Creative Artiste August - Lemon Wreath

Good Morning everyone

Time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste where the theme is always anything mixed media goes - use at least 3 different mediums

Something fun and summery from me today.  Ive made a little lemon wreath to add to the front door.

Approx size 8x8"   I cut my wreath base from cardboard box card and then wrapped with garden twine.

I then stamped all the images and watercoloured with derwent inktense pencils adding touches of shimmer with cosmic shimmer pixie powders which i used as a paint by adding a little water.  Once dry I cut out and sealed with glossy mod podge and then added touches of stickles glitter glue to the flowers and glossy accents to the lemon gals eye.

I arranged the lemons and foliage mostly to the bottom right of the wreath, adhering to the twine with pinflair glue gel.  I decided it needed something to help the girl stand out a bit so I made a kind of rosette from twine which I added behind her which also helps break up all the yellow and add more texture....its a fabulous tactile medium to use too.

To finish I added a twine bow to the top.

For the lemons and foliage it is actually only one stamp which ive cut up and used at different angles to build it up from a stamp set my studio light but it goes perfectly with the lemon girl stamp from aall&create

The start of my wreath, first cut a circular frame from corrugated card - cutting the inside out with craft knift wasn't very neat or even but once i wrapped the garden twine around it and i used the thicker part behind my elements so no one would know and it added a little rustic charm😊

How i made my little rosette behind lemon girl - first wrapped twine around my fingers multiple times and then tied in the middle, i then fanned it out, once i added the girl with pinfliar glue gel that helped hold it in shape.

Items Used:

Aall&create stamps #1021 'lemon'

Studio light stamps #SL-ES-STAMP427 'lemon sqeezy'

Derwent Inktense pencils

Cosmic shimmer pixie powder 'mango'

Ranger Glossy accents

Ranger Stickles 'crystal'

Garden twine

Do hop over to Creative Artiste Mixed Media to see what the rest of the DT have created this month and to join in - any project but with at least 3 different mediums 

Thank you all for stopping by.  This is my first post of 2 today as have a GDT post coming a little bit later this morning....its like buses, i don't post anything for days and now 2 in one day! lol   Im having issues with my eyes so not getting much crafting in, but im on the urgent 6wk list for laser treatment so hopefully my eyes will soon be back to their usual level if not better...better would be great but I will be happy with them being as they were😊   What with that and them still messing about with my MS treatment I think I have a seat reserved at hospital at the moment......at least I have a good distraction over the holidays spending time with my nieces.

 I hope you all have a great weekend.  Happy Crafting Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/2025/07/sos553-eat-five-day.html

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https://theoutlawzchallenges-saturday.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-outlawz-anything-goes-in-card-free.html

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https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/07/miucb-78-anything-goes-optional-mixed.html

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2025/08/summer-season-august-2025.html

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2025/07/ellibelles-garden-party-no-5-anything.html

 

Mother Earth Canvas

Good Morning everyone

Time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste Mixed Media where its always anything goes as long as you mixed your medias = we need at least 3 different mediums but the more the better and be as creative and arty as you can be. 

Today I have something a bit different with this mother earth canvas.  My idea was triggered when I saw this beautiful ladies head paper in a pad from Art by Marlene - not something I usually would use but I thought she would be ideal as Mother earth providing and protecting all of nature, she is as colourful as the world she nurtures is with her hair full of flowers and butterflies😀

Getting decent photos has been impossible as its too big for my light box

Hexagon Canvas size 10x12"   See below for how I made the background and built it up.

 This is definitely a very 'in your face' and 'throw everything and every colour at it' canvas😁  Predominately pink and blue

I added buttons to the flowers in her hair and a few scattered flower beads

I added touches of diamond stickles glitter glue to add a bit of sparkle and glossy accents to her eyes.

I first cut out the head from the paper, cutting off alot of the surrounding flowers for now and adhered flat where I wanted it on the canvas.  Around that I stencilled paisley swirls with texture paste, I had the thought that they would look like coming out of her head, before the paste completely dried i took a pallet knife and drew some lines into the paste following the curve to help create the effect of them moving outwards or like strands of hair.

I found these wooded lasercut  flowers so added a few and them covered it all in white gesso.

I then added green and blue paints which contrast with the more pinky purple tones in her....I used green and blues that are similar to those in the images also.

I then added a wash of van dyke brown acrylic letting it settle into the grooves and around the texture paste and wood shapes to help give depth to the finished piece - YES this does look like a mess but stick with it...

Sorry horrid photo but once the brown shadowing was dry then added pink cadence dora paint onto the flowers and highlighting the splashes - this really shimmers when the light catches it. 

I don't seem to have taken any more photos of the steps - was obviously caught up in the finishing of it - I must admit this took way longer than hoped to come together - I started it back in February when the weather was horrid and some nice sunny days were looked forward too!

I then went on to dry brush on gold cadence paint and add in touches of the blue and green where I felt it needed it.  I then cut out a 2nd head, leaving off her neck and decoupaged over the base image with pinflair glue gel.

To finish I added extra flowers & 3 butterflies stamped onto art by marlene papers and more colour added with posca paint pens.  I added ivy which was die cut from brusho Inked card, I wanted it to look like it is growing out of her hair so tucked it in among the flowers.

 I printed the words 'Mother Earth' onto off white card, cut out, inked the edges black and adhered to her neck & sealed with mod podge to finish.

Items Used:

Art by marlene 8x8 paper pad 'out of this world'

Paisley 12x12 stencil

Brittania & Joanna Sheen Ivy dies (very old!)

Uniko stamp set 'country garden' (butterflies)

texture paste

Cadence dora paints

Acrylic paints

Wooden flowers

Please do hop over to Creative Artiste Mixed Media to see what the rest of the DT have created and to join in, we love seeing all your creations in the gallery using at least 3 different mediums.

I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine here in the UK, although I love to see some sunshine its been a bit too hot for me, Monday stuck in hospital all day was like a sauna...don't think that improved the health much!  They have started me on my 3rd different treatment in 3 months this week so fingers crossed its 3rd time lucky.  While my mojo is still on holiday Ive been sat in front of the fans enjoying wimbledon. 

Thank you for popping by once again.  Big hugs Emmax

 

Key to my heart

Good Morning everyone

Gosh the weeks are flying by and now its June - scary and time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste Mixed Media where the theme is always anything goes as long as you mix those medias!

This year Im trying to use old stash and I found these greyboard hearts in the back of my craftdrobe while looking for something else - I also dug out my box of very old tim holtz grunge board shapes and came up with this wall hanging. 

Sizes approx - biggest heart is 5.5x5"  Med 3x2.5"  Small 1.75x1"

See below for full details.  Once finished I punched holes in the hearts and connected together using metal jump rings.  

Large Heart - after doing backgound (details below) - I took some grungeboard & metal keys - the grungeboard ones I first covered with black gesso, stippling it on so some areas are thicker than others thus giving a more rusty old appearance and then added the same paints used in the background so orange, greens and blues. To the metal keys I added some of the same colours of paint to tie them together, then arranged them all the on background. I found some old plastic alpha's which I black gesso'd and added touches of paint and adhered to say 'key'

Medium heart - I added a grungeboard lock which id black gesso'd and painted the same as the keys.  I added screw top brads through the holes and added to the heart.  I took 2 kraft chit chat sticker saying 'to' & 'my', added to black card and covered with glossy accents for an enamel look.

Small heart - I found a really small grungeboard heart, covered with the orange paint used on the other elements and covered with glossy accents.  Chit chat sticker reads 'heart'

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See below for how I did backgrounds

I first adhered flowers I had die cut from grunge paper eons ago and covered it all in black gesso.  I added crackle paste in areas and then added blue, green, orange & yellow acrylic paints. once dry I knocked back the vibrancy by dry brushing on antique white chalk paint. 

 I then added torn pieces of script printed tissue paper in areas and added orange paint through a script stencil.  I then dry brushed on gold & orange dora cadence paints which is beautifully shimmery when the light hits it. 

I finished by sealing it all with mod podge

I edged all the hearts with black gesso to help frame them and draw the eye inwards, for neatness I also covered the back of the hearts with black gesso.  

You can see the crackle paste better here....this is an old jar i found lurking in the back of the craftdrobe and it was nearly set solid ....I added a little warm water to the jar, let that sit a while and then gave it a good mixing with a stick which seemed to resurrect it and Im pleasantly surprised that it still works so that was worth doing...now i must use it more often!

Items Used:

Tim Holtz grungeboard & paper, chit chat stickers, metal keys, alpha stickers

Tim Holtz tattered flowers bigz die

Metal keys

Papermania Screw top brads

Acrylic paints - pebeo, plaid folk art

Cadence Dora paint - gold & orange

Daler rowney black gesso

Ranger glossy accents

Mod podge - matt

Papermania script tissue paper

Crackle Paste

Please do hop over to Creative Artiste Mixed Media to see what the rest of the DT have created and to join in - remember anything goes as long as you use at least 3 different medias. 

I hope you all have a good weekend. Emma

Id love to enter the following:

https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2025/06/neglected-stuff-625-challenge.html - greyboard hearts and grungeboard elements 12+ yrs old, crackle paste? (don't even remember buying that so years ago) found lurking at back of cupboard and nearly dried up, plastic alpha's 6yrs old...

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https://theoutlawzchallenges-saturday.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-outlawz-anything-goes-in-card-free.html

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2025/06/ellibelles-crafty-wednesday-june-and.html

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https://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.com/2025/06/june-2025-crafts-galore-encore.html

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https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/06/challenge-126-no-designpaper.html

 

Eggs in the nest

Good Morning everyone

Today its time for a new challenge over at Creative artist mixed media where we celebrate all things mixed media

Ive decided to go seasonal again and make a lovely little birds next.  I used these digital bird images for my nieces birthday and had several left over cut out so thats what triggered my idea to build them a little nest. 

8x8" Mdf shadow box frame.  Pictures below show how I built up the background and texture.  Once that was done I made a little nest out of orange and copper soft craft wire which I adhered into the box with glue gel.  I lined the nest with feathers and added a few around outside the nest and added my little eggs into place.  

I then added 2 of the larger birds - yes i know technically they are 2 different birds and wouldn't be a pair but hey this is craft land and artistic license😁

I created a hanging from the same wires used for the nest and 3 matching beads on each side - got to use my beads up some how and this seemed a good way and adds a bit of bling and interest.

You can see into the nest better here - Ive had these feathers for about 10yrs so good to use some!  You can also makes out the gold dora paint better at this angle 

The hanging loop I made with craft wire and beads

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and onto the step by step background

After making up the mdf box i added die cut feathers (great way to use up scraps of cardstock) and then added a little texture paste through a net effect stencil which I felt would give a little tree bark like feel.  Once dry cover in white gesso

I randomly added yellow, orange, red and turquoise acrylic paints

Then a wash of van dyke brown - yep it looks a mess now but let it pool around the texture....if its too heavy in any area just dab with some tissue.  Once the first wash was dry i added a bit more in areas to make them even darker

Dry brush on antique white, pale blue & lemon chalk paint 

The top coat was Cadence dora paints which have amazing shimmer, you could use gilding waxes instead.  I personally get on better with the dora paint as can dry brush it on very lightly - a little goes a very long way. Difficult to take photos off - but when the light hits it, it really comes to life.

To finish I coated it all in gloss mod podge to seal and protect.

How I made my little birds eggs.  Took little foam eggs from poundland and coated in white gesso and then pastel blue matte acrylic paint and then splattered on darker watered down acrylics to give the speckles and finished with a coat of matt mod podge.  I found it easier to handle them by sticking on a cocktail stick in some polystyrene....this does of course leave a little hole in the bottom of the eggs but easily hid when adhering them to my project 

Items Used 

Mixed Media birds clipart from Double Helix Digitals on etsy

Feather die - joy crafts

Woodware stencil

Texture paste

mini foam eggs - poundland

Cadence dora paint - gold, orange

Folkart Acrylic paints 

1mm soft craft wire

beads from stash

Do hop over to creative artiste mixed media to join in, anything goes as long as you mix your medias, so cards, atc's, tags, art journal pages are just as welcome as 3d makes like mine

Thank you all for stopping by once again.  Next week is the school Easter holidays so I shall be getting some crafting in with my 5 nieces, hopefully the weather stays fine too as they can get out and play. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

   

https://daranddiane.blogspot.com/2025/04/double-d-easter-challenge.html

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-season-april-2025.html

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https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2025/04/april-2025-challenge.html

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2025/03/i-spy-with-my-little-eyethe-dawn-of.html - dawn of spring

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https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2025/04/challenge-97-anything-goes-featured.html

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https://craftyanimals.blogspot.com/2025/04/challenge-93.html

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