Splashing Through Life - Art by Patricia Henderson

My painting and collage have been put on the back burner for a while due to the holidays and then some family stuff. Until I get back to it, here is a little tiny tutorial on how to make stamps easily and affordably using things you might find around the house and the dollar store.  First of all, head to the dollar store or Walmart and buy yourself a package of craft foam that is adhesive on one side. Draw designs on the foam, and then cut out with a craft knife or scissors. You can then peel of the backing of the foam and adhere your design to almost anything. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Here are some examples of stamps that I have made: Craft foam adhered to jar and bottle lids. Leftover mat board, one with elastic bands, and the other with craft foam. Craft foam adhered to styrofoam cut from fast food containers. Design carved into styrofoam from fast food container with a ballpoint pen. Pattern carved into erasers with a craft (X-ACTO) knife. Be careful!...

  Updated: Oct 26, 2023 Once again, I'm digging through the archives of my old blog to bring you this tiny tutorial. I love my meander sketchbooks. I may have to make a new one myself! JULY 20, 2020 BY PATTY With so much going on in the world today, sometimes it’s hard to concentrate on working on a “serious” piece of art. By serious, I suppose I mean something that is going to be a finished or complete project; something that you are going to show others, hang in your home, or sell. Right now, my mind is all over the place, so I’ve turned to my Meander Sketchbook, where I just play with colours, using any or all of my supplies. For these, I’ve chosen not to paint anything specific, but instead I’m painting completely non-objective, or what some call abstract. These paintings are just for me, so there is no pressure to do a “good job”! It was a few years ago at a meetup with some watercolour painting buddies that my friend Charlene McGill demonstrated how to make a Meand...

Why spend a lot of money on stencils? I make my own without any expensive equipment! Whether you’re a collage artist, scrapbooker, or just like stencils, this is a fun, cheap and easy way to create unique stencils. Head to your nearest dollar store and buy a package of those clear page dividers that you used to use in your binders at school. Draw a pattern on a piece of paper. Tape your paper to a cutting board, and then tape your clear plastic over top, so that both pieces are secure and won’t move. If you like, you can draw directly onto the plastic with a Sharpie. I like using paper first though, in case I make a mistake in my design. Keep your pattern simple to start. Remember, when you cut out the shapes it all has to stay together and it all connects! Using an X-Acto knife, cut out the parts that will be open, leaving the parts that will form the pattern. Once you get it all cut out, use it however you want! I’ve used mine to make some print...