Creative Squad

True Blue – Josefine Fouarge

  

Hello my friends! Today is Tuesday so that means one of my Creative Squad posts! Here we have Josefine Fouarge sharing with us an art journal page that is a wonderful combination of colors and stamped and stenciled elements. Josefine uses my new Flower Maze and Valley Road stencils, and my Brownstone and My Home is My Castle stamps in this lovely composition. This month’s theme is: True Blue – Blue is the color of honesty and serenity. It’s calming and has even been shown to promote healing. It reminds us of the water and the sky. Let’s slow things down this month and bask in the tranquility of the color blue.

I could use some calmness this month. Life is catching up and finding those quiet moments is becoming a challenge. So, I’m looking forward to those healing effects from using the color blue (it’s probably more the process of creating itself that will do that for me ;) ).

I started by adding different pieces of tape to my journal page to create some texture for the background. I was hoping for more blue from the watercolor powders, but it turned out that there were a lot of green and purple pigments in there as well.

But that just made it more interesting, so I added powders and water in different layers, till I had the look that I liked. What I didn’t like was the tape that I used for the background, so I removed those, at least the majority of it.

To decorate those now white areas, I grabbed the new Flower Maze stencil and blended a mix of Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink and Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide through them.

I made sure to blend the ink only in those white areas.

I already knew that I wanted to add the sentiment “My Home is my Castle” and I wanted it to pop a little against the background. A lighter blue blended through the Valley Road stencil helped me with that.

My home really is my castle and the place where I regenerate and calm down. In order to see the Brownstone stamp house in the background, I decided to stamp it onto a piece of tissue paper that had some clean up spots from a different project on it. Thankfully, they are mainly blue.

Just a few finishing touches everywhere and I was done with my grungy, blue art journal page.

I really like the look of the Flower Maze stencil in the white areas.

Here is the close up of the Brownstone. A few of the neighbors were home.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to come back every Tuesday for more inspiration from the Creative Squad.

Thank you Josefine – I also love how that Flower Maze stencil pops! You can find all my stencils and stamps in my Online Shop. Here are some of the other supplies that Josefine used:



Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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Inside Outside – Tania Ahmed

  

Hello from my Creative Squad and welcome to a project from Tania Ahmed. Tania is bringing us a super fun easel card using my Stroll Around the Block set of house stamps, my My Home is My Castle stamp, and my What’s the Point stencil. Be sure to watch her awesome video for the how-to and join us for this month’s new theme: Inside Outside – Inside can be cozy and warm. Outside is about fresh air and freedom. Are you a homebody or do you suffer from cabin fever? We’re creating with these opposites in mind.

I was inspired by this month’s theme to create an easel card as a play on the “inside Outside” theme! My main focus was the Queen Anne Building stamp which is a part of the Stroll Around the Block Set #1.

The theme made me think about whether I preferred to stay at home or be outside. Did I prefer my own company or to be around people? As I get older I am getting more and more comfortable in my own skin and realising that I can have moments where I prefer one or the other scenario and that it’s okay! I’ll have days where I want to make a clean and simple project and then there will be days when I will be absolutely covered in paint and making happy creative messes!

I decided to make a video tutorial showing how I made this easel card, and I loved how it turned out :) Click on the video below to watch:

Here are also some photos:

Thank you Tania! I’m just loving your video and seeing the awesome texture you created with my What’s the Point stencil on this card! Also those colors are yum! In addition to various cardstock and papers, here are some of the supplies that Tania used:




Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

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Nat

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This Must Be the Place – Josefine Fouarge

  

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today Josefine Fouarge is showing us how just playing around can loosen up your creativity and yield some beautiful results. Her tag uses stamps from my My Home is My Castle set, including the Adirondack Chairs and Windows and Door stamps, along with our February theme: This Must Be the Place –We’re all on a journey to somewhere or something. Sometimes we’re just making preparations for simple things like dinner or weekend plans. Other times we’re aiming for bigger goals, bigger places. Whether it’s a location or a state of mind, you’ll know when you get there. Where are you headed?

Even small pieces of art can tell a big story. I love working on tags and playing with the smaller real estate. This one was the perfect size to create some dimension without it looking too busy.

Do you want to hear the story of this tag? Then read till the end ;)

I started with a mono printed background. I used a 5×7 Gel Press and added several colors of PaperArtsy paint on top. The second layer uses the same technique, but in a slightly different way. This time I used one of the Petite Gel Press plates and added the paint through Nat’s Kassel and the Hamburg stencils. First the round one and then again with a square plate. While I was at it, I created a few more backgrounds on sandwich paper, some of them which I used for this project later on.

So far, I was “just playing around”. That’s what I like about mono printing – you don’t need a goal. But here I started to see what I wanted my project to look like. I was envisioning a porch with other houses and a scenery in the background. I didn’t want to stamp actual houses, so I created the idea of them by stamping the Windows and Door from the My Home is My Castle set.

I needed something in the background though. After looking at all the houses and buildings from Nathalie’s stamp sets, I picked Lady Liberty. I stamped her with black ink and colored her lightly with Pitt pens in grey and green.

Then I cut out a few circles from the other backgrounds and stamped Nat’s Adirondack Chairs on two of them. I adhered both to the bottom of the tag and colored the chairs with Liquitex Paint pens.

I added some shadows around the chairs and the circles and scribbled a love poem from Shakespeare around the circles as well.

Now that I had my porch with the two Adirondack chairs I needed a sentiment. I imagined an old couple sitting on that porch, enjoying their lives together. They have seen everything they wanted and are now spending the rest of their days together, just the two of them. “This must be the place.” Yes, the Love sentiment was the perfect finishing touch.

Here is the finished project. Can you see them sitting there, smiling?

Thanks for stopping by. See you next month  :)

Thank you Josefine – your story made us feel very warm and fuzzy! Josefine used the following supplies in her project:



Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Follow our new Creative Squad page on Instagram @NatsCreativeSquad and see even more projects from our awesome team of artists!

Nat

Comments (7)

  • Seth

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    Thanks for choosing my colors here Josefine. The tag looks mighty fine!

    Reply

  • maura

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    Great tag and love the story you wove in to it Josefine! Maura

    Reply

  • Clavell

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    I love the ‘story’ you wove into this tag…very sweet and very clever!♥

    Reply

    • Josefine Fouarge

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      Thanks :) that’s what I imagined while creating the tag ;)

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    LOVE these colors together Josefine!

    Reply

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This Must Be the Place – Marsha Valk

  

Welcome to the Creative Squad! This week Marsha Valk is sharing with us her awesome technique for creating a project based on our new theme: This Must Be the Place –We’re all on a journey to somewhere or something. Sometimes we’re just making preparations for simple things like dinner or weekend plans. Other times we’re aiming for bigger goals, bigger places. Whether it’s a location or a state of mind, you’ll know when you get there. Where are you headed? Marsha is using stamps from my My Home Is My Castle set, Embroidery set, and Cardboard set. I just love watching her in action in the video below!

I don’t know where I’m heading, but I do know how I want to feel when I get there. It could easily take a lifetime to arrive because goals and places always shift. You may think that this will be the place but it might turn out it isn’t what you thought it would be once you’re there. Or you’ve grown and evolved in the meantime, and the next place is already on the horizon.

So for this month, I decided to use supplies I want to keep in my suitcase while moving forward. Because where ever I’m headed right now I’m sure I’m going to need mono printing materials, stamps, an ink pad, a pair of scissors, glue and a black fineliner.

Watch me create this page!

Thank you Marsha! Absolutely loved watching your process and seeing all those stamps being used for all kinds of visual texture! Here are some of the supplies that Marsha used:




Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Follow our new Creative Squad page on Instagram @NatsCreativeSquad and see even more projects from our awesome team of artists!

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Nat

Comments (2)

  • maura

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    Delightful scene, Marsha! Love the bright happy colors! Maura

    Reply

    • marshavalk

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      Thank you Maura! It was super fun to create!

      Reply

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My Home is My Castle – Jennifer Gallagher

  

Hello from the Creative Squad! Today we have a super charming little project from Jennifer Gallagher that will definitely inspire you and warm your heart :) She is using my Stroll Around the Block and My Home is My Castle stamp sets and this month’s theme: My Home is My Castle – Home means many different things depending on who you ask and where you are in the world. This month we’re thankful to have a place to call home, a place where we can rule and be King – or Queen :) – of the castle!

With the beginning of each new year, it is normal to think back over the past and assess where you are and what is important to you. What is most important to me is family. My husband and I often talk about how much we love it at home. Not necessarily the structure itself, but the time spent with each other and the memories we have made here. This month the creative squad will be sharing inspiring projects that reflect on just that. Using Nat’s new Rubbermoon stamp collections, Stroll Around the Block Sets 1 & 2, we hope to inspire you and share with you what home means to each of us.

Back in the Summer, I acquired several of these shadow boxes at a yard sale. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with them but I knew they would come in handy. You can purchase shadow boxes at your local hobby and craft store or create your own with recycled materials. I started by removing the frame and glass from the front and emptying the box of all the decorations. I sanded down the frame to give it a distressed feel. Then with a baby wipe, I smeared some Tim Holtz distress stains on the frame and let it dry.

  

I knew that I wanted to create a little scene in the shadow box to represent my home. I decided to keep with the artistic and sketch-like feel of Nat’s stamps and I felt watercolors would compliment that. I chose the Cape Cod stamp because it most resembles my ranch style home. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with archival blank ink and then used my watercolors to match the colors of my house.

I decided on where I wanted the house to sit in the box and then designed the other pieces around it. I decided to add a large tree, a flower garden, bushes, a bird, smaller trees in the background and grass. This is where your creativity can really shine. Is this an exact replica of my home? No. But it does relay the feeling I have about home to my audience. Keep that in mind when designing your piece.

I started by choosing a blue and green gelli print from my stash. The blue to represent sky and the green as grass in my background. I used double sided tape to fix those to the shadow box. I then started painting my trees. I used my gelly roll pen to add sketchy lines to each element.

Starting on the background, I fixed each element with scor-tape. The bird and background trees were added with mounting tape to give it a little lift off the background. As I moved closer to the foreground, I fixed the elements with paper tabs like you would in a pop-up book. Mix up the levels throughout the box, giving your piece lots of dimension and interest.

The finishing touch was to stamp the sentiment, My Home is My Castle, onto watercolor paper with archival ink and add a pop of color to it. Once added, I was able to put the glass and frame back on my shadow box.

To me, this piece expresses how I feel about my home. It’s a happy and peaceful place. It is truly my favorite place on Earth. I hope that this piece inspires you to step out of the box this year in your artful adventures. I am wishing you all a wonderful year filled with art, happiness, and creativity.

Thank you Jennifer for this awesome way to use a shadow box! In addition to gelli printed papers, Jennifer used the following supplies:


Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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My Home is My Castle – Marsha Valk

  

Happy New Year from the Creative Squad! We’re kicking off a new theme here but first we would like to say a big hello and welcome to new squad member Maura Hibbitts! We are so happy to have Maura and her super creative style on the team so stay tuned for her first project later this month :) And now we have a lovely project from Marsha Valk, who explores a technique by artist Max Ernst using my new Stroll Around the Block and My Home is my Castle stamp sets. Our theme this month is My Home is My Castle – Home means many different things depending on who you ask and where you are in the world. This month we’re thankful to have a place to call home, a place where we can rule and be King – or Queen :) – of the castle!

Happy 2018!

Oh, how I wish I could have a home like the ones in Nat’s new Stroll Around The Block stamp set!

My own home isn’t anything like that, but remarkably enough, there is one stamp in the set that reminds me of something I have in my house. It’s a screen print of an American house similar to the Craftsman house, and I decided to start with that stamp.

Of course, I could have just stamped with it, but I recently went to the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, Germany and there I saw Ernst’s fascinating work composed of pencil rubbings of wood and other materials. Max Ernst invented this technique in 1925 en he called it ‘frottage’.

I wanted to try if frottage works with rubber stamps too. And… it does!

I used wax crayons, but you can also use coloured or graphite pencil and charcoal instead.

As for paper: a thin paper works best, so use printer paper or look for something of a similar weight and smoothness.

You have the option to stamp the My Home Is My Castle text first before applying the wax crayon.

Or, if you’d rather stamp the text later on, then I suggest testing if your stamping ink stays put on the wax crayon rubbing first.

I had no trouble stamping over my rubbings with Archival ink, but a combination of other brands/materials may have different results.

Position the stamp of the Craftsman house under the paper, image side up, and start rubbing over it with a wax crayon.

Rubbing with the long side of the crayon works best!

Create a landscape or background by placing background stamps or stencils under the paper and rubbing more wax crayon in different colours right next to the image of the house.

Also, try adding layers of different colours and textures on top of each other. Just have fun with it and see what you can come up with!

Thank you Marsha for sharing this super cool technique with us – what awesome results too! In addition to computer paper, Marsha used the following supplies (some are affiliate links):




Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (3)

  • maura

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    Marsha, I love how you did this as a rubbing and were inspired by your museum trip! Maura

    Reply

    • marshavalk

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      Thank you Maura! Museums are the best: you never know what catches your eye!

      Reply

      • marshavalk

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        Or what’s going to catch your eye (but you know what I mean ;-)).

        Reply

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