Showing posts with label andy skinner stencils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label andy skinner stencils. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

FACE YOUR FEARS ART MINI BOOK

Hello all!  This month I have created a really fun and easy mini book for your creative pleasure!  This mini book features several of Andy's fabulous products as well as his DecoArt Media Line mediums and paints.  You can create this inexpensive mini book or a similar one with things you have sitting around at home!  Let's get started!


Here is the cover of the completed mini book.  Each cover is cut from plain heavy cardstock and measures 3 1/2" x 5" with a 1 3/4" x 5" chipboard spine. 


I began by brushing DecoArt Media White Gesso over the front and back of the covers.  The spine does not need covering because it will be covered with fabric. Once that was dry, I added a generous brushing of DecoArt Media Matte Medium  and covered the outside chipboard covers with text tissue paper.  I overlapped the tissue onto the inside of the covers.  Then brush the Matte Medium over the tissue to seal it.  When that was dry, I added random splotches of DecoArt Media Crackle Paint using a palette knife. Let the Crackle Paint air dry to achieve the crackling!  Once crackled, I added a light coat of Gesso with a little water added to dilute it.  This can be heat set to move onto the next step.

Using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Diarylide Yellow with a little water, I brushed the color across the top of the cover and let it run down the cover then heat set it in place. I repeated this with the Naphthol Red over the yellow.  Then I turned the cover upside down and repeated the process.  Next one side, then the other using the same process.  Add more color if you desire more of one color. Finally, using my fingers, I rubbed DecoArt Art Media Raw Umber Antiquing Cream over the surface of the covers and down into the cracks then gently rubbed of the excess with a paper towel.  I then added an edge of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Paynes Grey around the covers using my finger.


To embellish the coves, I used Andy's Strike A Pose and Baroque stencils, a palette knife and DecoArt Media Black Modeling Paste.  I scraped the Modeling Paste through the stencils and immediately washed the stencils to clean them. Heat set to dry.



Next,  I added some stamping using Black Permanent Ink and images from Andy's Shabby Chic and Unexplained Stamp Sets.  Then add detail and interest to the covers.


Add cardstock of your choice cut to cover the interior covers.  Now to add the chipboard the spine between the covers ...


Cut a piece of fabric a little over twice the length of the spine and a width that will allow you to see the images on the cover as you want to view them when glued in place.  In this case, my fabric was a little over 2 1/4" wide.  I left about an inch of fabric at the bottom of the inside of the spine.  I centered the chipboard spine on the fabric and glued one side of it onto the fabric using Fabri Tac Glue.  Press in place to remove any bubbles and to smooth out any wrinkles.  Then lay the book covers on the fabric with a little space between them and the spine to allow for bending the covers. Fold the inch piece of fabric up onto the spine and glue in place. Apply glue over the surface of the chipboard spine and pull the fabric over the spine; smoothing out the fabric as it covers the spine.  Press into place. 


Use a bone folder and press into the valley between the covers and the chipboard spine to make sure the fabric is completely making contact to the other side of the fabric and the chipboard edges of the covers.  Cut off the excess fabric that just was glued into place.


Here is the finished interior of the book before the signatures are added.


Cut papers the side you want your pages to be.  In this case, I cut several papers approximately 6 1/4" x 4 3/4".  Fold them each in the middle and stack the papers into what will become "signatures".  Since I am just using thin papers, I stacked several papers for the two signatures I will be creating.  Then find the middle of the pages and poke a hole through them.  Measure down 3/4" from the top and 3/4" from the bottom of the pages and poke a hole in the papers.  Do this for both signatures. Clip the paper together so that they will not shift and the holes will remain open on all pages.  Then measure on the spine of the book for two areas you will be using to sew the signatures in place.  Find the middle of the spine on the right of center and the left of center and poke a hole in each.  Then measure up two inches and down to inches from the center and poke a hole.  This will match the holes on your papers.

Begin with the center INSIDE hole of the spine.  Pull a bookmaking needle with waxed thread (twice the length of the spine) through the center hole of one of your signatures and pull the needle to the outside of the spine.  Leave about a 4" tail to tie off the signature at the end.  Then add buttons or whatever embellishments you want to add to the waxed thread exterior up to where you will pull the needle back through the spine.  You can go in the top or bottom hole next; it doesn't matter.  Pull the needle through the hole and then through the hole in all of the stacked papers.  Next, pull the waxed thread to the remaining hole and pull the needle from the inside to the outside of the spine.  Again, add buttons or whatever embellishments you want to string onto the waxed thread.  Pull the needle back through the center hole.  Make sure that the waxed thread ends are on either side of the waxed thread running up the center of the signature.  Pull the ends of the thread tightly to be sure that the buttons or whatever embellishments are neatly and tightly in place and that the thread is securely holding the signature in place.  Tie off the ends of the thread in a double knot and clip the excess edges.  Repeat this procedure for the other signature.


Here is what the first sewn signature will look like on the outside of the spine.


Here is what it will look like on the inside of the book.


Here is what the spine will look like once you have both signatures in place.  Isn't this awesome to be able to sew in the signatures and also decorate the spine at the same time?


Here is what the signature will look like once it is sewn into the book.  Really neat and snuggly in place.  You can use any papers for your mini books.  I just used plain papers so that this could be a little mini journal or whatever.


Mini Book Front


 Mini Book Back

As I said at the beginning, this little mini book in inexpensive to do.  Just use things you already have to create whatever your heart desires.  Here is a list of supplies I used to create this little mini book:


Miscellaneous Supplies

  • Palette Knife
  • Cardstock Scraps
  • Heavy Chipboard
  • Ruler
  • Paper Cutter
  • Heat Tool
  • Bone Folder
  • Scrap Fabric
  • Fabri Tac or some other quality Glue
  • Craft Punch
  • Waxed Thread
  • Bookmaking Needle
  • Buttons, Charms or Embellishments for the outside spine
  • Paper for interior signatures
  • Printed Tissue 
  • Scissors


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Saturday, 16 March 2019

"BEE STILL" VINTAGE SHABBY CHIC SUITCASE

Spring is just around the corner. 

The birds know it and I can hear them singing outside even though the skies are grey and the wind chill is ridiculously cold at the moment.

I am anticipating the warmth and sunshine of Spring and it is invading all of my creative thoughts these days.  Thus, I created this lovely shabby chic vintage style wooden suitcase.


DecoArt is releasing a new product called Chalky Gesso.  It comes in several colors including White and Beige.  I chose White Chalky Gesso as the basecoat on my wooden suitcase.  This Chalky Gesso is amazing!  It is a cross between Gesso and Paint; thinner than gesso but thicker than paint.  It goes on smoothly and doesn't leave a lot of brush strokes or a need to sand. It works on all sorts of surfaces: wood, metal, paper and the results I have had with it are amazing!

First I removed all of the inexpensive bright fake silver "metallic" hardware and replaced it with my own antique bronze hardware at the end. Where I had removed the hardware, I used wood putty to fill the holes and then I sanded everything down to create a smooth surface.


Next I brushed the DecoArt White Chalky Gesso over the entire suitcase and let it dry.  Then I lightly sanded again to get a really smooth finish.


I wanted a darker color basecoat as I intended to crackle the surface.  So a coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber was applied followed by a generous coat of DecoArt Weathered Wood.  Let the Weathered Wood air dry so that the crackling will work correctly.


This petite suitcase was screaming "PINK!" for the top color.  So I mixed DecoArt Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Red and Titan Buff to create a soft pink that I then brushed over all of the exterior and the interior walls and edges of the suitcase.  It did not take long at all for the crackling effect to begin.  Let the paint air dry.


 I did some sanding around the edges and randomly on the surface to scuff up the suitcase and give it a real weathered, worn, vintage look. I then poured more DecoArt Chalky White Gesso onto my craft mat and randomly wiped it onto the surface of the suitcase to tone down the pink and allow the wood grain, crackling and texture to really be revealed.


DecoArt Media Matte Medium is an excellent glue and sealer.  It dries clear and quickly.  I added some cardstock and dictionary torn scrap onto the top of the suitcase and brushed Matte Medium under it and over it to seal it.  You can heat set this.


One of my favorite Andy Skinner Stamp sets is Industrial because I love all three of the background texture stamps.  I stamped this one in a darker brown permanent ink randomly on the top of the suitcase.  Then I added a little bit of water to some DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber, dipped my fingertip into the paint wash and rubbed it along the edges of the suitcase; blending it into the pinkish tones of the suitcase basecoat.  This defined the edges as well as added more of an aged appearance.


I then added a few more white highlights using the DecoArt Chalky Gesso and a baby wipe and randomly adding it to the top of the suitcase.


The next layer on the top of the suitcase was added with more stamps from more of my favorite Andy Skinner stamp sets; Shabby Chic and Textures.  I stamped the cafe stamp in the dark brown permanent ink.  The script stamp was stamped with a combination of black and dark brown ink.


Color! Color!  Now we need a POP of color!  I mixed DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cobalt Teal Hue and Titan Buff to create a soft teal color and stenciled it randomly onto the top of the suitcase through Andy Skinner's DecoArt Halftone Stencil. I then used this paint to edge the suitcase top using my finger just as I had done with the Burnt Umber Paint wash.


The teal pulls everything together.  It frames the top of the suitcase, give a real "upmf" to the top and provides the perfect contrast for the embellishments that I will now add to the top.


Time for the fabulous Matter Medium again!  I added some antique lace, washi tape, German Scrap, a big cut out bee (I had found while surfing the internet), paper scraps, scrunched up cheese cloth, and even some of Andy's Rusted Wire underneath the bee.  All were held in place using Matte Medium!  


I had a little plaster frame in my stash of stuff.  I painted it with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cobalt Teal Hue followed some light wiping of DecoArt Chalky White Gesso to soften the color.  Next, using my finger I highlighted the raised areas of the frame using my finger to apply little touches of the DecoArt Metallic Gold Paint.  Then I added the rub on "B" to the frame and this embellishment was ready to put in place.


Just as I had done with the "B", I altered the appearance of the rub on letters by scratching some of the black lettering off.  This makes the letters look even more worn and really does change their appearance.  I love this technique!


I applied antique bronze metal corners to the top of the suitcase using DecoArt Media Matte Medium. I've seen crushed glass in some mediums you can buy.  It's expensive.  So I decided to try mixing some Silver Crushed Glass with some Matte Medium and brush it onto a couple of places on my suitcase top to see if it would stay and be a neat way to add some subtle shimmer and light to the top.  


IT WORKED PERFECTLY! I wish the camera could catch the sparkle of the Crushed Glass better but trust me, when the sun catches it, it's awesome!


Here is the hardware that I installed in place of the original fake silver "metallic" hardware.  This is so much more vintage looking and gives a wonderful, warm shabby chic vibe.

The interior was finished off much in the same was as the basic exterior.  Then I added appropriate card stock to the bottom and top of the suitcase.

 This project was so much fun to transform from a plain little wooden suitcase into something beautiful and fun and worth to hold lovely little vintage laces, handkerchiefs or other prized trinkets. 

 For this project, you will need the following supplies:


Miscellaneous Supplies

  • Paint Brushes
  • Baby Wipes
  • Small 1 3/4 x 2" Plaster Frame
  • Rub On Letters and something to scratch them with
  • German Scrap 
  • Washi Tape
  • Bee
  • Cheese Cloth
  • Antique Lace
  • Metal Corners
  • Metal Hardware Hinges and Handle
  • Sanding Block
  • Craft Mat
  • Permanent Dark Brown and Black Ink Pads

About the Artist: Candy Colwell




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Sunday, 30 December 2018

MIXED MEDIA JOURNAL COVER

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that your 2019 will be filled with joy, happiness and a love for exploring your creative self!

As my last piece for 2018, I decided to create a cover for a journal using Andy's fabulous stencils, DecoArt Media Line Products and Tando Creative's very cool laser cut greyboard images.


This is a fairly simple journal cover to create but the images really pack the "WOW" factor!

This piece started out using one 12"X12" piece of heavy chipboard.  I cut two 5"X7" pieces for the covers and that left a 2" spine.  

This project is all about layers, Layers, LAYERS!  They build up the base, add lots and lots of texture and color and simply make your project more interesting!


I started with Andy's DecoArt Tornado Stencil and DecoArt Media Modeling Paste.  I taped the stencil in place on the cover (leaving an 1/2" margin on the inside edge of the chipboard to attach material for the spine later.  I used a palette knife to add the Modeling Paste.  


While still wet and the stencil was still in place, I used the palette knife to add another layer of DecoArt Media Crackle Paste over the Modeling Paste to build up the layers on the front cover.  Then I removed the stencil and repeated this process on the back cover.  I then removed the stencil and washed it immediately and let the covers air dry so that the crackling process would work properly.  Once dry, I painted over both outside covers with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff ... a rich creamy color.


While the covers were drying, I measured some 1" strips of chipboard to words on Andy's Industrial Elements stencil.  I then painted over the strips with either DecoArt Media Black or White Gesso. 

Next I added a layer of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Gold paint.  It gives such a lovely rust appearance. 


Remember ... layers, layers, layers!!  Next I added DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Black Carbon that had been diluted with water.  I used an old toothbrush that I swished through the watery black paint and then flicked the toothbrush over the tops of the painted 1" chipboard strips.  This gave them an even more worn rusty look.  Next, I added an aged patina effect but mixing two of my favorite "patina-ish" colors; Fluid Acrylics Cobalt Teal Hue and Blue Green Light with water.  Then I repeated the flicking of the toothbrush process over the chipboard strips.  I repeated these steps until I had achieved the layering I wanted.  Heat set to dry.


Now to add the words I had specifically cut the strips to fit from Andy's Industrial Elements stencil!  I taped the stencils in place over the strips and using a small stencil brush, I patted DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff over the stencil until I achieved a more opaque cream letter.  I encourage you to go lightly on the paint and continue to layer it when tapping it through the stencil.  If you use a lot of paint on the brush, it may run underneath the stencil and blur your letters. Heat set when finished and wash the stencils!


For the front of the cover, I chose Andy's Tando Creative Industrial Clock Face. I love this clock face!  I brushed over it entirely using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black for the base.  Then using my fingers, I added random touches of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Silver then Gold. 


For a more patina, worn and weathered look, I added a layer of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Gold followed by a combination of Titan Buff and Blue Green Light (that created a thicker patina effect).  I repeated these layers until I achieved the look I was going for.


For the inside of the covers, I simply found a couple of different tissue papers I loved and glued them in place on the interior covers using DecoArt's Media Matte Medium.  This dries clear and works beautifully as a glue and a sealer.  First I glued the typed tissue image in place and then added torn bits of the old world map images on top using more of the Matte Medium to glue and seal them.  I then brushed over all of the covers to seal the tissue and then trimmed off the excess.  This can air dry or be heat set.


I added another torn piece of the typed image tissue to the center front of the journal cover using the Matte Medium.


I added another stenciled image from Andy's Made to Measure stencil.  It was a great border for the back cover of the journal.  I taped the stencil in place and added the DecoArt Media Modeling Paste just as I had done on the front covers.  Heat set to dry.  Then I brushed over it with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff. 


Now for another of my favorite DecoArt products to play with ... Antiquing Cream!  I love to work with my fingers rather than paint brushes!  So for this step, I squirt some DecoArt Media Raw Umber Antiquing Cream on the outside covers and moved it around and worked it in using my fingers.  Then I wiped off the excess using a paper towel or a baby wipe.  Repeat this step until you are happy with your results.


Next I added the Patina DecoArt Media Antiquing Cream using the same technique at the Raw Umber.  Then I sprayed the outside covers with a sealer so that anything else I did to the covers would not affect the antiquing that I had achieved.  I added touches of Metallic Gold to the raised areas of the outside covers to add interest and contrast. 


Using small adhesive pop dots, I positioned the clock face in place so that it would be raised.  The "Journey" strip was also raised on top of the clock face giving this cover some dimension.  I also placed the "No 152" strip on the lower right hand corner of the front using pop dots.  Finally, I added pop dots to the "Ticket No. 337" strip I added to the back cover.


I added pieces of fabric over the 2" chipboard strip that would become the spine for the journal.  Using double sided 1/2" Scor Tape makes applying the fabric to the spine and then the spine to the book covers simple.  The fabric has already been added to the outside covers.  The top and bottom ends of fabric still need to be folded up into the inside and another piece of double sided tape applied over them.  This is a look at the construction from the inside covers side.  Simply place the fabric over the spine and press in place.


Here is a look at the outside spine with the fabric added. The only thing left to do is add something over the raw edge of fabric to hide that.

I added a small chain running from the inside journal covers, around the outside and back to the inside to complete the look of this journal's appearance.  The chain is held in place using a strong clear drying glue.  This is the outside of the journal.

And here is the inside of the journal covers.  Pages can be added by sewing in signatures or simply added elastic bands around the spine and slipping signatures into the bands.

 Fun and really simple to create!  Here are the products you'll need for this type of project:



About the Artist: Candy Colwell
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