DecoArt Mixed Media: Summer Dreams

I'm sharing a full tutorial on this project over at the DecoArt Mixed Media blog HERE.

Time Traveler

Welcome, welcome steampunk fans, and a happy and imaginative New Year to you! 

We have more steampunk/industrial inspiration for you mid month, and if you missed the Team A posts, be sure to check them out - they are awesome!

I am fascinated with the idea of time travel, and love to read books about it. Can you imagine if there really was a time machine? Or a way to travel into the past or future? Would you do it?  I believe I would. Where and when would you want to go?

I wanted to make a canvas with this theme. It's also been wicked cold here and I've been drinking lots of coffee and those dark browns have caught my eye, along with my long sleeve teal shirt I wear as an under layer, so it's browns and blues for me! Ok, there are a lot of steps and photos this time, so grab something to drink, and let's get started!

Time Traveler

Isn't this Boozybear chipboard great? I laid mine out and added bits to it, then took a photo so I would remember what it looked like.

Painted all my pieces with Cobalt Turquoise hue.

While those dried, I painted the canvas background.

Then, I stenciled Andy Skinner's Industrial Elements over it with  Titan Buff and a cosmetic sponge.

Stenciled canvas

Time to go over it with a mix of transparent and semi transparent colors.

I liked it like this and could have stopped here, except for that vision in my head.

I wanted to add another layer of gears over this, and used Andy's Incognito stencil  with Gold Rush and Rich Espresso (yes, those coffee vibes are in the air!)

I decided to dab on some transparent blues to my gears.

Then, I decided to add more interest to them with some misters.

I had fun finding other cogs and gears and metal bits to add to this.

I brushed a thick layer of Clear Crackle onto the canvas, and then I had to be patient while it dried. After awhile, I got out the heat tool to speed it up. I love the big cracks, and rubbed in Payne's Grey all over the canvas and used a baby wipe to clean more off the surface. 

I didn't want my canvas to be shiny, so went over it with Ultra Matte Varnish.

I am loving how this turned out!

DecoArt products I used to create the canvas and gears. 

I also added some sparkle with Prima Art Ingredients with glass glitter and beads.

And here are the shirts which inspired my color choices...

All the details....

You can see the sprinkling of glitter and beads I added here. After all, there must be some magic involved in time travel, right?

My son gave me this awesome set of trunks, and don't they make great props for my canvas?

I hope I've inspired you to use your imagination and create something to share with us this month! 

I am looking forward to your make! 

Maura

Many thanks to our wonderful sponsors who keep the gears turning at Sandee and amelie's Steampunk Challenges!

 

 

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Quothe the Raven

We are approaching the season that so many of my friends wait for all year - Halloween! I was inspired to make a tiny canvas 3"x3" for the celebration.

Quinacridone Gold and Yellow Oxide and the Distressed Digits stencil. I'm using the new Americana Premium paints, which are great! I love having the option of the thicker paints.

Next, I stamped the skeleton on the background from Andy Skinner's newest stamp set Birds and Bones.

I layered on more color with the Baroque stencil and Cadmium Red. I was aiming for the face to be more noticeable, but it really is more of a pattern.

Green Gold is next with the stencil. This hue is fast becoming a favorite!

I had leftover paint on my craft sheet, so I dabbed it onto a scrap of book paper to use for stamping the raven.

I rubbed in some Burnt Umber to tone it down. Sometimes, the finger is the best tool!

Ultra Matte Varnish to attach the papers and seal the canvas.

DecoArt products I used on this.

I added a thick layer of clear crackle, and then patiently waited for it to dry. I love the huge crackle pattern. I rubbed in some Payne's Grey to bring out the crackle. Oh yes, I am liking this!

Ghosts, ghouls and goblins...after all the veil between the worlds opens on Samhain or Halloween!

Thanks for joining me, and I hope you've enjoyed my tiny canvas.

Wanderlust 2017 - Fossil Collection

Headed to my Wanderlust 2017 art journal today to work on the prompt "I collect..." Since I do collect too many things like books and craft supplies, I wanted to head off in another direction - collecting rocks and fossils. (I think it has to do with many years of teaching Earth Science, but I am still fascinated by these natural objects.)

Specimen 2675

A few weeks ago, I spent some time out on my deck playing with my gelli plate and DecoArt's new Premium acrylic line along with some of their Neons.  You can check that out HERE. I made up a batch of papers to have on hand, and I pulled some out to use on my page today. 

I am using a sheet of watercolor paper as the base, and tore strips of my gelli prints and glued them down with DecouPage. I brushed it on the back, then swiped the card over it to make sure it adhered, then I added it also as a topcoat. 

Once that dried, I added in some fluid acrylics in Green Gold, Quinacridone Gold, and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide. I chose all transparent colors because I wanted my papers to also show through. 

Next, I painted over the entire page with the Carbon Black Premium Americans acrylic. laid the stencil on top and using a baby wipe, I removed the black from the stenciled area. I really like how it created this somewhat stained glass look. 

Looking closer...

I love how the color shines through, but also has that smudge of black on top. A bonus, I think, is when I lifted the stencil, it also lifted some of the black paint to get these random spots. 

I stamped the specimen piece on a gelli print, using Andy Skinner's Skuldoggery set, and adhered with more DecouPage, and finished the page off with a bit of lettering. 

I can see this is a technique I am going to want to play with again! I hope you've enjoyed it, and thanks for stopping by!