Art Experiment: Make stamps from crochet lace

Art Experiment is a a series of posts using supplies which I own but have rarely (or never) used. Failure or success is not important, it is trying something different and seeing what can come from it.  There are three goals: try something new, use something in my supply stash, and have fun/experiment in the studio.

I have a lot of crochet doilies and lace in my stash.  I thought I would try making stamps from some of them.

For most of them, I used kids craft foam with adhesive on one side.

Here is the foam and some of my lace stash.

Here is the first one with four circles.

After peeling off the paper backing and attaching the lace, I cut around the pattern I wanted.  Since there were exposed areas of adhesive showing through the holes, I applied a coat of matte medium over the whole piece.

 A diamond shaped one:

This one I wanted pretty big, so I used a 12" x 16" piece of foam that did not have adhesive on it. I used matte medium to glue it down.

 Then I decided to make one with different laces on it. This picture is before gluing.

 After gluing.

 Tomorrow I will post some gelli prints using these.

Gelli print collaged storage box

I bought this storage box at a yard sale.  I thought it would make a nice travel box for some of my art supplies. It is very lightweight and a nice size.

I gessoed it first, before collaging it, because sometimes the gelli prints on deli paper are somewhat translucent and I didn't want the original colors peeking through. I did brush on some paint colors while I was gessoing.

Then, I collaged different gelli prints on it, both on the inside and the outside. All of the papers are gelli prints, mainly on deli paper, but there are a few on thicker paper as well. I used Matte Medium to adhere my papers, but it did create a few wrinkles on some of the larger pieces of paper. I wasn't too worried about a few wrinkles, as most likely anyone that sees it will say, "cool box" and not "look at that wrinkle!". I like to put the matte medium on the box and the backside of the paper, put the paper on the box, and then apply medium over the top of the paper.

Front Side. The paper on the right is made with one of my favorite stencils, Julie Fei Fan Balzer's Aboriginal.

Back Side. The cacti landscape is a stencil I made from a photo, you can see the blog post showing how I made it here.

The gelli printed face in the interior was from a stencil that I made from a picture of myself.  Here is the blog post showing the stencil (and the coneflower stencil that is on the front of the box). To make the stencils, I put a piece of Mylar over the enlarged photo, traced the outlines with a pencil, and then cut it out with scissors and an Xacto knife.

I did apply a coat of Dorland's wax medium on the box, once the matte medium was dry.  Mainly this was so the box wouldn't seal itself shut, or pull up paint or paper when it is opened and closed. It was the first time I'd used the Dorland's wax, which is oil/solvent based. I just applied it with a lint free rag, and after a few days I buffed it with a clean rag.  The box seemed kind of waxy and greasy when I first applied it but it is just fine now, and the lid doesn't stick so it did the job.

I love it and it fits a bunch of stuff (I just threw in a few things)!

Gelli print collaged brush storage

Today I have a guest post on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog, where I create variegated arrow strips using her Chevron stencil.  Thanks Julie, for letting me share my technique on your blog!  You can see my guest post here.

I thought I would provide some additional photos of the container that I collaged with the variegated arrow papers (as well as some other gelli prints that I have).

I bought this container at the thift store for a couple bucks. It is supposed to be for holding silverware, but I thought it would make a great brush and pen holder.

I only collaged the outside, leaving the interior lime green.  I put a coat of gesso on the outside, as my gelli prints on deli paper are somewhat translucent.

Here are a bunch of different gelli prints I used. I cut them into strips with my paper cutter, then cut then into rectangles and squares with scissors.

Here is my finished container!

On my work table

Between renovating a bathroom and increasing my hours at work, I haven't blogged in quite a while. I have not finished any art in the last two weeks, but I have quite a few in process so I thought I'd show what I am working on. I will do bigger posts on each when I am done.

This is an fabric piece made from polyester fabrics, lutradur, and gelli printed interfacing.  I plan to do quite a bit of free motion stitching (with cotton thread) and then will zap it with a heat gun. I think it's looking pretty good. I may add some paint after zapping it as I think it needs more contrast.

I am working on collaging gelli prints on this storage box. I just  need to find my Dorland's wax so the edges don't get stuck together when it is closed, otherwise this one is done.

Then I decided to pull out my felting supplies.  I thought they were all in one large plastic storage box. But once I pulled out all the supplies, this is the pile.  And there are still a few things I haven't found (must be stored in the garage somewhere), like my favorite roller and my sprinkle bottle for soapy water.

Here are my felting experiments.  I am working on making some felted cuffs/wrist warmers, but also did some experimenting with nuno felting and resists.  The ones with the balls tied in them are not fulled enough to remove the balls. I plan to cut them open so you can see the interior.

These are the projects I have in progress. I expect things will be busy until Thanksgiving. By then, I hope to have the clawfoot tub moved back in the bathroom, instead of being in the middle of the living room (where it was moved to allow the bathroom floor to be tiled). And hopefully, we will have the new vanity installed by then as well.  December will be another wave of craziness as we have the basement remodeled.  I may have a studio of my own by spring (at this rate).