Painting Method - Using Potatoes & Yams

Another fun idea from THIS book... in which I very much enjoyed.

I stamped a picnic blanket (a large piece of brown home decor fabric I had leftover from this recovering project) using potatoes and yams sliced in half. Using potatoes and yams for stamps isn't a new idea, but it was for me. It was the first time I have ever carved my own stamp and it was good practice. 

Here are my stamps that I made using the cutter tool.

And the fabric after being stamped (very wrinkly, I know. I avoid ironing at all costs.)

I feel like the blanket turned out fun and I learned a lot from this project and have ideas to improve future projects using this same technique. 

I think kids would enjoy this too.

~ Chelsea ~ 

Painting method - Make a Stamp & Ink Pad

I received a really neat book for Christmas from my brother. It's called Print Workshop, Hand Printing Techniques, Truly Original Projects.

I've tried out a few ideas in this book and I have enjoyed them thoroughly. 

The first one I attempted was making my own stamp and stamp pad using a small block of wood, string, piece of glass (from a 4x6 picture frame), a small piece of felt, paint and table salt.

The paint is on the piece of glass. The table salt is added to the acrylic paint to thicken it. It gave the painting a shine too. Then, the felt is placed on top, creating a stamp pad.

To make my stamp, I wrapped some random leather string from a jewelry making kit around a small block of wood. In the book, twine is used and produces a much more subtle design.

Here are my patterns on card stock paper and a canvas (the white one).

I then made the canvas one into the piece of art below. I painted the record with a foam brush and used aluminum foil for the metallic details.

I've used the papers for a few different projects and cards. 

This was fun and I will be doing it again with variations in my string, patterns and mediums.

~ Chelsea ~