Stencils and modeling paste

Hello

A while ago a friend and I got together for a crafty day. One of the things we had a go at was using Pentart light modeling paste through stencils.

It can be used in moulds but is very light and fairly quick drying on a porous surface. We prepared quite a few for later use...
 

...taking over the living room floor.

I started with a good sprinkle of Brusho and Pixie Powders, spritzing with water to get the background going. You can see a bit of the sheen from the Pixie Powder.

The modeling paste acts as a resist and remains much paler, although the red seemed to stain a bit more. Next I used gilding wax on the paste.

I didn't feel I had quite the depth I wanted so I added a bit of stencilling.

Finally a few white splatters tied it all together.

They have a really nice textured finish, very tactile indeed.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Do let me know what you think, your comments are always welcome xxx

 

 

 

January basket

Hello

Something a bit different this week and something I found a bit challenging. In previous posts I have mentioned that I am joining in with challenges hosted by Isa on Facebook. There are four a month; a technique on a tag, art journal, Christmas card and 'the basket'. 

The idea of the basket is to gather together crafting supplies which have never been used, or not seen the light of day in a while, and come up with something. For those in the UK it's the crafting equivalent of Ready, Steady, Cook!

I have A LOT of crafting supplies so I was able to put together a basket of unused and neglected items with a steampunk feel. I started with putting washi tape and peel offs on black card. Then added some Distress Oxide ink and gilding wax.

A little bit of a cheat as I used a new Stamperia alchemy stencil for the background.

The Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 ticket stamp must be over 10 years old and unused. The Tim Holtz mini file folders are even older than that. To finish off I added gilding wax to the wooden adhesive beads.

I struggled at first to think of what to do, which is why the items had been unloved for so long, but in the end it didn't turn out too badly. The eagle eyed among you will have noticed there are still some things in the basket I haven't used. If I have time I may return to it.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a great day. xxx

Bowled Over

Hello

I can't believe August is all but over. It's been a very busy month with family birthdays, trips away and visitors. There hasn't been much time for the usual mixed media and papercrafting but I have had a very creative time.

First I'm sharing some bowls made with air dry clay following a tutorial by Giovanna Zara. You can follow the link on her blog Giogiocraft.

My mother-in-law was staying for a while and we had fun having a go at this technique. The clay was easy to roll out like pastry. Unlike pastry, we found when we combined the left over edges it didn't join up again smoothly, but had air bubbles in it. We still managed 5 pieces from one packet. We used Giogiocraft stencils.

Once dry we sanded off the edges for a smoother finish. Here are mine painted...

Then gilded and varnished...

We chose to use a gloss varnish on the top and a matt varnish on the bottom. 

Here are my mother-in-law's...

...the yellow bowl came out especially well.

If you give it a try, do leave enough time for the clay to dry completely before painting, and again enough time for the paint to dry before glazing.

I visited the Museum of Royal Worcester in August and was completely blown away by this piece by George Owen in the collection. The photograph is taken from the website. Having spent a week on and off making our crude, wobbly air dry clay bowls I am in awe of the craftsmanship involved. I would highly recommend the museum if you're in the area.

Thank you for stopping by xxx

Photo Frame

Hello
Just a quickie today as I'm determined to make some time to do some crafting. Here's a little something I'm going to do as a class next month at Chertsey Museum.

Enjoy the weekend, we have an extra day here in the UK so bonus crafting time!

Thank you for taking a look xxx

For the Girls

Hello
Somehow it slipped by me that my project was up on The Craft Barn blog this week. There have been lovely projects which will make great gifts as well as decorations.

The bottles are great fun to decorate. I've used the technique in the past in another project that you can see here.

Right off to bed now as I'm hoping to get up bright and early and put my mind to a couple of crafty projects in the morning.

Have a good weekend. xx

Tealight Holder

With Christmas approaching it’s time for a bit of altering. I picked up a tealight holder in a charity shop some time ago that was crying out for a makeover. First texture past was added, left to dry and then painted white.

Next the background was painted, gradually blending the colours together. When it was dry speckled stars were added in white paint and the textured areas were highlighted with gilding wax.

  Die cut snowflakes were embossed and painted silver. When the silver was dry the raised areas were highlighted with white paint and the snowflakes were adhered with gel medium.

 Finally gems were added and the holder was sealed with gel medium which also gives a silk finish. To finish a circle of felt was added to the base.

 

Now that it's dark so early I really enjoy sitting in candle light when I get in from work. It's a great way to block out distractions and relax.

 

Materials used:

PaperArtsy grunge paste

Tando masks: distorted harlequin, Giovanna eighties

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint: snowflake, blue oyster, china, southern skies, blueberry

Viva Decor Maya Gold: silver

Creative Expressions metallic gilding wax: patina

Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die: winter elements

Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folder: gridlock

Ranger Multi Medium: matte

  

Mixing Media

This week it's all been about mixing media at The Craft Barn. I've had lots of fun with Alchemy Wax and the Color Bloom sprays. For full project details have a look at The Craft Barn blog.

Adorned and adored

Last year I treated myself to the extra large bottle of Dior's J'adore just so that I could have the marvellous gift box with the magnetic clip!  Finally I have had time to work on it just in time for a friend's birthday.  Inspired by the work of Giovanna Zara and her blog, Scrap in Progress, I set to.  The first stage was sticking on die cuts and embellishments, giving it all a coat of gesso and then using Dylusions ink sprays to create a coloured base.

I added a little yellow and orange paint to the base layer and the box was dry brushed with white paint to knock the colours back a bit and create some highlights.  I used Viva Decor Maya Gold paints to bring out the letters and using a sponge, added a slight shimmer over the whole box.  Further highlights were added with gilding waxes. Et voilà!

 

Materials used: 

various die cuts and embellishments

Ranger Multi Medium: matte

Dylusions Ink Sprays: funky fuchsia, post box red, squeezed orange

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint: yellow submarine, autumn fire, snowflake

Viva Decor Maya Gold; magenta, lilac

Treasure Gold: white fire

Creative Expressions Metallic Gilding Wax: patina