Mixed Media Video Tutorial

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share with you a mixed media canvas featuring some of the gorgeous Prima flowers from Your Memories Here, along with bits of Prima Zephyr papers and of course my favorite wood icons.  As you know I have been having a blast creating the canvases and I really wanted to share my process.

I made a video detailing the process I went through to put this piece together.  I hope you enjoy....

Hugs.

Nancy

Distress Stain Marble

Hi everyone, as I promised, I am here today to share with you another technique using your Tim Holtz Distress Stains. (warning, tutorial = photo heavy, hee hee)  But I promise, it is easy to do.

Begin by selecting a few distress stain colors to work with, and of course a tag.

 Apply the distress stains to your craft mat.

 Run the tag over the stain.

Here you see the tag after its quick trip over the mat.

 You can use a heat tool to dry the tag.

 Spritz the tag lightly with water to allow the stains to move and blend.

 And here is the finished tag.

I added a Prima Trinket as well as the shrink art I made last week to finish my tag.

I hope you enjoy playing with your Distress Stains as much as I do.

Hugs.

Nancy

Canvas Paper Transfer

A while back, I did a tutorial where you could use Sticky Back Canvas and patterned paper to do a transfer.  I love the look of the patterns on canvas, but I don't always want to use sticky back canvas.  Recently I was watching a Live with Prima episode and found out you can do a similar technique using Multi Medium.

For this technique you will need your canvas (other fabrics will work as well, but I suggest you stick to lighter colors), multi medium, paint brush, patterned paper, and a water bottle.

Begin by placing a layer of multi medium onto the canvas where your paper image will go.  Remember, do not use words or numbers.  In the end you will have a reverse image, and unless you want to be reading your project in the mirror..... Then adhere your image over the top. Let dry over night.

The next day, spritz the paper with a bit of water and use your finger to rub off the paper.  Yep, this step can be a bit messy.

When complete you should have something that looks like this.  The image may not be as bright and vibrant as it could be, but don't worry.

 If you would like to brighten it up, a quick coating of Mod Podge should do the trick.

Remember I told you I had more ideas for my A4 papers...this is one of them.  The papers have the perfect weight for this technique.

I covered my canvas with some beautiful Prima flowers, many of them brand new from my Your Memories Here grab bag!  I also used some of the new gorgeous Prima resins, leaves, alphas, and buttons also from my grab bag.  A bit of chipboard from 3Tails Craft and some seam binding I dyed with Glimmer Mist finished this project off.  

The new Prima florals are so gorgeous!  I love the rich fall colors.

sugar maple and suede glimmer mist and hay ride glam dyed the seam binding

love that cute little bird house from Prima

I really like this idea for a wall hanging and am thinking I should make another for Christmas soon.

Hugs.

Nancy

Coloring

Lately I have been playing quite a bit with digital stamps. I received a super cute one from Digital Delights by Louby Loo and wanted to use it on a card. I love the shading that you can get with Copic markers, but haven't had the chance to invest in any yet. What I do have plenty of though, is colored pencils.  The only thing I hate about colored pencils is the lines you get....you know what I am talking about...the ones that remind me of how much I hated coloring maps in grade school.  sigh...But with my colored pencils and some odorless mineral spirits, I can get some nice shading, and get rid of those lines.

Here is what you will need.

Colored Pencils, odorless paint thinner (also known as Gamsol, odorless mineral spirits), paper stubs or cotton swabs, and your image.

Begin by outlining the area you wish to colorize. You don't need to be precise.

Apply the blending medium to your cotton swab or paper stump. You can dip the swab into the liquid or invest in a pump type bottle. Using a circular motion, drag the color from the outline toward the inside of the area.
As you can see, the center spaces are lighter than the area you outlined to start. You can continue dragging the color with your stub or swab until you get the desired effect.

You will want to change stubs or swabs as you change colors.

To color the cheeks I added the pink color directly to a swab that had the mineral spirits already applied.
If you like, you can add a shadow to the image in a similar way. Begin by coloring a line around the outside of your image.
This time, instead of dragging the color toward the center of the area, drag it out.

And here is my final project.
And, just to prove that anyone can do it....here is Ainsley's, my 9 year olds take.

All those lines, the ones we all hate, the ones that show which direction we are coloring in...gone!  She hasn't really figured out the shadowing part, but she is getting there.  

Hope you have fun with coloring.

Hugs.

Nancy