I’m not much of a shopper, but I love hitting stores around the holidays in search of decorations. If you’ve seen my book Print & Stamp Lab, you know that I like to repurpose those decorations into art supplies & tools. And, I love getting them at a discount! Since I heart skulls & skeletons, I get especially excited around Halloween.
Look at the fun things I scored at a few stores. I can use these to print with on paper and fabric, and also as molds & textures in ceramics.
The skull placemats are vinyl, and came in a set of 4. I decided to try one right away on fabric.
Since the cut-out sections are very small, it made a subtle pattern that’s kind of nice.
I can also roll paint on it with a brayer to print it instead of using it as a stencil. With clay, besides using it as a stencil, I can press it into soft clay to create an impression. Then I can bring out the texture more depending on how I stain or glaze it.
This felt die-cut spider web placemat can also be used as a stencil or to print from. I haven’t tried using die-cut felt with ceramics yet, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
I snagged this awesome platter for 60% off! Aside from actually using it as a platter, I plan on using the underside as a hump mold for ceramics. That way the inside of the ceramic platter will have the features and indentations just like the top side of the actual platter. I’m hoping I’ll have time to try that this week.
I’ve gotten this “garland of skeletons” around previous Halloweens and love them. So I was happy to find them again. They are so cute, and at the right angle, look happy!
Of course they are fun to hang up as an actual garland. But I’ve also used them to make moldable foam stamps, and to make small bisque sprig molds for ceramics. (A bisque sprig mold is when you make something out of clay and fire it to use as a small mold.)
Here’s a happy looking skeleton with a bisque sprig mold I made earlier this Spring. I used the mold to make little skull heads to decorate the ceramic mug I made.
And here’s the same skeleton that I used to make a moldable foam stamp to use in my visual journals and artwork. Moldable foam stamps are so easy to make. There is a section in Print & Stamp Lab on them, and I have an online tutorial here.
And last but not least, I couldn’t pass up the skull washi tape.
If you don’t already have a copy of my book Print & Stamp Lab, you can either buy one from me (and I’ll sign it for you!), or you can buy one from Amazon. It’s a great book with a lot of info on how to make your own stamps & printing tools.
One last thing, if you are in the area, I’m teaching a 3-hour visual journaling workshop this Saturday at the Signs of Life Book Store & Coffee Shop. Here’s a flyer. Sign up now if you want to come! Since it’s a short workshop, it’s a great intro into visual journaling, or a refresher if you want to get back into it.