Ingenious Inkling

Index Card a Day 2023

Each year, I do two months of gelliprinting challenges, and I love the feeling I have creating art every day.  For years, Lauren has done two months of Index Card a Day art (June & July), so I decided to join her for that fun.  You can see my daily posts on Instagram (@SmilynStef)

There are specific daily challenges and weekly themes.  You can do them all or none ... they are just suggestions for inspiration.

 

 

I stayed pretty-on path for the first week as I got warmed-up.

My first one isn't really a sapling, but I have my little tree stamp small dimension with my layout.  The A Muse tire swing stamp reminds me of my childhood and the hours we spent on ours that hung from the large hard maple tree in our back yard.  I used watercolor markers to create my landscape.

 

 

One of my ICAD goals is to break-out neglected supplies, so or the day 2 Dots Challenge, I broke out some oil pastels to create my rainbow dots, and then I had to go through multiple tools to finally find one that I could use to draw around the oil pastel (Sharpie ended-up being the winner).

 

 

I have quite a collection of maps, so I used part of a California map for Day 3.  I poked holes along several roads, and then I threaded a needle with some blue thread and stitched along the road.  I finished with some clear stickers that had messages that encouraged me.

 

 

I used a paper towel roll and brown paint to create some coffee rings for Day 4 Espresso.  Next I stamped more circles from Birgit's Mini Textures stamps from Carabelle Studio.  I finished with a tiny cup of Espresso.

 

 

I inked the rainbow for the Day 5 Stripes Challenge.

 

 

For wildflowers, I found some stickers made from real wildflowers in my stash.  I put them on a gelliprinted background.

 

 

For day 7, I punched out a Treble Clef from a piece of vintage music in my stash gifted to me from my dear Great Aunt Mary.  It was fun remember her and honoring her with my art on an inky background.

 

 

I'm having fun working on the week 2 prompts.

Gelli Printing Wrap-Up

I completed Birgit's Printing Challenge on Instagram for the month of May.

 

 

Day 21 was Triangle.  I used my Triple Play Foam Stamps by @natkalbach, @birgit_koopsen and #marshavalk.  My clean-up print on the right ended-up with such great color.

 

 

Day 22 was to use Inks.  I chose the soft blend of a trio of Distress Oxide Inks ... this will make a great card background.

 

 

I skipped Day 23, a tracing technique, because I don't really have any drawing skills.  I saw several examples later that weren't faces and looked like something I could try, so I may revisit it at some point.  I give myself grace and skip the days that don't feel like something I would use.

Day 24 is Feather.  I pulled out my favorite hand-carved feather stamp by my friend @ginaisarty and used it with a combination of Catherine Pooler inks.

 

 

Day 25 was Brush.  I tried printing with a Paint Brush ... not exactly something I can figure out how I will use on a card (maybe in a mixed media piece), but it was fun trying something new.

 

 

Day 26 was White.  I tried using Gina K. Designs white pigment ink (the best white ink in my opinion) and a stencil on black cardstock.  I like the ethereal snow-like effect.  The stencil is Holiday Foliage from Simon Says Stamp.

 

 

Day 27 was Tape.  I had fun printing on clear packing tape using Mini Textures Carabelle Studio Stamps by the challenge host Birgit Koopsen.    You can see the card I made with the tape here.

 

 

Day 28 was one of my favorites, PanPastel.  I loved using them as much as I did last year, so I broke down and bought more colors than the two I have in my supplies.  I used the two shades with the Taylored Expressions Mini Slim Cable Knit stencil.

 

 

 

Day 29 was Thread or Yarn, which is always a fun thing to play with on the GelliPress.

 

 

Day 30 was Frottage (basically a rubbing) was one I really wanted to work, but the various mediums I had in my studio did not yield the desired result.  I was bummed because I actually bought a box of plain crayons for this technique at the Create/Exchange several months ago, but of course I can't find them at the moment (if it's like most art supplies they'll show-up right after I publish this post.

And the final Day 31 was Button.  I found a big pearl button that was part of my step-mom's button collection and used it like a stamp into the paint (with the piece of wire that was already through the button, so it worked like a handle).

 

I hope you enjoyed traveling along with my monthly art experience.  For June & July, I'm joining Lauren (you can see her first round-up here) and a host of others on the Index Card a Day Challenge (I think making small art every day helps keep my brain happy).

More May Gelli Printing

I've still been having fun with the GelliArts May printing challenge with @birgit_koopsen.

 

 

Day 11 was circles.  I printed with my much-loved circle stencil and deep purple paint.

 

 

Day 12 was lace ... I always pick-up bits of lace at the Create/Exchange just for printing.  I used a crocheted lace doily for these prints.

 

 

 

Day 13 was printing with cardboard.  Yes, once again I went cardboard dumpster diving to get a piece of cardboard to use to create a print (I have no shame when it comes to art supplies).

 

 

Day 14 was foam stamps ... I already shared those prints together with cards I made from the prints ... see them here.

 

Day 15 was printing with Bubble Wrap.  I pulled out a much used piece of tiny bubble wrap and created two prints and an awesome clean-up print with gold paint.

 

 

Day 16 was printing with texture plates.  I always forget about the texture plate ... I pulled out a much used favorite de lignes et de courbes from Carabelle Studio.  The top left is a clean-up print using my roll off paper.

 

 

 

And lastly, Day 17 is an Egg Carton.  We still had a few eggs left, so I tore it in half and used the bottom to make one print & the textured paper of the top to make the second one.  You never know where inspiration might be.

 

 

 

I love the fun artistic experimentation that these monthly challenges bring to my creative process.

Gel Printing Joy

I love Gel Printing ... and these daily prompts are just what I need to try quick, fun things after a long work day.

 

 

I really love how my Rainbow print turned out.  I just said ROYGBIV and grabbed random tubes of paint from my container.  I put one of my favorite masks from Carabelle Studio called Accumulation of Circles on my plate and applied a dot of each paint on the right side of the plate and rolled with my brayer until it was covered.

 

 

I removed the stencil and just pulled the paint using white paper without adding another layer since it was wet enough to get a print.

 

 

Here's what I did for the first flower print (I had a bit of catching-up to do).

 

 

And last night I rescued a piece of cardboard from the Cardboard dumpster in our building, tore off a layer, and did a few fun prints.  

 

 

Have you been taking time to make some art that brings you joy?

New York Serendipity

We're still on the Serendipity theme at Wanderlust this week with our instructor the talented Carolyn Dube.  Her lesson was planned Serendipity since we chose five or so random supplies to use to create (but didn't limit ourselves to that if the design called for something else).

Here is what I chose from walking around my studio.

 

I decided I wanted the theme of my page to be New York because this week I've really been missing my annual trip there with Lauren.  I intended to stamp the Carabelle New York Skyline by Azoline repeatedly to create the background/base of my page.

Well, with the theme of Serendipity, it only seemed right that my plan completely failed.  I tried both ink & paint but with the texture of the watercolor paper pages of my journal, this is what I ended up with ... black messy muck.  Rather than start over, I decided to stick with it ... one thing I've learned from this class is that paint can solve a myriad of problems.

 

 

Next I tried Green Paint in the Carabelle Studio Fantaisie Spiralée Texture Plate ... and I got more mess.

 

 

I wasn't ready to give up yet.  I decided to go with something I knew would show up ... a word stamp and Archival ink ... and then of course I stamped the first word upside down.  I decided to just go with it and repeatedly stamped New York both right-side up and upside down.

 

 

Since my background focal image idea didn't work, I decided to cut apart my New York Postcard and use those images to create my focal point.  I used new-to-me Yes Stikflat Glue to adhere them (love this stuff ... another fun part of the class has been discovering new products & supplies).

After adhering the pictures, I went back in with the PaperArtsy Small Circles Mini Mask and some Catherine Pooler inks to pull in more green with the black and white photos.  I also went in with the Colored Pencils and Sharpie Markers from my stash to accent around the circles, although it's hard to see.

 

 

At this point I was starting to love the page.  The messy black background reminded me of the dirt and smoke covered surfaces of New York City.

 

 

Next I used another new-to-me tool a Sili-Brush to dot on Dina Wakley Turquoise & Daler Rowney White Acrylic Paints.  I focused around the edges of the photographs and edges of the page.

 

 

Next I came in with my Stabilo Pencil and traded the Skyscraper Stencil several places on the page and smudged it with my fingers.  

 

 

Next I followed Carolyn's lead and used my Ohte Fude Ball 1.5 Pen (my new favorite) to scribble words on the page.  It reminded me of graffiti you see all over the city.

I added a couple of chalkboard label stickers I've had forever in my stash and used a Green Posca Paint Pen to write New York, NY.  After writing it, I sponged through some punchinella and scribbled some more to keep that graffiti feel (you know, channeling my inner Banksy).

Particularly considering how it started, I love how it ended-up.  I'm so grateful for things I am learning from the different artist teachers at Wanderlust.  Thank you Carolyn Dube.  

I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Stamp Art Journal Challenge.

Arty Saturday

I was blessed with a Saturday day of inky, painty, arty fun.  I started by creating my own Ephemera for my Wanderlust class.  I never thought of using bits of my own gel press prints to adorn my pages.  I cut them up and scanned them to create sheets I can use again and again.

 

 

She also taught us how to use Paint Pens & spritzes of water on texty pages for more ephemera options.

 

 

The last piece of the creative process was choosing a vintage photo from my stash.  This is my Dad & me (with my Uncle Randy in the background .. love those plaid pants).

 

 

The last step was to put it all together.

 

 

I'm really enjoying this creative process more than I expected ... I love stretching my wings.

Gell(i)nktober Halloween Witch

Today's Gell(i)nktober #gellinktober is brought to you by the colors Orange & Yellow.  I thought it would be fun to try to make a background for one of the Halloween cards I need to make.  I did my background in Sauna and then stamped on the Gel Press Plate using another Carabelle Studios Texture Plate - Tissu -  and Orange Twist.

 

 

I added a tag, 3-D sticker and sentiment sticker together with some ribbon & twine for a quick design.

 

Love those fun colors and one-of-a-kind background.

Gellinktober Be Brave

For today's Gellinktober play with ink on the Gel Press, I again tried stamping on the Gel Press with a Carabelle Studio Ronds Texture plate.  I got better results with more contrast in the ink colors.  The right is picking up the stamp from the press ... the left is using the extra ink to stamp on a gel press print.

 

 

I used the left image to make a card with this week's Freshly Made Sketch with some stickers from my stash.

 

 

I finished with a scattering of enamel dots.

 

Gellinktober Poppy Stamps Pink

Today's #gellinktober is brought to you by the color pink.  I used more Catherine Pooler inks on my Gel Press today with one of Birgit's own Texture Plates - Flower Grid from Carabelle Studio.

 

 

I didn't get quite the same layering effect with trying to pick-up stamped texture from my Gel Press (on the left), but stamping with the Carabelle Studio Flower Grid Texture plate produced more contrast on my roll-off piece of cardstock.

The October Challenge theme at Poppy Stamps is Think Pink, so I used my Poppy Stamps Confetti Heart Collage Die and backed it with a scrap of silver glitter paper before attaching to a white card base.

 

I used my one-and-only Poppy Stamps Stamp set Tidings of Joy with some stamp surgery (since it's a Christmas set) for my sentiment.  I used some silver glitter stickers to embellish.  

While I had my stamp on my MISTI, I stamped the sentiment a second time and used it with my other Gel Press Background.

 

Gellinktober

Birget is doing her own Gellinktober Fun ... using different inks on her Gel Press Plate every day in October.  Tonight I joined in the fun with Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Inks.

I also broke out a Carabelle Studio Cahier D'École Art Printing Texture Plate that I used both on my Gel Press Plate and inked like a stamp.

 

 

I used one of my printed papers together with the Sketch from Paper Craft Crew Challenges to pull together a quick Halloween card.

 

 

I used a glittery pumpkin for my focal image together with paper and bling scraps.