I thought that I'd better start using all the stuff I've been buying and it's with much trepidation that I unveil my first attempt at mixed media.
I have a couple of canvases bought from a certain shop where everything costs the same but I didn't want to ruin one if it all went wrong (no-one could ever accuse me of being an optimist!) so I used the back of one of those "Please do not bend" envelopes. You know, the brown ones that are backed with thick cardboard.
For once, I actually knew what I wanted to do. Quite often with card making I just wing it and spend more time prevaricating over what to use rather than having a plan and getting on with it. I wanted something a little bit "out there" and also something that people that know me can look at and say "yep, that's Ali all right"
For the background I wanted texture so I used a crackle stencil from Imagination crafts, then overlayed that with some card embossed with Sheena Douglass's Day of the Dead embossing folders. The next step was getting some colour in and playing with my, as yet unused, pebeo paints.
A judicious use of gilding wax brought out the detail nicely.
Then it was time to play! I love the skull die from the Day of the Dead series and I have all the Create a Flower dies as well and particularly like the What a Mesh die so I definitely wanted to add that in along with some spider webs! And what's the point of having all the Create a Flower dies if you don't throw in some flowers! I wanted the flowers to tie in with the background but not detach from the focal point of the skull so I didn't actually stamp them; instead I coloured them with spectrum noir aqua pens, screwed them up whilst wet to get some texture, went over with some memento inks - rhubard stalk and ladybug - for a bit of deeper colour then gilding wax...we all love gilding wax!! For the spider webs I was trying to get a 'covered in dew' look so added some sand texture gel and highlighted with silver gilding wax. Oh, and another reason to love the Create a Flower dies - they're designed for mixed media so can cut a little thicker than standard thin metal dies. 13 sheets of 90gsm copy paper cut in one run through the gemini 😸
I had fun with the skull; I knew that was my focal piece from the word go. I'm a big believer in staying true to yourself regardless of what people think, I mean, what's beautiful to one person can be ugly to another. Be who you want to be, not who other people want you to be. The sentiment from Inkylicious is just beyond perfect.
Whilst not to everyone's taste, I'm really please with the finished product. I think my biggest fan is my 6 year old son, he keeps going to up to it and saying "mummy, that's really beautiful" in a kind of awed and surprised tone of voice!!
Anyhoo, hope you like. If not, that's cool too. And if anyone has any hints, tips, pointers and/or constructive criticism please feel free to comment 😻
Happy crafting
Ali 😸
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