Mixing It Up With Imagination Crafts

Hello!

Welcome to my first blog as part of the Imagination Crafts Design Team.

I'm delighted to be able to share with you projects I've made for Hochanda shows featuring the amazing range of products from Sue & the team at Imagination Crafts.

Let's start with a real splash of colour!

I loved making this bright tag for the August One Day Special show on Hochanda. It was the perfect way to play with lots of fabulous Imagination Crafts goodies & some of my favourite techniques.

Here's how I did it.

 I used Imagination Crafts black gesso to cover my tag.

Next I used the 'Harlequin' stencil and applied Imagination Crafts white gesso through the the stencil using a sponge.

 Using sponge again I applied Imagination Crafts Mixed Media Sprays in Blue, Fuchsia and Purple. Just spray a small amount on your sponge at close range then dab it through your stencil.

I then stamped through the stencil using a permanent ink and an Imagination Crafts Texture Art stamp.

Next I removed the 'Harlequin' stencil and switched to the A4 Dragonfly Textures Stencil to add the white details with white gesso and a sponge again.

 I then added white heat embossed swirls from the Texture Art Stamp set above. I then stippled some of the Chickenwire Magicutz with Gold Starlight paint (not shown)

 On a piece of matte black cardstock, I stencilled a white gesso dragonfly and over stamped it with clear heat embossed detail using the leaf vein stamp from the Texture Art Stamp set above.

 I then spritzed the dragonfly using Imagination Crafts Mixed Media sprays in green and light blue before cutting it out.

I stuck the Magicutz & dragonfly onto my tag using Magi-bond.

Don't miss Sue and Imagination Crafts on Hochanda (Sky 673, Freeview 85, Freesat 817) on 

Saturday 1st August at 9am, 1pm & 5pm

All products used are available at www.crafterscompanion.co.uk

Did you miss me?

Seems ages since I had the chance to blog but this morning I got up extra early to catch up with you guys.

So, where have I been? 

Well, where to start?  We've moved! Yup, I decided that my last shop was not in the right place so I closed it and moved everything to a fabulous little 300 year old barn at Kirkharle, in the heart of my beautiful home county, Northumberland. And I love it!!

The new studio is set in Kirkharle Courtyard, a 17th century manor house & farm which was the birthplace of renowned landscape architect Lancelot Capability Brown.

The courtyard is also home to a number of other creatives along with a farm shop selling Northumbrian fayre and the most  amazing cafe (oops, there goes the diet!).

As you can imagine moving everything from a large shop to a small studio wasn't easy but with lots of help from family and friends (thank you  Paul, Caitlin, Simon, Nikki & James!) we did it.

Not only did we change premises but we also changed names so I'm delighted to introduce you to The Creative Chicken!

www.thecreativechicken.co.uk

So, that's one of the things I've been up to since we last saw each other but there is so much more to tell you all so see you soon!

Wendy x

How To Fall In Love - With Powertex!

Hi Everyone,

What a week it has been!

You know how I've been playing with Powertex? Well that relationship between me and the waterbased, non-toxic & environmentally friendly sculpting medium took a huge step forward this week and I'm delighted to tell you that Powertex & I are now in a long term relationship. This week I became a Certified Powertex Tutor!

To gain my certification I had to drive down to Powertex UK's HQ just outside Redditch. There, I and 11 others met with Tracey Evans, the fabulously talented lady behind PowertexUK.  Tracey was so inspiring, and her workshop is packed to the rafters with the most amazing Powertex art. Here are just a few of her amazing creations.

Powertex Bauble by Tracey Evans

African Lady in Powertex by Tracey Evans

Powertex Wine Glasses by Tracey Evans

Turquiose Powertex Figurine by Tracey Evans

Over two day's Tracey guided us through lots of techniques and taught us all about Powertex. It really is amazing what this product can do and it's so easy to use that even children can, under supervision, create amazing pieces of art. And did you know that after 3 weeks Powertex is weatherproof (with the exception of the transparent version) and can be displayed outside?

To gain my certification I had to produce 5 pieces of Powertex art over the 2 days which is no mean feat especially given the 30 degrees plus temperature those days and Frankie's bowel issues (that's Tracey's dog, not another one of our group!). With Tracey's expert help, and copious cups of coffee supplied by the fabulous team at Powertex HQ (big shout out to Garry, Chloe, Claire & Michelle) the 5 projects where completed.

I'm only giving you little glimpses of some of my projects as it was such a hectic couple of days that I forgot to take photos but I will share the others in later blogs.

Powertex Fairy House By Wendy Reed

Powertex Testube Vase Canvas By Wendy Reed

Powertex Bottle Close-up By Wendy Reed

Now that I am a certified Powertex Tutor I will be offering workshops, classes, demonstrations and Poweretex Parties at my workshop in Craftsite, Cramlington Northumberland or in your own homes / craft group premises. 

If you would be interested in trying Powertex please get in touch with me at sales@craftsite.co.uk.

See you all next week!

What Do You Do When You Love Your Boots...

...but they are falling apart?

Simple - make them into art!

Have you ever found the perfect pair of shoes or boots? I have. They were my Roxy Storm ankle boots. I found them in a little shop whilst on holiday in the USA  a few years back and I loved those boots.

Roxy 'Storm' Boots

Mr Crafty Hands referred to them as my 'Star Wars' boots. They were the best. I wore them day in, day out until eventually they fell apart. I was heart broken and couldn't bring myself to throw them away so they stayed in the bottom of my wardrobe until one day I had an idea.

It came to me when I decided to try out Finnabair's Rust Pastes for the first time. I wanted to upcycle an old chocolate box into a rusty looking old storage box (you know how I love to upcyle - remember the frying pan?). I like to add something personal or that has meaning to all my projects and what better to add than parts of my old Roxy boots?

So out came the good old black Pebeo Gesso and I gave the box a quick once over with that then started adding embellishments using Finnabair's Soft Gel Medium

Adding embellishments from my scavenger jar. 

To find embellishments I raided my scavenger jar. Everyone needs a scavenger jar! It's a jar or pot you keep handy and pop in anything you think you could use in a mixed-media project - bottle tops, buttons, broken jewellery, keys... 

Amongst my treasures (or as Mr Crafty Hands calls it - 'junk') I found one of those plaster, fragrance infused pomander things you hang in the wardrobe, beads from a broken necklace, crocodile clips, scraps of lace and much, much more. As you can see I stuck it all onto my box.

Lace, beads, photo frame...stick it on!

Can you spot the bits of my Roxy boots?

I decided, as the box was side opening with a hinged lid, I wanted it to look like an old book so I used the straps & buckles off my beloved boots to create this effect. I also added the 'Roxy' logo and zipper from the boots Can you spot them?

Once everything was glued down and dried off I grabbed the black Pebeo Gesso again and painted over everything.

I painted everything with black gesso

The next step was to add a little Pebeo Gilding Wax to highlight a few areas. I didn't want too much of this as I wanted the finished project to look very old and rusted but I thought it would be good if the tiniest bits of gold peaked through in places to give the illusion that beneath the rust was an elaborate, valuable treasure.

Highlights added with Pebeo Gilding Wax

I actually almost stopped at this point as I loved how the project looked but I carried on nonetheless and got out the rust pastes.

These are a set of 3 pastes in brown, red and yellow. Each has a slightly different texture and when used together create an amazingly realistic rust effect.

I started by stippling on the brown paste (this is the thickest of the 3).

Beginning the 'rust' process with brown rust paste

Then I repeated the process with the red paste.

Red rust paste stippled onto of brown

Building up the layers of rust

Next I stippled on the yellow paste. It was then a case of adding more red and finally more brown until I achieved the desired effect.

So here it is, my Roxy Storm Boot inspired, rusty old treasure book box!

Altered box using Finnabair Rust Pastes

Front of altered box

Side view of mixed media altered box

What do you think?

If you enjoyed this project you can follow my blog by going to bloglovin.com or downloading the Bloglovin' App.

If I have inspired you to try a bit of mixed media you can find the supplies I used in our online shop (just click the links) or pop in and see us at Craftsite in Cramlington, Northumberland if you are passing!

I would love to see your mixed-media art. Please share it on Instagram and tag me @craftsiteshop.

Altered Bottle

 Hello again!
Welcome to this week's blog where I want to share with you an altered bottle I created.
My inspiration was shipwreck treasure found under the sea. I wanted the piece to use blues (my favourite colour) and purples, and to have a lot of texture.

 To begin I took an empty wine bottle and used Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel to cover it with a base layer of burlap.

This was just to give the bottle texture so that my next layers would stick to it better.

I then cut up strips of old fabric and lace. I dipped these in Finnabair's Sculpture Medium (natural beige) which I diluted about 50-50 with water. I squeezed off excess medium then added the fabric strips to the bottle. I made sure to fold and crinkle the fabric for texture. I used dollops of Heavy Body Gel to hold the fabric in place where I felt it was needed.

Next I added embellishments from my stash along with Malange Pebbles, art stones and mini art stones, again using the heavy body gel. I allowed everything to dry overnight.

Once the piece was completely dry the sculpting medium had stiffened the fabric. I then sprayed the bottle with inks from Dylusions

   

You will see that the dye did not immediately soak into the fabric. That was ok, as I next dry brushed the piece with a white gesso wash. This spread the dye over the whole piece.

It is important when using this dry brushing technique to keep cleaning your brushes or you will end up with your work all one homogenous colour rather than the areas of different colours.

I kept repeating the dry brushing, drying the work with my heat tool in between layers, until I was happy with the colours.

You will see how this technique gave definition to the folds in the fabric.

Next I repreated the dry brushing but this time with IndigoBlu Goldfinger acrylic paint to add a touch of richness to the bottle.

I also used this to paint the embellishments and some cord I had twisted around the neck of the bottle so they stood out.

After this, I splattered paints onto the bottle using my Tim Holtx Splatter Brush.

I used Titanium White acrylic paint and IndigoBlu Goldfiner, Aladdin and Kingfisher Blue Acrylic for the splattering.

To finish to bottle off I added some of Finnabair's Art Glitter from the Caribbean Seas collection with soft gloss gel.

If you enjoyed this project you can follow my blog by going to bloglovin.com or downloading the Bloglovin' App.

If I have inspired you to try a bit of mixed media you can find the supplies I used in our online shop (just click the links) or pop in and see us at Craftsite in Cramlington, Northumberland if you are passing!

I would love to see your mixed-media art. Please share it on Instagram and tag me @craftsiteshop.

Supplies used are available to order from Craftsite.co.uk. Just click the item to go to the website.

Art Basics Heavy Body Gel

Embellishments

Art Stones

Melange Pebbles

Sculpture Medium

Art Basics Soft Matte Gel

IndigoBlu Acrylic Paint

Finnabair Glitter 

Tim Holtz Splatter Brush