Happy New Year 2016! Do you make New Year resolutions? Do you participate in One Little Word® with Ali Edwards? I've done a little of both this year. My One Little Word® is Intention. This word has been spoken and/or placed before me multiple times in the last few weeks, so I feel that is a sign for me to embrace that. So this year, I will do things in relation to my business with Intention. I've created a few other resolutions for my business and my personal life. One of these revolves around the theme for The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge this month - which is TIME. My resolution is to Take Time to Create consistently!
The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - Take Time to Create
I've had the privilege of working with Rachel Kleinman for the last year with The Crafter's Workshop and finally met Donna Bowman in person while I was teaching in North Carolina at Dorothy's Stamps-N-Scraps . Rachel and Donna are the co-creators of The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge. Each month they offer a challenge based on a theme or photo. With Time as the theme, I put some 'time' into thinking about this. I plan to make TIME to play more this year and experiment even more with the products I have. I plan to take TIME to take more classes and learn as much as I'm teaching. I also realize I need to take more TIME to create. I hate waiting for things to dry, but have learned that some magical things happen when I allow one layer to completely dry before adding another. On the flip side, I hate to waste TIME. How can I make the most out of the TIME I have available?
One way to save time is to create a few backgrounds at one time. You already have your brushes and paints out. Why not? Even though I had one project in mind, I decided to start a few different backgrounds. I'm working with 6×6 canvas panels and mostly Golden High Flow paints.
Only use 2-3 colors when starting a background. You can always add more layers and colors as you proceed.
I saved time by using monoprints from some previous projects and classes I've been teaching with GelliArts gelli plates. This provides some texture as well as color and another layer. I added various texture mediums through stencils to many of these backgrounds.
I selected one of the backgrounds and started adding more layers of paint. I also used The Groove Tool with brush head and carbon black paint through The Crafter's Workshop text Believe stencil. After that completely dried, I started adding more layers of paint, blending some of these. I left open space too as I really loved that gelli print image in the center.
After everything was dry, I used The Crafter's Workshop Time Travel stencil and a palette knife to apply DecoFoil Transfer adhesive in random places. Yes, the stencil is fairly random as well, but I didn't want all of the images on my piece. You have to allow the adhesive to completely dry until clear. It will still be tacky. Use a piece of DecoFoil with foil color side up and rub over dried adhesive. The adhesive will grab the DecoFoil. I used black, which was a new color release this fall.
The result was stunning. I'm so thrilled with this little mixed media canvas. I'm going to put this in a prominent place so I can see it daily and it will remind me to Take Time to Create consistently.
I hope you will Take Time to Create something for The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge and that you find some inspiration from my piece as well as the Design Team at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge blog. Make sure to share your link with their challenge for your chance to win a prize package I'm giving away using many of the products I used to create this piece. Stencils from The Crafter's Workshop, The Groove Tool by Art-C, Thermoweb iCraft DecoFoil and DecoFoil Transfer Adhesive and more!
I can't wait to see what you create! Happy New Year 2016!
