Wishing Tree

There's Magic In The Air

Mi Corazón Magnet

True Confession: I'm kind of a magnet junkie. I've collected them from around the world - they're tiny and they travel well! But I also love to make them. A few years back a dear friend of mine sent me some credit card "blanks" and said, "Here, Creative Girl... see what you can do with these."

So, naturally, I did. They are inexpensive and tons of fun to alter and embellish - I've long since purchased quite a few of them from the eBay gods. And, when I began playing around using alcohol inks on them? Well, let's just say that I can be a little fixated when I'm having fun working with a medium that I love.

When I saw Kae Pea's new designs over at RubberMoon, my first thought, and a giddy thought it was, was, "Magnets! Those would be perfect for magnets!"

I began by coating my blank with red and yellow alcohol inks. You could always do this with glossy cardstock, but I like that the plastic holds up so well.

After adding a few drops of blending solution, I simply picked up the blank and tilted it until the colors ran where I wanted them. I then blotted up extra ink with a paper towel. The alcohol inks dry faster than I can type this sentence, so it's a really fast process.

I stamped the heart onto the background using StazOn. This you can't substitute - it's necessary to use a solvent based ink on the plastic or it just won't stick at all. (And don't try to heat-emboss the blanks. They melt. Don't ask me how I know... just trust me on this one.)

I also stamped a heart onto a piece of scrap paper, which I then cut out and used as a mask when I stamped the flames. I colored in the flames with sharpies and then added some bling with Stickles.

I stamped the sentiment on cardstock and freehand cut it out to make a little banner which I then glued on. I used last month's RubberMoon Mail Club stamp to add a little extra interest to the background. I added my embellishments, glued magnets to the back, and I was done!

How about you? What sets your artistic heart on fire? Happy crafting!

RubberMoon Stamps Used

Mi Corazón
Doodle Heart
Flames

Other Products Used

Ranger Alcohol Inks & Blending Solution
StazOn Inks
Sharpies
Stickles

Autumn Love Story

    

"falling leaves hide the path so quietly"
                                               ~John Bailey 

                 

Fall is my favorite season by far.  I'm not too hot or cold and (big bonus) there is an endless array of colors around you as the season matures. There's also a bevy of quotes about fall or fall poetry as illustrated above. And, the pictures online.... In other words, a lot of fodder for artists.  I realized something new during my musings in the studio. Fall is not only my favorite season, but I've fallen madly in love with it.  So this piece isn't just an ode to Fall, it's a love story of sorts. The love story is best represented by the leaves, their color, their gentle trajectory as they travel to the ground,  and the resulting mélange that continues to change daily as newer ones join in and older ones lose their remaining color. 


I am fascinated with the leaves and their layers and as they change states, from bright colors to  translucency and eventually dull and tattered.  I set out an assortment of Golden Fluid Acrylics and Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks which would create an autumn-colored background as well as some RubberMoon stamps, plastic wrap, a bit of decorated paper, water spray bottle, and three 2" x 2"  tiles found at big box DIY stores.

What's not pictured here is the mélange stamp that is one of mine, a 4" x 8" black canvas board, black StazOn, and a wide, black Sharpie.  Mea culpa.....I added a few things as I went along.  You always have to stay fluid in your art.  Remember that.

They key to this piece is layers so I decided to print the bottom layer using the acrylics and the top layer using the alcohol inks.  There was a method to my madness.  I love the mix of different opacities.  The acrylics will dry much more opaque and duller, while the alcohol inks will be fairly transparent and have a sheen.  The picture on the left below shows you how much acrylic you actually need (on a piece of plastic wrap but a non-stick craft sheet would work as well.)  VERY LITTLE.  The middle picture below shows you what the paint looks like with one squirt of water and a little smooshing to spread it on the plastic wrap.  The picture on the far right is how much coverage you want with your colors.  Reserve a lot of white for later. 

                




 I repeated this process with two other colors (drying in between) and called this part done. 

The second part of this background uses alcohol inks in exactly the same way.  I put one drop of ink on the plastic wrap and one drop of clear blender.  The same smooshing goes on but at a faster pace.  These dry fast!  I then dipped the tile as seen below. 

The white of the tile is now tinted a pale green.

Once dry, I began to add stamping using the acrylic paint.  I did three partial leaves per tile in brown and then offset the same image with copper metallic. Yes, the layers continue.

When all the paint was dry, I added black Sharpie to frame the tiles and then blackened the white sides.  I love the finish edging brings.  Finally, I stamped one RubberMoon word stamp on each tile with black StazOn.


Since it is a love story piece, I chose some unusual words to describe my feelings:  xoxo, pitter patter, and be mine.  I know what you're thinking.  Just go with it.  I also used the inksplat stamp.  It's in my top ten of often-used stamps.  You don't really notice it, but it adds so much more to a background. 

Before mounting onto the canvas board, I cut out decorative paper to act as a mat.  I ended up mounting the three tiles nearer the top than the bottom because I had the mélange stamp that really summed the whole piece up. I was able to pull that copper color outside of the tiles by using the same paint on my stamp.  (HINT:  I always lightly stamp onto a scrap first when using paint.  It takes the excess off so you get a cleaner image.)

Thanks so much for reading my love story.  I am happy that it reappears each year so I can relive it over again and again.  Join me on Facebook at  Nancy Curry Art or on my website for more art!