Tremendous Textures by Abigail Lagden

One of the things that drew me to Powertex was the amazing textures and depth that can be created. I now look at everything for its texture potential and powertexability. So this month I thought I would share with you just a few of my favourite textures that I have encountered over the years that I've been creating with Powertex.

T-shirt Yarn

I have to start with t-shirt yarn. Made from the off cuts from the textile industry, not only is it a great use of otherwise waste material, it was t-shirt yarn that first led me to Powertex. Originally, I was using it to crochet chunky bags and doorstops and wanted to make a plant pot that could go outside... so on the hunt to find something that would harden it and make it weather resistant, I discovered Powertex. (and then I discovered all the other amazing stuff you could do with Powertex, and the rest is history!!)

You can pick up t-shirt yarn from the Powertex website.

Embossed Wallpaper

If you've seen my previous work and blogs, or been on one of my workshops then you will have seen wallpaper crop up here and there. Perfect for creating background textures quickly and easily, it is also available in such a huge range of patterns to suit any style or project. This is definitely one of my go-to's.

I used a tree bark effect paper on the roof of my fairy house.

Stockinette Polishing Cloth

I am told this stripy cloth is for polishing cars, but it is even better Powertexed. Whilst the colours get lost under the darker Powertex, each stripe is actually a different knitted stitch and so the stripes are still visible as texture. I have used it for the cloak on this little hare.

My 'hideous fabric'

I have always jokingly called this fabric my 'hideous fabric'. I really don't like flesh coloured fabrics and the elasticated embroidered pattern on this would make it a nightmare to try and make anything from. But the texture created by the stitching is absolutely gorgeous.

I found it reduced in a fabric department (probably because no-one normal would want it) and I bought all that they had left. Sadly I haven' t been able to find anything even similar since and I am reaching the last of my stash!

Halloween decorations

This time of year is great for finding interesting spooky decorations that can be incorporated into projects. My favourite discovery this year is this fabulous netting from Wilkos (thank you fellow tutor Lin Shields for sharing her find with the rest of us).  Looks great on this bottle wrap created by Lesley in my workshop the other day.

Web fabric

Made from jute, this florists fabric creates beautiful effects, particularly as an interesting background texture. I love the irregularity of it.

Well, that's enough from me, now get out there texture hunting...

Until next time, Abs xx

Curiously Contrary

Bister Mister Spray Tray

A crafter can never have too much storage and what is nicer than decorating your own?  I'm making quite a few bits at the moment in an effort to make my tiny weeny art space more colourful and more organised.  My latest piece is done with Powertex.

I made the kit up and then coated all over with Ivory Powertex.  I then added a texture paste, made up from Powetex and 3D flex. I roughly spread it over the two ends and in patches on the top of the storage caddy.  
On the longer sides I used Easy Structure to push through two of the artist quote stencils.  I then sprayed with blue bister and left to dry.
I also stencilled one side of the carry handle and on the other I roughly spread some of the 3D flex texture paste and pressed a plaster piece into it.
Once dry I washed back removing the surface bister and leaving a nicely stained base.  The bister had encouraged some great crackles on the ends and some nice fine ones on the top.
Next I used Acrylic inks from The Secret Art Loft to build up layers of colour and to bring out the crackles.

I used Aqua, Viola, Palm and Deep Sea which I applied randomly with a brush, wiping back with a wet wipe. This enabled me to build a colourful piece with a nice splodgy arty vibe.


Over the handle I added the colours and let them drip down, this gave a nice deep colour in the corners where the handle met the top of the tray.

Finally I mixed up some Bronze Colortricx with some Easy varnish and dry brushed the art quotes.

I also used some Secret Art Loft Blueberry Pie acrylic paint and dry brushed over the rough textures to add further depth.  

That's all for now

Fi xx

Easter time and I think of eggs

But not the chocolate kind but the Powertex kind, plus Powertex eggs have no calories!

I had some medium sized Polystyrene egg shapes and was thinking about what I could do with them.

I love fantasy and whimsy stuff and decided to make a dragon egg.

To create the texture I used Ivory Powertex and started by adding Powertex PAPER DECORATION This makes a perfect texture for the egg of a dragon.

I also mixed up some Powertex with some STONE ART to make a clay, to add extra texture and give a little more height my egg.

Some texture using the Powertex clay technique, when it was almost dry I sculpted it with a pokey tool.

This is a side view of my Dragon egg

Aha, it would not be a dragon's egg without a newborn baby dragon. 

I made the baby dragon out of Polymer clay, my other passion and scraped out some of the centre of the egg and glued in my baby dragon using the TRANSPARENT powertex.

Front view, I added some real crystal chips and some glass glitter to make it sparkle.

So Dragon eggs really do exist, well they do in my shed.

I enjoyed making this one so much I made a couple more

I now have a lovely selection of Baby Dragon eggs on my mantlepiece.

The only limit is you

I've always said that Powertex has changed my life and it's true. One of the biggest lessons I think I have taken from Tracey at Powertex UK is finding my confidence and building on it every day. You really get out what you put in. I would love to say I am just naturally talented and I can create anything but it has taken me a lot of blood sweat and tears to practice and motivate myself to hone my skills.

NEVER LIMIT YOUR IMAGINATION!

I have been using Powertex for over 3 years and I still learn something new every time I create a piece. So what advice do I have to you if you want to have a go. Don't put it off for a second. If you don't like something you have created, take what you have learnt from it. Even if it is how not to do something. Then go ahead and try again with another project.

It's very easy in life to come across negativity directed toward you and to take that on board. For me this started from an early age with my art teacher who as a mentor, I was supposed to look up to and respect. After all adults are always right, aren't they? My A level art teacher told me never to use my imagination for art. He was wrong. He also told me I would fail art. He was very wrong! I now have my own business Rosehart Studio, you can also follow me on instagram.

I've told this story many times and have been so surprised with people responding to me with the same stories and experiences. People who had put them off their dreams and passions of self-expression through art. The thing I think I love about powertex the most is there isn't a right or wrong

 way of using it when it comes to design and composition. 

Once you know the technique you can go away, play with it and make it work the way you need it to.  Never one for conformity I love pushing boundaries, and seeing where my imagination will take me.

Push it past the limits and ideas that have not yet been discovered and it will be forgiving. Dig deep and find the confidence to just have a go. 

If you really would like an extra helping hand look up the tutor details on the powertex uk website and find your local certified tutor. They are trained by the best! Our Tracey at Powertex HQ, so they in turn will give you the best training. We are all lovely, happy people who love to guide you and give you that confidence you need to have a go and show you that yes you can do it! My students can’t believe the results they produce! And they really do a fantastic job! Toodles Anna xXx

“Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

― Benjamin Franklin

The White rabbit's watch

                    If you see the White Rabbit please tell him I've found his pocket watch! 

 I've used the ivory Powertex to stick and paint my March project pack together and sprinkled on sand and balls to give some amazing texture. 

Then I sprinkled some of the black bister crystals onto my work where I wanted some real depth.  I diluted my blue and green bisters and put them into spray bottles I gave everything a really good spray, this diluted the black crystals and it seeped around the textured areas just as I had hoped.

When everything was dry I mixed some rusty powder with some vinegar, sand and ivory Powertex and used an old brush to apply this where I wanted my rust. Over the next 24 hours I resprayed the watch with a vinegar and water mix to reactivate the rusting effect. When I was happy with the rust I left everything to dry and brushed on Powercolor and Colortrix pigments mixed with Easy Varnish to accentuate a few areas and add some metallic elements.

I hope you like the results! 

Thanks for looking, Traceyx

Winter Fairy House

Today I'm going to show you a step by step of how I made my Fairy house, using the Fairy house kit from Powertex as we all love a bit of magic and fantasy.

I hope you find it easy to follow and have fun, making your very own.

This is the kit that I used.

First I set about placing, so I had an idea of what I was going to achieve.

I painted the fairy house in black Powertex. 

I then chose some material from my stash and dipped in the BlackPowertex and laid over my roof and then dried it.

I then decided to add some texture to the base of the Fairy house,

using the 3D Sand balls.

I then decided to use the Powertex ,Paperdecoration for my main texture. This is a really lovely texture as once saturated with the Powertex it stretches and makes a really nice texture. 

I next set about making some texture for my Fairy door and I used the same method as above with the 3D sand and Black Powertex, only I added more to make a kind of paste. I then used a palette knife to smooth it on the door and ran a crochet hook in lines to give it a wood effect, let it dry.

I also added some of the lace from the kit, to under the roof, to add extra texture.

In the next three photos, whilst the door was drying I started to decorate three of the toadstools from the kit. Again I used  3D Sand for the texture and this time, some red Powertex.

I did two layers with the red Powertex and 3D sand to add some depth and I painted the stalks with Ivory Powertex.

I then used some Mocha pigment and dragged it through the wet Ivory Powertex, to create lines, making my Toadstools look more lifelike.

I then wanted to incorporate the stencil onto my Fairy house but the Paperdecoration was too textured if you like, so I had to find a way to get the stencil to work. I came up with the idea of laying down some masking tape, to make a smoother surface, to add the stencil. To create the texture to add to the stencil, yep, you guessed it I used the 3D Sand and Black Powertex to form a paste and palette over the stencil. I then dried it with my trusty hairdryer, as I did not want to smudge the text.

I then added my windows and chosen embellishments and painted with black Powertex and dried.

I already had a colour theme and chose these Pigment colours and began to dry brush onto my fairy house. The beauty of this technique is if you don't like it, you can change your mind and re-do it!

And here is the end result.

These are the bits I had left, along with some lace, which I know I will definitely use in another Powertex project.

I really enjoyed making this kit and I hope to see all the Fairy houses you create.

Feel free to share them on the Powertex Addicts page on Facebook.

Laters Powertexers

Jinny