Kanzashi Pom Pom Flower (by Anne)

Today I am sharing another of my Kanzashi flower experiments. I used Powertex to create a mini vase and to coat a polystyrene ball which I then covered with fabric and tiny silk Kanzashi flowers.

The Kanzashi flowers were made by folding tiny 15mm squares of silk to create little fabric petals.

The petals were arranged into flowers covering the polystyrene ball.

I pushed a twisted wire (coated with florist tape) into the base of a small polystyrene ball – gluing with a little Powertex. I then covered the ball with strips of Powertex treated silk and dried before adding the tiny silk flowers.

The mini vase was made with the inner card tube from a kitchen foil roll. I added pads of foil to build out the shape and covered with masking tape. I then coated it with strips of Powertex treated silk and secured the wire into the top. I stuffed the middle of the tube with cotton wool to give stability and a bit of weight. I dry brushed over the texture using metallic acrylic paint and  then covered with tiny flowers and faux gems.

I painted the little flowers with transparent Powertex using a small brush. The fine silk soaks it up easily.

Materials:

• Transparent Powertex
• Polystyrene ball (approx. 1.5 inch diameter)
• Twisted copper wire wrapped with florist tape (to make stem)
• Recycled sari silk strips (variegated greens, pinks, browns)
• Kitchen foil card inner tube
• Kitchen foil and masking tape (to build out pot shape)
• Cotton wool (stuffing)
• Faux gems and flat backed pearls
• Acrylic paint (metallic pink) and glitter glue (green)

Technology - enabler or thief?

Hello there

Over the summer I got to spend time with some of the younger members of our family and their friends.

It was lovely to get some playtime or so I thought. They all arrived armed with their latest ‘couldn’t be without’ gadgets ps3, ipads, mums iPhone to name but a few.After a fizzy drink and piece of cake they all found their own comfy spot and went on to conquer their own digital universes!!!

I was all ready for crafting, mud pies to beat Mary Berry into submission, rose petal perfume that Dior would die for, French skipping, British bulldog and hopscotch to name but a few.

What would these small people do if this was all taken away, would they find their inner creative and start inventing new games or revisit the ones I played as a child.








So it raised a question in my mind - Technology - is it an enabler or a thief of innocent childhood pastimes? Which in turn inspired this piece of artwork.











Using the beautiful rice papers from Powertex UK - hop onto the website here and have a look at the amazing range that is now available there really is something for everyone.

Along with Ivory Powertex, bisters, lace embellishments and the inner gubbins of an old computer destined to be crushed.


















I worked out my frustration at being cheated out of a game of tig and came to the conclusion that yet again it is all about balance, there is a time and a place for both

Happy creative adventures

Annette

PowerWax

What's all the fuss about this PowerWax I hear you say? 

Well, imagine a manufacturer bringing out one single product which, when combined with many other products from your stash will give you a beautiful water based wax to use with your mixed media work? How silly, surely they could make much more money if they premixed it with pigments etc and sold you LOADS of different colours? 

Well that's not how Powertex works they have gone and produced that one product with so many uses, you can mix it with pigments, paints, and micas from your stash. You can use it on furniture, canvas, mixed media work, statues to name just a few. You can wash it off your hands and tools with warm soapy water. It's environmentally friendly. It contains no VOCs.

What's not to love about it?

So how do we get started? 

Well rather than me witter on here's an instruction sheet I wrote up earlier

There's a YouTube video too!

Have fun! TraceyX

Some of you will remember that for our Hochanda show in August we had some incredible rice papers available, well it has taken a while but we are now the proud UK stockists of the full range of By Creative rice papers! We have been very excited here at HQ and I've been itching to get creating with some of the papers but........ there are so many to choose from!

I started by painting my canvas with Ivory Powertex and then used this enchanting Victorian photograph which I laid over the new Powertex handwriting silk paper, I love how the writing came through the image. I applied the papers and sealed each layer with Easycoat mat, there is a tutorial showing you how I apply rice paper on YouTube.

 

I then painted around my image with Black Powertex, I applied some scraps of music paper at this stage but you will see by the end that I ended up covering them up.

Once everything was dry I added StoneArt, 3D Sand and Powertex mixture and Easy 3D Flex in a fairly random way. I also added some fabric and MDF inclusions for detail. Once I was happy with this layer I sprayed with red and yellow bister

Once the bister was dry I began to wipe it away from the areas I wanted to lighten.

I used 3D sand mixed with pigments and Powertex to add some stencilled words. I then used PowerWax mixed with pigments to add soft colour to the texture. There is a quick tutorial showing the basics of using the Powerwax on Youtube

I also added a subtle hint of extra colour to the image using my PowerWax and pigments

I then left the piece overnight, as much as I liked the softer pretty shades when I was touching up the edges of the canvas with my black Powertex just I knew that I needed to darken the bottom of my piece so I got out my black bister and hey presto!

I will need to do a little more blending but I feel much happier with the overall look however we all know that our work is never truly complete and the beauty of Powertex is that we can totally transform our work by adding different pigments, wax or maybe even using some of our new acrylic inks... inks..... now there's a thought... I will keep you posted! Tracey XX

Aphrodite’s Kiss Notebook Covers (by Anne)

I have been having a little play with the gorgeous Cassiopeia and Aphrodite’s Kiss stamps from Anna. They are stunners.

I stamped and heat embossed in black or gold embossing powder and coloured with various gel pens (glitter, metallic, glaze).

I used them to decorate a couple of small cheap notebooks – love my newly adorned books now.

I did a bit of freehand doodling around the edges with a fine tipped marker.

These are gorgeous stamps simply used in the traditional way. The textures and patterns give scope for so much more too. Great for pressing texture into Powertex clay. Off to have a play x.

Octobers shiniest star

Our shiniest star of the month for October went to tutor Jill Cullum. Social media can be a massive challenge at times. It takes a lot to learn and discover the techniques to reach people. Jill made a fabulous start this month with her Instagram and the hq team felt she deserved the recognition for this.

Jill Cullum is a Certified Level 3 Tutor who offers fun and friendly workshops in the Grimsby/Cleethorpes/Scunthorpe area including villages inbetween. Jill has crafted for many years in various crafts and is now pleased to offer workshops using Powertex.

Jill is very busy out and about teaching various workshops in her area under her business Purple Meadow Art & crafts. She also manages to fit in the odd fair here and there too, displaying her beautiful works of art and sharing the wonders of Powertex. 

A variety of workshops Jill teaches include funky fish.

Mixed media Mirrors.

And these adorable little gnomes.

Here are a few more works of art from Jill. I think the little dog has got to be one of my favourites. If you fancy trying your hand at a workshop, visit our website Powertex UK for tutors in your area. 

Toodles Anna xXx

Fi Potter's Powertex Hat

Hi there long time no see!

I took a nice break and enjoyed 2 weeks in Cornwall in September and October just seemed to disappear!  Then November came along with a fabulous Hobby show at the NEC and I had a great time with the Powertex UK team demonstrating all kinds of texy things.

There was a lot of interest in the hat I bought along to alter with Powertex and so as promised here is a quick step by step photo story of how this old felt trilby was transformed into a bit of goth type magic. 

I started with a selection of fabrics and added MDF, Plaster and sand embellishments.

Once it was dry I added a variety of pigments to give it colour and to bring out all the fabulous textures.

It really was a great project to make and I wore it the following weekend at Ministry of Mixology, Coventry and here is the finiished hat.

Products used were all Powertex:

• Black Fabric Hardener
• Powertex UK MDF embellishments
• Powertex 3D Sand balls in small, medium and large
• Easy Varnish
• Powercolor Pigments - Burgundy, Ultramarine and White
• Colortricx - Pearl

Have fun and happy 'Texing

Bye for now

Fi

Tutors Halloween Challenge

Well, Halloween came and went ever so quickly. It seems the days are flying past quicker than I can get all my jobs done. But I haven't forgotten about our tutor challenge. So without further a do here are the pictures of the tutors ideas for Halloween.

The team at Powertex UK Hq thought they were all fantastic but there can be only one winner...

It was a tough decision to make...

As you can see the range of ideas was superb.

 But we went with this little guy...

Well done to Rachel Angela Pullen. Who will be winning a bottle of her favourite colour Powertex. Toodle pip Anna xXx