One Layer Cards (OLCs) are often the trickiest of the Less is More challenges. All the elements must be directly on the cardstock used for the card itself. No die cuts, matting layers, or indeed most embellishments are allowed. The card itself must retain the clean and simple rule as well. This week’s theme is ‘autumnal’ and I’ve used a previous art journal page as inspiration for my card, which I think would be suitable for a sympathy card.
We’ve reached ‘colours’ on our rotating challenge themes at Less is More and this time around it is purple and yellow. For those unfamiliar with the challenge, it is to make a card or project that is clean and simple – there must be lots of clear and clean space around whatever elements you’re using. Here’s the card I made for the design team inspiration:
For the unfamiliar, PASC stands for Pick-A-Stick Challenge. It has been a long while since I last participated in the challenge, and the format has changed slightly. The team now randomly draw words which it is left to us to interpret artistically. The only stipulation is that the order of the steps is followed. Everything else is artistic licence, and anything can happen before, during and after the steps to complete the page. There’s also a shorter ATC (Artist Trading Card) option. Here’s my January 2019 layout:
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I took some time out from the TV last night – mainly to stay awake – and worked on a page in my art journal. Inspired by this month’s art journal session, the text is outlined with Black Sakura Gelly Roll pen, painted in with Dr Ph Martin’s Bombay ink, and edged with blended and stencilled Distress Ink. And the blue streaks? Wayward Brusho crystals following a spillage last week – those darn crystals can travel!
I think I’d like the fill-in colour wash to be lighter so that the black text stands out more – the ink was already diluted 50-50 with water. The colour choice was based on a {design seeds} image – a fabulous site for when inspiration isn’t coming quite as quickly as you’d like:
I managed to get through to the second round of the Creative Expressions Design Team Call 2013-14, and the next challenge was to create a project using their ‘Belle of the Ball’ stamp set. This comes as a rubber sheet which needs cutting up and mounting on the foam backing suitable for use with acrylic blocks – some of the images could have done with a little more space round them, but I managed 🙂
The closing date was yesterday, which allows me to share the projects with you – and yes, I did more than one: one to show I can make a card, another to demonstrate I can think outside the box, and a third to demonstrate altered art and making something out of a cheap pound-shop photo frame. The centre canvas one is quite a size, and even the bow is adapted from the dress stamps. The frame one is a 4×6″ aperture, with the centre coloured dress mounted in front of the glass – printed with Versacraft black ink onto white cotton and coloured with ProMarkers.
I’ll share another tip with you – the label that accompanies the rubber stamp sheet laminates well, and the foam covered stamps stick nicely to it and the whole lot still slides nicely into the original packaging. Perfect storage solution 🙂
This term in my print lessons I’ve revisited dry point – with a new twist which I hope to develop and share in due course… And then there was the lino cut – it turns out that lino is a lot easier to carve when warm, but crumbles when hot… And there was the collagraph – sticking items to a piece of card, liberally coating with PVA and allowing to dry before using it as a print plate. Part of the final project is to take prints that aren’t quite exhibition standard and embellish them a little:
Here’s the before and after of a piece of serendipity – I was washing out my large screen with a large repeat pattern on it, and the water/ink mix was caught by the scrap paper beneath – I loved the texture and distressed colours. I embellished it with watersoluble graphite pencil and a bit of frottage on sandpaper to add texture, and a distress ink mix to tone down the white paper:
Finally, I wanted to play around with a repeat pattern on a large scale… the screen alone was two feet square – and I chose to run off a couple of lengths of wallpaper as well as a couple of multicoloured prints:
Not sure that I’d want that repeat in black and white across the chimney breast!
So we reach the penultimate teaching day of the fabulous Creative Chemistry, and Professor Tim is working his alchemy with Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls. I’m used to using Perfect Pearls in my own misting mixtures and love the effect of the Blue Patina mixed with Spiced Marmalade – a really nice faux rust finish. Mixing it up even more with the wrinkle free distress technique has resulted in a textural happy accident!
