Masquerade! Joining in the masking fun at PaperArtsy!

Hello and Welcome! I'm trying to be a better blogger than last year so today here I am at Magpieheaven sharing some mail art I've created to send to an old and special friend I was re-united with on Facebook. Over at the PaperArtsy blog here there's such an inspiring challenge going on. I've enjoyed looking at all the contributions from the Guest Designers and those playing along so much that I decided to do some masking of my own! It's ages since I joined a challenge in Blogland and I've had lots of fun using this theme to inspire my own project!

Masking is great technique for Mail Art. I remember seeing the incredible Darcy Wilkinson once demonstrate at Ally Pally. She transformed cheap white envelopes into little works of art in no time, creating masks from everyday bits and bobs and lots and lots of layers of Fresco paints! It was time to brighten up the grey days with another go at her techniques!

My masks were a mini manilla tag, a stamp shape punched from scrap paper and some strips of torn masking tape. I used a brayer to apply layers of Frescos and I also stippled with Baby wipes. There's some stencilling on there and some stamping with paint. The stamp shape and the strips of tape were applied during the process so that different layers could be masked and would show through. I also carefully wiped away layers in places to reveal what lay beneath as I went along. I lost track of all the colours I used, but there was Tango, Red Bus, Brown Shed, Inky Pool and Yellow Submarine layered over opaques like Mermaid, Blush and Taupe.

I had some collage images I wanted to add to complete the picture! Not only was the envelope all about 'masking' - my friendly tiger and his lovely assistant are also 'maskers'. I think they're off to provide the entertainment at a grand Venetian ball!

 You can see what was left when I took away the masks. I added some detail to the tag and gave it to the Masquerading tiger to hold. Once I had outlined my tiger and his little companion in 6B pencil and fine-liner they stepped out from the background. You might have noticed that I've added some Sara Nauman stars stamped several times in paint onto my background. The butterflies - a symbol of good fortune to Venetians - are punched from scraps of paper and Vintage Playing cards.

Nothing is wasted with this technique. I've used the tiny tag with its many layers and punched butterflies from the scrap paper for the stamp space.

Thank You so much for stopping by today. Traditionally it is carnival time in Venice - or it was a little earlier in the month - so this was the perfect time to play with masks! I hope you'll check out the PaperArtsy challenge and maybe have a go yourself. There's a generous £50.00 voucher for PaperArtsy goodies to be won in the draw. Have a lovely, creative week.