Route 66 - Mixed Media Canvas with DecoArt Media Acrylics

Morning everyone,

I'm sharing a piece today that I made for Mixed Up Magazine, for February 2017.  You can still get this issue of the magazine from Pocketmags, and I'd really encourage you to take a look at Mixed Up Mag and subscribe to future issues, it has tons and tons of pages of mixed media inspiration and projects. 

This piece was loosely valentines based, well, it had a heart in it!

This piece even made it to page 66!

Hope you like it, you can check out the full details on how I made it in the magazine.

Have a fab weekend,

Nikki
xx

DecoArt & Hochanda shows and Happy New Year..

Morning all,

I hope your New Year has started well, there has been a bit of sadness over the last month and even into this year for a few people I know, so thoughts are with those less fortunate as well.

I just wanted to share some of my makes from the Hochanda show's on Monday.  I had a brilliant time with the fab new 2oz chalk paints from DecoArt, and the multi-surface, Dazzling Metallics and GlamourDust paints!  Like a kid in a sweet shop.  Not forgetting the lovely new Tando pack made up for me!

So this little media board gave me a new technique, as I'd already stencilled it with DecoArt's Scribbles stencil, and left it to one side a while ago.  I painted it with the 'restore' chalk paint, (they all come in new 2oz bottles for crafting now!) and then added the chalk crackle.  When I came to put the top coat on, I noticed that the crackle followed some of the stencilling, and gave a really cool effect.
 

I then crackled the Tando heart, using Lace and Romance chalk paints, and painted and stamped the smaller heart in opposite colours.  The wings are painted in Dazzling Metallics Venetian Gold, and the edges of the board dabbed with it on my fingers.  

This little daisy tag was similar, the crackle followed the stencil, and cracked more between the daisy's than on top!   I repainted the daisy's in separate colours, multi-surface coastal waters and chalk cherish. 

And then I did a sparkling canvas, although it's not so clear from the picture!  I crackle painted a canvas a while ago, and didn't have a purpose for it at that stage.  When I got the tv samples through, I knew immediately that it needed the Dandelion!  I painted roughly, leaving patches, with Serene chalk paint, over the crackle.  I then added the daisy stencil in legacy chalk paint, and put Neon Blue Glamour dust paint in the centres of the dandelion heads.  I stamped with Andy's scratches stamp (Toxic Set) in places,distressed the panel slightly with paynes grey, made it look chipped all around the edges with paint on my fingers, and then coated the whole canvas in Ice Crystal Glamour dust, for a very subtle, gorgeous glitter effect.

I hope you like these, I had fun making them!  I will try and share some more soon.

Best Wishes,

Nikki

xx

Products Used:

DecoArt - 

Stencils - Scribble, Daisy Chain, Dandelion

20z Chalk paints - restore, legacy, serene, lace, romance, cherish, Americana Decor Crackle medium.

Multi-surface - Coastal Waters

Dazzling Metallics - Venetian Gold

DecoArt Media - Paynes Grey, Crackle paint.

GlamourDust Paint - Neon Blue, Ice Crystal

(A lot of these available in the UK from Tando Creative)

Stamps - Andy Skinner Toxic Set

Tando Creative - media boards, hearts, wings, tags.

She had a weakness for pretty things . . .

Hi all,

I'm relaxing today, had a hectic but fun weekend, my Monday blog post is up over at Indigoblu here.

I made a canvas for the August Indigoblu challenge, but never got round to actually telling you how. . so here it is.

I've called it 'She had a weakness for pretty things' as that's exactly what the book page says in the top left corner, I thought it was amusing and apt, as I'm not normally a pale pink kind of gal myself!

There were so many techniques in this, I started with using slap it on to glue and seal book pages, music pages, and stamped tissue paper to the canvas. 

Once on and sealed, I watered down some white gee so good, and painted over the canvas, to mute the colours in the background.  I then used flitterglu and megaflakes to add some flourishes and general shabby detail. 

Each little canvas was painted with Cottage paints, in Iced pink gem, and then stamped, one with script, and two with itsy bitsy backgrounds.  The mdf heart is also painted with iced pink gem, but then kroma crackled as well.  I added lace to give it a feminine feel.  Before all the components were glued in place, I spritzed the canvas with a glimmer mist, in an antique rose kind of colour.

Elizabeth Bennet was stamped, torn around, coloured with Distress markers, and aged with Tea Dye distress ink.  The metal embellishments were added, and then the Rue Romantique bezels were made up by stamping an image, colouring, then using flitterglu to glue it in to the bezel.  This is then sealed with slap it on, and Ice Resin mixed and poured on top, for the lovely shiny clear hardwearing finish.

The September Challenge is running now over at Indigoblu, you have plenty of time still to enter before the 21st, and the theme this month is Things with Wings.  The DT have made some inspirational pieces, why not have a go - there are some beautiful stamps up for grabs each month.

And remember, it doesn't have to be a bird or a butterfly, you can give anything wings (And you don't need Red Bull, just cardstock!)

Have a great week,

Love and hugs,

Nikki K.