Wednesday, January 26, 2011

UPC...unmasked!!!

the other day i showed you one of my experiments from a session inspired by my girl gina's USE, PRACTICE, CREATE play-long. as it turns out, i was having so much fun with january's focus--acrylic paints--that i just kept going.

again, i used some tim holtz masks. this time, mindful of the fact that masked letters become hard to read if you try to put too much detail around them, i placed "HAPPY" by itself on a glossy sheet of chinese text from an architecture book that i backed with cardstock for strength. i squeezed a small drop of 4 or 5 shades of blue randomly on the surface, and then i used a foam brush like a squeegee...and just spread the paint in one long line across the masked letters to get this really fun "striation" effect:


(patterned paper: hambly, basic grey + text from a chinese book; black glossy cardstock & masks: tim holtz/ranger; alphabet stickers: k&co; bling star: mambi; "!" paperclip: from staples; rubber stamps: hero arts, tim holtz, stampin' up, cherry pie; inks: ranger, martha stewart, stewart superior, colorbox; adhesives: uhu gluestick, tombow monorunner; other: folk art acrylic paints, sewing machine)

as a result of the above precautions, this time my masked letters were so clear and so uncluttered that i really didn't even NEED to outline them with the sewing machine...but...i did it anyway! :)

i also had the "don't do TOO MUCH overstamping" lesson firmly in my head from last time, so you can see that i added a lot less detail generally, and kept it ENTIRELY off the white masked bits! i could not resist, however, having a little fun with leftover paint and the bottom of my soda can! (see, those things are not just for reindeer, anymore, lol!)


i was so pleased with my painty effects that i only added minimal "finishing" to the card: patterned paper mats, a "birthday" to follow the "happy", a bling star and one of the verrrrrrrrrry cool typewriter key paperclips that leah and i found on clearance at staples last summer. and that's it. i don't think i've ever been so happy to be BLUE! :)

12 comments:

  1. You are an expert with your sewing machine! This is a beautiful card; I can't decide which I like better :)

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  2. oh lauren, what a gorgeous card! i loooove the blue! what fabulous techniques! thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day!!! *hugs* steph :)

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  3. Lady you are getting very good with your paints. I love how you put this together.

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  4. awww Lauren, I just read your post on my blog... I feel so loved that I wish I could cryovac you a slice of Banana Cake, lets just say I tipped my cup of tea and cake slice in the air to you my new friend <3 xox

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  5. great playing with a sewing machine:)
    goooood job Lauren:)
    Greetings:))

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  6. WOW! Looks like alot of hand cranking was involved in the creation of this card. So worth it, the effect is so cool!

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  7. You certainly did a marvelous job on this card ! L-O-V-E the perfect stitching...I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love to use it, but I hate the results. But you have really used it well. Would love to CASE your card, but I'd have to do faux stitching !

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  8. You are making me want to sew again. Too cool. I love the paint and the stitching. AND the DYMO.

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  9. so cool more stitching and sewing. You are really getting so good and doing really detailed stitching to the point of perfection and aweness on my part.

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