A box for New Year's resolutions by Olga Sępkowska

 Decorating boxes gives me a lot of pleasure. It's nice to have something pretty that also has a useful function. I'm still wondering what I'm going to hide in this box. Maybe some New Year's resolutions? 

I tried to keep the composition rich and interesting without stacking it too high. I used my favourite resign castings from Finnabair molds and metal embellishments. I fulfilled the composition with art stones and art pebbles. 

Before I started creating, I secured the box and decorations with black gesso. This also made it easier for me to get shadows on my project. Textured pastes, liquid acrylics and impasto paints allowed me to obtain a variety of colours. I highlighted the details with metallic paint and paint from the Sparks series. At the end, I used matt wax to enhance the shadows.

And finally, I added a little bit of shine with a new paste.

Here is my step-by-step tutorial. Enjoy it!

Have a nice day!

Olga

Products I have used - all the images linked to Mixed Media Place online store:

Winter art-journal cover by Iveta Ziedina

 Hello my lovelies!

In my December blog post I’m not going to talk about what I used and applied, and in which order, you can see me do it step by step in the video below. :)

Today I want to share some thoughts and lessons that were brought up when I made this project.

Remember I said sometimes I will just go for it, without thinking much, just to see what happens and sometimes it will turn out great and other times, not so much.

Well, what do you know, the “not so much” happened this time. I did not like the result of the first colour combination I applied. First I panicked. Then I remembered - “Oh wait, It’s just paint! I know how to fix it! “ So I dug out the White Gesso and painted over, to start from scratch!

This was a simple “mistake” but one that I make very often. Some may say that this kind of thing should not happen once you’ve been doing something long enough. I however think that if “mistakes” like that stop happening to you, you’re playing too safe. When you play safe and stick to your comfort zone, you stop growing, and at that point, what is the purpose of creating?

Many people that I have met along the way are afraid of making mistakes, so they choose to play safe. Some even choose not to play at all, because you can’t make a mistake if you never even start right?

So maybe, just maybe, if you are someone that relates to what I mentioned above, this little tid bit of my creative journey will inspire you to pick some supplies up, and get on the road of creativity!

What’s the worst that could happen?

“It doesn't matter where they're goin'. What matters is deciding to get on.” - The Polar Express. (My favourite Christmas Movie, thought it was fitting)

Products I have used - all the images linked to Mixed Media Place online store: