BEHIND THE FLOWERED WALL ~ Journal Book Project No1

INTRODUCTION:

After taking a weeks holiday i have come back into the THATS CRAFTY ON LINE STORE Crafting fold with this Project.
While i took my week off i chatted with friends [Laura included as she has become a friend] over what direction i wanted to go and what i was giving to the Design Team as i was feeling that i was letting the team down with the projects i was offering.
So with Laura's help and my close friends i came up with a new plan as to what i was going to do. i have always wanted to do a project book exploring different techniques bringing together all the things i have at my disposal. i mean the Cricut and Cameo machines just sit there becoming paper weights so why not look at ways of using them to become an integral part of my new found direction. i'm sure there are lots of other crafter's that feel guilty over the fact they spent all this money on things and they just don't use them as much as they should.
So this is the first project from my first project book. i hope to be able to see a progression of what i'm doing and how as a Multi Media Artist how my skills set improve. It may sound strange in calling myself as a Multi Media Artist, its a goal and something that in aiming for long term.
So hop on board and i hope that you will enjoy this journey just as much as i am hoping to do.

MATERIALS USED:
My 12 by 12 inch Black Card Stock Project Book.
Some old 12 inch Embossed Papers.
Selection of Acrylic Paints Eco-Green Crafts Paints as well as some basic colour tubes.
Old Debit Store Card.
StencilGirl Crackle L169 Stencil.
Dylusions Letter jumble Stencil.
Dylusions Large Stencil - Luscious Leaves
Pan Pastels.
Tim Holtz Cling Mounted Stamp Set - Bitty Grunge CMS089.
Tim Holtz Cling Mounted Stamp Set - Autumn Blueprint CMS133.
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Dusty Concord, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, 
Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad
Lynne Perrella Collection LPC021 Stamp Set.
White Gesso suh as Claudine Hellmuth Studio
Collection of Water colouring Brushes; Aquamarkers - Tim Holtz Distress Markers
Water Colouring Brushes
Collection of Gel Glitter Pens
Clear Gloss Varnish Spray
Mod Podge - Matte, Old paper Glue
Selection of Brushes
Spray Booth
Gelato Stick - Red
Baby Wipe
Cut and Dry Stamp Foam
Sunflower Spellbinder die
White Card
White Tissue Paper
Distress Stain Ripe Persimmon
Sand paper
Clear Tape
JustRite Stamping Set
Spellbinders Distressed Frame Metal die.
Spectrum Noir DR7 Alcohol Pen
Pastel Spray Fix
Cosmic Shimmer Clear Varnish Lacquer.
Water Spray Bottle.
Heat Gun.
Scissors and Craft Knife.
Clear Strong Silicone Free Glue
Double Sided Mounting Foam.

LETS MAKE A PROJECT!

i know that not everyone has access to a 12 x 12 inch project book with card inlays. This can be transferred over to a canvas or a single sheet of card stock.
As usual i have included lots of photos however i did kind of delete 1 photo so this will teach me to delete photographs on the computer and not the camera! So that's my FIRST TIP of the day lol.

For this project i decided to look into my paper stash notably that section where we put papers and think mmm if i'm desperate [like we all do... well l hope we do lol]. i wanted to use those papers that are heavily embossed so that when used it would give texture.

As you can see its not just simple coloured papers

After ripping up the papers to different sizes i was ready for the next stage of this project.

Using a pva medium such as Mod Podge i secured the ripped papers onto the 'Blank Canvas'.

Using a spray container filled with water i just dampened the surface a little. This would help with the next step when layering the canvas with paint.

A few dabs of paint were placed on the canvas and with the help of a old store debit card. i started to move the first paint layer over the canvas.

How the first layer of colour looked. Then with the help of a heat gun i just not dried the paint but helped it if you know what i mean.

 The 2nd layer of colour, once again the store debit card was used.

 The 3rd layer of colour, again the card was used.. wonderful tool's and they stop you from using them in shops lol

  Finally i wanted to use a bright yellow so i had to dip into my paint box!

 The foundation layer complete. From this i will build up using stencils, stamps etc..

Using the StencilGirl Stencil and white Gesso i started t lay down some white pattern area's. Don't think that Gesso can only be used for 'Prep'ing' a surface. it is also a wonderful medium to use with stencils etc.. Only warning i can give you is wash or place them in a bowl of water as soon as you have finished using the stencil or brush as it can set on most surfaces and you could damage your stencil trying to get it cleaned up after use.

Then using the Letters Stencil from Dylusions and some red paint. i started to dab into the stencil using a small piece of foam cut out from the sheet. These are washable so can be used over and over again. You don't just have to use spray's or dabber's when using stencils.... Paint can also do a wonderful job. Just remember to clean up as soon as possible.

Lets now start to use our stamps and lay another layer onto the surface.

  
Another stamp from the set with a new colour.

  
The base layer is for now almost finished and can be put away to 'Rest' and 'Cure'

Lets now work on the decoration layers of the project. By now after i had made my base layer i kind of knew where it was now going to go. This is something that normally happens. i let the paint or materials take me on this journey. Sometimes i do have an overall project in mind and work with that single vision. However i find that by letting the materials 'speak' to me and for me the project is more interesting and it evolves into the final piece. i have in my stamp collection some wonderful Oriental imagery and i knew that i wanted to use one or two of the stamps in this project. However i picked just the one and this was it. The positioning of the face was the focal point to everything i was trying to do.

This is the part where i say sorry. The photo of the colours and how i placed colour into my stamped image was deleted by my eagerness to make space on the disc. After selecting a colour range that worked with the background i kept it simple then by using the glitter pens i just gave some highlights to the flowers and the wheels making it look as if the light was coming from a single direction.

Using the Colour Catcher or mini spray booth i used a high gloss varnish sray to seal in the colours and give it that high gloss Oriental look. As with all sprays of this type SPRAY WITH WINDOWS OPEN OR BETTER OUTSIDE AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND ANIMALS.

Then when that was dry usinf the Mod Podge i secured it into place.

It looked as if it was just floating and needed to be anchored onto the canvas. So by using a Gelato Stick [Wonderful items to your stash this is my MUST BUY for the day if your budget can afford them. They will be a highly useful addition to your crafting arsenal.]

As Gelato's are water soluble then by using your finger or as i have done here a baby wipe, i just started to blend the colour into a shadow effect. i used red rather than a black on this occasion ans i thought the black would be to powerful.

This is how the finished gelato layer looked. As you can see it has not 'blacked out' the impressions used under but just hidden them a little.

Now then this is where i kind of got all excited. I was going to bring into the project items that i thought were only going to be used for my card projects. As you know by know i think its important that we use EVERYTHING we have at our disposal. After all this is a MIXED MEDIA Project.... not just a Paint and stencil project. So using the wonderful Sunflower die with leaf i started to cut out 5 flowers. Always remember the rule of ODD's when using flowers etc.

To colour them i dived into my Pan Pastels. These were bought and placed into a box put on a shelf. Then i say the clear plastic trays. They hold 20 and this now means my Pan Pastels are on display and not hidden away. Again if you don't have any ask people who use them a lot to point you in the direction of what colours to buy. When i asked i was told keep it simple, think about what colour ranges you normally move towards [mine is Orange/red..... Blue/green]. In each set there are 4 different shades. I don't know much about them technically but i will post a link to a site to give you technical information on my blog in the INFORMATION TO BE SHARED Page.

After i had finished colouring them once again i gave these items a blast from the high gloss spray.

i now went back to my canvas, there now needed to be other layers to build up the story. So using the Leaves Stencil and a set of 3 paints from Eco-Green and once again a piece of foam i started to build up leaves up the right side. These were not going to be a main focal point, it was just to add a layer a suggestion  suggestion that leaves were here. That's why i didn't use a darker pen and go around the edges of the leaves as i have done in past projects.

From the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Autumn collection i opted to use the oak leaf and the aged mahogany distress ink pad. i was going to stamp out onto a 'Clear' tissue p[aper. So when it was glued onto the surface of the 'canvas' it would look transparent.

5 of the leaves were secured into place using the Mod Podge Matte glue.

 When i looked at the sun flowers i was not happy with the way they looked. They were 'FLAT' even with the high gloss shine. So armed with a sanding block i started to remove some of the gloss as if l was going to re paint a table but it had to have the old colour removed first.

But due to my eagerness one of the petals also decided to be come removed from the main flower head.

 So armed with some strong clear tape i was able to secure it on the reverse side. i also knew that as l was going to use a strong clear acrylic glue i could make sure some were placed on this petal to double strengthen it.

After they had been sanded and a layer of the Ripe Persimmon Stain had been used.

i don't know about you but i have in my collection of crafting goodies something that was all the rage a few years back. JustRite brought out these wonderful stamping block and letter forms like the good old days of Type Setting. [i will place a link on the Information to be shared if you want to know more about this wonderful subject area.]

i am able to make up any words that i want. The type faces is kind of a small selection but what is out there does cover most of your needs for this kind of project. My only sad bit is that i would have loved to have a old typewriter font in this collection and not just as i have in a normal acrylic stamp set]

After i had stamped out the words, i dived back into my spellbinders folder and found this oblong die that would fit just perfect.

Once again i used my Pan Pastels to colour the lettering. A darker red'ish Brown pen was used to go round the edges of the flowers and leaves.

Using the Colour Catcher and a Pastel Fixative. This one is a spray and is totally harmless so can be used in your normal craft space, but just be careful and make sure nothing is around that might not like a layer of fixer on it.

To give the lettering the final look i used the clear varnish from Cosmic Shimmer [i think that's the name of the company but i stand corrected if not] The one added bonus to this is that it saturated the card and made it distort. This gave a really aged and interesting look to the paper when dry.

The final thing to do before l secured the flowers into place was to draw a wall. This was done free hand using the Aquamarkers. This gave me time to blend colours into each other and not just be a flat layer of colour.
Below are close ups of the finished project. i hope that you find it interesting what i have opted to show you and that you might take something from this project.

i'm very excited like i have mentioned at the start of this project about what i'm going to be doing in the future. As my confidence grows i hope to start to video recording these projects so that you can see what i'm doing and how i do it. it will also give me the opportunity to show you close up the products that i have used.
Any questions please send me a message and i will get back to you a.s.a.p.