Saturday 4 January 2020

Mondrianesque

Happy New Year
I am excited and nervous in equal measure today, as it is my first ever post as a member of a design team. I was very very honoured to be invited to join the CAS Stencil Design team by the wonderful Loll who makes the most gorgeous CAS cards. Despite being quite daunted by the prospect, there is no way I could refuse.

Today the CAS Stencil Challenge blog is celebrating it's first birthday so there will be a prize:
The winner will receive a
$25 GC to Simon Says Stamp 
and there will also be a random draw for another
$25 GC to Simon Says Stamp


The prompt this month is:

Our Host is Nancy
Our guest designer is Arlene

In theory this should not be hard for me as I have been very busy buying new stencils (I think I have a good excuse now), but in reality this card took a long time to come right. I do hope it will gets easier as the months go by.

I have called this post Mondrianesque as my card is inspired by the famous geometric designs of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. Even if you haven't heard his name you will recognise his work which has a fresh modern feel even though he died in 1944 at the age of 71. 

Do you remember the Mondrian dress from the 1960's? I don 't directly remember it from the 60's as I was still a child, but the design has become iconic since then. Coincidentally I saw the front cover of this weeks Radio Times has a picture of the cast of Call The Midwife wearing one and there is an exhibition featuring it at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris at the moment.

Here is my card:


I very nearly gave up with this as it proved more tricky than I thought it would. The stencil is called gridlock by Sharon Callis, I thought it would be perfect for this design, but it proved to be hard to keep the card clean and yet saturate the spaces with bold colour. In the end I stuck the card down well and masked round the space I wanted to add colour to. I then wiped the ink directly onto the card, filling in the edges with a small blending brush. Once that was done I had to create the black lines - first I traced the edges of the stencil with a fineliner pen, then I removed the stencil and used thin post it tape to mask the white areas. I then filled in the lines with a jet black alcohol marker but unfortunately the ink bled a little, so I went round it again with a ruler and a fineliner to tidy the edges up. This still isn't perfect but good enough.

I cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die, mounted it on some craft foam and added it to the card front. As we are celebrating the challenge birthday I added a birthday sentiment. I also thought the design would be good for a male card.

Here is a picture of the Mondrian dress to remind you:

Yves Saint Laurent homage to Piet Mondrian, 1965

What do you think? I do hope you like it and it inspires you to take part in our challenge this month.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it.
Hilary
xx

19 comments:

Loll said...

I knew right away when I saw your card ... great design inspred by Mondrian!! We have a building now far from us that is painted like this - it's so cool!! I love the graphic nature with bold colours. It's fantastic Hilary! So happy you persevered to finish this because it is AWESOME! Welcome to the CAS Stencil team!! xx

Viv said...

A brilliant card - and I love your interpretation of that iconic dress! I am a messy crafter and like you struggle with clean lines and keeping card bases free from smudges but the tape works and I've found it makes things a little less likely to end up looking like I've made a design out of my fingerprints! Welcome to the team! x

tonilea said...

I DO love the card but think I would never try to replicate it. Far too hard for me. But I can enjoy LOOKING at it!

Cat Craig said...

Love the bold Mondrian inspired color blocking. Fabulous card.

Christine Alexander said...

OMG I love this, I'm in awe of all those bold colours and love the flash back to the 60's I can just see Twiggy in this dress :)

Julia Aston said...

Oh my goodness - I do recognize that dress (or the pattern) didn't realize it had a name - you really worked hard to get this done - and it looks perfect - adding in the black and getting it all straight is a wonder! We're so happy to have you with us as DT - and yes, it will get easier as you settle into just enjoying your stencils! Don't put so much pressure on yourself!! xx

Barb Ghig said...

Hi there, Hilary Jane! I remember the Mondrian dress from the 1960's, and you have created a great tribute to this design with your fabulous card! I love how you used the color palette from the original design...especially with the addition of the black border...Love this card so much!
Congrats on being part of a DT for the first time ever...I'm so glad to have you on our team!!! Barb xx
By the way, I'm a HUGE fan of Call The Midwife and I can't wait to see who is wearing the Mondrian dress on the show this season :) Too bad in the U.S. we have to wait until the spring ~

Bonnie said...

This is fantastic, Hilary! What wonderful saturation of colors! Welcome to the CAS family!

ionabunny said...

Intrigued by your post title I had to pop over. Your card was worth the effort. Yes, I do remember that pattern and I love the bold colour blocks. Congrats on joining the team. Hugz

nancy littrell said...

Congratulations Hilary for being chosen as our new CAS Stencil Challenge Teamie. You are now officially a CASette:-) Your card is a perfect example as to why you were chosen..Wow!! I recognize the design of the dress and your card, but did not know it had a name. TFS the story and all your detailed description of your steps to your bold, graphic, modern designed stencil card! The 1st card for the challenge is the hardest. It will now get easier and will be so much more fun! Welcome to our friendly CASette family, Hilary. Hugs..Nancy

brenda said...

As always a lovely creation and well done on the DT spot. So sorry my eye problems have prevented me visiting lately but wanted to wish you a Happy and Crafty New Year.

B x

A.Rose said...

I recognized the design right away! Love this card it takes me back!

Mac Mable said...

I am super thrilled for you Hilary joining the fabulous design team. Such an iconic Mondrian theme and so recognisable and what a stunning take on it with your wonderufl card x. Great use of the stencil too x.

Cathy said...

Welcome to the team Hilary, I've enjoyed seeing your projects in the gallery this oops, last year! Your Mondrian style card looks amazing, great use of the stencil, Cathy x

My Paper Epiphany said...

Welcome to the CAS Family! I am impressed by your ambition with this design! I'm sure it was very tricky, but the result is fantastic!

papierelle said...

And you don't have to be nervous at all !! Your card is wonderful and your inspiration is awesome !!

KandA said...

Congrats on being picked to join the CAS DT and what a wonderful card to kick off with. Fabulous design and super colours xx

Chana Malkah said...

Congratulations, they were very smart to invite you to join their team. Your card is brilliant. I actually had a dress like that in the sixties and the style became popular again (as color block) in the late 80's and early 90's.

You absolutely nailed this challenge!
Hugz,
Chana Malkah

Linda said...

Hi Hilary ..... welcome to the CAS family.
Your card looks so cool, I love the bold colours xx