Mixed Media Floral Canvas

Hi all. Today I am sharing a floral mixed media canvas. I started it just over a year ago and it had been sitting as a ‘UFO’ ever since. I usually continue with a project until it is finished, but must admit that if it gets put away before finishing I find it very difficult to get it back on track. So pleased that I dug it back out and got inspired to complete it.

I started working on this at Powertex Headquarters as part of my Level 1 training. I have to say that it was a fabulous couple of days where Tracey took us through a whole host of fabulous techniques.

Black Powertex was used to coat a 12 X 12 primed and stretched canvas. Various fabrics, pieces of lace, kitchen paper and Paper Decoration (White) were coated with Powertex and laid onto the canvas. Small polycarbonate test tubes were covered in cling film (to protect) and incorporated into the canvas. The layers were left to dry before working on the next stages. I also coated the little wooden canvas stretchers to make am area for maybe adding text.

Various pigment colours were mixed and applied with Easy Varnish (Powercolor: Burgundy, Ultramarine, White; Colortricx: Rich Gold and Powerpearl). Initially I was unhappy with the results as everything appeared too dark. I am definitely a colour girl. After some thought I drizzled on some Green Powercolor in Varnish diluted with a little water to make more of a wash. Oooh – much happier.

This was the stage at which it was almost finished but I still wasn’t happy with it – hence it sat in the cupboard for a year. I really thought that it needed more decoration and building up with embellishments. I collected together some MDF cogs (already treated with Black Powertex and rubbed over with gold gilding wax), die cut birds, silk flowers and air dry clay flowers created with silicone moulds from my stash. I also had a stash of moulded flowers created with pearlescent acrylic modelling paste (I put some turquoise glitter in the moulds while making these – yay bling).

I added more colour to the canvas using the new Metallic Inks from the Secret Art Loft (Aqua and Golden).

The paper clay and card embellishments were coated with Black Powertex before sticking down. Where needed I used Easy Structure Paste tinted with Powertex to make a 3D glue for sticking down.

The sentiment (from Chocolate Baroque) was stamped onto card with Versamark (Onyx Black) and applied with Easycoat Matt Medium to glue and seal. The pine cones were treated with Bronze Powertex and rubbed over with gold gilding wax. Beginning to love it now.

I continued building layers of embellishments and also added some created with yellow tinted clay and treated with Transparent Powertex. I liked the pop of complimentary colour. More colour was also added to Varnish and dry brushed over the textural surfaces. I really love the new Secret Art Loft Pigments (Interference Lilac, Limoncello Gold, Violet Valentine), they are so vibrant over dark backgrounds.

The silk flowers were treated with Black Powertex and dry brushed with Violet Valentine and Interference Lilac Pigments. Clear varnish was applied over the yellow flowers and the acrylic embellishments to seal. A little Glossy Accents was applied over the sentiment to emphasise.

I was really chuffed with the final piece. I hope that you like it too.

The great thing about this canvas is that the faux flowers can be removed and replaced with real ones (the tubes are removable and can be filled with a little water). I was initially planning to hang the canvas at an angle but I rather like this orientation with the flowers going at 45 degrees.

Well that’s all for today. Back with more creations soon, Anne x.

Mixed Media Floral Candle Bowl

Hi All. Today I am sharing a couple of upcycling projects. I have revamped an old chipped crackle glass bowl into a gorgeous faux candle holder and my old egg timer, over 20 years old and really looking very shabby. I love to revamp and upcycle items that otherwise may have been fit only for the bin.

Here is my finished bowl – I just love it now. I didn’t want to completely cover the pretty crackle glass and I thought a faux electric candle would be a perfect shimmering through.

I gathered together some recycled old cotton bedding, tore it into strips and treated with Black Powertex to make the textured side panels. 3D Sand and Balls were applied into the wet Powertex for more texture.

A recycled T shirt was cut into strips and stretched to create cords (it forms a cord when pulled). These were then Powertex treated and coiled around the rim to add strength and to cover up the chipped edge. Any drips on the glass panels were removed with a damp cloth to keep them clear.

I had several large flowers and leaves in my stash that had been created with air dry clay and silicone moulds. These were coated with Black Powertex and applied around the rim of the bowl. I used some Easy Structure paste tinted with Powertex as a 3D glue to apply them onto the uneven shaped surface.

Then came the colouring fun. I used Silver Colortricx and several of the new colours from the Secret Art Loft (Interference Blue, Interference Lilac and Mojito Lime). I mixed them with Easy Varnish and applied by dry brushing to pick up and emphasise the textures. I just love these new colours and they work fabulously on dark backgrounds.

This is my poor old egg timer. Definitely seen better days and it was coming to pieces a little too.

I took it completely apart for revamping so that I could get everything well stuck down and access all the parts for painting.

I painted all the components with a couple of layers of Black Powertex, along with a couple of air dry clay flowers. I chose a flower shape with a fairly flat top so that they could be placed on each end and not fall over.

Ta da. I love my new egg timer. Should be good for another 20 years now. I added a little dry brushing with Colortricx Silver and Interference Violet Pigments to add shimmer and bring out the texture.

Bye for now. Hope to have more to share soon, Anne x.

Unicorn Blessings

Hi all, today I am sharing one of my projects created during the Powertex Garden Party in July. It was an amazing weekend and I went along with my ex’s lovely daughter Marie. Living far apart we rarely get the chance to be together – so it was extra special to have a whole weekend creating together.

Others also came along with friends or family but many came along on their own. Some were familiar with Powertex and some, like Marie, were completely new to the medium. Whether experienced or not, travelling with friends or alone, the Team at Powertex were wonderfully inviting and everyone soon felt relaxed and eager to get started. Tracey gave us all fabulous instructions to help us along the way. It was a wonderfully relaxed weekend and we made many new friends.

One of the projects was to create a Unicorn (or pony if preferred). We were taken through the process and instructed on the appropriate media to create a fully weatherproof piece that could be used as a garden ornament.

We were all give a Metal Base with attached MDF Unicorn Template which had already been wrapped with masking tape ready for working.

The first step was to paint the whole with a base layer of Bronze Powertex. Then layers of Powertex clay (created with Powertex and Stone Art) were built onto the surface and texturised using wooden print blocks and various tools. The Team had kindly mixed up the clay ready for us to use.

We then had a choice of floral silicone moulds to use to make pretty clay embellishments. I chose the lovely Daisy Moulds.

Next we treated Powercotton fibres with Powertex to create the mane and tail. Pigment colours were used to add colour. I chose to blend a mix of Ultramarine and Titanium White, plus Burgundy and Titanium White Powercolors, mixed with Easy Varnish and a little water to create a blended colour wash.

Next we dry brushed more colour over the surface to pick up and emphasise the texture. I used Colortricx in Silver.

When I got home I added a bit more colouring by dry brushing with Rich Gold Colortricx and Interference Violet (Secret Art Loft Pigment). 

If you know me you will know that I cannot resist a bit of bling. I just had to try adding glitter to the varnish and painted this onto the tail and mane. I used a holographic silvery glitter designed to be added to household paint. In theory it should be weatherproof when embedded in the Easy Varnish (will see how it holds up after she is installed in the garden). Oooooh I love her.

Note: There is a Unicorn Dreams Project Pack available which contains everything needed to create your own magical Unicorn - includes metal base, MDF Unicorn, Powertex, Art Stone, Flower Mould, Pigments, Varnish and instructions.

I also decided to add a little more texture to the base. I added a rough layer of clay and pressed in a crackle textured rubber stamp. I also added 3D Sand and Balls. Finally I treated a few stiff hessian threads with Powertex and pushed them into the clay to create grassy fronds. Various colours were dry brushed over the surface to blend in the base colours with the rest of the project.

Here is Marie’s amazing Unicorn. Truly fantastic.

We all had so much fun and between us created an amazing array of very different takes on this theme. All wonderful.

Sending Unicorn Blessings, Anne x.

Nothing to Fear Canvas

Hi all, today I am sharing one of my projects created during the Powertex Garden Party in July. It was an amazing weekend and I went along with my ex’s lovely daughter Marie. Living far apart we rarely get the chance to be together – so it was extra special to have a whole weekend crafting together.

Others also came along with friends or family but many came along on their own. Some were familiar with Powertex and some, like Marie, were completely new to the medium. Whether experienced or not, travelling with friends or alone, the Team at Powertex were wonderfully inviting and everyone soon felt relaxed and eager to get started. Tracey gave us all fabulous instructions to help us along the way. It was a wonderfully relaxed weekend and we made many new friends.

The huge display of different projects from the Powertex Team on display around the gardens was simply amazing.

I completed most of this canvas project during the weekend but you know me – I just had to add a more embellishments and bling when I got home. We had great fun creating layers of texture and colour.

We first painted our 12 X 12 inch canvas with Black Powertex onto which we then built additional layers. We applied background texture layers with Powertex treated recycled corrugate card and mesh canvas. We then created a ‘dirty mix’ using Black Powertex, Stone Art, 3D Sand and Balls and applied to the canvas, adding more texture by pushing in mark making tools etc.

The Team then provided us with a ready made mix of Easy 3D Flex and  Ivory Powertex. This medium provides a gorgeous crackle texture on drying.

We were also provided with a small MDF frame and choice of small plaster embellishment. I chose to use a skull. We were helped and advised along the way on the easiest layout of different textures and elements for a successful arrangement. 

I added more texture to my frame with Easy 3D Flex and small Sand and Balls. You can see the marvellous cracks that develop – yummy. We then chose from a range of Secret Art Loft Acrylic Ink and Paints for colouring. I chose a mix of turquoise, pinks and yellows (Acrylic Paints – Raspberry Sorbet, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Pie; Acrylic Inks – Raspberry, Metallic Aqua and Aqua). These paints and inks are gorgeous and allow you to build up lots of layers of transparent colour. I used Colortricx Silver in Easy Varnish for some of the dry brushing to enhance textures.

On getting home I added more embellishments to my canvas – die cut birds, clock, circles and rings (cut from recycled thick card). I also used the Daisies Silicone Mould to make flowers and leaves from Powertex Clay (made with Ivory Powertex and Stone Art). The embellishments were painted with Black Powertex before sticking down. I also used some Easy Structure Paste tinted with a bit of Black Powertex as a 3D ‘glue’ to stick down elements on uneven highly textured areas.

I used some stamps from my stash to create the sentiments (using Versamark Onyx Black Ink) and used Easycoat Matt to stick them down and seal.

I finished with more layers of pigment and varnish, applying with a dry brush to highlight textures. I adore the new range of pigments from the Secret Art Loft (colours used – Interference Blue, Blue Curacao, Interference Violet and Green Ginger). I finally added some gold and silver gilding waxes applied with a finger (I just cannot help myself from adding more bling).

Here is Marie’s amazing canvas. I love the colours, textures and hidden surprise elements.

We all had so much fun and between us created an amazing array of individual and very different takes on this theme.

Bye for now, Anne x.

Indian Delights created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning, today I am sharing a couple of projects created with the lovely Indian themed stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

My first is a shabby chic style card. Think vintage block printed sari silk and old documents.

Materials:

• Paisley Elephant and Nature’s Paisley stamp sets
• A5 shaped card blank (14.5 X 20.5cm cream), cartridge paper (off white)
• Inkpads: Rainbow dye ink (Kaleidacolor Country), Versafine (Vintage Sepia)
• Ink sprays: Mr Huey’s (Classic Tan), Lindy’s Stamp Gang Starburst (Opal Sea Oats)
• Alcohol marker (brown), Sakura Glaze pens (black and dark blue)
• Soft Form Relief Paste (Copper)
• Gilding Wax (Pebeo Empire Gold) and PVA pearls (Cosmic Shimmer Dark Bronze)
• Textured velvet ribbon (brown),

How it was done:

1. Soft Form Relief Paste was spread over the stamp and left to dry overnight before peeling away. Extra colour was added with glaze pens and gilding wax.
2. The card blank was repeat stamped with the paisley background and rainbow ink. Alcohol marker was used to emphasise the edges. Textured ribbon was glued down to create a border.
3. The cartridge paper was stamped using Versafine and trimmed to fit the card front. The edges were distressed and curled using scissors then coloured with alcohol marker. The paper was then spritzed with inks before gluing to the card front.
4. The embellishment was glued to the card front with 3D glue gel for added depth. Finished with PVA pearls.

My second project is a bright and cheery elephant scene. You know how I love colour and bling. I had a lot of fun with this one.

Materials:

• Paisley Elephant, Nature’s Paisley, Indian Elephant stamp sets
• 8inch square card blank, watercolour card
• Inkpads: Versafine (Onyx Black), Versamark
• WOW Embossing Powder (Halloween)
• Opaque metallic ink pen (orange with metallic yellow)
• Metallic paints (Starlights pink and gold), acrylic paint (black)
• Brusho Powders (Lime Green, Turquoise), Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magical Powders (Poppin Pink, Luminous Lemon, Urban Amethyst)
• 3D Puff Paint (yellow)
• Holographic glitter glue and PVA pearls (Cosmic Shimmer Dark Bronze)
• Soft Form Relief Paste (Copper)

How it was done:

1. Soft Form Relief Paste was spread over the stamps and left to dry overnight before peeling away. Extra colour was added using pink and gold metallic plus black paints. Glitter glue and PVA pearls were added for extra bling (you know me!).
2. Watercolour card was spritzed with water and coloured by dropping on pigment powders. Images were stamped with Versafine (third generation stamping was used to faintly stamp the buildings in the background). The flowers were coloured with metallic pen (taking care not to obliterate the stamp detail – the ink was very opaque).
3. The card was edged with Versamark and embossed with sparkly powder (Yay, more bling).
4. The embellishments were glued to the card front with 3D glue gel for added depth. Yellow puff paint was applied to the foreground and heated to puff up and add texture.

Sad News
I hope that you like my latest projects. This will be my last regular post for Chocolate Baroque for a while. I have been working with this wonderful Design Team for over 3 years now and I am very sad to be leaving. Nothing to worry about, I just have to give extra priority to other things at the moment. However, you will still see the odd post from me in the guest blogger spot and in the Facebook Group. I simply cannot tear myself away completely.

Thank you all for your support and lovely feedback over the years. Big huggles, Anne xxxx.

Quick and Easy Indian Themed Cards

Good morning. I have created a couple of very quick and easy makes using Indian themed stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque.

My first project was created using Indian Textiles and Paisley Elephant stamp sets, directly stamping onto a matte (absorbent) red scalloped card blank (12.5cm square). The border and sentiment were stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with detail gold powder. A little colour was added with dark pink sparkle pen and purple glitter glue.

The background motifs were also stamped with Versamark and then a little mica powder (Jacquard Interference Red) brushed over using a soft make up brush.

My second card was created with Indian Textiles and Nature’s Paisley stamp sets.

The border was stamped directly onto the card blank (15 X 10 cm) using black StazOn Ink (note: I used StazOn as my card blank had a shiny coating - many other inks don’t dry properly on this surface).

The paisley motifs were stamped onto a black card panel using Versamark Ink and heat embossed with Mica Boss powder. This created a tacky finish on which gilding flakes were applied (special glue formulated to use with flakes could be used instead). Finished with little black sequins.

Indian Palace Card and Tag

My second project  today is a vibrant card with matching Birthday tag.

Materials:

• Indian Textiles and Paisley Elephant stamp sets, Silhouette Palaces Stencil 1 and Stencil 2
• A5 card blank, mount board tag (11 X 5cm), white stamping card (21 X 7cm), flower cut from white vellum and white card leafy sprig
• Inkpads: Versamark
• Brusho Powders (Turquoise, Leaf Green) and Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magical Powders (pink, purple, yellow)
• Fine embossing powders (Rich Gold, White)
• Metallic paints (Starlight Rich Gold, Viva Décor Precious Metal 501 pink)
• Sparkle pens (Spectrum Noir – clear, turquoise, deep purple, cerise pink)
• Fine tipped markers (black, opaque white)
• Gel pens (clear glaze and gold)
• Large faux gem and sequins, organza ribbons (turquoise, lilac)

How they were made:

1. The card strip and tag were coloured with water soluble powders, dropping them onto the card and spritzing with water.
2. The palaces were stencilled with pink metallic paints. The masks were then overlaid and details added with gold paint. Extra highlights and the roof domes were also coloured with gold. The fine tipped black pen was used to draw in details and extra highlights were added with white pen.
3. Sparkling rays were added from the dome tops using clear and gold gel pens plus clear sparkle pen. Black pen was used around the edges to frame.
4. The sentiment was stamped onto the tag with Versamark and embossed with white powder. Finished with ribbons, vellum flower, leafy sprig, faux gem and sequins.
5. The border was stamped onto the card blank with Versamark, embossed with gold powder and coloured with sparkle pens. Finished with sequins for extra bling. You know that I just cannot resist!

I hope that you have enjoyed my Indian bling makes today x.

Heart Hanger created with Indian Themed stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. Today I am sharing a couple of my recent makes using Indian themed stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque.

My first project for today is a pretty little heart hanger. Lots of bling on this one.

Materials:

• Paisley Elephant and Indian Textiles stamp sets
• White board heart (from White Board Shapes Hearts and Circles Pack), heat resistant acetate, white stamping card
• Inkpads: StazOn Ink (Jet Black), Versafine (Onyx Black), Versamark
• Sparkle pens (Spectrum Noir – gold, teal blue)
• Alcohol pens (pink, yellow)
• Metallic paints (Starlight’s Pink Sunset and Rich Gold, Viva Décor Precious Metal 501)
• Pebeo Gilding Wax (Empire Gold)
• WOW Embossing Powders with glitter (Calypso, Daytona Sands, Florida Sunset)
• Soft Form Relief Paste (Copper)
• Ribbon (gold), mixed beads and small metal bell, faux gems (green round, clear, blue and pink drops)
• Fevicryl gem glue and 3D glue gel

How it was done:

1. The heart was painted with pink metallic paints and edged with gilding wax. The script was stamped onto the background with StazOn and gold metallic paint.
2. Relief Paste was applied to the large background stamp and left to dry overnight. A little StazOn Ink was applied over the surface, along with gilding wax, to emphasise the texture. This was glued to the heart.
3. The peacock and sentiment were stamped with Versafine onto stamping card, coloured with sparkle pens and cut out. The sentiment was edged with black ink and attached with 3D glue gel.
4. The peacock was stamped onto acetate with Versamark and heat embossed with multiple colours of powder. A little colour was applied to the back with alcohol pens. The peacock was cut out and layered up, applied to the heart with 3D glue gel.
5. Gems were glued down with fast grab strong PVA glue.

Christmas Candle Box and Card

Good morning. Today I am sharing a couple of Christmas project ideas with you.

The first is a festive card with a bit of a grunge feel. I was experimenting a bit with this one – just had to add a bit of glitter bling though (no stopping me – ha ha). Stamp sets used: Winter Edges, Pears and Baubles plus Let’s Get Festive.

How it was done:

The card blank was stamped with the snowflake border and black dye based ink (12cm square texture Kraft card).

A die cut tag was spritzed with green and gold ink sprays. When dry the background was stamped with snowflakes and the sentiment using black ink and opaque metallic gold acrylic paint. A little black ink was blended around the edges. Black and white Bakers Twine was tied onto the tag and around the card front.

The tree was stamped with gold paint onto black card. A little opaque red gouache paint was added to the branches. This was cut out and mounted onto white card to create a border around the tree. It was lightly shaped before gluing to the card.

Next for the bling: I added Stickles (Gold and Sprinkled Sugar). Glossy Accents was also added over some of the elements to add shine and depth.

My second project is a festive candle box using the lovely Robin The Spruce stamp set – lots of bling on this one! The decorative background stamp from the Pears and Baubles set was also used to decorate the inner box panels, plus the Seasonal Elements Stencil  to add sparkly snowflakes to the inner acetate box lid.

How it was done:

I first created a little plain box with acetate lid to go inside and hold 4 small T-light candles (approx. 8cm square and 2cm deep). Viva Décor glitter paste was applied through the stencil to decorate the acetate lid.

An A4 sheet of silver decorative metallic card was used to create the outer box. This was a little deeper than 2cm (to accommodate the inner box) and approx. 9.5cm X 13cm (large enough to fit the stamped panel and sentiment on the front). The candle box was glued inside and Pinflair Snow Dust used to create a snowy effect.

Instead of a fitted lid I created fold over flaps for the top (approx. 13 X 8cm each). Inner panels were stamped in green ink onto smooth white card and coloured with watercolour and sparkle pens. Red glaze pen was added to the berries. The panels were glued to the inside flaps. Thin magnets were added between the card layers to give a magnetic closure, plus a little ribbon tab added for opening. A little obligatory bling was also added with silver glitter glue.

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a die cut panel. Foliage was stamped in green around the edges, and yes …. more silver glitter glue.

The front panel was stamped onto acetate with black StazOn ink. The back was coloured with alcohol ink pens. A piece of plain white card was trimmed and glued to the back creating an opaque background layer.

Glaze pen was used to colour the berries and rosehips, and glitter glue added to the snowy hills.

Ganutell Geranium

Good evening. I have been learning the technique of Ganutell. Here I used the Geranium Kit from Gina B Silkworks – it contains everything you need to complete 3 pretty flowers (wire, Perl spiral wire, florist tape and threads). This kit is a great starter for beginners. The thread included is a thicker Perle 5, much easier to handle for the less experienced. For my flowers I changed to a finer Perle 8 thread in red and yellow, with yellow stranded cotton for the stamens, making up according to the kit instructions.

The little vase in these pics was created using my own fabric plus the Vase Heritage Pincushion Kit – also from Gina B Silkworks. The kit contains precision cut cards and full instructions. I fussy cut my fabric to place the motifs around the vase.

Tools required:

Jewellery pliers or tweezers, wire cutters (scissors can be used instead but don’t use your best ones!), clear drying PVA glue and a ruler.

Optional extras:

These are not essential but really useful if you intend to make a few projects. A small piece of florist foam (for holding elements while glue dries), Petal and Leaf Jig (to help shape wires easily and consistently).

Note: The butterfly comes from the Butterfly Kit (blogged earlier this eve).

I am planning a large Ganutell floral display – so more Ganutell to share with you all soon xxx.

Ganutell Butterflies

Good evening. I have been learning the technique of Ganutell and started with a Butterfly Kit from Gina B Silkworks – it contains everything you need to complete 3 pretty butterflies (printed cards, wire, spiral wire, beads and metallic thread). The kit also comes with brooch backs – to make these into lovely brooches. I have used the Blues colourway but it also available in Oranges.

I am planning to create lots of Ganutell flowers for a bigger project and thought that these would definitely enhance a floral display nicely. They would also enhance any dried or artificial floral display. I have left wires untrimmed to attach to my project later.

Tools required:

Jewellery pliers or tweezers, wire cutters (scissors can be used instead but don’t use your best ones!), clear drying PVA glue and a ruler.

Optional extras:

These are not essential but really useful if you intend to make a few projects. A small piece of florist foam (for holding elements while glue dries), Petal and Leaf Jig (to help shape wires easily and consistently) and Butterfly Wing Pattern Pack (used with the jig – also has useful patterns for other wing shapes and suggested combinations for several different butterflies and dragonflies).

Note: The little vase was created using my own fabric plus the Vase Heritage Pincushion Kit – also from Gina B Silkworks. The kit contains precision cut cards and full instructions. I fussy cut my fabric to place the motifs around the vase.

More Ganutell to share with you all soon xxx.