All Things Stampy: Mixed media underwater scene with By The Tide

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Mixed media underwater scene with By The Tide

Here’s another mixed media project – I do hope you like these as I have several more to come!

Bit of a long story this one but, at the weekend, some of my stamping friends (many of whom are in my team) were due to go on a crafting retreat. Unfortunately, the organiser had to cancel due to family problems, which was awful for her, and also left us at a bit of a loose end... all geared up and nowhere to craft.

Happily, one of my crafty friends came to the rescue and offered her house as an alternative venue. Much scrabbling around ensued and we put together a hasty plan.

Can I tell you that when eight creative ladies are given a week and a half to plan a crafty retreat, they will most definitely step up to the plate? We soon had more inflatable beds than we needed, more craft projects than we could fit in and enough food to feed an army!

Jacqui was keen to use up some MDF plaques she’d had for a while, and suggested that we try texture paste on them. This rather put me on the spot… hence my dabble with mixed media last week. But it worked out ok and we each produced two plaques using various techniques. It was interesting to see how the plaques reflected the different personalities. Some people were a little out of their comfort zone but everyone had a go and soon got into the swing of things.

Due to a surfeit of food, we cancelled a planned meal out on the Saturday evening, which was a good thing in the end, as we all ended up with VERY inky fingers!

Anyway, here’s (roughly) how I created my fishy plaque:

We’d previously given all the plaques a coat of paint. This one was done in cheap white acrylic and allowed to dry overnight. A shortage of brushes (I forgot to mention that paintbrushes were needed) meant this one was done with quite a coarse brush, leaving brushmarks, but they are all part of the finished design.
I painted some colour on, using Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana and Wild Wasabi reinkers mixed with a tiny amount of water.
The Island Indigo is REALLY intense and I panicked. But then I decided to squirt it with water and rub it a little with some kitchen roll, and it miraculously came good. I applied Silver Encore ink around the edge of the plaque, using the ink pad direct to the wood.
I stamped the background with By The Tide (Mossy Meadow) and Summer Silhouettes (Island Indigo). I stamped the words from By The Tide and the tiny flower from Summer Silhouettes in Silver Encore ink.
The seahorses are stamped onto Whisper White cardstock and sponged with Calypso Coral and So Saffron ink. I cut them out, complaining all the while, because I really hate cutting out little things.
Next came the texture paste, which I made myself (1 part white glue, 1 part white paint, 2 parts cornflour). It probably could have done with more paint, as it’s a little translucent, but I quite like the effect. I used the polka dot stencil from the Banner Kit and deliberately made rough circles.
Once this was dry (it only takes a few minutes), I added the words, from various stamp sets, stamped onto Whisper White and stuck on.
I felt I needed some red colour adding, so stamped some more weeds around the bottom.
Then I blinged it all up with some sequins and rhinestsones.
Finally, I gave the whole lot a coat of Mod Podge, to seal it. This was the only non-SU product (other than the plaque) used in the whole project and, no, you can’t use Tombow because when Tombow dries, it stays tacky so you can use it as a temporary adhesive.
No stopping for a cup of tea after this one! Nope, it was straight onto the next, for something completely different...