Monday, November 10, 2014

StencilGirl and Lesley Riley TAP Blog Hop

I met Lesley Riley for the first time at Art Unraveled a few months ago. Of course I have known of her for years, she is a name brand artist in our world, don't you think? I had heard wonderful things - her generosity as a teacher, the guidance she has offered to new artist teachers, and of course her amazing talents as an artist - and yeah, she is all of that! She has invented this cool product called TAP - Transfer Artist Paper. Maybe you have used it? I hadn't!

Truth be known, I am not really one to use Transfer products. I am kind of a 'transfer idiot.' I have managed to screw up every method of transfer that I have tried. It is pitiful. 
So here I am, a package of TAP sitting in front of me, wondering how I might make this work. I also had Dina Wakley paints on hand (just waiting for a try.) A match made in heaven, right?
I needed a greeting card. A special one, so special I was going to make it by hand and God only knows I don't do that much anymore. But this was a card for Maria and I wanted it to be something nice.

First up, I tried prepping a greeting card with a light wash of Dina's paints, a few lovely colors applied in a watery fashion. The paints are soft and creamy, the colors sheer and lovely. I had a beautiful background and printed a piece of my art on a sheet of TAP. When I attempted to iron it I realized I had printed the paper on the wrong side. 
Ahem. Fail #1.
Second try. 
I got a new card, tried printing my image again and then ironed it. Ugh, looked like crap. I had chosen an image that was way too intricate and my transfer didn't work out as I had hoped. I put too much paint on my receiving paper, thus rendering the transfer quite ineffective.
Ahem. Fail #2.
I turned the first paper over, the one where I printed on the wrong side. I decided to paint on it and selected the Trees stencil along with What's the Point from StencilGirl, creating a design with the Dina paints. I decided to transfer it to a Gelli print I had done on a map.


Yummy. When I ironed this to my receiving card, I was thrilled to end up with a clean transfer. WOW, maybe I could do transfer after all. 
I proceeded to embellish with paint and collage until I ended up with a greeting card worthy of my talented assistant, Maria. I hope she likes it!!



Today's Blog Hop List:


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79 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:45 AM

    I love hearing about your fails! I'm *somewhat* transfer challenged too, so TAP might be just what I need. And the card? Magic :-)

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  2. I too am transfer inept. Love all the colors. Lzaurand@gmail.com

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  3. LOVE seeing the card you made Maria and the process behind it! Lovely!
    Thanks, too, for sharing your "fails" as you persevere. :)

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  4. I'm sure Maria loved getting this special card! I've done a lot of transfer methods but haven't yet tried TAP. This demo, and Lesley's books, are urging me in that direction ... Thanks, Mary Beth!

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  5. I love this card - I am sure she will too! and a great giveaway!

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  6. Mary Beth- I always love reading your posts as you tell it like it is! heehee So glad you did not let the one that looked like "crap" dissuade you- LOL because your end result iIs really lovely!! Thanks for sharing!! ")

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  7. I learn a lot from epic fails and I am opening the TAP I bought last year and see if I can fail as pretty as you did.

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  8. Fails instruct us in their own ways - yours turned out delightful! Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Sounds like a fun project.

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  10. I am new to TAP and I think adding stencils to my experimenting would be fun!

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  11. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  12. What a great giveaway..and not just the products(which I'd love to own) but the ideas and processes you and Leslie have shared. Thank you!

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  13. rtilinsk(at)mail(dot)win(dot)com

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  14. Your greeting card turned out spectacular. Was wondering how you did it when I first saw it over on the Stencil Girl Talk site. So glad you shared the 'fails' on the way to getting there because in the end, it turned out so successful. This is going to be such a fun week!

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  15. Someone once told me, "If you're not failing, you're not trying enough. Every failure is an opportunity for discovery." Thanks for sharing this journey of discovery!

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    1. Email: Dawna.petersen@att.net

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  16. Hi MB. It's important to share our fails, isn't it? I'm usually a bit stencil-challenged, especially when it comes to layering, so it sounds like we go together like PB & J.

    Thanks for dreaming up this wonderful collaboration between our two loves - stencils & TAP.

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  17. I love that you are human too :) Sometimes my favorite creations start life as failed attempts. Cool card :)
    freemantj10 (at) yahoo (dot com)

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  18. Anonymous9:26 AM

    Bob Ross always said there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. Sounds like you had one of those and it worked out beautifully. Love the card. I'm sure Maria did too.
    thanks for sharing.

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  19. I call fails 'happy accidents'. I think that's how at lot of our best and most fun techniques came to be.. at least that's how it works in my world. Maria is a lucky girl.. great end result! As always, thank you for all you do for the creative arts society :)
    textilerecycler (at) yahoo (dot)(com)

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  20. Mary Beth, I LOVE your card! I am going to have to try this!

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  21. Enjoying so much all the ideas! TY! connsue (at) gmail (dot com)

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  22. Love this project! Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed!
    countrycri (at) gmail (dot com)

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  23. I love hearing that even you can boo-boo in your art, Mary Beth! I feel the same...I seem to be a klutz when it comes to image transfers of any kind. I'm looking forward to trying out TAP to see if it will work for me as well as it worked for you on your card for Maria! deardeniseh at yahoo dot com

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  24. I guess it's all trial and error to get to your destination most times. Glad you got there in the end...it was worth it.

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  25. Mary Beth - so glad you kept trying! A great end product and lovely card. sltresso at hotmail dot com

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  26. I have some TAP somewhere but I can't it. I will have to buy some great, great work.

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  27. Like others I like the boo boos too. But most of all I like that you started by saying that you don't do image transfers because of this!


    But because I rarely do cards and rarely do transfers or not this way, I don't understand why you had to iron it. I do understand tho right and wrong sides.

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  28. Love this! The colors and beautiful and I am a sucker for anything with birds LOL :)

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  29. Transfers can be a bit tricky, huh? But this turned out great! Beautiful card... I'm sure Maria will love it!

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  30. I recently used TAP for the first time at one of Lesley's retreats (expert teaching!!), so now I'm ready to try TAP-ping with a stencil!

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    1. Email: wendy(dot)dimicco(at)gmail(dot com)

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  31. Lucky Maria! I love using TAP, it works so amazingly well on fabric too.

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  32. Lovely! mumbird3atgmail.com

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  33. Thanks for the opportunity...I love your creativity. betsysmom (at) gmail (dot com)

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  34. Loved your story, attending Art Unraveled is on my Bucket List... but first I need to give TAP a try.. Just maybe I will be lucky and win!!

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  35. Such a great combination - stencils and TAP - who woulda thunk?

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  36. Haven’t tried TAP yet but winning would be the push I need to try it out!!! Not to mention stencils too…I love stencils!!! rhondasledger (at) gmail (dotcom)

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  37. Maria's a lucky girl...great card, thanks for sharing

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  38. Love this idea Mary Beth! You always come up with such great and unusual ways to use our stencils!

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  39. Very inspirational, Mary Beth! You didn't give up! And your card is awesome! Bet Maria loves it!

    alhrobkin (at) aol (dot com)

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  40. TAP in studio that has never been opened. Love the ideas

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  41. I ordered TAP sometime ago and have not used it because I too am not good with transfers, I just may try it now. I love what you did and that you shared your fails. MB, you are the best

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    1. forgot email: ghoagland@msn.com

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  42. The card is beautiful and Maria must love it. I've been wanting to try TAP even checked several quilt shops -didn't have it! Planning to get some. Sunmoongal at me dot com

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  43. Your card is gorgeous! I would love to try stencils and tap together. Thanks for sharing!

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  44. There is no mistakes in art only an opportunity, I always say ....thank for showing us your opportunities!

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  45. Love the result! Thanks for pushing your own boundaries and encouraging us to do the same!

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  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  47. Mary Beth, I just found all these blogs through the giveaway. Love your stencils. Lesley mentioned Dylusion Ink Sprays. Can I place the stencil, and spray ink on parts of it? Or would this use way too much ink? and I am really wanting to do this onto fabric. Will the inks work on fabric?
    mzdetail (at) gmail (dot com)

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  48. As is often said ... 3's charm and your lovely card is proof. I am looking forward to seeing the results from the other artists.

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  49. Love reading about creative opportunities! aabdob at bosleys dot org

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  50. I believe Maria loved her card!! And now she knows you worked hard on her card, so she will appreciate it even more :) . I haven't tried TAP but I want to, very much. I am scared of transfers. I'm so afraid of messing up my photo or image. I want to see how it works in action. I'm such a hands on - visual girl. I would so love to win some of this fabulous paper and give the transfer technique a go. Thanks for the Giveaway :)

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  51. I have never used TAP and I am so excited to try it with stencils. I'll watch the videos. Thanks for sharing.

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  52. Love your work Mary Beth! I have a package of TAP that's itching to be used! Can't wait.

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  53. I had to laugh when you referred to yourself as a "transfer idiot." I feel your pain. Lots of my projects turn out like the ones you see on Pinterest where someone posts a picture of something amazing and then next to it, a wretched failure with the caption "Nailed it!" I am anxious to try these products and I want to win so much! Thank you for the opportunity, and for being humble.

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  54. Experimenting with transfers has been on my To Do List for a while - thanks for the inspiration!

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  55. Thanks for the chance to win!
    lelloavengers(at)yahoo(dot com)

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  56. awesome project!!! i love how looks like transfers!

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  57. Love how you kept working it.

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  58. Love all the yummy colors & stencils you used! I adore anything with birds-didn't know you could use Tap so many ways
    Tkeene01@yahoo.com

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  59. thanks for the inspiration!! I loved that you told us about your boo-boos! Sometimes I think I am the only person that happens to!!

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  60. I love stencils and own some TAP but haven't used it much. Thanks for showing the way. And thanks for sharing all your ideas and techniques...including your mistakes! We can learn from it all!

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  61. I really like the card with the bird . This blog hop is fun.
    e-mail address: lstardust999@aol.com

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  62. Beth Figiel cbfigiel@gmail.com

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    1. My comment disappeared. Like you I have tried several transfers. Different methods and mediums with all vary results, usually poor. Maybe this is the magic transfer product I've been looking for. Thanks. Beth cbfigiel@gmail.com

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  63. I'm glad you didn't give up! Third time is a charm! Lovely card!! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Yikes! Forgot to include my e-mail! web (at) thebunnylog (dot com)

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  64. Thanks so much for sharing all the information both positive and negative (outstanding opportunities to learn) I'm so glad you persisted. The outcome was beautiful and I'm sure your assistant will think so also. glovchik (at) comcast (dot net)

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  65. It's always so nice to see that others make mistakes. We all have those days when we think we are the only ones who do. I am totally in love with your card!!

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  66. love your persistance - it really paid off!! GORGEOUS card at the end!

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  67. What fun - I'd love to try some!
    gillwatson(at)mailbox(dot)co(dot)uk

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  68. Great tips and ideas -- I love StencilGirls' stencils (I have several), and Lesley Riley is an inspiration. I love this opportunity to see other artists, what they're doing, and to see how they inspire me as well. Thanks. (Sandy at wrybbunz@gmail.com)

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  69. New techniques to me so would love to practice and get to use all the stencils I've been collecting!

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  70. What a sweet, beautiful card! Lucky Maria! Can't wait to try TAP!

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  71. Thanks for the chance to win! This would be fun to try. chefl@swbell.net

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  72. You're so sweet and fun, Mary Beth! Thank you for sharing your "fails" with us. I'm glad you gave transfers another try. Lesley's product is a lifesaver, right?! Yes, yes, yes!
    msmith2illustration (at) gmail (dot) com

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