2017 #2 Take Chances...Explore {by Wanda Hentges}

2017 Topic 2: Masks

I threw Wanda in the deep end for this post, and as ever, she gave it her all! One of the exciting sneaks you have seen on some of the live streams we have done this year is a look at the new infusion colours we have coming. I sent some to Wanda, and with masks, new infusions and masks to boot, she seems to have had a ball!

Hi everyone!!!  Wanda Hentges (Art By Wanda) here.

It's GREAT to be here on the PA blog tonight sharing with you a project using Infusions for this topic, Masks.  I've been playing with Infusions a lot lately and am growing to love them more and more.  They are a heap of fun and I love how you can get so many different looks just by how much water you use, how long you leave them sit, other products combined with them.  Oh, the list goes on.

I wasn't sure exactly where I was going when I started, however my piece ended up being 7 1/4" x 8 1/4" so I will be looking for a frame to put it in and then on my wall it will go.

JOFY has some wonderful new stencils and stamps.  I've used PS057 and JOFY50 for my project.  The stencil is actually a versatile stencil/mask set so you have the flower stencil part and then a mask you can use for more detail.  I've used just the largest mask in my project.

I placed the mask onto Heavy Smoothy Card and then made a square around it using Tissue Tape (Tim Holtz).  Then comes the fun!!!  I sprayed the piece with water, sprinkled on infusions (Golden Sands, A Bit Jaded, and that last color is a new release coming up later this month), sprayed more water any where I thought needed it, and laid a paper towel over the whole piece to blot.

Isn't that gorgeous!!!!  There was a bit of seepage under the flower mask but I love how it came out!!  I had thought about doodling around and in that masked flower area but I liked how it looked so much that I was afraid I would totally mess it up.  In the end, I was glad I'd left it alone as it's a perfect backdrop!!

I also used the flower mask as a stamp with Infusions (A Bit Jaded).  I inked the mask with Embossing Ink, sprinkled on the Infusions, rubbed them about with my finger, spritzed the mask lightly with water and pressed it onto the paper.  I repeated the spritzing and "stamping" several times.  The first two times I only got the outside edges of the mask.  After the first two, the color was more fluid on the mask and I got more coverage.  The last couple of times I "stamped" the mask, I just pressed it into the puddle of color I now had on my craft sheet and the onto the project. 

While removing the tissue tape, I had a spot that tore the paper a bit.  Note - remember to pull the tape slowly and close to the paper not straight up which I remembered as soon as it started tearing.  I was really bummed and considered starting over but thought I would try to save it.  First, since I wanted to stamp words in the "frame" and I knew the ink would react differently over the torn area then elsewhere, I put a light coat of Collage Medium Matte (Ranger) in the frame area.  I just used my finger and did not stress about getting all the way to the edges of the white area.  This worked well for the stamping but you could still see the torn area.  A strategically placed butterfly hides it well!!!      

I stamped a complete flower on my piece, painting in the stems and leaf (Hyde Park, Limelight) and then made extra flowers to cut out and layer on top.  I colored scraps with the same infusions as used on the background.  

While working I was thinking if there was another way of masking that would work on my project.  I took another scrap, stamped a flower on it, painted some areas with Fresco Finish Pearl Glaze, dried it, and colored the piece with Infusions.  Technically this is doing a resist since the Glaze is not removed but the effect is fabulous!!  Yes, I squeezed out way too much Glaze but I made good use of it by spreading it out and stamping with it onto an ATC blank that I will finish up and share on my blog. 

The variety of "stamping" from the mask really gives a nice variance to the piece.  

Extra detail was added to the flowers on the stem using a white gel pen. The black cardstock I layered my main piece onto wasn't as "black" as I wanted it to be but Fresco Finish Little Black Dress painted on the edges was the perfect fix!

If you own some Infusions, I really encourage you to "Explore" them!!  Play... Have Fun... and find out all the wonderful looks you can get with them and don't forget to incorporate masks or masking and then enter your project into the challenge, you just might win the prize and who doesn't love shopping.  

Thanks for following along!!!

Hugs, Wanda

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Wow, I'm glad you are an explorer Wanda! Lots of infusions masking fun here that's for sure! Love your strategically placed butterfly too! Haha. ~ Leandra

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