Treat Yourself With Inky Birds by Jill McDowell

Hi! 

It's Jill McDowell here with you today with my take on this month’s Creative Team theme: Treats.  Since it’s October, the first thing that comes to most people’s mind when you mention Treats is usually Halloween Candy.  But candy is definitely not a good thing to think about when you’re trying really hard to stay true to your diet.  So instead of feeling deprived, I decided to twist the theme around and treat myself to a shopping trip at my local art supply store as a reward for sticking to my goals.

Everybody knows that treats come in small packages.  I found mine in a five pack of Ampersand Encausticbord, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 panels. These hard board panels are the same size as artist trading cards. They are covered in an absorbent ground that is both archival and encaustic friendly.  You don't have to house them with encaustics though.  Encausticbord plays nice with other mixed media mediums too. Although I did use encaustic medium to seal and finish my treats, encaustics are totally optional for this project.  I could have used varnish, another sealer, or even let them go naked and they would have worked out fine. 

Non-Stencil Supplies used in this project.
 (I also used encaustic medium and an adhesive magnet sheet; both of which are completely optional)

My Pitt Pen Collection

I then treated myself to an afternoon of play and experimentation with the Encausticbords and India Inks; the stuff that my collection of Pitt Artist Pens are made of.  I’ve always enjoyed blending their ink on the page with inky fingers.  So, it should certainly come as no surprise, that while I was at the art supply store, I also treated myself to a few new Big Brushes.  A girl’s got to have her Big Brushes, right?  Who's with me on this?

By the end of the day, I had made four Inky Birds using the Encausticbords, Pitt Artist Pens, Bombay India Ink, Walnut Drawing Ink and a few of my favorite StencilGirl® stencils.  I made a video to show you how I made them.  I hope you enjoy.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, (just in case you were worried) - No candy corn was consumed during the making of this video 🙂.

Here's a few close-ups of the finished birds made into magnets.

Now it's your turn to get out there, find something that brings you joy and treat yourself.

Hugs until next time, Jill

Stencil Links:

   Grenada by Nathalie Kalbach
   BoHo Birds by Gwen Lafleur
   March 2018 Stencil Club Private Collection 18.1 by Mary Beth Shaw
   Three Crows by Kimberly Baxter Packwood
   Little Figments of Imagination by Carolyn Dube
   Fern 6 by Cecilia Swatton