Notes by Gill Humphrey

For my blog this week I have chosen to make a mixed media canvas using lots of Stamperia and Pentart products that are available from That's Crafty! The base canvas is 6" wide and 12" tall.

 

I started by tearing my rice paper - Alchemy background diagonally close to the flourishes to give me three pieces. The top and bottom triangles were then glued topr left and bottom right of the canvas using Mixed Media Glue making sure I coated the top surface of the rice paper to ensure that it was sealed to the canvas and fully protected.

 

I then added colour to my canvas by applying Cookie and Brick Red paints using the flat of a palette knife and swiping the colour up and down - this creates a patchy surface as the paint is spread and also layers the two colours together. You can carry on adding as much or as little paint as you want but the idea is to blur the boundary between the canvas and the torn rice papers.

Once this layer had dried I added more texture by applying Stamperia one step gold crackling paste which is currently out of stock - an alternative would be to use the Transparent Crackle Paste mixed with Golden Brown Mica Powder through Alchemy Textures stencil. I also added patches of the crackle paste around the canvas to blend the edges and painted areas into a more cohesive background.

Next I cast a lot of resin elements using Amazing Casting Resin and moulds from both the Alchemy and Calligraphy collections. Once these had cured I painted these with Anthracite paint using two layers and allowing them to dry in between application. I then painted the surface of the moulded pieces with Patina Blue Antiquing Gel - to leave the colour in the recesses I wiped back the surface using a damp sponge. Then I highlighted all the details with gold wax.

Once all of my elements were prepared I laid them out on my canvas until I was happy with the composition - adding scraps of Craftyboard/cardboard where needed so that the elements were stable. I also added in paper elements from the Alchemy paper pad before gluing everything down with gel medium.