Mixed Media ...... the less is more approach

Happy Sunday .......

Happy Bank Holiday weekend too ...... and isn't it a nice one!  Sorry I've been AWOL for the last week or so ...... not really sure where the time went but hey! life gets in the way sometimes.
Everything's good though ... the old craft room door is open, projects are .... underway shall we say. Although I think Mr Mojo has had a little too much sun .... he's just not playing ball!!

This years Isle of Man TT is underway ....... practice week started yesterday.  Lets hope this beautiful weather lasts for the whole two weeks.
It's going to be a busy fortnight .... both of the kids are working all hours for most of it ...... goes without saying, the hospitality industry on the island gets a little hectic this time of year!
Not sure Lauren is looking forward it all, and Chris showed me the rota he's done for his place ....... he was down as working everyday for the whole fortnight (well he is the landlord) ..... as AFD ????   I won't tell you what it stands for ..... you can probably guess.   And if you're in the hospitality business you'll probably know what it means!!!!!  Let's just say he'll be ready for his holiday at the end of it ...... we all will!!

Anyway ..... enough about the TT.  My long weekend got off to a great start ...... a lovely workshop yesterday with a great bunch of ladies.
I introduced them to a little bit of Mixed Media ...... out of the comfort zone for a couple of them I think, which ..... is not a bad thing.  By the end of the afternoon they had all created beautiful pieces of art work that they were really proud of .... well done ladies!!

Here's a few samples I'd done to give them a bit of inspiration and maybe a starting point ...... mixed media but with a little bit of a less is more approach

We started with a card ..... to get them used to using different products, and layering to give texture

They each worked on a small panel of card .... adding colour first using Distress Inks, a little water, and a piece of acetate to apply the colour.  I'm loving this technique at the moment, it's such an easy way to get a nice watercoloured background

Next we added a bit more interest to the background using texture stamps ...... the ones I used here are from Stampin Up ....... Gorgeous Grunge and Timeless Textures ..... they also turned out to be favourites among the ladies on the class.

Next came the main images .... stamped directly onto the inked card to get the placing of them and then stamped also onto a separate piece of card, which they were then coloured and fussy cut

Both the beautiful poppies and the butterfly I used are from Inkylicious.
Before adding the coloured images, I applied some texture paste through a stencil, randomly onto my design to add in a touch of texture ......

Whilst the paste was wet, I sprinkled on some embossing powder ..... a mixture of white and gold detail powders ,,,,,,,, and then I used a heat tool as normal.  This is so cool .... when the EP melts and the paste gets hot it starts to bubble adding even more texture ..... you have to be careful though not to over heat it as it will burn .... how do I knows that ..... hmmm!!!
And I had to add a little something on the inside too ......

Another example I showed them was a card I made for a Blog Challenge earlier this year .......
same sort of thing ..... mixed media but very CAS.  Inks, stamps, texture paste .... only this time I used gilding flakes to add a bit more interest.  You can find more details on this one here if you'd like to take a look

Then we moved on to a canvas .......... a favourite look of mine ...... small canvas board mounted onto a larger one (in true Barbara Gray style)

They used all the same techniques only this time onto a 7x5 inch canvas board

Started with the colour ..... added the texture stamps, and the main images.  Added in some texture paste  ........

Overlaid the coloured images, and finished with a touch of gilding flakes here and there.

For the larger canvas we added some texture paste first and then painted over the whole thing in either black, as I've done here ..... or a colour to compliment the centre piece

As you can see I finished off mine by adding a bit of white paint dry brushed over the texture paste to bring out some of the detail.

Another design I showed them was a little something I did just for me ....... another canvas, this time one of the boxed style .....

Exactly the same techniques as before, same stamps, just different colours

I used a honeycomb stencil this time with the texture paste ......

Added plain white embossing powder over the top and heated it ....... look at how it raises up more ...... I love it!

Once it had cooled down, I applied a touch of Flitter Glu over parts of the raised areas and added some gold gilding flakes, then finished off the whole thing by adding some words.

The whole afternoon was fun and I think I'm safe in saying that they're not scared of mixed media anymore.  It doesn't have to be all dark and grungy, with lots of paints and pastes and metal everywhere .... you can do as much or as little as you like.

I always love the end of the afternoon .... not because I've talked and laughed too much, haven't sat down for nearly 4 hours, eaten far too much cake and biscuits and the class is over but ...... because it's nice to see how everyone took the same information, saw the same samples, used the same products but came up with completely different results and they're happy with what they've created. Look at this fabulous display ....... well done ladies, you deserved those glasses of wine!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great Bank Holiday!

Cheerio until next time ......

xx