Flower Girl Figurine Garden Sculpture with Powertex

This is my first attempt at a figurine. She took me a long time to finally get finished, having started her over a year ago at my Level 1 Powertex Tutor Training! Now that she is finally done I love my Flower Girl – and I call her ‘Bestower of Beauty’.

She stands approx. 49cm high.

Materials used:

• Powertex Fabric Hardener: Bronze
• Wooden Base
• Grace Plaster Head – European Collection
• Recycled Textile Yarn (T shirt Yarn), mixed recycled crochet and cotton fabrics, Stockinette and lace strips
• Tin foil, masking tape, toilet roll inner card tube
• Powercotton
• Stone Art
• 3D Sand and Balls
• Silicone Moulds: Daisies and Leaves Mould Set, small daisy and fern (from my stash)
• Powercolor Pigments: Ultramarine, Green and Titanium White
• Colortricx Pigments: Bronze Gold
• The Secret Art Loft Pigments: Lipstick Fizz, Green Ginger, Blue Curacao, Interference Blue, Mojito Lime, Interference Lilac, Violet Valentine, Limoncello Gold
• Easy Varnish

How it was done:

The body was shaped over the wooden pole using the card inner tube stuffed and wrapped with foil and covered with masking tape. The plaster head was taped onto the top.

T shirt yarn was then wound tightly around the torso and down to the base of the pole. I made a bit of a decorative wrap over the torso to create the dress bodice. The whole thing was then given a coat of Bronze Powertex, working it well into the fabric.

 

Fabrics were then coated with Powertex and draped over the body to create the clothing. I used a knitted fabric (Stockinette) to create the illusion of arms by allowing the knit to curl around on itself to give dimension.

A small amount of Power Cotton was added to make small hair plaits draped over her shoulder, and fine lace added to make a headdress. Another piece of T shirt yarn was used to create a tie belt and helped to hold the skirt securely in place. The crochet skirt was draped down and over the base.

During the training course I started the dry brushing technique, mixing pigments into Easy Varnish, to add some colour and bring out the different textures. I used Bronze Colortricx to colour the face, shoulders and hair, plus to add colour around the base. Blue and green Powercolors were used (mixed with a little white) to dry brush and highlight clothing texture.

I was delighted with what I had achieved but came home with my figurine always intending to add more colour (you know how I LOVE colour) and floral embellishments to turn her into a gorgeous flower girl. Sadly she sat in the corner for around a year before I finally pulled her back onto my work bench!

I began by adding much more colour, intense in places, to colour her clothing using the new colours from The Secret Art Loft. I tried to keep most of this colour to the top layers of texture so as to keep depth in the fabric folds. I also added more colour to her face and lips, plus a little shading over the eye lids.

Flower and leaf embellishments were created using Art Stone mixed with Powertex to make a clay which was pressed into silicone moulds. When dry they were coloured with Secret Art Loft Pigments mixed with Easy Varnish and glued in place with Powertex. I also created a suggestion of arms and hands using Stone Art clay. The bad modelling was disguised by carefully placing the bouquet of flowers in her arms – ha ha.

The flowers were also applied onto her dress and down around the base. More texture was added to the base by sprinkling 3D Sand & Balls into wet Powertex.

I spiralled the flowers down and around the hem of her skirt.

Here you can see lots of textures in her outfit, and pretty coloured flowers in her hair.

Another view showing her back.

She looks beautiful standing in the garden. Although she is weather proof I would definitely have to add extra weight (e.g. a concrete base) or add a small garden spike to the base, as she is very vulnerable to toppling over in the wind. I am going to be keeping her indoors so she will be ok as she is.

 

However, she does look gorgeous alongside my unicorn! I might change my mind and adapt the base for outdoors – sure that I have a bit of broken paving slab somewhere – that would do the trick.

I hope that you like my ‘Bestower of Beauty’.

Bye for now, Anne x.

Tropical Art Doll Mixed Media with Powertex

I have never tried making an Art Doll before and I had so much fun making this. I wanted to make her really bright and cheerful with a tropical feel – the fabulous zingy cocktail colours from The Secret Art Loft Pigments, Inks, and Acrylics range were perfect.

Materials Used

• Art Doll MDF Kit A5
• Powertex Fabric Hardener: Transparent, Ivory and Bronze
• Easycoat Mat
• Easy Structure
• Easy Varnish
• 3D Sand
• The Secret Art Loft Acrylics: Orange Marmalade, Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Sorbet, Blueberry Pie
• The Secret Art Loft Inks: Egg Yolk, Tangerine and Metallic Golden
• The Secret Art Loft Pigments: Pink Flamingo, Limoncello Gold, Tequila Sunrise
• Seed beads (pink), leaf beads (cerise and orange) and flower drop bead (orange)
• Large metal filigree embellishment, small MDF teardrop (for bird beak), sequins (pink)
• Copper beading wires (pink colour coated) – 0.8mm and 1mm
• Round nosed and flat nosed jewellery pliers, wire cutters (for cutting and shaping wires)
• Small sections of plastic tube (drinking straws could be used)
• Faux silk flowers (wired stems), scrap cotton fabric strips, cotton fibres pulled from fabric (aqua), and thin pink ribbon
• Fine glitter (green)
• Art Quotes Stencil (The Secret Art Loft) and texture stencil (from my stash)

Extras used on the canvas: A4 canvas board, White Paper Decoration, 3D Sand and Balls, Assorted Lace Strips, dried beech nut outer shells and pine cone, small paper clay flowers, old key, gold glitter plus mix blue & green seed beads.

How it was done:

First all the MDF components were popped out of the sheet and coated with Ivory or Bronze Powertex Fabric Hardener and left to dry. The box frame was constructed and hanger section attached (the Powertex acts as a glue too). I also coated one of the ‘waste pieces’ which I thought would make a great bird shape to insert into the box frame.

A background panel for the box frame was cut from the FAB images on the packaging sheet and glued in place using Easycoat decoupage medium. Acrylic Inks were used to add a tint of colour.

Easy Structure paste was applied through a texture stencil onto the large background panel and to sections of the frame. The Art Quotes Stencil was used to apply text to the frame, and to apply random sections of text to the wings.

When dry, translucent inks were used to tint the text on the frame. The outer background panel was coloured with Lemon Meringue and Orange Marmalade acrylics, then brushed over with a little Metallic Golden Ink to highlight the texture, before sticking down the box frame.

The birdy shaped waste MDF piece was coloured with acrylic paints and layered into the box using Transparent Powertex to glue. The metallic embellishment was coated with Ivory Powertex and stuck down. The beak coated with Bronze Powertex, and eyes created with seed beads (dark centres created with Bronze Powertex, drizzled into the bead hole with a cocktail stick).

Transparent Powertex was used to coat the fabric flowers and massaged into the aqua cotton fibres. It was also drizzled around the sides to embed the seed beads. A little sand was mixed with Transparent Powertex to make a 3D glue paste to help hold the flower stems in place.

More acrylic paints were used to colour, and to brush over textured surfaces. Easy Varnish was used to stick down sequins, and to embed glitter which was brushed over sections for extra sparkle. Pearl Pigments in Varnish were also applied with dry brushing to add shimmer. I just love a bit of bling.

The headdress and face were dry brushed with Pink Flamingo and Limoncello Gold Pigments mixed with Easy Varnish. Sequins and beads were added for more texture and bling. 1mm wire was used to make a hanging loop.

The wings were coloured with Acrylic Paints and Gold Ink and … yes I had to add some glitter sparkle too.

Fabric strips and ribbon were treated with Transparent Powertex and used to wrap sections of plastic tubing to create beads for the upper arms and legs. The upper arms were attached with 1mm wire, through the holes in the box frame, in such a way that they were held in place (i.e. not dangling). This enabled the lower arm dangles to hang each side of the body.

The upper leg sections were attached so that they hung freely at the base giving movement. The lower arm and leg shapes were dry brushed with Varnish and Pearl Pigments, and beads stuck down with Transparent Powertex. These were hung from the upper arm and leg beads using wire loops so they dangled freely. Leaf and flower bead dangles were also added to the frame base and legs using 0.8mm wire (1mm was too thick to fit the bead holes).

The floral MDF shape was painted with acrylics, embellished with a metal filigree shapes and seed beads before gluing to the main background panel.

My finished Art Doll just makes me so happy. I love her bright happy colours. Plenty of bling and dangles too – cannot help but smile.

After using all the provided shapes to create her I looked at the pile of waste MDF bits left behind – they inspired me to create a canvas. I never waste anything – ha ha.

I coloured the background canvas with Bronze Powertex. Texture and the text was then applied using Easy Structure paste through the stencils. I just love this sentiment from the Art Quotes Stencil.

All the waste bits were coated with Ivory Powertex and applied down. I tried not to think about it too much – as I can spend hours procrastinating on positioning stuff! I just wanted to be free and ‘go for it’ and see what happened.

I then started coating some of the embellishments and building up the scene. Sand & Balls were added into wet Powertex and then coloured with inks and by dropping in some pigment powders.

I built up a sort of tree on the left hand side using Paper Decoration and lace, adding the Beech nuts and pine cone to embellish.

More acrylic colour was added, and beads added by embedding in we Transparent Powertex. Pearl Pigments were added to varnish for dry brushing over some of the textures. Finally I just couldn’t help myself but had to add some gold glitter mixed into the varnish. More yummy bling.

The finished piece is fairly crazy and abstract but I was pleased with it. I thought that it looked like a foreground beach with water, sand and trees, then rising up in the background were buildings positioned up a hillside. A kind of tropical paradise I thought. You may see something completely different. That is the joy of abstract art. I had to pop in the key to ‘unlock the mystery’. I hope that you like my mad idea for using up all the scrap MDF bits.

Bye for now, Anne x.

Powertex Mixed Media Shows on Hochanda TV Tomorrow

Tracey is back on Hochanda tomorrow (1 Feb) with more mixed media fun using Powertex.

 

I have had great fun helping out with samples and have to say that the kits are fabulous. Here is a little sneaky peek of one of my samples.

 

Live show times are 12 and 4pm – Freeview Channel 85 (or watch online via their website).

 

Bye for now, Anne x.

Dream, Wish, Create a Beautiful World

This lovely image of a young girl (Victorian Photographs Rice Paper) really called to me and inspired me to make this piece. To me she portrayed a young girl that had experienced in her life far more than any child should. Alone she would dream and wish for a better world. Her creativity would enable her to escape from the trauma and open the door to a world full of beauty.

I know that many can testify that using imagination and creativity really does take them to a happy place and can increase wellbeing. Sorry, maybe a bit heavy? I hope that you like the ‘beautiful world’ that I have created.

I first collected together lots of elements from my stash; a small wooden pallet (15cm square from Art-C), a thick greyboard panel with frame (13.5cm X 5cm, 6cm X 2cm centre, from Tando Creative) plus smaller panel, silicone moulds to create flowers and fern, MDF Heart Keyplate, Penny Washer and Heart Flower (Powertex), scraps cotton fabric and lace.

I created the flowers and ferns using silicone moulds and Stone Art Clay. Stone Art was mixed approx. 50:50 with Ivory Powertex plus a little Transparent Powertex. Ivory Poweretex was also used to coat the inner greyboard pieces.

The wooden pallet and remaining greyboard and MDF pieces were coated with a leftovers mix of Powertex (mainly Lead and Ivory). I keep any leftover Powertex in recycled little takeaway sauce pots (plastic with fully airtight lids). My mix gave a lovely warm grey colour.

I spread Easy Structure Paste across the centre of the pallet and then spritzed with Green Bister.

The rice paper images were applied to the Ivory Powertex coated panels using Easy Coat Mat Medium. Note: the sentiment is actually snipped from the ‘Creative Paper’ branding down the side of the paper. I also used some small leftover snips from a floral paper.

Cotton fabric was treated with Ivory Powertex and draped diagonally across the middle. More texture was added using 3D Sand & Balls.

The flowers, ferns, Heart Flower and Penny Washer were coloured with Acrylic Inks; Palm Leaf, Viola, Viola Metallic and Golden Metallic. A little gold colour was also applied to the edges of the keyplate and image panels, plus drizzled onto the texture paste. The fabric was spritzed with a little Green Bister.

A strip of thin fabric braid was treated with Powertex, coiled tightly into a spiral, and added to the MDF flower centre (coloured with gold ink when dry). A sheet of Angelina fibre was created by ironing heat fusible sparkly fibres between sheets of baking parchment. I collected together a few snips of lace plus some Powercotton.

Next I put it all together. I hung a small metal ‘wish’ charm from the base.

I used Easy Structure Paste through the Duo Arty Quotes Mini Stencil to add the ‘Dream’ sentiment.

More Acrylic Ink colour was dry brushed over textured areas.

I love the new Acrylic Inks. The fluid formula enables you to drizzle areas with intense colour too.

I was really pleased with my ‘Dream, Create, Wish’ mini artwork. I think that I might just have to keep this one for me.

Off to get busy as I have so many ideas. I will share more soon. Hugs all xxx.

Steampunk Jewellery Plier Stands using Powertex

I have been meaning to decorate my jewellery plier stands for ages and finally got them finished.

 

 

I had a bit of a problem with these in that they started off as a plain varnished wood surface. I initially coated them with white Gesso with a view to painting them with acrylics. However, the Gesso did not bind well to the varnish layer – eek! All ideas were halted. These need to be fairly robust and a tonne of flaky chips after a short use was not what I wanted!

I then discovered Powertex and yay, I would be able to rescue and decorate my plier stands after all. Coating the entire surface with rice papers and torn kitchen towels would create a tough protective skin over the surface and prevent the feared chipping off of the base layers.

 

HOW IT WAS DONE

I first collected together lots of embellishments; die cut cogs and pipework (Sizzix dies), MDF Keyplate (Powertex), metal clock hand and chains, old light bulbs and screws.

 

I tore out images from Creative Rice Paper (Powertex). This particular sheet seems to be out of stock but there is a similar Victorian Steampunk Paper available. I also separated layers of kitchen paper and tore them into pieces to coat the surface. This would add texture and a protective layer.

STAGE ONE

First I applied the torn decorative papers using Easy Coat Mat Medium. Ivory Powertex was then painted on to blend in the image edges.

STAGE TWO

Next layers of kitchen paper were bonded all over the surface. Some were glued down with Ivory and some with Terracotta Powertex. Die cut card embellishments were also coated with Powertex and glued down.

Texture was added by applying Easy Structure Paste through a texture stencil.

I also had a try at the rust technique. I mixed some Rusty Powder into Ivory Powertex along with a few drops of white wine vinegar. This was painted and dribbled over the surface (extra powder sprinkled on top) and spritzed with water and vinegar before leaving overnight to develop. I spritzed at intervals, several times. I avoided the areas that will be in contact with my pliers.

STAGE THREE

Next I brushed over and added colour using Acrylic Inks in Tangerine, Egg Yolk, Aqua and Metallic Gold.

STAGE FOUR

I also applied a little gold Pebeo Gilding Wax on some areas. When fully dry and cured (I left them for 3 weeks) I coated the surface with Easy Varnish to fully seal and protect.

I have included lots of images of how all the surfaces were built up.

Texture and die cut cogs have been added.

Rust and colour added.

Side finished with stronger thick greyboard embellishments. Any large embellishments protruding from edges need to be strong (thinner card would be prone to warp and bend).

I started with a larger clock image on the other side.

Die cuts and texture added plus a metal clock hand for dimension.

Finally finished with thicker embellishments and more dry brush work and gilding wax.

Love this character.

Texture and layers built up. Waiting for the rust to develop.

Building up the layers of transparent colour makes so much difference.

The second plier stand started off in the same way.

At this stage you might feel like giving up. What a mess!

Just keep going, adding layers of rust texture and colour.

Just loving the gorgeous layers of texture and colour.

I used several layers of the die cut pipework together to make them thicker and stronger on this side.

Wooohooo – this is soooooo yummy (or is it just me – tee hee).

Another end panel.

I used an MDF keyplate (Powertex) to embellish this end.

The final colouring makes such a difference.

The final side had a couple of little storage wells. I won’t really be using these so a perfect place to embellish with larger items.

I had fun adding recycled light bulbs, screws and bits of chain etc. I used structure paste and Powertex treated kitchen paper as a 3D glue to hold things in place.

Initially I had added a thinner die cut cog to the end but it wasn’t really strong enough. Here I added another thick greyboard cog over the first. Much more practical. I also added a small MDF Butterfly.

Here you can see more of the Steampunk treasures added. I also added some 3D Sand and Balls.

Love this Steampunk birdie peering out.

Well I hope that all these pictures have not overwhelmed you. I wanted to show how all the stages were built up. It also shows the stages that look awful, perhaps where a beginner might give up! Remember, if it all goes wrong just keep applying colour, inks or coloured varnishes. If this fails and you are really not happy – just paint over the whole thing with a base colour of Powertex and start again.

Hugs, Anne xxx.

Floral Trinket Box created with Powertex

I have had a wire box frame in my stash for ages. Originally it had a woven straw covering that fell apart so I removed it with the intention of recovering it. It ended up as another ‘UFO’ (unfinished object) for years. I have finally dug it out and created this Powertex treated fabric box embellished with hand made fabric flowers. Now it’s a fabulous trinket box for storing some of my crafty treasures.

The bare wire frame is a strong construction – similar to the type of wire used to make coat hangers. It measures approx. 8 inches square across the top and 6 inches deep.

I used some recycled cotton bed sheets and treated them with Black Powertex to cover the box and lid. I lined the outer and inner panels to completely cover the wire frame. I gathered some cotton trims for the next stage; some crochet lace and a piece of gathered Broderie Anglaise.

I treated the crochet lace with Powertex and applied around the box base.

The gathered lace was applied around the lid. I also dug out some greyboard lazer cut foliage shapes to embellish the top. These were coated and stuck down with Powertex. When dry I started dry brushing over the surface using Easy Varnish and Silver Colotricx. Extra colour was applied to the foliage to make it stand out from the dry brushed background.

Here you can see the dry brushed lid next to the unpainted base. The dry brushing has emphasised the texture and added metallic highlights.

Next I made some fabric roses from 25mm and 15mm strips cut from recycled bedding. These were created using Ribbon Ruching Flower Combs from Gina B-Silkworks. Basically strips are marked out using the Flower Comb templates, a running stitch is sewn along the marked lines and the stitching is pulled up to gather and shape into a rose. I prepared my strips and treated with Powertex before pulling up the stitching. The Powertex holds and glues the gathering in place. I left the flowers to dry before adding to the box top.

To create the roses I followed instructions detailed in Gina’s new Ribbonwork Flowers Book: Twist Roses from 25mm cotton strips using comb 3a (Rococo Comb Set) and 1930’s Roses from 15mm strips using comb 13a (Venezia Comb Set).

I used one of my dies to cut a frame for the centre (Sizzix), applied to the top and finished in the same way as the greyboard foliage.

The flowers were dry brushed with Easy Varnish and Interference Lilac Pigment. Loving these new Pearl Pigment colours! Powertex was then used to glue down the roses to the centre. I added some ready made flower stamens around the group (purple), and some small ready made satin ribbon roses to the corners (Powertex treated and coloured).

Next I mixed some 3D Sand and Balls into Black Powertex and drizzled the mix around the flowers. A few untreated balls were also dropped into the wet Powertex. The untreated balls kept their original colour on the surface giving contrast with the black base. Once dry I coloured by brushing over the surface using Easy Varnish and Mojito Lime Pigment.

I also dry brushed a little of the Lilac pigment sparingly over the lace trims and used to colour some hand made air dry clay embellishments (created using a silicone mould from my stash) added to the box corners.

I used one of my large rubber stamps (lace design from Heartfelt Creations) to stamp some extra textural interest around the sides using Viola Metallic Acrylic Ink. Note: the fabric surface is already quite textured and not very flat so the stamping does not give a clear impression of the design but just adds a little more depth and interest to the surface.

I hope that you like my new treasure box.

Hugs, Anne xxx.

Medieval Chalice created with Powertex

I had fun creating a medieval chalice from an old glass that I have had for years. If you look closely it is actually made from a recycle wine bottle cut in half. The old bottle base is cut off and stuck to the bottle pouring top. The upturned bottle therefore making a new glass. I didn’t make it myself but it was a present from my ex’s daughter and has sentimental value. Now I have a super chalice to fill with cider and enjoy my drink along with good memories.

I wanted to keep the rim of the glass clean as I intend to use it as a drinking glass. I can clean the inside properly and around the rim etc. after use. The outer decoration will be ok with rinsing but obviously will be washed with more care.

For those that of not heard of Powertex – it is a non-toxic environmentally friendly fabric hardener that can be used to treat natural fibres (cotton, wool, silk, wood, MDF etc.) and create items that are weatherproof.

I first stamped some tissue paper (recycled packaging) with Versamark Ink and heat embossed the script image (Butterfly Poppy Collage set from Chocolate Baroque) with metallic gold embossing powder. I also collected some MDF embellishments ready for decorating. The Ankh is from the Pyramid and Ank Trio set, the hares and small cross from the Mini Hieroglyphs set.

As I wanted to keep the glass for functional use I didn’t want to completely cover it with texture and wanted to keep the stem area comfortable to hold. I first painted a band of black ‘all surfaces’ weatherproof glitter paint (Black Diamonds Crystal Glitter) onto the glass to add some interest and texture which will show through the background areas that I wanted to keep fairly smooth. The gold paint that you can see on the base was done some years ago with glass paints – I covered this up in later steps.

Next I tore areas of the script paper and applied them over the glass stem and bowl using Easycoat Mat Decoupage Medium. Tip: I used a water pen to draw around the pieces that I wanted, making it easy to tear shapes in a more controlled way. I sprayed with a little Green Bister just to blend in a little (dabbing off excess dribbles) where the white tissue paper was a little obvious.

Next was true happiness – a fist full of Powertex Clay – tee hee. I mixed some Stone Art with Bronze Powertex (approx. 50:50) with a small addition of Transparent Powertex, working it well into a non-sticky consistency.

Next I cut of square of T shirt fabric to cover the glass base and treated it with Bronze Powertex. I also treated a strip of T-shirt yarn and used it to secure the fabric over the stem base, then wrapped it up around the glass. Snips of textured lace were treated and added around the base plus a strip of treated lace was added to create a border around the top.

A rough slab of clay was rolled out and impressed using the text stamp. This was glued onto the glass front using Powertex. Stems and leaves were moulded by hand and ‘glued’ in place along with the MDF embellishments. Where needed a little Easy Structure Paste was used as a 3D ‘glue’ (painted over with Bronze Powertex to hide the white colour). A faux gem was stuck into the centre of the ankh.

The chalice was then left to dry for a couple of hours.

Next came the fun of dry brushing. I used Rich Gold Colortricx mixed with Easy Varnish first. It looked a little uninteresting in just the one colour so I also dry brushed with some of the new Aqua Metallic Acrylic Ink. Both of these dry very quickly so I just repeated layers of dry brushing until I was happy with the result.

I will leave the vessel for a couple of weeks to fully dry and cure before giving it a final all over coat of Easy Varnish to fully seal it. Et voila! My lovely new drinking vessel. I cannot wait to use it.

Textured Clay Pendant using stamps and Powertex

This was one of my first attempts at making jewellery using clay and Powertex. I used an air dry clay from my stash and rolled it out into a sheet of approx. 5-6mm deep. The headdress area of the Katya stamp (from Chocolate Baroque) was used to impress the pattern texture. The shape was then trimmed out with a craft knife and attachment holes made using a small ball tool.

After drying this clay was very porous with a slight powdery surface, and was quite fragile if rolled too thin. I added a coat of Bronze Powertex to give it a good base colour for gilding, and with the hope of hardening the clay. The porous clay soaked up the Powertex really well and considerably strengthened the clay. Pebeo Gilding Wax (several different shades of gold) was rubbed over the surface to give an aged metallic finish. I attached a recycled gold plated necklace chain using 0.8mm copper wire.

I have since experimented with a few different air dry clays (water based paper and craft clays) and their suitability for jewellery making. Some are far too brittle when rolled out to make thinner items, others too light (e.g. paper clays) to make pendants that hang nicely. It is worth experimenting with what you have in your stash. If using to make embellishments which will be glued down onto canvases or cards Powertex is ideal for sealing and making them more robust.

If you are making items for outdoors then Powertex Stone Art Clay is the best option. It has been designed to be weatherproof and won’t crack. Stone Art Clay is also brilliant for jewellery making. It is strong, water resistant, and it is a perfect weight; not too heavy but with enough weight for jewellery pieces to hang well.

Steampunk Travellers Mixed Media Canvas with Powertex

Oh my goodness – I really enjoyed myself with this Steampunk canvas – I just love to get myself lost a bit of fantasy. I used lots of Chocolate Baroque stamps from my stash (Punky Expressions, Words of Inspiration, Steampunkery, Steampunk Travel, Punky Flowers, Steampunk SeaWorld) and two of the new stamps from Mark Gould (Sailor Jim and The Aviator).

As the theme on the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge (Wed) this week is ‘Layer It Up’ – I have entered this one.

I first cut 2 pieces of left over mount board and trimmed them to approx. 25 X 31cm and 31 X 41 cm. The back board was coated front and back with Bronze Powertex. The second board was coated with Ivory Powertex.

I used a page from an old atlas and glued it to the board using Easy Coat Mat decoupage medium. Note: There are some lovely map themed Rice Papers on the Powertex website.

I then applied some Easy Structure paste through stencils from my stash to create some wave and cloud textures.

Next I applied elements from decorative rice papers (sea themed and pocket watches) using Easy Coat medium. It looks like the pocket watches sheet I used is out of stock but there is a similar Victorian Steampunk sheet available. Tip: draw around the parts of the image that you desire using a water brush or pen, then gently pull away the image from the sheet. This avoids harsh cut edges and the images will blend better into the background.

I also applied a little of the new Golden Metallic Acrylic Ink through my stencils, and onto areas of the pocket watches.

I next stamped my images using Versafine Ink (Onyx Black) onto recycled tissue paper (packaging). I also stamped some onto white card using Versafine (Vintage Sepia), cut them into little sentiment strips and edged them with a dark brown alcohol marker. The images and text sentiments were applied to the canvas using Easy Coat decoupage medium.

I added a little colour over the decoupaged stamp images using Golden Metallic and Aqua Acrylic Inks. These inks have a lovely translucency so do not obliterate the image beneath. You don’t need to be super careful with colouring either.

My characters were stamped onto smooth stamping card using Versafine (Vintage Sepia), cut out and coloured with pencils. I applied Ivory Powertex to the backs to seal them, curving and doming them slightly. I coated the fronts with a layer of Powerwax to protect them. I chose this option as I was concerned that a slow drying wet medium might smudge some of the pencil colouring.

I used one of the MDF Heart Flowers (approx. 12.5cm across) to make an embellishment for the top. The moulded flower was from my stash. It had been made with Stone Art and Ivory Powertex mixed into a clay and used with one of my moulds. When dry it was painted with Easy Varnish tinted with Burgundy Powercolor, then dry brushed with more varnish tinted with Silver, Rich Gold and Copper Colortricx. The MDF flower was coated with Bronze Powertex and the moulded flower glued to the centre with a little Easy Structure paste. Easy Structure paste and Powertex were used to glue the embellishment to the top of the canvas.

Black cotton netting was treated with Bronze Powertex and applied to the canvas base and diagonally across the middle. The characters were then positioned and glued down with Easy Structure Paste (i.e. using it as a 3D glue). Care was taken not to smudge the images with paste or Powertex. Any slight mishaps were wiped away quickly with a damp sponge.

I gathered together lots of Steampunk and nautical embellishments from my stash including die cut ship wheels, anchors, gears, swirls etc. I also had a stash of shells created using paper clay and moulds (already coloured with ink sprays). The embellishments were all coated with Powertex (Transparent or Bronze) and glued in place, using Easy Structure paste where needed. I also dropped some 3D Sand and Balls into wet Powertex for added texture.

In addition I used some recycled gear cogs from the inside my finished double sided tape rollers. These are plastic so I used copper gilding wax (Pebeo) to colour the top surface (Powertex doesn’t stick to plastic) and embedded them well with Easy Structure paste and Powertex coated card pieces etc.

Finally I dry brushed Easy Varnish tinted with Bronze Gold Colortricx lightly over the embellishments to enhance them.

The canvas could be mounted into a 3D box frame to fully protect it from dust etc. It could also be hung directly – perhaps holes cut in the top edge and a string would look quite nautical? If hanging without framing I would advise that everything be fully sealed with Easy Varnish (the characters with more layers of Powerwax); particularly the areas coated with transparent Powertex (coloured Powertex is already weather resistant). It could then be cleaned with a damp cloth (or even rinsed under the tap).

I hope that you like my fantasy creation. I have included a few more pics for more close up views, Anne x.

Oriental Mixed Media Canvas with Teneriffe Lace and Powertex

I created this mixed media canvas using acrylic paints and various elements treated with transparent Powertex. Powertex is great for stiffening, gluing down and protecting porous substrates such as fabric, card or wood.

 

The lace elements were my first attempts at making Teneriffe Lace (yes the lace name has 2 f’s – as in the original spelling of the island) using the newly released looms and instructions from Gina-B Silkworks. I struggled a bit with getting my knotting secure at first (until I read the instructions properly – tee hee), plus my weaving and tensioning was pretty uneven too. My technique soon improved but I wasn’t sure what to do with these first experiments. They nearly went into the bin! However, I then thought of Powertex treatment. The lace would be stiffened and sealed so no worry about any of the knotting coming lose.

The variegated blue threads that I used inspired me to create something with an Oriental theme. Incorporating my ‘imperfect’ lace elements into a canvas was perfect.

I was really pleased with the results and my lace pieces ended up being showcased very nicely.

Materials:

• Teneriffe Lace Complete Starter Kit (comes with Looms 1 and 3)
• Total Trimmings Project Book – Teneriffe Lace (comes with a Heart Loom 11)
• Strong thread (for the holding threads on loom) and pearl 8 embroidery thread (plain blue and variegated blue) for the lace work
• Transparent Powertex
• Card (approx. 230 gsm – white and blue)
• 12 X 12 inch stretched canvas
• Gesso (white), acrylic paint (blue) and Starlight Paint (gold metallic)
• Alcohol marker and PVA pearls (blue) – to colour edges and add centres to flowers
• Bamboo barbeque sticks
• Thread wrapped button embellishment, bead and tassel
• Dies to cut branches and blossoms (mixed brand and Spellbinders)
• Mandala stencil
• Rubber stamp (for background texture)
• Plastic sheeting to protect table and to dry Powertex treated elements
• 3D glue gel

How it was done:

1. The butterfly was created on the outer ring of Loom 3. This was a result of a bit of play and trying out the technique. I didn’t use a specific pattern but added darned areas to get a stylised butterfly shape.
2. The large circular motif was worked on the outer ring of Loom 1 following the design for the Teacup Pincushion Pattern included in the Total Trimmings Book.
3. The 2 small circular designs were again worked on Loom 1 (small inner ring) using the Lace Button Designs included in the book.
4. I treated the lace with the transparent Powertex and laid out to dry overnight on plastic sheeting (Powertex doesn’t stick to plastic). I snipped out the butterfly from my circular lace design. I also cut up some of my rough trial pieces to use as extra texture in the background.
5. The canvas background was painted with white gesso to prime. Rubber stamps were used with acrylic paints to add a little background texture. I also sponged acrylic paint through a mandala stencil to complement the lace elements. Starlight paint (which contains crushed gilding flake) was used to blend in from around the edges.
6. The branches and blossoms were die cut from card, shaped with an embossing tool, then painted with transparent Powertex. Likewise the fan was created using card and bamboo barbeque sticks. Again I treated this with Powertex.
7. Flat elements were glued to the canvas with Transparent Powertex. More dimensional elements were stuck down with 3D glue gel.
8. I also added a thread wrapped button embellishment and tassel. Gina has some wonderful instructional DVD’s and books which are fabulous if you would like to learn these techniques (Making Buttons DVD , Button Workshop Manual, Making Tassels DVD)