Rainbo the Elephant by Abigail Lagden

An exciting design team pack arrived this month. Imagine my surprise to open it up and find an elephant inside!!

I love all the animal MDF templates by Powertex UK. But these new ones are a bit more exciting. They have been cunningly designed to fit across the pins of the large 2 pin metal stand which means you have the option to make a 3D, free-standing sculpture.

Now, you may have seen that we had the annual Powertex Tutor Retreat in July which was follow by a fabulous Abyssimo workshop run by Maria Fondler-Grossbaum. All of the projects we completed over the three days were all very different and all well away from my comfort zone. But I adore learning new techniques and mingling with other lovely creatives, so it was the most wonderful weekend. Anyway, here are my three completed projects...

Rosie Casselden's Fish Workshop

Abyssimo Workshop

Tracey Evans' Workshop

What I took away from the weekend was a need to do something bright and funky with my elephant project as well as (among other things) the three new, scrummy acrylic paints from The Secret Art Loft. I was also inspired by all the gorgeous unicorns created at the Secret Garden Party.

For this project you will need:

• MDF Elephant Template
• Large 2 Pin Metal Base
• Armature wire 1-2mm
• Masking Tape
• Tin Foil
• White Universal Medium
• Stone Art
• Stamps/shapes to impress
• Daisy Flower Mould
• White Paper Decoration
• Secret Art Loft acrylic paints - Plum Pudding, Blueberry Pie, Mint Jelly, Key Lime Pie, Lemon Meringue, Marmalade, Red Velvet
• Colortricx Clear Gold Pigment
• Easy Varnish

And here is what I did...

First I covered the base in cling film so it wouldn't get covered in mess!

Then I attached the MDF elephant to the large 2 pin metal base using masking tape. I used some 1mm armature wire to form the shape of the ears, which was fed through the two holes in the template and secured in place using masking tape.

  

I then built the elephant out using tin foil and masking tape, so it was no longer just a flat piece of MDF. All of the foil was covered using masking tape before being coated with a layer of white Powertex universal medium.

I mixed some stone art clay using white Powertex and StoneArt. I used about four fist sized balls of stone art clay for the whole thing. I prefer to leave my stone art clay overnight before using as I find it easier to work with after is has rested for a bit.

Taking small pieces at a time, I covered the elephant with the stone art clay and used a clear stamp and a wooden printing block to impress flowers and patterns into the clay.

I used the remaining clay to mould some daisies using the Powertex Daisy Mould and attached these with a little white Powertex.

For the ears I used white Paper Decoration to get a texture rich wrinkly surface.

I added some fish net fabric over the elephant's back and some flowers on the trunk but changed my mind at the colouring stage and removed them.

The project was left to dry. Where I have added stone art clay embellishments, I find it is a good idea to let project dry before colouring as the clay shapes can shrink a little and expose some of the white surface underneath them.

Once dry I used the Secret Art Loft acrylic paints to transform the elephant into a rainbow (Is this getting a bit predictable now?). I applied the paints using a mixture of a brush, a sponge and my fingers!

The paint was left to dry before using white Powertex to dry brush the surface to enhance the appearance of the textures, followed by clear gold colortricx mixed with easy varnish.

And, after my Abyssimo workshop, I couldn't resist adding a little bit of bling too!

I hope you like my rainbow bright elephant and will be inspired to get creating with Powertex.

Please feel free to have a look at what I am up to on my Curiously Contrary facebook page and website.

Until next time, Abs xx

From Special to Steampunk Extra Special by Abigail Lagden

From Special to Steampunk Extra Special by Abigail Lagden

One of the many things I love about Powertex is how easy it is to take old and unwanted items and turn them into something spectacular. But it doesn't have to be unwanted items, you can also take cherished, sentimental items and preserve them by incorporating them into a piece of art . We all have pieces of clothing or jewellery, even toys or other keepsakes that are safely hidden away in boxes, cupboards and drawers. With Powertex you can find a way to display them.

In this blog I will show you how I transformed an old hat into a fabulous piece of wearable art, incorporating all kinds of special trinkets and fabrics into the design.

The idea grew from a few events that I had planned over June and July this year. At the end of July I will be selling my creations at the Whitby Steampunk Weekend and anyone who has been will know how spectacular some of the outfits and costumes are. So, I wanted to create something a bit special to wear myself, that would also demonstrate how Powertex can be used.

In June, I also participated in a couple of events where I was demonstrating Powertex and allowing visitors to have a go. So, I decided to create a piece of art that visitors could add to throughout the two events. What better than a hat, which once complete, could double up as something I could wear at the Steampunk Weekend!

Original hat

Converted hat

The old hat I started with was a fedora style hat, so first I needed to make this a bit more Victorian and convert it into a top hat. I did this by just using cardboard to make the desired shape. (The lace band and flower on the original hat was removed and is waiting in my stash for another project)

The whole base hat and cardboard was then painted with bronze Powertex and the cardboard secured onto the hat using a strip of fabric coated in Powertex. It was now ready to be transformed. Over the two events, a variety of embellishments and trinkets that I had stashed away were added to the hat, sitting in scrunched up pieces of different textured fabrics all coated with bronze Powertex. 

After the first event, Make in Durham

After the second event - Clervaux Fair

By the end of the second event the hat was approximately two thirds covered, so I didn't have too much left to do myself other than add the unzipped cogs and cover the top and brim. 

Back of hat

For the final colour I wanted it to have a Victorian feel so I opted for burgundy powercolor pigment over the fabric elements and copper, bronze and gold colortricx over the embellishments. I couldn't resist a rainbow in there somewhere though, so the unzipped cogs got that honour!

Front of hat

I can't wait to proudly wear my hat in Whitby at the end of July - watch out on my Curiously Contrary facebook page for photos from the weekend.

Until next time, Abs xx

Pixie's Powertex Palace

Pixie's Powertex Palace by Abigail Lagden

I absolutely love all things magical, so I was ridiculously excited when my fairy house project pack arrived and couldn't wait to get started. Here's what's included:

First, I laid out a rough design so see where all the bits looked best whilst I had a little think about texture. I like my pieces to have loads of texture and depth and I don't like to leave any flat surfaces plain if I can help it.

I wanted to give my little house a natural feel, like it had grown from a woodland. So for the texture for the roof and toadstools I went for a rummage through my pieces of embossed wallpaper. I drew around the MDF pieces on the wallpaper to cut out the perfect size and shape.

The paper decoration included in the kit gives a lovely natural stringy texture, so a piece of this was perfect to cover the base of the house.

Once I had all my bits prepared, it was time to get house building...

I painted the top surface of the house base with black Powertex and the bottom part of the back of the roof, and attached the two pieces together (Powertex is one of the best glues I have come across!!). I wanted my fairies to have a shorter, more squat house so I attached the roof quite low down leaving a bit of the base part poking up out of the edge of the roof - not a problem as I had an idea to disguise it.

I then painted the front of the roof with black Powertex and whilst wet, placed the pre-cut piece of wallpaper onto it and painted it over with the Powertex. I did the same with the toadstools using some different wallpapers.

To cover the base of the house I worked black Powertex into a piece of natural paper decoration and gently stretched it out to produce a stringy sheet which would give texture across the wall.

On the MDF door, I used the stencil from the kit and Powertex Easy Structure to add the word 'dream'. (This is after all going to be the dream house.) 

Once dry this was painted over and attached to the house using Powertex along with the toadstools.

Now it was time to add all the windows, lace and embellishments. As well as the embellishments included in the kit I also added a moulded fairy door and a few buttons and hessian covered hearts from my hoards. To cover up the sticking up corner of the base, I added a hessian chimney - fairies love an open fire you know.

Whilst I wanted my house to have a natural feel, I couldn't resist a magical rainbow roof using a mixture of powercolor pigments and varnish. Once coloured, I felt it needed a little bit more magic so I used the interference powders in the kit to give it some iridescent highlights. 

These powders are truly magical and can appear quite different depending on the base colour - so have fun experimenting.

Can you spot which extra embellishments I snuck on before adding colour?

It's always tricky to know when to stop!!

If you like this project, you can have a look at what else I've been up to on my Facebook page and my website.

Until next time, Abs x

Rainbow Unicorn Dreams!

People often ask me if I can turn their ideas in to works of art. I've never said no even if I have no idea how I'm going to create the final piece. Pushing forward, constantly challenging myself and breaking out of my comfort zones and colours, mostly produces some of my most loved work.  

SO....its safe to say that I have pretty much fallen in love with this commission piece and will be sorry to say goodbye.

It is however going to a home where I know it will be loved and cherished as much as I would. And to be fair I can't carry on keeping all my work I fall in love with I would run out of room in my house and be poor! 

I hope you love this little rainbow unicorn wonder as much as I do. All created with my favourite universal medium Powertex. In exactly a month today I will be making my Hochanda debut with our Tracey and boy, oh boy do we have some exciting projects, ideas and NEWshhhhh.... products to show you.

  ❤ Toodle pip Anna xXx ❤