Powertex meets the Raven and the Rusty Pocket Watch

Hi it's Kore here with my March blog. I'm so excited about the fantastic Alice in Wonderland theme this month! They are brilliant stories with extraordinary characters and everybody has a favourite quote. "Tea-time?" or "I'm late" or "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" which is my favourite!

The white rabbit is pretty important to the story and I'm using the Pocket Watch Kit for my project and a totally irresistible pot of Rusty Powder. I love the colour and texture of Rusty Powder and it's slightly unpredictable results. I like mixing the recipes, like playing mud pies as a kid. A little mud, a little water, a little grass for texture, perhaps a worm! Maybe I was warming up my Powertex skills back even then. Wonderful, messy, arty, crafty chemistry.

My ingredients this time:

Pocket Watch Project Pack
including Ivory Powertex
Black Bister granules
Blue Bister granules
3d sand
3d balls small

And:
Transparent Powertex and/or Easy Structure Paste
Rusty Powder
Transparent Acrylic Inks in Aqua and Viola
Distilled vinegar and small spray bottle
Easy Varnish
Colortricx in Bronze Gold

Optional:
Drop outs mdf
Raven mdf

Step 1: Figuring out how it could fit together.

Step 2: Preparing the pieces. For brighter colours coat with Ivory Powertex first. I used Blue bister granules mixed with water to make a spray. I also used some Aqua Transparent Acrylic Ink and varied these over all the mdf pieces. I want some of this colour to show up.

Step 3: Mixing up Rusty Paste. When the colour is dry, mix up some Rusty Powder with some Transparent Powertex, or Easy Structure Paste is good too. The recipe is key to a good rust. The more Rusty Powder you add, the darker your rust will be. Don't forget to add a little vinegar, that's what makes the magic happen. I add some 3d Sand for texture too. Have some 50/50 vinegar and water spray ready. Apply the mixture partially over your pieces and then spray with vinegar/water. Leave it to rust overnight.

When it's dry you can repeat this step for extra texture or rust colours. It's great to layer different stages and textures of Rusty Powder.

I used my leftover Rusty Powder paste to paint these fabric scraps. I also left my plastic mixing plate to dry. The dried rust mixture can be peeled off and used in my mixed media canvases. Gorgeous!

Step 4: Putting it together. Once my pieces were dry I put them all together, roughly like my layout. I used Powertex to stick the pieces down. I wasn't worried about any drips or splodges, it all adds to the texture. 

I used some tiny mdf shapes from the Drop Outs mdf pack to raise up some of the numbers from the frame and I've included a piece of that rusty fabric on the heart. I'm really loving all these layers! While rooting through my Drop Outs I found these fantastic little spirals and decided to include them. They look like little question marks!

Step 5: Make your watch stand. This is a good time to stick your mdf watch stand together too. Slot the pieces together and paint over the pieces and joins with Ivory Powertex. Leave it to dry.

Step 6: Adding another rust layer. I mixed up another Rusty Powder but this time my recipe was Easy Structure Paste and 3d small balls. and a little vinegar. I wanted a sloppy paste that would drip. You can add sand to make a thicker paste.

Add some Rusty Powder mixture to your watch stand and sprinkle over some black and/or blue Bister granules to add textures. Spray your Rusty areas with your vinegar/water spray. Use Bister sprays to colour some parts. 

Step 7: Adding colour with Inks. Once all my rust layers are dry I love to add more colour and the Transparent Acrylic Inks are brilliant for this. They tint the rust a little and are fluid enough to run around all the textures. I used Aqua and Viola and a couple of sprays of Black and Blue Bister. Oh that's better!

Step 8: Adding embellishments and hands. The last stage is to add the remaining embellishments. I've chosen an mdf raven as well as the butterflies, dragonfly and clock hands. I coat them with Acrylic Inks in Aqua and Viola. Then add a spray of black Bister to the raven and blue Bister to the butterflies. The clock hands are painted with Ivory Powertex so they stand out. 

 The watch face is looking very dark so before I add the embellishments I use a little metallic dry brushing over the numbers. For this I mix Bronze Gold Colortricx pigment with Easy Varnish. This will make the last pieces stand out more. A little Ivory Powertex would also look great for highlights.

Final touches: I stick the last pieces into place with Powertex and wait for them to dry before fixing the watch to the stand.

There are lots of gorgeous textures in the project pack to make this pocket watch your own. What colours would you use with your Rusty paste? There's still time to get yours and show us your creation for the March Powertex Challenge.

You can enter your Alice in Wonderland themed creation into our monthly challenge over on Instagram. Check @PowertexAddictsUnited for details. Not on Instagram? Join The Powertex Studio group on Facebook to share your makes and catch the latest news and inspiration.

You can also follow me and my Powertex experiments and projects @skysagestudio on Facebook and Instagram.

Until next time, make a little space and let your art out!

Kore x