Mono Printing with Thickened Dyes!

Before I got 'infected' with the cold/flu bug, I did complete our lesson on mono printing with thickened dyes.  I've done mono printing with acrylics before but never using thickened dyes.  What fun!

These will all make good background papers.  I might have to go back and make some more feature papers to use these with!  HA

 I used Hydrangea and Misty Gray dyes...sometimes mixing them together!

The tiny looking dots was actually the imprint left from one of the foam rollers I used to paint the dye on with.  I think it was an old roller.  The newer roller didn't show that texture.

Where's Waldo? Or is that where's Robbie?

Yep, I have been MIA this past week!  Me, who doesn't get the flu or colds (usually!) came down with a whopper this week!  This bug has kicked my butt!!  I finally went to urgent care yesterday afternoon...my own doctor couldn't get me in until after next Tuesday!!  WHAT!!!  Actually, our former doc retired and this is our new doc.  Remind me not to get deathly ill or just remind me to go directly to urgent care!  So now I'm on the mend, thanks to antibiotics and steroids my head feels better!  Bronchitis is taking a lot out of me and  I just want to sleep all the time, which isn't me...I don't nap during the day, ever.    But lookout world, I might be back in full force in a week!!

Just so this post isn't all words!  This is a picture Jan sent me of Gracie!  She was enjoying a tea on the front porch of Jan's home.   How cute is this!!!

Some blog readers may remember Gracie the Flamingo.  She sat at the front of the house we rented from Jan and Larry each winter.  Gracie was fading so back in 2016, I repainted her.  You can see that blog post here.  Jan and Larry have sold the house and took Gracie with them.  I know she'll be in good hands and I have a feeling she'll be moved around Jan's yard quite often!  Who knows...next time she just might be invited to dinner!

Gelli Prints using masks

We're still printing using the Gelli plate in Hilary's online class...although, by the time this post comes out we'll be on to the next technique! 

This time I just wanted to have some black/gray/white pieces.  In fact, I'm not going to over dye these so they stay black/white.  I ended up mixing some green paints with the gray/black paint. 

I really like the black/white pieces.

The green paint also adds some interest.

This was a piece I used to 'wipe' off my stamps and masks.  I'm almost finished with my collage piece.  Not sure I'll frame it/bind it or maybe just use it to cover a book with!  Who knows!! 

Our next module is working with mono printing but using thickened dyes instead of paint! 

A little of this and a little of that!

First off, I am reading a fantastic book!  I've had the book on order at the library since I saw the author, Mitchell Zuckoff, speak on GMA awhile ago.  I picked it up this past week and looking at the size of it I didn't think I'd meet the 2 week limit on checking it out.
I don't read hard copy books often except in bed at night..I do listen to books on my Ipod but this is a hard copy...over 500 pages and worth every minute of reading.  Yes, it is depressing, sad, heartwarming...you'll shed tears for sure but each page is worth the read.  I've read over 400 pages and find it hard to put down at night!

I've also made two more textile cards from my painted/dyed papers!  On these I added some Neocolor crayons to enhance the leaves.

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And I've been quilting on my latest collage I made using some of our mask Gelli prints.  The papers are getting a tad wrinkled from my twisting and turning as I do free motion quilting, but they will iron out - I'm sure?  HA






This is the collage I made.....still not sure of the orientation!  I keep changing my mind...but you get the idea!

And here are some closeups of the quilting I'm doing around the leaves.  Still having fun!!!

Nature Printing with Gelli Plate

Well, I had my tooth extracted last Thursday!  It wasn't that bad, with the exception of not being able to eat real food!  I actually lost 4lbs!!  No fear...I'll be making up for lost lbs soon!  I'm starting to eat 'real' food now, with exception of crunchy foods. 

Now on to the fun stuff...Our lesson from Hilary's MIP online class was a blast this week!  Printing with nature...using leaves....I've printed with leaves before but Hilary showed us so many different ways and tips on printing with leaves and using the Gelli plate!  What fun!!  I haven't over dyed these yet but I'm so excited to share my prints!  Not sure which color dyes I'll use on each of them, so I'll take a day or two to decide. 

These were printed on repair tissue I purchased from Hilary's online store.  The paper is super soft and sheer.

These were printed on deli paper.

All of these were printed on layout paper from Strathmore.

Gelli Plate Printing

For the last few weeks, we've been using the Gelli plate to print on our papers.  I did a post where I used one of the Gelli plate papers to make a fiber card (you can see that post here).  So last week we were at it again using the Gelli plate and masks.  I'm just showing my papers after they were over dyed.  I started to cut the papers up to make a collage and I couldn't see which paper went with which over dyed paper!  HA  So here are my results....I really enjoyed this method.

I'll be showing what I'm making with some of the pieces I cut out of my masked gelli prints!  What fun!!!

Grand daughter's baby shower!

This past weekend was another 'girl's weekend'!  Bob's ex, Mary, and I took off early on Friday to head to Ohio for Kayla's baby shower.  The six hour trip honestly went by so fast!  Partly due to our laughing...at times a little too much!  It's hard to drive with tears in your eyes!  But we made it safe and sound around 3:30.  The hotel was wonderful and since we had some time before dinner, Mary and I got started making the Diaper Cake for Kayla! 

 We even had a few laughs while putting the "cake" together and I think it turned out quite nice.  We had to find a Dollar Store to pick up a different topper for the cake...this made us a little late getting to Kayla's for dinner on Friday but they expected the two great grandma's to be slow!  HA

TaDa!  All done!

Kayla received so many nice gifts. 

I think she liked the baby quilt I made for her and Baby Girl H!  She won't tell us the baby's name yet so that will be a surprise to us all!

This is a blanket Bob's daughter, Diane (who couldn't make the trip) made!  Click on the picture to enlarge so you can see the pattern!  It was awesome!

And Diane made this little bear WITHOUT a pattern!  She said she knew what she wanted it to look like and just "did it".  I think it was adorable as did all the ladies!  How cute is she!!!

Kayla along with the great grandma's to be!

This is MaryJo (Kayla's mom and our DIL).  She is very excited to be a grandma!!!

This is Dinah, Nate's mom, Kayla's hubby/dad to be!  I didn't get a picture of him this weekend.  We actually didn't see him until late Saturday afternoon.  He was smart to let the women have the house!  HA

Such an exciting time for both these grandma's to be!

Kayla and I with the quilt I made. I told her she needs to use it!  Lay it on the grass...on the floor...make a tent with it...just use it!!!  Hope she does!

And this is such a wonderful gift, Mary gave to Kayla.  These belonged to Ron, Kayla's dad, when he was a baby.   What a keepsake to have.  That was so sweet Mary passed these on to Kayla!

 

Kayla's aunts and her two cousins, along with her cousin's 8 month old baby, put on the shower, which was so very nice of them.   They did a really nice job!!

And this is Bosco, Kayla and Nate's dog who is a hoot!  Such a gentle guy and one who loves to play.  He'll be wonderful with the baby as he is so sweet!


So we made it back home mid afternoon on Sunday, safe and sound!  Next trip to Ohio will be to see our new great grand daughter!!  Bob will make that trip!!