Before stamping and then Stampin’ Up! became my thing, I was really into mixed media arts. I still love mixed media, but stamping is still my main thing. Today’s card design has a little more os a “mixed media” design using Vintage Leaves. The card design was inspired by an online class I just finished. I loved going back into my old art form of using mediums, gesso and paint to create. But it also reminded me of why I have strayed away from that art form and now do mostly stamping with inks. It is the simplicity and ease of using stamps and ink with paper.
You can compare the card I did above with the samples from the class below. I love my class pieces and had great fun making them. But I was also inspired to see if I could do the same style of art using my Stampin’ Up! supplies. The class was based on the monochromatic look that is so popular now. And after creating the class projects, I immediately knew Vintage Leaves would be the stamp set to use!
The background was sponged on using Old Olive, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry inks. I then used the Touches of Texture set to stamp on the speckles and texture. The leaves were stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and then die cut. The most fun thing was taking the Clear Faceted Gems and coloring them using the Bronze Stampin’ Blends to look like copper.
The closeup below shows how the bronze colored Faceted Gems blends with the Metallic Copper Thread. I love all the layers and parts to the card. It may not be practical for every card you do, but it is fun to step out of your creative comfort zone now and then and try something new!
As I said my inspiration to try a stamped card with a mixed media look was taking a class in mixed media from RG Studio 360 taught by Richard Garay, a designer and stamper whose work I have admired for many years.
The class was an online class and surprisingly fun to do. It was my first online class. After signing up, I received a kit before the class that included all the supplies I needed. I had a blast using mediums, gesso and paints. It was good to push my creativity a bit to go back to this form of art and remember how much I love it. I had just done the Halloween book, which I blogged about on a few posts ago and you can see HERE! But this was creating on a very “artsy” level and it was good to work with mediums and paint again. We did a memory book, art canvas and a card.
Some of the pages from the memory book are below.
So that was my adventure into mixed media art. And my inspiration to try the “mixed media” look using Stampin’ Up! inks and stamps. I think my first love is still Stampin’ Up! The versatility of ink, stamps and paper are what won me over to stamping in the first place. And it will keep me there! But it is nice to gain inspiration by trying other art. After all, that’s how we develop our skills, try new things and improve our skill and creativity in our chosen medium! I encourage everyone to step out and learn something new. It will make your stamping hobby that much more meaningful. Not to mention make you soooo appreciative of how wonderful, versatile and fabulous stamps and ink really are!
Stampin Up Products Used
