MIXED MEDIA ON OLD CHRISTMAS CARDS, DIY WASHI TAPE FROM KITCHEN PAPER, AND AN ORDEAL

Today I had fun in the studio just playing, enjoying the creative flow and feeling myself recover from yesterday’s ordeal (more later). I get so little time for this activity and it was very fulfilling.

Mixed media on old Christmas cards

I have a large bag full of old Christmas cards mixed with a few other non-Christmas greetings cards, and I’m gradually working my way through them, cutting out useful images, removing centres to leave frames, etc. etc. Most of the cards are too small for book pages, and aren’t much use as they are, so I decided to add some paint and inks to them to make useful backgrounds, and pieces suitable for cutting out flowers or other shapes, or for use in albums.

Recently I saw a YouTube video where someone was explaining how to make use of not-so-attractive magazine pages, by brayering on some acrylic paint. You can still see some of the image which creates a nice variegated coloured substrate but the paint obliterates what the actual image is, so that you can then use it how you want, adding further embellishment if needed. I thought I could take this a stage further, and figured that I could get a better result by using the gel plate rather than simply brayering on the paint.

I chose neutral, mostly chalk paints for this, and later used some Arteza iridescent paints, and all the paints were pale in colour with the exception of a translucent red which I used on one particular example.

Here are the cards with the first application of paint.

At this stage some of them don’t look much different from the original; the colours are dulled but the image is still recognisable.

After further applications, and the use of some stencils and miscellaneous texture makers (a plastic sink mat and bath mat), things were beginning to improve.

This particular collection definitely needed more treatment and has been set aside for another time:

Here are the cards with further layers. The one at top centre was printed with the translucent reddish-brown paint through a piece of paper mesh stretched over the surface. This piece of paper mesh, now a richer brown colour than its original shade, has gone back in my stash. I have also used a selection of my own DIY stencils cut from Tyvek, and the sink mat and bath mat, both as primary and ghost prints on the gel plate.

The bottom four of the selection have had stamping added to them – Tim Holtz text stamps and a grungey harlequin one which I really like. For the stamping I used navy and dark grey archival inks. I also stencilled some Distress Oxide sprays, and once dry, I added some spatters with diluted black acrylic paint, Seth Apter’s Gold Mine spray, and some Distress Spray stains – the spray inks being spattered by using the tube from the spray bottle.

Now for some closer shots for a bit more detail.

You can see the impression left by the bath mat on the two on the right – the primary print on the right-hand one and the ghost print on the centre one (faintly). I used one of my Gothic cross stencils for the one on the left, and I think I used the bath mat before doing this, but I can’t quite remember – once I’m on a roll I tend to forget exactly what I’ve done!

For the left-hand one in the photo below, I printed off the paint on the sink mat from a previous pull on the gel plate. The second one shows one of my Moroccan style stencils, sprayed with Distress Oxide spray. The bottom one was sprayed through a piece of the accordion-folded leaflet from a medication pack which I punched with holes before unfolding it (I have a large collection of these now). They make great stencils, and of course once sprayed, they are great for collage pieces too. All three were spattered with paint and inks.

The Moroccan style stencil again on the left-hand one below. You can still see the original text of the card showiong through but it just adds to the general interest of the piece, and if I cut it up, or lay it sideways or upside down, it will be less obvious. The one on the right is another example using the punched medication strips. I really love the effect of these! I deliberately punch the folded strips without marking them first, so that the holes are in more or less regular lines (using both sizes of punch on my Crop-a-Dile) but they come out slightly random as they are done by eye.

The stamped ones. I really like how these have come out. I like the grey archival ink (the colour is called “Watering Can” lol!) and the navy text stamps. These colours are more subtle than black, I find.

Again, if you look closely, you can still see various elements of the original card showing through.

Finally, a lurker! I found this straggler on my drying rack after I’d photographed the rest, so I added some embellishment and it earned the reward of featuring alone on its own photo, for having concealed itself so well from me!

You can see bits of the original print of the bath mat on this one.

I really like how these have turned out. I did have a slight problem with some of the Distress Ink spatters and the Distress Oxide sprays rubbing off, so I sprayed the whole collection with some fixative spray and hope that this has sorted the problem. They seem to be more stable now. I think in future I need to paint the surface of the original cards with some clear gesso because they are a bit too shiny. It’s all trial and error, and I think these pieces will all be useable, either as backgrounds or to be cut up into smaller pieces and shapes.

I have cut off the backs of the cards and these have gone back in my stash. I shall do something with them – possibly more of the same, or covering them with other papers for elements to go in albums etc.

At the end of the session, my splat box (with its two halves extended to make more space for spraying/spattering several cards at once) looked like this. Once these papers have “matured” a bit and got complete coverage, they will be useable in other projects.

DIY washi strips from inked kitchen paper

Another YouTube video I saw recently featured DIY washi made from napkins. I thought these were absolutely gorgeous. I do have quite a collection of napkins, but then remembered my box of inked kitchen paper and decided to use that instead.

When I’m mopping up with kitchen paper, I have a box on hand, and choose one that already has the same hue predominant on it, and once all the sheet has been covered with ink, it goes in a pizza box ready for use in other projects. I have now got a large collection of these, some of them going back years! I dip into it every now and again and tear bits off for collage elements etc. but often I forget all about it!

Many years ago when I first got my Dylusions sprays (I must get those out again and use them), I did a huge amount of mopping up, rolling the kitchen paper roll over the surface to mop up the excess. These colours are very vibrant and I love the kitchen papers that resulted! I have used some of this for today’s project.

One of the great advantages of using kitchen paper in this way is that it is two-ply, and the ink soaks through both layers, which can then be separated, so you get double for your money!

Here is my box.

Scraps go back in the box. Also, I save any sheets with holes in them as they make interesting collage elements. I tried to choose pieces without holes for this project, however.

Here are some of the Dylusions papers.

Making the first washi strip. I laid the double-sided tape down parallel to the edge of the single-ply kitchen paper, a short distance from the edge. Once the tape was down, and cut off, I tore the kitchen paper from the reverse side, against the edge of the double-sided tape to give a nice soft torn edge. This is why I didn’t stick the tape right at the edge of the paper for the first strip.

Detail of the first strip.

All the strips completed.

One strip from each colour set.

A close-up shot to show the detail.

There is an interesting texture in the paper, and it has a lovely feel, a bit like suede. Because it is so thin, I am hoping that once the backing is removed from the double-sided tape and the strips are stuck down onto a project, they will be slightly translucent. Some of the more expensive kitchen paper has lovely embossed patterns in it, and these tend to pick up the ink and become more obvious. This can be seen in the splat box papers I photographed a while back:

When I’d finished making the strips, there was a pile of small scraps of kitchen paper torn from the edges. It seemed a shame to throw them away so I made a couple more strips, laying down a piece of double-sided tape sticky-side up, and applying the scraps.

Who knows? They might be useful in some project or other! Nothing gets wasted Chez Shosh.

Dentist

Don’t read if you’re a dental phobic like me lol!

I had a most unpleasant experience yesterday. A few weeks ago we went for our regular six-montly checkup, and while Peter the dentist was examining my teeth, he suddenly said, “You’re going to hate me…” and held up a filling that had just fallen out! He knows how scared I am of having anything done and has always been so friendly and kind, and with his wonderful nurse, they have always tried to make things easier for me. When our old dentist retired and Peter took over, I was no longer allowed to have sedation for any treatment and it’s always been an ordeal. I can’t stand the noise of the drill, and feeling trapped and vulnerable, and I’m always scared I’m going to choke. All quite irrational, I know, but that’s the nature of phobias, isn’t it!!

He put a temporary filling in and my hubby also needed a filling, so we made the appointment for yesterday. Between the two appointments I deliberately put all thoughts of it out of my mind, but when the day was almost upon us, I had a stronger sense of forboding about it than usual. I went in first. Peter gave me two shots of local anaesthetic and began to drill. Almost immediately it was very painful. He said he couldn’t give me any more and I had had plenty so it should be OK, but it definitely was NOT OK! By the time he finished I was a quivering tearful wreck. The nurse held my hand throughout except for when she had to do something to help. My hubby had gone to the book shop to spend his book token, and when he came back he could hear the noise I was making, and he came in towards the end and held my hand too!

Afterwards, Peter said, “Sometimes I really hate my job…” He was distressed at the amount of stress he’d put me through. I said again that I wished I could have sedation, and for the first time he relented – he said, “I don’t do it myself and would have to refer you,” so the door is now open for that option at last.

My hubby took me back out to the car where I was happy to rest and recover myself while he went in for his treatment, but he came out again after only about five or ten minutes. He said that he and Peter had discussed it and they both agreed it would be best for him to take me straight home, and he’d made another appointment to come in and have his treatment. I said I was quite OK to wait, but they insisted, and so we came home. I felt pretty awful for the rest of the evening with the reaction of it all, and I had to take some paracetamol as the tooth was quite painful as the anaesthetic wore off.  It remained fairly tender to chew on until this evening. Today I’ve been very exhausted after the ordeal – but really glad that I had sufficient energy this afternoon to do something really therapeutic and play in the studio! (I made the washi strips from the comfort of my recliner in the sitting room.)

I phoned the dental surgery this morning to pass a message on to Peter and the nurse to thank them for being so kind, and to apologise for making him hate his job!! The receptionist was so sweet and said I wasn’t to worry about that! I also apologised for the fact that I had caused him to lose an appointment because my hubby didn’t stay for his treatment, and she said I was certainly not to concern myself about that. Peter won’t be in the surgery until Tuesday as he was teaching at the University today and Monday is a Bank Holiday but she would make sure she passed on my messages then.

I do feel relieved that Peter is now, at last, amenable for me to have sedation, having witnessed me in such a state yesterday, so perhaps the ordeal was worth it after all. I certainly never want to go through an experience like that again. I once told Peter that having chemo was preferable to going to the dentist and he laughed! He’s always good for a bit of fun and I do tease him – when I know I’m not having anything done I’m pretty much OK although I don’t particularly enjoy being in that position in the chair and having my mouth poked about! He knows that I lump his profession in with tax collectors and traffic wardens and always laughs at my rude comments! I once asked him why on earth he wanted to be a dentist, and he said, “Family tradition, probably.” Apparently his dad was a dentist, too. Oh well, I suppose somebody has to do it… He is such a lovely guy and I really like him, and he does try to make things easier for me.

Yesterday, as he was rubbing on the gel in preparation for injecting the anaesthetic, he asked me whether I’d enjoyed the Coronation. I replied, “I can’t talk to you now,” and he asked why not. I said, “Because you’ve got your fingers in my mouth!” He and the nurse both laughed, and she said to him, “You always do that – ask questions and make conversation when they can’t answer!”

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