March 2nd - MASK A MASTERPIECE

This class at was taught by Karen Brooks at The Stamp Art Shoppe, Roseville, CA. This technique used a "Mask" by Heidi Swap on a piece of pre-gessoed patterned paper (something with a nice weight like Basic Grey, Signature Lie by Jen Wilson, Prima Marketing, etc.). Acrylic paints were used to layer contrasting color around the mask. Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels were then used to outline the masked image to really make it "pop".

The "Masterpiece" can then be embellished as you wish: photos, stamps, ephemera, etc. I used acrylic paint and foam stamps to add the word "Home" and outlined it with a pastel gel pen. I also added a photo, some gold crowns and some fabric leaves that I'd stamped with words from a set of Bon Ton "Bon- Bons". The Bon-Bons are petite samps that are great for small projects such as ATCs or small cards - each little circular, metallic tin has many little word stamps tucked inside. I love them! As a final touch I used my chop to personalize the project. (This is the chop for my last name - a friend had it made for me on a recent trip to China. I was thrilled to receive such a wonderful gift!!)

I cut my image down to fit in an inexpensive 8" x 10" frame. I lightly sanded the frame, stained it with acrylic paint and then stamped on it. The frame doesn't show in the image below (I didn't scan it that way as I decreased the image and used it for an ATC).




I used some of the principles from this technique to make the following ATC. Instead of using a "Mask" though I clear embossed an image onto my paper first then layered on the acrylics. After letting the acrylics dry I placed some plain newsprint over the cards and ironed them to remove the embossing.