Sunday, April 13, 2014

Here's my heart, Lord



There's a song on KSBJ, our local Christian radio station, that always gets me singing.  It's a remake of an older hymn and there's a part that says, "Here's my heart, Lord.  Take and seal it.  Seal it for Thy course above."  For several weeks I've wanted to create something using those words.  I had an idea in my head, so last night, I took out my newest supplies (Gelli plate and bees wax) and started playing.

Warning: The Gelli Plate is highly addictive!  :)

  I first created the background with the Gelli plate.  I brayered black and teal acrylic paint all of the surface.  Then I laid a stencil down on top of the paint.  I placed the paper down and brayered it.  This was the print that came up.  I then placed my art journal on the gelli plate and pulled up the "ghost" image for later.  I'm really loving my gelli plate! 

I then took a sharpie x-fine paint pen and randomly wrote the lyrics of the song onto the background. 





 I glued down a corrugated ATC card, that I distressed with archival black ink, and on top of that I glued a page from an old dictionary with different words that include the word heart.  I had some painted paper leftover from a project that I did from my Soul Food class over at Community Thrive.  The classes are a lot of fun and you learn so many different techniques!  I cut a heart out of the painted paper and glued it down.  Then I busted out my beeswax and quilting iron. 

Sidebar: I bought the melting pot from Ranger, but I actually like melting the wax right onto the page using a quilting iron.  With the melting pot, by the time I put the wax on the brush and put it onto the paper, the wax is starting to dry and I don't have as much control.  With the quilting iron I can heat the wax while it's on the project and move it around until I get the coverage I want.

Anyways, I put several of the Ranger bees wax (pellets?) onto the heart and then melted them with the iron.  While the wax was still melted, I pressed a metal cross into it.  Then I melted wax over the dictionary paper.  






I finished the project off with Tim Holtz label letters to spell sealed.  I really like how it turned out.  I think it would be pretty mounted on a piece of red cardstock.  Oops, I forgot one step.  For the background, I watered down some red golden fluid acrylic paint and then splattered it randomly using a toothbrush.  That way the background ties into the rest of the picture.



I hope you like it!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

I will keep you safe and warm

I was playing in my Moleskein with my new book from Suzi Blu,Mixed-Media girls.  I love how she explains step-by-step the shading of the face.  Follow the link to purchase her book!  It's awesome!

This sweet girl was the result.  It's definitely a practice, since you can see the hair lines that run through the deer's ear.  I copied it and then transferred the picture to another piece of mixed-media paper.  I am going to attempt to replicate it.  I've transferred drawings before, but I know that even when the pencil lines (bones) of the drawing are the same, no two pieces come out the same.  It's all the other stuff, the paint, colored pencil (flesh) of the drawing that always varies.  

Once I'm done, I'm going to add the words "I will keep you safe and warm" to her hair.  I have really been digging gouache paint.  It's my new favorite!  My other new favorite is the sparkly gelli roll pens.  I love sparkles and glitter!  


Don't be afraid to try new supplies.  I was really nervous about trying gouache, but now I love it!