Inspiration Deck

I was doing a little blog hopping 2 days ago and came across an art project called an Inspiration Deck.  I had to make one.

I started with a full deck of cards and covered the number side with white gesso.  Then I let that dry.  I didn't worry about being neat but purposely made sure there were brush marks and non-gessoed spots.  The different textures added to the finished effects.

 Then I dabbed and brushed acrylic paint on the dry gesso.  I didn't worry to much about coverage or cleaning my brush but just let things happen.  That is the kind of project this is, don't worry about these steps to much, don't over think it, just let the brush and the color go where it wants to go.

I spread the cards out and splashed some water color sprays on them. Again, anything goes.

Next I sat down with a couple old magazines and started cutting out the pictures that interested me.  I tried to cut them a little smaller than the cards.  I also went through some old scraps of paper, tissue paper and some pieces of my art that I would not be sad to see cut up and reused in this project.  When I had 52 or more things I got busy and started gluing them to the front sides of the cards.  

  

The edges of the cards were too perfect so  I decided to mix up a little gesso with some paint and quickly brushed it down some of the edges.

I always find that some black makes everything else really pop so smooshed some black acrylic paint on some of the cards in just a few places.  

The next step was to head over to the internet and do some searching.  I wanted quotes, sayings and little messages of encouragement or helpful tips.  There is no shortage of those on-line.  I wrote the best ones down, making sure that I didn't go wider or longer than the cards with my writing.  Then I started gluing these on the cards.  This is when I discovered that some of the cards had "art" on them that I just didn't want to cover up so I picked the side that I liked the best and glued the quotes on to the other side.  The white paper looked out of place so I made some very thin watercolor washes and brushed that white away.  I also dabbed my finger into some Distress Ink and rubbed that over the edges.  

 I added some stickers, cut off the tab of some buttons and glues those on some cards, took my correction pen and did a little doodling, added some stamped images, you get the idea.  Anything goes.

I still have some cards without quotes glued on them and I think I'm  going to write directly on those with my markers or white pens.  That way more color will show and I can experiment with different pens.

 

So now I have 52 Inspiration cards, one for every week.  

I can toss them into a bowl and pull one out every Monday to give myself

something to think about during that week. 

I can punch a hole in the top corner and slide them onto a ring to flip through 

when I need a little inspiration or 

I can give them away.  

Want one?