Andy Skinner: VINTAGE MAGIC WITH LAVA PASTE

Andy is at it again!

In conjunction with Creative Expressions, he is releasing all sorts of new products that are off the charts amazing! The products I have used in this 8" x 10" canvas are available NOW! New products will soon be coming so stay tuned!

I love vintage work and Andy's new products help make mixed media vintage work even easier! How? I'll show you!

I began with Andy's Creative Expressions NEW EMBOSSING POWDERS! They are magic! I chose Super Nova and Funky Cold Patina for this piece. I also used Andy's new Creative Expressions Inspire stencil for the word "Vintage". I taped the stencil in place on the tag and kept dabbing the embossing ink pad over the lettering until I was sure it was completely covered. Then I removed the stencil and first sprinkled over part of the word with one color of embossing powder, collected the extra powder and put it back into the jar. Then I sprinkled the over embossing powder randomly over the word and collected the excess back into the jar. This gives you a great mix of randomness and colors. Then I heat set it in place.

I then wiped the embossing ink pad randomly on the edges of the tag and mixed the embossing powders on it just as I had done on the word. Then using a small brush, brush away some of the excess powder where you don't want it and then heat set. This gives a really nice random edge to your tag and makes the "VINTAGE" really pop.

I am in love with Andy's new Creative Expressions Gypsie Queen butterfly stamp. Incredible detail and easy to fussy cut around. I painted this stamp using watered down DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Vermilion, Cobalt Teal Hue and Diarylide Yellow paints. Heat set and then wipe over the entire butterfly with Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink to really blend the soften the colors. The little paper doll girl is first brushed with DecoArt Media Matte Medium to give the surface some tooth so that watered down paint will stick to it. Then I used the same colors on her as I had done on the butterfly. Her sash and cheeks are a combination of watered down Titan Buff and Pyyrole Red. She is also covered in Distress Antique Linen Ink. Heat set.

The background of the canvas was done on Specialty Stamping Paper. I created a cross hatch design using DecoArt Media Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide and water. Then I heat set it thoroughly.

Next I used DecoArt Media Burnt Umber and Andy's new Creative Expressions stamp appropriately named Distressed Wallpaper. The paint was watered down an bit and painted onto the surface of the stamp. Then It was repeatedly stamped onto the surface of the paper to cover an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet. Heat set to dry and wash the stamp immediately!

Then I lightly added a topcoat of watered down coat of DecoArt's Titan Buff to soften the background and blend the colors even more. I love this look and that stamp!

Andy's Creative Expressions LAVA PASTE!!! My new favorite obsession! You simply brush this stuff on and heat set. Then the magic happens! The thicker you brush on the paste, the more texture and unusual lumps and bumps and brush patterns you will get. This is by far the coolest way to add great textures to your mixed media! And once it cools, you can paint over it!

Here are my instantly aged, "metallic" and patina'd greyboard pieces for this piece. I first applied the Lava Paste and heat set it where I wanted it. You can add more or scrape off to get just the look you want. Then I added a baseboat of DecoArt Media Cobalt Fluid Acrylics Teal Hue and Blue Green Light to create that fabulous patina look. Next I added some DecoArt Media Worn Penny Dazzling Metallics paint to add some highlight and give more of a metal look. On top, I patted an Embossing Ink Pad randomly over the surface of these greyboard pieces and then sprinkled them with Andy's Funky Cold Patina Embossing Powder. I brush off any excess I did not want the pieces and then heat set them in place. LOVE THE RESULTS!

Just check out all of this luscious texture and color! So simple to achieve with the Lava Paste!

Andy also has three fabulous new Creative Expressions Transfer Sheets! I used the bee off of Alchemy Plus to create the center here. Still ... notice all of the color and texture on the greyboard! I love how it contrasts with the bee transfer.

Just one more element to go and then I can start putting everything together. I love this new Andy Skinner stamp from Creative Expressions, too. Enigma makes for a fabulous drop down look on my canvas. Again, I mixed the two Embossing Powders; Funky Cold Patina and Super Nova. They were randomly sprinkled over the embossing ink pattern and then heat set. I even layered a bit more of the Super Nova over the top of the stamped image using just a partial section of the stamp to create even more depth. Heat set to dry.

Everything is now glued in place thanks to Andy's Creative Expressions' new Cosmic Shimmer Quick Grab Glue. It dries clear and had great holding power. I also used some little adhesive pop dots to place the key hole followed by the vintage tag and finally the butterfly girl. So this piece is very dimensional. This canvas was almost finished but still needed something. Ah-ha! Some stamping across the bottom and randomly on the top using Andy's flower image from his Textures stamp set. This was done using both of the Embossing Powders as I had done before.

Also, the edges of the canvas needed something! The paper had been cut and sanded off on the edges but it was still bland. Lava Paste to the rescue!

I randomly brushed the Lava Paste onto the outer edges of the canvas and heat set it. Once dry, I added some watered down DecoArt Worn Penny Metallic Paint. Once that was dry, I added a random brushing of watered down DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black on the edges to darken the copper and make it look more worn.

And here again is the final piece. I love all of the elements and how they went together so perfectly! Thank you Andy and Creative Expressions for these new products! I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the newest ones to be released soon!