Summer and hot weather have finally arrived, and with it a palette of tropical colors like ocean aquas and the sweet shades of dreamsicles! So with these summer-lovin' colors in mind, I have created Acrylic Dream Chase, a small mixed media canvas with a twist - Acrylic Poured Mini Tiles!
True acrylic pouring artists achieve spectacular results from professional grade acrylic paints and pouring mediums, 100% liquid treadmill lubricant and a torch. I would like to show you how I made a budget friendly acrylic pour using supplies from the hardware store and craft store acrylic paint.
Before I share the video below, here is a quick explanation of my project process. I began by using a stencil and modeling paste to apply a tile design to the canvas. Wanting to keep the background simple and dark to accent the colorful acrylic poured tiles, I applied only a coat of black gesso and metallic black paint followed by dry brushing gold on the raised areas.
I embellished the wood butterfly with a twisted wire body and antennae before gessoing and painting the vibrant colors. More gold dry brush was added, followed by a sparkle varnish. The 'Chase Your Dreams' phrase was painted in the same colors. I painted some decorative excelsior with more gold paint and attached it to the back of the butterfly.
The final step was to add all my pieces to the canvas. I used a heavy gel medium to make sure the ceramic tiles would attach firmly.
And now for my video on flip cup acrylic pouring. I hope you try it sometime, it is a lot of fun!
I hope you love playing with fabrics, because today I'm going to decorate an album cover, using some of them in this project. I chose to work with gauze, lace, polyester organza, jeans and lining fabrics.
I also have used pieces of corrugated wood, that I found on the beach, scrapbook paper, clear and white gesso, texture paste, crackle paint, Distress Oxide inks, rope, micro beads, pearls and chipboard pieces to decorate my Album cover.
Please scroll down for the full video tutorial,that I have made for you to follow the creative process.
Here's the video. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial!
Have fun exploring the mixed media world! There are 20 more days to join our May challenge Anything goes with thе moodboard
Maria has a special treat for you today. She kindly prepared a wonderful step-by-step tutorial of her recent project.
For our April challenge I created a light mixed media layout of an unusual shape and with watercolour twist :) It is dedicated to my little daughter Karolina, who is mainly happy and bubbly, but sometimes does turn into a little drama queen. So I made a layout using colours that would reflect her personality. A few photos first:
Here's the video for you to enjoy!
Thank you, Maria for the fantastic tutorial. Your daughter is a beauty!
I hope you enjoyed today's treat and we're looking forward to seeing your entries this month. You can link up HERE.
I would like to show you my latest project. I haven't prepared any art journal pages long time ago. It was a really great feeling to come back to this wonderful crafting activity.
I imagined a vivid vintage creation before I started the process so I decided to use turquoise and pink colours with vintage paper patterns.
I made a video tutorial for you to follow the creative process:
Here is the page spread:
Here are some close ups:
Do not forget to join our monthly challenge. Anything goes with the wonderful moodboard.
Missed me?;) hehe... I had the pleasure to announce our challenge winner, our giveaway winner and now to make it even more fun, I have the pleasure to introduce and welcome a wonderfully talented lady, Virag Reti!
Welcome, Virag! We are super-excited about you joining the team!
I am a member of the following design teams:Berry71Bleu, Studio75, Canvas Corp Brands,
Sugallatok (Hungarian). I was a guest designer for different big brands.
Favourite colours: brown in every possible ways...
Favourite media: gel medium, mists, modelling paste
My absolute 'must have' when creating: my non-stick craft mat is the best tool ever and some water in spray bottle
About: Virág means flower in Hungarian. I work as a chief of marketing on weekdays, but my passion is scrapbooking. This is not just a craft activity for me, it is my real holiday and time for relaxation. My scraproom is a calm island in this busy world. I started scrapbooking 5 years ago, but last year when I met with mixed media scrapbooking techniques in an American YouTube video I felt that I found my line, the technique what I was looking for. I am a coffee lover. I love singing loudly, but my voice is horrible. And I know, I am a bit crazy, because normal is boring for me. :)
What inspires me: A paper, a technique, a beautiful embellishment, a good photo can inspire me easily. I really like to recycle products in my creations, sometimes a dirty tissue, a little piece of fabric, an old piece of lace, a dress tag, etc. It happes that I redesign my layouts and reuse some parts of it on another page. I am not shy and hesitant when I made mistakes on my layouts, because everything can be fixed with a little creativity. One of my strength is that I can improvise during my creative process, I do not need to organise a long preparation process for creating the tutorial videos, I do not need to plan everything in advance.
My style: My style is vintage and grunge, sometimes a little romantic, but I cannot define exactly. I can reform day by day. I am able to prepare layouts in different styles, it depends on my mood, the embellishments and the papers I use.
I really love steampunk style so I decided that I mix it with fantasy. I found a gorgeous photo of a steampunk fairy. Normally I don't like using mood photos on my layouts, I prefer my photos, my memories, but I fell in love with this one. I used different kind of products and techniques. When I started the layout I wanted to keep it in brown tones, but during the process it formed into green and gold shades. I have never known what would happen during the creative process. I have never had plans what to do and this helps me to be spontaneous.
Wow! I mean, wow! This is what I'm talking about! Thank you, Virag, for this wonderful inspirational piece! It is amazing!
To top it all off, Virag prepared a video for us all! I know! We're being spoilt! Check it out...
Thank you for joining us today! I hope you enjoyed our posts! Please feel free to leave some love below. As always, stay creative and see you soon!
Maria Lillepruun is here with you today! For our July challenge - Under the Sea - I made an art journal layout where I played around with lots of various media. I used scrapbooking paper, medical bandage, lace, texture paste, spray inks, alcohol inks, toppings and other decorations to create my mysterious undersea world. Please scroll down for the full video tutorial!
I hope you love nature, because today I'm going to create using a natural substrate. I chose to work with a tree bark. At the beginning, I didn't have any idea of what the result should be, but I got the idea from a little cast I made not so long ago and I went for it! The overall idea for my project is the famous quote by Sophocles:
"He who throws away a friend is as bad as he throws away his life."
To recreate this, you'll need:
tree bark cast or resin white gesso black gesso white crackle paste soft matte gel sprays to add colour alcohol inks beads mica flakes rub-ons metal embellishments wire glue
How to:
1. Use a mould to create a relic and cover in white gesso
2. Add black gesso to the inner part of the tree bark and allow to dry
3. Add white crackle paste using a spatula and allow to dry naturally (ideally over night). You will end up with gorgeous crackle. Wherever you added a thinner layer you'll end up with smaller cracks and the areas with more of the paste will have bigger and deeper cracks.
4. Use a spatula or a brush to add soft matte gel here and there and sprinkle these areas with beads and mica
5. One everything is dry, use the white gesso to highlight raised areas of the added elements. Make sure that everything is dry before adding a bit colour using sprays. I used a yellow spray by Studio Calico and an alcohol ink Adirondack, Rusty.
6. Add a more vibrant colour, in my case Adirondack, Aqua, add a rub-on to the right hand side bottom and glue metal embellishments. I altered the metal plate using alcohol inks. These are great for altering metals.
7. Adhere the relic with the wire using a strong glue.
More photos:
I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial! Have fun exploring the mixed media world! There are 10 more days to join our challenge 'Glam Grunge' so join the fun!
We also have a new FB Group that you can join HERE.
