Breaking Out

Hello and welcome to my blog  :)  I have something very different to share with you today.  I've really got into my mixed media lately, and one of the mediums that I am really enjoying working with at the moment is light air dry clay.  I use it with moulds and cutters to create 3D projects.  For this project I have used the latest moulds from Katy Sue Designs 'Realms of Fantasy' range, plus a few that had been released previously; I have also used acrylic paints, Pearl-Ex paints, Starlight paints, Hearty air dry clay, some dies and an embossing folder from my stash.

To start this project I made all the clay embellishments, pressing the clay into the moulds and then turning them out and letting them dry overnight.

Next I painted a mask with black gesso, and let it dry.  I used the Dragon Skin mould and some more clay to create some skin, then I moulded it over the mask and left it to dry insitue.  

I then created the eyes in the same way and added one of them to the front of the mask, adding it to the skin and over one of the eye holes.  I placed the other eye inside the mask behind the other eye hole, moulding it gently to the shape of the mask.  I removed it carefully and let it dry.   

When the clay was dry I painted the skin, eyes and claws with green acrylic paint and left them to dry naturally.

I made some clay ferns in both white and green clay, painting the white ones when they were dry.  I did this to create a variety of colours of ferns, making them look more natural.  I also created some clay tree bark with one of the moulds, and painted the bark with brown acrylic when dry.  I then added some highlights with Starlight paint by dry brushing over the bark.  I then die cut some cogs from black card and added gilding waxes.  I also made some clay cogs and did the same when they were dry.




I painted the eye balls with my old favourites, Pearlex paints.  I wanted the eyes to have a bright sheen to them.  I painted some veins with a very fine brush, and painted the slit iris black, before adding Glossy Accents.  I added another piece of skin on the other side of the mask and treated it in the same way.

I then added highlights to the skin with another Starlight paint.  

I added some strong PVA glue under the skin and the eye on the outside of the mask, then attached the other eye to the inside of the mask with 3D glue gel.  I began adding the cogs, hinges and some faux sheet metal that I had made from black card that I embossed in a folder before colouring it with silver gilding wax.  I cut the faux sheet metal into pieces and attached them to the mask with glue.  I then added some clay screws on top to make it look like the 'metal' is being held in place with them.  I added a clay lock and key to the mouth, to give the effect of clockwork.

I painted a canvas with acrylic paint and when it was dry I attached the mask to it.  I then attached the bark, breaking it into smaller pieces to fit it around the mask.  Finally I attached the claws and the ferns, to give the illusion of the creature peering out from a leafy forest.

.  As you will know if you have visited my blog before I LOVE my mixed media, and as soon as I saw these moulds I wanted to create a piece of artwork based around a decorated mask.  These  moulds by Katy Sue Designs are beautifully detailed, and I know I'm going to have a lot more fun with them!  The only question is .....is the lizard trying to break out from the clockwork man, or is the clockwork man trying to break free from the lizard?!!

Thank you so much for popping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post, feel free to browse other projects on here, and leave a comment if you like!  I hope you'll come back to visit again soon  :) 

Owl in Copper

Hello and wewlcome to my blog  :)  I have a stylish and fun card to share today, another of my CB samples from December's shows.  I have used stamps from the Wise Owl and Fly Away With Me sets; Copper Soft Form Relief Paste, copper embossing powder, copper artists pen, and gold gilding wax.

 On a piece of black card I stamped several different sizes of feathers with Versafine ink and embossed them in copper.  I then used a copper pen around the edges.  

I created some embellishments using the Soft Form paste, I spread it over the owl and feather stamps and left it to dry overnight.  Meanwhile I stamped and embossed the quote onto a spare piece of black card in copper.  I then tore the card around the quote and added gold gilding wax to the torn edges.  
   

When the paste was set and dry I peeled it off the stamps.  All the detail from the stamps was now revealed in 3D.  I added some gilding wax to all the embellishments to highlight the details.  

I attached the background panel to a white base card then added all the embellishments.  I positioned one of the feathers with the end of it's quill next to the last word of the quote, as if it had just finished writing it.  

I loved creating this card using just three colours, it is both stylish and striking.  I think it is suitable for any recipient, and many occasions.
Thank you for popping in today, I hope you've enjoyed reading this post - feel free to leave me a comment - and drop by again soon  :) 

Golden Dawn

Hello and welcome to my blog  :)  I have a very cheerful card to share with you today featuring some of the beautiful bird stamps from December's tv shows.  I have used images from the Dawn Chorus, Live Out Loud and Let Your Heart Sing sets; Distress Oxide inks, Versamark ink, gold EP, gold pen, and a couple of stencils from my stash.  

I decided to create a DL card, so on a piece of CB drawing cartridge I created some hills with a mask using green DO ink, then moved the stencil and repeated the process using more ink to make the hills darker so that they appear in the foreground.  I used another stencil to create a sunburst with three colours of DOs. 

I stamped the Dawn Chorus collage image along the bottom of the panel using Versafine ink and embossed it in gold.  I did the same with two images of birds in grasses, and I wanted both images to be seen clearly so I stamped them above the first image to fit them in.   This made one of the images appear to be floating, so I decided to 'extend' the stalks of grass.  Using a very fine brush with glycerine I painted an extension of the grass and embossed it in gold as before.  

I then stamped and embossed the poem at the top of the panel and added gold pen around the edges.  I then matted the panel onto black card and set it aside.  

I took a white base card and stamped several worker images around the edges, using a DO ink, then attached the focal panel.

 I think this is such a colourful, cheerful card that it would bring a smile to the face of any recipient.  It is suitable for lots of occasions and most agegroups.  

Thank you for dropping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post, and that you'll come back soon  :)

Butterfly Ball

Hi there and welcome to my blog  :)  I have a mixed media canvas to share with you today.   As you may know if you've visited my blog before I love creating mixed media projects as well as home decor projects, and I enjoy mixing the two together.  This canvas was one of my samples for the Chocolate Baroque tv shows.
I have used stamps from the Butterfly Dress, the Floral Edges and Artistic Affirmations sets; Little Birdy chalk paint, Aztec Metallic paints, gold guilding wax, Soft Form Relief Paste - red and black; black Gesso, black Versafine ink, gold pen, and a metal embellishment from my stash.  

I painted the canvas with one of the chalk paints, then stamped and embossed the Butterfly Dress image in black ink with clear EP. 
  

I then masked the image with masking tissue, as you can see I've used this mask before!  

I placed the palace stencil across the canvas and the top half of the girl image.  I then applied black Soft Form paste through the stencil.  I took some red Soft Form paste and spread it over the floral part of the Butterfly Dress stamp and the girl's hair, then left both the canvas and the stamp to dry overnight.  When dry  I peeled the red paste from the stamp and rubbed a little gilding wax over it to enhance the details.  I also added gilding wax to the black paste on the canvas.




I took a metal butterfly from my stash and added gilding wax.

I stamped the Floral Edge along the bottom edge of the canvas in black Versafine and painted the flowers in red and gold metalic paints.   
I then removed the mask from the image and attached the paste hair and skirt to it.


  

Using a gold metalic paint I painted a large golden sun in the top center of the canvas.  I then stamped the Leafy Edges image in black along the top edge of the canvas and added gilding wax to the outer edges of the canvas.   

I took some cream card, stamped some words in black and embossed them with clear powder.  I cut each word into a seperate label and edged them with gilding wax before attaching them to the canvas with 3D glue gel.  I then attached the butterfly to complete the design.

I was really pleased with this sample.  I love the colours and textures of the mixed media, and the beautiful stamps speak for themselves.  It was a lot of fun creating this piece, using lots of techniques and lots of messy crafting!

Thank you for dropping in today, I hope you've enjoyed reading this post and that you'll visit again soon  :)