Hello All!
Keri Sallee here and today I am excited to share not only a project, but a cause that is near and dear to my heart.
If you follow me on any social media (or know me in the real world! LOL) you know about my love for an organization called Saving Grace,
Saving Grace is an organization that provides transition housing for girls ages 18-25 who: have aged out of foster care and have no where to go, are homeless, or have a home life that is detrimental to their futures.
I have had the amazing opportunity to work with this organization and with the girls it helps many times over the last few years. Recently, they asked if I, along with a few other artists, would make inspirational works of art for the class room at the Saving Grace home.
When Becky, the founder of Saving Grace, posted this picture of the classroom area where our art would go…I was sssooo excited! I knew I would get to do something bright and funky….something to brighten of our recently gloomy days here in NW Arkansas.
Here’s what I came up with!
I wanted to match the fun and vibrancy of the room, without trying to be too “matchy matchy” with my patterns and colors.
I used 3 different stencils from the Crafter’s Workshop for this project.
First, I used “Blazonry” designed by Balzer Designs to cut a variety of patterns and colored shapes. I used papers from Graphic 45, Christy Tomlinson for Pink Paislee and Fancy Pants Designs. Really…just whatever paper I like that went with my color scheme.
Here is a closeup:
In this close up, you can also see another stencil by Balzer Designs, “Chevron.” To allow my under colors to shine through, I used my finger and “painted” through the stencil, keeping my paint layer thin.
Here’s another close up of that one over on the right.
The last stencil I used was designed by Ronda Palazzari called “Spinning Tops.”
I wanted to add some texture, but keep things bright and shiny, so instead of using my usual modeling paste (which dries matte), I grabbed my Golden Heavy Body Gel, mixed it with some bring yellow acrylic paint and scrapped it through my stencil with a popsicle stick. With the extra paint mixture on my stick, I added swipes of the mixture here and there to keep the piece cohesive.
Here are a few more closeups…I used kraft tissue as my base to add lots of texture and added bits of lace and ribbon to keep in very feminine.
You can see…there is all sorts of splashy messy fun!
Here are a few things I used:
STAMPS: Pink Paislee, Bo Bunny, Pebbles, Inc and Paper Studios
RUB-ONS: Heidi Grace (VINTAGE! LOL)
WASHI TAPE: Recollections, My Mind’s Eye and Paper Studio
INK: Heidi SWAPP and Ranger
SPRAY INK: Tattered Angels (Moss & Coral Reef)
ACRYLIC PAINT: Deco Art and Plaid
PEN: Faber Castell PiTT Artist Pen in Black and White
TISSUE: Hobby Lobby
RIBBON: Heidi SWAPP, Hobby Lobby and Vintage Lace
I hope you enjoyed my project today and if you have time, you can read more about Saving Grace and all the good they are doing here: Saving Grace, Inc.
Until next time…
XOXO,
KERI
This is incredible! I absolutely love it!!! Superbly inspiring, tfs!!!
Thank YOU Linsey!! <3 KERI
This a gorgeous background with so many elements inside each other. Love the soft colors too. It gives a great message to those viewing.
Beautiful!