Mixed Media Monday

Welcome to Mixed Media Monday! Each week, I share a mixed media layout and include the instructions. The instructions contain the steps to make the project and contain any tips and tricks I have picked up along the way. If you ever have any questions about techniques or products that I used to make this layout, leave a note in the comments and I will get back to you. I know that mixed media can be intimidating but I think of it as a creative adventure. Yes, it requires practice and patience but the rewards are worth it - I promise! 

Today, I'm sharing the supplies and instructions I used to make this layout.





Supplies:

Prima Art Basic Heavy Gesso
Prima Art Basics Double Sided Texture Brushes
Prima Harlequin Stencil
Prima Heavy Gel
Prima Texture Powder
Prima Mixed Media Silicon Brush or palette knife
Prima Color Bloom Sprays
Cheese cloth
Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Canson Watercolor paper
 
1. Gesso paper. I used the Prima Mixed Media Silicon Brush to gesso the watercolor paper that I used as a background. I like to use the Prima Heavy Body Gesso but you can use whatever gesso you have on hand.

2. Make marks in the wet gesso. I used the Prima Art Basics Double Sided Texture Brushes to make marks in the wet gesso. You can dry all kinds of shapes and create lots of different textures. If you don't have these brushes, that's ok! Use whatever you have on hand. I like to use bamboo skewers, bubble wrap and scraps of old cardboard to make marks. Set aside to dry or dry with a heat gun.



3. Mix Heavy Body Gel with Texture Powder. I like to make my mixture in equal parts. This produces a gritty paste that has lots of texture when dry.

4. Apply texture paste through a stencil. I used my silicon brush and pulled my mixture through the Prima Harlequin stencil. Then I set it aside to dry. You can use a heat gun to dry it if you want but it creates a puffy texture like I had on last week's layout. If you set it aside to dry, there is no puffiness. It creates a totally different texture. You can see it in the closeup below.



5. Spray with spray ink. I like to use the Prima Color Bloom sprays. They have a fixative in the formula which makes them stick to surfaces like glass and plastic and gel mediums - like the heavy gel I used in this layout. I sprayed Sunshine, Yellow Mustard and Sorbet along the edges and Soft Teal, Glistening Waves and Summer Sky to create the blue section in the middle. Set aside to dry.

6. Embellish. While my background was drying, I layered various Prima papers behind my photos. I crumpled the papers to create extra texture and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink.  I sprayed a piece of cheesecloth with Summer Sky Color Bloom and dried it with a heat gun. Then I added some thread and glued everything place.







I really love the different texture you can create with Prima's new Heavy Body Gel and Texture Powder. They are products that I am happy to have in my stash because they help me use what I already have like stencils and spray inks.

If you have any questions about supplies or techniques used to make this page, please leave a note in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie