Paper Decorating Tutorial: Bubble Marbling

Here's a really messy, fun way to decorate paper for stationery, envelopes, art journaling or anything else you can think of! Did I say it's messy? Yes. And sticky. And kids will love it.  You will, too!

This is what you need:

Yes, those are tomatoes in the background. Also a cool balsamic vinegar bottle I can't throw away and a can of the best chai tea ever - Big Train.  Just like you get at The Cow's End in Venice, California.

* small containers, one for each color you intend to use. Don't use plastic, unless you don't care about the container
* bubbles - a regular, one person size is fine. You'll have lots left over. Trust me.
* food coloring
* sugar
* a teaspoon measuring spoon
* straws - one for each color is ideal. I only had one, so I had to wash it off each time I changed colors. A pain.
* paper for decorating. This can be regular copy paper or card stock, white or colored.

This is what you do:
Pour a small amount of the bubbles into each container. By small, I mean like 1/4" - 1/2". Do Not Fill Up Your Containers. You'll have more bubble dye than you know what to do with. I promise. Trust me.

Next, add the food coloring to each container.  I used orange, green and purple, because you know what month it is...

I had to mix my own orange. The local grocery store had neon colors! Of course I had to buy them. I used neon green and neon purple.

 Mix up your colors. Don't forget to use separate spoons or wash your one spoon after each color. I don't mean to sound insulting - it's just that I forget about stuff like that and end up with mud. I don't want that to happen to you!

I started with about 10 drops of food coloring. You might want to add more, depending on how intense you want your colors. Also, the neon green didn't show up as well as I wanted, so I added some regular green.

 Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to each color and stir until the sugar is dissolved. The sugar makes the bubbles stronger so that they don't pop as soon as you blow them. It also makes the dye stick to the paper. And it makes your fingers and the counter sticky. Remember when I said this was messy? Add "wet rag" to the "This is what you need" list above.

 Here's the fun part: blowing bubbles! Because there is a small amount of bubble solution in the container, you may need to tilt it a bit so the tip of the straw is immersed. 

Once the bubbles have risen over the top of the container, hold the paper over the bubbles and gently touch them with the paper.  Move the paper around so the bubbles pop in different areas. After a couple of times, you'll need to blow more bubbles. Change colors at will (don't forget to wash the straw if you only have one. Better yet, pick up some extra straws from the take-out place before you do this! I wish I had done that...)

I apologize for not having a picture of the actual paper-over-the-bubble-container process for you. To my dismay, I discovered I needed three hands for holding the paper, holding the camera and pushing the button to take the picture. (Monsanto hasn't come to our house, so everyone here only has two and the husband was busy. Click here to see what I'm talking about.) 

First color

See why I added more green food coloring to the bubbles? This wasn't getting it.

You can see how the sugar makes the  bubbles stick to the paper in this and the next picture.

When you pop the bubbles, they have a kind of "skin" and leave shiny spots on the paper.

So, at this point

the entertainment value has kind of worn off. And I still have a bunch of bubble dye left:

Not sure what the shiny blue stuff is behind the purple bubbles.  My counter isn't that color...

which I didn't want to waste, but I was sick of bubbling. So, down the drain it went. And into the shower I went. Did I mention that this is a sticky, messy project?

Here are a few tips:
1. Clean off your workspace so your tomatoes don't get purple sugar bubbles on them.
2. Get a bunch of straws before you do this. (Toward the end, I was forgetting to wash my lonely straw before changing colors. Muddy bubbles = not pretty)
3. Do this early in the day when you have lots of energy - especially if children are involved. Don't start this at 8 o'clock at night after being up since 5 a.m. (Trust me. I speak from personal experience.)
4. Enjoy your cool paper! I'm sure you'll find all kinds of fun stuff to do with it.

If you try this, or have done something similar, I'd love it if you'd share your experience!

I found the information for this project in a book called Creative Correspondence by Michael & Judy Jacobs. They've got a lot of great ideas for mail art in this book.  I highly recommend it!

Shared on Homemade Mondays

ATC Swap

I'm getting ready to send off my mixed media ATCs for the swap over at Mail Me Some Art.

Since October is my very favorite month and Halloween my favorite holiday, how could I resist?

It's not too late for you to join in the fun...

Mail Art Swap

Getting my postcards ready to mail for the first swap I've done in AGES.  I'm so happy to be back into it - just another of the many perks of retirement. This swap challenge is to use paint chips (those free color sample cards you get at paint departments) on your postcards.  I'm sure that the folks at my local Home Depot now have me on a watch list because I went in the other day and literally took a huge handful. Better not go back there for a while...

If you'd like to participate in mail art swaps, check out Karen Isaacson's  blog, Mail Me Some Art
She does an amazing job of hosting LOTS of swaps!

I'm Back!

Yes, after an inordinately long hiatus, I have returned to Blog-land. So many things have happened since my last post (over a year ago!) that I'm not sure where to begin.  I guess the biggest and most wonderful news is that my husband and I retired from teaching in June. He taught for 20 years and I survived taught for 24. No, we do not miss it. Yes, we are enjoying our freedom. No, we're not bored. In fact, I'm busier now than I was when I was teaching. I understand this is a common condition among the retired. Yes, we are very blessed to have been able to retire early and I thank the gods daily for it, especially each morning when we have our leisurely coffee in the front yard (also known as "the morning room") and the rest of the world is racing around getting to work.

One of my longstanding whiny refrains has been "Working cramps my style. I don't have time to work on my art..." Now that I HAVE time, I figured I'd better stop whining and start creating.  So I am pleased to announce the opening of my Zibbet shop! Some of you may not be familiar with Zibbet. It's much like Etsy, but I find them a bit friendlier to use. At present, I'm focusing on upcycled/repurposed stationery and mail art and have already made a sale! Stop by for a visit, when you have the chance: Enveloped In Art. Here are a few examples of what you'll find:

Halloween envelopes

Kokopelli postcard

Winter Trees postcard

Autumn Stationery Packet

Halloween Stationery packet

There's been a definite learning curve involved in the computer part of this.  I must say that I find the art part much more engaging! But, I'm determined to become part of the 21st century and find my way around technology. At least enough to get my work out there. I suspect it takes me three times longer than it would someone who knows what she's doing.  So much of my life is trial and error...

There are other adventures going on around here (like reworking our city plot of land into a permaculture homestead - click on this link to see some folks who are my heroes and role models), but they will have to wait for another post!

What I did this weekend...

Spooky tree ATCs

Spooky tree envelopes

All Together Now!

Hello, party-hoppers!  My name is Julia.  Welcome to my blog.  Pull up a pillow and be comfortable.  Sip some tea or a glass of wine, depending on your mood.  Feel free to snoop around.  (I love snooping - don't you?)

Amy insists that we speak glowingly about ourselves and I've been pondering what to say ever since I signed up for this party.  I guess what I like best about myself is that I'm never bored.  Really.  Never.  I'm one of those people who can't wait to retire (5 more years!) because I have so many things to do besides work.  Two things I do consistently are play in my garden and play in my art room. Every day.  Sometimes for hours and hours.  Like I'll still be in my pajamas and it's 6 o'clock at night and all I've been doing is painting and collaging and making a mess.  Some things I do for a little while (Kung Fu - I have a second degree brown belt, playing in the SCA, making and selling baskets).  Some things I keep coming back to (belly dancing, knitting, drumming - frame drum and doumbek).  I love taking classes just to learn new things (Italian, jewelry making, dance).  It's important to me that I keep finding my boundaries and walking along those edges.  Of course, all this adventuresome learning and experimentation have left me with many more unfinished projects than I'd like to admit.  And sometimes the unpleasant thought crosses my mind that this behavior is not admirable - that it is the sign of adult ADD.  (Good gods, am I really suffering from "Shiny Chicken Syndrome"??? I think I'll choose to call it "bohemian" and leave it at that...)

Well, one project that I did finish was my giveaway for this party. (Yes, I can finish a project when I really put my mind to it!)  It's an altered board book.  Here are a couple of pictures:

the cover

one of the spreads

 Elsewhere in my blog I've posted a picture of another spread.  And there are two more pages, plus a surprise, but I'm not going to post those pictures because then it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?  If you'd like a chance to have this book for your very own and find out what the surprise is, leave me a comment telling me where you'd go if you had a time machine.  I'll choose the winner through random.org on May 21, so be sure to check back here.

Thanks again for visiting.  Now I'm off to visit you!  Party on...

Yesterday...

was what every single day should be like.  I got up early and had coffee in the morning room with the husband.

the morning room

 After a bit, Murnie the dog decided she'd like to go for a walk in the park, so into the car and off we went.

3D Murn

When we got back, I needed to get some things out of their pots and into the ground, so Murn hung out while I puttered around and the husband worked on his latest story.  I finally got a climbing rose and planted it along the front fence.  It doesn't look like much now, but I am dreaming of it taking over the ENTIRE front fence.

I am also envisioning the lavender growing to great heights, along with the bee balm, rosemary, and lemon balm I planted.  Grow, grow, grow!!!  Once everything was happily situated, I thought I'd go in and knit.  On my way in, I discovered Murnie the dog sitting in the middle of the strawberry patch, blissfully munching the nice, ripe berries.  It was so funny, I didn't have the heart to fuss at her.  She's such a fruit bat!  And we've got tons of berries from the co-op anyway.

Oh, this new knitting WIP -- I went to my local yarn shop on Saturday (I haven't touched yarn in sooooo long, and there were so many new things.  I just wanted to pull it all off the shelves and roll around in it...).  I settled on two skeins of outrageously expensive Turkish novelty yarn (green and purple) that actually has a bunch of different yarns worked into a skein (viscose, silk, cotton, linen, and combinations thereof).  I decided on a scarf (the world's most expensive, and like I really need another scarf???).  As I said, it's been forever since I touched yarn and I must have started this stupid thing a half dozen times.  I'm so out of practice and I just couldn't keep my mind focused on a simple feather and fan pattern.  Yes, ridiculous.  I mean, feather and fan?  The easiest pattern since garter stitch.  OK, so I finally got it together, and here is the beginning:

Turkish lavender mint scarf

Imagine it much longer and with luxurious fringe of many greens & purples...

Went swimming and did 60 laps in 45 minutes.  I must get off the sugar train and lose at least 15 pounds, preferably 20.  Back pain is no fun.

Finished off the afternoon by beginning an altered board book that will be a prize in Amy's All Together Now online art party.  Do you know Amy?  I love her blog, and her site Flutterbye.  To find out about the art party, click on the button on the right.  I've never done an online party, but it sounds like fun.  So here is the first page of my giveaway book:

altered board book giveaway

And now I'm done nattering.  That's what's up with me.  What's up with you?

Crazy Faces

BEWARE!!!  This is what happens when you're wired up on allergy meds and can't sleep:

Sekhmet

My latest canvas.

The background is layered acrylic with rinse aid dripped on.  After the paint dries, you wipe the rinse aid off with baby wipes.  Makes for an interesting look...

A New Canvas

Yep.  Here it is.  Something new to hang on "THE WALL"...

spring

Here is my first mixed media piece on a canvas.  It was a little strange to work on, as I have only worked on paper.  I'm not used to doing anything so large.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I just hope it's not embarrassingly bad.

Gypsy Spread

Here is the latest in the altered book I'm working on:

This was a lot of fun, but not without its problems.  I had originally made a gel transfer where the woman's image is, but the transfer was too dark for the background and didn't show.  I pulled it off and was left with an ugly spot, which I covered with gesso and the picture.  Then I covered it with more blue paint and wiped off the excess so she'd show through.

The cards are taken from an assortment of old Tarot decks and Loteria cards - crinkled, crumpled, smeared and smudged for age.

Dragon Spread

Here is a start-to-finish of the dragon spread in the altered book I'm currently working on:

The dragon skin in the pocket is made from Tyvek, the stuff that priority mail envelopes is made of. 
More fun stuff to come...

Sigh...

I've been gessoing journal pages.  I find this a tedious process.  It takes up so much space, there is waiting, waiting, waiting for pages to dry before you can turn them to do the other side, and then the process repeats itself in a seemingly unending cycle.  Well, not unending, because eventually I can't stand it anymore and I stop.  I wish stuff would just gesso itself while I'm away at school.  Then I could come home and paint on it...

Here's the latest spread in my upcycled journal:

I kind of like it.

Seriously? ANOTHER Post?

Yes, well, I'm on a roll...
Thanks to Palma who has a list of places to find free tutorials, I discovered the amazing LK Ludwig, who has very generously posted a free tutorial on making "flip flap journals" right here .  I had so much fun making this and learned so much from her tutorial, that I hopped onto Amazon and bought three of her books.  Here are some pictures of my journal:

Yes, she shows you how to bind it together, too!

Know what it's made of?  Paint sample brochures that you get for free at Home Depot!

Above is the first spread that I've done.  Sorry that it's blurry -- I am not a very good photographer, and my phone probably isn't the best equipment for the job.  Are you intrigued?  Go check out LK's site!  You won't be sorry.

New Stuff

Here's what I made from the background cardboard that I posted about the other day:

new mixed media background

Here's one of the backgrounds I've been working on.  It's a piece of cardboard that came in a package I got at school.  I used a gesso base, and added watercolor (from tubes because you get a richer color).  Then I used a clear embossing powder with a paisley flourish stamp and went over the whole thing with liquid acrylic mixed with glazing medium.  Happy :)

New mixed media

OK, so I'm a couple of weeks behind in this class.  But here is my work from week two.  I've already cut it up and created journal covers.  I really enjoyed doing this piece.

Life has been so crazy busy that I haven't had a chance to keep up with posting.  After today's class I'll post the latest BIG NEWS, with pictures.

New Doodling Page

Here's my latest mixed media doodling page from the Traci Bautista class:

I really enjoy this technique.  The first doodle page I did is now the cover of a mini journal (more pictures to follow).

Fun Online Class

I'm taking a FREE online class on mixed media through Strathmore Artists Studio.
Traci Bautista is the teacher, and I really like her techniques.  I learned about the class from Linda's blog .
Here's a picture of my first attempt:

I have since added a few more doodles to it, but you get the idea.  I think I may use this as a mini journal cover.