8 CHEAP & EASY Mixed Media Art Ideas I Haven't Tried Yet! [Stenciling & Stamping Techniques]

Need NEW mixed media art ideas? Whether you're a mixed media beginner, or a seasoned mixed media artist like me, flipping through a gorgeous art book is one of THE BEST THINGS you can do for creative inspiration.

In today's art video you'll get a sneak peek at one of my favorite mixed media art books, followed by a demo of the 8 CHEAP & EASY stamping & stenciling techniques this book inspired me to try for the first time in my own mixed media sketchbook!

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When you're done with today's video, I've got an awesome YouTube series to go with this cheatsheet, so look for that link at the bottom :)

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Today's mixed media art book review is of 101 Mixed Media Techniques, by Walter Foster.

This book is jam packed with 128 pages of mixed media art techniques. It's an excellent addition to any art book collection and will definitely get your creative juices flowing. 

What I really love in this book are the "Artist Tip" boxes that you'll find scattered throughout. I actually think these little pointers are better than most of the book content! 

Each chapter of 101 Mixed Media Techniques is written by a different artist so you can really get some unique perspectives. The tip below came from a section in the book about stenciling and stamping techniques. It got me thinking out of the box, motivated me to take a little field trip around my house looking for new mixed media ideas to try, and inspired today's entire video!

I easily found eight random objects lying around my house just waiting for me to experiment with in my mixed media sketchbook.  

The first item I decided to test out is actually the inside squeaker of a dog toy that was headed for the trash! How funny is that?!

Check out the whimsical polka dots I created when I ran this ball through some acrylic paint and upcycled it into a stamp! 

The next item I decided to try as a stamp was a shot glass!

Lots of mixed media artists have done videos using empty toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls to stamp circles onto their canvases or art journal pages. What I don't love about these empty rolls is they can bend, and don't make perfect cirlces. 

I decided to try stamping circles onto my art journal page with a shot glass. Look how great that turned out!!

​Simply grab a glass from your kitchen that you don't care about, or pick one up at a thrift shop, and turn it into a mixed media stamp for yourself!

Ages ago, I bought a spongey toilet scrubber from the dollar store and set it aside to try as a paintbrush or stamp. Today was the perfect day to bust it out! 

I dabbed the scrubber into 2 colors of acrylic paint and stamped it as hair around an old face doodle in my art journal. Look at how amazing THIS looks!! Total win!!

This next object I decided to try was a slotted spoon. I tested out a couple of ways to turn this into an upcycled mixed media stencil, and love the effect I got when swiping over the negative space with a sponge covered in acrylic paint. 

As I mentioned, I LOVE creating the look of polka dots and circles. I have a zillion of these utencil holders from Ikea (below), and the bottom of each just happens to have the perfect pattern to try as a stencil.

I like how that worked, but still might love bubble wrap even more! I'll show you that technique at the end of this demo.

While I was in my kitchen, I noticed my napkin holder could be a two for one win as a stencil, with the unique patterns on the bottom and the sides!

Check out how amazing this looks (bottom right corner) when I added two colors of acrylic paint to a sponge, and swiped that sponge through the side of my napkin holder!

Another object I tried using was a fragment of the pouch my clementines came in. I tried it this material as both a stamp and stencil, and found I really loved the subtle effect it created as a stamp the most.

HOT TIP: Whatever you do - do it everywhere so it looks intentional.

My last stamping technique wasn't necessarily inspired from today's video because I've been doing it for years, but in case you haven't tried this before - you've GOT to save the next sheet of bubble wrap that comes through your door! 

You can get the most gorgeous pattern from applying acrylic paint to the corner of some bubble wrap, and turning it into a mixed media stamp. 

Click over to the video to see my favorite places to stamp with bubble wrap!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!  

Don't forget to grab my FREE HAMBURGER SYSTEM CHEATSHEET. Once you print it out, join me on YouTube for my Hamburger System Series, and I'll explain everything you need to know about mixed media art supplies, and my simple mixed media layering process! 

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