Clean Your Craft Mat With Skin Peelings- Part I

Hey, again, Froggers! I've been playing with skins again, taking them to a different level.

This is a great and very *artistic* way to clean your non-stick craft sheet. 

Start with a very painterly mat like this.

Drip some Liquitex Gel Medium onto your mat, making sure to cover all of your icky painted areas.

Spread out a "medium thickness". You can use a brush or an old key card or your fingers. Just make sure your layer is a fairly even thickness.

It should look really bad...like this.

And this.

This next step is very important. Dry the entire area with a craft dryer. Don't get too close to the medium or it might bubble.

Then start with your favorite craft stencils. I used my tag stencils. Using the stencils, paint on top of the dried gel medium.

Here, I used my Plain Circles tag stencil.

I think circles always add a little whimsy. 

Again, dry between layers of paint, unless of course, you want to mix them. In this case, I didn't want to do that.

And using my Chevron tag stencil...

...and my Data tag stencil...

...and my grungy Grater tag stencil...

...and my Funky Numbers stencil...

...with layers and layers...

...and hand-painted elements...

 ...and doodles and outlines with PERMANENT markers (here I used a Sharpie marker, but ONLY after my paint was completely dried between layers)...

...and some more hand-painted doodles with highlights...

...and don't forget the hand-carved stamps. Remember to use PERMANENT ink. Here, I used black archival ink from Ranger.

I also took a credit card and just picked up some paint along the edge.

And made hash marks with the credit card.

And whatever you do, DON'T FORGET THE SPATTERS! I used my fan brush and watered down some black paint, and then I tapped my brush over my painted areas.

Spatters make the piece dynamic, giving lots of motion.

When you're happy with your design, spread a thick, even layer of gloss (or matte) extra heavy gel medium on top of the entire design.

I used a credit card to guide the medium on top. If some areas seemed too thin, I just went back with my finger and added more medium.

It should look good and white and thick like this.

If you'd like to add glitter, this is the time to add it. I sprinkled a little bit of glitter and fragments on top.

This is the hardest part of the whole process- waiting.

Yups. You have to wait for the gel medium to dry. I'm waiting overnight.

And, here's the cliff hanger, Froggers. 

You have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens next. Because it's drying as we speak.

Stay tuned. 

Fondly, Tami

P.S. If you are interested in any of my stencils or some of my hand-carved stamps, please feel free to visit my Etsy shop here.