Not using it for what it is supposed to be used for...

I enjoy having a dabble from time to time, trying out materials in ways other than they're "supposed" to be used.  Here is a selection that I've done; hope you will have a go at experimenting too.

 

This one is using distress ink pads stamped onto a plastic sheet, spritzed with water, then printed onto paper.  The colours I have used and the fact that it is a 2nd generation print give the soft pastel finish. Adding a little mica to the mix adds that bit of shimmer.  It makes a great background to stamp onto.

You know those little drop-out bits from diecuts?  This pear is made from them in a mosaic style.  Just goes to show that every little bit can be used.  The colours haven't been changed, but when the pear was finished I coated it with Reeves Iridescent Medium, which gives a pearly sheen finish and increases the depth of colour.  I thoroughly enjoyed the jigsaw part and felt very satisfied with the result.

 

A friend of mine and I challenge each other constantly, often with weird and wonderful things.  For this one I was sent a couple of pages from a magazine and had to use it to make a fashion item. This had me racking my brains for weeks and finally was inspired by a background I saw on the internet using words.  After making the high heeled shoe from the magazine pages, I typed up all the words I could think of that related, then re-fonted and randomly coloured them. The paper beads are made from the magazine as well, threaded onto wire and inserted between layers.

 

How's this for a bit of mancave fun?  I made this for the door of my husband's workshop.  A cardboard collage of textures and shapes purloined from the workshop (some Gib board tape, washers etc), covered with bits of electricians sticky-on-one-side aluminium tape.  The tape is applied, pressed down and around the cardboard and other shapes, delineated using an embossing ballpoint tool, a nail punch is used to make indentations.  Then it's painted all over with black acrylic paint which is then rubbed off, leaving just a bit in the low spots.  It looks like it's made from metal.  He loved it.  Very blokish.

 

 

I've also experimented with using coffee grounds to dye paper, running plants through the cuttlebug, and lots of others things, and almost always made an awful mess but inevitably had lots of fun.  A great way to lose a day or two!