Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #1!

It's finally here, Challenge #1 for the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog! We hope to inspire you to create something each month, with only a handful of rules and hopefully a lot of room to play around and try new things.

For our first challenge, all we ask is for you to use some spray inks or mists. If you don't have any, you can buy a spray mister from the travel section of Walmart/Target/etc for a dollar, and then use watered down acrylic paint, liquid watercolor, or re-inkers (or if you want to go crazy, mix all 3--I've done it before!)

Here's my journal page:

Closeups:

Here's the step-by-step (no photos this time, sorry):
1. Start by gluing down thin strips of pattered paper horizontally along the bottom left and top right.
2. Add some washi tape and masking tape on top.
3. Scrape on some heavy gloss gel (modeling paste would work too) through punchinella.
4. Glue down some ephemera (tickets, flower, foil tape that was run through an embossing folder, butterfly die cut)
5. Use stamps in random places to add visual texture (I used Prima's small acrylic Vintage Vanity stamps--my absolute favorite for this type of project)
6. Use a bit of gesso over top in random places.
7. Now go crazy with spray inks! I used Dylusions Red, Bubblegum, and Sunshine. I also used some Luminarte Silks along the edges. Oh, and to finish it off, I used my brand-new Prima Bloom Spray (Gilded)
8. Add some words, glue the pages down into the journal, and that's it!


The journal I used is the Prima Sunrise Sunset Mixed Media Journal by Finnabair.

So, I hope you will play along, we would love to have you join us. I can't wait to see what you create! Visit the blog here for complete rules and prize information.

Altered Canvases Part 2

I am on a roll lately, so here's a few more canvases:


First, an altered Tim Holtz burlap panel. I used some more wood diecuts from SACrafters. The small hexagon pieces are Studio Calico. I created the heart myself using the same process as described in this post. 
I couldn't decide if it needed more, but now that I am looking at the photos, I'm pretty happy with it!

I'm entering it in the Paper Wings Productions Anything Goes May Challenge. 

Next is another altered burlap panel. I had the hardest time photographing this one--I think it looks much better in person, but oh well. I used a technique that I saw in this video from Frank Garcia from Prima for the torn edges effect.

And I'm entering this last one into the Berry71Bleu May challenge. I absolutely love flowers and I love the simplicity of the single red rose in the center of this little canvas! Here's the inspiration image--you can even see the lower left hand image lent a bit of inspiration to my canvas as well.

  

 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Altered Canvases

Yes, it's been awhile since I shared anything, sorry about that! Lately I have been working on a lot of things, though, so I wanted to share a few of them:

The first two are 5x5 deep edge canvases. These are Finnabair-style...basically I covered with Luminarte Silks, then used super heavy gloss gel through a stencil for the background. I then started layering metal items. I finished by using some more Silks on the top.

 Supplies of note:
Purple canvas - Stencil by Christy Tomlinson, Roman Numerals by Prima, Ivy charm by Vintaj, assorted metal pieces (the swirl is actually a Christmas ornament hanger)

Pink&orange canvas - Prima gear wood pieces, Clock face and metal gears by Tim Holtz, Crafter's Workshop stencil

 And I'm really proud of this last one. It's a 4x4 cheap canvas, and it's not based on anyone else's particular style, it just sort of came together for me.

Here were my steps:
1) Cover background of canvas with Luminarte silks in Teal, Bolivian Blue, Olive, and Sky Blue.
2) Cut up pieces of cheesecloth and burlap and use Heidi Swapp Color Spray in Olive and Teal to color them.
3) Use gel medium to adhere (this step was really messy). Let dry overnight.
4) Randomly place letter die cuts (from Tim's Typewriter Sizzix die) and use gel medium to keep in place.
5) Use gesso over the diecuts once dry.
6) Use more Luminarte Silks (teal, blue, etc) to color over the background pieces. Highlight/dry brush with Emperor's Gold.
7) Cut a piece of drawer liner (the grid-like piece in the background) and adhere with Super Heavy Gel Medium. Then cover with Silks.
7) For the heart: I used some sort of overnight air dry clay, but I am sure paperclay would work fine too. I made the heart shape, then pressed a Sizzix embossing folder over it, gently but firmly, to give it a pattern. I had no idea if that would work, but turns out it worked wonderfully! After it was dry, I painted with Silks.
8) The wings and the wood cog are from SACrafters on Zibbet. I just made a big order from there, and I love all of the pieces I got! (The metal cog is Tim Holtz)

I think I may go back in a few places on these and add some Rock Candy Crackle Paint (like the wings above). Mine was all dried up :(

Hope you enjoyed! I really, really like how these all turned out and I am getting quite the collection of little art pieces now.