Mixed Media Halloween Wall Decor

make it monday blog hop fall logoWelcome to this week’s Make It Monday blog hop! If you arrived by way of Karen Fitting’s website at Photos Kept Alive, welcome! I don’t want you to miss her post because she always has such great ideas, so I’ll tell you how to get back to it at the end of this post.

Today’s theme is Fall/Halloween for the hop. I have had this idea for a little while, and so I saved it for today. Since so many people want to know how to create the mixed media projects they are seeing, I decided to create something with a limited set of products. I chose the Scaredy Cat paper pack and Scaredy Cat Complements pack from Close to My Heart because I felt it offered such a great collection for what I wanted to create.

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

This project was done on a 12″x12″x1″ canvas. By painting the edges, it doesn’t need to be framed. If you wanted to, you could use a canvas panel so that it would be thin enough to place in a regular picture frame.

First off, select what you’ll use for the background. I chose the Slate paper for the top or sky, and the black for the ground bottom. I cut a strip off the bottom of the Slate paper and then tore a tiny bit along the edge. That way, the layers ease together nicely. Now, use an adhesive medium to coat the back side of your paper. Turn it over onto the canvas add a layer of your medium over the top to seal it.

slate background paper applied to canvas

Tear along the bottom edge to create less bulk when adding the next layer.

Next, I tore an edge on my Black paper to create the ground. Again, coat the back of the paper with your adhesive medium, turn it over onto the canvas and add another layer of the medium.

Black paper turn to give curves for the ground portion of the project.

Black paper turn to give curves for the ground portion of the project.

Next, you can either add some texture to background or you could just continue to the next step. I like to add a lot of different textures, so I used black StazOn as well as some white paint and a bit of Thistle ink. In the end I was sorry I had added too much of the white, so I grabbed some black paint and gave a squirt into my white paint to make a nice gray. I then brushed this over the sky portion of my background and restamped my texture in StazOn.

Texture added to the background

After my night sky became too light, I ended up creating gray with my paint and toned it back down.

Now it was time to really start having some fun. Between the paper pack and some stickers from its coordinating set, there was a lot to play with. Since these were the only products I wanted to use, I did a lot of cutting. One of the decorative sheets has a lot to choose from, and the parts that didn’t get cut up from that sheet will still be used to make some other things — cards, treat bag toppers, etc. You can get a lot of mileage from that one piece of paper! Here is what it looked like

Major pieces placed and doors and windows added.

Major pieces placed and doors and windows added.

Next I added details with a fine line marker, placed more stickers, and then used a black Pitt Pen to smudge around the edges of everything to give it more definition. A bit more black was smudged into the sky to add a little more darkness. NOTE: You MUST have sealed everything with your medium over the top, even the stickers. The Pitt Pen will smear for a second as soon as you put it on, but it will not smudge if it is on unsealed paper. You have to act quickly, and you may need to dampen your finger, as well.

The last thing I did was use a white gel pen to add some final definition to a few areas. You’ll notice that I didn’t try to make perfectly straight lines.  That’s it. Complete! Here are some close ups.

White Gel Pen used to add some details

White Gel Pen used to add some details.

Black Pitt Pen smudged around edges

Black Pitt Pen smudged around edges.

 

Night sky with more black smudged in over the Slate background

Night sky with more black smudged in over the Slate background.

Here is the final piece.  I may go back in and use my fine tip black pen to outline the witch and broom over the moon. What do you think?

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

Here is the FINAL piece. I went back in and outlined the witch!

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

Halloween Mixed Media Decor Item

Easy access to the Scaredy Cat items are below.

As promised, if you missed Karen’s great idea for hybrid Halloween tags, you go back and check it out HERE. Otherwise, next on the Make It Monday blog hop Melissa Shanhun is scrapbooking Halloween and there’s not a costumed child in sight! 

I hope you all know how much it means to know you’ve stopped by, looked and read. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment!

Until our next Artful Adventure,

KS

 

 

Here are the featured products used in this project, with links to my online Close to My Heart store.


Artfully Mix It Up!

Mix It Up

Background by Joanna Grant

When I recently was working on some gelli plate printing, I couldn’t help but think of Joanna Grant‘s work. The background of this saying I made is actually one of her pieces she shared with us to use.

Joanna is truly an inspiration for taking things and turning them into unique treasures. Don’t be afraid to try something new, or worry about what someone will think. Just Do It!

If you haven’t listened to the podcast interview with Joanna, or seen some samples of her work, check out this previous post.

If you are interested in learning more about creating backgrounds using the gelatin plate method, let me know in the comments!

KS

CREATE, a Tag

I love doing project swaps! It is fun to get little pieces of inspiration from friends. Once you find out how many people you are swapping with, you get to work deciding what you are going to share, and making sure you have enough materials to create the given number of items. Somehow, I have a habit of coming up with grand ideas that are much easier in my brain than they are when I get started! Yet, I carry on!

I recently created 25 tags for a swap with my ScrapHappy friends. We were challenged to create our tag front to somehow be representative of ourselves. Hmmm….. what would I do? What would I do?

manila and kraft tagsI finally came up with a plan and got busy! The tags were to be no larger than 4×6, and didn’t necessarily have to be a traditional “tag” shape. However, I had the remainder of two packages of tags which were just a bit longer than 6 inches, and guess how many I had. 25! I cut about a 1/4 inch off each one to make it 6 inches long and was ready to go.

Paint and Gelli plate printing seemed like a great idea to get color on the backgrounds. Some of the tags were kraft, and were much more flimsy than the manila tags. However, after the first paint layers dried, they were much the same.

gelli plate and paint supplies

I used my basic stamping tool, small bubble wrap, to add some white highlights and brighten the backgrounds.

I had planned to just hand write “Create” but the texture was so rough, and my white paint pens were not being cooperative.

Create-Tag-diecutInstead, I used my electronic die cut machine to cut out the word “Create” in a size suitable for the tag. They were perfect! Oh, wait — how was I going to get some of their dainty little parts removed from the sticky backing of the mat? I decided to take some Press N Seal food wrap and see if I could press it over them and lift them off. NO! Rubbing on the wrap, just stuck the words on the mat even more firmly! Eventually I realized I was going to have to painstakingly remove the words. So I did. Ever so carefully!

After seeing how difficult it would be to get the words off, I knew that gluing them onto the tags was going to be a little difficult. In hind sight, I should have put a layer of Glue N’ Seal on the tag and just stuck the words down. However, I didn’t think of that. All I could think of was the fact that I’d never be able to get glue on their tiny parts. I had thought about running them through my Xyron, but I thought I’d just have the same problem lifting them off, that I had already had getting them off the cutting mat! After a trip to go buy some spray adhesive, I was back in business! I had them upside down on the food wrap and sprayed them. The food wrap proved to come in handy after all! It was tacky enough to hold them in place, so I could spray the back sides. I used tweezers to help lift them off and get them into place on the tags. They were now a breeze to adhere! Whew, a major hurdle behind me.

paint palette die cutI cut little paint palettes with my electronic die cut machine, and compared to “Create,” they were a breeze! I then placed little dots of the paint I had used on the tag backgrounds to create the little pools of color. Using heavy body acrylic paint allowed the paint to retain it’s shape and give great coverage on the black card stock palettes! When dry, I glued them to the tags.

I wanted to add something for a little paint brush and thought about just cutting out a little shape by hand and using markers to add color. Then I decided I would make little brushes from clay and paint them when finished. No, that wasn’t going to take long, I told myself! It would be worth it in the end! After the first set was ready after baking, I broke one handle, and was afraid they would be too fragile to make the trip to my event, and may not successfully make further trips with my friends on the way back to their homes.

Create-Tag-paint-paletteWhat was I going to do? I had gone much too far to turn back! I started looking online for ideas on making teeny tiny paintbrushes, and came across a couple of ideas from young girls sharing ideas on making paint brushes for their American Girl dolls! I LOVE miniature items of almost anything. It was so funny to think I was finding my idea from little girls online! It is a new generation!

mini paintbrush suppliesFinally, I was finishing my paintbrushes by snipping off toothpicks, and taking tiny snips of a silver washi tape and wrapping around near one end to make the ferrule of the brush (the metal part that holds in the bristles). As luck would have it, (or not have it) the washi tape was the non-sticky variety! Don’t you hate it when you get that kind? I had to take the tiniest bit of glue to get it to stick! I could see the end in sight! I used black permanent marker to create “bristles” and dipped the very end in one of the paints I had used on the tag. When they were dry, I used glue dots to stick one on each palette.

By this time, I was getting rather tired of this project! I wanted to add a bit of ribbon or fiber on the end, but didn’t see anything that really struck my fancy. I had some ribbon that would coordinate and decided it was good enough! So I cut small lengths and just folded each one in half and used my tiny stapler to attach them.

Create-Tag

DONE! I was FINALLY done!

I’m starting to think I have a real problem with the reality of time. As in I don’t have realistic ideas as to how much time it will take me to complete the things I dream up! However, that’s part of what I enjoy. When I come up with my ideas, I truly enjoy watching them come together. I guess you could say I am somewhat of a problem solver when it comes to completing my ideas. I don’t like to give up if something is not working out as planned. I just move on to plan B, C, or D, E, F….. or W, X, Y, whatever it takes!

Don’t let little setbacks keep you from finishing crafty projects you may want to do! Just go for it! Like my tags said, CREATE! Enjoy the process. There are many of us out here to cheer you on, or give you ideas when you are stuck. If you’d like to join us on the Artful Adventures Facebook Group, we are a friendly and supportive group! Come on over!

Cheers to YOUR creativity,

KS

Mixed Media with Heart and Stephanie Ackerman

We’ve talked before about the importance that online friends can play in our lives, they understand our scrapbooking, crafting, artsy selves! I recently was fortunate enough to go to Phoenix, Arizona to spend time with some of my online scrapbook friends, from our ScrapHappy group! When you get to meet online friends in person, it is not as if you are meeting strangers, it is truly a reunion!

During our event, we were fortunate to have Stephanie Ackerman join us and treat us to a mini workshop. I love Stephanie’s doodling style, and her heart. If you’ve seen her work, you know she put’s heart into it! She makes it all look so easy, and yet over time she has begun to add such dimension to her pieces!

Kristie Sloan and Stephanie Ackerman

Kristie Sloan and Stephanie Ackerman

She currently is running her year-long 52 Pick{ME}Up class. It’s never too late to join in if you want to check it out. Some of the techniques she uses for this class were what she presented to us. Using a deck of regular playing cards, we made a few of these little cards.

kristie-sloan-stephanie-ackerman-workshop

Stephanie Ackerman’s 52 Pick{Me}Up Mini Workshop at ScrapHappy Reunion

“What would you do with them?” you ask. The answer is, ‘Anything you want!’ Give them away, keep them for yourself, use them on a card, a scrapbook page, or anything else. They were great fun to create.

glue n seal matte tip I would like to share is a product that I first learned about through Stephanie. It is called Glue ‘N Seal, and is THE BEST product I’ve used to date for mixed media pieces. It is not tacky or sticky as so many ModPodge type items are. It dries quickly, and it just becomes part of the piece to invisibly, that it’s hard to tell if you used it! Seriously, I was using it on some tags I was making, and had to use it to adhere a couple of things that were not sticking well. Because I was using the matte version, when I went back to coat all of the tags with a final coat, I couldn’t even tell the two I had already done! I can’t say that about all products I’ve used in that manner!

Back to the project:

  • We covered the cards with old book paper
  • Added bits of washi tape
  • Added bits of gesso and paint
  • Added hearts that had been cut from Gelli printed pages
  • Used gel medium with a bit of red paint on the hearts
  • Created some depth and dimension by using a Ranger Distress Ink marker pen
  • Finally we added little phrases we pieced together from words cut from old book pages

 

I had prepped more cards than I had hearts, so I used a quote and some little pieces I had from some scrapbook embellishments for other cards. As always, you’re only limited by your imagination! If you get a chance to work with Stephanie, don’t miss it! In fact, here is a class you can access right away; it’s called, Project Miscellany: Playing with Paints, Paper, Stamps, Stitches and More. (affiliate link)

KS

Mixed Media From Your Scrapbook Stash

Do you have trouble with a starting point to create a piece of mixed media? Maybe you’ve never even tried to create one yet! Never fear, here’s a quick idea to get you going. Getting started can be as easy as looking through your decorative papers. Yes, that can be scrapbook paper. When you use scrapbook paper, or a paper pack, you automatically have a color palette to start with!

skylark paper

A sheet of paper from the Close to My Heart Skylark papers

Today, I decided to grab a sheet of Skylark paper from Close to My Heart (CTMH). This piece of paper is unique because it has a lot of elements that one might put on a mixed media piece, but they are already on one piece of paper. I finally decided to still go ahead and tear the page unto pieces as I adhered them to an 8” x 10” canvas. I wanted to give it more texture than just one flat piece of paper. When adhering your papers to your surface, make sure you are gluing both underneath the papers, as well as coating the top after you lay them down. Today I used DecoArt Americana Decoupage Glue with a matte finish to adhere the papers to the canvas panel.

skylark mixed media pt 1

8″ x 10″ Canvas Panel covered with torn paper.

I like to tear the paper, as opposed to cutting all the edges. That way, they seem to lay a little flatter and blend together better.

skylark mixed media pt 2

Random pieces of torn paper layered to create texture and interest.

I then decided that to add three more areas to give it a little more interest from the pattern on the reverse side.

skylark mixed media pt 3

Additional pieces added from reverse side of paper to add more design and color.

Since I didn’t want to wait for everything to air dry, I used my heat tool to speed the process along. If you don’t put the decoupage glue on too thick, it really doesn’t take too long to dry! I just get in a hurry to get on with my projects! All dry – let’s move on! I grabbed a couple of coordinating ink pads and sponged the color on in random areas. There is no right or wrong, just get started. I love how color catches on the edges of the torn papers, giving definition to some of the torn shapes.

skylark mixed media pt 4

Coordinating ink sponged on.

Next, I used stamps with StazOn ink to add all kinds of stamping. Don’t worry if some of it is not perfect. This is not a project that needs perfection. To tone it down, I used just a bit of white acrylic paint on some bubble wrap and then randomly “stamped” it around the piece.

skylark mixed media pt 5

Stamped images added using StazOn ink.

I had cut out a bird from my original paper and created a little branch of brown paper. Then I was stuck, it just needed something else. Words. It needed words! I went back to look at the stamps and decided to use “Live In The Moment.” It was stamped on another sheet of the coordinating paper of the Skylark paper pack before it was adhered to the piece.

skylark mixed media pt 6

Bird cut from original paper. Phrase stamped on additional paper before adding to piece.

I used a fine line black marker and went around the lettering of the Live In The Moment to give it a bit more definition. I used some markers and added some color to the bird, rubbing and blending colors. The bird and the phrase both got some color blended on the outer edges to help them stand out a bit more. This is how it looked at that point.

skylark mixed media pt 7

White acrylic paint used to tone down the stamped images. More detailing with markers and blending.

When I took it outside to photograph it to get better color in the photo, I thought I was finished. When I looked at the photos, I realized I had never stepped far enough away from the work to see what it looked like. It seemed unfinished and the work I had done the make the bird and phrase stand out seemed like they just drew attention to them in a not so positive way! So, back to for more work.

I added more ink, more white paint, blended, dabbled, and finally decided it still needed something more toward the bottom left. I cut some additional strips of coordinating paper and also added some additional stamping. Then I added even more ink and white paint. I used an empty paper towel tube to make ink random ink rings.After stepping back several times, I decided I would call it done. It is amazing how many layers of artsy goodness can go into a finished piece!

skylarkmixed media kristie sloan artful adventures

I tried to keep the products to a minimum for this project to show that you don’t have to have a room full of products to try your hand at mixed media! What will you try? Be sure to share your artsy/craftsy projects with us over at the Facebook Artful Adventures Group!

Here are items used for this project:

KS