Art Challenges - My Thoughts and Art

The title really should be

The Challenge

of a Challenge

for someone Challenged like me.

I have good intentions at the beginning of the year to try a couple of art challenges. Tori Weyer's #DrawRiotDaily I follow along on Instagram and love her journal pages and those that join in on the challenge. This year I said, I want to do it. Easy peasy.

#DrawRiotDaily Day 1 - Fresh

There is also Rae Missigman's Art Marks 30 day Challenge. Making art marks on my journal pages for 30 days. I want to do that. Easy peasy. 

#DrawRiotDaily Day 2 Joy 

Well my fellow artists, not so easy peasy for me.

I did not start Art Marks 30 Day Challenge.

I've only completed 6 days of #DrawRiotDaily.

I can go back and play catch up.

I can start again with her new prompts for February.

Can I join in at any time?

Yes, but what's stopping me?

I haven't a clue.

#DrawRiotDaily Day 3 Green  

It could be because I'm so far behind I'll never get caught up so why continue.
 You know that frustration you feel when you couldn't keep up.

#DrawRiotDaily Day 5 Light

  I'm really enjoying the challenge. 
So instead of playing catch up, I'm just going to do the days I can. See how many I can complete by the end of the year. There are no rules on how you complete it and that's what I have to remember.

#DrawRiotDaily Day 6 Cup

#DrawRiotDaily Day 7 Plant

I would love to hear from you.

Are you challenged by challenges?

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Rose Garden: A New 2017 stencil from The Crafters Workshop

Today as a Design Team Member for The Crafters Workshop we can start showing you the new stencils for the 2017 Winter Release!!!! I'm so excited. 66 NEW STENCILS!! There are also some surprises coming too. 

The Crafters Workshop will be sharing the new stencils and surprises from CHA Creativation this weekend on all their social media sites.  Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Let us know what you love this year.

The Crafter's Workshop provided me with stencils and mediums to create this project.

The opinions I share are solely my own because I do love to use them.

Let me introduce you to the new stencil called Rose Garden (TCW711) designed by Hot Off The Press. You can get it in 12x12 and 6x6.

Isn't it GORGEOUS!

With a new stencil I like to just play with it. I decided to use two tags, TCW Modeling Paste, TCW NEW Gel Medium Matte, tissue paper, Golden High Flow Acrylics, Golden Fluid Acrylics, Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (Satin).

I added the stencil to both tags with TCW Modeling Paste.

This next picture is hard to see but I wanted to see what it would look like if I used the new Matte Gel Medium and layered tissue paper over the top of the stencil design.

It takes all the hard edges off the modeling paste. I'm going to try it again but use more modeling paste next time.

I used TCW Gel Medium Matte to attach all the bits and piece of a dictionary pages to the edges of the tags.

I added a layer of TCW White Gesso and let it dry.

Then I do the unthinkable I glazed it in black!

Let it dry for a bit then wiped it away with a baby wipe. One thing I didn't like about the tissue paper is that it took all the nooks and crannies away from the modeling paste so the glazing didn't come out as I would have liked. That's why its great to experiment.

So the next best thing is add more of the stencil design with modeling paste.

I glazed it again. I love the way it looks.  I wanted to leave it black and white but I had an accident and spilled a little paint. So I went with it.

Yellow high flow acrylics spilled on a corner of the project so I just continued.

Here is the entire project. I'm loving the color combination now that its finished. 

What do you think of this new stencil?

Do you love it? Hate it?

Tell me!!!

All the new stencils, mediums and surprises will be shipping to all stores after CHA Creativation. You will be able to buy them at Scrapbook.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I can't wait to show you more new stencils.

I'm off to play.

Happy Endings Brave Beginnings: An Art Journal Page

Today I have an art journal page to share.
It all started with a napkin.

In my small Dylusions art journal, I added scrap paper to the bottom of the page.

I added white and blue acrylic paint to the page and sprayed it with a little water. I used gel medium to add the poppies which are from the napkin.

I added extra paint to here and there on the poppies and a few rubber stamps to the page with archival ink.

Here is the finished page.

I forgot how much I love using napkins. I may be searching for more.

Starting January 21st check out The Crafters Workshop blog and my blog you will see a brand new stencil for 2017. I've shown sneak peaks here, Instagram and Facebook but now I have permission to start using them.

Also follow The Crafters Workshop Facebook page for updates during this weekend from CHA Creativation for all the new stencils.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

A Seaside City on Yupo and a Sneak Peak of a New 2017 TCW Winter Release

Happy Friday!

Today I have a mixed media painting on heavyweight Yupo. The heavyweight Yupo was designed to be able to use it for mixed media. I decided to test the heavyweight Yupo by just to playing. No ideas, no thoughts, just play. It's amazing what my hands do when my brain is shut off.

Don't forget to check out a sneak peak of a new stencil from The Crafters Workshop for their 2017 Winter Release at the end of my post!!!

First I used washi tape to add to the background.

On top of the washi tape I added tags, bits of scraps, more washi tape and string.

I added DecoArt's Crackle Paste through the TCW639 Star Quest stencil. I also added it on the string.

The Crafter's Workshop provided me with stencils and mediums to create this project.

The opinions I share are solely my own because I do love to use them.

As you can see I used parts of the stencil to form the buildings and add some architectural designs.

I let the paste dry on it's own so it cracks nicely. You can use a heat gun but it doesn't always work very well. It's best to let it be. When it was dry I started adding color with Golden High Flow Acrylics.

I also like to spray a little water on it and watch the paint spread in all the nooks and crannies.

I noticed the way the string lays on the Yupo and it looks like a wave so I continued that way.

I decided to paint the cracks in the paste. As I was painting, I noticed it looked like a crest of a large wave.

I didn't like all the blue at the bottom so I add some white and sprayed it with water. I love the way the paint spreads with the water.

I continued painting the cracks on the buildings and added birds to the sky.

Here is the finished piece.

It looks like an old seaside city decaying by the sea. The piece of Yupo is 5x7. I only wished I played on a larger piece.

I hope you enjoyed my project.

SNEAK PEAK!!!!!

This stencil is called TCW639 Rose Garden designed by Hot Off The Press!

Stay tuned for more speak peaks!

Starting January 21st on TCW blog you'll start seeing the new stencils in action!

Crystal Clear TCW Gel Medium Technique

Surprise, it's not Friday but I thought I would repost this technique here if you didn't see it on my blog post for The Crafters Workshop. 

 

I'm not a fan of shiny glossy mediums but I do love to use TCW Gel Medium Gloss using this technique. It's so much fun! It can be used on anything, cards, scrapbook pages, art journals, ATCs, etc.

 

First, I added fluorescent acrylic paints through the stencil on Yupo. When it dried, I put the stencil back on the Yupo and added Gel Medium Gloss through the stencil.

 

 

When it dried just like magic is turned crystal clear so you can now see the colors again. Pretty cool, right?

 

 

I used a brayer to add more acrylic paints, water and India inks to the Yupo.  I let some of the ink and paints dry in puddles.

 

 

Tip: Yupo is plastic so paints and inks move around a lot with a brayer. If you like a portion of your painting and don't want to change it, wait for it to dry before adding more. I will tell you waiting for it to dry also has its problems, but the more you work with Yupo the less frustrating it becomes.

 

Once it dried I scribbled on it and it was done.

 

 

If you want to see more details on this project and all the supplies I used you can click HERE.

 

The Crafters Workshop provided me with stencils and mediums to create this project.
The opinions I share are solely my own because I do love to use them.

 

I hope you love this technique just as much as I do.
If you create anything with The Crafters Workshop stencils and mediums, share them with hashtag #tcwstencillove.

 

You can see more of my creations using TCW stencils by clicking on the link below.

 

Karenliz Henderson - The Crafters Workshop

 

I can't wait to see what you create!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome 2017! My thoughts, My Art, My Babble

Happy New Year!
My parents always said as you get older the years go by faster. Boy, were they right!
 
Don't wish your days away!

#2016BestNine - Instagram

For 2017 I want to keep things simple, not think too much, not make myself crazy trying to get things done.   I decided for the most part I will post on my blog on Friday, just one day a week. There will always to times where I will post on another day especially for design team responsibilities, challenges joined, etc.

If you noticed, I updated my blog so it's minimal and clean. It needs a few more tweaks but I loving the way it looks.

I need to keep it simple.

In between blog posts I will be posting on the fly with Facebook and Instagram. You can see the links in the top right-hand corner of this blog.  The blog will have step outs of the art and maybe even videos!

I'm exciting to see where my art will go this year and that includes my photography too.  I'm hoping by keeping it simple that this year will be a fantastic year.

Happy New Year!

I hope you have a happy, healthy and creative one!