Hi there Antony here...
well at long last the summer holidays are finally coming to a close.
I for one love to keep mementos from them. In previous years before
my two sons came along my wife and myself travelled to America and
collected over the years quite a collection of bits and bobs. So a
few years ago I made a wooden unit with shelves, glazed it and ever
since it has hung on a wall at the top of our stairs, a beautiful
reminder of all the special times we had shared together. So this
year rather than make a wooden unit I thought it would be nice to
turn it into a mixed media project. Whilst on this years family
holiday my 2 son Lucas and Hayden searched the beaches for shells,
pebbles and washed up pieces of slate... oh and even more shells!
The products and
materials I have used for this project are:- Pinflair Glue Gel,
Pinflair Bookbinding Glue, Pinflair Black Decorative Paste, Pinflair
die cut card shapes, Pinflair Liquid Buff-it and Craft polishes in
various colours, A4 computer printer paper and some rustic string...
As well as the shells, pebbles and slate!
Step 1 I firstly
created the base or canvas for the project. I used 3 pieces of heavy
duty cardboard measuring about 22cm square with rounded corners and
stuck them all together using Pinflair Bookbinding Glue. Then using
some standard A4 computer printer paper, I screwed it up and then
stuck it on top of the card board using the Bookbinding Glue again.
The screwed up paper created a beautiful unique base texture. I then
let the glue dry for about 45 minutes.
Step 2 To enable all
the paints to work well and stick on the shells, slates, pebbles and pieces
of slate I washed them all in soapy water.
Step 3 Going back to
the canvas and screwed up paper, I used a piece of sandpaper and
sanded off all overhanging paper. This method of removing the
overhanging paper gives a really nice clean finish and is also a lot
quicker and more acurrate than using scissors or indeed a craft
knife.
I then stuck together 3
heavy duty cardboard heart shapes. Next came the fun and some what
difficult process of arranging the slate pieces on top of the
cardboard hearts, so they looked as natural as possible, but at the
same time so you could still see they formed a heart. When I was
totally happy with the arrangement I glued everything in place with
the legendary Pinflair Glue Gel!
Once the Glue Gel had
set I used a sponge to apply Silver Buff-it craft polish to highlight
the textures on the slate.
Step 4 Back to the
canvas again. This time I painted the whole thing black using
Pinflair Black Decorative Paste, but you could also use acrylic paint or black gesso. I used a sponge to apply the black
paste, far quicker than using a paintbrush. Next was the turn for all
the shells and pebbles... but not the slate pieces! The paints take
quite a bit longer to dry on the shell and pebble, but you can speed
up the process by using a craft heat tool.
Step 5 To add some
colour to the canvas I used Pinflairs Liquid Buff-it colours using
the Dry Brush Technique (see an old post for decorating a canvas bagfor more details regarding this technique) I used 3 different
colours, Ice Blue, Peacock Blue and Caribbean Blue. Once the Liquid
Buff-it had dried (which only takes a few minutes) I then used a
sponge and lightly went over the textured surface with Pinflair
Buff-it craft polish. This helped highlight the raised area of the
screwed up paper texture. I used Silver, French Lavender and Blue
from the Buff-it craft polish range.
Step 6 I then painted 4
large slate pieces with Caribbean Blue Liquid Buff-it and stuck them
down to the canvas using Pinflair Glue Gel. I then left the Glue Gel
to fully dry and then used a sponge and applied a small amount of
French Lavender Buff-it craft polish to highlight the slates texture.
Finally I punched 2 holes through the canvas so that I could thread
some rustic string through it later for hanging purposes.
Step 7 Then I started
to arrange all the blackened shells, pebbles and the slates I had
arranged into the heart shape. I laid it all out dry until I was
happy with the placement of everything before sticking everything
into position with Glue Gel.
Step 8 I then left the
Glue Gel to dry overnight and then the following day I started to
paint all the shells and pebbles with various colour of Pinfalirs
Liquid Buff-it. I painted dry on dry paint and also used the dry
brush painting technique and even lightly sponged on the paint to
create a beautiful mix of colours across the shells and pebbles.
When the paint had
finally dried I used Silver, Copper and French Lavender Buff-it craft
polishes to highlight the textures on the shells and the pebbles.
To finish off I sealed
all the paint work with Buff-it Sealer. If I had only used Liquid
Buff-it I wouldn't have needed to seal it. But because I used the
craft polish I thought it was best to seal it, as I will most likely
hang the plaque in our bathroom were moisture could ruin the finish.
I then used some rustic
string and threaded it through the holes that I had punched through
the canvas earlier. I knotted the ends so that you could see them
from the front of the canvas for a truly rustic finish.
This type of mixed
media canvas can be created from any bits and pieces you find whether
it be from a holiday or everyday items from round the house, shed
garage or even your garden. Give it a go... you will be addicted
before you know it!
Until next time, Happy
Crafting!
Antony
