Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Year End Mixed Media Canvas

Happy New Year!  Well, this is my last ColourArte blog post for 2015, but I expect that 2016 is going to be a fabulous year full of inspiration from our very talented design team.  I made a canvas to remind me of the good times, and some not-so-good, but mostly good times during 2015.  I have high hopes for all of us that 2016 is going to be super special!



Cut a piece of Bristol Board to 6" x 8" and cover with printed napkin.  Remove 2 of the 3 ply layers from the napkin so you are only gluing the one ply to the board.
Use soft matte gel medium to adhere it, covering the top of the napkin as well.  Do not worry about wrinkles or tears.
Cut away the excess napkin after gel medium dries.  Add a wash of white gesso and water and allow to dry.
Spread Coarse molding paste through stencil with spatula  and randomly over remaining background.  Let dry.
Add a little water to a brush and color most of background with Sunflower Primary Elements, then add the Apple Blossom Primary Elements randomly, which will give a bit of a peach color.  Dry with heat tool.
Next, add Amber Bronze Primary Elements over entire background, using same technique, adding a tiny bit of water and "scrubbing" the color over the surface.
Use a dry brush to spread the Bolivian Blue Primary Elements over the surface.
Use a damp, not wet, brush to "scrub" the Bolivian Blue Primary Elements randomly over the background.  You can see how much more intense the colors become when water is added
Let the colors dry, then use a mini mister to mist water into the air, and swipe the board beneath the mist.  You will get this really cool mottled effect.  Allow to dry thoroughly.
Use a damp brush to pick up a tiny bit of Mandarin Citrine Primary Elements and randomly highlight the stenciled areas.
Die cut a clock from chipboard.  Coat clock, hands, and flourishes with white gesso.  I cut apart one of the flourishes to make it work on my canvas.
Use a damp brush to coat the flourishes, clock and clock hands with Chestnut Brown Primary Elements.
Adhere chipboard pieces to canvas, as shown.  Color the 2-0-1-5 chipboard pieces with Solar Gold Silks Acrylic Glaze, and dry brush the edges of the clock and flourishes.
Tone down the bright gold color on the 2-0-1-5 pieces by adding a wash of Chestnut Brown Primary Elements over it and allow it to dry.
Coat chipboard pieces with clear crackle paint.  Look how much more intense and darker the color has become.
Add embellishments, as shown.  I used flowers, a chipboard butterfly, and a "Moments" sticker to finish it off.  I always like to darken the edges of my canvas, so I ran a Chestnut Roan chalk ink pad around the edges.
Here are a few closeups of the canvas sections.





ColourArte Supplies Used:

Primary Elements Artist Pigments
Other Supplies Used:

Printed paper napkin
Liquitex white gesso
Golden Coarse Molding Paste
Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy
Tim Holtz THS016 Harlequin stencil
Butterfly (K&Company)
Flowers (Prima, Spare Parts)
Chestnut Roan chalk ink pad

I hope you enjoyed this end-of-year Moments canvas.  Be sure to check out the ColourArte shop for fantastic products.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful, safe, and very Happy New Year!

Barbara

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Winter Snowflakes - DecoArt Media Winter Wonderland Challenge

Hi everyone!  Welcome to the DecoArt Media Winter Wonderland Challenge.  The theme for this challenge is Winter, full of blue and purple hues, perhaps even some snow!  The Mixed Media Design Team are creating fabulous inspiration pieces that will be featured daily throughout the month on the DecoArt Blog.  So, get ready for some fantastic project ideas starting December 28th.


The challenge will open for entries on December 28th and close on January 29th. The winner of this challenge will be chosen by the DecoArt Media Design Team on February 1st and announced here and on Facebook February 2nd. The winner will receive a DecoArt Media prize package valued over $120, so you will certainly want to submit a piece or two! Don't forget to share with your friends so everyone can join in the fun!  We can’t wait to see where all your creative ideas take you! 

This time of the year, I love how clean and clear the air seems, the crispness and slight chill in the air.  I love looking at the stars at night, and that is what inspired me to make this mixed media canvas.  "All is Calm, All is Bright" comes to mind.




I began with a 6"x8" canvas panel, and spread DecoArt Media Crackle Paste White through a snowflake stencil.  Let dry thoroughly.


Add DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics in the colors listed in the supplies used, mixing and blending until you like the results.  Edge the canvas with the DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber, and also add to some of the snowflakes for depth.



Stamp script stamp randomly with black archival ink.  Mist canvas with DecoArt Media Turquoise Shimmer Mister and blend.  Using a brush, leave droplets of DecoArt Media White Shimmer Mister over background to look like snow falling.  Die cut two reindeer from tan and brown card stock.  Adhere to bottom of canvas, offsetting colors for shading.


Paint white card stock with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Violet and stamp script stamp over paper with black archival ink.  Make three snowflake rosettes and adhere to top left corner  of canvas, adding filigree jewelry pieces to each center.  


Holiday greens were die cut with two colors of green card stock and wax paper and adhered beneath the rosettes.


Apply DecoArt Media Antiquing Cream Titanium White to some of the snowflakes for highlights, and DecoArt Media Metallic Lustre Silver Spark for extra shine!



Finally, I decided to add silver metal alphabet stickers to spell "All is Bright", which brings it all together for me.




DecoArt Supplies Used:

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Violet
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Primary Cyan
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cerulean Blue
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Translucent White
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Silver
DecoArt Media Crackle Paste White
DecoArt Media Antiquing Cream Titanium White
DecoArt Media Metallic Lustre Silver Spark
DecoArt Media Shimmer Mister White
DecoArt Media Shimmer Mister Turquoise

Other Supplies Used:

6"x8" canvas board
Sin City Stamps Art Journaling with Terri Sproul (script)
TCW 164s mini Flurries stencil
Jet Black Archival Ink
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Holiday Greens die
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Reindeer Flight
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mini Snowflake Rosettes
Metal alphabet stickers (Paper Studio)
Silver filigree jewelry embellishments
Wax Paper

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope I have inspired you to make something and submit it to our challenge this month.  We really want to see what you create!!!!  All the details for the DecoArt Media Winter Wonderland Challenge are here for you to play along.

Barbara

Happy New Year Dimensional Card

Happy Holidays, friends!  I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  I want to share a mixed media card with you today using molded embellishments made with  PermaStone Casting Compound from Activa® .  This product is quite versatile and very easy to use.


I mixed the PermaStone casting compound per the package directions and poured it into my roses and frame molds. I got busy making multiple pieces because I was having so much fun.  The PermaStone dries pretty quickly, in about 20-30 minutes.  



When completely dry, I removed from the mold and gave each piece a coat of glaze medium.


Next, I coated each piece with Timeless DecoArt Chalk Paint.



I painted three roses with Red Velvet Art Anthology Sorbet paint.  This paint is dimensional and thick, and has a beautiful glitter in it.  It even has a translucency to it if painted on thinly.  


I added water to a blob of burnt umber acrylic paint to make a wash to cover the frame.  Set frame aside to dry.




Resize and print lady on telephone from the Very Vintage New Year collage sheet and glue behind frame opening.


Now let's make the card base.  Cut blue card stock to 10" x 7", fold in half to make 5" x 7" card base. Remove world map page from the Happy Travels 6x6 Paper Pad and cut at 4-3/4" x 6", and the extra strip needs to be trimmed at 4-3/4", leaving a small square piece.



Ink up the edges with Leather Mix'd Media ink pad using the Blending Tool.


Glue large piece to card front, as shown.  


Glue small strip to bottom over the first piece.  Do not worry about the seam.  It will be covered up in later steps.



Cut a Kraft Paper Clock in half and adhere to card front, as shown.


Die cut or punch some foliage from green card stock and begin gluing the pieces, as shown.  Center and glue the framed piece, as shown.


Punch some holly leaves from green card stock and bling them up with a wash of the green and gold mica paints from the Mica Paint Palette using a Waterbrush.  Let dry.


Arrange and adhere the leaves with the red molded roses, as shown.  Aleene's Tacky Glue works really well for holding everything in place.


Here are a few more close-ups of the card.










Altered Pages Supplies:

Very Vintage New Year collage sheet
6x6 Glitz Paper Pads  (Happy Travels)
DecoArt Chalk Paint (Timeless Cream)
Art Anthology Sorbet Paint (Red Velvet)
Mica Paint Palette  (Pearlescent & Metallic)
Waterbrushes
Mix'd Media Salazar Inkx (Leather)
Ranger Blending Tools
Kraft Paper Clock
Gel Medium

Other supplies:

PermaStone Casting Compound
Blue card stock
Green card stock
Sizzix 658759-Holiday Greens die
McGill Holly leaves punch



I hope you enjoyed my heavily embellished card today.  I love making dimensional cards as long as I can either send it to the recipient in a box full of goodies, or hand deliver it.  They are always wowed by cards with such dimension and never throw these in the trash can.  Well, having said that, I hope I have inspired you to try making one for a special person in your life.  

Remember, the Altered Pages design team shares even more inspiration daily on the Altered Pages blog.  Stop by and see what they are up to.  Many thanks to Activa® , our sponsor this month.  Check out their website for a complete look at all of the products they carry. 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a very Happy New Year!!!

Barbara