One of the things that I love about mixed media is that it gives you opportunities to combine many passions into one project. Like this project that meshes my fascination with Zhen Xian Bao, (aka Chinese Thread Books), my newfound love of Eco Printing/Staining, and encaustic wax. The making of Chinese Thread Books is an ancient folk art. Traditionally made of paper, Thread Books were used to store string, needles, paper patterns and other loose items. The paper is cleverly folded into collapsible boxes that are then stacked and bound together in such a way so as to create hidden... Read more →

Hi Everyone, I wanted to share with you a video tutorial that I did for StencilGirl® showing how I made my Inky Bird magnets on Ampersand Encausticbords. I worked with Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens, Bombay India inks, walnut drawing ink, and of course a few of my favorite StencilGirl Stencils to make them. Although mine were finished with encaustic medium, wax is totally optional for this project. You can find the video and close up pictures on the StencilGirl Talk blog. I'd love it if you head on over there to check it out and let me know what you... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Glad you could join me for another Gwen Lafleur Studios Artist Tribe project featuring Fall, my favorite time of year, and StencilGirl® Products stencils designed by Gwen and Seth Apter. I'm sharing a panoply of nature and found treasures from my stash in a FallScape inspired by Roxanne Evans Stout. I'm using a bulletin board mounted in a vintage frame to display my temporary collage. And I have to say, it's really freeing to work this way; knowing that you can switch items in and out it of a composition on a whim takes away all the pressure... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Today I’m bringing you my latest project for Gwen Lafleur's Artist Tribe. This time I'm working on an encaustic mixed media panel featuring a BoHo Chic Butterfly that I coaxed into revealing his Arty Impressionistic side. He's the smallest butterfly of three from Gwen's BoHo Butterflies Stencil and I just love him. I've chosen to capture him under luscious layers of encaustic wax, but you can use the super simple stencil technique I'm sharing later in this post to make a focal point for just about any type of mixed media project. It’s unfortunate that encaustic medium and... Read more →

Hi Everybody and Happy New Year. I’m back again with another post from the Artist Tribe. This time I want to share with you an art journal spread created with Acrylic Skins that I made to document my Word of the Year, (aka #WOTY), "Clarify". I thought a lot about what my word would be and concluded that Clarify really resonated. It is a word that brings with it an opportunity to move from a state of chaos, influenced by others without any ability to control what’s happening to a more Zen like state where I can push the chaos... Read more →