Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Embrace Imperfection - Guest Designer for Finnabair.

Hi Everyone, 

Well, it has been such a long long time between posts, months in fact. But here I am, and here I am back with such an exciting post. When I received a message asking if I would be interested in guest designing for the Finnabair team for a special post in December, well let me tell you I was excited and it was an immediate yes. My mojo had been a little on the lost side, this invitation gave me the boot I really needed to get cracking again. 

I invite you to view my project which invites you to 'Embrace Imperfection'........



This project has been created using numerous Finnabair products including, Soft Gloss Gel, Copper Micro Beads, Gold Mica Flakes, Mechanicals, Green / Gold Mica Powders, Elementals Bubble Stencil. 

Please find below a few extra close ups for you....







Many thanks for stopping by, I wish you all a happy and safe festive season. 

Keep happy and creative!! 

~ Rebecca ~ 

Friday, September 25, 2015

Beneath the Sea - Finnabair Creative Team

Hello my lovely creative friends...

Well today brings closure to my time on the Finnabair Creative Team, this will be my last project for this amazing team. As I type I am feeling mixed emotions, I feel a little sad, I feel excited to see what the new team will bring and I also feel happy to keep on creating new and funky projects, the craft journey is never over is it?. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Anna from the bottom of my heart for choosing me to be a part of her team, receiving that e-mail letting me know I was accepted was such an amazingly joyous moment in my life. I will let you all in on a little secret. I applied for this team knowing it was a long shot, thinking in my head it was a slim to none chance of making it through, I really had serious doubts in myself and in my work. However I made it, I was chosen. My point here (I do have one), ALWAYS believe in yourself, believe in your work (others do!!), challenge yourself, set goals, do not doubt yourself, reach for the stars....you never know, you just may grab a couple of those stars!! (they are not out of reach). 

Ok moving right along to my project this month, let me introduce you to my second edition ocean themed mixed media OTP. In late July I created a mixed media canvas called Oceania which can you find via this hyperlink. At the time I did not make a tutorial but by popular request I am happy to bring that to you now but the project this time is on a much larger scale. Please note the below tutorial is for the outside of the box only, the inside of the box will require a whole different tutorial. 

This case is a Julie Nutting Alterable Doll Luggage Set by Prima Item #910884. I had been hoarding this in my stash for quite some time and this being my last project, it was time to take this epic challenge on. Isn't this case amazing?








To begin I applied some Art Basics Modeling Paste with a palette knife through the Prima Elementals Bubble Stencil. I applied to the front, back and hinge side of the case. Allowing ample time for air drying drying before moving not to the next step. 


I am always head down over baskets and and boxes in thrift shops collecting little treasures such as the ones you see below. I adhered some dangly beads from the top and twisted cheese cloth from the bottom. Also from the thrift shop I picked up this ball of thready wool, using a palette knife I applied a stack of Art Basics Modeling Paste to the top and bottom of my case, then taking looped sections of wool I begin to push it into the paste with my fingers. 



As my paste was still obviously nice thick and still very wet I begun placing beads, these beads were beads from an old broken necklace. They make a perfect ocean floor don't they?. For some of the larger beads I added a dot of super glue behind the bead before pushing it further into the modelling paste, just for that extra support. Randomly amongst my ocean floor I also adhered in bronze embellishments, seaweed, anchors and fish. As my paste was REALLY thick this section took at least 3 days of full drying time, keeping in mind it was rather cold here in Australia (summer would have been a different story). 


Let's take a moment to look at my fish, what you are looking at here is two pairs of old earrings.  The fish tails are one pair, the fish bodies are another pair. Art can be made from so many different things, never go past that box of old weird looking old jewellery in your local thrift store without having a little look. My fish gills are made from a cut bronze flower, in the second photo below you will see the fish lips have been cut from the flower stamen. 


Below you will see as part of my background I have also adhered some Prima Mechanicals Jump Rings, this just adds further texture (and will later hold micro beads).


The next step is time consuming but also I think therapeutic and relaxing. I took some Art Basics Heavy Black Gesso and covered the entire outside of the box. You need to really get into everything with the gesso, use a large brush for the larger flatter sections and a small headed brush to get into all the small fiddly sections. 

Once the black gesso had completely dried it was then time to apply some gorgeous colour. I really wanted lots of different shades of blues and green so I did use quite a few different paint colours. My paints of choice were Lumiere Halo Blue Gold, Lumiere Pearlescent Blue, Lumiere Metallic Olive Green, Silks Teal Zircon, Silks Bolivian Blue, Silks African Jade and also Art Ingredients Mica Powder in Teal (which had been mixed with a small amount of Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel). 

If you zoom in on this photo and now have a look at the jump rings you will see they contain Art Ingredients Copper Micro Beads, these are held in place with a small amount of glossy accents. 


Upon close inspection you will see the ocean floor contains more treasures in the form of extra beads. You will see more colour!!, Art Ingredients Glass Beads in Cobalt Blue and also Art Ingredients Black Micro Beads. 


To further accent the colour and add even more dazzle dazzle I sprinkled on very small amounts of Art Ingredients Gold Mica Powder to the top and bottom of the box. Spritzing with water until the desire look was created. I allowed some to drizzle from the top to create a gold shimmer through the water. 

Using a black watercolour pencil from Prima The Basics collection I circled around my larger raised circled and smudged my pencil marks with a damp finger. 


Upon closing I would also now like to thank our absolutely fearless Creative Team leader Eliza, thank you for your never ending support, friendship and sense of humour. You have made my time on this team not only fun but stress free and for that I love you and thank you a million vintage photos (and I know how much you love your vintage photos). Also I cannot forget my fellow Creative Team ladies, you have amade being on this team amazing, enjoyable, fun and entertaining. You have all taught me different things and supported me in many ways, for that I thank you from the happy dancing place in my heart x x.

As always my friends keep happy and always keep creative. 

~ Rebecca ~ 


Monday, July 27, 2015

Oceania - Finnabair Creative Team

Hi Everyone, 

Today I would like to share an experimental project made with a lot of small op shop found objects  combined with Art Ingredients Glass Beads, Art Ingredients Mica Powder, Art Basics Black Gesso & Silks paints. Many thanks for looking at my canvas which I call 'Oceania'.


I wish you all a very happy and creative day!

~ Rebecca ~

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Art - Inch by Inch - Finnabair Creative Team

Hi Everyone, 

I am here with you today to share a special canvas project, I call this one 'special' as it contains 12 mini 2" square works of art within the canvas. When I began this project I initially thought 12 x 2" squares would be a good challenge for myself and hoped in my head that I would be able to think of enough mini arts to fill all the squares. Well let me tell you once I began, the ideas kept flowing and I think I could have filled an extra 12 squares. I truly loved making this project and am very happy with how it has turned out. Plans are being formulated as I type to make a new creation with squares very very soon. If you have never tried something like this before I can certainly recommend giving it a go. 


To begin my project I painted a 8" x 10" white canvas with Art Basics Heavy Black Gesso and allowed this to dry. Step 2 for my background was to apply Art Extravagance Graphite Texture Paste to the face and sides of the canvas through the Grungy Grid Stencil.  Once the texture paste had completely dried I spritzed my canvas with a mist created with water and Gold Mica Powder, allowing to dry slightly and dabbing off with a baby wipe. At this stage I thought the background just needed a little something else so I grabbed some blue metallic thread and wrapped it around and around the canvas. It ended up creating exactly the look I was hoping to achieve. 



I took some heavy weighted card stock and cut 12 x 1" squares. With a palette knife I gently applied a thickish layer of Art Basics Modeling Paste. As I did not want a smooth finish with the back of the palette knife I gentle dabbed over the entire surface of the square to create some peaks. To complete I sprinkled on some Copper Micro Beads and then allowed my squares to completely dry (overnight, do NOT use a heat gun, I did try the heat gun approach, patience is the answer). 


After patiently waiting for my squares to dry overnight it was time to paint them. To paint them I made two mixes of colour, combining Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel with Art Ingredients Rust Mica Powder and also separately Blue Mica Powder. My first coat was with the rust followed by light dabs of the blue just for a little contrast. 


I created 8 squares using modelling paste and you will note there are 4 squares with stamped embossed mica images. This coming Monday the 27th July there will be an additional tutorial by me within the Spreads Your Wings Academy Volume 3 to fully explain how the stamped embossing technique is carried out. 

Please let me explain each squares contents in a little more detail for you. 

1) Prima Mechanicals Leaves 2 , bronze cogs (stash), Prima Mechanicals Typewriter Numbers, rosette ribbon. 
2) Gold metallic thread, watch parts (stash), Art Ingredients Bronze Micro Beads, Prima Collect Moments Stamp. 
3) Bronze key, Prima Resist Canvas - Music, Art Ingredients Bronze Micro Beads, Prima Mechanicals Bottle Caps. 


 

5) Prima Resin Bird, rusty nail, Prima Mechanicals Leaves 1.
6) Bronze cog (stash), watch parts (stash), Prima Mechanicals Gears. 
7) Gold metallic thread, Prima Butterfly 3 Stamp, Prima Junkyard Findings Screw. 
8) Bronze cogs (stash), Prima Mechanicals Plated Labels, Prima Mechanicals Tassels. 


10) Gold metallic thread, Prima Canvas Resist Newspaper, Prima Mechanicals Leaves 2, watch parts (stash).
11) Rosette ribbon (stash), bronze cog (stash) watch parts (stash), Prima Mechanicals Leaves 2. 
12) Prima Canvas Resist Newspaper , Chinese coin (stash), Plastic egg (stash), Art Ingredients Glass Beads Zinc. 

Thank you for your time today my creative friends, please if you have any questions at all do not be afraid to ask.

I wish you all a very happy and creative day.

~ Rebecca ~ 
Products Used
Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel
Prima Resist Canvas - Music
Prima Mechanicals Tassels

Monday, June 22, 2015

The Texture of Time - Finnabair Creative Team

Hi Everyone,

I am here with you today to share my altered steampunk clock. Now this altered metal frame clock has been in my design team pack for coming up 10 months tempting me to alter it. I had been waiting for the right moment and the right ideas. Finally I felt it time and I am very happy with the results. Let's take a tour around how it was created shall we?



To begin although the clock base already has a fabulous rusted look I wanted to add some extra glimmer and colour. To accomplish this I chose two colours of Art Ingredients Mica Powder, the colours I chose were Gold and Copper. I combined a small amount of the mica powders (separately) with some Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel, once combined I applied to my clock sides, legs and back with a paint brush.
At this stage I also painted my chipboard clock pieces with a combination of both the mica coloured gels combined. Blending them together, dabbing away.


I took a fairly large amount of Graphite Art Extravagance Texture Paste and mixed in a pretty generous amount of Licorice Glass Beads and Black Micro Beads. Now I LOVE myself some small watch parts but often the pieces are super super tiny and hard to use in projects but for a project like this they were absolutely perfect. I picked up small scoops with my fingers and while the texture paste was still damp I pushed the pieces into the paste.


As you can see although the texture paste is grey when wet, when dry it is a lovely rich black.


I wanted to create some unique dangly pieces to hang from the sides, I thought about this one for quite a while before inspiration struck. I had some mini hat pins in my stash which I threaded some miniature cogs onto along with Mechanical Typewriter Numbers. The ends were twisted off into a circle, cut and then threaded through a jump ring and secured it onto metal chain. My dangly pieces were complete!!.


To create the inside of my clock I traced and cut out the circle onto some Prima Newsprint Resist Canvas, this became my background. I then began layering up all my other elements, my clock, metals and photo. My steampunk gentleman of course required a crown and some goggles before he moved into the clock ;-). 

In the foreground of my clock you will see glass bottle containing glitter and glass beads, a rusty resin nut, hat pins, an egg and a broken pocket watch. I created the hanging light bulb out of a bulb which has two cogs glued to the side, a few jump rings and more chain (easy!).  My label of Journey comes from the Mechanicals Plate and Label collection.


To finish I added a bow made out of ribbon which was a gift from a friend, it was a perfect addition to to my clock and a nice way to symbolise our new friendship. In the centre of the bow you will see a Mechanicals gear, isn't it cute?



Many thanks for looking my friends, wishing you all a happy and creative day.

~ Rebecca ~
Products Used

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Creating Texture - Finnabair Creative Team

Hello Everyone,

I am  here with you to share two different ways how I have used Art Extravagance Texture Paste in the below canvas. Prior to adding my texture pastes my background was  built with a combination of lace, paper, washi tape and dry wall tape. This was then given a coat of gesso (allow to dry) and then color was applied using different combinations of paint colors (allow ample time to dry). Time to add more texture!! To create even more texture within my Art Ingredients Copper Crackle I first mixed in some Copper Micro Beads. This mixture was then applied to my background through the Chicken Wire Stencil. The final step in my texture adventure was to add some Graphite Texture Paste and this was applied through the Grungy Grid Stencil. My friends, don't be shy, jump on in and get some texture going in your projects, these products will give you fabulous results. 



Prima Products Used: Art Ingredients Mica Powder Copper 962531, Art Extravagance Texture Paste Copper Crackle 961534, Art Extravagance Texture Paste Graphite 961497, Cling Stamps 'Trust the magic' 962036, Cling Stamps 'Rust & dust' 962050, Mechanicals Gears 961053, Mechanicals Brads Stars 961169, Elementals Chicken Wire Stencil 962272, Elementals Grungy Grid Stencil 962319, Art Ingredients Micro Beads Copper 962579.

Wishing you all a happy and creative day!

~ Rebecca ~ 

Friday, May 29, 2015

Mixed Media Hanging - Flying Unicorn Creative Team

Hi Everyone,

I am here today to share with you a set of three mini mixed media canvas's. These have been created using a combination of Silks Paints and Flying Unicorn Adornments. Although I have quite a few of my projects on display in my craft room my walls remain rather bare, I wanted to create something to hang on the wall. I thought I would begin with something little. These tiny canvas's only measure 2" x 2", so small and cute, a perfect way to really display and feature my treasured Flying Unicorn Adornments. 


Products Used


Let's take a closer look around......





Many thanks for looking, if you have any questions at all for me please do not hesitate to ask.

I wish you all a happy and very creative day.

~ Bex ~