play day

inchies and resulting waste
which is every bit as cool as the inchies

Artsy friend Rhonda came to play yesterday. A few days ago, when I first suggested Sunday, she replied, "So you don't have any Easter plans either, huh?" Cracked me up.

gellied brown coffee filter

sticker sheets 

She brought along her latest toy, a Silhouette Cameo, which cuts designs from paper, vinyl, etc. You can make your own designs, duplicate them all over a page, remove portions of them, all sorts of cool stuff. I was impressed with the software, and once I got my head into it, I thought of all sorts of things I'd like to try.

Long story short - I ordered the smaller size Silhouette Portrait before Rhonda even made it back to her house, a little over an hour away. 

stamped with large bubble wrap
(the stamping is more orange than red)

more large bubble wrap - love this one

While jabbering away at each other like we do when she first arrives each time, we got the bright idea to cut out sticker paper so it would be all ready to just stick onto something, no glue required. Of course, we wanted something on our stickers so out came the gelli plates and we spent a couple fun hours cranking out gelli prints. 

Then we whacked several of them up into inchies which are fun for collage but the "waste" grid that's left is also cool.

stamped with bottom of tray that held markers

Marvelous day with a fun friend! Thanks for making the drive, Rhonda.

However, have you noticed the trend at work here? 

used Rhonda's leaf stencil as a mask
over a few layers of gelli printing

Rhonda shows up with her gelli plate, I order one five minutes after she leaves. 

Rhonda shows up with a Silhouette, I order one 5 minutes after she leaves. 

I expect my husband is hoping she'll leave all her cool new stuff at home next time she visits. 

random gelli print - lots of layers here

one of the stencils Rhonda made

yet more large bubble wrap

gelli orange & oranges

Hooking up to Mandarin Orange Monday for the first time with a screaming orange gelli print and some actual Mandarin oranges, which may be a bit too literal an interpretation but oh well.

Those of you who have resisted hopping on the gelli print train should consider this thought - it is the quickest, most fun way I know to make an original piece of art, time after time. Like snowflakes, no two are ever the same, and they give your art a unique look with very little effort.

Yesterday when Rhonda visited, she brought her new Silhouette Cameo and we cut this up into postage stamp type pieces which I'll use in collage and whatever else needs a bit of orange.

 I'm liking orange more and more as I age. My mom loved all the autumn colors and kept trying to dress me in them but I resisted. I still don't wear most of them as they don't complement my hair and skin but I enjoy using them in my art.

The oranges were on the mark-down cart at the grocery this morning. A full bag for 99 cents instead of the usual $4.99. I bought two so will be eating oranges like mad all week.

Also on the cart was a bag of 5 usable avocados for $1.49 - normally the price for just one avo - so we now have a large bowl of guacamole in the fridge. Yum.

Didn't do a darn thing about Easter yesterday except eat a marshmallow egg so we're having lamb chops for dinner, along with rice, and roasted carrots/broccoli/cauliflower. Looking forward to it.