art "zine" booklet for PaperArtsy

Hi everyone, I am so excited to be over on the PaperArtsy Blog today sharing an art booklet I created with the newest Seth Apter Minis for PaperArtsy. The base for the booklet was a 14 page "zine" template, that when folded created an ATC sized booklet.

Using art supplies to make a Zine is an easy way to have some fun and experiment with different techniques. Since it is simply made with a single sheet of paper, there is not a lot of pressure or expectations for a masterpiece. I have always found that some of my favorite work has been the result of enjoying the process and letting my creativity express itself. This was definitely the case when I created this art "zine" with the new Seth Apter mini stamps. You can find all the details, as well as a bunch of pictures over on the PaperArtsy Blog here.

I am thrilled with how the booklet turned out. This will be a wonderful reference for inspiration and ideas when I use these mini stamps in my art.

I hope that maybe this will inspire you to get out some of your favorite PaperArtsy stamps and play, perhaps even grab a few of Seth's new mini stamps, they are all pretty amazing! You can find all the details for this release of Seth's mini stamps on the PaperArtsy blog here. The new stamps are available worldwide at a PaperArtsy stockist near you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog, hope you have a creative day!

Ann

xx

spools of fish for PaperArtsy

 

Hi everyone, I am on the PaperArtsy Blog sharing this fun project I have been working on using some of Kate Crane's stamps.

I had so much fun using watercolor pencils to add color to these whimsical fish designs by Kate Crane for PaperArtsy and then exploring how different textiles can be dyed using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints in ocean colors, to create the most amazing substrates to hold all of the fishies.

I really enjoyed imagining this project. When I was first considering a project I kept thinking of a school/spool connection and this idea was born. There are additional fish stamps that Kate Crane has designed for her PaperArtsy line, it would be fun to incorporate those fish (or any other little creatures as well). I would love for you to tie k out the blog to see all the details, you can find it here.

Wishing you a creative day,

Ann 

xx

nature shadowbox featuring Scrapcosy stamps and stencils for PaperArtsy

Hi everyone, I am sure you know that I am a huge fan of Scrapcosy for PaperArtsy. Whether it is stamps, stencils, or even printed tissue; I am always captivated by her beautiful designs. I was so fortunate to receive the newest release of her designs to create with. The collection of three stamp sets and three large stencils is absolutely enchanting. You can find the PaperArtsy Release Blog post here. In it you will see the many samples that Raquel created with he products. It features all of the stamps and stencils as well as Raquel's (Scrapcosy's) wonderful samples. They are amazing! If you're interested in purchasing any of the newest release, find a PaperArtsy Stockist here.

I used these new stamps and stencils to create a shadowbox celebrating nature. You will find all the details as well as numerous pictures on the PaperArtsy blog today. 

I would love for you to hop over and check it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a creative day.

Ann xx 

"Majestic Beauty" - a handmade book for PaperArtsy

Hi everyone, I am so happy to be back on the PaperArtsy Blog. This year we have free reign to do a deep dive into  PaperArtsy product ranges of our choosing. When I was looking through my PaperArtsy Urban Snapshot stamps, one of the sayings stood out to me. The stamp: MAJESTIC BEAUTY PERSONIFIED had me thinking about combining these wonderful architectural designs with some of the beautiful Lynne Perrella images. 

I'm sharing how I combined the combined these two different stamp lines, resulting in my own version of MAJESTIC BEAUTY PERSONIFIED. My handmade book contains layered pages that, when paired, combine an architectural element with a Lynne Perilla beautiful female face images. I enjoyed exploring all the possible different combinations. If you hop over to the PaperArtsy blog you can see the entire process.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Ann

alcohol ink sun catcher for PaperArtsy

Hi everyone, I am on the PaperArtsy blog sharing all the details for this fun sun catcher I created using alcohol inks and PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella Collection Stamps (LPC040). The current PaperArtsy blog topic is inks/ink pads, and right away I had the idea that I would love to create something working with alcohol inks. I love their vibrant colors and there are so many techniques to play around with when it comes to alcohol ink. 

For me, Lynne Perrella stamps and bright and bold colors go hand in hand. I have a floating glass frame that I've been holding onto for a while and I thought it would make a wonderful sun catcher to hang in a bright spot. For my project, I combined the beautiful PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella Collection stamps with Dura-lar and alcohol ink. Head over to the PaperArtsy Blog here to see how you can make one for yourself.

Thanks so much for stopping by today,

~ Ann

 xxx

hallo(DEX)ween collaboration for StencilGirl®

It's an All Hallows' Eve Masquerade at Lost Souls Garden and the guests have traveled from near and far to join in the fun!  Follow along as I introduce you to everyone...  

For this collaboration project, we were each asked to create a Halloween themed piece using StencilGirl® stencils and a chipboard roloDEX tray and cards by UmWowStudio. We were to use any other supplies we wished for the theme, and to let our imaginations take us where they may. The pieces created by each artist are truly wonderful, each a unique representation of the artists' style. It is definitely worth a hop over to the StencilGirl® Blog to check them all out. You can click here to visit.

Now, onto the details for my All Hallows' Eve Masquerade Attendees inDEX.

I began by assembling the tray, using glue to secure the pieces in place. Once dry, I spray painted the base tray black. The exterior sides were covered in backdrop paper (by Tim Holtz). Next, I traced the Botanical Wildflowers stencil (L774) onto black paper and cut out the pieces by hand. These pieces were then glued onto the outside of the tray to create the "garden." An inked Idea-ology quote chip and resin skulls (for feet) were added to complete the base tray. 

With the base tray complete, it was time to begin creating the cards that would fill it up. I wanted to create a garden gate to welcome all of the guests. Using a retired Tim Holtz Sizzix die, I cut two Gothic Gates out of heavyweight paper and adhered them together leaving the bottommost edges separate. the two bottoms were then glued to either side of a painted spine that would slide onto the DEX rails. Tiny type uppercase die cut letters were used to form the words Lost Souls Garden, and Golden bronze irridescent paint highlights were added. 

To further create the setting, I added a spooky moon with bats and shadowed vines. Using a half circle tall card, I painted a base layer of Golden bronze iridescent, then stenciled the Linear Textures (L857) vines with black gesso. The bat confetti pieces were painted with gesso then glued onto the "moon".

The next piece we encounter is the Masquerade announcement, an altered Idea-ology baseboard frame. The highlight of the announcement being the reverse side, where I used the Botanical Wildflowers (L774) mask and lightly applied the Golden bronze iridescent paint around it, creating an ethereal appearance.

The line up of attendees begins with the Forsaken ones, Alice and Herman. Each of these lost souls were abandoned at an early age; neither have been able to find their soulmate. They have both donned their fineries in the hopes of finding someone special at the event. The halos for both of the Forsaken were created using the Beautiful Halo (S543) stencil, with modification. 

Henry, the Undertaker, wears his majestic wings. Having to spend all his days with the dead, he looks forward to meeting up with other souls at the Masquerade. Henry's halo features the Beautiful Halo (S543) stencil, he also has a special detail on his lapel using a stencil from ATC Mixup Missigman #2 (L793).

The Gypsy, Madam, has traveled the world, oftentimes being called a weaver witch. Madam is always on the lookout for unique fabrics and fibers with which to weave her wonderful textiles. She has been known to cast spells through her complex weavings. Faithful Halo (S545)  creates the perfect backdrop for this attendee, whose woven skirt was made using the DEX weaving frame.

The Apothecary has volunteered to utilize his formulation skills and serve libations at the Masquerade. Clyde fancies himself a concoction connoisseur. He has a modified Faithful Halo (S545) to highlight his dapper attire.   

The next attendee is Palm Reader, Rosalie. When she is not reading palms, she can most often be found reading tea leaves, her true passion. I modified the Beautiful Halo (S543) stencil to incorporate some Botanical Wildflower (L774) stencil parts reflecting her talents. Rosalie's dress has an overlaid pattern from ATC Mixup Missigman #1 (L792)

The last Masquerade attendee in the tray is the Fortune Teller. Everett has his secured his future by predicting others'. Growing up, his favorite pastime was creating stories for his peers of where their futures would lead. After learning that many of his predictions became reality, Everett accepted his extra sensory abilities and decided to make a living from them. Lost souls are his favorites to work with. Faithful Halo (S545)

The final piece in my project is another Idea-ology Baseboard frame featuring the poem Night. The reverse side has been treated with the same technique used on the announcement, highlighting the Botanical Wildflowers(L774) mask. 

I truly enjoyed creating each of these pieces, and look forward to adding more. Working with the roloDEX system is addictive and playtime with StencilGirl® stencils is never ending fun.

It is always a pleasure to be part of Tina Walker's StencilGirl® Collaborations, and this Halloween themed project was no exception. I hope you can stop by the StencilGirl® Blog to check out all the awesome projects that were created! 

Thanks you for visiting my blog today, I truly appreciate it.

~Ann

StencilGirl® stencils used:

Botanical Wildflowers (L774) by Rae Missigman

ATC Mixup Missigman #1 Art Marks (L792) by Rae Missigman

ATC Mixup Missigman #2 Botanical (L793) by Rae Missigman

Faithful Halo (S545) by Pam Carriker

Beautiful Halo (S543) by Pam Carriker

Linear Textures (L857) by Lucie Duclos

UmWowStudio roloDEX used:

half circle tall, half tabbed, spines, standard cards, weaving frame, roloDEX tray

 

creative recipe collaboration for StencilGirl®

It's always a treat to participate in one of Tina Walker's collaborations for StencilGirl®, and the most recent one:       "Cooking with Tina" was no exception. 

The idea behind this collaboration was simple, Tina would create a "creative recipe" that each participant would follow in order to create their own piece of art. Over the course of twelve weeks, each Monday we were given a new ingredient to add to our project, culminating in a completed artwork. We were not given the entire recipe in advance; therefore with each step the piece had to adapt to the new introduction. I decided to complete an art journal spread for this collaboration. 

Week one: prep surface, add two colors of acrylic paint

Using my largest art journal, I added two colors of PaperArtsy Fresco finish paint. I decided that keeping the colors fairly neutral would give me more flexibility for adding the future ingredients.

Week two: add collage material

I added pieces of maps as well as some torn tea/coffee dyed papers along each side of the spread, still keeping with the basic idea of a neutral base to build upon.

Week three: stencil a repeating pattern

At this point, I started getting ideas about the direction I would like my journal spread to take. I envision some sort of architectural approach. In keeping with this idea, I chose the arched aqueduct stencil, and distress ink to create the designs on each of the pages. To maintain balance, I flipped the design along the right hand side. 

Week four: scribble/doodle

Using fluid acrylic paint in a fine liner, I added scribbles along the top and bottom edges of the pages. I also added some lines to accentuate the stencil design and bring it into the foreground.

Week five: opposites

This prompt generated a lot of ideas, ranging from symbols all the way to colors. I settled on using words to express opposites. You will notice the words OPEN and CLOSE. My thoughts behind this choice, since I was still under the assumption this would be some sort of architecture based design, was something along the lines of when one door closes another opens... we will see how that works into the future steps.  

Week six: draw a face

I have to admit, drawing faces is NOT my thing, so I cheated a bit and used a stencil as the basis for my drawn face. I used charcoal with the sweet girl face stencil to draw the basic shape and locations for the features, then went back in with a pencil and attempted to add details. This is THE step that changed the direction of my page. I now had no idea of how this page was going to come together... 

Week seven: add the color red

Adding the color red was not a difficult ingredient to incorporate. I could totally see the sweet girl with a red and white striped shirt, so I repositioned the stencil directly over the face and used a paint pen to color in the striped details on the collar. I also added a red die cut heart "barrette" in her hair.

Week eight: stencil with a Tina Walker stencil

Some of my favorite Tina Walker stencils are from her travels abroad. The cathedral floor stencil was inspired by Jedburgh Abbey from the Scottish borders region. I thought it would be fun to play on my original architecture idea by using this stencil, but in a more whimsical way that would work with the sweet girl that now played a prominent role in my spread. The stencil design became the pattern within butterfly wings that flank the girl. 

Week nine: add ink

Using a water brush, I add distress ink within the butterfly wings, as well as on the sweet girl's cheeks. 

Week ten: add words

Since the art journal spread has detoured from my original thoughts behind the OPEN/CLOSE idea, I used this prompt to add words and create the phrases "close your eyes" and "open your heart". In my mind, this gave the whimsical wings a better tie-in.  

Week eleven: cover something up

This was a no brainer step, I covered up the sweet girl's eyes that I had drawn and were so unhappy with the look of. It also worked well with the "close your eyes" phrase.

Week twelve: add finishing touches

I believe there is still some work to be done on this spread; however, for the sake of completing the collaboration, I "completed" the pages by inking the page edges, adding some bold black marks with the art marks stencil to balance and draw attention to the words, and also added some red thread. As I progressed through this collaboration, the ancient Chinese proverb "an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break" kept running through my mind, and it was inevitable that it would become integral to the piece.

This was probably one of the most challenging collaborations I have ever done. Since I had no idea what "pieces" would be included, I was never able to get a clear idea for the final result. At times this was frustrating. When I am creating something, even though I don't always know exactly where I am headed, I usually have a general direction and concept. When I tried to keep to an underlying theme, things didn't always work with that idea. Even through all of the detours, I ended up being pleased with the final art journal spread. 

I believe in pushing yourself to try new things and explore beyond your normal boundaries, this is how we experience growth. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by. I hope that you can visit the some of the other artists that participated in the collaboration, there are so many wonderful projects. You can find Tina's StencilGirl® Talk blog post, including the list of participants here. 

~Ann 

 x

   

StencilGirl® stencils used:

Arched Aqueduct Stencil (L359) Carolyn Dube

ATC Mixup Missigman Art Marks (L792) Rae Missigman

Cathedral Floor (S822) Tina Walker

Sweet Girl Face small (S859) Jeanne Oliver

new architectural stencils for StencilGirl®

Hello everyone, today I am really excited to share my newest StencilGirl® stencil designs: architectural.  There are four new designs in this release. These four stencils are based on residential architectural design, the foundation of my work in architecture. I love the linear quality of architectural plans; each line type and width represents different elements found within the design. A concept is developed into a vision, which begins with a set of plans. 

These stencils are perfect for use in so many different art genres, from art journaling to card making and everything in between. Below are images of the four stencils and a little bit of background on how they came about.

                                                      MASTER SUITE (S871)

One of my favorite aspects of the Master Suite stencil design is the unexpected angled passage that splits the traditional plan. Rectangular spaces throughout the residence sometimes need a shake-up.  Envision yourself encountering a passage that appears to go in an unintended direction, when followed, it brings you to a vaulted space with the finest finishes and the grandest views. This angled corridor brings a lot of interest to the plan as well as the experience, an will also create interest when the stencil is used. 

                                 

This stencil is a 6x6 size and can be used with all mediums: paints, inks, pastes and more. It can be used in small sections or in its entirety. I can also see this stencil being used as a framework for design within an artwork. 

BACK HALL (M330)

This stencil was derived from a floor plan of the more utilitarian areas of the residence. As one enters the back hall they can access the more personal spaces within the residence, a very different experience from the grand entrance of the foyer. These spaces are smaller and more functional. This stencil provides linear graphics with perpendicular intersections and dashed lines. Its small size can have a big impact and would work wonderfully within a linear or grid journaling format. Small sections of the stencil can also be used for mark making.

 

I envision this 4x4 stencil being used with inks and paints, perhaps even textural pastes to give the appearance of raised lines within a piece of art.  

 

                                 ORIENTATION (M331)      

Every set of architectural drawings references a building geographically. The elevations are typically labeled north elevation, south elevation and so forth. Each drawing then contains a graphic that relates the “building north” as depicted on the drawing labels to “true” north. These types of orientation graphics can be as simple as overlapping rotated axis or as complex as the architect desires it to be. The orientation stencil is based on my interpretation of this graphic. I like to include an aerial view of the structure atop geographically accurate compass points. 

                                                                                                     

This 4x4 stencil works wonderfully with paints and inks, as well as embossing and pastes. You can easily utilize portions of the design or the entire graphic. 

                                                 FOYER (S872)

Another of my favorite aspects in architectural design are portals that give glimpses into spaces beyond. Sometimes these offer only subtle hints, other times a full understanding of what lies beyond. The foyer stencil evolved from one of my residential designs. The double story entry contained a barrel-vaulted passage through to the main living space as well as a turned staircase that, when ascended, provided sweeping views of the property all along the upper level corridor. This 6 x 6 stencil contains both large and small openings. It can be used for the simple repetitive patterns that symbolize the stairs and railings or the more open geometric shapes that form the arched passage, trimmed paneling and cased openings, or as a complete architectural design.

This stencil is perfect for use with all different types of mediums. The larger openings are well suited to doodling or filling with color, images or even ephemera. 

 

Details from an architectural art journal spread:

In this architectural art journal spread, I used the Back Hall (M330) Master Suite (S871) and Orientation (M331) stencils. This art journal spread contains layers of paints and collage materials combined with the stencils. A grid-like design is reminiscent of rooms within a building, creating the perfect spaces to incorporate the stencils during the initial layers. Once the spread began to take shape, pieces of ephemera, collage fodder, gelli prints and vintage papers were included as well as ink and paint through portions of the different stencils. Some of these areas were filled with more collage while others provided opportunities for mark making.

You can find more ideas for creating with my new stencils  on the  StencilGirl® blog today;

and, you can find all my StencilGirl® stencil designs here. 

I will be sharing more ideas on this blog and my Instagram feed (@aksbarchitect) over the coming days. 

I hope that you love these new stencil designs as much as I do! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today, 

I truly appreciate it.

~Ann

x

Direct links to stencils:

Back Hall (M330)

Foyer (S872)

Master Suite (S871)

Orientation (M331)