Saturday, 13 January 2018

Tando Media Board - Faux Metals

Yes Faux Metal has been the theme over on the Tando blog this week and there have been several posts with great ideas for inspiration.
I have made one of my easel boards using the Tando chipboards, Andy Skinner stamps and kits and DecoArt media line paints and metallic lustres.


I love adding an easel (using Tim's small easel die) so the board can stand up and be displayed somewhere.


If you fancy seeing a super quick Tarnished Silver technique that I created on the clock and how to mix that gorgeous metallic bronze on the heart then do pop over to the Tando Creative Blog and all will be revealed..........


Wow this week went super fast with so many deadlines to get projects finished and out and teaching a workshop yesterday I just don't know where it went.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Create your own visual style... let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others. 
Orson Welles
hugs Brenda xxx

Updated - copied over from the Tando blog

My sample for this week's theme of 'Faux Metal' includes probably one of the most simplest ways you will find for creating a TARNISHED SILVER  look. I have been teaching this very quick technique recently for part of a workshop project and when the frame I used it on is layered with other elements it looks really quite cool.


My Tando make for the theme has the Tarnished Silver technique on the clock - it's so easy - but I've also used metallic lustres, other media paints and gesso to create this overall metallic look to the piece and added an easel die cut on the back



Firstly take the media board (cut from Tando greyboard) and give it a coat of black gesso to seal it and dry. Then paint a coat of media silver acrylic paint and dry before stamping with shapes and text (I used the Andy Skinner Steampunk set).


I wanted to keep the silver feel to this background so I mixed some gesso with the silver paint and when the ink was perfectly dry I rubbed it all over with my finger whilst spritzing it with water. I then dabbed a piece of kitchen roll into it to remove quite a lot of the paint before heat drying it. I also distressed the edges.
TOP TIP
I will nearly always distress/sand the edges of my pieces and use distress inks to frame the substrate  also to give it a lovely timeworn look.


Take the clock  - you can use chipboard or die-cuts for this technique - and paint it with black gesso, heat dry and then give it a rough coat of media silver acrylic paint. When that is dry randomly sand the edges so that you go back to the black or the original board and then blend in a dark brown distress ink. If you need to lighten some of the silver rub a very little of the silver paint or silver metallic lustre in random places to bring back some of the shine. That's it!!!!!!



 The inner circle of the clock was first painted with the silver paint, sanded and scratched and rubbed over with a little elegant emerald metallic lustre then covered with ground espresso distress ink. I flicked it with water and then dried it and repeated a second time.


The large cog was painted with media acrylic gold paint and sealed with ultra matte varnish. I lightly sanded some edges rubbed in vintage photo distress inks then also rubbed over some black shimmer metallic lustre and then dipped it in water and dragged a dry wetwipe over it ro remove some. I still
have a bit of a silvery effect on it. To finish I added some stamped scratches using Andy's Toxic set.


The heart was painted with a custom mix of paints which gave me a gorgeous bronze shade. This chart shows the stages it went through to achieve the final colour.


A coat of the custom colour. a mix of silver and black stencilled through the Tando cog stencil and then some splatters of silver and the silver/gesso mix finished it off.


The number was simply painted with black gesso, rubbed with a little silver spark metallic lustre and then the edges distressed with sand paper and vintage photo distress ink rubbed in.



The word was also painted with black gesso, stippled with the natural sponge and the silver/gesso mix and distressed.


Well I hope you have enjoyed the Faux Metals theme this week and that it's given you some inspiration for your own projects.




Monday, 8 January 2018

Grungy Journal covers - Andy style - DecoArt Media Team

Welcome everyone - I was over on the DecoArt Media Design Team blog last year with this very grungy Andy Skinner style HeArtfelt journal. All the details can be seen over there and you can be transported if you click HERE.



To keep all my work in one place I have now added all the details below.

I made two cover panels using Andy's mega crackle technique (link to Andy's tutorial here) using DecoArt media fluid paints and mediums. Just look at the MEGA crackles that appeared.


On to the focal embellishing of the cover. I took a piece of card big enough to take the skull and dipped it in watery washes of sap green, titan buff and burnt umber drying between each layer.


I stamped the skull and just had enough room for the specimen plate as well.


Take a piece of greyboard cut to size to fit the journal panels and draw where the cut out skull and specimen plate will go. With a palette knife add some texture sand paste around the edges. Let it dry although it can be helped along with a heat gun.


Then paint over the whole piece with black gesso.


Now take a stiff bristled brush and dry brush with white gesso - you can see here where the stamped pieces will go ....


.... and the same with yellow iron oxide but keeping it to one edge all the way round.


Repeat with sap green and phthalo blue ....


.... and lastly some quinacridone gold.



Now for some random watery washes, the first is sap green mixed with transparent yellow iron oxide ....


...the second is burnt umber mixed with straight yellow oxide.


Next I turned my attention to the stamped pieces and added some watery quinacridone edges and painted a little inside the skull to help them blend in with the plaque. 


When they were dry I glued them to the plaque and gave it all a coat of ultra matte varnish.


Back to the mega crackle panels, I dabbled watery washes of the same three colours used on the stamped pieces and spritzed the areas with water before drying each colour separately.


I then made a dirty glaze to seal the surfaces using one of Andy's recipes - find it about 3/4 of the way through this video HERE.


At the same time I edged a quote chip with quinacridone gold and sealed it with the glaze.


I had a rust making session creating four nuts and bolts and  some rusty card to die-cut some decorative elements. I chose this one and gently rubbed over some lavish green metallic lustre.


Going back to the journal covers I overlapped and struck the spines together with redline tape and gave them a coat of white gesso. When it was dry I stamped the crackles using black archival ink and then repeated the steps of dabbled washes and dirty glaze (see above).


Sand the edges of the panels and ink them with ground espresso distress ink and adhere them to the covers and assemble the elements on the front cover of the journal.


Cut papers to create inside panels and also cut and score a thin one to cover the inside of the spine. Add elastic to hold page inserts.


Make up little 'booklets' of papers and pockets to tuck under the elastic.



Some of you will have seen that I am now a proud member of the Andy Skinner Creative Team and I'm looking forward to making samples with lots of his new products that will be coming out over the next few weeks. Stay Tuned.



hugs Brenda xxx



Products Used:
Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber
Media Fluid Acrylics Sap Green
Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff
Media Fluid Acrylics Paynes Grey
Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Gold
Media Fluid Acrylics Phthalo Blue
Media Fluid Acrylics Yellow Oxide
Media Fluid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide
Media Crackle Paint
Media Texture Sand Paste
Media Black Gesso
Media White Gesso
Media Ultra matte Varnish
Metallic Paint – Metallic Lustre Lavish Green
Americana – Weathered Wood


Supplies Used:
Assorted Brushes
300 gms White Cardstock
Strong double sided tape
A piece of greyboard
Andy Skinner Stampendous Skulldogery Stamp Set
Andy Skinner Andy Skinner Industrial Elements Bolts/Washers sheet
Items for embellishments
Journal and papers
A Quote Chip
Crackle stamp
Black archival ink






Thursday, 4 January 2018

Be you bravely Tag - Even if it Sucks project

I recently saw this photo on the Let's Be Creative VIP FB page and had had a similar thought in my mind - to try and create something small several times a week to keep my creativity bubbling away. I often get lost in the big projects and then have nothing to show for it because it's for a post in the future.


So having been getting my first DecoArt Mixed Media team project done for 2018 this is an off-shoot using up leftover paint and creating a small tag for today.


DecoArt Chalky Finish paints with a Prima stencil.


Translucent Media Acrylics, colours mixed with translucent white and a little bit of matte medium and blended over with a sponge.


An Andy Skinner stamp.


A Paper Doll, some tissue tape and small talk sticker quote ......


..... and there we have it.


I'm quite happy with this to get me started in 2018.

I thought I'd also show you one of my Christmas presents from Ken.


Yes it's a light studio with two enormous photo bulbs and lamps a fabulously huge box tent which at the moment is set up in the spare bedroom and oh boy I love it. What a difference in taking my blog photos, even on a grey day or at night time. A little bit of editing in Photoshop Elements and they're done.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and creative New Year.

hugs Brenda xxx

Monday, 25 December 2017

Shabby Christmas Card - Holly - and Christmas Greetings

This was the second of my shabby seasonal stand up cards which has almost the same technique as the first one I made ( which you can find here if you missed it).


I did a make and take at Ministry of Mixology and created a shabby vintage card which you can see here. The boards were cut for me by Di at Tando Creative and I have been using to make a set of cards to put into the Pack House.


I dribbled and daubed some watery washes over the chalk paints to create some contrast and depth of colour.


I added Tim's easel die-cut as the stand .......


... and used this die-cut for the sentiment, cut from textured card like core'dinations, sanded and inked.


Well the big day has arrived, I hope it is one filled with love, happiness and some quiet peaceful moments for reflection.

**********************

My Christmas tree this year in the conservatory, I love it.


Ella, my 11 year old Granddaughter on stage at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford in their pantomime for this year - Dick Whittington.



So proud of her.


And from me to you, with my family and Santa, I wish you a very 
Merry Christmas.


hugs Brenda xxx




Saturday, 23 December 2017

Abstract Christmas Art - DecoArt MMDT

AS my grandchildren said to me yesterday today is Christmas Eve Eve and I hope you are now ready for the festivities.

I have a Christmas canvas over on the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog  which originally started out as an experiment in abstract art and morphed into a Christmas canvas.

If you would like to see all the process steps and photos please pop on over when you have a minute to see how I brought this together.

Have a great weekend.

hugs Brenda xxx

Friday, 22 December 2017

Shabby Christmas Card - Santa's Wish

I have so enjoyed making this selection of cards with chalk paints, chipboard pieces and die-cut card. Others can be found by scrolling back (or clicking Reindeer Wish or Snowflake Noel) and you will see completely different designs but more or less the same technique to make them.


The backgrounds are painted with the DecoArt media acrylics ......


..... and the white is chalky finish paint stippled over. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz die.


I die cut an easel from mountboard using the Tim Holtz die and added it to the back to give it the support it needs to stand up.


My wish for Christmas is for a peaceful world where people live happily and in harmony together.

Only three more sleeps.

hugs Brenda xxx