Mixed Media Journal cover inspired by William Morris

I absolutely adore the beautiful nature inspired art and design work created by William Morris. Associated with the Pre-raphaelites. In the late 19th Century he created the Arts and Crafts movement as he felt the need for more creativity in the decorative arts. He also had a taste for the medieval. One wonders whether he drew his inspiration from the beautiful tapestry's created in medieval times. As a textile designer himself I could imagine this would have been his Pinterest board of inspiration for some of his pieces.

My interpretation is a very subtle nod to Morris lots of pattern, nature, acanthus and texture with my own colourful twist. I like how innovative his work was and is to this day, it strived forward and created something visually stimulating and different to anything that had been before. But also keep the handicraft feel which was something he would stand by. A man after my own heart he would not let machines take over, this however would be a hindrance as not many people would be able to afford his work.

I also like how he didn't fit into a mould and it's inspiring to think he created his own movement and style from there. I often have trouble explaining my style because it too doesn't always slot in to an established genre or form. I just explain my style as it's very 'Anna'. Anyway enough of my thoughts and wafflings here is what I created........

As I do with all my designs I decided on my layout before I got messy. You don't have to do this yourself, it's just my preferred method of working. All materials were as usual supplied to me through Powertex UK in my lovely design team kit. Journal kits will be coming soon to the website.

Top Tip: Mould a job lot of all your embellishments so when you need them you can just focus on your projects. I used the daisy mould https://www.powertex.co.uk/moulds/367-fossil-mould.html with the stone art clay https://www.powertex.co.uk/14-stone-art to make mine.

I wanted to get some texture on the base layer of the journal before I put all my embellishments on so I added some lace, cardboard and Easy structure  https://www.powertex.co.uk/30-easy-structure through the arty quotes stencil https://www.powertex.co.uk/the-secret-art-loft/301-30-x-30cm-arty-quotes-stencil.html and then painted a coat of black Powertex over everything.

I then added on the embellishments and decided to add the acanthus on there too. I used the stone art clay on top of the mdf acanthus shape and then stamped into the clay with  https://www.powertex.co.uk/rosehart-studio-stamps/375-rosehart-studio-stamp-aphrodite-s-kiss.html

 I also stamped the back cover using aphrodite's kiss and Cassiopeia with some ivory Powertex.

I used a piece of lace on the inside of the front cover. All the pages are bits and pieces of patterned paper and wrap I have in my stash. And the coloured yarn holds them all together.

I dry brushed the with yellow ochre, turquoise and burgundy powercolor and varnish. I also added some bling to the front. Well, I'm off to get stuck into to more creating. Toodle pip Anna xXx

Thou shall have a fishy....

So this was a really fab project. It's always fun to create something out of the box with products you wouldn't have thought of using before. This was a piece I created for a sample to be shown on Hochanda. I had a nice mix of Powertex UK mdf shapes and embellishments and lace to use. And this is what I came up with...

https://www.powertex.co.uk/home/390-mdf-penny-washers.html

As usual I gave thought to the layout of the piece. This did change as I progressed but it's much nicer to have a dry run before everything gets messy and covered in Powertex.

Top Tip: When you're making your stone art clay make a job lot of moulded embellishments. This saves you more time to play and concentrate on your project when you come to it. I've used the daisy moulds from Powertex UK I just love them!
https://www.powertex.co.uk/moulds/367-fossil-mould.html

Then I took some structure paste and using some of my templates including my Powertex UK arty quote stencil, I randomly stenciled the base. Once dry I had a play with some lace and textured material to give the base some more depth. I love the weaved mesh it has to be my favourite product and you can find some here in this pack:
 https://www.powertex.co.uk/additional-products/238-mixed-media-texture-pack-2.html

Once happy with the layout and composition I coated the whole thing in Ivory Powertex and I totally forgot to take a picture of it. But then sprayed with black bistre. And when I spray my bistre I like to completely saturate the piece.

Top Tip: I added some bling. I would recommend you do this right at the end with some transparent Powertex as when you come to dry brushing you tend to go over the gems and then you have to try and scrap the varnish and pigment off.

I used a damp sponge to take some of the black away and leave whiter areas in places. This look gives a smoother, softer finish than just using straight black powertex. Then it was on to dry brushing with yellow ochre, red ochre, and burdgundy powercolor with varnish and then some gold and pearl colortricx and varnish to add a bit or sparkle.
Enjoy and have fun creating. ❤ Toodle Pip Anna xXx ❤

How Powertex changed my life

So there I was bumbling along like I do, not sure what direction I was going in with my art and new little business when my friend Birdy introduced me to Tracey and Garry of Powertex Uk at the London Excel show in 2015. Little did I know that a few months later I would be taking the steps that ensured I was embarking on the journey and dream of a life time. I’m not kidding this stuff has literally changed my life. And Tracey and Garry have now affectionately become mumma Tex and pa Tex who reside at Tex Towers (Powertex Uk Hq) well to me anyway.

I now find myself on the Powertex UK Design Team for 2017. Super exciting and yes you will get to join in on that excitement. I will share the products and ideas I have come up with in my style especially for you to go off and create with the universal medium we all love. 
Well, that’s why you’re here right?

It’s an absolute privilege to invite you on this journey showing you the wonders of Powertex through new ideas, projects, this blog and Hochanda. I have a super exciting year ahead of me and it’s all thanks to Tracey and Garry for giving me this fantastic opportunity. I love my Powertex family and I can't even imagine what life was like before I was introduced to this amazingly versatile medium. I'm glad I dared to dream!