Rosie's Room

Show & Tell

This is the first mixed media page I made. I made this a little more than a year ago, back on February 5, 2014.

I'll try to explain what I did to make this page.  I created a number key so it'll be easier (I hope) to understand what went into making the page.  The page measures 8-1/2 X 11 inches and the paper I used was the cheapie Georgia Pacific cardstock that you can buy at Walmart.  Boy, did I learn my lesson to never use that paper again if I'm going to be working on it with wet media, like paints.  Here's the same photo only this time I englarged it so you can see the areas my number key describes...

1.  You always have to start your page by creating your background.  I used various Distress Paints (Tim Holtz, Ranger) and using a makeup sponge dabbed the paint through various stencils. I kept layering paint/stencils on top of each other until my background paper was completely filled in with color.

2.  Next I pushed molding paste (Liquitex) through stencils on various parts of the background paper to add some texture to the page.  When working with mixed media creating texture is a key objective. Texture adds visual interest to a mixed media project.  The modeling paste is white and it dries white so I went over the raised areas with a paint brush and the same colors of Distress Paints I used before.

3.  I then took some of my stamps from my stash and randomly stamped over the background paper hoping to add more visual interest to the page.  I used Archival Inks (Ranger) for stamping because Archival Inks are waterproof.  (aka: permanent when dry)

4.  I had what I thought was the ugliest pattern paper ever made in my stash.  But the colors used to print the paper wasn't objectionable.  It was some paper that was a part of a scrapbook paper pack I bought a gazillion years ago and never used (for obvious reasons, ha ha) but for some reason never threw away.  I fussy cut that paper into flower petal and leaf shapes and because it was so ugly I had to give it some love so I also cut heart shapes. Then I took a white Signo Uniball pen and doodled over those cut shapes.  I wanted to obliterate the pattern of that ugly paper but not the colors that it was printed with.  The vase, however, was a different paper and that was a pretty paper, a simple polka dot pattern.

5.  Next I stamped a sentiment onto another piece of white card stock painted with the Distress Paints and I added some texture to that piece of paper as well, again going through a stencil with molding paste and again lightly painting over the paste with the Distress Paints.  I used a corner punch to take the hard edges of the paper away as this was an organic design and removing the hard edges works better with the design.

6.  I punched some paper from my scrap box using a Martha Stewart punch and glued that onto the background paper using it as a border of sorts.  The punched "border" pieces also add texture to the page and a little more visual interest.

7.  I try very hard to remember to add the date I completed a page!

Here are some close-ups of the page...

Because my blog is new I will show you my "old" work in this way and my "new" work with more step-by-step photos.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing my very first mixed media page.  And THANKS for stopping by!