Jack and Sarah - The end of a wonderful year

Hi Everyone

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and have a very Peaceful New Year.

So we are at the end of what has been an amazing year for Jack and Sarah, but what did happen on New Years Eve??? (if you're not up to date with the story check back on our previous blogs)


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JACK

19:30 - gets into his pre booked car and heads to the Empire State Building, checking his pocket three times to ensure the ring is safely inside.

19:45 - Arrives at the main entrance and heads for the lifts to the Observation deck to meet the minister and make those last minute checks ensuring everything is as he wants it to be for his girl.


20:05 - He waits patiently for Sarah to arrive after all it is customary for the bride to be late.


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SARAH

19:00 - slips into her designer dress and sits in front of the mirror to apply her makeup and put the finishing touches to her hair.

19:30 - Gets into her pre booked car heading for the event that could change her life

20:00 - Arrives and steps out of the car and heads for the entrance stopping only at the cloakroom on her way in to check for any last minute fixes.

20:15 - As she sweeps into the Ballroom of the Australian Embassy for the masquerade ball, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirrored walls. She really was turning into an Ice Maiden with a heart of stone. Still this was her fourth year of doing this, and although this last year with Jack had been fun, she quite fancied being wined and dined down under next year, she just had to choose the next victim wisely!

(BET YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THAT!!)

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This was created on a polystyrene swan neck covered in Powertex lead and Stone Art.  The Snowflake detail was made using Easy structure and dusted with black, silver and Powerpearl pigments.  The headband is a piece of corrugated cardboard painted with lead Powertex and then easy structure detail was added.

The hair was built up using gauze and black Powertex.

The makeup was designed and applied by the very talented Amber Young using black, white and powerpearl pigments with easy varnish and gloss varnish on the lips.

The plastic icicles, false eyelashes and stone bling were all added using easy varnish.

Thats all for this year folks hope you've enjoyed this creative adventure and i look forward to bringing your more projects next year.


Axx

Improving Mental Well Being the Arty Way

Whether you feel you have any artistic talent or not, we were all born with the need to express ourselves in whatever form that may take. I believe that creative expression benefits our brains and our mental health, making us happier, healthier people. Read these 5 ways art makes a difference: 

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1. Stress Relief

Creating artwork provides a distraction that gives our brain a break from the norm. Activities like painting, sculpting and drawing are relaxing and rewarding – lowering stress levels and leaving us feeling mentally clearer and calmer.

We’ve all been in ‘the zone’ when we get totally immersed in a creative project? This focuses our mind and pushes aside all worries, we’re concentrating on the art and don’t have time to think about the bills, it acts like meditation.

2. Creative Thinking

Art enhances our problem-solving skills, encouraging creative thinking so that we come up with our own solutions. This alternative thinking also stimulates our brain to grow new neurons. We can use art to stimulate the brain, like exercises that use our senses in new and novel ways.

3. Boost Self-Esteem

We all proudly display our children’s artwork on the fridge and we should do the same for our own artwork too! The ‘happy hormone’ dopamine has been shown to stimulate the creation of new neurons and prepare our brain for learning. Craft hobbies like knitting, quilting, sewing, drawing, photography, sculpture, woodwork, gardening and even home DIY all increase our levels of dopamine, ward off depression and protect our brain from aging.

4. Quality of Life for Dementia Patients

I’m a firm believer that music and art can enhance cognitive abilities and memory for people with dementia. Dementia is not just about memory loss, patients also experience agitation, aggression, anxiety, depression and insomnia. When dementia patients are encouraged to create visual art, sing or make music, their pleasure is clear to see and it can improve their social behaviour and reduce their symptoms.

5. Chronic Health Conditions

Millions of people deal with chronic health conditions, along with the stress and anxiety that accompanies them. Studies have found that music and visual arts have a positive effect on chronic illnesses:

• It lets patients forget about their illness for a while, focussing on a positive experience
• It enables people to rediscover their identity from before their illness took over
• It gives sufferers a sense of achievement
• It helps people to express their feelings
• It reduces stress by lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol

So if you’re suffering from stress, anxiety or depression, there are many ways that art can help. Whether it’s picking up a colouring book in your lunch hour or joining a week-long sculpture retreat, you can express your emotions and overcome some of those negative feelings.

Floral Stoneart

Hello Bloggers!

Today I have a canvas project incorporating my most favourite of all of the Powertex techniques and that is Stoneart.  Since the very first day on my Powertex training session Stoneart has been the technique that I find most inspiring and has always has the WOW! factor each and everytime I make something with it.

This is a project that I made to inspire 6 students that came to a beginners Stoneart workshop at the weekend and they all thoroughly enjoyed it and created some superb finished pieces. I apologise for lack of photographs of the stages I got carried away and realised when I had almost finished!

We started off with a canvas measuring 9" x 12" so that gave us a good area to play with.  The project began on the base canvas with the ivory Powertex and then using the Stoneart powder to create the incredible Stoneart effect.  I added 2 pieces of polystyrene into the bottom corner to create lots of dimension.  I broke the polystyrene away so that the inside was exposed as this is fabulous in creating that faux stone effect to the project.  The Stoneart process was carried through onto the polystyrene which finished the base for the floral arrangement.

The flowers and leaves were all made with Stoneart clay which the students thoroughly enjoyed making. A variety of Powertex flower and leaf moulds were used for the centrepiece.
After laying the flowers down and securing using Powertex Easy Structure I filled in any gaps with ivory Powertex and then filled with 3D sand and balls adding more interest.  The whole floral area was then covered with several colours of bister including natural browns, yellow, green and burgundy.

After this had dried the colour was added using Powercolours and Colourtrix.

This is my final project as a member of the 2017 Design Team for Powertex and it has been an absolute pleasure to be part of the team over the year and hope that I have been able to inspire you with some of my projects.  I have been invited to be a guest blogger in the new year so I will be popping up now and again with a little something so hope you enjoy these too!

Thankyou Tracey and Gary for the opportunity of being part of the Design Team I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bye for now

Jo x

Shinning star for November

This months shining star award at Powertex Uk went to a tutor who has been working hard at her social media and producing some really wonderful videos of work to inspire and which included some really wonderful variety of workshops too.

Without further a do, well done to Wendy Reed.

 

  I am certified Powertex UK Tutor, I have covered Fabric Sculpting and Stone Art techniques. I offer workshops, classes, demonstrations and Poweretex Parties at my workshop in Craftsite, Cramlington Northumberland or in your own homes / craft group premises.

I think you will agree our tutors do a fabulous job of bringing fantastic workshops and ideas to inspire us! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. Toodles Anna xXx

It's about "Time"

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a mixed media inverted canvas that I would like to share with you all using a selection of Powertex products.

I started off with a 12" x 9" canvas which I decided to invert to ring the changes.  This creates a lovely frame to use as a feature. 

Ivory Powertex was used throughout the project. 

I decided to use a variety of fabrics to create texture and these included cotton sheeting around the framework and as you know this creates some really lovely pleating which is how I created the draping on the corners.  I also used hessian on the background as this added a rustic look.

As you can see I have used lots of plaster moulds to add all the detailed pieces including the frame, face, cogs, screws and flowers.  I also included a few die cuts which included the main clock.

Sand and balls in different sizes added interest and dimension in the right top corner.

Easy structure through a few patterned masks created more interest on the frame.

The theme of the canvas was Time so I chose a phrase that I felt sums it up very well.

A mixture of Scrabble letters, printing from the PC and wooden letters added variety in the way that I added the words.  Glossy accents were then put over the top to protect the letters and also add thickness and gloss.

When it came around to colouring I have been itching to try out the new inks from Powertex and I am loving how they were so easy to apply and how effective and bright. It really made the project pop !

a little Terraviolet Colortrix finished the project off a treat and highlighted specific areas.

I hope that you have enjoyed checking this project out and that it has inspired you to have a go at an inverted canvas.

Bye for now,

Jo :) x

Fantasy Pine Scene Canvas (by Anne)

I had so much fun creating this pine cone scene.

I used some twigs and pine cones from my stash (they must be fully dried out to avoid development of mould), hessian, T shirt fabric, kitchen paper, Sand & Balls and even broken egg shells (fully washed and membranes removed).

The background sky was created with Pebeo Fantasy paints (Moon, Prisme and Vitrail).

 
Materials:

• 12 X 12 stretch canvas
• Powertex (Bronze and Terracotta)
• Easy Varnish
• Colortricx (Rich Gold)
• Black Bister
• 3D Sand & Balls
• Pine cones, twigs and egg shells
• Hessian, T-shirt fabric and kitchen towel
• Pebeo Fantasy Paints (Moon, Prism and Vitrail)
• Pebeo Gilding Wax (Renaissance Gold)

Wonderful Egyptian Journals

It was fantastic to be able to have the space to create a canvas when I was up at hq. But it wouldn't be a project from me if it wasn't a journal really. So here are three journal designs I put together for the Egyptian show.

To start with I coated  bases of the Tut and Nefertiti journal with yellow ochre Powertex. With the scarab journal I used black Powertex on the base. I then stenciled a sand and Ivory powertex mix through the wonderful things stencil on the covers. I coated the Tutankhamen and Nefertiti heads with a little of this sandy mix to give an extra bit of texture to the plaster busts. 

I made some easy 3d flex clay and stamped into it with the stamps I specifically designed for the range which were the Heiro Heaven for the Nefertiti and Tut journals.

 Scarabella stamp for the front of the scarab journal. Some hessian for an extra bit of texture. I also used some of the mdf pyramid and ank trio on the front of this one. The pyramid was stencilled and the ank I put a little clay on the front and stamped into it. I did the same for the ank and pyramid on the back of this journal. The cracking of the easy 3d flex gives them extra dimension and lots of texture. For the inside of this journals covers I placed some rice paper over a black and gold base.

The first image was stuck straight on to the darker base and the second I painted a little ivory powertex on first before putting the rice paper on. It was interesting to see the different effects that you could get using them on the different coloured surfaces.

I sprayed all the journals with brown bister and then dry brushed for the varying shades of colour. The pages were also sprayed with the brown bister to make them looked aged and I also stamped some of the pages. Hope you are inspired by this wonderful range, we'd love you to share you makes on the powertex addicts united page on facebook. We love to see what you have been creating. Toodles Anna xXx

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

... especially with all the snow recently!  I hope everyone is keeping warm.

On the plus side, this is the perfect weather for staying indoors, hiding out in your craft room & getting creative, whether its making pieces to decorate the home, hand made gifts for loved ones or simply crafting for crafting sake!

For those of you with children or grandchildren, there is also the countdown to reindeer-led sleighs & a man in a big red suit & white beard bringing presents.  He goes by many names around the world - Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Saint Nicolas, Pere Noel, Weihnachtsmann & Kanakaloka (to name a few), but wherever you are in the world & whatever you call him, this is the inspiration for my make this month.

So to make a Santa inspired decoration, you will need

a Styrofoam cone, Powertex Red, Powertex Ivory (or White), Stone Art, Powertex Transparent, Paperdeco White, Easy Varnish, Powercolor Red, Powercolor Black & Colortricx Powerpearl

I started by giving the cone an initial coat of Powertex Red.  Powertex loves to stick to Powertex, so this forms a great base to work off.

While this was drying, I mixed up a quantity of Stone Art clay using the Powertex Ivory, & another larger batch of clay using the Powertex Red & Stone Art.  Wrap both batches separately in cling film to stop them from drying out.

Form the face using the Ivory Stone Art Clay.  I positioned the face about 2/3rds of the way up the cone, forming the nose from a ball of clay.  TIP: The clay can be smoothed by using a little water on your finger tip & rubbing it across the surface to blend the pieces of clay together.  Form the eyes using the end of a paint brush handle/your finger or similar.

The cone was then covered using the red clay.  Roll the clay out flat & apply to the cone, smoothing & blending the pieces together using a little water.

The Paperdeco White was perfect to add details like his beard, eyebrows & 'fur' trim on his hat & body.  I used Powertex Transparent for this to avoid colour transfer onto the red stone art clay, which would have happened if using the Ivory or White Powertex.  

Allow to dry.

The final stage was to add the details to his face - rosy cheeks/nose using Easy Varnish & Powercolor Red, eyes using the Powercolour Black & then a light overbrush with the Colortricx Powerpearl to add a frosty shimmer.

And here he is - all ready to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.....

Where do you find your inspiration?

As much as we would all like to think that an idea is all our own we would be unrealistic if we didn't admit we were influenced by the things we see, unless we spend long lengths of time shut away in a box of course! With the amount of information that is now readily available on the internet it is really easy to be inspired by other peoples work and honestly not have a clue where the idea came from but I do believe that if you truly know who's work gave you inspiration for a piece it is polite to give the person credit for their work.

Powertex have some incredible Pinterest boards to help inspire you, we often add things that we think would be incredible created with Powertex. The piece below was inspired by an image by Monique Studio on our Mixed Media Inspiration board, have a look and see whether you can spot which one it was!

I used Easy 3D Flex with brown bister for the background. There's a little video of the bister running along the Easy 3D Flex crackles on You Tube, I could watch it over an over again!

I the made the floral/coral shapes using Stone Art Clay and painted them with Easy Varnish and pigments. I wanted to make them nice and shiny as I thought it would contrast well with the background and I used Easy Coat Glossy to do this.

Here's what I made, I hope you like it!

Thanks for looking and don't forget to have a peek on Pinterest.

 Tracey x

Wonderful things Egyptian Canvas

I was super excited when Tracey told me of her plans for her Egyptian show! It was so refreshing to have a theme that suited Powertex so well. The earthy tones of the bisters and the Easy 3d flex just lent itself so well to all the crackles, depth and texture that you would see on an Egyptian relic or within a tomb inside a pyramid.

One of the pieces I created for the show was a mixed media canvas. The center piece was created by taking a piece of fabric and dipping it into Ivory Powertex. I then laid it out to dry flat on a piece of plastic sheeting,but made sure the edges were rolled like a scroll.

Once thoroughly dry I tore around the rice paper image I wanted to use and took some Easy coat matt to apply it. Tracey has made a fab video on how to apply the rice papers here.

I then allowed it to dry and stenciled around the edges using some sand mixed in with Powertex through the Wonderful things stencil.

I had some sand/powertex mixture left over so put a little Easy 3d flex in and pasted it around the edges of the fabric scroll for more texture. Then I made some easy 3d clay and stamped into it with the stamps I specifically designed for the range which were the Heiro Heaven and Scarabella. I coated the mdf shapes with Ivory Powertex I used the eye of horus, hieroglyphic tablet and mini hieroglphs once everything was stuck down it was left to dry. I then gave a generous spray with some black, red, yellow and brown bister to dull the tones of the Ivory down and add extra depth to the textures. And added a dash of colour with some pigments which were dry brushed.

The background was a canvas that Tracey had knocking around the studio and it already had a good helping of texture made with sand and powertex on it. So I just finished the other side, stuck the scroll piece in the middle with more powertex! Added some sand and balls to the left side of it for even more texture then sprayed with bister. 

Hope you are all still loving the Egyptian range as much as we are! Toodles Anna xXx