getting messy in the studio with ink bubbles

I had so much fun stepping into the studio space with our boys to play around a bit and make this piece. It reminded me of some of the fun things I did when I was in grade school - and also took me to a place where I was having fun and experimenting with my artwork - something that I've been working on doing in the classes I'm taking. I also added a bit of free motion stitching on top of the bubbles, but ended up covering all but just a bit of that with my layout pieces...

Here's how we made the bubbles:

Add water and concentrated ink (reinker for ink pads) or paint to a plate, and then add just a drop of dish detergent.

Using a straw, blow bubbles until you get a whole pile of them.

Once you have a whole bunch, gently lay your paper on top. It may take a few tries to get the right amount of ink bubbles on your paper.

Either allow your paper to dry on it's own, or apply a heat gun to dry out the ink.

This created a random, soft and subtle background for my layout piece. If you use paint, the effect will be must stronger...

I then added my random free motion stitching on top of my ink bubbles.

I finished by adding my embellishments on top...

Have fun getting messy!

~ Leah