Mixed Media Mania -- and a BIG surprise...??

  I spent most of the day on Saturday at my LSS "Absolutely Everything" taking a fabulous Mixed Media class that was based on the techniques and designs of Prima Designer - Anna Dabrowska, which you can see on her blog!!   If you visit this page of her blog, you'll see the amazing wall design that she created while teaching her own workshop at AE, earlier in the month.

  As much as I am number one a card-maker, I always enjoy trying new things and learning new techniques and these techniques could also be applied to cards, in a more intricate way!   All of the paints we used in this class are called "Silks", by LuminArte and I luckily already own some in amazing colors, but admit, I have now bought a few more. I first found out about Silks, from my friend, Marti, who loves to create mixed media projects.   We also LuminArte's "Primary Elements" both dry and in a mixed mist, along with Black and White Gesso and as our adhesive we used a Gel Medium from Liquitex in a high gloss finish.   All of these items I have linked to share pictures and I purchased by first Silks and Primary Elements from "Dreaming In Color", which thanks again to Marti for telling me about these products and the store.   Now, for those of you who are local, Kate has now added this line to the store and you can purchase them all at AE.

    Being a full day class, the main focus to was create four different projects, each teaching us new technique and different ways to work with each of the Mediums as well as the amazing Prima embellishments, which you can see in these pictures.   This is the first project we completed and this was done on a small 4" Mini Canvas and I used a combination of Eggplant, Pink and Gold Silks on this, along with a Stenciled background that we did to add more dimension.

Canvas One

  Our second project was actually created on a piece of chipboard and was started by adding on a piece of Prima's designer papers and then adding a layer of stenciling on top using the Gel Medium.   After that was all heat seat, we added a layer of Black Gesso over all the embellishments and dry brushed it onto our background.  That too was heat set and the final step was painting over the embellishments with some Silk Iridescent Paints, I used blue and green shades, which also matched the background paper.

Project Two

  That brought us to the afternoon session where we learned two more fun techniques, which brought in the use of the "Primary Elements" both in dry powdered form, as well as in a mist mixture.  These colors are so vibrant and the sparkle and shimmer and amazing.  I LOVED every color and will be adding more of these to my stash to make more shimmer sprays!!  The mica in these is the most concentrated I have ever seen and there is nothing else, as gorgeous on the market!!  These ROCK!!

Mini Burlap Canvas # 3

(My personal favorite)

  And my final project of the day, with was created on a flat mini canvas, that (like the project above), was first covered with layers of cloth, fabric and lace for some wonderful texture.   I also used some of my all time favorite colors on this piece, including Purple, (of course), Teal, and a gorgeous Pink which were used in the dry form with a heavy mist of water to create the background.  The elements were then painted in a complimentary color, and I chose the pink, but this kind of was my fail project and I think the pink needed to be a bit lighter, but I have to admit, the photo also does not do this piece any justice.  It's actually prettier in person, but I think I may add more color to lighten it up a bit?  

  Needless to say, it was an amazing day, but it's leaving me totally wiped out today, so I'm not doing to much.  As a matter of fact, I still have not finished un-packing my class bags and still have some cards I want to work on, so we shall see, if I can dig up some energy.

   One more thing before I go and rest for a bit, I also wanted to share a picture of the prize package that I won from Hero Arts after their 2014 Spring Catalog Blop Hop.  My surprise box a couple of days ago and I am very happy to show you my new goodies, with special thanks again to Hero Arts for being so kind and generous!!

   As you can see, I won all of these treats, which are all new products from the Spring Catalog.  A Stencil set, a great set of  "Birthday Clear Stamps", the beautiful new "Ultra Pink" Mid tone Ink and three new Wooden stamps.    

  And my last little tidbit of the day sis that I want to share a big surprise and that will be coming up tomorrow. Something I have been pretty excited about and will be happy for you to see!   I am inviting everyone to stop back by tomorrow and see for yourself!  I hope that you will be as happy and excited as I am and that once you see what I have to share, you'll eve want to join me!   Hum?  Does that have you curious, I know I would be!   I hope to see you all tomorrow and in the meantime, have a wonderful day!!