Tuesday Tutorial: Sprinklers and Stripes

Hi all!  It’s Jill here, and if you, like me, are excited about the new October Afternoon Sprinklers, then you will appreciate today’s tutorial.  We’ll be creating a striped foundation for a layout using four of my favorite Sprinklers: Buttermilk, Brown Bag, Paper Doily, and Tin Type.

The first rule of thumb when it comes to misting is to plan for “blowback.”  Many a mister has learned the hard way that mist can be messy, and that it has its own weather patterns, tending to “drift” as it is sprayed.  The solution?  Use a cardboard box, since its sides will function as a buffer of sorts.  Also, try to mist outdoors, if possible, or away from anything that might accidentally get sprayed.

Now it’s time to grab those Sprinklers and get to work! 

To create a striped background, two additional pieces of paper are necessary (scrap paper is fine).  They will serve as guides, delineating the space that will form each stripe.

I began by placing one of the scrap pieces of paper over the blue paper to create the first column, and then I spritzed over the area.  Be sure to shake the Sprinklers (or roll them back and forth between your hands) before spraying them, to ensure that the desired color appears evenly.

I repeated the process from left to right, moving the scrap paper bit by bit and alternating Sprinklers colors to form stripes.

If you like your stripes to be neat, clean, and “just so,” then you can stop after the last stripe, but if you like a bit of messy charm, then you may want to try this next step.  Since the scrap papers that I used were still slightly wet with layers of color, I flipped the papers over the striped background, wet side down, smoothed over them lightly with my hands to transfer some of the color, and then pulled up the paper, leaving traces of color behind.

The resulting background will be a combination of colorful stripes and artsy smudges.

This process is not only easy, but it is easily adaptable as well.  I used straight edges on my scraps of paper to create stripes, but you might consider using scalloped or pinked edges, or repeating an image or title by misting over it multiple times with different colors.  Try different approaches -- and have fun playing with your Sprinklers!

Comments

[Anthea]

I tried this today and LOVED the effect. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

[Terri W]

I am gonna try this

[B. Poteraj]

Ohhhh, nice. I am going to try that, and use a box!! I've been careful, but it doesn't matter. It drifts, like you said...

[Lisa P]

Love this idea. Great job.

[marcy penner]

This is amazing Jill!

[ANNETTE]

Awesome...