Hi, everyone, and welcome to this month’s MFT Ingenious Inking Design Team Challenge—this month it’s Mixed Media Madness!!
Mixed media can be a little intimidating – once you begin piling up different textures, patterns, and colors though, you quickly realize how forgiving, and exciting, it can be. Mixed media projects are the perfect opportunity to experiment with the capabilities of your supplies and explore your creativity so this month, we’re using Hybrid Inks – the perfect choice for mixed media applications with it’s quick-dry, no-smudge formulation – in mixed media applications.
I have two project for you today, one big, one little :) This is a long post, so let’s get going, starting with the little one.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember I posted these gorgeous yellow tulips a couple of weeks ago. I post more on Instagram than I do on my blog so if you want to see it all the button to follow me is in the upper right sidebar here on the blog :) These are the tulips from LJD Spring Tulips that were stamped with Black Licorice hybrid ink and colored with Copic markers for this project. Next I used these adorable little denim canvasses that I randomly picked up at Michaels a while back, just because they were cute. I applied several coats of gesso to prep them and after that dried I added color with gelatos for my sky and ground. Next I stenciled on some white embossing paste through Cloudy Day Stencil and allowed that to dry. I’d already colored and fussy cut out my tulips, so next I arranged them on the canvases. I tied around some baker’s twine with a Lemon Drop button and added two images to one of them…
…and simply added three images to the other.
The sentiment is from Totally Happy and was split after being stamped on Black Licorice card stock with Sweet Tooth pigment ink, then heat embossed with clear detail embossing powder. A couple of the tulip images and the sentiments were popped up on foam mounting tape for dimension. I love these little things and they are now brightening up my kitchen :) I will definitely get more of these little minis to play with—the small canvas makes for a quick and easy project!
Now on to the big project—big as in larger in size than the minis and in that it did take longer to create. But, it’s all about the art, right? Once I start a big project like this I get lost in the creative process and it’s all good :)
This one started with a really cool LINEN canvas that I also picked up at Mike’s the same time I got the denim minis.
I love the industrial look of the exposed tacks that go all around the canvas.
I knew it would make a great piece to go in my recently redecorated bedroom “when I got around to it”. This challenge was just the push I needed to “get around to it” sooner, rather than later :)
I started by prepping it with gesso, too. This took a couple of coats and since I kinda knew the direction in which I was going to go with it, I brushed it out in sort of a distressed manner.
I picked out some dies and stamps that I thought I’d use to start with, including Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics, Upsy Daisy Die-namics, Royal Leaves Die-namics, Mini Hybrid Heirloom Rose Die-namics, Dizzy Doily die-namics, Royal Rose Die-namics, Large Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namics, and MPD Time Pieces Die-namics. I have a sentiment from Chalkboard Greetings mounted on the block and I’m going to sponge each piece with Kraft hybrid ink—I picked up the dye ink by mistake for the photo but I used the hybrid ink for it’s waterproof properties. Gesso is water based so if you’re going to use it with ink, the ink needs to be water proof. This is just a starting point ;-)
After they were all assembled and ready to go, I laid them out to see what else I’d need—lots, apparently.
Before I went any further, I stamped Mini Chicken Wire Background and Typewriter Text Background on the canvas and spread silver embossing paste through Harlequin Stencil, all rather randomly, then started making more elements, including more from MPD Time Pieces Die-namics, Mini Royal Roses Die-namics, and Rolled Scallop Flower Die-namics, along with some scraps of previously created background papers.
After I added everything I wanted, I sponged more with Kraft hybrid ink and distressed with more gesso and added some enamel dots here and there.
You might notice the finished product has some hemp cord at the bottom left. I meant to added that during the layering process but forgot. Not to worry! I simply cut a few pieces to length and stuck them up under some leaves with hot glue—voila’!
And that’s it! This project was pretty involved and took a fair bit of time but he mini canvases were quick and easy—there’s something for everyone with mixed media. And mixed media IS forgiving. Don’t like the way you stamped something? Gesso over it and you have a clean slate! Forget to add hemp cord? Add it after the fact!
Thanks so much for stopping by—I hope I’ve inspired you to try you hand at it, too—it really is fun! See you soon!
~Supplies~
Yellow Tulip Mini Canvases:
Stamps: LJD Spring Tulips, Totally Happy (MFT)
Ink: Black Licorice hybrid ink, Sweet Tooth pigment ink (MFT)
Paper: Black Licorice card stock (MFT); Neenah Classic Crest Cover, Solar White Smooth, 110lb
Accessories/tools: Lemon Drop button, Cloudy Day Stencil, foam mounting tape, white embossing paste, clear detail embossing powder (MFT); gelatos, gesso, foam brush, Copic markers, heat tool, detail scissors, mini denim canvases, baker’s twine
Teal Flower Canvas:
Stamps: Chalkboard Greetings, Mini Chicken Wire Background, Typewriter Text Background, MPD Timeless, Grid Background, Wood Plank Background, On the Diagonal Background (MFT))
Ink: Tropical Teal hybrid ink, Steel Gray hybrid ink, Kraft hybrid ink (MFT)
Paper: Tropical Teal card stock, Summer Splash card stock, Safety Orange card stock, Steel Gray card stock, Kraft card stock, Grout Gray card stock, Brown Paper Bag card stock, Primitive Cream card stock, Ranger Silver Foil card stock (MFT)
Accessories/tools:Vagabond; Large Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namics, MPD Time Pieces Die-namics, Mini Hybrid Heirloom Rose Die-namics, Mini Royal Roses Die-namics, Royal Rose Die-namics, Upsy Daisy Die-namics, Royal Leaves Die-namics, Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics, Dizzy Doily Die-namics, Rolled Scallop Flower Die-namics, Stitched Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics, Harlequin Stencil, hemp cord, foam mounting tape (MFT); hot glue/gun, gesso, silver embossing paste, enamel dots, linen canvas
