Happy 3rd Birthday to Us!!

 

Can you believe that we are celebrating our 3rd birthday?!? How exciting!

I love how our community has grown and our love for mixed media art has developed over the last 3 years. We started with one little article [What is Mixed Media Art?] and have now features dozens of artists and tutorials and projects, all aimed at fulfilling your inner need to create, while NOT spending a fortune on the latest colours or products. We can be creative with a few simple supplies, a little know-how and giving ourselves permission to play and create art! It’s as easy as that!!

And for those of you who still don’t believe me (or in yourself) check back to our article on Dispelling the “I can’t do it” Myths of Creativity!

To celebrate our birthday, I have 3 ephemera kits to give away. To be in the running, leave a comment, telling us how your mixed media art has changed over the last 3 years. My favourite 3 will receive an ephemera kit in the mail.

Mixed Media art ephemera

Comments will close Fri 30 November 2012! Please make sure I can contact you.

Mixed Media Arts Birthday Give-away Winners

And the winners of our first birthday give-away are:

Dekida Hamler and Esther Ward

Dekida says:

I am new to mixed media arts and journaling. I was very hesitant about starting because I cant draw or paint but because of your web site I am now working in three different journals. The instructions given on this site were easy to follow and understand and the examples used were not intimidating at all. Thank You for this Blessing

Esther adds:

happy happy birthday and thank you for the creative life you have given to me at a time when my life had reached a really difficult place. The new ideas and techniques have given me permission to create and rebuild myself and start a new life.

Please contact me with your postal details so I can get those mini-arches off to you. They are looking forward to heading off to their new homes!

Mixed Media Art Mini Arch

As we has so many comments, all of which really captured the essence of Mixed Media Arts, our team has decided to also include a “special mentions” category. These people will receive an Ephemera kit, similar to those we had on Etsy.

Our special mention winners are:
Cherie – “nothing is barred”
Vicki – “Try-it-all attitude”
Cynthia Stevens – “Create anew from things I find”
Trudy – “it’s necessary for me to live”
Sandra Pain – “love the way everything is created. It’s not just die-cuts”
Melissa – “Thank you for being here for a beginner”
Sherri –
I want to.. alter everything in sight and
Lori –
“... has given me that extra boost

Please send us an email through the Contact Us tab at the top of the site!

Thank you to all of your for your contributions. It has certainly made our birthday celebrations all that more special.

Happy creating!

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Mixed Media Canvas from Ephemera Kit

This cute little canvas was made using pieces from Mixed Media Art Ephemera kits, available from our Esty store.

Materials needed, that are not included in the ephemera kits, include 5″ x 7″ canvas panel, paints, an old credit card, a paint brush, PVA glue and a few other embellishments.

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Here are the detailed instructions on how it was put together:

1. Take four of the text pages from the kit and use a ruler to tear into squares, approximately 2″ in size.

Glue these randomly over the canvas board. Make sure they overlap. I used PVA glue as I wanted to make sure it was properly stuck to the board. Smooth out any wrinkles. Leave overnight to dry.

2. Gather violet, fuchsia and white paints and an old credit card.

Apply a little onto on old credit card (or store card) and spread paint down canvas.
Here I used violet

Then fuchsia

Then white

Then mixed white and fuchsia (about 1:1) to get a lighter pink and added it to some areas of canvas

Finally, I added more violet to take away some of the pink. I created very thin wash to add a violet tinge to blank areas of canvas and around edges.

By using a little paint at a time, it dries quickly, making it easier to add the next colour without muddying the outcome. Also by adding a little at a time it is much easier to add more than to try and take it off (speaking from experience here – I am like a bull at the gate most of the time)

3. With the two jigsaw pieces from kit; paint one in violet and one in light pink mix

4. Add white paint to  the violet on the pallet and stamp flower image down left-hand third of canvas. Use a paint brush to add paint to stamp and apply lightly. You may need to stamp onto scrap paper first to get a feel for how much paint you need to apply.

5.  Add purple chord, cutting into two and taping to the back of the canvas – I would usually have left this step until after I had finished the background, but I decided it needed a little more finishing after sticking it on.

6. To increase depth and add some darker features, stamp music and text with Staz-on jet black

7. Using the edge of the credit card, add random lines to corners with black paint – add a little at a time

Now the background is complete.

8. Tear rectangle of tissue, crumble and add white paint with a dry brush. Add to canvas with double sided tape.  Take quote, trim to size and edge white edges with black ink. Stick on top of tissue.

9. Add embellishments with PVA glue. Pink jigsaw piece was edged with purple ink and a rub-on was added.

10. Add other fibres

11. Finish with final touches – this needed some sparkly bits, so I added the rhinestones to the bottom right corner and the small flower to the top left hand side, plus added “enjoy” rub on.

And the final piece.

Thanks for getting to the bottom of this post – sometimes I feel like I have added in too much detail and too many photos, but I want to make sure you understand each step – I hate it when I can’t figure out some parts of the instructions when bits are missing!

Now that you have the inspiration, you have no excuses for not buying your very own MMA Ephemera kit!

Happy creating! We would love to see your own creations too!

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Mixed Media Art Ephemera Kits

The Mixed Media Arts team are excited to announce we have ephemera kits for sale on Etsy! Each kit contains a heap of items, including 7 different text sheets, fibres and an array of embellishments – all perfect for creating a huge array of mixed media art or adding to your mixed-media collection.

This mixed media canvas (5″x7″) was made by Michelle, using items from the ephemera kit – and there are still lots of pieces left for another project. Detailed instruction on making this canvas are available here: Mixed Media Canvas.

So come and have a look at our Esty store

Happy Creating!

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