Down the rabbit hole

I was very excited when I got to create my Alice inspired pieces because I was up in Tracey's studio at Powertex hq. I thought I had been really clever and taken step by step photos but alas no. I had not been that clever. So I will therefore walk through the steps I took to create my piece. Have you got yours yet? Find them here.

I actually started off with Ivory Powertex and gave everything a base coat. Apart from the Cheshire cat grin and the 10/6 which I coated in Black Powertex . 

TOP TIP: If you coat both the front and back pieces your working on it will help prevent warping. Being good quality mdf this is unlikely to happen but it will enable you to strenghten the piece if you are loading it up with a lot of embellishments and texture.

Once dry I placed the rice paper to the top of the hat by applying Easy Coat to the base, laying the paper and giving a liberal coat over the top. 

In the middle of the brim part of the hat I place some patterned wall paper stuck with and re-coated with Ivory Powertex.

I then dipped some stockinette into the Ivory Powertex and stuck into place on either side of the hat all the way down to the brim. I dipped some lace which I scrunched up and put in place underneath the band of the hat.

I took some Easy structure through the Alice stencil on the card shapes and the band of the hat and then applied another coat of Ivory Powertex over the top once dry. The texture on the feather was created by pulling some Easy Structure over the surface with a palette knife and then once dry was coated in another layer of Ivory Powertex.

I created the 10/6 sign by using the mdf rectangular shape as a template around some cardboard and then covering in linen which had been dipped in Ivory Powertex. I used the rose and the daisy mould to create some embellishments from stone art clay and then painted up in the Raspberry Sorbet and Orange Marmalade acrylics on the roses and the feather and the Lemon Meringue and Orange Marmalade on the daisy shapes. 

I then painted the band with the Key Lime acrylic and the base of the hat and sides with a mixture of Orange Marmalade into Raspberry Sorbet into Blueberry Pie. I also used all the colours on the words fading in and out of one another. All the pieces were then stuck down with Transparent Powertex and left to dry.

I'm really please Leonie liked my journal I thought for a moment it wouldn't be coming home with Tracey. This one was fun to create with multi-layer stenciling, on the cover and rice papers. Green and blue bisters to give it a softer finish. The rabbit uses the crackle effect you get with Ivory Powertex, brown bister and a hair dryer. I used the rice papers on the inside covers too. Hope you enjoyed the Hochanda shows, I certainly had fun creating my art to inspire. Toodles Anna xXx

Take time to do what makes your soul happy

When I first caught glimpse of this project pack I was super excited. This was one fun project to make. And I thoroughly enjoyed creating this pocket watch. It was even more exciting because I got to use our Tracey's studio at hq to create mine. There is no feeling like being in a big studio with every Powertex product imaginable to hand. Oh its heaven.......

So without further a do here is my design for this months project pack.

As usual I made a layout of the items I was going to use. I just had to use some of the rose and daisy embellishments. I made some stone art clay with the stone art powder and Powertex and pushed the  clay into the daisy and rose mould.

Top tip: If you layout your composition for the design you wish to achieve before you start, its a lot less messy.

 Next I took my Ivory Powertex and coated all the mdf and embellishments. The only thing you need here is Powertex. It's magic formula glues, sticks and paints your works of art.

Top tip: I didn't use all of the mdf shapes in the pack. This means I have them leftover for any other projects I wish to use them on. You can chose to use them all or save some for other projects you have in mind.

Top tip: Your items won't be instantly stuck so if you want to relocate them you can pick them up easily and move them to another part of your design.

To add some extra texture to the piece I took some sand and balls and mixed them into some Ivory Powertex I had poured out. I then used a plastic palette knife to apply the mixture on various areas of the piece. 

 I then sprayed blue bister on the left side, green in the middle and black on the right side. I accidentally used brown and only have the photo with brown. But I just sprayed the black on over the top. Bister is a walnut stain so it covered the brown perfectly.

Top tip: I like to mix my bister granules in a small bowl with hot water, this enables them to dissolve better. I use the back of a teaspoon to crush any granules that haven't fuller dissolved. You can pop them in a spritz bottle and shake them but I find they don't fully dissolve and the nozzle can block up.

I then dry brushed red ochre, yellow ochre and turquoise powercolor over the brown stained side, to give a faux rust effect. And turquoise, moss green and yellow ochre on the blue side. 

I think you can tell I loved creating this one and I had some left overs that I can use for other projects. I hope you all enjoy the project pack and find some inspiration in our blogs. Do share your makes with us at Powertex addicts united on Facebook. We love to see what you are making. Toodles Anna xXx