Creating Decorative Embellishments

Just thought I'd share some fun pieces I made this week with the new Moulds I ordered from 

Retro Cafe Art Gallery. 

They are created by

Iron Orchid Designs.

I really had a great time with these.

Paper clay that dries overnight is used here.

I used black low-temp hot glue with these that I bought YEARS 

ago at a show. 

Sorry the company on the package no longer has the website.

This is one of the black glue pieces that was dusted with Gold Mica Powder

from Finnabair. There's a new set of 6 that are a perfect Starter Set. 

Amazing! 

The one on the left has 3 different colors of Mica Powder applied, the center one is just how it comes from the mould, and the one on the right is with the Gold.

I used the paper clay on this one and then painted it with Steampunk Copper 

Metallique Paint from Finn, then a bit of Emerald Green.

Last I dusted Opal Magic paint lightly onto the Green. 

Pretty simple, and very, very cool!

I had these Pink flowered knobs on the doors to my Studio closet. Totally not me, but, for some reason, I bought them years ago.

I used the Steampunk Gold on the base of the knobs and then added the 

Medallions. They were from paper clay that I painted black.

When dry, I added Green-Gold, Blue-Gold and Yellow-Gold Opal Magic Paints.

Seriously, they are even cooler in person. I used the new Heavy Body Gel

to adhere them to the old knobs.

A-Ma-Zing transformation.

So check it out. Finnabair's Mixed Media Place has the Art Alchemy Paints in.

The Moulds and some  of the paints can be found here in the States at

Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

Happy Creating!

Linda

A Look Into the Universe...a Journal Page

I've been working on Journaling.

This doesn't have much to say....except that to me, it looks like a piece of broken sky where you're peeking out into the black universe with stars.

This is done with a page from Finnabair's Artistic Journal that's 7x9 inches.

 I start with a random layer of Heavy White Gesso, then 3 or 4 colors of Fresco Paint that I move around in a pleasing pattern.

(The problem with being a Midnight Artist is that the blues in my pictures are not quite "true." This really is more turquoise since it is Bora Bora from Freso Paints.)

Then I used the Ripped Fishnet stencil and Clear Crackle Paste in spots.

The Harlequin Stencil with Red and Orange inks are added with a sponge  square.

Then I sanded down the tops of the Crackle paste and made scratches throughout the piece.

The  diamond shapes were highlighted with gel pens

More sanding and then I got out the Heavy Black Gesso and added some interesting marks.

I love the way the inks and paint get into the crackle.

Splatter some white inks onto the piece and spread with a credit card to make highlights and stars. Use a White Sharpie pen for more marks. 

The next thing I did was add some stamping to areas with archival inks using the Pines and Messy Clear Stamps.

And last I added some more paint to clean up certain areas. 

The "page" had been removed from the Journal and I just liked the edges with the black paint, so I trimmed it down, added more black paint to the edges and mounted it on white  - then black mat board.

No, it's not going back into my journal, but probably on an easel on my bookcase.

Hope you're inspired to make a page of your own. Let me know what you think.

Linda 

Are You Ready For Some FUN???

It's the Mid Release of 

Finnabair Products 

on the 

Prima Blog.

And you don't want to miss this!!!

I loved the new Mechanicals you see here,

but wait till you see how you can 

make them even MORE delicious!

The 3 new Rust Effect Paints are totally AMAZING!

Here I took the craft store key on the right, and added the 3 Rust Pastes

that are loaded with bits of texture,

and came up with the key on the left that looks as

though you just dug it up in your 

backyard!

Then you have the new Sculpting Medium to use on fabric.

I crumpled up strips of crinoline, Resist Canvas, and jute and added

the liquid Medium to soak it. Then set it aside to dry. 

It was so cool when it dried, and became my base for the project. 

 Here it is on a 5x5 inch canvas board.

We showcase these new products and, of course, some of the other wonderful

new products over on the 

Prima Blog.

Go check out Anna's fabulous Rusty Book and 

some of my colleagues amazing projects

HERE.

And leave them some LOVE.....

Linda 

Be Still My Mechanical Steampunk Heart

I've been playing with the new Mechanicals and Paints from 

Finnabair that

 Retro Cafe Art 

has coming in very soon.

This is a project with lots of new things and things from my stash.

Let you imagination go wild!

I painted the Chunky ATC with Black Gesso and then added Modeling Paste with

one of the new Texture Brushes.

You create a pattern through the paste. When dry, add your new Opal Magic Paints, and a few dashes of Heavy White Gesso splattered around.

The gears and wings and key are all painted up or highlighted with Inka Golds.

You can start with this small piece and have a great time

getting your STEAMPUNK on!

Hope you're inspired to play.

Linda

Retro Cafe Art Products:

Chunky ATC 1" 

Antique Brass Large Key With Wings

Heavy Black Gesso

Modeling Paste

Micro Beads

Mechanicals Plates and Labels
Copper Gear Mix
Unfinished Small Wooden Box Feet
Inka Gold Paste - Turquoise, Copper, and Old Gold 

New Finnabair Products in stock NOW or coming soon:
Opal Magic - Blue Gold and Rose Gold
Metallique Paints - Silver Spoon, Gold Rush, Rich Turquoise
Mini Stars
Steampunk Gears
Heart Lockets

Steampunk Box with New Finnabair Mechanicals

It's my turn on the

Finnabair Blog.

And, those who know me, are absolutely certain that this release

makes me very, very happy!

I LOVE Mechanicals, and I definitely LOVE

STEAMPUNK.

Having said that, I'll show you a few of the new products

and how they work on this plain 

wooden box.

I know you're going to love the endless possibilities. This showcases the large Pocket Watch, Grungy Butterfly, and Tin Hearts.

These are the Metallique Paints and Opal Magics that I used as well as the some of the Mechanicals and other products on their way and in stores now.

The Royal Red,  Rich Turquoise, Silver Spoon, Dark Velvet, Light Patina, and Steampunk Copper  Art Alchemy-Metalliques, plus Opal Magic Blue-Gold, Aqua-Rose and Green-Gold were my paint selections.

I started with a plain wooden box that I painted with Heavy Black Gesso using the new 1" Silicone Brush. Then I began gluing down my Mechanicals and found objects with Heavy Body Gel. I especially love the ART Mini Knob as the center of the Medium Flower. I wanted the larger ones on the left side of the box.

On the right I used the new Tin Heart, Grungy Butterfly, and Rustic Washers.

The back of the Pocket Watch comes off.  That makes it really easy to decorate the inside. Here I painted a heart with Black Gesso from the new Mixed Media Pack so the Royal Red Metallique paint will show up really well. (Bad shot taken at night..I'm a night owl)

You can see how the piece is progressing with the addition of the Tin Heart, Barn Star, and Rustic Washers. I added a coat of Clear Gesso to most, but not all of the elements, and then started adding Metallique and Opal Magic Paints.

Here's the thing....mica powder based paints and sprays need light to pick up the shine. So you'll see that different angles show a different pick-up of color. Different lighting does the same thing....so just accept that, and take the pictures for what they're worth.

I'm showing you what I see in different settings...Ott light, natural light, sunny day, snowy day, Studio light...they all have different pluses and minuses.

After many layers of different paints and some Inka Golds, this is the finished center section. I used Micro Beads, Glass Glitter and tiny watch parts as filler.

This area has many layers of color added to silver Mechanicals to create contrast.

A more muted background makes them stand out.

On this side, the Tin Heart with a Mini Star really steals the show, but the Grungy Butterfly holds it's own with multiple colors as well. You see some Steampunk Gears and Mini Hardware here, too. 

 I also wanted the blue-green background to stand out more on this side, so the objects are fewer and smaller.

After a few days of looking at this box, I decided it needed a title, some trim and Antique Brass Ornate Feet from Retro Cafe Art Gallery. 

I was thrilled when I found all the letters I needed in my typewriter key stash!!!

And this shows how you can antique your paper German Dresden from Retro Cafe Art Gallery with a coat of Steampunk Copper Metallique and then Black Gesso....removed when slightly dry using a soft cloth. Gotta love it!

(For those in the USA, Retro Cafe Art Gallery is getting the new Mechanicals and Art Alchemy Paints in soon!)

Many of these elements are earlier released Mechanicals you may have on hand. So, get out your stash of found objects, and get to work designing your own 

Work of Steampunk Art.

Be Inspired!

Linda

Art Recipe on Prima

Today on the

Prima Blog

 3 of 

Finnabair's Creative Team Members

create projects with her 

wonderful

NEW

products!

This is mine.....and I"ll tell you how to make it

over at the 

Prima Blog. 

You'll LOVE all the 

features of Finn's 

GORGEOUS

new paints and 

Art Stones.

This is what the Heavy Black Gesso does to a brass charm.

So jump over there,

and take a look at 3 projects

and leave some 

love.

Linda

An Abstract Journal Page

Sometimes we just need to create without a purpose or a title.

Sometimes, it's just nice to be able to play without an end in mind.

That's pretty much what I did here ....

just play and experiment...

do something, and change my mind about doing THAT again

....like it....

then hate it.

Have you been there?!?!

I created this page a while back, but decided to save it. And now I think it's time to share it with you.

So I started with a single kraft-colored page in Finnabair's Mixed Media Spiral Bound Journal.  

First I randomly covered the page with a layer of Heavy White Gesso using an old silicone texture tool.

(Just wait until you see Finnabair's new collection of these brushes.)

Then I added a 3 colors of Golden Heavy Body Acrylic paints, Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine Violet and Titan Buff.  I moved them around with a brush. They are a very high-pigmented paint that has a really vibrant color when applied over a white background. 

I used a couple of tools to draw and make marks in the thick paints before they dried.

When dry, I added White Crackle Paste with the Checker Stencil. 

I wrote some words with calligraphy pens using gold and black ink. Then I used the Flourish Stencil and Turquoise paint to add more stenciling. 

Next I sprayed a bit of Gold Mica Powder+Water and let it drip.  

The next layer is stamps. Here I used the Messy Clear Stamp with Sepia Archival Ink, and the Fishnet Clear Stamp with Jet Black Archival Ink. 

Then I added drops of White Bombay Ink in places, and sprayed with a bit of water. In hindsight, I wish I'd not sprayed the water. It spread and thinned the ink. I liked it better before....live and learn.

In looking at it from a distance, I thought it had the beginnings of a clock face...so my next step was to add more black lines to finish that illusion.

The stamping and drops of white ink were cool, but I took a fine black waterproof pen and highlighted lots of them. 

Not all the squares of Crackle, just some. 

And the Fishnet stamp looked even better when it was outlined.

The Gold spray made it really hard to get a picture without a glare, but this is pretty good.

Actually, like my husband said, "it's really a lot brighter in person."

I edged it with some Black Archival Ink and a sponge applicator and some Copper Inka Gold. 

It makes it even darker, so maybe that is a lesson learned, too.

I share the good, the bad, and the ugly.....well, maybe the ugly goes into the trash, but I shared what I might do differently here to bare my soul.

Your Friend in ART,

Linda

Chunky Dimensional ATCs

I got some time in the Studio yesterday, and made 

2 Chunky Dimensional ATCs from

  Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

These are so much fun, and easy to put together with a bit of glue.

I painted the edges of both with Heavy Black Gesso to create a frame.

This one starts with Collage Sheet- Altered Ledger #89 

with a lady from Vintage Belles on a .75" Chunky ATC.

The black German Dresden trims are Border Baroque Strips and Fleur Strips. 

I used a Large Gold Dresden Crown with some Pink Glitter, and pieces of 

the Antique Rhinestone Chain for her necklace and bracelet. 

The little gold pieces are 3mm Brass Squares.

Watercolors and pen marks are added here and there with a few rubons to finish
it off.

This is the thinnest one at .5" deep. It's hard to see here, but the sides are decorated too.

I used ATC background Collage Sheet Altered Cottage #88 , and added some of the new 

Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallique Paints.

Then I cut out the girl from Christmas Sweeties II Collage, and

   glued the German Dresden Fancy Gold Angel Wings behind her.  

I added some rubons and black rhinestones.

The Ornate Fleur Cut Outs are adorned with Finnabair Glitter

 from the Crimson and Luminous Collections.

Pens and watercolors are added to the background and the girl.

This is the back with Finnabair stamps and some Distress Inks.

Hope you enjoy and are inspired to: 

Create Art!

Linda