A Spoonful of Love

 

I’ve been wanting to get back to mixed media for a while, and Dawna’s Mixed Media Challenge over at Scrapbook.com has been the perfect opportunity. I’ve raided my stash for all the materials and mediums to create a vintage-type canvas with lots of mechanical elements for the Valentine’s Day season.

 I started by adhering the tissue paper to a 9” x 12” canvas, using matte gel medium to glue it down and then on top to seal it. I ran an archival ink pad around the edges to give it some definition.

When it was absolutely dry, I added some texture by running paper texture paste through a stencil.

While this was setting, I made a few heart and mechanical embellishments using a Finnabair mold and cast resin. I selected a few metal embellishments and a bit of lace to add to my piece.

I started with the lace, cutting a few pieces, and adhering them to the center and arranging them to create the basic flow of the design. Next, I glued down the spoon and then I began to add resin and metal pieces here and there until I was satisfied with the results. I filled in some gaps and added a bit of interest with art stone. (I used matte gel medium as my adhesive; it works with any and all surfaces.) I covered all the components with white gesso. This does double duty, sealing all porous surfaces and adding “teeth” to the smooth ones.

Time to add a little color! I started with the Butterfly Spells acrylic, painting it here and there and spraying it so that it would lightly run down the canvas, using my heat tool to set it. I repeated this step, using the French Lavender shade, then going over and over my piece, alternating the paints, until everything was covered. Next, I watered down some Burnt Sienna paint until it had a consistency of a thick ink and lightly spread it over my assemblage to tone down the colors and give it a shabby look.

I finished my canvas by adding a little bit more of water to the paint and, with the aid of a fan brush, applied splatters over the entire surface.

 

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*****Supplies*****

 

***Paper***

Prima – Finnabair – Decorative Paper – Romantic #968090

***Embellishments***

Prima – Finnabair – Embellishments – Mechanicals – Metal Blooms #968496

Prima – Finnabair – Embellishments – Mechanicals – Grungy Gears #968519

Prima – Finnabair – Embellishments – Mechanicals – Tin Hearts #963361

Prima – Finnabair – Embellishments – Mechanicals – Machine Parts #967109

Prima – Trims – Magnolia #583019

Reneabouquets – Drop Leaf Lace - White

***Mediums***

Ranger – Distress – Archival Ink – Ground Espresso #AMPK77947

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – 3D Matte Gel #961398

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Heavy Gesso – White #961442

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Paper Texture Paste #965259

Prima – Finnabair – Art Ingredients – Art Stones – White #963705

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Acrylic Paint – Sparks – Butterfly Spells #964122

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Acrylic Paint – Metallique – French Lavender #967796

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic – Burnt Sienna #967222

***Tools***

Prima – Finnabair – Stencil – Victorian Tiles #968946

Prima – Finnabair – Imaginarium – Steampunk Hearts #969448

***Other***

9” x 12” Canvas

Alumilite – Amazing Casting Resin - White

 

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

 

Today Is Full of Possiblities

 

For my third January project, I thought I’d use another 8” x 10” canvas as a base, this time covering it with one of the beautiful sheets of patterned paper that came in Tres Jolie's January Scrapbook Kit and taking advantage of the print on another sheet to create a focal point.

I trimmed the base sheet to 8.25” x 10.25” and distressed and inked the edges before adhering it to the canvas with a thick layer of matte gel. (Tip: Place a book in that hollow center of your canvas as you apply mixed media; this will give you a level surface.) I cut my focal piece and trimmed it lengthwise to 10.25”, then inked and distressed the edges. I glued this to two layers of cardboard and adhered it to the base.

The chipboard flourishes were primed with clear gesso and then covered with embossing powder. It came out a bit darker than I expected, but the deep green makes a nice contrasting element against the soft blues.

I seem to be on a resin kick all of a sudden… I selected a mold featuring a large frame and filled it with cast resin. This sets in a matter of minutes and I was able to begin coloring it within a half an hour. I used a stipple brush to apply Old Denim wax all over the frame, making sure that I got into the cracks and creases. I let it set for a few minutes, then used my finger to lightly burnish the surface with White Pearl wax.

Time to assemble my piece… I positioned my frame around the large bloom that’s on the patterned paper and glued it down. The chipboard flourishes were cut in half and placed at the edges of the frame. I selected several of the blooms that came in the kit; the ivory and the blues are perfect embellishments. Before attaching the dangle charms, I covered the cork and metal surfaces with wax so they would blend in.

The resin bird was burnished with wax – first the blue then the white – and glued to the frame.

I finished my piece by selecting a quote sticker and backing it with a scrap and attaching it to the frame.

 A few closeups:

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 *****Supplies*****

***Très Jolie January Kit***

Paper Heaven – A Walk in the Clouds Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Sheet 02 #PH_SWC02

Paper Heaven – A Walk in the Clouds Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Sheet 06 #PH_SWC06

Tres Jolie – Laser Cut Chipboard – Flourish Set 6

49 and Market – Handmade Flowers – Majestic Bouquet – Ivory #MB-34154

Prima – Nature Lover Collection – Flower Embellishments – Blue River #653002

Prima – Shabby Chic Treasures Collection – Ingvild Bolme – Resin Embellishments – Birds #892470

Tres Jolie – Charms

***Other***

Advantus – Tim Holtz – Idea-ology – Stickers – Small Talk #TH93193

***Mediums***

Liquitex Professional – Acrylic Medium – Matte Gel

Ranger – Distress Ink Pad – Mini – Chipped Sapphire #126970

Ranger – Embossing Powder – Antiquities – Topiary #EAJ00419

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Gesso – Clear #961466

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallique Wax – Old Denim #966768

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallique Wax – White Pearl #968380

***Tools***

Prima – Finnabair – Imaginarium – Mould – Grungy Frames #968588

Alumilite – Amazing Casting Resin – White

Piccolo – Embossing Adhesive

 

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

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Never Stop Exploring

 

For my first project of 2022, I decided to use the January Mixed Media Kit from Tres Jolie, featuring a set of Gouache paints from Prima and a bunch of go-with goodies. To save my life, I cannot draw, so I thought I would experiment with the paints and see what I could come up with. I added a few items from past kits and a couple of things from my stash and came up with this:

I began by using the stencil that came with the kit and the crackle paste from September to create texture on the surface of the watercolor panel.

While that was setting, I created a few resin frames with the Stamperia mold that came in the July Mixed Media Kit and put them aside.

Now for the experimenting…. Gouache is much thicker than watercolor paint and the colors are very intense. I ended up blending a few colors here and there to come up with a blue that wasn’t too dark. I watered this down a bit before applying it to the top of the board. I used my mister to further water it down and used my heat tool to direct the colors toward the bottom. I repeated this step several times until I was satisfied with the results, then I coated the sides and let them dry. 

 I put this aside for a bit while I did a bit more blending and colored the resin frames. Once the paint was set, I used a stipple brush to burnish them with Metallique Wax.

I altered the canvas flowers with the same blends that I used for the canvas and frames and gave them a few swipes of the wax.

Now for the assembly…. First, I applied Metallique wax around the edges with my finger to create some definition. Then, I adhered the frames and flowers to the board. Next, I mixed some Art Stones with gel medium and spread them inside the frames and here and there around the edges of the flowers and allowed this to set firmly before coating them with more of that wax. I covered a few Art Pebbles with gesso and then wax and glued them along with a few pearls here and there.

 

I added a butterfly and a Quote Chip and called it “done”. 

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 *****Supplies*****

 ***Très Jolie Mixed Media Kit***

Prima – DIY – Watercolor Panel – 8 x 8 x 1 #585686

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Alterable Flowers #963255

Kaisercraft – Mini Designer Template – Arc #T042

Prima – Art Philosophy – Premium Gouache Set #650407

Prima – Mixed Media – Watercolor Brush – Pen Set #580421

 ***Other***

Advantus – Tim Holtz – Idea-Ology – Quote Chips #TH94045

Prima – Nature Lovers Collection – Majestic Flight #652999

 

***Mediums***

Tres Jolie – Crackle Paste

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Heavy Gesso – White #961442

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Heavy Body Gel #963040

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallique Wax – Vintage Gold #963958

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Art Stones #963704

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Art Pebbles – Melange #963323

Prima – Frank Garcia – Memory Hardware – Pearls - #990381

***Tools***

Stamperia – Maxi Mold – Princess Frames #K3PTA470

Alumilite – Amazing Casting Resin - White

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

Don’t forget that Tres Jolie can be found in the following places:

Facebook: 

Instagram: 

Tres Jolie website: 

Tres Jolie subscriptions: 

Tres Jolie blog:

Tres Jolie YouTube: 

Pinterest