Tuesday Tips and Techniques

Playing with Paper - Scribbles Paint, Glue and Craft Acrylics

Is there anything more fun than just letting creativity flow without concern for the outcome?  I think not!  And that's exactly what happens when you play with paper, fabric paint, glue and craft acrylics.   You're going to need a few hours for this activity - that's just how much fun you're going to have!

This is the first technique that Barb Owen and I played with on my play date with her in her Missouri home studio.  If you didn't get to see the UStream of Barb and me in action, here it is!

First batch of completed papers, dried.

The materials you're going to need are simple - paper (I used pastel paper today since my cardstock is traveling in circles via UPS), scribbles paint or other dimensional paint, cheapo school glue (white and/or gel), and craft acrylics.  I had a full sheet of pastel paper that I tore down into 6 sections (approx 9" x 11")

The dimensional paint and glues act as a resist. The first step is to create a design of your choosing with the resist of your choice.  I've used iridescent blue Polymark paint on this page.  (I've had this paint for years, and I'm not sure it will even work.

The next step is to lay a bead of paint along the left edge of the paper (if you're right handed - if you're left handed you'll probably want to place the paint on the right side of the paper).  Choose two or three colors that won't make "mud" when you drag them across the page.  I've used purple and black craft acrylic here.

Next, take an old credit card or one of the "fake" cards that show up in your mailbox, and drag the paint across your page.  I used both a fake card and an old credit card and I preferred the stiffer credit card.  

Places where you didn't have quite enough paint or use just enough pressure may leave white marks.  The temptation is to go back over it again.  Don't do it!  You'll make a muddy mess!  I think the white adds a little "something" to them anyway.  There was quite a bit of paint I missed on the left side, so I took it off to the left of the paper.  Be sure to work with blotter paper beneath.  This is great, messy fun!  (And don't throw that luscious blotter paper into the trash!  It can also be used for backgrounds or collage)

For my next sheet I used Polymark iridescent chartreuse as my resist...

and again tried the purple and black paint.  

I used Elmer's white school glue this time, and I made a pattern of flowers.

I used yellow and bright green craft acrylic this time.  It's still applied to the left edge of my paper ( I just forgot to flip this image)

Oooooo.....I rather like this one!  It reminds me of batik.

I have quite a gluey, painty mess left over.  I take my card and spread the extra around on my blotter paper. I'm working outside on my metal deck table....

Look at this lovely bonus!  I have to switch blotter paper now as I have quite a mess on my hands.  As I spread my paint around on the blotter paper (cheap newsprint), the pattern of the table comes through.  Gee, I really like how that looks!  Don't you love surprises?  

That gets the wheels churning in my brain.  I remember this piece of fencing that Barb gave me for printing.  I'm wondering if I lay it beneath my paper, will the grid show through as a secondary design element?

I take gold glitter glue and apply a random pattern.  Next, I apply a secondary pattern with the Elmer's.

I place the paper on top of the fencing, apply hot pink and black acrylic along the left edge, scrape it across.....

...but no grid pattern shows through.  Oh, well.  On to the next experiment!

I go back to the iridescent blue Polymark.  I wonder if I can actually write with this little tube without my hand cramping up, and I wonder if I'll like the results?  I use hot pink and yellow craft acrylic this time...

...and I'm happily surprised.  Scraping the paint across has picked up some of the shimmery, blue iridescent paint and made the paper green in spots.  The camera (or my photography) just don't do justice to the way the paper shimmers.

Next I try dark purple glitter glue and the iridescent blue Polymark as the resists and I drag purple and black craft acrylic across.  The purple glitter paint is old, and most of it mixes with the paint leaving white beneath.

At this point, I call it quits as I'm running out of clear blotter space and they're laying in the sun to dry.  The blotter paper is more spectacular than the paper I've been playing with!

THE FLIP SIDE

 I let my papers dry overnight although they dried within a half hour or so in the outdoors.  I decided that I'll use these pages in a handmade journal so I need to compete the backside of yesterday's creations.  If I had decided to use them in collage, I would have left them as is.

I went on the hunt to see what other paints I have tucked away.  I found an unopened tube of this Tulip paint.  It has a tiny point for the paint to come through - just about pencil thin. I decided to try writing again.  I've had this paint for years, so I'm not even sure it's still fluid.  To my surprise it's like brand new!

It was grueling to use!  I had to press rather firmly to get the paint out - not because the paint was drying but because it's a tough bottle to squeeze. (For me, anyway.)  I used black craft acrylic and when I was digging around my paints, I found a tube of Liquitex iridescent copper.

Oh, my!  I think I'm in love.  Why haven't I been using this luscious paint before?  It's buttery and shimmery and worked just as well as the craft acrylic!

I had an almost empty gold glitter glue.  It was beginning to dry so I smeared it around the page and used Elmer's a design resit.  I used two shades of blue craft acrylic to drag across the design.

You know me and color - it wasn't long before I decided to paint the background first!  I dropped some red and yellow craft paint unto the paper and scraped it across with my card.  I didn't even let it dry before I added the Elmer's design.

I used black craft acrylic to drag across the paper.  WOW!  This one turned out really cool!

There was quite a lot of black paint/glue mixture scraped across the page, so I flipped over one of the pages and smeared it randomly on the page.  Even though I was still working on the blotter paper, the table pattern showed though.  Yippie!  Another happy surprise!

I dribbled Elmer's across the page Jackson Pollack style....

...and used iridescent copper and raw sienna tube paints to drag across the page.  It looks a lot like snake skin!

These pages are all luscious and shimmery - especially the ones with glitter glue.  Oh, what fun!

The competed and dried flip sides.

How many ideas did you come up with looking at these images?  Give this a try - I guarantee you're going to have a great time!  Just keep asking yourself, "what if....".  I'm thinking, "What if I add mica powder to my craft paint?"  "What if I gesso cardboard as my support?"  "What if I use oil pastel as a resist?"  

As you can see, the "what ifs" are many.  If you give this a try, be sure to let me know how it works out for your and what other techniques you come up with.  Don't be afraid to experiment - it's only paper!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE