We wrapped up the month of March with a record number of participants who shared links to their custom cut rubber stamps. We took a vote and bumped cutting stencils to April. Congrats to Susan Warder for being the Top Hat Pick for Crusade No. 18. I made a little tutorial on stencil cutting over on the Street Team blog, and will continue adding to it as I did last month with the carving tips. I'm still obsessing over roses...had to make stamps and stencils yesterday. WARNING: It's Addictive.
The only way to know if you have cut a good and useful image is to put it to work. These are the beginnings of journal pages using both acrylic paint and spray paint with my new stamps, stencils, and masks. Give them a test run before cutting more because you'll learn what you might have done differently, or what additions you'd like to have: for instance, a solid image of your stencil to create a foundation to make it *pop*.
I don't often use people or faces in my work so I've stayed away from attempting a portrait stencil. But I've been wanting to do a Valo, and a Poe, and finally starting working on them. I had an a-ha moment when I decided to take this design which wasn't quite working, and turn it into a half-face. I got so excited with it I had to make a PS brush and take it for a test ride digitally. I think I'm ready to cut HIM out now. *grins*
Wanna join a fun community of artists? Come see what we're doing on the Street Team. We have new players every month, so don't be shy. We have artists who share their time and talent, but most of all, their enthusiasm for making cool stuff. Seriously, *we rock*.
