Making Do Part 2

Last week I made a get well card for a friend in the hospital.

My husband objected to the 'balloon'  with the salutation and suggested I just find a way to transfer it onto the card or painted paper and leave the extra piece out. So, he immediately went to the font of all knowledge - the computer - and found a number of possible methods. This is one of the sites Bob found - http://www.vintageimagecraft.com/transfer_images.html. We decided to try the Blender Pen method.

Of course, I don't have a blender pen but Bob said that Rubber Cement Solvent (which he had) would work the same way. He is so clever! Anyway, he printed me a mirror image of a song and I taped it upside down on a card. Using a Q-tip, the solvent and a flat wooden spoon as a brayer, and, working outside, I transferred the image.

Then I found another image and transferred that to the inside of the card with a phrase from the song underneath. I added some quilling and cut out paper hearts for some colour.

I was concerned that the transfers would smudge so I sprayed them with a light coat of workable fixative. Then, to continue the experimenting I added some paint to brighten the whole thing up.

The transferred image is not as dark as an original printout and can give a bit of an old-fashioned look but I am sure this method is something I will use again. ( the solvent is now part of my art supplies - lol). Once again I was 'making do' with something around the house, thanks to my husband!

Making Do

I have a tendency to be parsimonious  (read cheap) and will make do with materials I have around the house rather than going out and buying the products recommended.

For instance, when I decided to try paper quilling I bought a book and watched a few Youtube videos - for everything else I made do!

 

Using ordinary copy paper and acrylic paint, I painted some paper to get some interesting colours.

I cut the paper into 1/8 inch strips using a ruler and an exacto knife.

Instead of buying a quilling tool, I use a darning needle or my fingers; I estimate sizes instead of using a quilling board.

I also "make do" while I am making cards (see this blog post - http://mellowoodgallery.blogspot.ca/2015/02/learning-and-adapting.html)
There are hundreds of items available for card making, scrapbooking and journaling but I only have a few so, once again, I make do. Instead of using stamps for the salutations for my cards, I use the computer to make up a bunch of different saying with different fonts and print them out on card stock.

I cut out the saying that works and attach it to the card, most often with mounting foam.

Many of my 'making do' creations may take me longer to do than they would if I had all of the right equipment but they have the advantage of being unique and completely my own. I think I feel more satisfaction this way than by using someone's else's designs, words and patterns. But, the bottom line is that I am enjoying myself and that is what counts the most!

Learning and Adapting

I think that artists are always interested in learning new things; things that can be used as taught or that can be adapted to the artist's own taste.

Last Saturday I went down to Bonners Ferry, Idaho for a class at the Bamboo Room - https://www.facebook.com/BambooRoomCrafts. This is the second class I have taken with Linda on card making and I really enjoyed myself. The focus this week was flowers, using die-cuts and other products that I don't remember the names of.

class cards

These are the cards I made in class. Linda always has most of the materials ready for students to just color and put together, but this time we had the chance to use the die-cut plates and the cutter. She also taught us how to mold the flowers so they have depth and dimension.

I took what I learned home with me and created my own card. However, I don't have any of the fancy equipment, so everything was done by hand.

my card

I used the flowers from the class as a guide and made my own patterns out of heavy card. Then I used the patterns and drew the flowers on one of my own painted papers, drawing in the detail on one set of petals with pen & ink. Each flower uses 3 sets of petals so I spent a fair amount of time cutting things out. I used another of my painted papers for the leaves, molded the petals, glued things together and once they were dry mounted them on a card. I finished it off with some paper quilling and a few extras.

it different view

Here is a view from an angle which shows the quilling a bit better.

I am already working on more patterns to make more flowers. As I don't intend for this to be a major part of my artistic life, I won't be buying all the equipment to make these cards or flowers the same way dedicated card makers make them. I have adapted what I learned to the materials I have on hand. It may take longer but the enjoyment is the same.