Hello

I wanted a collage which was rich in texture but with really, only limited supplies: Sand Paste, Texture Paste, papers treated with Liquid Acrylic Wax, with a focal of a Carved Leave layered with half a skeleton leaf.

Supplies

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Lynne's Carved Leaves Set 2
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Lynne's Mark Making Stamp Set 1
That's Crafty! Texture Paste
That's Crafty! Sand Paste
That's Crafty! Walnut Ink Crystals
That's Crafty! Flat Matte Spray Raspberry, Walnut
That's Crafty! Liquid Acrylic Wax
That's Crafty! Surfaces White/Greyboard Panel Pack of 5 - Square Corners 6"x6"
That's Crafty! Surfaces Mixed Media Paper/Card Kit
Gel Medium
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black
That's Crafty! A5 Concertina Journal (using page from this Journal)


Instructions

This collage started life as a piece of prepared page, torn out of the fabulous That's Crafty! Octopus Journal (I altered some of the pages by tearing away pieces, creating folds, pockets, etc).

The paper had initially been prepared with  random areas of Sand Paste and Texture Paste, Walnut Ink Crystals (which I have dissolved in a large, screw top jar and in a spray bottle) were applied to this along with hints of Raspberry Flat Matte Spray. So all of that had been prepared.

Next, I adhered to a white/greyboard panel, with Gel Medium.

Rice Paper, which was in my stash of eco dyed papers/fabrics, received an application of the amazing Liquid Acrylic Wax. I like to apply the wax to both sides of paper, that's what I did here. For one area, I stitched a few layers of prepared, waxed papers, with the thread tail ends, I formed them into a loose circle, lightly adhering with Gel Medium.

Below this element, the word Nature nestles inside a stamped Mark Making frame, inking up only one frame before stamping onto scrap of book text.  Onto a scrap, cut-off from the main panel before adhering to the substrate, I stamped the word Nature from the Carved Leaves set.

One of the Lynne's Carved Leaves, with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, was stamped onto Rice Paper.  With a fine, soft paintbrush, a water line was "drawn" around the leaf, allowing me to create a feathered outline around the leaf.

The leaf was adhered to the panel with Gel Medium before layering, to the left side of the stamped leaf, half a skeleton leaf.  If you watched the That's Crafty! HOCHANDA shows, you would see that the skeleton leaves were incredibly popular.

By applying the merest touches of Texture Paste to the skeleton leaf, I liked the effect it brought, not only making it cohesive to the collage as a whole, it also brings a sense of decay or of a form of lichen forming on it. Cotton covered copper wire was formed into spirals, three added to the leaves.

To the lower corner, taking another Mark Making stamp, which reminds me of stacked stones - I only inked up one of the Marks, stamping onto a fragment from this element.

Once all the elements were in place, I set to work adding more texture. Normally I reach for Gesso at this point but I really want this to be a very textural piece so working with a bristly brush, I almost stippled the Texture Paste onto the panel, including over the waxed papers and stamped leaf and gently, onto the edges of the skeleton leaf.

The final touch, reaching for the Walnut Flat Matte Spray, focusing the spray onto the newly acquired textural areas.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this post.
Until next time,
Wishes
Lynne