Seaside Memories

Hello on Monday, my Friends!
Karolina's here today with a new altered frame beautifully inspired by her recent trip to the seaside.
What a great example of staying open to inspirations that await all around us... I'm sure you'll feel inspired too!

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Hello all! I've just returned from a short holiday trip by the seaside and I’m feeling very inspired by the blue palette, nature and light I could experience.

So I decided to capture some of my memories and impressions in this new altered frame of mine.

To add color to my frame, I used two of my favorite Impasto paints: Jade and Snow White (Jade creates a gorgeous impression of patina and Snow White always helps me makes the whole work more cohesive) and for some delightful shimmer - Metallique and Sparks paints (you will find all the links below).

Seaside makes me think of all kinds of beautifully weathered textures so I reached for Clear Crackle Texture Paste. This paste gives best effects when it air-dries slowly and although it is transparent, it has a creamy finish.

I used Art Alchemy Waxes to add eye-catching final touches. You can use them to create the shading or highlight all the elements you'd like to accentuate.

As for my embellishments, I used some paper flowers, metal elements, Melange Art Pebbles that work amazing on practically every project, a wooden window from Prima and decor mold shapes.

Of course I couldn't resist and added some beautiful Glitter from the 'Abloom' set, Glass Glitter and different sizes of Art Stones.

All of these products wonderfully emphasized the textures, filled the composition and helped me create the unique atmosphere of my work.

All the elements were glued with my favorite adhesive - 3D Gloss Gel.

 I hope you'll feel inspired by my step-by-step video, please enjoy!

Do not be afraid to experiment with colors. Try out different color paettes and color combos.

Just have fun and don't worry too much if something doesn't work out, you can always try again!

do not be serious because something has not worked out.

This is how you grow your wings... :)

Happy creating!
Karolina

Products used:

Rusty Banner

Hello Dear Readers!
We are starting the beautiful month of May with Kasia who's sharing her gorgeous new artwork together with a really great Rust Pastes story and a step-by-step video tutorial.
As always we are encouraging you to experiment, keep looking for creative discoveries and have a lot of art fun. :) Please, enjoy today's post!

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Today I wanted to show you a project that I had in mind for a long time. I must admit that when Rust Effect Pastes were released, I reached for them with great enthusiasm, but something didn't work, somehow I didn't feel them.

I kept using them from time to time, but usually just as an accent of color, not to create the actual faux rust effect. However, I didn't give up and I finally created this project that I really like! :)

I wanted the background of my artwork to be rough and to create the impression of an old, time-worn surface covered with tiny pebbles and some kind of weathered organic forms.

To achieve such effect, I mixed Modeling Paste with Mini Art Stones and spread them on my surface. Then I applied paints and pastes on these tiny stones which only enriched and highlighted their effect.

I painted my background with Impasto paints which are completely permanent when they dry. This is their great advantage as they didn't blend or mix with other colors when I added more media and sprays later on in the process.

In this piece I used a lot of  embellishments. You can use ready-made elements like for example the beautiful Mechanicals, but you will certainly find lots of treasures in your drawers.

Old buttons, jewelry, watches parts, even uninteresting or ordinary shapes will become unique after being treated with paints and different kinds of pastes. Add some chipboards and their leftovers and your artwork will be even more interesting.

Please, enjoy my video tutorial and I hope you'll feel encouraged to reach for media, embellishments and techniques that have been difficult for you so far.
Maybe this time it will be the day when everything will go much easier and you'll discover a new favorite of yours? :)

I'm really happy that I didn't give up on these gorgeous Rust Pastes! :)

If you're ever not sure how to use any of Finnabair's products, you can always look for inspirations from us here on the blog or go for more information straight to Anna's you tube channel or the Creative Team's one.
There are plenty of great tutorials to follow!

Wishing you many exciting art discoveries! :)
xx
Kasia





Products used:

Mixed Media Minutes - Sparkly Pastel Tag - video tutorial

Hello my Friends!

Today I'd like to share another of my Mixed Media Minutes fb live video tutorials.

But before I do, let me just say a huge thank you for joining me during my facebook shows, for your feedback and all the enthusiastic comments!

I love sharing my ideas and techniques and it makes me really happy to hear you might feel inspired by these short videos of mine. :)
I love seeing the artworks you create after watching my videos, keep them coming and don't forget to leave links to your creations!

On this tag I decided to experiment a little and use two kinds of paints that are not often used together: Art Alchemy Impasto paints that have a matte finish and Sparks that are really shimmery.

It turns out they actually work great together and I hope you'll feel encouraged to try out this combination yourselves!

Matte Prima paper flowers together with my shiny Mechanicals, Micro Beads and one of the Art Alchemy Waxes only enhance this effect. I'm really happy with how it all turned out and I will totally use this combination again!

Please, enjoy my video recording of the fb live and see step by step how I created my tag.

Don't be afraid to experiment and reach for products that at first glance may not go together.

The whole creative fun is about unexpected discoveries that you might make. Don't be afraid to take risks and try to think out of the box - of course you may end up with an art disaster but who knows, you might just as well create an artwork you will fall in love with... :)

Here's the product list of the materials I used to create my sparkly tag:

In case you missed my previous Mixed Media Minutes, here are the links to the blog posts:

{Galaxy Box}, {Altered Brush} and {Vintage Decor}

and of course, you can also subscribe to my you tube channel and be up to date with all the latest videos.

I hope you enjoy them all and see you soon -

keep an eye on my instagram and facebook page for the news about our next live meeting! :)