My projects from the Mixed Media Circus...part one

Five workshops during the Mixed Media Circus means also five projects to show!
I didn't finish all the projects during the workshops. Sometimes because of a lack of time, sometimes because I wasn't sure about what to do next. I decided to think about next steps later when I got home.

The first workshop was about image transfers to a pillowcase. A new technique for me...my fingertips are still suffering from rubbing of the paper.

 Step one:

Transferring the image of a Graphic 45 paper onto the pillowcase with gel medium.

Step two:

Add layers of stamps, paint and glimmermist.

Step three:

Stamping with glimmermist as an adhesive for the UTEE powder.

Step four:

Add a piece of cord. I decided to make the word 'Grow' with it.

The second workshop of day one was all about layers.

We got a big piece of paper (forgot the name..sorry..), gesso-ed it on both sides and added several layers of paint with stencils, handdrawn details and finished with a black and white layer.

I painted both sides only I didn't finish the other side with black and white details...and I forgot to take a picture...

Julie showed us how to fold the paper into a booklet. I decided to leave it this way. My first intention was to use the paper to create a cover for my altered A4-sized journal. But I did something else with it...so keep reading and you will find out at the end of this post!

Day two started with the so-called 'Entrance of the gladiators': two workshops, two teachers with in each workshop the same materials! We got a canvas, bookpaper, scrapbookpaper, grungeboard and metal embellishments.

In both workshops we created a layer of bookpaper first and than added a layer of acrylic paint. In Nat's workshop we created this layer with a stencil. In Julie's workshop we had to paint our own designs.

This is my canvas after Nat's workshop:

I was a little bit pigheaded here. I collage a piece of the paperbag of the metal embellishments too..In the meantime I was eating one of those unforgetable magnificent cupcakes and decided to collage a piece of the papernapkin with the beautiful flowerdesign too...Talking about mixed media, huh?!

I didn't add the grungeboard die cuts, nor a picture and the metal embellishments. No time.

This is my canvas, halfway Julie's class:

And the result at the end of the class:

I learned some more about NOT painting in between the lines...which was way out of my comfort zone! But I loved how it turned out!

No embellishments here either...wanted to think some more about a next step.

In the afternoon we had the grand final: a workshop by both teachers, all about techniques to create backgrounds. We painted, gesso-ed, put layers of gel medium and tin foil on scrapbookpaper. We added glimmermist, chalkboard, pan pastels, more paint etc. We were challenged to use all the techniques we learned during the workshops before. We glued pieces of these backgrounds in a manila folder book, handmade by Julie, to create a great reference book for future projects.

One of the techniques was to paint your own embellishments on a piece of paper. I put some of these on the cover of my book and added some doodled letters:

Julie and Nat left a personal message on each book too: 

And than I got home, looked at all my projects and wondered what to do with them...I wanted to create a memory of this great weekend and combine all the pieces together.

This is what I did:

The pillowcase became a cover, just by folding it in half.

I used the opening on the other side (now inside) of the pillowcase as pockets for my reference book and the journal I created with the other projects:

I cut the canvases from their wooden frames and folded these in half too, to create a pocket.

The big painted piece of paper from Julie's first workshop was cut into pieces in the same size as the canvases and folded too.

So I got four pockets! I binded these with my Bind It All.

I created some big tags of leftover scrapbookpapers from the workshop to put inside the pockets. I added little tabs with the scraps of the big painted paper. 

I kept all my receipts, boarding passes, traintickets, cards and more of this trip to Hamburg to fill the album, together with a lot of pictures!

I'm waiting now for my printed pictures to arrive and hopefully I can finish the album soon.

Of course I will show you these results in part two!

TFL!

Sandra