Mixed Media art box

Hi and welcome to my blog. Mixed media is fairly new to me and while I have so much fun experimenting with textures and styles I still have a lot to learn. Pinterest is an amazing source for techniques , tutorials and of course and endless supply of inspiration! I also found some really great challenge blogs to play along with. Anything But Cute has great monthly challenges... I love that we have a whole month to play along with.... and the DT has stunning samples to get your creative mojo going!! This month they have a magical mood board for us to play along with.....

 

Isn't this stunning??? There's so much here to be inspired by... the gorgeous colors, the glittery texture and of course all that gold!!! 

 

 

I pulled out my inks, stencils,glitter ( yay, I love glitter!!!) and whatever else I could find to start my project. Take a look....

 

 

 

 

I have several of these wooden boxes from the dollarstore just laying around waiting to be turned from drab to mini works of art. I started off by adding layers of texture with my stencils and modelling paste ( Prima) and scraps of paper and a bit of painters mesh. Then I spritzed Tim Holtz diastress and Lindys Stamp Gang inks in  browns, blues and yellows( spritzing water between layers ) to achieve the desired effect. I then added more layers of gold tones from Prima Bloom sprays  for the final touch.

 

 

 

 

I stamped randomly with a few Prima stamps ( honeycomb and script) before I started on the flower cluster. I used mainly Prima flowers which I inked for an aged looked. I made a larger flower from Graphic 45 Topography paper , on my Silhouette diecut machine. The moraccan chipboard was made on my Cricut Explore - I cut sections of the shape and used the same colors as the box .I used strips of paper from the same collection here as well. A few buttons ( I have tons of them in my stash!), wooden shapes, enamel dots, crochet flower, cheesecloth and lace ,glitter, a wooden paintbrush and a bit of gesso on everything completes this cluster nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

I made this ART by adding chocolate brown Gelato by Faber-Castell with their Whipped Spackle. I love  the thickness of this medium , yet it's so lightweight and dries very fast. Look at how the letters just pop off the box! Awesome!! I applied TH Distress Glitter ( in gold, of course!!) in random places throughout the box. My last embellishment is this pretty glittery butterfly.

 

I had so much fun creating this altered box, I hope you enjoyed it ,too! Thanks for visiting my blog today!

 

 

 



Under the sea mini canvas



Hi and welcome to my blog. While most of the country is enjoying hot summer days , it's been quite the opposite here in Newfoundland ( rain and more rain .... **sigh**)  but at least it gives me a good excuse to play along with Anything But Cute 's current challenge again!  I had so much fun creating a summery layout ( click here to see my layout) that I had to play along again.

Here is the mood board ...

 

 

 

I followed the beach theme a little more with my mini canvas.....

 

 

 

I started off with a 6x6 canvas and I created my own textured background by applying a thick coat of Prima Artbasics modeling paste....I was going for a wave effect. It looks better in RL, I promise !!

 

Then I used various shades of blue and green Deco paints and started painting and painting. I let it each layer dry before  lightly applying gesso to soften the blue tones. I then spritzed the entire surface with Ranger's Perfect Pearls mist in Biscotti. It adds a nice subtle glimmer effect which doesn't really show well in the photo, but trust me, it looks great!

 

Here's a close up....

 

The metal starfish and sanddollar were purchased on eBay and I just painted them and did a little distressing. I cut the seahorse out on my Cricut Explore using the Life is a Beach cartridge. I followed a tutorial on Tim Holtz's blog ( July 2014 tag) to create the crackled grunge look for my seahorse. The sand was a mixture of TH distress glitter in Pumice Stone with a bit of Stormy Sky for contrast. I used some Art basics 3D Gloss gel to adhere it to the canvas.  I hand cut my tag and stamped the base with a ledger stamp from Stampin' Up! Open Sea set ( the anchor on the tag is from this too) and the sentiment is from CTMH , oldie but still a goodie set called Treasure of the Heart. Finally, I added some flat back pearls , a bit of netting and sequins .

 

That's my mini canvas ... hope you enjoyed! Thanks for visiting my blog today!

 

 

Sunshine layout

Hi and welcome to my blog. It's been awhile since I've scrapped anything so I was in need of some good inspiration. The current sketch at Sketchablities is a great place to start and Anything But Cute blog also helped me with my layout inspiration. Here's the sketch I used.....

 

As always , there are so many great elements to this sketch... how can you not be inspired???

 

The current challenge over at Anything But Cute has a mood board .. featuring the beach theme created by the very talented Pamelia. I love the browns and blue and of course the beach theme.

 

 

And over at Mixed Media Monthly they also have a fun picture to inspire our creative mojo.
 

 

 

Lots of fun elements here to play along with , right???

 

 

My layout is a combo of the three... here it is....

 

 

I wanted a vibrant summery theme for my layout but not too bright so I opted for hues of blues and browns with splashes of colour to make my page pop. The "wooden " paper base and the strips of paper are from Crate Paper and flowers are from Magnolia and Prima.The background was created with some coffee cup stain stencils and  script stamps with a bit of Prima Bloom Spray in Precious Stone splattered about The wooden chippie was embossed with Orange Creamsicle embossing powder from Lindy's Stamp Gang and the flourish was also LSG ep in Madonna Robe Blue Gold and Orange Creamsicle. The tag was a stamp from CTMH which I hand cut out.... I may add a date and some journaling later. To finish off my page, I matted everything on a bright turquoise cardstock base and my layout is finished!!!

 

 Make sure to visit these great blogs for tons more great inspiration from the DT and submissions!

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!!

 

 

 

 

A Mixed Media Father's Day canvas

 

 

 



Hi and welcome to my blog. My favorite aspect of mixed media is that you can take so many types of art forms and mix them together.. stamping , stencilling ... it all works beautifully together to create one of a kind works of art!! Anything But Cute Challenge blog  encourages us to have fun with this style with great monthly challenges. This month 's challenge is Make it Masculine and the DT has great projects to share and inspire so go check them out!!



 Today I wanted to share with you a mini canvas I made for my hubby for Father's day. My husband works out of country so I wanted to make something portable but at the same time durable. I found some thin 7X7 canvas at a local boxstore which are perfect for this type of craft. I started off by using a brick stencil and Prima Art Basics Modeling paste. I love the chunky texture and it's a perfect medium for adding lots of layers of colour!

 

I love how this canvas looks already and I haven't added anything yet!!

 

I then added layers of color with Lindy's Stamp Gang and Tim Holtz Distress ink sprays. I usually end up going for more brown tones in my masculine mixed media projects but this time I wanted a different look so I used more gray and yellow tones with splashes of black and white.

 

 

Next, I pulled out some background stamps. They are great way to add layers without bulk.

 

Now onto the next steps.......

 

 

I heat embossed some chunky argyle pieces that I custom made with my Cricut Explore with a Ranger puffy black embossing powder and for a bit of shine, I then spritzed the pieces with Prima Bloom spray in Precious Stone. I adhered a few strips of washi tape to the two corners. Then I added some Prima embellishments, buttons, ribbon, and a stamped sentiment from CTMH set Family Love , some AC enamel dots, and here is the finished project......

 

 

I love how this turned out and I can't wait to give it to my hubby!!

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog.... have a great creative day!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Altered Starbucks bottle... a mixed media project

Hi and welcome to my blog!  We are enjoying a beautiful  sunny day here , although the it's still quite cool... but soon we will be enjoying the lazy days of summer!!!! Many parts of the world may be enjoying flowers in bloom , but not us unfortunately... so I guess I will just have to make my own May flowers! I have a few of these Starbucks Frappuccino bottles just waiting to be altered. Here is what I started out with.....

I covered the entire bottle with some Gesso and then started layering  with texture and colours .......

 

 

 I watered down my Prima chalkboard paints and then spritzed them as I applied them to the bottle. I did the same thing with my spray inks, until I achieved the desired look. I love the vintage shabby look of these colors together. Next I dug through my stash for bits and pieces of lace, leaves, wooden accents.... really anything that I thought would look good !

 

There's a bit of everything here.... some stamping, stencilling, inking.....and of course lots and lots of flowers!!! The tag was made from a Prima journaling pad. I stamped this beautiful sentiment from Flourish stamps and added a few flatbacked pearls and attached it with a mini clothespin.

 

 

 

 

Here is a closeup of some of the stamping and stencilling that I used. Most of my flowers were from Prima and the lace is actually cut from a 3 inch lace trim I received as a free gift from a recent order... I cut random sections and coloured it with some watered down chalkboard paint ( SeaBreeze). The chipboard sections were made with my Cricut Explore from a Morroccan cutfile I found online. A few buttons, some twine, a metal flower and bling and this project is finished!!!


Im entering this bottle over at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for their May Flowers challenge.

I'm also entering this over at Anything But Cute mixed media challenge blog for their first challenge!!!! Yay!! .... another great blog dedicated to all those great mixed media styles ( Thanks Pamellia!!!) . OMG... so much talent from the DT.... love it!!!

Here's the current challenge...







 

 

I hope you enjoyed my little project and thank you  for visiting my blog today!!