A simple project .....

A quick project I created last year on a day that I couldn't get out of the flat for my stroke on the beach. I can't remember why I couldn't to put now, it is too far back, I was either in a lot of pain that day or the weather was bad?!
So on those days, my philosophy is is if you can't get to the beach then, bring the beach to you lol.
Whenever, I do go along the beach or seafront I have always got a bag of some kind, to collect shells, pretty pebbles, sea glass & the occasional piece of driftwood.

This little box contained some MDF shapes, I felt it was too good to throw away, so this is what I did with it :)
 Thanks for dropping by today
Jane A.S 🌴⚓ x

Learning how to rust ...

For my second project I was taught how to create the look of rust, there are a few ways of creating the look, but I was taught using 2 or more colours of paint & sand.
I used an MDF precut frame kit, after fitting it together, I glued it in place.
I didn't bother priming the frame this time, instead I painted it in a thick layer of acrylic paint, while still tacky I added some of the artist sand using the paintbrush, dabbing it in places where you think that rust would occur, while still tacky, using my second colour paint, I began dabbing randomly allowing the 2 paint colours to merge or blend where they wanted too. When happy & completely covered, it was left to dry. I used a third colour, to create verdigris.
Like I said earlier there are other ways of creating the rust effect, you can also buy very good kits & specialist paints too, but I enjoy making my own lol

I really enjoyed the process of creating this vintage style frame!

Thank you so much for visiting, I would be so happy if you could leave me a comment & if my art interests you feel free to follow me :)
Jane A.S 🌴⚓

Hey, it's Monday & the sun is shining ...

Today, I will share my first ever attempt at the art of Mixed Media, I made this canvas last year & I had so much fun creating it.

Although, I am in no way new to crafting, I am new to the art of Mixed Media & have only been doing it for just under a year.
Previously, I was a paper crafter for many years, my first love being Scrapbooking, but I also enjoyed making & swapping ATCs, plus dabbling in collage. I still make & trade ATCs, when I have enough made,  I will add a swapping page to my blog!

After a break of 6 years & having sold almost every piece of my craft supplies, (I held on to my collection of Basic Grey 12x12" papers, they are way to beautiful to let them go lol) Why did I quit crafting completely? Well, that is another story, one I might share one day.!

So, my circumstances changed & I my fingers started to niggle for something to do & I knew I wanted to get back into crafting again. So, I had a chat with Dave, warning him that I could end up with lots of craft materials & very regular visits from the postman lol. So being, the supportive chap that he is, he said go ahead.
I decided that this time around I wanted to try my hand at mixed/multi media, plus some ATCs as well, I knew that I wanted to make a canvas as my first project, but I didn't know where to start. Then an online friend suggested I contacted her tutor & I never looked back from there, best advice I could have hoped for & now I am hooked & love what I do.

 I learned how to make this lovely canvas through a video tutorial by the very talented Joanne Roe, she is such a clever, patient & friendly lady who is always happy to give advice when she can. Joanne also supplied the kit to enable me to make this fab canvas.

After having it displayed in my lounge for a couple of weeks & looking at it everyday, I decided that I wanted to add some red to the roses &  it needed a bit more colour! This is the result.   My canvas is now displayed in my sister's home in Australia, she fell in love with it when she came to visit last year.

Thank you for visiting my blog today, if you like my canvas I would love you to leave a comment & will happily return the visit.
Bye for now
Jane A.S

My first time using Powertex

Powertex, I have been interested in there products for some time now, because of the the amazing things that can be created from it.

Now, if your are anything like me, you either can't find the right embellishments that you need for a project or you do find it, but it costs the earth?

Well it was just this problem that encouraged me to buy my first Powertex product. I chose to buy a bottle of fabric harding fluid, when it arrived, well packaged I might add, I read the instructions & out it away in my trolley alongside the rest of my medium products, not out of mind but rather waiting to use one day lol.

Well, that day came a few days ago, when I started the project that I am sharing with you today.

Edited to say that this little bird won me 1st place winner on the Altered Eclectics Challenge Blog

I am entering this project into the
  Bleeding Art Challenge   Altered Eclectics Challenge
  More Mixed Media Challenge

The large flower is supposed to be a hibiscus & it is the embellishment that I created using the Powertex hardening fluid.

The pink floppy fabric flowers shown in the bottom photo, are how they looked before I treated them.

I used jewellery wire with a blog of liquid pearls on the end, to make the stamens, plus paint & inks in various colours, plus heated some embossing powder on the edges.

I used paint & sand mix in the birdcage to create an old rusty look, adding dabs of various colour paint randomly until I had an effect that I liked.

I prepared the MDF humming bird with acrylic primer, before applying Inka-Gold wax paint, blending different blues & green to create the effect, then edged parts of it with Prima icing paste in Fire Ruby & rubbed a touch of Cosmic Shimmer gold shimmer guilding wax to highlight a few areas.

Please leave me a comment if you like my art, I do appreciate it

Jane xx

Today, I was a runner up .....

In the monthly challenge on one of my favourite online craft community, on Facebook it is known as All Things Crafty - Hints, Tips and Inspiration
It is run by Emma Goddard & her team, there is so much creativity within the group by so many talented crafters, as well as support, encouragement, tips & of course the monthly challenge.

Here is what I entered for January. It is quite a simple piece, but lovely. It is fairly straightforward to make, first off I primed the wooden heart, alphas & resin wings with acrylic primer & set aside to dry. Next, using a stencil & heavy gel medium I created a textured background in the heart, when dry I painted both the heart & wings with a matt acrylic paint in blue & the alpha in gold. I edged both sets of wings with brown ink before glueing to 2 sets together & sticking to the heart, along with the alpha & leave to dry. When dry I started to add layers of colour to the wings, using inks, paint, wax & mica powder, sprinting with water to help allow the colours to merge. I added some texture stones, which I had precoloured & a few tiny gems, the I sprayed the MDF word with the same colour ink as the gold texture stones & glued in place. I edged the heart with gold wax & added the metal rose, I loved the colour of the metal so chose not to colour it. Finally, I added a fine sprinkle of clear glitter to the wings & decided it was complete.  Thank you for visiting today, if you like what I have shared today please leave a comment
Jane 💞