Shabby House and new Sparks - by Finnabair

Hi again my dear friends!
The most crazy and creative weekend in Ireland has finished... and I have to tell you I have many reasons to be proud of what we did! Great atmosphere, new friendships, beautiful projects of  my students and a lot of messy fingers - all that was included in our Mixed media gathering package!

During these classes I had a chance for the very first time use my new Art Alchemy Sparks - and they did fabulous job to colour my embellishments during Shabby House Class... oh, did I mention it was the debut of this project as well? Double excitement!

Just check out this mind-blowing combination of blues and browns. It's vintage, feminine and grunt at the same time - perfect combination if you like to stay on the "lighter side of mixed-media", I think.

There are so many inspiring, delicious products to try in this class: Icing Pastes, Liquid Acrylics, Sparks and of course a selection of Art Basics such as Gels and Gesso. We were playing with Tissue Papers, stencils and my favourite metal embellishments - Mechanicals.... oh and don't forget elements of Art Daily Journaling line as well - great mix, don't you think?

I have to tell you although all the Shabby Houses were different - we could pick our favourite colour palette to work with - they were all equally beautiful. I'm so happy my new class was so succesful and I'm already planning all the new colour palettes to work with in the classroom - with my art alchemy paints the possibilities are endless, right?

Here are selected products I've used in this project - all liked to Mixed Media Place Store:

I hope you are having a great week - I'm seeing some of you this weekend in The Netherlands!
Woo hoo!
Sending love

Cozy Love

Hello Lovely Readers!

This Monday we're meeting with Kasia who's sharing her super charming creation that she made as a heartfelt gift for her friend. We hope you'll feel inspired by Kasia's style and techniques.

Enjoy and happy creating!

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I love to make projects for people who are close to my heart.

This time I made something especially for a friend of mine, using a beautiful picture from her pregnancy photo shoot.

At the beginning I was planning to make this piece in a completely different style - it was going to be bright and very colorful. However, while I was working on it, I saw some other photos, prepared for a different project and suddenly my vision changed completely.

You will be able to see it on the video - first, I used strong Impasto paint colors. But thanks to the fact that they are completely permanent after drying, I could soften them with the help of Heavy White Gesso. The whole project became hazy, with a touch of gentle melancholy and I like it much more this way.

The background for the adorable photo consists of many pretty elements - resin shapes, lace, a paper tag and some chipboard shapes.

I know that most of them remain hidden but each has its own place and it makes the whole project complete. Even if only a piece of the element is visible, I feel that if it wasn't there, something would be missing.

Please, enjoy my video and I hope you'll feel inspired to create a special piece for somebody near to your heart! :)

Don't be afraid to completely change your mind, even when you're right in the middle of your creative process.

Continuing an idea that you don't like can be risky. You can easily end up with an artwork you really hate.

Remember you can always start from the beginning, paint things over, take unwanted elements off - everything is allowed.

Just be open and flexible!

xx

Kasia

Products used:

Tetiana and the Wild Sea

Hi Dear Friends!

A new art treat from my Creative Team - get ready! :)

Wild and delicate at the same time? Subtle and rough on one layout? Of course it's possible and incredibly inspiring when you follow Marta's advice and her video tutorial.

Another scrapbooking beauty for you to enjoy!

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Hello friends! It's Marta here today. 

The day I sat down to create the layout I'd like to share today was cloudy and rainy here in Poland. What a cruel and cold summer... but hey! It's the best time to create and do some artistic experiments! 

It's always better to stay at home when the weather is bad, right? So I decided to use this time creatively and here's my new scrapbooking piece.

What inspired me to create this project, was the picture of Tetiana Komarova that I've found on her Instagram account. You can see there my beautiful friend, Tetiana, and the super cool view of the beach and the stormy, wild sea in the background.

The picture really inspired me to create something wild and messy but also with an addition of some delicate accents and elements.

First of all, I've used Gesso, Light Paste (applied with a palette knife) and Impasto paints to create delicate texture and a watercolor effect on my project.

I used some water to create drips and stains of color.

Later on I've used Patina Pastes (without the Brass one this time) and applied them with a dry brush by lighty tapping the surface of my layout. It created a lovely sandy texture and added beautiful tones to my project.

I've added some adhesive canvas, tissue tape, gauze and paper elements from 7 Dots Studio Hazy Days collection to create the composition around the picture.

I've created checkered pattern applying Impasto paint through the 'Checker' stencil with a sponge.

It's such a cool way to apply color, it creates beautiful shading and it's very easy to control the placing and the amount of color you want to add.

The best part was painting the Melange Art Pebbles with Soft Satin Metallique Art Alchemy paint.

You just paint the flat part of every single pebble, let it dry - and voila! You have beautiful colorful cabochons, shining like opals!

I've adhered them to my project with 3D Matte Gel, just like the starfish and Art Stones.

I love to use White Gold Metallique Wax to make subtle accents on paper elements and the Art Stones - this trick adds an amazing shine to many of my projects.

In the video you will be able to take a closer look at how I apply Art Stones - I cover the empty spaces with 3D Matte Gel and fill them with Art Stones using a spoon - it's the easiest way! :)

Using this trick you'll be able to control the amount of Art Stones you want to add and not apply too many of them.

Enjoy the video!

There are so many creative ways to spend rainy days!

For example - why not taking a closer look at your friends' Instagram or Facebook feeds and photos, maybe you will find something that inspires you to create (and touch your friend's heart)? :)

Happy creating to you all!
xx
Marta








Products used: