Ingenious Inkling

More May Gel Printing

I'm continuing my way through the #birgitkoopsengelprintingchallenge in May.

 

 

I had fun trying an Egg Carton.  The paint was really wet, so my Egg Carton slid slightly when I set it on the plate, so I just went with it and let it keep sliding around.

 

 

During my weekend away, I didn't have a comb ... so what's an artsy girl to do ... make my own comb out of a piece from a 12 pack of Squirt Zero (which you can buy in Wisconsin even though it is often absent in Iowa).

 

 

Next up is Punchinella ... I decided to us one of my Paper Artsy Chalk Acrylic Paint prints from the weekend.

 

 

And as usually happens, I love the clean-up print more than my first print.

 

 

And last night I printed with an almost-used-up Scrubby Soap Sponge (that I love for removing paint from my hands).

 

 

I am really having fun with the tools theme of this year's challenges.

Artisan Retreat

I’m spending a long weekend at the Gather Creative Studio and Guest House in Waunakee, Wisconsin with 10 other artist friends.  

It’s hard to describe just how much fun it is to create in person with other artists again … walking around the room ooohing and aaahing at what everyone is making and what products they are using.  Last night there was a hot foiling-palooza with everyone trying the new hot foiling machine.

In case you wondered, this is what my table looked like this morning … I was playing with Alcohol Inks and felt pads to make backgrounds this morning.  And yes, there is no shortage of food, drinks and snacks when we all get together.

 

I’ll be using that air blower and alcohol inks in a bit for more artsy fun.

Yesterday I was making Gel Press Prints … here are a few of my favorites.  The combination of green, gold and bronze on this clean-up print has such a wonderful patina look.

 

 

And this one has sort of an ethereal feel with bits of dark green scattered through.

 

I hope you’re having half as much fun as I am during your weekend.

More May Gel Press Challenges

I'm still having fun with Birgit Koopsen's May Gel Printing Challenge, which is focused on unique tools this year. #birgitkoopsengelprintingchallenge

This was my print made with what she called Cotton Buds (Q-Tips in my world).  I loved the fun of random dotting.

 

 

Next tool on the list was a random found object ... I opened my junk drawer and chose one of the many small bottles of hand sanitizer we still have left over from the early COVID days.  I printed with the bottom of the bottle.

 

 

I was loving the same color challenge, so I stuck with it.

Next-up was Sewing Thread.  I just cut off long pieces and placed it randomly on the plate.

 

 

And finally, a bottle cap.  I think this one was my favorite.  I used the cap from an empty milk container.

 

 

I loved the matte effect of printing with Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic.

 

 

Love this one too.

May Gel Printing Challenge

It's May, and that means it's time for Birgit's annual month-long Gel Printing Challenge.  This year she's focusing on tools. #birgitkoopsengelprintingchallenge

 

 

First up is something from the kitchen.  I didn't go look at any of the other prints because I didn't want to be influenced.  I just looked around my kitchen for anything that might make a cool pattern, and I settled on one of the Meyer Lemons on my island.

 

 

I love the flavors of Raspberry and Lemon together, so that's the color combination I chose.

 

 

Not awesome, but certainly has possibilities for a background.  But the second one I loved.

 

Next up is Hot Glue Stamps ... only one problem ... the only hot glue stick I could find was the 2/3 of one left in my glue gun.  While it was warming, it blooped out, so I just went with a bloop pattern until I ran out of glue.  I tried to press it down a bit, but only made it worse.  Since I was already all-in, I decided to see what I could do.

 

 

Not earth-shattering, but they will make some nice die cuts or card backgrounds.

For my handmade stencil, I went with a Sizzix Star Die Cut from printer paper.  I die cut it once, but printed with it twice to cover my plate.

 

 

Another one I really like ... the ketchup and mustard look with stars will be fun for a 4th of July card.

Pill Strips - I had to actually watch Birgit's print to understand what this meant (and yes, some Cepacol Lozenges were sacrificed in the making of this print).

 

 

And finally, I'm caught-up with the Something From Nature print.  Iowa Spring has been particularly cold & late this year, so I had trouble finding something I could print with.  I finally settled on an evergreen branch.

 

 

I liked this enough, I may actually try it again ... abstract, but a perfect overall pattern.

I hope you enjoyed following me on my Gel Printing journey ... it's so fun to me how easy it is to just pull a print after work and know I made some art today.

Butterfly Swell

When I saw Jeanne Jachna's card for the Fusion Card Challenge, I had to break out my Memory Box Butterfly Swell Die Cut.

 

 

While I loved her stripes, I decided to break out a Gel Press Print from my stash (which reminds me I really need to use more bubble wrap and Color Burst Powders in my prints) for the butterflies backed by Ivory Cardstock and framed with Navy Cardstock using the Fusion Card Sketch as well.

 

 

I added some Memory Box Clear Fairy Drops to the center of the butterflies and finished with a sentiment from Memory Box Wild Rose Stamp Set (that I only had to stamp about 23 times to get both sentiments relatively straight) ... persistence my friends, persistence (I'm still not sure they're exactly straight, but that's how you know it's handmade right).

 

 

Seize the Birthday is also all about Butterflies or Hummingbirds.

Signs of Spring

The current Seize the Birthday Challenge is to create a card featuring the Signs of Spring.

If you live in Iowa, you know one of the long awaited Signs of Spring is the re-opening of the Ice Cream shops.  Many of them are just little walk-up/drive-through type stands, so they close for the winter months.  The first time you go and get your Spring Ice Cream is magical.  I think I might head to The Freeze and get an Apple Pie Freeze (made with locally made slices of pie).

 

 

I'm still using the Happy Cake Birthday! tags I found in my stash, this time with one of my Gel Press Prints and some coordinating sprinkle paper.  The sentiment is another Simon Says Stamp Birthday Sentiment Strip.  I finished with a Glitter Enamel Dot at the top of the tag.

 

 

 

I'm also joining the Make My Monday Challenge Birthday Challenge (where I was in the Top 3 for my Washi Tape card last week - Yay).

Resting Beach Face

The current theme at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is L is for Layers (yes, those are Edna's layers).

 

 

I decided to break out Chris Dring's new Some Snark Stamp Set from STAMPlorations together with one of the coordinating images.

 

 

 

I used this week's layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches matting my image in purples and pairing it with a Gel Press Print from my stash. 

 

 

I finished with some very vintage metallic embellishments from my stash to try to pull out the metallic shimmer paint in my background.

Amazing not Perfect

I attended a Women's Leadership Conference this week where Elise Holtzman shared the dangers of Perfectionism in her talk titled Imperfect Impactful Leadership, and how we (particularly women) strive for perfectionism starting with behaviors encouraged by our parents and society at a very young age ... so those thoughts have been on my mind all week.  

I am grateful for art, where it seems easier for me to let my perfectionistic tendencies relax while I just lean into the creative experience.

Today's card is inspired by the delicious, juicy colors from the April Challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie.

 

 

I found those delicious colors in this wonderful Penny Black Pen & Ink Sticker for the Penny Black Anything Goes Challenge.

 

 

I used the Penny Black Stitches of Love Die to cut a frame from one of my Gel Press Prints.  I layered that on top of an embossed lavender card base. 

 

 

I finished with a scattering of gems and a sentiment from Penny Black Words of Encouragement, which is perfect for the thoughts circling in my head.

Snarky Texty ATC

The Challenge theme at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is A is for ATC.

 

 

My new STAMPlorations snarky stamps designed by my friend Chris Dring arrived in the mail together with some ATC-sized images to go with the stamps.  I trimmed the image down ever-so-slightly, so I could frame it with a pop of color for my ATC using a stamp from STAMPlorations Some Snark.

 

 

Next I used the STAMPlorations April Theme & Photo Prompt Challenge to turn my ATC into a card.

 

 

In keeping with the texty theme, I covered my card base with a Gel Print I did on a dictionary page for the #marchprintingchallenge and then added a dictionary page with the word Marriage on top of that.

 

 

I added a piece that I painted with Shimmer paint and then layered on another piece of the background dictionary page before finishing with a Love from Lizi Peel Off sticker to tie it all together.

Denim Easter Bunny

When I saw the fun cloth bunnies at the Fusion Card Challenge, I had an idea to create my own cloth bunny using my piece of gel pressed denim from the #marchprintingchallenge with GelliArts.

 

 

I started with this Gel Pressed piece of Denim.

 

 

I stamped my bunny from Gina K. Designs Some Bunny using Versafine Claire Nocturne Ink.  Now the next question is do I have pinking shears (okay of course I have pinking shears) - so the real next question is can I find them.  Turns out they were in the Scissor Basket right where they belong (that's a crafting miracle). 

A little story - at the beginning of the pandemic when we starting working from home, my desk was positioned so that my studio was behind me.  During video calls, my boss kept asking questions about why I had so many pairs of scissors and what were they all for ... so, to solve that problem, I rotated my desk, so I had my art wall behind me instead LOL (a lady doesn't need to be questioned about the quantity of her art supplies).

I used the pinking shears to cut out my stamped bunny and then added an orange bow for his neck, inspired by the photograph.

 

 

The Gina K. Monthly Mix Challenge is to make a Tag, so onto a tag my cute little bunny went together with the stamped Happy Easter sentiment from the same Gina K. Designs Some Bunny stamp set.

I kept the card simple using a striped designer paper inspired by the striped bunnies and some blue ribbon at the top of my tag before attaching the tag to the card base with foam tape for dimension.

I'm also joining the Creatalicious Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes with the option of Easter.

With the texture of my denim fabric, I'm joining the Texture Challenge at Cardz 4 Guys.