My dear Friends,as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this

Mixed-media art, art journaling and scrapbooking by polish artist and teacher Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair.

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

Have you ever been north? I mean further than the 55th parallel. Where you can find the tundra with the verdigris colours of mosses and bogs. Here is my vision on the little things that grow in these great spaces. Made only with professional quality paints on a first quality 100% cotton canvas. Art resin coated The sides are painted black. Signed on the back. Ready to hang. A certificate of authenticity is provided with the artwork. — Note that custom fees are not included in the cost of delivery. They are the responsibility of the buyer. — The images in home decor are for display purposes only. Please refer to the exact size provided in the description.

Painting the Past - Farbton Verdigris Erkunden Sie die faszinierende Welt der Kreidefarbe Verdigris – ein bezauberndes Grün, das sowohl als Wand- als auch als Möbelfarbe erhältlich ist und Ihrem Wohnraum eine frische und natürliche Note verleiht. Bei Lieblingshaus finden Sie verschiedene Optionen für Qualität und Menge, um Ihre kreative Vision zu realisieren. Unsicher bei der Farbauswahl? Empfehlen wir den Painting the Past Mustertopf in Verdigris, um die perfekte Nuance für Ihr Projekt zu entdecken. Die Magie von Painting the Past liegt in der Kombination verschiedener Farbtöne, die harmonisch miteinander verschmelzen. Verdigris ist ein lebendiger Ton, der sich wunderbar mit helleren Nuancen wie Mist oder Chalk White verbindet. Aber auch dunklere Farben wie Graphite oder Soft Black erzeugen in Kombination mit Verdigris faszinierende Kontraste. Die zeitlosen Töne Pure White oder Historical white bringen Verdigris zum Strahlen und verleihen Ihrem Ambiente eine zeitlose Eleganz. Lieblingshaus, Ihr verlässlicher Händler für exklusive Kreidefarben und hochwertiges Zubehör, begleitet Sie auf Ihrer kreativen Reise. Entdecken Sie die Vielfalt der Painting the Past Farben und gestalten Sie Ihr Zuhause individuell und einladend. Unsere Produkte verkörpern zeitloses Design gepaart mit einer reichen Palette an Farbmöglichkeiten – perfekt, um Ihre Wohnträume Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen. Verwandeln Sie Ihre Räume mit unseren hochwertigen Produkten und genießen Sie das Ergebnis einer gelungenen Raumgestaltung!

While this Crackled Verdigris Panel I print is supplied by a top art publisher, your framed artwork will be hand finished based on your customization in-house by our skilled framing craftsmen. A frame not only protects your print but can also add class and style to your finished art product. Whether you choose a frame that matches your current wall decor or one that compliments this fine art print, each framed Vision Studio print has a 100% satisfaction guarantee to ensure that you are happy with your new framed art look and feel.

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

Mixed-media art, art journaling and scrapbooking by polish artist and teacher Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair.

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

Mixed-media art, art journaling and scrapbooking by polish artist and teacher Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair.

Hello my Friends! Today I'd like to share another of my Mixed Media Minutes fb live video tutorials. But before I do, let me just say a huge thank you for joining me during my facebook shows, for your feedback and all the enthusiastic comments! I love sharing my ideas and techniques and it makes me really happy to hear you might feel inspired by these short videos of mine. :) I love seeing the artworks you create after watching my videos, keep them coming and don't forget to leave links to your creations! On this tag I decided to experiment a little and use two kinds of paints that are not often used together: Art Alchemy Impasto paints that have a matte finish and Sparks that are really shimmery. It turns out they actually work great together and I hope you'll feel encouraged to try out this combination yourselves! Matte Prima paper flowers together with my shiny Mechanicals, Micro Beads and one of the Art Alchemy Waxes only enhance this effect. I'm really happy with how it all turned out and I will totally use this combination again! Please, enjoy my video recording of the fb live and see step by step how I created my tag. Don't be afraid to experiment and reach for products that at first glance may not go together. The whole creative fun is about unexpected discoveries that you might make. Don't be afraid to take risks and try to think out of the box - of course you may end up with an art disaster but who knows, you might just as well create an artwork you will fall in love with... :) Here's the product list of the materials I used to create my sparkly tag: In case you missed my previous Mixed Media Minutes, here are the links to the blog posts: {Galaxy Box}, {Altered Brush} and {Vintage Decor} and of course, you can also subscribe to my you tube channel and be up to date with all the latest videos. I hope you enjoy them all and see you soon - keep an eye on my instagram and facebook page for the news about our next live meeting! :)

Mixed-media art, art journaling and scrapbooking by polish artist and teacher Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair.

Patina Effect Paste Set Inspiring set of three pastes which will help you achieve a patina-like effect on any project! Set contains two opaque, thick pastes with a matte, verdigris-like finish, and one copper metallic paste. Hard and permanent when dry. Perfect for creating texture and adding dimension. Great for steampunk, grunge, and masculine projects. How to use: For best effects apply matte colors of the paste with a sponge, palette knife, texture tool, or paintbrush. Then add finishing touches with metallic paste. Water-based. Archival-safe. Non- toxic. Sculpture Medium Versatile art medium which will make such natural, porous materials as fabrics of different kinds, paper and chipboard hard, permanent and resistant, perfect for painting, altering and decorating in many techniques. It allows to create easily beautiful sculptures and 3D effects for home decorating purposes. Easy to use, water-based and non-toxic. How to use: - Apply a generous amount of Sculpture Medium on the fabric, paper or chipboard elements with a big brush to make sure it will soak through the material. - For bigger pieces of fabric simply pour the Sculpture Medium into container and let fabric soak for a moment. If the medium is too thick you can add a bit of water to make it easier to work with. Squeeze off the Medium and wrap the fabric in the desired shape and leave to dry – drying time depends on the weather conditions, size of the project and amount of the Sculpture Medium used. - It is possible to speed up slightly the drying process using hairdryer or heating gun, but natural drying will give better results. - When dry all the elements can be painted, decorated or glued together using Art Basics range of products. Rust Paste Set Opaque, thick paste with matte, rust-like finish. Hard and permanent, yet flexible, when dry. Perfect for creating rusty texture and adding dimension, great for steampunk, grunge and masculine project - can be applied on all surfaces. For best effects apply 3 colors of the paste on one project with a sponge, palette knife, texture tool or paintbrush to create multi-tone effect. Water-based. Archival-safe. Non- toxic. Texture Pastes – introduction Transparent, flexible, permanent acrylic gloss medium with grains providing textural, dimensional, porous effect. Mixes with pigments, inks and paints and it can be painted with acrylic paints. Water-based, archival safe, non-toxic. Application: best effects when using palette knife or texture tool. Possible drying with heating tool. What can Texture Paste do? - Texture Paste mixes with pigments, inks and paints, and allows to create custom texture pastes with visible grain. - It gets permanent after drying so it can be painted with acrylic paints or sprays. - It works on most surfaces: including canvas, wood, paper, metal, chipboard, fabric, plastic, etc - Texture Paste can be applied through the stencil which is not too detailed to create interesting texture effects. White Sand Texture Paste Almost white color stays true when dry. Light sand grain. White Sand Paste works best with stencils that are not detailed. It can be applied with most texture tools. Graphite Texture Paste Light grain graphite paste. Dries dark grey/black with sparkle. Graphite paste works best with stencils that are not detailed. Graphite paste can be applied with most texture tools. Black Sand Texture Paste Back Sand Paste dries with a light black, transparent, heavily defined grain. For application use a palette knife or big texture tool. Tips for using Texture Paste: - Texture Paste is a prefect choice when you want to create grained texture on your project You can get great artistic effects using texture tools or stencils. - It is possible to mix White Sand Paste and Black Sand Paste with acrylic paint, ink or pigment and create a custom effect. - It needs a bit of time to dry perfectly: the thicker the layer is, the longer it takes. You can dry the top surface with heating tool and continue working on your project when needed.- As Texture Paste is permanent after drying we suggest cleaning the tools and stencils with water and soap (or wet wipes) just after using. Crackle Paste – Introduction: Dense, permanent, paste which provides antique-looking, crackling effect. Size of crackle will vary depending on the thickness of the layer. Works on on most surfaces: including canvas, wood, paper, metal, chipboard, fabric, plastic, etc. Can be painted with water-based paints. Water-based, archival safe, non-toxic. Apply with palette knives or texture tools. Tips for working with Crackle Paste: - The heavier the coat, the larger the cracks. Very heavy coats are not recommended for paper projects as the paper may crumple. - For best results allow the crackle paste to dry naturally. This takes anywhere from 1-5 hours depending on weather and climate conditions. You can speed up drying with a heat tool, but the effect will not be as defined compared to drying naturally. - On larger surfaces, with heavy texture, it is recommended to apply a coat of Art Basics Soft Gel after it is completely dry to avoid the big crackle flakes from falling off.

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

Happy Monday, Everyone! Today we meet with Olya whose love for mixed media art and the joy she finds in her creative process are truly contagious and simply radiate from this stunning new artwork of hers! Please enjoy this wonderful new art piece from my Creative Team and have a great week! * * * * Hello there lovely creative friends! Today I'd like to share with you my brand new mixed media inspiration and tell you about some of the stunning new products from Finnabair. I simply couldn't wait to finally play with them and to show you how much I love these new goodies! :) In my project I felt inspired by the theme of time and I created a mixed media fantasy clock. I love adding unique elements to my artworks and you will see in my video tutorial below that some of the pieces I drew and cut out and then added to my composition. First, I created an interesting texture for the background. For this, I used several of my favorite mixed media supplies - the new Paper Texture Paste has an amazing texture and it's so cool to play with. This time I tried it out with beautiful Finnabair stencils ('Lace' and 'Cobblestone') and they turned out amazing! After that, I added a little bit of Art Extravagance Black Sand Texture Paste. Then, to create even more volume, I added some Art Stones with Soft Matte Gel. When everything was well dried, I covered the background with Heavy Black Gesso and the amazing Graphite Texture Paste and I absolutely loved this combination! Then it was time to breathe some color into the project - this is my favorite stage! :) I chose 3 shades of Metallique Acrylic Paints: Royal Blue, Rustic Brown and Ancient Coin and Dark Brown Rust Effect Paste. When the color base was ready, I started creating my composition. I drew a model of a clock and cut out its elements. I covered them with Heavy Black Gesso, glued on my base and added some very stylish Mechanicals - my project looked amazing with all these beautiful add-ons! When the composition was ready, I reached for the colors of new Rust Effect Pastes. I really wanted to play with each jar, I could not resist and use only one. So here is a mix of sets - Camouflage and Military. :) I created the layers gradually, drying them a little in between steps. I love how the lighter shades stand out... It's very easy to work with the new Finnabair's Dabbing Brushes. They are ideal for the pastes but also work fantastic with paints. Believe me, you should try them out! :) Finally, I wanted to highlight all my beautiful texture seven more and Art Alchemy Waxes are perfect for this job. You will find the links to the Waxes I used in the product list below. In order for you to see the magic of these colors and textures, I created a detailed video. I hope you will fall in love with these products just like I did! Enjoy! I hope that I managed to inspire you to try out these amazing new products from Finnabair! :) Create something of your own, draw, paint, enjoy playing with all the textures and colors. I love to let go of all the unnecessary thoughts and create straight from my heart. For me, it's the best relaxation there is! :) I wish you a new week filled with new ideas and inspirations. With love, Olya Products used:

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

My dear Friends, as you know, last Monday was Prima's mid-release of my new products! You could see some amazing examples of how to use them creatively - presented by my wonderful Creative Team in this Prima blog post. This is all so exciting! One of the brand new produtcs is Sculpture Medium and here's my new work created to tell you some more about the possibilities of this new medium. You see, Sculpture Medium is a very clever trick indeed. ;) Like its name says, it was designed to let you create all kinds of 3D forms and shapes. It makes delicate materials (like fabric) hard, permanent and resistant and it's so very easy to use. In this canvas/assemblage piece of mine, I used the medium to create my background. As you can see, there are bits of lace and different kinds of fabric that were made hard and ready to work on without worrying that too much water, paint or spray might damage them. The medium also allowed me to create some really interesting new textures. The method is so easy - I simply soaked all the materials in the medium (you can use a brush to apply it but make sure you're generous with it), then I arranged them in the way that I liked and left to dry. You can also use a heating tool to speed up the process, but be patient, it might need a little while to dry properly. When my collage background was finally dry, it was hard and ready to work on with other mediums. I painted it with Black and White Gesso, glued on all the elements with Heavy Body Gel (foolproof adhesive! ;)) and then added colors with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays choosing green/blue/turquoises palette as I wanted to recreate a verdigris effect. I hope you feel inspired to try out my new Sculpture Medium. Let your imagination flow, the possibililties are endless... If you need more information, visit my Art ExtraVagance Art Files where you can read about the medium and other new products as well. Also make sure you see this Prima post where you will find crazy beautiful examples by Kasia and Gayle who showed their Sculpture Medium creations! If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer. Happy creating!

Hello my Friends! Today I'd like to share another of my Mixed Media Minutes fb live video tutorials. But before I do, let me just say a huge thank you for joining me during my facebook shows, for your feedback and all the enthusiastic comments! I love sharing my ideas and techniques and it makes me really happy to hear you might feel inspired by these short videos of mine. :) I love seeing the artworks you create after watching my videos, keep them coming and don't forget to leave links to your creations! On this tag I decided to experiment a little and use two kinds of paints that are not often used together: Art Alchemy Impasto paints that have a matte finish and Sparks that are really shimmery. It turns out they actually work great together and I hope you'll feel encouraged to try out this combination yourselves! Matte Prima paper flowers together with my shiny Mechanicals, Micro Beads and one of the Art Alchemy Waxes only enhance this effect. I'm really happy with how it all turned out and I will totally use this combination again! Please, enjoy my video recording of the fb live and see step by step how I created my tag. Don't be afraid to experiment and reach for products that at first glance may not go together. The whole creative fun is about unexpected discoveries that you might make. Don't be afraid to take risks and try to think out of the box - of course you may end up with an art disaster but who knows, you might just as well create an artwork you will fall in love with... :) Here's the product list of the materials I used to create my sparkly tag: In case you missed my previous Mixed Media Minutes, here are the links to the blog posts: {Galaxy Box}, {Altered Brush} and {Vintage Decor} and of course, you can also subscribe to my you tube channel and be up to date with all the latest videos. I hope you enjoy them all and see you soon - keep an eye on my instagram and facebook page for the news about our next live meeting! :)

Hello on Monday, Dear Friends! When you see today's post, your first thought might be how pretty these rainbows & butterflies are. But they're not only about being cute and/or decorative - Kassa's sharing her personal story of experiencing the healing power of art and creativity - she will surely inspire you too! * * * * Hello there lovelies. The journal cover I share with you today comes from deep within, its raw emotion, due to my 6 year old beautiful Leo the Leonberger giant breed dog passing this week after a few weeks of illness. They say art helps to heal and never experiencing creating whilst in this frame of mind, I found it truly does help to throw yourself into creating a little love and happiness through your memories whilst in this heightened state of mind. So in my head I created a feel for the 'Rainbow Bridge', that special place where my lovely Leo will be now. Butterflies I feel are always special for these circumstances and the rainbow of vibrant colour, the sparkle and dancing butterflies thankfully brought a smile to my face. I wanted and needed to create this happy place on my journal cover and in doing so I now know art can really help heal. Apply a coat of White Gesso to your journal cover and dry with heat gun. Tear a few images out of a magazine that you would like to transfer to your journal cover. Paint the area where you would like to transfer the image with Soft Matte Gel, also paint the magazine image with the gel and place the image face down on your cover smoothing away any air bubbles. Once totally dry, mist with water and with a light touch start to rub off the top of the magazine image, magically the image you chose will start to appear. I break up the bold edges of the image transfers with some stencilling. I love how precisely I can do it using the 1" Silicone Brush. A little White Gesso painted randomly on the transfers also helps them to blend into the background. Because I like to see the edges of my work with a little wonky machine sewing on them and the journal cover is too thick for the sewing machine, I sew a few thin strips of torn paper and then adhere and gesso them around the edges. Once everything is dry, it's time to paint - I use the 2 pinky colours first. Simply lightly mist your page with water and apply the paints randomly. Remember to leave white space so you can add the other various coloured paints there. To help your paints merge and spread, go in close with your water mister and spritz the paint in the direction you'd like the paint to spread, mop up any excess water. Add more colour when/where needed. Totally dry this layer, then repeat using the same techniques but this time using the orange and yellow paints and again dry once finished. The yellow drips are watered down paint dropped onto the cover and the page held vertically so the drips do their thing and drip! I only added a dib and dab of the contrasting blue and green paint as I wanted to keep an overall sunshiney feel. The Art Alchemy Sparks I used as a colourwash. To do this, I have everything at hand as it's a move VERY fast technique but so worth it as the results are stunning. I applied the 'Unicorn's Hair' Sparks to the white space very quickly, 2 or 3 strokes and I was done. Don't worry about imperfect painting and wonky lines, even quicker take the water mister and spray the wet Sparks paint, now dab gently the excess water and paint away. What will be left is a thin layer of the paint colour and most of the sparkle, it's like a sparkly see through veil, it's so magical... At this stage, if you didn't quite lift enough of the Sparks to achieve this veiled look, just mist again with water or go in even closer with the mister. A little stamping in black ink helps break up a page (water resistant Archival Ink). Finnabair's Clear Cling stamps are perfect being bendy and you can push them down over the more textured areas. Adding ink randomly to these stamp gets an imperfect stamped image giving a softer edge to the stamped areas. The selection is so cool and varied - perfect for creating interesting backgrounds! The Christine Adolph Rub Ons are easy to apply - simply rub on the sticky image where you want it and sprinkle with Glitter. For an extra pop of color add scribbles of the Oil Pastels randomly to your page and over a stencil that you have firmly hold of - rub and push the pastels through the stencil holes with your fingertips. Scribbling various coloured Oil Pastels over a stamp and mist with water before stamping onto your cover. Add black and white splatters with watered down gesso, flick for a random splatter. The butterflies come from 'Dream On' and 'Rust & Dust' sets and they are so quick and easy to create! Simply stamp out using water resistant ink onto watercolour paper. Colour the wings with scribbles using the Oil Pastels, mist with water, let the colours merge, then lightly mop up the excess water. The sparkle is added to the wings with the rub ons but this time using the aqua coloured Bora Bora foil sheets. Make sure you rub the foil over the sticky transfered image shiney side up. :-) Lastly and my fave part it's time to bring everything together - Adhere the butterflies to the page over some cotton sewing thread with the Soft Matte Gel and sprinkle the butterfly bodies and the thread with the Crystal Glass Beads then the Splash Micro Beads, the Soft Matte Gel is ideal for the beads too. Add a few more gesso splatters, a scribble of Oil Pastel here and there. Colouring pencils and black and white permanent pens are great to fill in space and add some balance. Edge the cover with a little of the Vintage Gold Metallique Wax and a touch of the soft Rose Gold Wax - they look sublime on the same page as the Sparks Unicorn's Hair paint - they all shimmer and twinkle away in perfect harmony. When the beads are dry, I pop a little Unicorn's Hair paint on them and the wings too, a few splatters and then I feel the cover is finished and ready to stand on my mantle so I enjoy the rainbow... Thank you all for letting me share my journal cover with you and the story behind it. The journey has helped me so much showing me I can create my HaPPy Art even when I feel so very low... And the low becomes lessened even if only for a while with the art process and sharing with friends... I wonder if you will create your own HaPPy Art this week and what will your stories be... I feel you are going to have great fun creating your own HaPPy Art, i really do... xx Kassa Products used: