Spread Your Wings Academy vol. 6

Hello, mixed media Friends!

Are you ready for brand new inspirations?

Our Spread Your Wings Academy is back with Finnabair Creative Team telling us what are their very favorite products. The girls confess which magical jars are always present on their desks. ;)
And not just that.

The Artists also share 4 different tutorials with all kinds of clever tricks that will surely make you want to Spread Your Wings and create with us!

Every time I want to create any type of project, the first thing to do is to choose the right Art Basics for my project. And every time I do that, I find Soft Matte Gel on my table waiting for me to play with Mica Powders.

I love making custom waterproof paints because they don't react with water and give me full control when I'm adding different layers of media. I think they are the perfect base to work with in mixed media projects, like these tiny cute jars.

These jars are so tiny that the chipboard letters look like giants on them!

I made two custom paints with Soft Matte Gel and two shades of Mica Powders (Blue Opal Magic and Pale Silver) and painted the jars inside and outside. This paint works perfectly as glue too, so I placed Roman Numerals directly on the paint and let it dry.

Then I added some White Gesso and Platinum Crackle Paste here and there. I spread some Silver Micro Beads and let it dry.

While I was waiting the media to dry, I altered the chipboard letters and the snowflakes. I used the two shades of my custom paints to paint them and spread some glitter on them. This paint dries very fast so the chipboards where pretty quickly ready to use on my project.

I twisted some silver wire around them and attached the letters on the jars. Then I tied small bows with silver thread and glued the snowflakes on them.

Last thing to do was to paint the jars and the letters with Snowflake Paste and spread some Frosted Mica Flakes and Glitter on the paste.

Athanasia used:

There are several Finnabair products that are my favourites, but the one I use on just about every single project is Art Basics Soft Matte Gel. Because I love to collage, Soft Matte Gel is my glue. It also works perfectly every time for image transfer. I’ve done an art journal page using this technique.

This page in my art journal already existed. I had been messing around with mists and stamps with no plan in mind, but I knew I could put it to use later on somehow. The stamp used is from Finnabair’s “Dirty Walls” Cling Stamp Set and it has a sort of decorative Mexican look about it so this was going to be a page about Frida.

I cut the face out from the background. Using a wide, soft brush I coated the face (image side up) with an even coat of Soft Matte Gel, turned it over and carefully placed it onto my journal page. Working from the middle out to the edges, gently smooth out the paper, pushing out air bubbles as you go. Leave it to dry completely or use a heat tool.

When the image is completely dry, dampen your finger or use a baby wipe and gently start rubbing away the top surface of paper. It will just peel off. (It does get pretty messy)

Here you can see half the face done. Sometimes if you haven’t put enough Gel Medium right out to the edges, ALL the paper will come away and you will not be left with any image, as has happened on the left shoulder. Also, as you are rubbing, black ink will smudge onto your white paper. These are the unpredictable and beautiful soft characteristics of image transfer. These imperfections are what makes the “picture” interesting. If you want a “perfect” image just collage it to your page.

Once you have rubbed away all the surface paper you can start playing with the image. You can see the background teal colour showing through from where I had sprayed on some mist - the image is transparent and what ever is underneath will show through.

Also, I have deepened the colour on just the right side of the face using coloured pencil, it is fairly subtle, but you could use paint, watercolour pastel, crayon, ink, pen, text, anything to add extra colour and detail.

The flowers in her hair are fussy cut and glued down using Soft Matte Gel. Beautiful Finnabair Brush stamp added and some hand drawn detail with a fine black pen.

 Gayle used:

I’m in love with the new Snowflake Paste! It could not be easier to use or more realistic looking. I had to share with you this little project using it a couple of different ways.

1. Start with a wooden birdhouse from the local craft store. I painted the entire house with Heavy Black Gesso. Next I added Snowflake Paste to the roof using the Grungy Grid stencil.

2. Then I sprayed some Mica Powder Sprays onto the roof and sides of the house. I decided to cut the perch off the front so I could add a door.

3. Using my finger I spread the Snowflake Paste on the flat areas of the house, the wreath, and trees. You can add a bit of Art Sugar if you want more sparkle, but there already is mica powder in the paste.

4. I added Art Sugar and Glitter to a few laser-cut pieces using a tiny applicator bottle with Soft Gloss Gel. I mix 2 colors of glitter for more contrast.

5. Add more Snowflake Paste to the little painted trees, and stamp the door with the Wire Net stamp. The windows and door were sprayed with Gold Mica Powder + water spray.

Glue your little pieces on with some 3D Matte Gel and you’re done! You will not believe how gorgeous this Snowflake Paste really is. The pictures do not capture the mica sparkling in it, but believe me, it’s amazing.

Linda used:

One of my favourites signed by Finnabair is White Crackle Paste which I use in almost all my projects.

It may be applied with a pallete knife or a flat brush and it is characterized by perfect thickness and density. One of the most handy media for me is a mixture of Gesso and Crackle Paste.

I used such mixture in a small assemblage which was made out of altered toys, a wooden box and a few Mechanicals.

I started with arranging the composition and gluing all the pieces with 3D Gel. Then I applied the mixture of Clear Gesso and White Crackle Paste and I let it dry.

Then, I painted the whole with Soft Matte Gel and Mica Powders and added some Micro Beads around the centerpiece. To finish and even the backgound I used Mica Powders once again. The crackles are delicate and media stay firmly in place.

Olga used:


So... what do you think? Are you feeling inspired and ready to fly? ;)
Don't forget you can always share your creations in our super friendly Finnabair & Friends facebook group.

And if you're looking for even more inspirations, you can follow our Pinterest Creative Team board - it's just packed with all kinds of amazing projects!

Happy creating!