Recycling ~ the new eTeam Picks challenge

It's the third Thursday of the month which means it's time for the new eTeam Picks Challenge at eclectic Paperie. The eTeam Picks Challenge is an opportunity for all of us to be inspired by one of the eTeam's creations. It's a chance to mix it up, enjoy the creative process, and try a new technique or product. You get a chance to share your work through a link on the eclectic Paperie blog and to gain a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the eP store...gotta love that! Tracy is our fabulous hostess with the mostest this time and her theme is Recycling. It can be recycling from your stash, tin cans, book pages, paper bags . . . the list just goes on and on. All Tracy asks is that you have a blast, create and let your imagination run wild!

I chose to begin my recycling by using a piece of an old scrabble board that had been cut into four sections. White gesso was applied to the board with a wet brush so that it dried fairly transparent. I wanted the grid and the double/triple score messages to still show. Pink, yellow, and orange watercolour crayons were scribbled over the gesso and blended with a wet brush. Once dry, Watermelon, Mango, and Red Gelatos were smudged around the board to deepen the colours. Cotton Candy and Raspberry Gelatos were used on the outside edges and spread with a wet finger. White gesso was applied to the background through the Tim Holtz Burlap stencil before Jet Black Archival ink was applied with a TH script stamp and a Stampendous cracked marble stamp.

 Vintage book paper was recycled from a very tired and torn old book. A digital stamp from Rick St. Dennis, called Denise the Artiste, was printed on the paper and then scraps were adhered in three places on the board. The image was coloured with a combination of Prismacolor pencils, markers, and watercolour. The paper was extremely fragile so it was difficult to add enough pigment without scraping a layer of paper or poking a hole. That's why I went to all three mediums. I love that the old text peeks through in places. Denise was backed by a mat of black cardstock and then by a torn section of the same black stencilled with gesso and Dylusions Number Jumble stencil. At that point, Denise was set aside to await her grand entrance.

Black Soot Distress ink was applied through the Tim Holtz Shattered stencil onto the background. Then Coffee Archival ink was sponged through the TH Splatters stencil and outlined with a black pen to make all of the curves and dips really stand out. Left over borders, one punched and one die cut, were recycled onto this project in opposite corners. Black flat pearls were added as well as white gel pen dots.

The letters for "A picture is worth a 1000 words", a quote that both Denise and I believe in, came from a mix of stickers, Idea-ology Alpha Tiles and Alpha Parts,and recycled Scrabble tiles. I buy up old Scrabble games at the thrift store for my art...and also to scatter as words around my house. Denise needed a place to stand so washi tape with paint splattered numbers was adhered to white and then black cardstock and  attached in three strips to the sides. The paint splatters go with Denise's splattered outfit and also bring some pops of the image colours to the background. A black photo turn was attached to the upper right corner with a black brad. An Idea-ology pen nib was adhered so that it was pointing to the letters in "Words"...seemed apropos. A scrap of black cardstock was placed over the scrabble letters to ground them and also emphasize the diagonal play of black across the project. The nib placed on the diagonal also aids eye movement through the piece. Doodling with a fine black pen, edging the piece with Purple Violet, Cobalt Green, and then Black Big Brush pen, and adding some Jet Black Archival stamped dots finished off the board.

 Whew! Sometimes it seems like it takes longer to describe the process than to actually do it :) Anyway, thanks for dropping by today and if you made it all the way through this lengthy post, you deserve a hug. Consider it sent! Be sure to drop by the eclectic Paperie blog to see the fantastic wonky tonky building that Tracy created from recycled goods and her amazing imagination. I love it! I'm hoping you will join us for this fun challenge. Everybody has stuff they can repurpose and recycle.

Life is good; so is art...and recycling!
Bonnie

Links to the eclectic Paperie store for some of the products used here are found below:

Liquitex Acrylic Gesso	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Blue Colors	Faber Castell Gelatos - Red Colors	Faber Castell - Gelatos - 50′s Diner
Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot	Archival Ink - Coffee Ink Pad	Archival Ink - Jet Black Ink Pad	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Burlap
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Splatters	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Shattered	Dylusions Stencil 5x8" - Letter Jumble	Uni-Ball White Gel Pen
Findings - Alpha Parts, Ransom	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pens - Blue