Decorated papers

This moving lark is not conducive for any creativity - Open Studios is looming and not a lot is going on. 

But then Sheila circulated this via Facebook - "When you need an Easy Day". 

And it is just common sense!

Don't beat yourself up when things don't quite go according to plan - just do a few simple tasks. 

One of the tasks that Melinda Tidwell suggests - make collage materials. 

So that is what I have been doing lately - making some decorated papers. 

I have been using some of the old maps. I rubbed the designs using Neo Colour water resistant wax crayons over plastic stencils - nothing special - and then used Brusho Inks for the colour.

These pages below come from the 'map book' and I just highlighted the map grid using the orange neo colour. 

When I used Brusho Ink powders - I sprinekled dry powder onto the paper and then spritzed with water.  It is a lovely random effect. The trick is not to be stingy with the water. The papers got quite wet and I left them overnight to dry. 

And below, I used the same technique in the altered book, but the paper is very absorbent so the ink did not 'meander around the page' in the same way that it did on the map.