Magical Mixed Media Drawers

Hi everyone!

Let me tell you this - Karolina's latest project will simply blow you away!
I think all altered art has a sort of a magical quality to it, don't you think?
You take ordinary/boring/ugly objects and with some paint and embellishments you can easily turn these things into completely new gorgeous creatures - pure magic! :)
Leave some love for Karolina whose artwork is not only stunning but also very easy to create - and she shares how. Enjoy!

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Hello lovely Finnabair friends!

I'm finally on my holidays and have some free time on my hands. But instead of lying on a beach, I got down to organizing my house, especially my own favorite place, the heart of the house - my studio.

I had this really ordinary plastic piece of office furniture - perfect for storage but you have to admit, plain and boring. So I decided to give it a new life and turn this ugly duckling into a mixed media beauty. ;)

I'll bet you're curious what it looked like 'before'. :) There you go:

Not very excting, is it? :) The magic trick in this case were mainly the Patina Pastes. They are so very easy to work with and you can create truly spectacular effects with them.

Here's how I did it:

No. 1

First, I gave my drawers a layer of another favorite supply of mine - Clear Gesso. It creates a clear workable surface for all kinds of products and provides a “tooth” to slick, glossy surfaces.

No. 2

When everything was dry, I glued a lot of different kinds of chipboards and Art Stones in between, all using 3D Gloss Gel as my adhesive.

No. 3  

Once everything was totally dry, I added the Blue and Mint-Green Patina Pastes and I mixed these two pastes on the background. You can decide which tone will play the main role in your project, I went for more of the Mint Green.

No. 4

The colors of the Pastes seemed a little too vibrant for me here, so I decided to add a little bit of Snow White Impasto Paint to make the tones more delicate.

A little bit of paint mixed with water is enough to make the whole piece look more harmonious.

Art Alchemy Impasto Paints are very efficient and creamy. Because the colors are so pigmented and opaque you can safely add water and paint will not lose on its quality.

No.5

For more depth, I added some Brown Rust Paste from the same set. I love this paste because it's very efficient and it gives really amazing effects when you highlight chosen details with it.

No 6

All the pretty metal Mechanicals embellishments were glued with 3D Gloss Gel and also accented with the Brown Rust Paste.

Here are some details of the final effect:

I must admit I'm really happy about the transformation of this ugly duckling into a unique decoration of my studio.

I think such drawers are a perfect solution for small studios and spaces and it's really worth making them look unique.

It's so important to add your own style to your environment and make it inspire you to feel comfortable and creative.

Be brave, you don't need too many supplies to create some magical altered art around you.

xx

Karolina

Products used:

New Life of an Old Chair - Simple Furniture Makeover

Hi there my Friends!

First of all, thank you so much for all the beautiful comments you left under my Broken Wing collage. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that this piece that is so special for me, moved your hearts as well... Thank you...

Today I have something on a totally different note. :)

You know my love for old houses and all things vintage. There's always something so very special in the objects that carry their own personal history and it gives me a lot of joy to either uncover their stories or... give them completely new ones. That's why upcycling furniture gives me such a thrill! ;)

Do you remember my Old Trunk Makeover? Today I'd like to present another piece that will prefectly match a bedroom in my Irish home.

The best thing about this project is how simple it really is to make this "makeover" happen!

I'd say the hardest part was choosing the color and the shape of the little decor I wanted to add...

Choices... choices... and thanks to SO MANY lovely designs you can find in new Prima IOD Moulds it took me a while to make my decision!

Long story short - here is the whole process in a couple of simple steps!

1. I've taken one of the IOD Moulds (Baroque 4 Set) and filled the design of my choice with paper clay. I let it dry and  soon I had a perfect little embellishment for my chair.

I took my ultimate glueing solution which is (drumroll) Art Basics Heavy Body Gel and glued it to the unpainted chair. I didn't even take the time to sand it  - it stuck to the varnished wood perfectly and after a moment of drying it was ready to paint.

Tip: You can use Plaster of Paris or any other similar solution to create your embellishment. Moulds even work with chocolate... ;)

2. When my decor was secured and dry, I took one of Prima Chalkboard Paints - beautiful and rich Jewel Blue colour and started painting right away. Again - I didn't do any sanding, I only "dry brushed" a couple of layers of the Chalkboard Paint and intentionally left many imperfections visible. I was going for a rustical, worn look!

3. I took my chair inside and made sure the paint dried. I took a sanding block and removed even more of the Jewel Blue paint to reveal more of the natural colour of the wood - it was a beautiful rusty tone I loved from the beginning. Now I was ready for adding some touch-ups!

I needed to add a bit of the corresponding colour to the paper clay decor too - and here I got the best idea - my Art Extravagance Rust Effect Set had just the perfect tone of Red Rust in it! I took a brush and applied a tiny bit of the paste into the details of the decor, then simply used my fingers to rub it off when the paste was still wet... READY!

4. My last step was putting a protective coat of clear wax on the whole chair. I used Annie Sloan brand, which I used many times before and I absolutely love it. It's simple to work with and works wonders! This way my "new-old" chair was ready to be put in its place. :)

And so here it is - a new 'child' of my love for recycling and upcycling. :)
It was so quick and easy to make and I must say, a wonderful method to unwind and relax.
Here are the links to the products I used:


I'm sending you lots of love and admitting my furniture makeover adventure is not over yet! ;)

Old Trunk Makeover - Big Scale Altering ;)

Hi again, my dear ones.
I'm back and I've got something not usual for you today.
As some of you know - we've moved into old, (I mean REALLY) old house last December and in the last months we were unpacking, getting settled, converting the garage into a studio and moving my boxes, carts, shelves into the final destination. We were also trying to take care of the garden, dogs, cat and live normal lives - which I had to accept is not possible for us at all. Nothing is normal or usual in my life and that is the way it has to be. Well, let's adjust the sails and go through the storm!
If you'd like to see some snapshots from our private, everyday life - here they are on our Instagram account - @innisfail_house. We won't flood you with foodporn, photos of feet or tons of selfies, I promise ;)

One of the things about the old houses is they need love and attention. We are ready for this challenge - and I hope our enthusiasm won't cool off too early ;) We've already fought with a leak, peeling paint, snail and wild pigeon invasion on our garden... and let's not forget the constant battle with tons of elements which are waiting to finally get in the right place!

One of them is this old, very damaged trunk, which we bought about 2 years ago and used in our previous home as DVD player and mini home-theatre storage. Andrew added some basic shelves to it and all our speakers fit inside perfectly! I love second hand furniture and home decor shopping, so no wonder this tattered beauty was on my list!
This is not strictly mixed-media project... but I hope it will give you some inspiration and ideas too :)

Of course - it was not possible to keep it as it was - it was too dark for our living room and far too damaged to suit our needs - it was high time to give it a proper makeover!
I started with a good coat of Chalk Paint - inside and outside - to give me a base and also follow the colour palette I had on my mind. (I used Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint).  The change was dramatic.

Next, when it was all dry, I started to work with sanding paper and blocks to reveal and accent all the beautiful, metal details - there was a lot eye-catching rust and patina on it - and I wanted to see it again!

After that I decorated the front of the trunk with elements I've made using Prima IOD Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds and some plaster - I wanted to cover not the prettiest round hole someone made just on the front and add a bit of sophisticated charm to the project.
Guess what? My Art Basics Modeling Paste was a perfect gluing choice - white, strong and flexible. Score!

When everything was dry I could start working on the finishing touches... which cost me a bit of sweat, I have to say! I used a combination of Clear and Dark finishing Wax (Annie Sloan again) making sure all the beautiful details will be visible. I loved the effect - and so did Andrew :)

Some details for you - I love how dark wax helps to show all the beautiful textures...

And here is the reason for the whole makeover - it is going to stand next to my quite decorated fireplace, which got it's makeover in December. I didn't want to over decorate it - as it is going to be in a company of a very detailed statement piece and a bookcase cluttered with my projects, findings and collection of old cameras, books, photos and... and... more...

Here are the items I used for this makeover - I hope it helps!

Sending love - and asking - would you like to see more of the home-decor posts in the future?
Please let me know :) I still have couple of things to alter ;)