Old Trunk Makeover - Big Scale Altering ;)

Hi again, my dear ones.
I'm back and I've got something not usual for you today.
As some of you know - we've moved into old, (I mean REALLY) old house last December and in the last months we were unpacking, getting settled, converting the garage into a studio and moving my boxes, carts, shelves into the final destination. We were also trying to take care of the garden, dogs, cat and live normal lives - which I had to accept is not possible for us at all. Nothing is normal or usual in my life and that is the way it has to be. Well, let's adjust the sails and go through the storm!
If you'd like to see some snapshots from our private, everyday life - here they are on our Instagram account - @innisfail_house. We won't flood you with foodporn, photos of feet or tons of selfies, I promise ;)

One of the things about the old houses is they need love and attention. We are ready for this challenge - and I hope our enthusiasm won't cool off too early ;) We've already fought with a leak, peeling paint, snail and wild pigeon invasion on our garden... and let's not forget the constant battle with tons of elements which are waiting to finally get in the right place!

One of them is this old, very damaged trunk, which we bought about 2 years ago and used in our previous home as DVD player and mini home-theatre storage. Andrew added some basic shelves to it and all our speakers fit inside perfectly! I love second hand furniture and home decor shopping, so no wonder this tattered beauty was on my list!
This is not strictly mixed-media project... but I hope it will give you some inspiration and ideas too :)

Of course - it was not possible to keep it as it was - it was too dark for our living room and far too damaged to suit our needs - it was high time to give it a proper makeover!
I started with a good coat of Chalk Paint - inside and outside - to give me a base and also follow the colour palette I had on my mind. (I used Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint).  The change was dramatic.

Next, when it was all dry, I started to work with sanding paper and blocks to reveal and accent all the beautiful, metal details - there was a lot eye-catching rust and patina on it - and I wanted to see it again!

After that I decorated the front of the trunk with elements I've made using Prima IOD Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds and some plaster - I wanted to cover not the prettiest round hole someone made just on the front and add a bit of sophisticated charm to the project.
Guess what? My Art Basics Modeling Paste was a perfect gluing choice - white, strong and flexible. Score!

When everything was dry I could start working on the finishing touches... which cost me a bit of sweat, I have to say! I used a combination of Clear and Dark finishing Wax (Annie Sloan again) making sure all the beautiful details will be visible. I loved the effect - and so did Andrew :)

Some details for you - I love how dark wax helps to show all the beautiful textures...

And here is the reason for the whole makeover - it is going to stand next to my quite decorated fireplace, which got it's makeover in December. I didn't want to over decorate it - as it is going to be in a company of a very detailed statement piece and a bookcase cluttered with my projects, findings and collection of old cameras, books, photos and... and... more...

Here are the items I used for this makeover - I hope it helps!

Sending love - and asking - would you like to see more of the home-decor posts in the future?
Please let me know :) I still have couple of things to alter ;)

Move Me

Happy Monday, Lovely Readers!

Get ready for cuteness overload! And some fantastic mixed media art of course. :)

Irina is starting the week with one of her amazing layouts + a step by step video. Heart melting and incredibly inspiring! Enjoy...

Hello, it's Irina here!
I'd like to show you my new layout. It's about my favorite boys: my son and my husband. :)

They really inspire me and this layout is dedicated to one of our walks. My son loves to walk and in particular to sit on his Daddy's arms from where he can see everything! And as you can see, this is very interesting for him. I really wanted to capture these moments forever...

The base of my layout is a beautiful piece of scrapbooking paper from 7 Dots Studio Verano Azur collection.

As I love round shapes, I immediately had the idea to cut out my photos as circles. The shape is also repeated with a Mechanical gear and 'Move Me' stamp.

As for the background, I used a wide variety of media: Clear Gesso, alcohol inks, paper tapes, acrylic paints, Modeling Paste with a stencil. You will see everything step by step in the video below.

And of course, one of my favorite techniques - the addition of stamps!

The title for my layout is hand lettering and speaking of hands... I couldn't resist to show you the cutest hand in the world reviewing my new piece! ;)

Here is my video in which you will see the whole creative process. Enjoy!



Have a creative week!
Irina

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Time on the Wings of a Butterfly

Happy Creative Friday, Everyone!

Do you remember catching butterflies with Irina? Today we have a beautiful Grungy specimen caught on canvas by our Friend in Art - lovely talented Linda who is sharing her wonderful new creation & her love for Art Alchemy paints. :)

In the life of an Artist, there are good times, and not so good times… maybe even bad times.

When life is so busy, as it is here in the summer months, it seems there are never enough hours in the day. Sometimes the pressure to create within this time seems to leave us with projects that we don’t really “like.” And it feels like our time flies by on the wings of a butterfly, just barely out of our reach.

Then you have one of your Golden Moments where things just seem to click.

I was so happy to have one of these moments when this project came together. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

It's really hard to photograph a project with mica paints, but here I found laying it on a darker background helped. The white background just washed it all out, and you couldn't see the deep, rich colors of the metallic paints.

In order to see the shine, you have to have a light shining on your subject to bounce the mica color back to your eye. Every time you turn your project, it picks up a different color better than you saw in another direction. But believe me when I tell you, these paints are vibrant, and full of color.

1. I started with a 6x6 inch canvas board. I used 2 texture brushes to create some designs in Heavy White Gesso that I applied over the entire canvas.

When it was dry, I used embossing ink to stamp a script stamp in 2 spots and embossed with fine black embossing powder.

2. I made a few embellishments with the new Iron Orchid Design molds and paper clay. So using these as my main elements, I started to lay out my design.

3. When I had some basic idea, I started gluing with Heavy Body Gel and 3D Matte Gel, adding different found items and Mechanicals that I had cut apart.

When dry, give it all a coat of Heavy Black Gesso. I left the stamped area alone for some open space. I'm sorry I didn't remember to take a picture at this point, just use your imagination and envision this as a flat black blob in the middle of my canvas.

4. Here you can see where I used Soft Matte Gel to add Mini Art Stones as filler around the clock area, and then started to paint everything that is black.

5. I used every color of Opal Magics on this. All 8 colors.

6. The medium sized Grungy Butterfly is a rainbow of all the fabulous colors in this palette. The few colors of Metalliques that I used were for the heart with Rusty Red, Steampunk Copper, and some Gold Rush for highlights. Otherwise it was all done with the Opal Magics... which are just magical on black gesso!

7. I painted the German Dresden black and added Aqua-Rose, Green-Gold and Yellow-Blue Opal Magics. The fabulous purple on the lace comes from Violet-Green, and YES, it truly is that bright! I LOVE it.

8. You can see the detail on the mesh here with several colors painted in with a small brush.

9. The last thing I did was add some dry brushing with black gesso to the edges of the canvas and white areas, and give spots a spritz of Mica Powder spray.

Contrast and shine... it's so easy to achieve with these terrific paints.

Give them a go. You won't be sorry.

Your Friend in ART,
Linda

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