Welcome to a special edition of Make It Monday.
Just over a week ago I heard the sad news that the tight knit Canadian creative community lost one of its members. Christy Riopel was unbelievably creative! I never met the woman myself but through her art work and many articles in Creative Scrapbooker Magazine, I felt I knew her a little. A very little to be sure!
I love this photo of her and think it sums her up creatively speaking.
I can’t speak to her personal and private side, but someone with this much joy for art can only possess a joy filled heart, right?
It also made me want to get my own fingers messy too! So I did …
I have a very special friend celebrating a birthday today (Happy Birthday Trish!) and wanted to make her a special card. I don’t have a ton of mixed media supplies – I dabble every now and then but cleaner pursuits with paper and ink are my preference – but I do have some water colour paper and Gelatos. I grabbed ones in colours I thought my friend would like, plus a swirly stamp, and a few other supplies and got busy.
First I stamped onto the water colour paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. That way I’d get a white image once all my colour had been applied over top.
Once the paper had cooled, I sprayed it liberally with water then just went crazy with the Gelatos. No thought to pattern or colour placement beyond getting all six colours together in several areas around the page.
Then I sprayed it liberally with water again. I let the water activate the Gelato a bit and then tilted the paper to allow the colours to run and move and mix. I wasn’t getting quite the effect I was looking for so I used a baby wipe to further blend the colours. Then sprayed some more water onto the paper.
Once I’d reached a blended and soft look that I was happy with, I blotted off any excess water with a paper towel and dried it with my heat gun. Because I’m a bit impatient!
This soft image now needed some contrast and punch so I went to my mists. I added drops of a blue Studio Calico mist and Gold Lame Color Shine from Heidi Swapp. Much better!
To assemble the card I die cut a rectangle of the water colour paper, mounted it onto a coordinating blue card stock then added the die cut butterfly, stamped and die cut sentiment and some glittery gold enamel dots.
May this tiny piece of art inspire you to also get messy and creative. Send a prayer to Christy’s husband and children while you do. And all her grieving friends, colleagues, and fans at Creative Scrapbooker Magazine. I’m pretty sure Christy is looking down on us with hands as inky as ever, smiling at the little pieces of scrappy, messy, goodness we make every day. Art is healing. May looking at her art, channeling her creative spirit, and attempting to push our artistic boundaries, heal whatever hurts you may be feeling today.
Thank you.
Now go get inky!
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