Second on the 2nd: Clinging

 

I scheduled this post four months ago, but at the last minute decided to join WOYWW for their 600th posting.  

My dear internet friend Jo at Let's Art Journal came up with a background technique a few days months ago some of you may have seen at Try it on Tuesday (four months ago).  It reminded me of when I created these same backgrounds similar to the ones she made.  Here is the post I am bringing back from February, 2009. 

Cling wrap backgrounds

I suspect everyone who make their own backgrounds have already made these cling wrap backgrounds, but I never had.  Learning from my mistake the other day when I tried to use Staz-on and alcohol for this technique, I changed my tactic this time. What I got were some of the most beautiful backgrounds, although they did curl a bit when dry.

Supplies from lower left clockwise:

Substrate (I used 12 X 12 heavy white cardstock)
Craft sheet and/or plastic to protect your work surface
Plastic cups (shown with paint in one, water in the other)
Cling wrap
Cheap acrylic paint
Mica powders (optional)
Foam brush
Not shown: rubber gloves and paper towels

Create a wash by mixing 1/2 water and 1/2 acrylic paint. Don't use expensive paints, since you are watering them down, anyway. This is one time when cheap is better. At this point, you can add mica powders. I used a metallic paint on this sheet, so didn't need the mica powder. Work quickly and make sure there is lots of wash on the page.

Cut a piece of cling wrap about 1 1/2 times the length of your substrate. Since mine was square, I ended up using two lengths to cover each sheet. Crumple the cling wrap.

Lay the cling wrap on the wet paper.

If you haven't or don't feel you've crumpled it enough, you can still push and twist the cling wrap at this point. Set aside to dry.

You can also press the cling wrap with your hands to assure good coverage.

Set aside to dry. Yes, I mentioned that before, but you must leave the cling wrap on the paper until the paint is completely dry. If you don't the top layer of your paper will peel away with the cling wrap (don't ask how I know this).  As an aside, I noticed that Jo had no trouble removing her cling wrap before the paint was completely dry.  It may be that she didn't dilute her paint as much as I did mine.

One of my two favorite pieces happened by accident. This background was made using pink paint and water only. I reused some of the cling wrap and thought I had used the clean side, only to find out that the copper paint from the previous background had transferred to the page. What a gorgeous accident I created. I hope you can see the true beauty of it.

My other favorite background consisted of green, blue, and copper colored acrylics. The colors sort of bled together in the process and created this stunning piece.

Here are all the pieces I created using this technique. I could have made more, but I ran out of room to dry them. It's a small craft room and I had no place to put them outside to dry. The two scanned images above are the top and middle pages in the left column of this photo. The middle and lower pages in the right column are the ones I demoed under the cling wrap above. In retrospect, I wish I'd scanned all of these.

 

Thanks so much for your visit today.  I am always grateful when you drop by.

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Today is Day 2 of 22 and I recycled a previously published post.

Now it's time to share your own Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable, as long as it's been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit.  

 

 

 

 

 

But wait.  Somehow simply recycling a previous post seems a bit wimpy.  

That's why I decided to recreate this technique, only this time

 

instead of using expensive cling wrap, I decided to use the incredibly thin wrapping that held the avocados from the grocery store.  This thin plastic container would end up in the recycle bin anyway, so why not put it to good use instead.

I fear my choice of paint colors wasn't the best.  That's what happens when you grab three colors of acrylic paint 

 

without paying attention to what the three would look like put together.

Like before, I squished the three colors together on the 110 lb cardstock until I was happy with the design.

The hard part was waiting for the paint to dry before removing the plastic bag.

 

Once again, impatience took over

 

and I tried to remove the plastic before the paint had dried.

A closeup shows how the paint and paper peeled away together before the paint had dried completely under the plastic sheet.

For Day 2 of 22, I not only recycled a previous post, I also created a new one using the thin plastic bag my veggies came in from the grocery store instead of using expensive cling wrap. Again, I appreciate your visit and support of this project.