'Always' Powertex seahorse

I think that there is something to be said for Seahorses they really have got it right! They mate for life and the males have the babies. Sounds good to me! So if you hadn't of guessed it already my blog this month is a little bit valentines.

I asked on my Facebook page what everyone thought about valentines and the resounding answer was that we should love each other through the year and not just on one day. I agree and for the most part the other half and myself generally forget to celebrate on the day. We don't make a massive fuss over it cause we have every other day of the year to show one another we love each other. A very important thing when you have been together for 13 years! 

I was going to do a journal but being as I have a few of these guys sitting in my craft stash I couldn't resist. And it was a perfect fit for my theme. This seahorse mdf shape is still available on the Powertex UK website. So if you wanted to make a little valentines creation for your loved one you can! 

You get a small square back plate to hold the pieces together as they arrive in two sections. I started by coating the back of the seahorse making sure it was dry before covering the front. 

 I love the mdf shapes I tend to throw every piece of detail and texture I can at a piece I work on. I also like to cut the shapes, I have a pair of jewelry pliers which cut through. If it's a thicker piece of mdf I tend to use my little craft saw. I lined the mdf heart flower up on the seahorses belly and drew lines as a guide for cutting.

 TOP TIP: Have an idea of where to place your pieces before getting messy. Take a photo to aid your memory, or lay the pieces next to your design as a rough guide.

 The left over hearts I cut from the mdf shape were placed on the tail and fin of the seahorse.

 I used some of the mdf letters on the mane, a daisy I had premade from the daisy mould, some old buttons from my nans button tin. Everyone has got a button tin right? and some of the drop outs which are my absolute favourites. 

 I decided I wanted some extra texture underneath all the embellishments so cut wallpaper and dishcloth to size to fit the shape of the seahorse. For the head and neck I used a palette knife and liberally coated in easy structure, make sure this is thoroughly dry before covering in powertex. It will hold embellishments in place should you wish to stick them on before it dries. 

 Then I place all the embellishments on and coated everything in bronze powertex.

So I was going to reach for my go to turquoise. But as I have already created a seahorse in this colour, I felt it would be fun to do burgundy and lilac powercolour with a hint of the new pearl pigments mixed into the varnish.

 I loved the colour of the button on the eye, so left it uncoated and stuck it, and the flatback gems and pearls I had in my stash with some transparent powertex.

 Hope you have been inspired this little project. Toodles Anna xXx

Powertex is a crafting game changer!

So why is POWERTEX  this wonderful universal medium such a game changer you ask? 

So before I was creating very fiddly and intricate time consuming pieces that I was getting bored of easily and finding difficult to finish. Along came Powertex and through Traceys training I learnt to ‘just go with it’ and ‘keep it simple’.

Ok, ok I hear you saying ‘well her work is still super detailed’ . Yes, I know I do struggle with the whole this is how we are going to ‘keep it simple’. I wrestle with the moto daily, But I’m ok with it because I have come to recognise that this is just my style. 

Now you may not think it by looking at my work but I feel totally freed up with this medium to create how I like. Not only that, I can upcycle my shoes, cover bottles, use up those pesky c.ds that I just can’t bare to throw away and turn them into beautiful wall plaques, create mixed media pieces on offcut planks of wood, fine art pieces and my newest truest love sculptures. What's not to LOVE about Powertex the amazing universal medium. Toodle pip Anna xXx

National sticker day

There used to be a shop called Pickwicks in the old high street in Tunbridge wells and they had the most amazing selection of stickers. 

That I would cover my letter to my German pen pal with. The good ol' days.... when snail mail was a thing! I love stickers to this day. 

 

When my nieces were little we would send magazines and cards across to Canada and they would count the stickers to makes sure they had the same amount. Funny how something like a little sticker can hold such memories.  How about you?  Toodles xXx

It's owl about the mixed media!

I love visiting Powertex UK hq I always get a sneak peak on the new ideas and products coming and going. I also sometimes get a chance to give a little input too! Which I think sometimes gives our Tracey a  bit of a headache! Yes, I do have a lot of ideas brimming in my head constantly. 

When I saw the new Mdf owl kit I instantly had to make a sample after all we were going to the NEC and did need something to inspire everyone with! Well that was my excuse right? 

As usual with most of my designs the 'keep it simple' motto we like to say at Powertex UK hq doesn't really apply to me. I seem to be that rebel that breaks all the rules and throws everything at it. I actually struggle when I am trying to create a simple piece.

But that's the fab thing about Powertex there is no right or wrong, so you can make it as simple or a complicated as you like. And your style will always shine through when you create. I always tend to go the mixed media route with a lot of the pieces I create. 

I've used some acanthus mdf pieces on the branch, above the eye and on the wing. A feather above the eye. And a couple of cogs on the body and branch. And some of the MDF dropouts scattered around here and there.

Then an extra helping of embellishments from Powertex uk and some stencilling and patterned wallpaper which is my favourite go to texture.

All coated in bronze Powertex dried and then dry brushed with red ochre, yellow ochre and turquoise power color and varnish.

Enjoy and have fun creating your owl!  Toodles Anna xXx

Wonderful Egyptian Journals

It was fantastic to be able to have the space to create a canvas when I was up at hq. But it wouldn't be a project from me if it wasn't a journal really. So here are three journal designs I put together for the Egyptian show.

To start with I coated  bases of the Tut and Nefertiti journal with yellow ochre Powertex. With the scarab journal I used black Powertex on the base. I then stenciled a sand and Ivory powertex mix through the wonderful things stencil on the covers. I coated the Tutankhamen and Nefertiti heads with a little of this sandy mix to give an extra bit of texture to the plaster busts. 

I made some easy 3d flex clay and stamped into it with the stamps I specifically designed for the range which were the Heiro Heaven for the Nefertiti and Tut journals.

 Scarabella stamp for the front of the scarab journal. Some hessian for an extra bit of texture. I also used some of the mdf pyramid and ank trio on the front of this one. The pyramid was stencilled and the ank I put a little clay on the front and stamped into it. I did the same for the ank and pyramid on the back of this journal. The cracking of the easy 3d flex gives them extra dimension and lots of texture. For the inside of this journals covers I placed some rice paper over a black and gold base.

The first image was stuck straight on to the darker base and the second I painted a little ivory powertex on first before putting the rice paper on. It was interesting to see the different effects that you could get using them on the different coloured surfaces.

I sprayed all the journals with brown bister and then dry brushed for the varying shades of colour. The pages were also sprayed with the brown bister to make them looked aged and I also stamped some of the pages. Hope you are inspired by this wonderful range, we'd love you to share you makes on the powertex addicts united page on facebook. We love to see what you have been creating. Toodles Anna xXx

Wonderful Egyptian Canvas

I was super excited when Tracey told me of her plans for her Egyptian show! It was so refreshing to have a theme that suited Powertex so well. The earthy tones of the bisters and the Easy 3d flex just lent itself so well to all the crackles, depth and texture that you would see on an Egyptian relic or within a tomb inside a pyramid.

One of the pieces I created for the show was a mixed media canvas. The center piece was created by taking a piece of fabric and dipping it into Ivory Powertex. I then laid it out to dry flat on a piece of plastic sheeting,but made sure the edges were rolled like a scroll.

Once thoroughly dry I tore around the rice paper image I wanted to use and took some Easy coat matt to apply it. Tracey has made a fab video on how to apply the rice papers here.

I then allowed it to dry and stenciled around the edges using some sand mixed in with Powertex through the Wonderful things stencil.

I had some sand/powertex mixture left over so put a little Easy 3d flex in and pasted it around the edges of the fabric scroll for more texture. Then I made some easy 3d clay and stamped into it with the stamps I specifically designed for the range which were the Heiro Heaven and Scarabella. I coated the mdf shapes with Ivory Powertex I used the eye of horus, hieroglyphic tablet and mini hieroglphs once everything was stuck down it was left to dry. I then gave a generous spray with some black, red, yellow and brown bister to dull the tones of the Ivory down and add extra depth to the textures. And added a dash of colour with some pigments which were dry brushed.

The background was a canvas that Tracey had knocking around the studio and it already had a good helping of texture made with sand and powertex on it. So I just finished the other side, stuck the scroll piece in the middle with more powertex! Added some sand and balls to the left side of it for even more texture then sprayed with bister. 

Hope you are all still loving the Egyptian range as much as we are! Toodles Anna xXx

Product Development Day at Powertex UK

It is very important to us at Powertex UK hq that we make sure we use the products to the best of our knowledge and what better way to do this than having a product development and experiment day! 

This was no way at all, just a jolly and play day! It takes hard work and tons of dedication and effort to push the boundaries of products and ideas, it's a tough job but someone has to do it! ha, ha, ha. 

We did have a fabulous amount of fun, pushing the products in every direction so that we can learn and pass on that knowledge to our tutors and Powertex addicts. 

Here's some of the new inks in use, they come in a fabulous variety of colours. 

 

 It would have been rude not to have tried out the new rice papers and on a big canvas too! We were really going for it and learning new techniques.

 We can't wait to see what you create. Toodles Anna xXx