Art Nouveau Canvas

Art Nouveau Canvas by Liz Dixon

Hi Everyone.  Have you seen the beautiful new rice papers & all the lovely MDF shapes that Powertex UK now have in stock?  I couldn't wait to get making as there are so many Mixed Media possibilities (as if there weren't enough already within the Powertex range!!)

I particularly love the Art Nouveau papers - elegant ladies in flowing gowns, which go perfectly with the swirls & curls of the Acanthus MDF shapes.

The canvas was given a base layer of Ivory Powertex & once dry, the Rice Paper was applied with Easy Coat Mat.

I raided my stencil collection & added texture to the canvas & MDF using Easy Structure, before getting busy with the Bisters.  The Rice paper was a great place to start for colour palette inspiration!

Paper trim, more MDF, paper flowers & some self-coloured Stone Art clay Ivy leaves completed the complilation, before dry brushing with Easy Varnish & Colourtrix Pigments 

I wonder what your Powertex inspiration will be today?

Fantasy Sea Shore Canvas (by Anne)

I simply love Powertex for creating mixed media. It enables you to sculpt fabric and to create 3D embellishments – the possibilities are endless.

I simply adore the sea but unfortunately I couldn’t live further away from the seaside. I had so much fun creating this one and disappeared into a fantasy world of sea, sand, fossils and shells. So much scope for texture.

I recycled an old cotton scarf and a bit of old potato sack, created extra texture using sand and balls, and even created the fossils using moulds with Powertex clay.

I hope that you like my fantasy sea shore.

Walk like an Egyptian!

When we all saw the 'wonderful things' Egyptian collection bought out by Powertex Uk. It was like being at a fireworks display! The ooooo's and the ahhhhhhh's. And then when we all saw the samples together in training they just got progressively louder. 

I think this has to be my favourite theme so far and Tracey put some cracking products together. From rice papers, to mdf shapes, moulds, plaster busts, rubber stamps and more! So without further a do here are some of the luscious Egyptian pieces of art created. Toodle pip Anna xXx

HALLOWEEN IS COMING!!

30 x 30 Mixed media canvas 

I used Powertex lead with 3D Sand for the texture

A plaster skull , an acanthus leaf,  a plaster scroll, an MDF keyplate, 

3D balls and items from an embellishment pack

Adding a black glass pearl to the eye socket of this SKULL 

and a few flat backed crystals added a bit of glamour!

I pressed the "THE END" stencil into my sandy paste.

I have to admit I'm a little bit in love with the texture you can get 

when combining Powertex universal medium with 3D Sand

Don't forget we have CERTIFIED TUTORS who can help you achieve something like this.

Can't wait to see your creations!

CAN MIXED MEDIA BE USEFUL?

I love it when you can have a bit of mixed media fun whilst 

making something you can actually use in your home. 

You can buy the base for these Egyptian pyramid MDF bookends, they are really simple to put together and the included cartouche and Bastet cat are just perfect for adding to the Egyptian theme.

I used the Egyptian rice paper along the edges and a touch of gold pigment around the edges.

Any of the Powertex UK Certified Tutors will be happy for you to make 

your own version of these on a workshop.

Find your nearest one HERE

Adjustable Kanzashi Flower Ring (by Anne)

Today I am sharing a pretty little adjustable Kanzashi flower ring created using fine printed cotton fabric which has been treated with Transparent Powertex to stiffen and protect it. Treating with Powertex adds strength and protects against dirt. Ideal for jewellery pieces.

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing Kanzashi flower making but most are using synthetic ribbons which are joined and sealed by melting. I used instructions from Gina-B Silkworks. Gina’s method is the traditional Japanese way using natural fabrics (silk or cotton). Being natural fibres these little flowers are simply ideal for treating with Powertex. Ready-made silk flowers could work very well too.

Really pretty and comfortable to wear (sorry that my hands are older crafters hands and not modelling quality - tee hee).

The ring is adjustable so easy fitting.

I coloured the back to match the wire colour. You can also see the adjustable ring form more easily in this pic - the backing and flower being secured to one of the flat wire coils.

Note: One thing to consider when using transparent Powertex is how it will affect the colour of the fabric. It will considerably darken many fabrics, giving them the appearance of their colour when wet. Always test out a spare scrap first so as not to be disappointed. The printed cotton that I used here changed very little in colour so I was really pleased with the result.

Tools and Materials:

• Transparent Powertex
• Powertex Easy Structure
• Kanzashi Flower Making Starter Kit (includes instructions, fabrics and starch glue)
• 2.1mm aluminium wire (Artistic Wire - Anodized Rose)
• Ring mandrel
• Round nosed jewellery pliers and flush wire cutters
• Nylon jewellery hammer and steel block
• PVA glue (fast grab/tacky glue), Gemtac Glue (sticks glass, plastic or metal gems & beads to fabric)
• Small metal brad (for flower centre)
• Small wooden flat backed dome (or use a small disc of thick card/MDF)
• Starlight acrylic paint (or varnish to match with wire)

How it was made:

1. I got the Kanzashi flower supplies from Gina-B Silkworks and used directions in her starter kit to make the seven petal rainbow flower. Basically little fabric squares are folded to make petals. The raw edges of the petals are then placed in thick Kanzashi starch to hold their shape while making up the petals and building the flower. The petals are then glued to a base piece of cotton using PVA glue and left to dry overnight. Excess fabric on the base is then snipped away. I glued a small metal brad into the centre with Gemtac glue. Sorry that I am unable to give full instructions here for the flower as the specifics of this flower design belong to Gina.
2. To make the adjustable ring I wrapped the wire around a ring mandrel and tapped the wire lightly with the hammer to work harden the ring structure. A nylon hammer helps protect against stripping off the coloured coating.
3. I trimmed the wire and made a small curl on one side using the round nosed pliers. On the other side I made a larger curl, big enough to sit the flower onto the front and the wooden cabochon onto the back. I worked hardened and slightly flattened the wire curls using the hammer and steel block.
4. I added a coat of clear Powertex to the back/base of the flower and wooden cabochon and left until touch dry. I then added another coat of Powertex (as a glue) and used Powertex Easy Structure to fill the voids in the wire curl, attaching the wooden cabochon to the back and flower to the front of the larger wire curl, and left it to cure overnight. The Easy Structure paste makes a nice solid bridge holding everything securely onto the back and front of the wire curl. A little Stone Art Clay would also work. Note: If you don’t have a suitable wooden cabochon a thick card/board or MDF shape could be substituted. I would advise an absorbent natural material for a strong bond with the Powertex. It also needs to be smooth so as not to scratch or irritate the skin when wearing.
5. I then painted the cabochon and flower with Transparent Powertex, working it well into the fabric flower and crevices with a brush. Tip: If you find that you have big blobs or pools of Powertex use a piece of cotton rag to lightly dab and mop up the excess, or it can dry giving shiny blobby areas which will spoil the natural look and texture of the fabric flower. Leave to dry.
6. Finally I painted the back of my cabochon attachment and flower base using Starlight acrylic paint. The colour match was simply perfect for the metallic pink wire that I used. If you are using copper, silver or gold plated wires you could paint with Colortricx pigment and Easy Varnish instead (to coordinate with your wire).

Powertex treatment has made this delicate fabric flower ring much more robust and protected against dirt – a more functional piece of jewellery. For further protection and full waterproofing you could add a final coat of Easy Varnish.

Augusts Star of the month for our tutors goes to..........

Every month a Powertex UK tutor who has added an extra bit of sparkle to their step receives a reward. August's star of the month award was very special as it went to Patricia and David Williams. And we are about to show you why with their story.....

 We were left in anticipation for the build-up which was quite frankly the worst tease, but it was definitely worth the wait. Come on you guys let us know what’s under the blue tarp!

And then we were all blown away after 2 months of hard work and weeks of teasing. We were introduced to the ‘Bride of the Forest’ .

Patricia said ‘She was created for The Brinklow Scarecrow Festival this weekend to promote the wonderful uses of Powertex. We will be having a stand on the village green as well as our bride on the Scarecrow Trail’.

Go give Patricia's facebook page some love......

She was treated with Powertex and painted using Powertex colours. Cher our mannequin was procured with the help of our Team leader and mentor Annette Smyth. The cheeky Pixie peeping out from her dress was made by Dave. The Shy Boy (Thomas Oliver) I made from clothes worn by our grandsons. Robyn and Rose the cute little bears are wearing our Granddaughters first Babygro’s. All other things came from our crafty Stash.

I think you will agree that the prize was well deserved after all the hard work that Patricia and Dave put in. Well done guys she is absolutely stunning! What a fantastic project and more proof of the versatility of the Powertex the universal medium we love! 

Dave and his wife Patricia are Level One Certified Tutors for CV21-CV23. And they produce some stunning work as you can see.You can find details of all Powertex tutors across the uk at Powertex UK Toodle pip Anna xXx

Inspired by leftover wallpaper?

Hello there

Did you read the latest Powertex newsletter and see the top tip for September was to use leftover wallpaper within your Powertex creations.....

Well it got me thinking about how useful that would be to create a really quick Halloween canvas

Here I used some leftover brickwork wallpaper and adhered this to my canvas with Easy Coat Mat varnish .  I then created a thick clay with Ivory Powertex and 3D Sand  

Using the new stencil "The End", I applied Easy structure paste through the bottom left skull image and once dry applied colour  to the clay and image using pigments and Easy Varnish   

The words were added by stippling the ivory powertex through the stencil once everything else was dry.

What wallpaper do you have that could inspire you?

Bye for now

Annette x

UPCYCLED CABINET TO EGYPTIAN TREASURE

UPCYCLED CABINET TO EGYPTIAN TREASURE

This cabinet had served us well in our spare bedroom but had become redundant when we redecorated however I still loved the design and the shape of the legs so I hadn't let it go

 and thank goodness I hadn't because when it came to finding interesting surfaces 

for creating for our Egyptian themed shows it was a perfect candidate. 

It was an incredibly difficult item to take photographs of so I have included the one above which was taken on the show and then below I have included snapshots of individual areas. 

You will see I have used lots of different techniques, Powertex products, MDF pieces, the 

"Wonderful Things"stencil and rice papers to get the effects I wanted. 

You can find the whole range on our WEBSITE

For help to achieve similar results yourself you can also find your nearest TUTOR HERE

If you are looking for a business opportunity and you think you would 

make a good tutor please send us some information about yourself and where you live and 

we will get back to you with the details you need EMAIL