Mia: a guest DT project by Kristy Abela

Hi there Mixed Media Stencil Crafters.

I am so excited to be on the blog this month to show you my #tcwstencilLove. I have been experimenting with so many different styles of mixed media and I can’t live with just one. 

I can’t call myself a designer as I rarely have a plan when I create. When I create, I let the mediums show me how to pull my designs together intuitively. I look at ways to really add some fun and take the techniques to class rather than the pattern.

  For you all, I have shown you the process of how I transitioned a recycled canvas with different mediums and discovered the bonus effect of layering before finding a textured focal point. This process can be applied to almost any surface and will take many mediums to create very different designs.

This one I created featuring stencils from the winter release ’19 range from The Crafter’s Workshop.

 

 To kick off, I grabbed a handful of bright acrylics and old book paper. I put blobs of paint on the canvas and spread it with my brayer. I placed over the canvas a 12 x 12 TCW191 Bricks Stencil and used a wipe to create a shadow. I stuck down random strips of book paper and covered the pages with acrylics and spread with the brayer again. I sponged Gesso through a 12 x 12 TCW858 Delicate Impressions Stencil from the Winter 2019 release. 

The dragonfly is GORGEOUS!

 I like the format of the 12×12 as it allows for focal points to be proportionate to the size of most off the page projects. I repeated the brayer and stencil process until I was satisfied.

 

 I believe my best mixed media projects come from my ability to let go of a background. The canvas would be great just the way it is, right? Maybe…

However, I love the complexity you can get from doing just a bit more”. So here I go… I added a contrasting layer to push the first set of colours into the background and create a base for the next layer. I used stencil TCW833 Fantastical in 6×6.

 I added some crackle paste to the page hoping to get the really bright background to pop through… It didn’t happen as I had hoped because the crackles were too close, so I pushed it into the background with another stencil I found in the New Winter Release TCW832 Script Words.

In order to finish off the second layer, I added one final layer of paint with the brayer. I wasn’t getting any paint into the cracks with the brayer so I rubbed some in with my fingertip. I used a wipe to blend it and finished off with some stamping.

LOOK AT THOSE LAYERS

I dry brushed some black paint over the whole project… we found the cracks!!

I wasn’t so keen on the black. It seemed too final.

Lime and Coral will fix that!! 

One last time brayer…

I was really happy with canvas but it was only a background so I needed to build a focal point. Tissue paper is great. A little TCW Gel Medium Matte and it is semi-transparent.

Here is another favourite of mine… I can now add a little bit of bling to my chipboard in minutes. 

I used a foil and TCW Tacky-when-Dry Medium. Once it was dry I used a gel pen to outline the score marks in the chipboard. 

I still needed to create my focal point. I really wanted to use the metallic pastes for this one; I was really keen to see how they contrast over the black layer. I used the stencil, TCW697 Mia. I teamed that up with some chipboard aiming for flowing locks. 

 In this image, I blended several colours on the mixing plate and loaded up the palette knife with paste. I applied it diagonally over the stencil to create striations. I scraped the excess off onto the canvas intending to use it as a base for the hair.

 I placed my chipboard into the paste using it as an adhesive. Using a paper towel I created some peaks in the hair.

To finish off, I used some TCW9009 Black Modeling Paste on my finger and rubbed it onto the chipboard and dry brushed it over the peaks.

I loved this paste. It is thick and flexible and has an amazing dimension. 

It’s now my new staple! Why?…  I collaged some feminine elements into Mia’s hair and created the title. Look at the titles I created with the stencil. Absolutely love them and the possibilities…

Thanks for looking and if you are keen to see more of what I create then click on my image below. 

Abela Artistry

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