Mixed Media Place......One Word.

Think of a word.....any word........now focus on that word and create......anything. This is the challenge at Mixed Media Place this month. Word association is a fantastic starting point for creativity. When you focus on just one word, all sorts of ideas, images, memories, experiences and emotions start to form in your mind.

With out getting too "deep and meaningfull" I love the word "dream" and all it can mean. It is a word very closely connected to "hope". Hope is that little spark deep inside us that keeps us going, even during the darkest of times, and allows us to 'dream' of the things we want in our lives or we want for our lives.  The ballerina is used as a visual symbol..........doesn't every little girl dream of being one, their movements are so graceful, soft and flowing, as in a dream and, dancing is movement choreographed to a rhythm. Life has it's rhythms, and we move and respond to them accordingly, and, while dealing with all it demands of us, we must continue to remind ourselves............"don't forget to dream". To not "dream" is to be hopeless.

Finnabair's white crackle Texture Paste has been used for texture and Silks Acrylic Glaze has been used for colour.

Finnabair cling stamp "Don't Forget To Fly", washi tape and some rub-ons.
A full list of supplies can be found HERE at Mixed Media Place and of course sourced from HERE at  Mixed Media Place Store.
Thank you for visiting. May you dream often, and may the important ones come true for you.

Finnabair Metal Bird House

This is the cutest little metal birdhouse and it has been so beautifully decorated by so many people since Finnabair released it.  Not really being a "flower" person I saw it with a more "industrial" eye, and so used lots of Finnabair mechanicals, a little angel, some chipboard and some cardboard "inner tubes" from cling wrap rolls.

The 'metal' drums were made from cardboard inner tubes

Black Gesso, Soft Gloss Gel, Mica Powders and embossing enamel were used to get a 'metalic' look.

Graffiti images pasted onto the walls.

Just an old junk shed.

With some eerie secrets.

More details and a list of materials can be found HERE on Finnabair's blog and all materials used in this project can be sourced from HERE at Mixed Media Place.

Thanks for visiting today, have a happy and creative weekend.

 

Dream On .....Art Journal Page for Mixed Media Place

My project for Mixed Media Place this month is an art journal page based around Finnabair's beautiful new range of stamps. The Dream On stamp in particular has so much beautiful pattern and detail in it, my favourite, and I've also used textural stamps from the Dirty Walls set which I have white embossed. Stamps, of course are ideal for use in art journals as they add lots of interest, pattern and detail with out adding bulk.

1. Gesso pages first then use a waterproof ink to stamp with.

2. Use art Extravagance White Crackle Texture Paste through the Grungy Grid stencil for some extra pattern and texture.

3. Use image transfer for the face. art basics Soft Matte Gel works brilliantly for this process.

4. Add more stamping, dry emboss in white and add some washi tape.

Finally some colour . Distress Spray Stains and water colour pencils.

A list of all products used can be seen HERE at Mixed Media Place blog and can be supplied HERE from Mixed Media Place store.

Thanks for dropping by....may your dreams only ever be sweet.

'On The Edge" for Finnabair Creative Team

This page has been inspired by three things: Gold Mica powder, I love the look of this magic dust. An old, vintage, bone handle knife, and the idea that, without trying for an adrenalin rush by base jumping or swimming with sharks,we are all, at times, "living on the edge." The very unpredictable nature of life, the not knowing of what tomorrow will bring, or "what's around the corner", creates this uneasy feeling. But, just as the caterpillar can turn into a butterfly, so too our lives can change and we have to believe  that all will be well. I found this quote somewhere, I don't know who said it, but it sums up perfectly what I mean; "Learn to honour the space between no longer and not yet".

Detail of Finnabair's beautiful Gold and Teal Mica Powder and her fabulous Texture Paste used through a stencil.

Copper Micro Beads and Finnabair Mechanicals Metal details.

Step by step details of how I made this page and a list of materials used can be found HERE on the Finnabair blog, and these materials can be supplied from HERE at Mixed Media Place.

Thanks for visiting, happy creating.

Mixed Media Place.....A "Try-out Practice Journal"

Way back in November of 2010 I took this photo of my art journal. I didn't call it an art journal then, it was just called my "left overs book", and it was filled with anything I felt like playing with at the time..... stamps, inks, left over bits of pretty paper, pieces of ephemera. I didn't write in it; it was just a place to "explore creative processes". I've made, but never filled, a few Art Journals since, but the one I love working in most is the one that sits next to me every time I create a specific page , canvas or DT project. I call it my "try out-practice" journal. If I'm not sure of a colour of ink, paint or mist or the texture of a medium like gel, texture paste or molding paste, I'll give it a little try in this journal first. If it looks wrong or doesn't give the effect I am looking for, no problem, I haven't messed up my page........yep, I do like to have 'some' control over my work, even tho I embrace 'random' and 'accident' as well. So different bits of medium and colours get added to this journal page as I concentrate on my main project.  When the main project is done, I'll go back and have a look at what's on my practice page in the journal. Sometimes it's just a mess; but often what's there can inspire an idea, and this is what I love about it....something that you have made without any conscious thought or plan can excite, motivate and inspire you, and you go on this happy, creative journey that you never planned on. I know that sounds kind of 'wanky' but for me, it's just fun, and freedom with no pressure or expectation. Of course this is not an original idea of mine....Donna Downey is a master of this with her amazing "collage journals". So, instead of trying out different ideas and media on scraps of paper that you then throw away, do it in a journal.....you never know what that "practice" page will inspire in you.

This crazy page of the witch and a tea bag came about by way of a project I did for Finnabair.

I was very unsure about the colour mists and stencils I was going to use for this page, so I had a little practice in the journal first. Also I was not sure about how the tea bag and beads would look so, again, the journal became my handy testing ground. 

You know the other great thing about a "try out practice journal" ? It totally eliminates the intimidating "where do I start" horror of a blank white page.....with out really knowing it, with freedom and abandon you have already started your page. Let it guide you and take you where it will...relax, enjoy the ride. Make it as fun or as serious as you want, it's your journal....express yourself.

Make yourself a brew, play with your mixed media, let your imagination fly loose and make some art.

If you are still hesitant about making a start in a journal or on a page, check out Finnabair's blog HERE where some of the Creative Team give their tips on "where to start".

As always, thanks for visiting and have a creative week.

Mixed Media Place....Creative Gym #8.....Drawing

I can't draw....said with hopeless resignation. So many people say this. I can't draw either, not like the 'Great Masters', say like Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael. Not even like two of my favourite artists, 
Del Kathryn Barton

or
Ola Liola

BUT, I can make marks on a page, I can draw lines and shapes, I can look at something and draw a line that represents what am looking at (copying), and so can we all. 

 I WANT to draw, I love the process, it doesn't matter how it looks in the end.

I'm talking about this because our next Creative Gym at Mixed Media Place is drawing or doodling, playing with pencils, pens or crayons. You do not have to be "able" to draw, to draw ! Just have a go, and the more you do it, the more comfortable you will become with the process and,  you might even "enjoy it". I love to draw eyes, so here is an art journal page with "eyes" as the focus and how I did them.

1) Lightly draw the eyes with pencil

2) Add some colour around the outside of the eyes.

3) Blacken in with pen or paint the darkest areas.

4) Use a white Posca Pen or white paint and draw eye lashes over the black areas.

5) Add more fine feathery eye lashes with a fine tip pen.

6) Finished eyes staring out of the page.

I used an image from a magazine to copy from for these eyes.

I added on some collaged elements, some doodling, some stamping and some hand writing.

Thanks for visiting, have a great week and next time you're sitting, doing nothing, pick up a pen, pencil, biro, crayon and just draw.

Visit Mixed Media Place HERE for some more "drawing" inspiration.

Finnabair Creative Team...........Fragments.

I love working with faces......drawing them, painting them ( tho I'm not very good at this, but will keep practising ), collaging them, altering them, using them any way I can. My other love is pattern...so I've gotten carried away with a face and some hexagons; along with some metal and beautiful Mica Powders. This page was created for the Finnabair blog as part of her Creative Team.

Like this face I sometimes feel "fragmented", not 100 percent together. The metal details were all gessoed first and then painted with Mica Powders mixed with a little water. There is white crackle paste, gesso used through a stencil, stamping, embossing, Distress Stains and watercolour paint used. 3D gel medium has been used to stick every thing down. A lot or the metal details are symbolic....like the key next to the mouth. I know I am too outspoken and I wish sometimes I could lock my lips shut ! More detail of how this page was put together can be found on the Finnabair blog HERE.

Mica Powders used to colour metal pieces. White Crackle Paste for texture. Chipboard coloured with Distress Stains and embossed with Aged Silver Embossing Enamel.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

Stamps and Flowers................Finnabair Creative Team and Prima

Stamps and flowers...........I love to use both in my work, so when Prima suggested a post using Finn's stamps and their flowers I was in. I need to explain tho that 3D type flowers are not really my thing. I have so much admiration for artists and scrapbookers out there who seem to be able to effortlessly arrange a multitude of amazing flowers on one page.....combine them beautifully with their photos, images and other embellishments. I love 2D flowers; drawn, painted, stamped, collaged or stencilled. Prima make beautiful floral patterned paper, so my flowers are collaged. I also love working in art journals and lumpy 3D flowers are not really suitable for this format. I've used stamps from Finnabair's Tea On The Deck Set. I love the beautiful little tea cup and plate.

The images were stamped with permanent ink and then painted with water colours, cut out and arranged on my page.  The background was misted with distress stains and a couple of the Prima "Frilly Lace" doilies stamped and embossed. Tea cups and doilies always go together. Pretty paper flowers from Prima's Romance Novel Range, and the lady sipping tea is an image transfer. All stamps and mixed media used in this project can be purchased HERE from Mixed Media Place Store

Thanks for visiting today ! May none of your days be "bad" this week; but if they are , you know what to do.