Andy Skinner Deco Art Bright Challenge

I made this art journal page for the new "Bright" Challenge by Andy Skinner. I used DecoArt Media Gesso and Fluid Acrylics and the Andy Skinner Hippychick stencils & masks. I also used my white Signo pen to outline the images and make them stand out. When I checked out the link just now, I saw another entry that is very similar to mine -but I promise I never even looked at the other entries. We just used the same technique with the same stencil. I'm still entering since I spent a lot of time and actually thought about it a lot before I started working on it. Thanks for stopping by!

DecoArt Winter Wonderland Challenge

Welcome to my blog. Today I have a pretty long post. I decided to make a project for the DecoArt Winter Wonderland Challenge. I made a little box with a snowflake on the lid. The box is about 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide. I wanted the colors to be wintry blues and purples. I used a ton of DecoArt products and tried to take photos along to way to show you and remind me of all the products I used.

Here's the final box. 

Directions for how I made it all with tons of DecoArt products are below.

Here is the paper box and the chipboard snowflake. 

I bought them at Hobby Lobby.

First, I covered them with DecoArt Media Gesso 

 

Then I mixed some DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics in Purple and White and painted the box.

 

 

I wanted to add some shine so I painted a coat of DecoArt Media Turquoise Interference.

Next I mixed some DecoArt Media Shimmer Mister in Turquoise with some Media Crackle 

Paste and covered the box and the lid.

At this point, the amount of the crackle will be dependent on how much crackle paste 

you apply. I applied varying amounts in different places to get a random look. 

I love how you can see the purple through the cracks. 

NOTE: I find it's best to wait over night to work with the crackled area, because it continues to crackle for a really long time.

At this point I thought the box was little too light so I brushed on some of the Turquoise Shimmer Mist. I love how it filled the cracks and added some depth to the box. 

As I brushed it on, I immediately rubbed the excess off with a paper towel to get more variation in the color. 

 

To give it another layer of dimension, I randomly rubbed some 

DecoArt Silver Metallic Lustre all over the box and lid.

 

And finally, I brushed on a layer of DecoArt Fuschia Twinkles. I just squirted some of the Twinkles Writer out of the container and used a brush to apply it for some more sparkle.

I was finally happy with the box, so it was time to get to work on the snowflake. It already had DecoArt Media Gesso on it.

I mixed up some DecoArt Media Silver Metallic paint with some Media Crackle Paste to put on the snowflake. Then I decided to add some Turquoise Interference.

At this point I still didn't think it was dark enough to contrast with the white snowflake when it crackled, so I added some of the DecoArt Media Purple Fluid Acrylic and I couldn't help myself so I added some of the DecoArt Fuschia Twinkles. That made the mixture pretty lumpy so I decided to go ahead and put spread it on the snowflake. 

 

  

 

 

After letting it dry over night, I added some DecoArt Gloss DecoPage 

to add another shiny layer and to adhere it to the box top.

 

This is what it looked like before it dried.

 

Here are some pictures of the final box.

 

Fun Friday Crafts Sponsored by DecoArt

Last Friday I made crafts with the students at the school where I teach, Chapin Middle School. We used DecoArt DecoPage and Americana Enamel Gloss to decorate glass jars and recycled cardboard ornaments. The students used the DecoPage to adhere patterned papers and die cut snowflakes, trees, and stars to the jars and ornaments. Some also used DecoArt Enamel Paints to paint their glass jars. A huge thanks to DecoArt who generously donated DecoPage for us to use at this event.

The students had fun decorating the glass jars using die cut shapes and DecoPage

Some of the students used DecoArt Americana Gloss Enamel Paints

to paint their glass jars before adding their die cuts. 

 They also created some beautiful ornaments made from recycled cereal boxes, 

patterned papers, and die cuts. 

These were a couple of fun and easy projects that used recycled materials and allowed the students to use their creativity. They are perfect projects for kids to work on over the holidays. If you are inspired to try projects like these, please let me know. I would love to see what you make.

Happy Holidays!!

5 for 5 Christmas Inspiration Day 5 - Tree

Welcome to Day 5 of our 5 for 5 Christmas Blog Event. I can't believe it's our last day,  the time has flown by! Today our theme is "Tree". We are all sharing a Christmas Tree themed project. Each day our 5 Designers will post a Christmas Inspired Project based on a theme. Some of us are offering prizes, so be sure to visit all the links below and leave comments. My prize is shown at the end of this post, check it out!!

This project started back in September when I took a Powertex class with Cheryl Boglioli in Boiling Springs, NC at a fabulous LSS called Dorothy's Stamps and Scraps. In the class, they were making female sculptures using Powertex. But, I had another idea. I wanted to try to make a Christmas tree. So, while everyone else made beautiful figures, I worked on my tree.

Cheryl was great. If you ever get a chance to take one of her classes, I highly recommend her. I also took a class on Gelli Printing that was tons of fun!!

First we shaped our sculptures with wire, then covered them with tin foil. I had to really fill the inside with the foil. Then we covered them with masking tape. It might not look like much, but getting the tree shape and especially the star took quite a lot of work. 

 Then we covered them with strips of cloth coated in the Powertex. 

Since the class was only using brown and gray colors, I brought my tree home and created a green color with my  DecoArt Americana paints. 

Then I painted the tree with several coats. 

I decided I wanted to glitter it up, so I proceeded to paint it with several different colors of DecoArt Twinkles Glitter paints. 

Then it was time to paint the star. I start out with my Americana paint that I thought was a little to orangey so I went over it with my DecoArt Acrylic Primary Yellow. Then I covered it with yellow

and gold glitter Twinkles.

I'm still considering whether or not I want to add ornaments and trim to it. 

But, for now I like the super glittery look. 

My prize for this event is two Tim Holtz Blueprints Wood Christmas Stamps - Stocking and Candy Cane. Just follow my blog and leave a comment for a chance to win. I will announce the winner on my blog Saturday, December 12. Thanks for stopping by!

Donna Bowman (me)
Rachel Kleinman
Lynn Kopas
Karen Crossen
Kris Lancaster