Blue Twig Studio - April Product Review and Projects

This month, I received a package of Twinkling H2Os by Luminarte for review for Blue Twig Studio.  I had heard a lot of great comments about these from friends the last few months and had been wanting to try them, but couldn't justify buying yet another type of paint. Therefore, I was very excited when I received these for my April product review!!

Product:
Twinkling H2Os are highly pigmented, light fast, lusciously luminescent mica-infused watercolors. The H2Os are non-toxic and archival safe. The amount of water used determines if the color is opaque, translucent or transparent. This set contained 12 jars of H2Os, along with a free spritz bottle. The colors in my set included: poppy, rose gold, persimmon, mango mamba, mustard green, autumn butternut, black cherry, plum crazy, blue zircon, sweet alfalfa, cedar wood, and pearl red.
     (Note: my spritz bottle arrived with a crack starting at the spritzer and running a third of the way around the spritz head. Needless to say, it didn't work very well as a spritzer, but was still able to use it as clean water. I could spritz, if I didn't mind water spraying )

Twinkling H2Os by Luminarte

Open jars of Twinkling H2Os. Colors listed on cap to right of paint jar.

Color chart for Twinkling H2Os. 

The watercolor comes as a solid hard-pan cake. When you open the desired jars, the colors can be "woke up" by spraying the surface of the paint cakes. Directions state: after allowing the water to soak in for 3-5 minutes, mist the jars a second time and wait a couple more minutes. The paint begins to soften and it easily mixes into a creamy texture when dipping a paintbrush in it. I actually had to wait about 10 minutes and I used a toothpick to mix the paint. The Twinkling H2Os can be used for painting freehand, creating color washes, to color inside the lines of a drawing or rubber stamped image, or to apply to a rubber stamp before stamping with it.


Projects:

Pico Embellisher in 
irRESISTible Neon colors.

For my project, I was initially going to paint an 8"x10" canvas. I painted an abstract background and then planned to use a large 8 1/2" x 11" Crazy Lace stamp by Kari McKnight-Holbrook (see Blue Twig Studio large stamps) with black acrylic paint to create an overall design on the abstract background. Unfortunately, my black paint didn't stay wet enough by the time I got the whole stamp coated and did not print well on my canvas. Therefore, I scrapped this project. I'll try to salvage it for some other project in the future.

In interest of time, I chose to create several tags that can be used as gift tags, bookmarks, labels, luggage tags, and so on. My daughter joined me and made tags, as well. Following are the results. Besides brushes, a palette knife, and a freezer paper palette, I used Derwent watercolor pencils, black Sakura micron pens, and Pico Embellishers to accent the tags.

Lydia Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os and Pico Embellisher on watercolor paper.
I started with the plum crazy color to create a "sea" background. Then pulled the paint to the 'sky' area with more water to make it lighter. Using mango mamba, I created sun rays peeking through a stormy sky, and added pearl red to the 'sea' to create more depth and waves.  I had planned to stamp dolphins in the 'sea'. However, the sea and sky didn't come out as they appeared in my head.After lifting some of the paint by adding more water, I used blue zircon to paint Lydia and outlined it with the mustard green (which appears more like an antique gold). I highlighted Lydia with a pink neon Pico Embellisher and edged the tag with pearl red. A couple hearts with a neon green Pico Embellisher in the corners, along with blue and multicolored yarn for hanging completed the tag. I am pleased with the results, as I thought this tag was a lost cause! (Painted by my daughter.)

Peacock Feather Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os on watercolor paper. 
Still wanting to make a sea with dolphins, I used the blue zircon for my 'sea' and painted the bottom half of the tag. I added sweet alfalfa for depth and waves.  Now to create a sunset. I decided to practice the sunset on a different card (see dolphin card below). Since my sunset came out so nice, I just used that card instead of this one. Now what do I do with this card?  The paint was dry, however, I found by adding water to the card, I was able to pull the blue zircon paint up to the top of the card, creating a blueish background with sweet alfalfa highlights. The color made me think of a peacock feather, since the blue zircon appears more teal than blue. Using shades of mango mamba, rose gold, persimmon, sweet alfalfa, and plum crazy, I stenciled a peacock feather onto the background. A small brush helped get into the narrow openings in this stencil without any bleeding under the stencil. (Painted by my daughter.)

Dolphin Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5". Twinkling H2Os on watercolor paper. Using mango mamba, rose gold, and black cherry, I freehand painted a sunset.  I used freezer paper as a palette for mixing the paints for the sunset. I was pleasantly surprised when I found I could reactive the paint on the freezer paper up to 30 minutes after it had dried. I did not test how long the paint could sit and still be reactivated. I added the blue zircon for the sea, with highlights of sweet alfalfa. Painting plum crazy on a dolphin stamp, I was able to stamp two dolphins leaping out of the sea. This is my daughter's favorite tag. (Painted by my daughter.) 

Music Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os and black Sakura micron pen on watercolor paper.  
I created an abstract background by brushing swirls of colors onto the tag. I used plum crazy, blue zircon, sweet alfalfa, and persimmon paints.Some of the paints I left opaque and others I thinned with water for more transparency (can't see this well in photo).  I sprinkled salt on the wet paint. However, once dry, the salt didn't come off easily, so some was left in place. The salt created some texture in the plum crazy and persimmon colors, but not as much as I had hoped for.  I used a 0.02 black Sakura micron pen to draw in music staffs and notes, as well as a saying by Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Most of us go to the grave with our music still inside us.". I found this in the book Creative is a Verb by Patti Digh, which I am reading for book club for April, May and June (see my review for chapters 1-3 here). This saying really struck a chord with me, so I had to put it on a tag. (Painted by Lynnita.)

Blooming Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os and Pico Embellisher on watercolor paper. 
I wanted to see how well the Twinkling H2Os did with a stencil, so I painted persimmon, rose gold, black cherry and mango mamba through a pod stencil.  Unlike the peacock feather where I used a small brush to apply paint, I used a stencil brush this time. In the smallest pod at the bottom, the mango mamba mixed with rose gold paint was too thin and bled under the stencil. I used a blue Pico Embellisher to add the saying, "Life is an empty square unless one fills it up with matter!" by Robin Antar. This was another saying in the book, Creative is a Verb. (Painted by Lynnita.)

Pondering Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os, Sakura micron pen, and Derwent watercolor pencils on watercolor paper. I freehand painted the face first with pearl red, using blue zircon for the eyes and poppy for the lips. Her hair is cedar wood with autumn butternut highlights, while her top is rose gold with salt for texture. Using a flexible rubber stamp, I painted sweet alfalfa and blue zircon to create a background. The sweet alfalfa worked fairly well, but the blue zircon just bled everywhere. Once it was dry, I stamped over the blue zircon area with another stamp using the sweet alfalfa paint. I used Derwent watercolor pencils to add shading to the face and a 0.005 black Sakura micron pen to add the details. (Painted by Lynnita.)

Luggage Tag, 2 3/4" x 5 1/5", Twinkling H2Os on fabric. Using pieces of Tim Holtz's Electric Elements fabrics leftover from the Nov 2014 Fabric club kit reviewed  Dec 1, 2014,I cut small pieces of the fabric and enhanced the print with the Twinkling H2O paints in several of the colors. Once the paint dried, I heat set it.  I stitched a collage of the fabric for the front of the luggage tag. I finished the edge with a piece of fuzzy, multicolor, eyelash yarn. The hand of the fabric stayed soft for the luggage tag front. (Painted by Lynnita.)

Luggage Tag back. I scribbled with several colors of the Twinkling H2Os on the back of the luggage tag just to test the hand of the fabric. I used a substantial amount of the mango mamba in the center, but smaller amounts of several other colors. Once it was dry, I heat set the paint. Where I used the larger amount of the mango mamba, the fabric was stiff, but in the other areas, the fabric still has a soft hand. The twinkling H2Os work well on fabric, but use a small amount to keep a soft hand. I didn't realize I was out of the clear vinyl to create a pocket on the back of the luggage tag for the address. So this will be added later. (Painted by Lynnita.)

Product Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the paints - they are bright, luminescent and easy to use. I was able to reactivate the paints that dried on the freezer paper palette even after 30 minutes. This was awesome to find out! This ability to reactivate allowed my daughter to fix mistakes in a couple of her tags that she thought were lost causes. This also allows mixing the paints to create new colors, knowing that I won't waste paint from it drying out too fast.

The paints work well with both stencils and stamps, although you want to use stamps that are deeply etched, have thick, wide lines, bold graphics, and/or large surface areas. Avoid stamps with shallow tiny detail lines. These do not work very well. When using stencils, be sure the paints are not extremely wet, so they do not bleed under the stencil. Also a small brush can be used to paint in small stencil openings.

I have one negative comment. It was stated that the paint needs to be dry before closing the jars. Even in the 'dry' Arizona heat, the paints were still wet after 2 1/2 hours. I closed them, anyway, as I was ready to sleep by 1:00 am. When I checked them the next day, all the paints were still wet, paint had gotten on the lids making it difficult to open a couple of them, and two of them had actually leaked. So I left them open again.It still took another 2-3 hours before they were fully dry and I could close them. This will create a challenge for me to use them, as I do not have a dedicated work space at the moment and cannot leave opened jars of paint out where grandchildren could get a hold of them.


I hope you enjoyed this review and will consider using these wonderful, sparkling watercolors! They are worth buying, even if you have many other paints!

Keep creating!
Lynnita

Blue Twig Studio - Feb Product Review

I'm running a bit late with February's product review for Blue Twig Studio as my granddaughter was born a month premature and spent 3 weeks in the neonatal ICU, I had hand surgery on my dominant hand to remove a ganglion cyst, and then I needed IV fluids for severe dehydration due the worst case of flu I have ever had. It was a long month. Our granddaughter is now home from the hospital and doing well. She will require open heart surgery when she is 4-6 months old to repair a congenital heart defect. I am feeling much better and my hand has healed for the most part - at least I can use it again!

I finally finished my review and project for five different black pens and a sketchbook.

The pens include:

Various black pens on mixed-media paper.

•  a black Sakura 02 micron pen (0.30mm nib) - an archival writing and design pen; acid-free; fine-line for papercrafts, journals, illustration, manga art and crafts; comes in 6 nib sizes and 15 colors.
• a black Faber Castell Pitt artist pen (0.60mm nib) - black India ink; waterproof; permanent; acid-free; archival; for sketching, journals, cartooning, fine-ink drawings; perfect for mixed-media; ideal for traveling. 
• a black Sakura 05 Microperm pen (0.45mm nib) - permanent on most surfaces; water and fade resistant; alcohol based cleaners may remove ink; do not launder; test prior to final application; low odor. 
• a black Uni-ball Signo 207 Impact gel pen (1.0mm nib) - contoured rubber grip; uni-super InkTM to help prevent against check and document fraud; thick, vibrant lines to make a bold statement; refillable, quick-drying, fade- and water-resistant gel pen. 
• a black fine point Sharpie pen.(1.00mm nib) - a permanent marker that marks on most surfaces; is quick-drying, fade-and water-resistant; no bleed and smear resistant.

Bleed-thru of pens on mixed-media paper.

The photo above shows the five pens written on mixed-media paper with a tangle pattern that used a heavy black fill. All the pens wrote well. The Sakura micron and the Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen both have a nice, fine black mark. This is nice for writing, illustrating and fine lines for Zentangles or ZIAs (Zentangle-Inspired Art). The Sakura Microperm pen is actually darker than the Uni-ball Signo Impact gel pen, although it has a smaller nib size. The Sharpie fine-point pen having the boldest, blackest line of all the pens. It has the same nib size as the Uni-ball Signo Impact 207 gel pen.

The Sakura Microperm pen and the Sharpie
fine-point pen both show significant bleed-thru on mixed-media paper.  The tangle patterns for both the Faber Castell Pitt artist pen and Uni-ball Signo Impact 207 gel pen can be seen in the photo on the reverse side of the paper, but the actual paper does not show bleed-thru.

Crescent RENDЯ 
3.5" x 5.5" sketchbook.   

The sketchbook:
I reviewed a Crescent RENDЯ 3.5" x 5.5" sketchbook. It has acid- and lignin-free, white heavy-weight, 110 lb paper consisting of 32 sheets or 64 pages, with a regular binding. The sketchbook claims media won't bleed though pages, that the pages will lay flat, and it can be used with all media, including spray paint, markers, pastels, pencil (or charcoal), watercolors, and ink. Note: Limited show-through may occur over time with heavy application of Xylene markers. This sketchbook is made in the USA.

I first created several pages in black and white, using the five pens included in the review. I am happy to report that not one of the black pens show any sign of bleed-thru. I was able to work on both sides of the pages for my art journaling. After creating the artwork with the various pens, I went back and added color using various media to test the claims of the sketchbook. None of the media I used bled-thru the pages, although some of the watercolors, spray paints, and pastels managed to run over the edges of the sheets onto other sheets, as I was very enthusiastic in my application of the various media. Following is the artwork I created in the sketchbook to date.

Title page using Sakura micron pen.

Title page after adding watercolors. I also added gel 
pens in various colors over the letters in "Journal". 
The page curled initially after getting wet from the 
watercolors, but eventually dried flat.

Quote using the Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen. Zingers and feather done with Sakura micron pen.

Added Tim Holtz Distress Stain in spiced marmalade through a TCW Mini
Daisy Cluster 6" stencil. Added red ink with a Sakura Moonlight gel pen. 

Zentangle Garden using Sakura micron, Faber-Castell Pitt artist, and
Sakura Microperm pens and shaded with charcoal.

Derwent watercolor pencils were used to add color to the Zentangle Garden.

Zentangle stripes using Sakura micron, Sakura Micropern, and Uni-ball Signo Impact pens.

Prismacolor Nupastel color blocks used to add a rainbow of color between
 the Zentangle stripes. Sealed with Krylon Workable Fixatif 1306.

Dragon and quote created with Sharpie fine-point and Sakura Microperm pens.

Tim Holtz Distress Stain in aged mahogany applied to TCW Mini Navaho 6" stencil over the quote. Background, horns, beak, and eyes of dragon painted with Derwent watercolor pencils. Dragon wings and scales painted with blackberry Facetten-Lack Croco Crackling Colour. Unfortunately, only a few spots on the body were thick enough to show the crackling effect. The rest was painted too thin for the paint to crackle.  

Griffin Momma and babies. Momma griffin created with Uni-ball
Signo Impact gel pen and babies created with Sakura micron pen.

Griffins painted with Prismacolor Premiere markers and Tombow markers. 
Tombow marker blender used to help blend the various shades of markers. 
Background painted with Derwent watercolor pencils.

Sisters created with Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen.

Background spray-painted in layers with Dylusions Ink Spray in London blue, lemon zest, and pure sunshine, and Perfect Pearls Mists in perfect copper.  TCW Mini Swirly Garden and TCW Mini Wedding Ring stencils were used.  The faces were painted with titanium white acrylic paint and various shades of Derwent watercolor pencils. The hair was created from a clothing catalog and adhered using matte medium.

I enjoyed all the products this month. A variety of black pens is essential for artwork, as drawings, Zentangles, illustrations, quotes, mixed-media, and so forth, all require a mixture of line widths and a shades of black. The Crescent RENDЯ sketchbook was a joy to work with using a variety of media. I felt it met the claims it made - I had no bleed-thru using any of the black pens or the various media I added to my artwork. The pages laid flat, so I could easily work across two pages.  Note:  I did not use gesso on any of these pages prior to creating any of the above drawings, as I did not want it to add any strength to the paper in order to test the claims made by the company.

The only comment I have would be to watch the amount of water (or alcohol) added to the page, as too much can make the pages start to roughen. Although, I scrubbed a few spots and still had no bleed-thru and could still paint these spots. Also, the more liquid added to the pages, the more they curl. However, the pages became almost flat once dry. If they need to be completely flat, the sketchbook can be pressed between two heavy items to finish flattening any curled pages.

I would definitely use a Crescent RENDЯ sketchbook for any art journal needs. The 3.5" x 5.5" size is perfect for traveling. It fits in my purse nicely, along with the pens, to enable me to create anywhere. A larger size would be nice for working out of at home.

Keep creating!
Lynnita

Blue Twig Studio - Jan Product Review and Project Step-Outs

This month's Blue Twig Studio product was a Treenway Silks package: Creative Silk Pack, in Winter Night Sky colors. It contains (8-10) silk hankies, (5) silk cocoons, (5-6) silk carrier rods, and some degummed throwsters silk. For those that are unfamiliar with these fibers: Silk hankies are 10" squares of silk fibers held together with a "selvegde.." The Bombyx cocoons are the home of the Bombyx silk worm and are spun of a continuous thread one mile long. They can be cut, painted, and sewn. The carrier rods are a by-product of reeling the silk from the cocoon. Some of the filaments get wound around the machinery. This silk is then slit and removed. The rods are 5-5 1/2" long when whole and unscrunched.  The degummed throwsters silk comes from a "throwster" who takes several silk filaments, assembles and twists (throws) the silk to create a reeled silk yarn that is substantial enough for weaving or knitting. These fibers, cocoons, and rods can be dyed in many colors. In the Winter Night Sky pack, the various silk fibers are dyed in shades of blue to purple.

Treenway Silks Creative Silk Pack in Winter Night Sky colors.
Contains silk hankies, cocoons, carrier rods, and degummed throwsters silk fibers.

Project:  This product gave me some thought on the best way to use it. I love working with silk fibers. However, you cannot felt silk without adding some wool fibers to trap the silk. Wool has little barbs that hold them together, but silk does not. I took a class last year with Noriko Endo (a Japanese fiber artist) on using silk fibers. She made beautiful silk scarves and wall hangings. I decided to do a silk scarf. I cheated by using a white silk scarf as a base, instead of just fibers, as Noriko Endo had us do in class (as there were not enough fibers in the package for me to make a scarf).

8mm Habotai silk scarf - 8" wide x 54" long.

First, I painted the scarf using a variety of paints: Pebeo Setasilk and Setacolor shimmers in greens, blues, and purples, and silver; and Liquitex Acrylic Inks in copper and bronze.

Pebeo Setasilk and Setacolor Shimmer
fabric paints in purples, blues, greens, and silver.

Liquitex Acrylic Ink in bronze and copper.

One end of the scarf after the painting has been completed and heat-set.

A couple other products that I used were Angelina fibers to add glitz and glimmer to the silk fibers, netting to trap the silk and Angelina fibers, and water soluble stabilizer to hold the layers together until I stitched them.

Angelina fibers.in several shades of blue, bronze and copper.

Netting to trap the silk fibers between it and the silk scarf.

Water Soluble Stabilizer

One very necessary item that is needed when working with silk fibers is hand lotion. The silk fibers tend to stick to fingers unless lotion is applied frequently. So keep a jar or bottle handy while working with the silk fibers.

Hand lotion - very necessary for working with silk fibers.

 

When pulling silk fibers from a silk hankie, stretch the fibers out to create a thin layer.

Stretching the silk fibers of a hankie apart to create a thin layer.

Pulling off a piece of a silk hankie to work with.

Since I used a silk scarf for the base, I applied thin layers of the silk hankies to create texture and interest. (If a silk scarf base is not used, then a base created from multiple thin layers of the silk hankies applied in opposing directions on top of a layer of heavy water soluble stabilizer is necessary.) Besides the thin layers of the silk hankies, I added thin strips of the carrier rods, strings of the degummed throwsters silk, a whole carrier rod, Angelina fibers, and some silk flowers that I had in my silk fiber stash to the scarf.

A small portion of the scarf showing the thin layers from the silk hankies, curly
 strings from the degummed throwsters silk, thin strips of the carrier rods, silk 
flowers, and Angelina fibers laid on top of the painted silk scarf base.

After adding all the fibers, I added a layer of netting to trap the fibers and a layer of light-weight water soluble stabilizer to hold it all together. I sewed the layers together on my sewing machine using metallic threads and silk threads for further embellishment. I stitched approximately 8-10 curved lines lengthwise down the scarf. I also stitched across the short ends. (If creating a base of silk fibers, rather than using a silk scarf, then netting is not needed, as it is necessary to machine stitch with small circles no larger than 1/4" in diameter to hold the silk fibers together.)

Once I was done with the machine stitching, I further embellished the scarf with embroidery using silk floss. Ruth Chandler's book, Modern Hand Stitching, is a good resource for stitches.  I added buttonhole, fly, lazy daisy, and seed stitches. I also added beading to the silk flowers, lazy daisy flowers, and the silk carrier rods. Finally I cut a couple of the cocoons in half lengthwise, added beads to them and hand-stitched them to the scarf.

Hand-painted silk scarf embellished with silk hankies, silk carrier rods,
silk cocoons, degummed throwsters silk, Angelina fibers, embroidery and beading.

Detail of completed silk scarf.

Product Review:  The Treenway Silk Creative Silk Pack was fun. The silk fibers can be used in many wonderful ways. Winter Night Sky is just one of many colors the dyed fibers come in. Just remember to keep hand lotion available when handling the silk fibers to keep them from clinging to your fingers and getting everywhere!


Keep creating!!
Lynnita

Blue Twig Studio - Dec Review of Products and Project Step-Outs

As part of Blue Twig Studio's Design Team, I will be reviewing products and doing at least one project each month. For the month of December, I am reviewing the November Fabric Club Kit.

Products  Reviewed and Used for Project:

Blue Twig Studio's November Fabric Club Kit. 

Included in the November Fabric Club Kit:

1. Five fat quarters (18" x 22") of Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements fabric line. 
• Two are a snakeskin design, one in blacks and the other in brown shades. 
• The third has various streets, such as 179 Times Square, P'kway Queens Plaza, Metropolitan Av, 8th Coney Island, Kings Highway in shades of browns and tans.
• The fourth piece are logos of various hotels around the world in tans, grays, and browns. Examples are the Ritz Barcelona, Hotel Barker in Seattle Washington, Hotel Merkur in Nurnberg, Hotel Mount Everest in Darjeeling, India, Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and so forth., 
• The last piece has various numbers and fractions, going in different directions in shades of tans and browns.
2. Two 125 yard spools of Heavy Dual Duty XP Coats and Clark polyester thread in chocolate brown and black. 
3. Three 1 1/2" four-hole wood buttons with mottled shading of tans, rusts, and browns. 

Other products that I used to create my project (a 8" x 10" wall hanging) include:

     *  A 6"x6" three-quarter face view stencil by Artist Cellar, designed by Jane Davenport. (Could use any stencil.)

     

     *  Jacquard Textile Paint in 123 White. You could use gesso or any other paint brand. I used the Jacquard, as I had been using it for another project and already had it out and easily available.

     *  The shimmering gold acrylic ink from a Daler-Rowney FW Shimmering Colours Set of Acrylic Artists Ink.  (Could use another brand of shimmering or glittery paint.)

     *  Other fabrics including gold lame, silver lacy tulle, and brown tulle. These add texture and interest. (Any fabrics could be added.)

     *  Wine and yellow silk threads fibers. (Any fibers could be use , i.e. Angelina fibers, fancy yarns, wool felt… Also could add hand-stitching to for texture and interest.)

      *  Timtex interfacing.  Timtex is 100% polyester for consistent thickness and texture. It's firm yet flexible. It's perfect for shaping into 3-D craft projects. It's easy to cut, mark and sew. Machine wash and dry. It can be bought in packages or by the yard. (Could use any interfacing, batting, a piece of flannel, or canvas.)

Project Step-Out:

I first cut a piece of Timtex interfacing to size (8" x 10"). Then I used the street name fabric to cover the back of the timtex. I folded the edges around to the front and stitched them down with the black Coats and Clark thread included in the kit. Next I added a label that I hand-wrote with a black 0.03 micron. Sakura pen and stitched that into the lower right-hand corner of the back of the wall hanging.

Back of 8" x 10" wall hanging with "Faces" label.

Now I was ready to create my wall hanging. I laid out pieces of all five fabrics in various sizes to create a collage and stitched these to the front. I didn't put the fabrics in any particular order. I added part of the selvage edges to show they were Tim Holtz's fabrics, and also, just for fun.

Step 1. Collage of all five fabrics stitched randomly to the front.

I fused a piece of the lacy silver tulle and three flame-shaped strips of gold lame to the collage. Then, I stenciled the three-quarter view face stencil using Jacquard textile white paint. I added the hair with more white paint and a brush.

Step 2. Add gold lame and silver tulle. Stencil face and paint hair.

 She needed some more color, so I chose the shimmering gold DR acrylic artists ink to add gold eye shadow and gold to her hair. It looks better in the collage, as you can see the gold shimmer, which the camera did not pick up well.

Step 3. Painted gold shimmering acrylic ink to the eyelids and hair.

I sewed on the buttons for a necklace. Then I added metallic beads in various sizes (6, 8, 11) on either side of a large raku face bead for a barrette in her hair. Finally, I laid out various strands of a variety of neutral colors of pearl cotton and couched them with three small Chinese coins and size 11 beads.

Step 4. Attach buttons, beads, pearl cotton and Chinese coins.

 Finally, I used an awl to punch 3 holes in the top, attaching a small 10" mesquite branch (about 1/2" in diameter) with gold ribbon for the hanger of the wall hanging.

Final mixed-media, collaged wall hanging, 8" x 10". 

Product Review:

I was thrilled to receive the November Fabric Club Kit, as I love Tim Holtz's Eclectic Element fabric line and haven't had a chance to buy any of his fabrics, as I could not find them at any local quilt stores in the Phoenix, AZ area. I think fabrics with words and numbers are such fun to create tote bags, messenger bags, and/or purses. But better yet, they work well for collage quilts, modern quilts, backgrounds for pictorial quilts, and/or mixed-media art work. I created an 8" x 10" mixed-media wall hanging with the kit. I have enough fabric left to make a small quilt or a small purse. I'll let you know what I create when I get to it. (With upcoming holidays, it will be a few months.)

I had a problem with the buttons that you need to be aware of. They can NOT be sewn on by machine, as the hole spacing is wider than the industry standard for buttons. I'm glad I always check the hole spacing before I just hit sew, or I would have broken a needle and possibly thrown off the machine's timing. A note with the buttons stating that they have a wider hole spacing than the industry standard for buttons would have been nice. So beware when buying buttons to check the hole spacing before just stitching on your sewing machine! 

The thread states "heavy", but I could not find the size (30wt, 40wt, 50wt?) on the spool anywhere. My 80/12 needle worked, but the 90/14 was better. To hand-sew the buttons, I had to use a larger hand-needle than I normally use for hand-stitching, as well. A size 9 worked well.  Again, it would be nice to have the size of thread put on the label, so you are not guessing what size needles (machine or hand) to use with it. (I did use both the brown and black threads for sewing the project.)

This wall hanging can be seen at Blue Twig Studio after Dec 3rd. I hope these step-outs give you some direction to take for your own  mixed-media, collaged wall-hanging.

Keep creating!

Lynnita