Washi Tape

Today I have been playing with the huge stash of Washi Tape that I seem to be gathering at the speed of light and the official verdict is I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! I started out with one of Wendy Vecchi's fabulous Art Parts (large swirl frame) and base coated it with Old Gold Fresco Finish paint and then dry brushed some Toad Hall around the edges.A little bit of Jet Black Archival ink on top of that and I was quite happy with the antiqued look.

I did make the fabric bit in the middle first. That wonderful Lynne Perrella image is stamped on calico with Archival ink, heat set then painted with an assortment of colours of Fresco Finish. Once this was dry, I was able to layer up a few snippets and scraps of fabric and lace that have been lurking around my desk recently. I actually glued these on with Claudine Hellmuth's Matt Medium. Now because my fabric was wrapped around the base board of the frame thingy, the frame didn't fit anymore so I had to layer up two layers of foam pads on the back of the frame so that it could sit above the fabric piece. Actually, what I thought was a disaster when it didn't fit, turned out to be one of those happy accident moments as I really prefer the added dimension and the extra height!!!

Then out came the Washi Tape. I covered the backing Art Part with all sorts of Washi tape and lace. Ripping it up was great fun. There are big bits, little bits, some are fabric, some are paper.....quite an assortment really.

I also realised that the adhesive on the back of these tapes is really not the stickiest stuff in the world so I just pasted a very thin layer of Matt Medium over the top to prevent anything lifting up. It dries completely clear so it's not an issue.

I made a nice PaperArtsy, styly Grunge flower using their new crunchy paper....added a few embellishments and thought....yes, I really like it....I deserve a cuppa and some Easter Egg! Came back with my treats and thought maybe this needs a backing canvas......so off I go to rummage through a pile of canvas boards and can only find itty bitty ones or ginormous ones.....a ginormous one it had to be!!! So round two began!!!

I painted the whole canvas with French Roast and dry brushed some Toad Hall and Old Gold over the top, paying more attention to the edges than around the middle. Placed my Art Part thingy in the middle and realised that this canvas is way too big!! More Washi tape required!!!! So I made a kind of frame arrangement of Washi tape that reduced the space and now I think I'm happy with it. I'll stew on it for a day or so, sometimes you just need to walk away and look at things with fresh eyes another day.

Don't forget that it's Ally Pally this weekend. I'll be demonstrating on the PaperArtsy stand which seems really strange as Leandra has managed to secure my old stand space, so I'll be in the exact same spot but working for the PA guys. If you don't follow Leandra on Twitter, you may have missed out on all her teasing and sneaky peeks this week. She has got some fabulous new goodies for the show so you might want to pop along and see for yourself......you won't be disappointed.

Now here's a question for you.......I'm off on my hols next week with my lovely hubby Mark. We are going to Florida for two whole weeks  and it's all holiday and no work!!!! We fly into Orlando and have a few days there to get over the jet lag, then we are driving south to the Keys then back up through Miami and up the east coast. We have been to Florida before but it was many years ago and I just wondered if any of my lovely followers know of any wonderful shops that I shouldn't miss out on whilst I'm there?

That's me for today, think I need to go and rehome all my reels of Washi Tape!!