Fun With Sizzix "Artist Trading Blocks" and StencilGirl Stencils...

Greetings! Thanks for hopping by for the cool Sizzix Art Box blog hop using Eileen Hull's soon-to-be released Scoreboards block die.  I got pretty jazzed about these blocks when I started playing with them and I have a feeling you will like them, too.  My mind was spinning as I was working on the surfaces of my sample boxes.  I was thinking about all the things they could be used for!  If you stop by their cool Facebook page you will be able to see even more ideas.

Since I'm still crushing on Ferro Special Effects Paste because it  produces a dimensional surface I wanted to figure out a way to create layered marks underneath it.  To accomplish the base layer I pulled out my 8x10 Gelli Arts gel plate, which worked perfectly to cover the entire length of the box "strip".

First, I spread a very thin layer of paint over the surface of the Gelli plate with a brayer.

I like to mix a couple of analogous colors...

Using this "fancy" old antacid packet, I displace the paint in the gelli plate.

I love the irregular shapes that emerge.

I placed one portion of the Artist Trading Box onto the plate to pick up the texture.

I want to create a mottled effect for the die-cut letters so I used bubble wrap

as well as the River Rocks stencil.

After picking up some of the paint on a separate piece of paper I get this with a piece of watercolor paper from gelli plate surface when I lift the stencil.

I use this same texture to mono print the die-cut letters

Using the River Rocks stencil again, I spread Ferro Special Effects Paste through the stencil.

Working on the inside of the box sections I stencil over the mono printed area with the

Journal Texture #4 Stencil

I decided to switch to the Fade Horizontal stencil and scatter the distribution of marks

Fade Horizontal Stencil

First, I used a transparent green which didn't show up very well, so I moved to an 

opaque blue, stenciling just a portion of the surface.

I used the same stencil over the darker exterior of this section.

Once the Ferro paste dried I used a black marker to add a bit of shadow-dimension to the texture.

I chose two of my business cards to add some imagery to my piece.

I used my paper-cutter to cut the card into an exact square, selecting the 

area of the card I wanted to retain.

Using Yes! glue paste, I glued portions of my card into the interior of the box.

This card is glued to the exterior of the box.   This image is of a quilt I 

created for the Quilt Alliance annual auction.  It is called

"Our Roots Run Deep".

I'm calling this piece "Sanctuary", because it is my word that describes how I think of my home.

Here is the inside of one of my box sections...

And here is the other:  I glued the letters to the inside of the second box section.

A=family, B=love, C=safety

Exterior of panels

Interior of the panels

I have always loved little boxes that contain "secrets".

Thanks for stopping by and remember to leave a comment to be eligible for the prize.  I hope you will be inspired to create your own amazing Artist Trading Box!  Stop by often:  you never know what might be going on around here!

Here are the other hoppers:

Blog Hop Order:

StencilGirl Talk
Artists On The Block

Eileen Hull

Mary Beth Shaw

Linda Cain

Janet Joehlin

Pam Carriker

Carolyn Dube

Johnnie Lanier

Linda Kittmer

you are HERE!

Kirsten Reed

Marjie Kemper

Mary C. Nasser

Amy Bowerman

The House Protects The Dreamer....

Greetings.  This month the contributing artists of the Sketchbook Challenge decided to do a blog hop using the September theme, "Houses and Hideaways".  The meaning of home in a personal and larger scale is very important to me and frequently makes appearances in my work, either literally or in an abstracted way.
I'm always reminded of a favorite quote from the movie, "Under The Tuscan Sun".  It occurs at the very end of the movie:
 "What are four walls, anyway?  They are what they contain.  The house protects the dreamer.  Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game.  It's such a surprise".

The house protects the dreamer.  Oh, how I love this.

With that in mind, I decided to create a whimsical version of my house.

I used two pieces of 140lb hot press watercolor paper.

The left piece will become the background.

The right piece was cut into the shape of a house and covered with 

a variety of washi tape from my (ahem) rather large collection.

I would like to mention that this idea was inspired by a recent blog post for 

Stencil Girl contributing artist Carolyn Dube.

Using two types of paint I covered the background paper.

I used a portion of the "Rafters"  stencil by Mary Beth Shaw from the Stencil Girl line to

create the windows and doors of my little house.

I took several die-cut shapes of Grungeboard and painted them white.

Then, I painted each element individually.

I used Mary Beth Shaw's "Gears" stencil and overlaid it onto the background paper.

I partially-concealed that image with more paint.  The stencil seemed perfect as a 

metaphor for time passing, sort of like the mechanism inside a watch.

Using an old stamp I printed into both the "door" and "window" shapes on the house.

I blotted a bit of contrasting paint on the edge of the house 

(and on the background paper) as I plan to glue the bird over both.

The palm tree and the "104" are significant because they are elements of my current home.

In addition, prior to glueing the house to the background I used a leaf stamp on both edges of the background paper.  Birds, the garden, color, and a bit of dreaming:  these are very important 

components of my house, my home.

The house truly does protect the dreamer.

If you haven't done so already I hope you will stop over to the Sketchbook Challenge blog for my companion post on this subject.  Thanks for stopping by!  Please leave a comment to be eligible for a drawing!  Cutoff for the drawing will be 5:00 pm CDT on September 20th.