Spray paints or inks - Tando Creative

I've made a tag for this theme today at Tando Creative.

I used a media board painted with gesso and when dry scraped white modeling paste through a stencil.

These pieces I took from a bits box which were already painted - leftovers from previous projects.

I also grabbed these from another bits box of Tando leftovers to add to the design. As you can see these were not painted or sealed so I started by gluing these to the media board ...

.... and when dry I gave it all a coat of gesso.

Next I sprayed some water based and DecoArt white mister over the surface, dried it and repeated again to give me my base  colours ...

.... and then dribbled some watery media acrylic paints, ....

.... sanded and inked the edges of the board and finished with some splatters of titanium white.

Because the sprays I used were water based they created some lovely mottled effects together when I spritzed them and when I repeated the layer. 

xxx

Supplies from Tando Creative

Media board, chipboards.

Andy Skinner stamps and stencils

DecoArt Media gesso, misters

Tando Media Board - Faux Metals

Yes Faux Metal has been the theme over on the Tando blog this week and there have been several posts with great ideas for inspiration.

I have made one of my easel boards using the Tando chipboards, Andy Skinner stamps and kits and DecoArt media line paints and metallic lustres.

I love adding an easel (using Tim's small easel die) so the board can stand up and be displayed somewhere.

If you fancy seeing a super quick Tarnished Silver technique that I created on the clock and how to mix that gorgeous metallic bronze on the heart then do pop over to the Tando Creative Blog and all will be revealed..........

Wow this week went super fast with so many deadlines to get projects finished and out and teaching a workshop yesterday I just don't know where it went.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Create your own visual style... let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others. 

Orson Welles

hugs Brenda xxx

Updated - copied over from the Tando blog

My sample for this week's theme of 'Faux Metal' includes probably one of the most simplest ways you will find for creating a TARNISHED SILVER  look. I have been teaching this very quick technique recently for part of a workshop project and when the frame I used it on is layered with other elements it looks really quite cool.

My Tando make for the theme has the Tarnished Silver technique on the clock - it's so easy - but I've also used metallic lustres, other media paints and gesso to create this overall metallic look to the piece and added an easel die cut on the back

Firstly take the media board (cut from Tando greyboard) and give it a coat of black gesso to seal it and dry. Then paint a coat of media silver acrylic paint and dry before stamping with shapes and text (I used the Andy Skinner Steampunk set).

I wanted to keep the silver feel to this background so I mixed some gesso with the silver paint and when the ink was perfectly dry I rubbed it all over with my finger whilst spritzing it with water. I then dabbed a piece of kitchen roll into it to remove quite a lot of the paint before heat drying it. I also distressed the edges.
TOP TIP
I will nearly always distress/sand the edges of my pieces and use distress inks to frame the substrate  also to give it a lovely timeworn look.

Take the clock  - you can use chipboard or die-cuts for this technique - and paint it with black gesso, heat dry and then give it a rough coat of media silver acrylic paint. When that is dry randomly sand the edges so that you go back to the black or the original board and then blend in a dark brown distress ink. If you need to lighten some of the silver rub a very little of the silver paint or silver metallic lustre in random places to bring back some of the shine. That's it!!!!!!

 The inner circle of the clock was first painted with the silver paint, sanded and scratched and rubbed over with a little elegant emerald metallic lustre then covered with ground espresso distress ink. I flicked it with water and then dried it and repeated a second time.

The large cog was painted with media acrylic gold paint and sealed with ultra matte varnish. I lightly sanded some edges rubbed in vintage photo distress inks then also rubbed over some black shimmer metallic lustre and then dipped it in water and dragged a dry wetwipe over it ro remove some. I still
have a bit of a silvery effect on it. To finish I added some stamped scratches using Andy's Toxic set.

The heart was painted with a custom mix of paints which gave me a gorgeous bronze shade. This chart shows the stages it went through to achieve the final colour.

A coat of the custom colour. a mix of silver and black stencilled through the Tando cog stencil and then some splatters of silver and the silver/gesso mix finished it off.

The number was simply painted with black gesso, rubbed with a little silver spark metallic lustre and then the edges distressed with sand paper and vintage photo distress ink rubbed in.

The word was also painted with black gesso, stippled with the natural sponge and the silver/gesso mix and distressed.

Well I hope you have enjoyed the Faux Metals theme this week and that it's given you some inspiration for your own projects.

Vintage Autumn for Tando Creative

Hi All - have you missed me? I've had a long break over September and October and because hubby has now retired we went away for a whole month to our lovely friends and 'home from home' in California. We didn't stay put the whole time though as we took a 4000 mile drive through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and back into California. It was an amazing journey as we saw so much variation in landscapes, the most incredible scenery in several national parks and some incredible ancient native American sites with settlements built high up in the craggy rocks and fantastic pueblos with one that so inspired me in terms of colours and design, it was amazing!

But back to reality and I'm sharing a long tag over at the Tando Blog today and am revealing more of the process steps here on my own blog.

I began by collecting the substrates and embellishments together designing the tag as I went along.

I looked for a colour palette to inspire me and found this on Pinterest.....

.... and gathered my paints together to achieve similar colour tones, but as always I ended adding others to get exactly the look I wanted and I always have white, titan buff, raw umber and black to hand to change shades and tones.

I took each piece individually painting, texturing and colouring before putting back together again.     

The tag was painted first with gesso, given a watery coat of orange and buff mixed together, dabbed with kitchen roll and then dipped in watery washes of the autumnal colours.

The media board with a hole in was gives a coat of brown acrylic and then white crackle paint, sanded and inked with ground espresso distress ink.

I took texture sand paste and covered the gasket and then stippled with green and brown paint.

The brick grid was painted with reds, bronze, orange and brown......

..... and I used raw umber, dark green, silver and grey on the camera, but you'll see it didn't make it to the final cut lol. Do you do that too, plan on using a piece and then leave it out at the end?

The two sets of leaves were also painted with the acrylics, dipped in some watery washes sanded and inked with brown distress ink, in fact everything got that treatment..

The tag really wasn't looking good in my eyes so I used an old Tim Holtz grungy number stamp with quinacridone gold and raw umber paints, sanded the edges and inked them and oh boy I am so much happier with it.

When I put it together I added the vintage photo that sits behind the gasket and media board ...

... and an altered little metal heart.

Thanks for checking in and if you can pop over to the Tando blog you will see the list of products I have used with links to their website.

Have a fabulous weekend.

hugs Brenda xxx

Halloween Triptych

I am up on the DecoArt Media Blog today with a Halloween Triptych made from Tando media boards and embellishments.

The raven is from a stamp but I have made him very textural and I've used Andy Skinner stamps too.

If you'd like to see all the details then please pop over to take a look. There's all the process steps and photos to go with them that you can look through and have fun with if you fancy making something similar.

Have a great Halloween month making your own decorations and spooky projects.

hugs Brenda xxx

Updated from the DecoArt blog

  

Halloween is the perfect season to use some of the Andy Skinner stamps and I have combined them with some fabulous small greyboard shapes from Tando Creative to create this Halloween Triptych. Items needed :

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Prussian Blue Hue

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Payne's Grey

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Quinacridone Gold

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Burnt Umber

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Titan Buff

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Raw Umber

• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Carbon Black

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Gesso - Black

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Modeling Paste - White

• DecoArt Media Varnishes - Gloss Varnish

• Americana Decou-Page (Glue-Sealer-Finish) 8oz - Americana Decou-Page Matte

• Andy Skinner Stencils 12x3 - Shedded

• Metallic Lustre 1oz - Iced Espresso

• Metallic Lustre 1oz - Orange Flicker

• Assorted Brushes

• Tando Mammoth Mechanical

• Tando Minis Halloween Mix

• Tando Spiders Grab Bag

• Tando Cogs Grab Bag

• Tando Media Boards

• Stamps - Andy Skinner Birds and Bones, Unexplained, Toxic

Instructions :Take three media boards and paint them with black gesso.

Using Andy Skinner's stencil apply black modeling paste - it doesn't have to be an all over coverage.

Find a piece of leftover painty card that will fit in with your planned colour combinations and stamp 

some words.

Layout your design so that you know where everything will go and adhere the chipboard pieces and 

some metal spacer beads to add more interest.

Make up a spray of fairly watery Titan Buff and spray over the chipboards and the background.

Spritz water around the chipboard pieces and dab on raw umber, let it drip around and then heat dry.

Spritz the chipboards with water and randomly dab on some Burnt Sienna and dry.

Spritz with water again and this time randomly add dabs of Paynes Grey and dry. You van see how 

the color is beginning to build up n all three boards.

Spritz around the metal elements and the chipboards and add dabs of both Raw Umber and previous 

colours if they're needed and dry.

Spritz lightly all over with water and dabble Quinacridone Gold in a couple of areas on each board 

and dry.

Take Iced Espresso and Orange Flicker lustres and paint over some of the chipboards and metal beads 

and if necessary dabble on some Paynes Grey. Raw Umber and Quinacridone Gold to create well 

mixed, dripped and metallic grungy effects and dry. Spray with the Titan Buff and add a wash of Quinacridone Gold

Using Titan Buff rub over the top cog and stamp over the oval and rectangle chipboards.

To create the raven daub embossing ink onto some card large enough to take the raven stamp, heat 

emboss with black EP, when cool repeat with clear ultra thick EP and repeat again with black and 

brown EPs sprinkled together. On this last round whilst it still hot stamp the raven having inked him 

up with versafine black pigment ink. Leave the stamp to cool in the embossing before removing it. 

Add some paint to the body and wings to subtly bring out the features.

Adhere the bird and words onto the boards and mix up a dirty glaze - I have a tutorial on my blog for 

this which can be found here - and paint it over everything on the three boards to seal and unify 

them.

Take a piece of leftover greyboard and make a panel for the back.

I hope you enjoy the grungy style and even if you don’t like to use Halloween images the steps 

and techniques will work with whatever you have.

Thanks for joining me today. Happy crafting.