A little bit of re-cycling for the HLS Mixed Media Challenge ......

Happy middle of the week ......

I've had a lovely day today crafting with a friend,  We were actually putting the last minute touches to this weekend's workshop .... looking forward to this one.  We're going to be doing a little mixed media using rice papers, which by the way are quite addictive once you start using them!!!

Speaking of Mixed Media ..... it's time for this month's Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge.  We've got a fun theme for you this month ...... LAYERS

For me, that could be layers of inks and/or paints, layers of papers, stamps and texture pastes with stencils, adding embellishments, ink sprays, ......... the list goes on.

For my inspiration piece I've re-cycled an old plaque and used most of the above!! 

I came across this in a box when we moved house.  I'd obviously made a start on re-cycling it at some point and then just put it away.  It's been sat on my desk since it was unpacked, waiting to have a make-over, so here it is ...... there's lots of layers here!

The flowers and the brick wall texture were on the original design ...... done back in 2015!

I just took off the sentiment panel, and gave the whole thing a coat of black gesso to give me a nice matte finish to the base.

I love the flowers so I left those as they were, just added new colour over them.
They're simply paper flowers, layered onto the base using a good strong glue. I added in a few die cut leaves here and there too.
I use Prima 3D Matte Gel from Finnabair's Art Basics range as the glue, it sticks everything, and holds its shape brilliantly so you can get great dimension. It dries clear too.

This is also a good way of using up all those paper flowers that you're not too keen on the colour of, you know the one's I mean .... we all have a box full of them.  It doesn't matter what colour they are, especially if you're using black gesso as your base.

I then started adding various colours of metallic paints and sprays ..... shades of turquoise, and greens a little bit of purple, and believe it or not, there's even a touch of pink in there too .....

 
I kept spritzing the paints with a little water, just to blend the colours ........ especially around the flowers.

For the brick wall I kept mainly to the blues and greens, with just a touch of deep purple to add shading here and there

Once all the paint was dry I went in with some metallic waxes to add even more colour, and highlight the textures ......

If you've never used coloured metallic waxes give them a go ....... there's a few different brands to choose from, my favourites are Prima's Finnabair Art Alchemy waxes, they have some fab colours (some of the ones I've used here are from this range), and then there's Treasure Gold, these are gorgeous.  Again great colours, and so easy to use.

I applied most of mine using my fingers but you could use a sponge or a brush, to get in all the detailed areas .

I added some pretty layered, die cut butterflies ..... cut from scraps of card from my bit box .... and highlighted using the metallic paints and the waxes

And finished off with a sentiment .... stamped and then fussy cut, and layered onto the bottom ....

As always, there's a $20 Gift Certificate for the challenge winner, which will be DOUBLED if they've used HLS stamps on their project.

Have fun!

Thanks for popping by ........  enjoy the rest of your day.

Mixed emotions again for me today,  as this is my last DT post for the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge ....... (sad face)
I've had nearly 3 years of Mixed Media fun as part of this fabulous team but, it's time to give someone else the chance to be part of this amazing family!  Thanks again Kylie for having me on the team, it's been a fabulous Mixed Media journey ......  mwah!!

Cheerio until next time .....

And we're off ........

Good morning ..... and Happy Wednesday!

Sorry I'm a bit late sharing the workshop from the weekend ...... I've been a little busy so far this week.  We're going on holiday today .... whoo hoo!!

We did have a great workshop though .... lots of fun decorating wooden boxes using acrylic paints, gorgeous shimmer paints  (Finnabair's Art Alchemy Sparks range and the Imagination Crafts Starlights), gilding waxes and lots of embellishments.  It's funny how everyone follows the same techniques, but the end results are always so different .... I love it!

Here's a look at my inspiration pieces I created to get them started ......

You've already seen one of these up close, in a blog post from last week, you can find the details here if you missed it.

This box has actually been altered quite a few times ...... there's quite a few layers of paint on there now.  That's the thing ..... if you don't like how it's turning out, paint over it and start again! Or if you love the box but just don't like the colour anymore, paint over it again  ..... easy!

We used various embellishments to create the detail on the boxes ...... paper flowers, metal and chipboard cogs .....

Metal charms and tiny Art Stones ..... anything to add interest and texture

I even but a pretty drawer handle on the top of one box .......

I love how the crown looks on this particular box ..... I used gilding waxes over the paint to bring out all the detail ......

You can see there's more of those Art Stones on here too ..... some larger ones as well as the tiny version

We used texture paste and stencils to add more interest ..... and there's pieces of cotton lace in there too

Once all the detail and the embellishments were on, then came the paints.  The whole thing was painted over, some used just the chalk finish acrylics, others went for it and used all metallics and shimmer, and some even used a bit of both.   We got a fabulous mix of colours and styles ...... here's a look at the finished boxes ......

Aren't they all gorgeous .... love the pink, very feminine.

The golden honey colour looked so rich ....... and as I said, everyone did the same thing but each one ended up totally different.

I'd love to stay and chat but ...... I still need to pack!
Then it's time to load up the car and start on our journey.  Once we're across in the UK our first stop is Birmingham.  Hubby and I have 3 nights in a hotel .... 2 days at the BBC Good Food Show which is on at the NEC, and then dinner booked on Friday evening at a favourite restaurant.
Happy days!

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time ......

What's in the box? ........ HLS Mixed Media Challenge

Happy Tuesday evening ........

It's time to get another one of June's Blog Challenge underway .... this time it's the turn of the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge

As you can see, the theme this month is GLITTER ...... we all like a little bit of sparkle here and there don't we!

I've got a little altered box for my DT Inspiration piece ......

I had so much fun playing around with this ..... I changed my mind about the colour twice!  And if any of my crafty ladies are reading this ....... this is one of my samples for the workshop at the weekend!!!

It all started out as a simple wooden box (approx  9cm square)  After a thin coat of white gesso I added some texture onto the box using a stencil and some texture paste along with a tiny bit of crackle paste.

I played around with my embellishments on the top and once I was happy with the arrangement I glued them into place using  Prima's 3D Matte Gel

I was looking for a seaside/beachy type feel to it.   In the end there's a little bit of everything on there .......paper flowers and a chipboard clock face, one of the Tim Holtz word bands .....

Metal cogs and a couple of seashells.  A cute metal seahorse charm from my stash

and a pebble I picked up off the beach ......

To add more texture and interest I sprinkled on some of the mini Prima Art Stones ... love these, and I can't wait to get my hands on the large ones!!

Once I was happy with the layout and arrangement everything was glued into place and then left to dry.

Next came the fun part ..... painting the box.  I used a chalk finish acrylic paint, over the whole thing, making sure to get in between all the layers and the embellishments and then I highlighted certain parts using some the Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallique and Sparks paints.  These are gorgeous to use and give great coverage with beautiful shimmer, and they cover everything.  I used some of the paler shades from the Opal Magic range ..... Green Gold and Violet Gold, with a touch of  Aqua Rose .... so pretty.  I spritz with water here and there to blend the colours slightly

Once the paint was dry ....... it didn't take long at all .... I went back in with some of the Alchemy Waxes ..... rubbing the wax over the embellishments to bring out the detail

To finish off, and add my glitter, I took a small glass bottle, sprinkled some fine crystal glitter into the bottom and then added some glossy accents over the top.  Before the glossy accents started to dry I tipped the bottle so that it started to pour out.  I then attached this onto my box and added a little more glossy accents around the neck of the bottle and sprinkled a little more glitter .....  a pool of mermaid dust I'm calling it

A few more touches of glitter here and there ..... a metal handle on the front of the box

and four ornate metal feet add the finishing touches

Inside the box I left things quite simple .... painted the inside with an off white acrylic paint and then added a pretty wooden heart to the bottom

Crackled and painted with the same colour as the box, and it's had a little of the gold wax applied to the edges

What will you create? ..... I can't wait to see.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.

TT update ...... we're almost in the middle of race week and the weather is playing its part again. There's been a tight schedule the last couple of days with both races and qualifying sessions but unfortunately racing was cancelled today (sigh!)
Hopefully things will get back on track tomorrow (no pun intended) with a full schedule....... flaming June eh!!

Cheerio until next time .......