Even though there are so many fabulous patterned papers out there, I still love making my own…especially when I can create something unique and artistic in 20 minutes or less!

If you are a regular visitor of Technique Tuesday’s, you have probably realized that my techniques are a little out of the ordinary…and this one is no different! Just when you think that this technique seems normal, I throw in a last step that will seem quite strange. But there is always a method to my madness…and here it is: the last step requires you to iron the painted cardstock in between two pieces of newsprint (or bond paper) to remove the shiny embossed look of the stamped design. This last step is not absolutely necessary for a beautiful finished design, however, it will make your design look like it’s been computer generated or professionally printed!

Also, please note that newsprint is not newspaper…we don’t want any ink on this! Newsprint is the cheap, thin tan art paper that children color on…it can be purchased quite inexpensively at art or craft stores. You can also use regular bond paper…just make sure to keep moving the iron around so that you don’t burn the paper!

Here’s a few tips about blending colors:
- choose analogous colors (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel) for easy blending (if you don’t have red/pink/orange/yellow, then try blue/green/yellow)
- work from darkest color (magenta) to lightest color (yellow)
- pick a “bridge” color, i.e., a color that can blend or bridge two other colors togehter. I’ve used yellow as the “bridge” color because it blends easily with magenta, scarlet and orange.

supplies:
glossy cardstock
foam or rubber stamps
watermark ink: Versamark
clear embossing powder
heat gun
dye inks reinkers (dye inks in a bottle)
paintbrush
paper towels
wax paper
water
newsprint or regular bond paper
iron

step 1. Stamp designs with watermark (Versamark) ink on glossy cardstock. Sprinkle clear embossing powder and set with heat gun (no photo because it’s hard to see the versamark stamped flowers on white glossy cardstock!)

step 2. Squeeze a few drops of each ink onto wax paper. Dip paintbrush in water; lightly blot on paper towel so brush is damp but not dripping wet. Dab brush in first ink color and then dab onto cardstock, using a slight pouncing motion as the brush moves around a small area. Notice that the ink resists the embossed areas; the ink will stain and bead up a little giving the look of a watercolor. Repeat in three or four areas on the cardstock as shown.

step 3. Clean brush well with water; you are now ready to apply the next color. Dip brush in water; lightly blot on paper towel. Dab brush in second ink color and then dab on cardstock in a few areas as shown…DO NOT apply ink right next to the first color!

step 4. Repeat step 3 with third color.

TIP: Change your water at this point to keep your yellows pure.

step 5. Apply the last colors, the yellows, next to the first color applied in the same fashion that you have the others except the yellow is applied in between the other colors, sort of like a bridge between two colors. Apply the yellow in the available white space and then overlap some of it into the other colors…the results are layered and blended and quite beautiful! TIP: Make sure to clean your brush every time you blend colors together!!! Set aside to dry.

step 6. After the inks are dry, rub a damp Q-tip or paper towel over areas of the stamped design that has ink spots on it.

You can omit this last step if you like the shiny embossed designs…If you don’t want the shiny designs, then do step 7.

step 7. Preheat iron. Place the cardstock in between two pieces of newsprint or regular bond paper (see photo 7a). Iron over newsprint until you begin to see areas of the newsprint becoming transparent (see photo 7b). Keep ironing until you can lift the top sheet of newsprint off the cardstock without it sticking.

completed technique:

So, did you see the David Blaine special last night, “Drowned Alive”? Talk about facing fears…this man eats my grandiose fears for breakfast and by lunch, he’s moved on to burying himself alive or chewing glass!

While it may seem like such a ridiculously extreme comparison, i.e., his physical fears (being drowned alive) vs. our creative fears (what colors should I work with?) we can definitely be inspired by this man because I don’t think it’s the size of our fears that makes us different, but rather how much fear is relevant to our lives. David Blaine was undoubtedly born with a certain amount of courage that ordinary people like you and I have to work hard at to even comprehend. But what is really fascinating about David’s courage is that it is balanced by a sense of humanity and humility…his immense belief in other people and his motivations for doing what he does. David truly believes that no matter how much fear we hold within us, each of us can do more than we think we can…and his goal is simply to inspire others to do more than they think they can. I loved that he interviewed Aron Ralston, the young man who amputated his own arm to save his life…and that he called him a magician of life.

A Magician of Life…cool. But aren’t we all magicians of our lives…each and every one of us who does something that we didn’t think we could do the day before? I think so…because it’s not like fear is ever going to go away for good; every single day we have to find the courage to keep fighting our fears. A new day, a new fear; worse than those last 10 pounds because at some point, with a lot of work, determination and lack of carbohydrates, the pounds may go away. Fear won’t.

Speaking of which, this past week I came to realize just how many fears I’ve let keep me from moving forward with my life. I thought I had a pretty good and accurate account of my fears…but tricky little devils that they are, underneath many of them, guess what I found? Yep…like socks from behind the dryer, I found more fear!!!

It’s a very humbling experience to look at all the ways we hold ourselves back or sabotage ourselves because we tend to feel even more hopeless; on top of the realization, we are disappointed with ourselves for feeling weak…giving in to the fear. What I’m trying to do is look at this new information as “valuable” information instead of just more information to add to my already long list.

Anyhow, because of this new “valuable information”, I decided to take a few uncharacteristic chances this past week; one personal the other professional. One ended up a disaster and the other…well, I’m still waiting to see the final outcome. But before you cringe on behalf of my mortifying experience, let me say that while I did look at the disastrous outcome, wag my own finger and say to myself, “See, you knew you shouldn’t have done that…”, I didn’t say it for very long. I mean seriously, I made a mistake…big deal! No human loss was suffered, I didn’t mess up plans for world peace or even prevent Oprah’s show from airing…so really, how big of a deal could it be? Not that big when I take into consideration that all I did was risk being human. I mean, as humans, no matter how safe we think we’re keeping ourselves, isn’t it an inevitable law of nature that we are going to make mistakes, overreact, look stupid, say the wrong things…and maybe have to eat a few slices of humble pie? If so, then I have to look on the bright side and admit that I did an excellent job of being human last week. Who knows what I’ll do this week…

Fear of the unknown…makes you cringe, doesn’t it? Not knowing what is going to happen is never easy, but it’s really loaded when the unknown happens because of a decision we do or don’t make!

Speaking of which, I made the decision for last week’s exercise (Week #4 Exercise), to post a piece of art and ask for only constructive criticism. Why did I do this? I’m so glad that you asked…

• I did it because I wanted to post something I did that I thought was UGLY!
• I did it because I wanted to know that I could sit and endure the unknown…i.e., critical comments (what was the worst that could be said???)
• I did it because I wanted each of you to challenge yourself to speak your mind and not apologize for your opinion (because after all, I asked…)
• I did it because I think there’s so much more value to an honest comment, good or bad, than one full of fluff!
• I did it because even though I thought the art was really unattractive, I still wanted to see what I could learn from it.
• I did it because I knew how I felt about this piece of art and I wanted to see if I would get defensive to the criticism (which would show me that I wasn’t open to learning).

When you first saw the art and read the instructions, did you ask yourself, “why the heck would she post something so ugly?” I wouldn’t blame you if you had…because I questioned myself for quite awhile until I became clear as to the motivations behind the exercise.

The really cool thing about last week’s exercise is that it turned out to be mutually beneficial. Every single comment left was truly appreciated and I‘ll tell you why…(1) because of the courage I know it took to risk leaving your honest opinions, and (2) because in all honesty (and I mean this in the nicest way…) whatever you wrote is YOUR opinion, not necessarily MY REALITY. It’s only my reality and only becomes hurtful if I want to look at it that way…I mean, I may put a lot of myself into my art, but I AM NOT MY ART. If you don’t like my art, it does not mean you don’t like ME! and (3) the fact is, what most of you said was TRUE to me too!!!

I mean really, how many times are we asked for an honest opinion and then punished because we told the TRUTH…our truth!!! When it comes to our art, it’s vitally important that we separate ourselves from what we create in order for us to grow as artists. When we can truly separate “who we are” from “what we create” and see our work in a a different light, even through the eyes of another, we open ourselves up to learning and therefore growth.

Please understand that there is a huge difference between “seeing” it through the eyes of another and “feeling” it through the eyes of another. To see our art through the eyes of another is not to change our opinion of what we personally feel about what we’ve created, but rather to open our eyes as to the possibilities of creating and seeing it in a different way! I can’t tell you how many times I hear a first response to collage art as “I don’t like doing it”. After hearing this a number of times, I began asking questions, and I found that nine times out of ten, when asked “why?”, the answer was “because I don’t know how to do it” or “it looks too hard” or “I’m not good at it.” Since when should “hard” or “I don’t know how to” determine whether we try something new? Hmmmm…sounds like another example of “fear of the unknown” to me.

Which brings me to this week’s exercise…I’m not exactly clear on it yet (flying without a map…into the unknown!); my goal is to have the exercise posted on Thursday or Friday, so please check back! In the meantime, think about looking for the good in something you’ve created that you’re not all that happy with…and as always, your comments and questions are appreciated and welcomed (positive or negative this week!!!).

Last week’s exercise ended with a series of questions…including this one:

Similar to the other questions I’ve asked, there is no right or wrong answer; whatever you come up with is your answer, your truth. Besides that, there isn’t just “one” answer! I think that depending upon the time in our lives that this question is asked, the answers would vary. If I were to take a tongue-in-cheek guess and even generalize as to a few possible answers, I think they would look something like this:

Since the answer to this question varies from person to person, I think it truly speaks to our fear of the unknown because if we’re not sure what we’re afraid of, then the very idea of making a mistake — any kind of mistake — becomes larger than life.

As creating individuals, we have more than our share of potential mistakes just waiting to be made…from the simple choice of what colors to use to the more daunting and painful decisions about who to trust in our chosen industry.

Week #4 Exercise: Becoming True
One of the biggest unknowns we artists are faced with early on, is not knowing whether our work is “good”. When we are unsure of the work we do, i.e., whether it is “good”, our anxiety and doubt can paralyze us and prevent us from moving forward and creating to our fullest potential. How ironic that when we are anxious and tense about creating “ugly”, we are more likely to create what we fear…UGLY!!!

But back to this week’s exercise…knowing inside of us whether our work is “good” is part of what I call “Becoming True”. “Becoming True” is something that needs to happen before “Staying True” which to me, is one of the biggest ways we can combat our fears. Becoming True means being honest…with yourself and with others. Staying True is solidifying our beliefs by taking action when we need to.

Below you will find a piece of art; the directions for the exercise are very simple and should only take a few minutes.

Need some help? here’s a few starters:
I don’t like (insert something specific).
This piece does not appeal to me because (insert something specific).
I think that (insert something specific) would look better if (insert something specific).

Wondering how this ties in with “fear of the unknown”? You’ll see…In the meantime, thanks for coming along!

I’ll still be posting on other days…and stay tuned…I’ve got plans for something new on the horizon!!!

Add an artistic element to a plain or boring background of a photo…use a white paint pen (I’ve found the Sharpie oil-based paint marker is best) or a heat tool (Creative Hot Marks by Walnut Hollow) to engrave a design (shown above).

http://www.kellyangard.com

Custom made stencils are a huge part of the Urban Street Art process; most are created from photographic images or from hand-drawn designs. There are a number of websites that feature downloadable stencil images; one of the best I’ve found is Stencilry. I downloaded a very simple stencil from Stencilry to demonstrate this week’s technique. The city skyline (see below) is a great stencil to work with because it can be cut with scissors if you’re not comfortable using with a craft knife and it doesn’t take alot of time to prepare.

Before showing the steps for this technique, I’m going to demonstrate something that I haven’t shown before…my practice samples. I photographed my three practice samples so you could see that i don’t just talk the talk, i walk the walk! This is one technique in which I really encourage you to practice before trying on your layout; it will only take you a few minutes using whatever stencil you’d like to use and a few scrap pieces of cardstock.


1st practice…with stencil in place
Notice that the heaviest part of the spray paint is at the top of the design…I started spraying above the cutting edge of the design because I wanted the paint to be the heaviest there and then i slowly moved the paint can down and lifted it away from the cardstock so the spray would become less concentrated and give me the fade i was hoping for.

1st practice…pretty good for a first try; i achieved the fade I wanted, but i’d like the top of the buildings to be darker. I do like the dark spray spots that I got by holding the can a little close and putting only light pressure on the nozzle.
2nd practice…i kept the can a little closer to the cardstock and held it over the top area of the stencil just a few seconds longer which resulted in the darker coverage at the top of the buildings but I still want more coverage at the top of the buildings so I’m going to try it again and keep the can over that area a little longer. Also, I didn’t get as many dark spray spots as i would have liked to so I will make sure to hold the can closer when applying light pressure.
3rd practice…PERFECT! The buildings are darker and I’ve got more of a contrast in the fade…I also played around with applying slight pressure on the nozzle to get more spray spots! Now I can spray onto my collaged background with confidence….and all it took was 5 minutes!

supplies:
cardstock
images (see stencil source above)
spray adhesive
spray paint (Krylon)

step #1. & step #2

step #1. Size and print stencil design onto cardstock
step #2. Cut stencil with craft knife

step #3. & step #4

step #3. Lightly spray back of stencil with adhesive and place over background
step #4. PAINT! I used spray paint here because I wanted to create a spray-paint fade with spotting…but you can use a sponge and acrylic paint or inks depending upon the look you want to achieve.

What I like about this technique is that there is room for imperfection…meaning that it doesn’t have to be executed perfectly for it to look good. The lines don’t have to be cut perfectly straight and the paint doesn’t have to be perfectly applied for it to look good. I call these kinds of techniques in my book, “Perfectly Imperfect” because I like having the freedom to not feel like I have to do “perfect” all the time. And when I am unable to give myself the room to not do “perfect”, these techniques encourage me to just let go and have fun…

hints:
- protect your surfaces from spray paint buy painting over a pile of tissue paper; I use it instead of newspaper because it’s cheap, i can remove the top layer and throw it away, and i don’t get newsprint on my hands which can easily smudge onto my artwork!
- notice how I combined the the techniques learned over the past two Technique Tuesdays (spray paint & high contrast images) with this week’s technique…have fun and make it your own!!!

I will be posting more about custom-made stencils tomorrow, along with some great resources I’ve found on my art blog, The Crafty-Girl…

After delving into the world of Urban and Street Art a little more, I realized how much it’s influences have made a mark in the modern fine art world. Many of the characteristics of Urban and Street Art come from the Pop Art Movement…high contrast images, stenciled designs, bright and bold colors and the use of every day, cultural and political images and icons.

This week’s technique is going to focus on high contrast images. A high contrast image takes the light and dark values of to the extremes; i.e., the darks become darker and the lights become lighter. Almost any photo can be turned into a high contrast image in one of two ways: (1) with image-editing software like Photoshop, or (2) with a copy machine. To keep things simple, I’m going to focus on black and white high contrast images because they are the easiest to integrate into your layouts and artwork.

In the layout above, I started with a color photo of a brick wall. After turning it into a high contrast image (see below), I printed the image on a piece of transparency and layered it with collaged patterned papers and a piece of the spray painted transparencies from last week’s technique!

1. Select a color photo.
2. Change photo to black and white. (see below)
3. Adjust contrast to desired effect.

Photoshop:
1. Change photo from color to black and white. Go to Image>Adjustments>Channel Mixer. Click on “monochrome” box in lower left corner; click OK.
2. Adjust contrast. Go to Image>Adjustment>Brightness/Contrast. Move slider to the right until desired effect is achieved. You may want to adjust the brightness to the right to lighten the overall image.

Copy Machine:
1. Change photo from color to black and white. Copy color photo on color copier using black and white mode.
2. Adjust contrast. Find contrast button (or ask a copy technician for help!); increase contrast and print a test copy. You may need to adjust the brightness to maintain clarity.

Here’s a few more samples of high contrast images…the possibilities are endless!!!

Tips & Suggestions:
- select photos that already have well-defined dark and light areas
- remember the rule of three’s: try at least three different levels of contrast
- adjust the brightness as necessary to maintain clarity and make the image pop!
- print high contrast image on colored paper or cardstock for a “duotone” image
- print high contrast image on transparency and layer over collaged patterned papers

Here’s a few more Urban & Street Art Sites that have large image galleries, informative tutorials or a number of links:
new pop art international
stencil international
visual resistance

The influence of Urban and Graffiti art is moving from the streets to the marketplace, becoming a dominant visual force in advertising, fashion and design. The characteristics of this expressive art includes electric and edgy designs, bold colors and spray painted letters and images.

This week’s Technique Tuesday will focus on the most basic tool of any urban and graffiti artist…the spray paint can! You’ll see how easy it is to give any patterned paper or photo, an edgy and urban look by layering it with painted sheets of transparency or acetate. This technique will give you the look of those cool Photoshop brushes…you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to add a little urban flair to your art and images!

supplies:
spray paint
transparency or acetate
newspaper

- Follow directions on can to prep paint.
- Hold spray paint about 1-2 feet from transparency to start. As you are spraying, notice the different effects you get depending on the pressure you place on the nozzle with your finger. A light press will give you a spray…more pressure will give you more coverage.
- Hold up a piece of transparency and move the can really close to achieve a saturated circle of dripping color; after paint drips to bottom of transparency, lay flat to dry. (I placed transparency sheets on dark cardstock for photo.)

Layer painted transparency over photos,

over patterned paper,

or over a hand-painted background…

- Use two colors of paint (black and white shown above) on one transparency for a cool mix of color.
- Attach painted transparencies with spray adhesive, staples, brads, paper clip or other decorative attachment.

If you’re interested in seeing more Urban and Graffiti Art online, take a look at a phenomenal celebration of street art at the Wooster Collective, or tune into Graffiti TV, an international collection of urban art links and video clips.

It sounds so simple…I mean, who doesn’t know how to learn a new technique? I know, I know, not you…but do you have alot of time to learn new techniques? Probably not…because the fact is, none of us has alot of excess time to play and experiment when it comes to learning new things. And besides, in our instant-gratification world, we think we should be able to do a technique once and have it mastered after the first try…right? Uh, no…sorry!

Learning something new comes easy sometimes and other times, well, it can be downright painful! So if you’re going to take the time to learn something new, wouldn’t you like to know that you’re doing everything you can to ensure yourself a successful outcome?

How to Effectively Learn a New Technique
1. Assemble your supplies and read over all of the steps and tips/hints before beginning the technique. For many of us (myself included!) this is the hardest step to follow. I tend to be a very visual person and want to look at the photos and not read the words. But I’ve found (by trial and error!) that by missing a small detail in the directions can be the difference between success and failure!

2. Pay attention to color combinations and relationships. If you don’t have the exact same colors I used, don’t worry. The family of color is not as important as the combinations and relationship between colors. If I’ve selected monochromatic blues, go ahead and try monochromatic reds, just make sure the colors are monochromatic. If I’m using pastel yellow and orange, and you only have pastel blue and green, go ahead and use them; the relationship between the colors is what is important.

3. Think in terms of three…When it comes to learning a new technique, I suggest doing it three times! What…do it three times? Yes! I’ll tell you why…you’ve already got your supplies out and are mentally ready to try something new, so give yourself three chances to succeed!

• If a technique has three steps to it, do the first step three times and then move on to the second step and do the same. The time it will take to do each step the second and third time is nothing compared to the amount of time it will take to start all over again if you’re not happy with the result of doing it only once.
• Say you’re learning a colorant technique…don’t just take out one piece of cardstock…take out three. By doing the steps three times in a row, you take the pressure off of yourself to do it perfectly the first time! When you take the pressure off of yourself you are (1) more likely to risk experimenting which is the best environment for learning and (2) you’re more likely to have fun!!! Here’s why:

1. On the first piece of cardstock, you’ll be wondering if you’re doing it right…
2. On the second piece of cardstock, you will have realized what worked and what didn’t work…and now you have another chance to try it!
3. On the third piece of cardstock, you’re no longer nervous, you’re more comfortable with what you’re doing…maybe you’re even having fun

If you’re one of those people who picks up new techniques quickly…yeah you! You haven’t wasted neither time nor energy by creating in 3’s; you will have just created a few extra pieces of beautifully colored cardstock that will be on hand for another project or swapped with a friend!

All this talk about learning techniques probably has you in the mood to learn, learn, learn! So I’ve put together a linked list of all the techniques I’ve posted over the past six months…

- Abstract Photo Collage
- Acrylic Paint Blend
- Adventures in Pen & Ink
- Altered CD Cover
- Altered Photo + Tinted Overlay
- Create a Blog Header (courtesy of Lisa G)
- Create a Photoshop Fade (courtesy of Kelly Shults)
- Creative Photo Bleaching
- Custom Epoxy Embellishments
- Custom Stencil Designs
- Doodling 101: Basic Pen Strokes
- Doodling 101: Incorporating Doodled Designs
- Dye Ink Resist
- Gel Medium Imprints
- Got Grunge?
- Layered Silhouettes
- Masking Tape Magic
- Tinted Transparencies
- Weathered Metal Surfaces
- Watercolor Crayon Wash
- 101 Things to do with Ribbon (courtesy of Shimelle)

Still hungry for more??? Make sure to bookmark these other sites I’ve found with posted techniques:
- Swirly (doodling) Exercise by Suzanne (Squillen on 2Ps!)
- Paper Peeling Technique by Kelly Shults
- Paint Wash Background by Kelly Shults
- Creating Your First Layout in Photoshop by Kelly Shults
- How to Alter a Book by Elizabeth Badurina