Lizzy introduces us to "UTEE"

Hey there! Do you know Utee? Nope, it's not a person! It stands for Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel....& it's just that. It comes in a range of colours, but I only have the clear one. I really like the thick, glossy effect it gives when heat set. 

Here's how I used it for a simple Chrissy tag, using up some BUTTONS.

 The crystals are MUCH coarser than 'normal' heat embossing powders & you're best to heat set from UNDERNEATH so they don't blow off everywhere!

Above is a sample, but for this tag, I mixed some normal Gold embossing powder in with the UTEE, to get the effect below:

 I used a damp piece of old foam spritzed with Heidi's spray colours to colour the manila tag [which was also lightly dampened with water]...

these are the TRUE colors, below...

 ...for some reason, the rest of the photos turned out wishy-washy colour wise....??? Who KNOWS!!!

Poked the holes through when I popped my buttons into the places they looked 'right'...

  My trickster way of attaching threads! I mean....knots to tie thread? That would be, like, waaay too hard for this sewer-hater! Besides, this was heading to being attached to the front of a card, so no-one will see the back.

IF it's going to be a 'stand alone' tag, then you just need to thread the button first, tie a knot behind the button, & then use a hot glue gun or strong PVA glue to attach to your tag. Or not even USE thread. They look nice just as they are, too:)

 A bit of diagonal washi tape for pop.....& it's finished. Simple, neat, easy, effective AND a stash buster for a few more of those buttons!!!! Hope this inspires your creativity in one way or t'other...

...& can I just wish you, one and all, a most amazing, wonderful, joyful, peaceful, fun & happy Christmas....

BLESSINGS to each & everyone one of you out there ~ Lizzy ♥♥♥

Mixed Media Inspiration with Catie

Hi Everybody!

Catie here, with some mixed media inspiration in the form of a canvas I recently created.

First up (after priming my canvas with gesso) I used some Design Memory Craft Faber Castell Whipped Spackle.  This stuff is AMAZING!  It's a kind of texture paste, but is a smoother, lighter consistency, that is a little more flexible when it's dry. I used it with this burlap stencil, and loved the effect it gave.

Next I used some bubble wrap to imprint the whipped spackle while it was still damp.

I dried it off, then used some watered down glimmermist to start adding some colour.

And of course, I couldn't go without gelatos!

Then I started adding more colour with Dylusions spray inks.  I think I lost the yellow from the gelatos in the end, because I got carried away with making peacock type colours with the inks, but that's the beauty of mixed media - there is no wrong!

Next, I stamped some peacock feathers, and coloured them with Dylusions inks.  I love the shimmer that these mists have in them.  I fussy cut the feathers to layer up on the canvas.  The other thing I love about the Dylusions inks is how far they 'go'.  I'd spray on the canvas, add some water, and blend, add a little more water, and suddenly it would pick up surrounding colour from stray droplets around the area, and create even more rich colour to play with!

To create more texture in the background, I've used tissue paper, punchinella, plasterer's tape, sequins, gauze, a fabric doily (which I coloured with glimmermist and Dylusions), some feathers I found in my stash, in peacock-type colours and some metallic thread.  I used Mod Podge to stick all this down - I think my hands were covered in more materials than the canvas at one point!!

So, you can see how I've continued to layer up colours and textures til I was happy with what I had in front of me.  I also used some Liquitex gel medium over the inks, which gave a glossy sheen and really brought out the colours, as you can see in the bottom right image of the collage below. 

  

The whole point to this canvas was to work around a stamped image of a postcard that I wanted to use as the centre piece. I built up my background around the postcard, and then looked up some creative-type quotes, as this canvas was to be a gift to a lovely scrappy-friend.  The quote I used is by Robert Henri "The object isn't to make art; it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable".

Here are a couple more close ups for you....

and the finished product!

 

I hope this has given you some inspiration.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Thanks for looking :)

Catie xo