2016 #17 Make Your Mark Tote and Journal {by Lynne Moncrieff}

2016 Topic 17: Making Marks

Hi everyone, Lynne Moncrieff here this evening (Adorn) to share a project featuring mark making. 

Knowing I would be working with JOFY stamps, I thought it would be fun to root out some items from around the home that would mimic the style of the stamps. Instead of the markings being stand-alone, I wanted them to blend with the stamping so that looking at the final project, it is not obvious which elements are from mark making and which are rubber stamped. 

As stamping onto fabric has always been a favourite of mine, I was keen to make some marks onto a canvas tote but of course, a tote requires something to be toted around in it, so why not a Journal.

This tutorial features mark making with paint alongside conventional stamping with ink, on a tote with a matching journal.

Step One: After selecting a journal which would be a good size to pop into the canvas tote, I set about gathering items for some mark making, such as:- paint bottle lid, corrugated cardboard, used gift card....

Step Two: With a foam brush, I applied Fresco Finish Chalk mixed with fabric medium to the tote, in a very random fashion. By working in a random fashion it provides a lovely textural quality. 

Step 3: I should point out that along the way, I added to my mark making stash! This was a piece cut from a silicone baking sheet. After mixing Antarctic and French Roast with fabric medium, with a foam brush I applied the paints to the mesh before "stamping" onto the tote. It's a little bit messy on the hands but what is messy hand or two amongst art friends!

Step 4: Mark making continues, using the Frescos mentioned above:- dipping a bottle lid to create individual and linked circles, paint applied to corrugated cardboard provides a lovely textural effect and the blunt end of a bamboo skewer dipped into paint adds a scattering of small dots.

Step 5 Time to incorporate the JOFY14 stamps. With Staz-on Jet Black ink, I stamped small circles and mesh onto the tote, stamping the small circles inside the bottle lid circles.

JOFY14

Step 6 To complete the tote, the word Journal was stamped, with Staz-on, onto a piece of calico, fraying the edges and stamping the JOFY36 mesh before adhering to the tote with Golden Matte Gel Medium. If you have a sewing machine you could machine stitch the label to the tote. Lay the tote aside for the moment.

JOFY36

Step 7 Onto the Moleskine journal, dry-brush Chalk and Nougat with a large foam brush.

Step 8 Dip the bottle lid into paint, "stamping" to create linked circles. Leave to dry for a moment before stamping, with Staz-on, the JOFY small circles. Continue by dipping the blunt end of the bamboo skewer into the paints, gently dabbing the paint to the centres of the JOFY circles. Further decorate the cover by stamping the JOFY mesh stamp and create a border to the cover by dipping the edge of plastic gift card into paint.

Just to add that at times, I "stamped off" paint from the mark making tools before "stamping" onto the tote or journal because the paint was too heavy for the application I was seeking.

Step 9 To finish the cover, stamp Journal onto a piece of kraft painted with Chalk, adding a dot of Antarctic to centre of O. Flip the journal over to add similar markings as for the front cover.

Some of the initial items I gathered did not actually make an appearance onto either the journal or tote however I enjoyed the process of deciding which items would offer the best markings for the project. I now intend to keep a designated box for such items. I hope this tutorial has you seeking out mark making items, you might find it becomes a little bit addictive as you will no doubt unearth a plethora of items from around the home and garden where you can source items from Mother Nature:- leaves, dried flowers, seed pods, etc. Experiment by attaching any suitable items to a brayer. My project is a practical one but consider abstract style wall art, pattern making for backgrounds and of course, remember to be inspired by your PaperArtsy stamp collection as you seek to incorporate them into your mark making art.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this tutorial.

Wishes,

Lynne

@ Adorn

Oh I like these Lynne, the neutral shades are just beautiful. I too have a bag of lids and other mark making tools, so useful and freeing to use them. The stamps that you chose work brilliantly with the background marks. Often the smaller and background stamps in sets get overlooked in favour of the bigger more focal images but here you have utilised the supporting stamps really nicely. ~Darcy

We would love to see how you interpret this Making Marks topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #17: Making Marks, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas, particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Making Marks link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 18th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.