Stencils, Mail Art and Helmar!

If you are a follower of my blog then you already know how much I love to use stencils and Dylusions Ink Spray to create my own background papers. I start with a 6x6" square of 140lb. Strathmore Watercolor Paper...this gives me the opportunity to see how a stencil will look, gives me the opportunity to play with color combinations and have lots of fun paper laying around for future projects.

Here are 3 MAIL ART projects I created for a cross promo between HELMAR & Viva LasVegaStamps Design Teams. You can read more about this project here.

Stencils Used:

The Crafter's Workshop

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Pomegranate {TCW285}

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Echoes {TCW371}

Ronda Palazzari Honeycomb {TCW346}

Do you like working with stencils...what are your favorites?

Thanks for Stopping by...time for me to get my art on!

*Ranger DYLUSIONS INK SPRAY SET OF 12 Dyan Reaveley

*Helmar 450 QUICK DRY ADHESIVE 800775

*Faber-Castell BLACK Essential PITT Artist Pens

*Faber-Castell METALLIC COLOR Set PITT Artist Pens

*Tim Holtz DISTRESS STICKLES PICKET FENCE White Glitter Glue Ranger

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STUFF I'm Excited About!...and a Giveaway! UPDATE

4/1/2013 UPDATE:I'm highlighted over on The Crafters Workshop again so to celebrate I'm extending the time for comments and add 1 more stencils to the giveaway. I will draw the winner on Wed. 4/3.

HERE'S the link.

There are times that life hands you events that make you really happy...or things to really look forward to...unexpected happenings. So what am I talking about?

Over the past 2 days I've been on my blog roll and to my amazement I find that I have been highlighted by other blogs...it makes my heart sing. It is no secret that I love to use stencils in creating my artwork. Here are the links...I would love it if you would go over and check them out ;)
The Crafters Workshop and Help Me Ronda with Ronda Palazzari.

I'm also excited about the fact that 21 Secrets, the brainchild of Dirty Footprint Studios, starts on Mon.April 1st. Some of my favorite artists will be presenting classes, the price is incredible and there is still time to sign up. Go HERE to check out what the workshops are!

Reminder: There is still time to apply for the 2013 Helmar Design Team. HERE'S the information you need! It's a great DT to work on ;)

For the GIVEAWAY ~ Leave a comment on this blog post telling me if you like to use stencils and what are your favorite stencils to use. I will draw a winner on Mon., April 1st. Prize: 2 ~ 6x6" stencils from my ETSY shop...you get to pick which ones and I will send them to you.

Well I need to get myself going because today is Art Journaling Club here at my house...every Thursday three of us gather here for journaling, laughter, tears, hugs, coffee, lunch, secrets. It's quite the spectacle but I would be lost with this day!

Have a great day ;)

PanPastels and Art Journals

I love working with PanPastels and I had the opportunity to play this week with an assignment from the Helmar Design Team promo week with PanPastels. I chose to look at its uses differently...instead of creating a background from PanPastels I would start with a background already completed. I also wanted to see how they would work over various types of materials I would be using. This journal page was created in the Dyan Reaveley Creative Journal which has become one of my favorite to work in. The paper is scrumptious and was designed for a variety of mediums.The stencils I used for this page is one of the new Ronda Palazzari designs from The Crafters Workshop called Quatrafoil in the 12x12 size and Balzer Designs Diamonds. I used several Tim Holtz stamps from Stampers Anonymous and also from MaVinci Stamps.

Here are photos taken during different stages of completion.

Acrylic background created with Ranger Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers.
Vintage sheet music applied with Helmar Acid Free Glue.

PanPastel applied with the Angle Slice Art Sponge.

PanPastels applied over collaged and gessoed wash tape & vintage sheet music.

Using a stencil designed by Ronda Palazzari and applying Versamark Ink this pattern was created
when PanPastels were applied over it.

Tim Holtz Melange Tissue paper, vintage book pages and washi tape with
several colors of  PanPastels layered over them.

Stamped image with PanPastels applied with Soffit Knife Tool.

Completed journal page.

I was very pleased with experimenting how PanPastels would react with different mediums. After finishing I did spray both pages with a fixative to make sure they would not smear. I was pleased at how adding PanPastels over acrylic paint actually added depth and color. 

Thanks for stopping by today...I hope I've inspired you to take a look at PanPastels! Have a great weekend.

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My Weekly Review & Stencil Love

I accomplished a great deal this week and I'm congratulating myself. I'm still learning how to be retired...I thought the transition from working to being a lady of leisure would be fast and painless. I have since discovered that it really is transformational and would require many stops & starts!

I completed 3 blog posts for this personal blog:
http://themermaidscloset.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-whatevers-5-catching-upfinally.html

http://themermaidscloset.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-whatevers-6.html

http://themermaidscloset.blogspot.com/2013/02/anatomy-of-tag-with-7-dots-studio-and.html

A project for the Helmar DT blog featuring 7 Dots Studio:
http://helmarusa.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/hopefully-from-7-dots-studio-sticks-together-with-helmar-.html

Several projects for myself...oh and cleaned my project table which...woot-woot... is still clean!

         Journal Page                          Jesse James Bead Bracelets

   Pie Chart Ronda Palazzari                 Stencil Girl Stencil Club

    Journal Cover                     Vine Profile

        Antique Ledger

Also received and listed an order of newly released stencils from The Crafter's Workshop in my Etsy shop. I am waiting for more stencils to arrive, different from the ones already listed.

I'm now going to see what else I can accomplish today as it's only 10:30 am EST...yippee!

Have a GREAT weekend.

And MORE Stencil Storage!

I believe that anyone who has a studio or a designated spot in their house is always looking for better ways to store tools & products used in creating art. My last blog post was about storing 12x12 stencils and you can read it here. After reading a blog post by Ronda Palazzari and her method for storing 6x6 stencils I knew that I had discovered how I would follow suit.

I purchased the 6x6 page protectors from We R Memory Keepers. You may have a favorite from another company and I don't have any connection with them.

They arrived before the weekend so I had the opportunity to work on it. I used various sheets of left-over 6x6 cardstock to create a background for ease of viewing.

There is room to place another stencil in back of the cardstock so you can actually store 8 - 6x6 stencils in one page. I'm so pleased with the concept but I still have some stencils without a home. As I was doing some organizing a stumbled upon an 8x8 album with photo protectors included...you would have thought I struck gold when I found this because it answered the problem for these stencils. I wish I could tell you the manufacturer but it's one that I've had for several years.

Perfect for the 5x8 Dylusions Stencils

Perfect for 8x8 Prima Stencils

Now I have one more size stencil to store and I have an idea of what I'm going to do. When it is finished I will share. For me this creates a visual of my stencils, keeps them neat & orderly and I can quickly find what I 'm looking for. 

Thanks for stopping by, make sure you come back to see the final method of storing border stencils.

Have a CREATIVE day!