Let's Play With Color! - April 2023 Mixed Media Kit
Hey, y’all! This week I wanted to dive into the Mixed Media Kit and just play with the colors! Sometimes colors or color combinations can be daunting, especially when sitting in separate containers! You might find yourself asking questions such as: “Do they really go together?” “Can I put orange, blue, and green together?,” and “Are there other colors I have around that can be used too?”
Then there’s the biggest question of them all: “What happens if…?!?!”
Hopefully, my project this week will provide you with a few “answers” and spark some ideas for you!
Make sure to swing by YouTube and check out just how big of a mess I can make!
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For this first project I played around with, I used a Clear Scraps wooden blank, the paints, texture paste, and stencil from the Mixed Media Kit, and some flowers from both the Scrapbooking and Cards, Tags, & More Kits. (y’all know Tres Jolie is having a collaboration with Clear Scraps this month, right? Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the Tres Jolie and Clear Scraps “official” collaboration projects coming up!!)
I coated the “You n Me” frame with some white gesso and then started my color experiment using a gel plate! I have always loved how gel plates allow a thinner layer of paint(s) to be applied, and how easy it is to put your layers together and lift it all at once! For the two base ovals, I only used the paints on the gel plate, but for the main feature, after I had my color down, I rolled some white gesso on, then lifted. The white gesso gave the paints a more faded look – and since I liked it, I kept it!
After all that gel plate “work,” I added some random areas of stenciling. Now, with the stenciling on, I had to figure out how I wanted to go about adding some color to it, so I grabbed up a sponge and just started dabbing. I think the sponge worked great, it created a nice even coverage, but it also allowed for more control over how thick the paint went on – plus, it just worked better for me over the uneven surface of the stenciling!
For the frame, I lightly and unevenly added some of the “Fairy Wings” paint using a brush. I didn’t want a “perfect” coat of paint, I figured this project should look as aged as the photo!! (The photo was taken 20 years ago this month!). To help protect the photo from dust, fingerprints, etc., I added a layer of acetate and glued everything in place.
The white flower cluster came from the Little Birdie Crafts flower pack in this month’s Scrapbooking Kit, then I decided I needed to add a little more color, so I popped in some of the green flowers from the Cards, Tags, & More Kit (for me, it was the rest of the green flowers from last week’s cards). Then, because I was adding them to the other three projects, I decided a little extra texture from art stones would be a nice final touch.
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Before I give an overview of the ScrapBerry’s Bird and Butterfly blanks found in the Mixed Media Kit, I am going to very quickly cover the daffodils in the clockfaces.
I hadn’t tried adding dried flowers to thinner resin pieces before, so I was experimenting with the process – and that process involved a bit of trial and error to work out the best way to cover flowers that are thicker than the mould! It also resulted in some gaps and uneven resin areas, but since I love old and vintage, I always figured I’d just work them into the design!
So, in short, I dried my flower in silica gel crystals, sprayed them with preservative for storage, then added them to my moulds.
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With that covered some, it’s time to go over the remaining projects!
For the bird blank, I coated the wood with the black gesso from the kit, added some spray adhesive from my stash, then pressed the metallic flakes into place. After the glue had a chance to dry, I brushed off the excess flakes and started adding some stenciling. Then, I got the bright idea to add more metallic flakes to the texture paste while the stencil was still in place! It mostly worked. Mostly. 
In continuing with my color experiments, I mixed some of the “Fairy Wings” paint into some 3D Matte Gel and added some extra sparkle with a bit of “Golden Marble” Pixie Sparkle. Well, I had hoped for extra sparkle…
Anyhow, the green behind the daffodil is really very subtle, and it doesn’t stand out a lot. But, this week was about experimenting, so it’s okay!
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I wasn’t entirely happy with my bird base and the metallic flakes, so I came in with my sponges and added a few light areas of the paints. It wasn’t an all-over coating, just a few areas for some blending.
To try and get the details of the clockface to stand out a little more, I used a brayer to roll some black gesso on, then after the gesso had dried, I rolled on a couple of layers of the “Fairy Wings” paint and sprinkled some “Golden Marble” Pixie Sparkle to try and get a little more “pop.”
In addition to my daffodil clockface, I also have a Sharon Ziv window frame mould piece coated in a layer of white gesso and two layers of the “Ginger Magic” paint from the kit.
After I adhered the frame and clockface to the bird, I wanted to add a bit of shadow and a vintage look, so I grabbed up some “Burnt Sienna” Liquid Acrylic Paint and a water bottle. And, this is where I discovered there were a lot more gaps in my clockface than I originally thought! All of the darkest areas of Burnt Sienna are not on the surface! The paint ran through holes! Unexpected, yet kinda cool too.
This project needed something else, so I added the entire pack of the “Mango” 49 & Market flowers from the Scrapbooking Kit and some art stones. I don’t know if I can call this project “finished,” but I hope it gave you some ideas to pull from!
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Next up, my “Shiplap Milk Can” Clear Scraps blank. I used almost the same technique on the background as I did with the bird – except I used white gesso instead of black gesso. I added my metallic flakes, then added stenciling – but instead of pressing more metallic flakes onto the texture paste, the flakes are mixed in because I worked on the stenciling for the milk can right after doing the bird and I just scraped the metallic flakes off the stencil right as I was working! After the texture paste had dried, I came in with my sponges and paints and blended things together a bit. (**Note: The gel used for the art stones isn’t dry yet in the photo!)
I hadn’t originally planned on adding the butterfly to this piece – I wasn’t sure the purple would go with the blue and green of the metallic flakes – but once I saw it together, I knew it had to be done! (The butterfly has a variety of purple powders all mixed together on top of the black gesso coating!)
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However, I did have to add something between the background and the butterfly, so I grabbed up a flower mould, painted it “Ginger Magic,” sprinkled on some “Golden Marble” Pixie Sparkle, and stuck everything on. I added some “Burnt Sienna” for shadow and art stones for texture.
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Now, for the fourth and final color experiment project – the ScrapBerry’s butterfly blank!
I used black gesso to prepare the blank, then added layers of color using my gel plate. After the paint had dried, I added some stenciling, then added more paint to blend the dried texture paste with the background using my little sponge pieces.
I will say, without a doubt, this clockface is a favorite “thing” I’ve made! The daffodil in this mould piece had lighter petals and against the purple background?!?!? It came out fabulous!
The purple background is made of a variety of dry mediums mixed into some 3D Matte gel spread across the back, and to get the details of the surface I used my brayer again and rolled a couple of layers of “Ginger Magic” on after the black gesso had dried.
On this project, I added a Finnabair Mould Frame and a Sharon Ziv window frame mould piece – the Finnabair frame coated in “Ginger Magic” and the Sharon Ziv window coated in “Fairy Wings.”
I used 3D Matte Gel to stick the mould pieces on, and after that had set up, I added my “Burnt Sienna” shadows and some art stones. Of all of the pieces, I think this one would benefit most if I add some more “Burnt Sienna” to the art stones – but since I’m not 100% sure (and the gel hadn’t dried yet!), I have left them “plain” for the time being.
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Thank you for joining me here today, I hope these four projects gave you some ideas of how you can use the colors from this month’s Mixed Media Kit together!
Stay Crafty, Friends
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In addition to this month’s Mixed Media Kit, I used (from previous Tres Jolie Kits):
Clear Scraps “Shiplap Milk Can” & “You n Me Desktop Frame,” Sharon Ziv “Window To The Soul” Mould, Finnabair “Clockface,” “Baroque Frames,” & “Mecha Moth” Moulds, Prima ReDesign “Winter Blooms” Mould, Finnabair “Art Stones,” Finnabair Liquid Color Fluid Medium, Finnabair “Pearls & Crystals” Mica Set, Finnabair “Burnt Sienna” Liquid Acrylic, Cosmic Shimmer “Golden Marble” Pixie Sparkles, “Groovy Grape” Pixie Sparkles, & “Firework Burst” Pixie Powder, Recollections 6”x6” Clear Acetate Sheets, Gel Press 8”x10” Gel Printing Plate, Gel Press 3”x5” Gel Printing Plate, Ranger 2-1/2” Brayer, Daler Rowney White Gesso, Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze, Krylon Workable Fixatif, Amazing Clear Cast, Perfect Cast, Finnabair 3D Matte Gel, E6000 Spray Adhesive, spray bottle, Wisedry Silica Gel Crystals, Gemini Dried Floral Preservative