Skype Journal

Welcome to a Skype collaboration post where I have a fabulous (well I think it is) Eileen Hull HeArtfelt journal to share with you made in an hour long Skype session with the lovely Nikki Acton. We were both experiencing mojo issues and thought that sharing a project and ideas together would help us get through it and get us motivated and feeling better about our crafting again - it certainly worked for me, I really do love what I made.

The Ipads were on the tables and connected to Skype. We had already decided to do the journal before the session and had them and the panels cut and ready to go. We weren't sure how we would collaborate and in the end decided we would take turns in suggesting each new layer for the background and could opt out if we wanted to after 6 layers.

So here's how it went -

1. Brenda - choose 2 colours of paint and use a brayer to create the first layer.

I used raw umber and titan buff.

2. Nikki - dip, drip and dry with a third colour.

Mine was burnt sienna.

3. Brenda - use a stamp.

 I pulled out a Tim Holtz ledger script stamp and coffee archival ink.

4. Nikki - stencil with paint.

Titanium white was sitting on the table and a sponge and I used them both with Tando Creative and Tim Holtz harlequin stencils.

5. Brenda - paint a wash or glaze of colour all over

I took soft touch varnish, paynes grey, burnt umber and titanium white with a little water, mixed together and used this to knock back the colours and vintage them up a bit more.

6 - Nikki - more stencilling - anyway you like.

At this point I was really happy with my layers and didn't want to stencil again. I tried the printing method but wiped it all off as it really looked awful and decided to go back to my original stencils and ledger script stamp and I stamped through them creating a little darker stamping but not too much of it - phew it worked and looked ok.

7 - Brenda - edge/frame in any way you want to.

I added this layer just because I like to darken the edges of my work and I sanded them back and blended ground espresso round.

Coffee break

Mine was a coffee caramel popcorn frappuccino (taken from the freezer).

Covers

I painted raw umber, dried it and applied a layer of weathered wood and when that was dry painted over eternal chalky finish paint and somehow got quite a mega crackle. A few layers of stenciling, stamping and colour washes and I had something that fitted with the front and back covers in both colour and design.

Embellishments

We decided we would use die-cuts that we had in boxes or lying around rather than cut anything new with an agreed circle shape and some words incorporated into the design. Here you can see me pulling bits together and I also added some memory box chloe flowers and a paper doll with a 'halo' to bring attention to it.

Five hours later we had finished with elastic in and ties and panels on. Woo hoo what a fantastic and fun collaborative Skype session with two brilliant projects finished. Can you guess we both went through the same processes to get to our finished designs? Amazing isn't it how different they are?

Thanks Nikki for a fabulous five hours, we had a great laugh, swapped ideas and tips, talked to Frankie (her cat) and both ended up with something we were really pleased with. All paints and mediums I used are from DecoArt media line.

We had so much fun we are doing it again at the end of August/beginning of September.

Thanks for stopping by, please pop over to Nikki's blog - Addicted to Art and take a look at her project and photos in more detail. I'm sure you'll love her journal and be amazed at how different it is.

See you soon.

hugs Brenda xxx

Blue and green - mixed media journal cover

I'm still making Eileen Hull midori size journals and this time I thought I'd create one for art/ mixed media techniques. As the midori style journal can take three or more signature booklets I thought I would begin by creating one using my DecoArt paints and mediums. This panel is for the front cover, I'll show you the journal as it unfolds as I want to create panels for the back and inside covers too. It is my DT sample for the new Country View Challenges theme starting today with the lovely Corrie choosing 'Blues and Greens'.

I began with some old book and music paper, adhering it to the panel with decoupage and applying a coat over the top at the same time.

Next using phthalo turquoise, viridian and green gold I painted watery blends over the surface and dried it.

Next two brayered layers of the blue and green colours mixed independently with some gesso .....

.... and then white gesso through Andy's gorgeous ammonite stencil using white gesso with a blending tool and foam.

I knew at this point I was going to add some words and maybe embellishments so I didn't want to add too much more to it  and although I love these bright colours I thought I would tone it down with a coloured varnish to knock back the colour and seal it at the same time but as I was thinking that I thought I'd add a few splatters of paint as well.

So I've still got some lovely contrast of colour but they're not in your face, just toned down a bit more. It's actually not such a big sea change as I only used some ultra matte varnish with some paynes grey in it.

Panel one complete with some stamping, remnant rubs and a quote chip to finish it off. Three more to go which is when I will reveal the journal ready to be filled with techniques I am experimenting with or want to practice

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I hope you'll get a chance to pop over to see the fabulous line up of projects my lovely teamies have been making and also get a chance to join in with us.

August - where did summer go????? I know the gardens needed rain but we could do with some sun as well to keep the flowers flourishing.

I hope August is a good month for you. Tomorrow is my next fracture clinic appointment and I am keeping fingers crossed that I come home boot free so that I can wear normal shoes again and get back to driving my car - that will be fabulous if it happens.

Enjoy your art.

hugs Brenda xxx

Technique Tuesday #3 - Coarse Stucco - DecoArt

I've called this Coarse Stucco and there are two with slight variations of textures here. I have also included a technique called monoprinting to create layers. I'll come back to this in more detail another time.

Apply texture sand paste to substrate with a palette knife and dab the flat side over it to roughen it up. Leave to dry. I used greyboard and didn't prepare it in any way.

Dabble on three watery washes of  chosen colours, spritz and dry each layer separately until the paint has covered the whole piece. I used hansa yellow light, cerulean blue and viridian.

Take a small piece of card and brush paint over it and press onto the surface of the coloured piece. This is called monoprinting.
Monoprint titan buff ...

... and titanium white over the surface. It will stick to the higher points and leave the colour showing through underneath.

For my second sample I used a piece of card and began by sealing it with a coat of gesso before scraping the texture sand paste over it with a palette knife, just as if I was buttering a slice of bread and then when it was dry I dabbled the paints over again (I used the same colours plus a very little burnt umber to mute them a bit). You can see where the colours have been absorbed more intensely by the paste and the lighter channels of the watery washes inbetween.

Again I did the monoprinting with titan buff ....

.... and titanium white and got some quite different effects but used almost the same steps.

You can see another example here.

Thanks for popping by again this week and all your lovely comments on the techniques and the graphic for pinning. See you again next week with another technique for you to pop into your library of things to try.


hugs Brenda xxx

DecoArt Mixed Media Design Team project - Vintage Collage Tag

Welcome everyone to one of my samples for the DecoArt Mixed Media Design Team blog which was showed over there in April.

I had been swapping a few bits recently and with one of my blogging friends and she very kindly sent me one of the new Etcetera tags, and at 5 1/2 x 10 inches I couldn't believe this was the small size.

I have really mixed my media this time round as I have used the chalky finish paints as well as the media fluid acrylics and mediums.

I took out some DecoArt chalky finish paints and brayered four layers drying between each one .

Relic ......

.... Primitive ...

.... Restore ....

.... Lace ....

I wanted to keep some of the peeled paint look but also wanted it to be brighter and shabbier so I grabbed a 12 x 12 stencil, painted it with white tinting base .....

...... and laid it over the tag rubbing it down with some kitchen towel ......

 ...... so that when I pulled it away it revealed random mottled dots with a white fill in. I really like this effect. Not wanting to add any more at that moment I left it to dry out overnight to give me some thinking space (yes I know I can overdo the thinking sometimes but for me the detail, the accuracy and the composition are everything - just the way my brain works!!!) 

Don't you love the texture the white tinting base has to it just because it was sandwiched between the tag and the stencil.

 So next morning I decided to stamp into the spots using a very old text stamp with French script on it. The two photos below show the technique and how it looked when I took the stencil away.

Now I started collecting together the ephemera and embellishments for this large tag .....

.... and inked and altered them ready to use and layer up. I started with the metal pieces to make the attachment for the word band and these pieces were altered with iced espresso metallic lustre.

I put together the collage layer by layer .......

..... layer two .........

..... layer three with a grounding strip (where the feet will go) and brushed the surface of all the papers with matte Decou-Page.

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I gave all these pieces a wash of tinting base to bring them together into the colours of the background.

Then added some burnt umber, raw umber and quinacridone gold around the edges to give a slight rust effect to it. Use the water spritzer and watery colours with a small brush adding and drying until you are happy with it.

To finish I added the film strip, metal number, focal photo and butterfly. Then I twisted some rusty wire through an old button and adhered it in the hole at the top.

I hope you like my rather large wooden tag, thanks for stopping by to take a look and please do pop over to the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog where there is a wealth of inspiration, ideas and tutorials from the most amazing artists and covering a wide variety of art genres and skill. I am sure you will find plenty for you to choose from to inspire you.

hugs Brenda xxx

Technique Tuesday #2 - Pitted Glaze - DecoArt

TWO


Here's a great technique that I've seen used several times in different ways and with different products so I thought I would share it today as it's a technique I love to use when I want a rusted and pitted effect.

Paint the substrate by applying a layer of acrylic paint(s) using a wet wipe, paint brush, palette knife, old credit card, sponge and creating a layered effect. I decided to use all blues with some white and didn't want the blue paint to soak straight into the card so I scraped an very thin layer of white tinting base over to seal the surface and give me some more wiggle time to move the paints around. I wiped over the colours with a baby wipe blending them together and finished by dipping into watery washes of the same. (then forgot to take a photo!!!)

At this point either leave it plain or stamp it (as in my sample linked below) or as in my case this time round, I decided to stencil over the colour. I mixed together some gesso and white modeling paste and used a lovely Tando Creative stencil. Leave to dry although you can help it along with a heat gun. 

Apply clear embossing ink and ultra thick clear embossing powder and before heating use a scrunched piece of kitchen towel to dab over and remove some of the powder from the surface. 

Heat the powder until it becomes clear and shiny. 

Paint over the surface with brown and quinacridone paints and work into the cracks.

Leave it for about 45 seconds to a minute and then wipe back with a damp babywipe - you see the pitted areas showing - leaving some of the paint on the surface creates a very grungy effect.

But I wanted to show you what it looks like if you knock it back more and how you can get a cleaner effect but still see pitted areas - this is created by wiping over until you have taken almost all the paint off the shiny surface. So the effects can be controlled to your preference.

Here's one I made recently and stamped on before adding the embossing powder, I used it in a shadow box project, click here to be transported over to see it.

If you are keeping track of these techniques through Pinterest here's the next graphic for you.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy experimenting with the technique and please let me know on Face Book if you use it.

Have a great week.

hugs Brenda xxx