The Journey

Hi everyone...it's another month and time to alter up something fun for Rhedds Creative Spirit challenge blog.... I saw this YOUTUBE by Tim Coffey where he recycles a cereal box to use it as a canvas and then create a piece using a glue gun for the texture on his images...well I had to try it. 

This is what I started with... 

And this is what I created 

I won't go into great detail with the piece but I do have photos to share of the process. 

First we need to prep the box by covering it in masking tape. 

Next up give your box a coat of black gesso. Using black allows a better coverage of the graphics on the box. Once dry, give it a coat of white gesso. 

 Next up gather your image and mod podge onto your canvas

Now the fun part... are you ready... I probably used 6 glue sticks. Be careful not to burn your fingers. Start tracing over the top of your image. The more detailed you get the better. Watching Tim Coffey do this was amazing... he is so good at it.

 Once your glue is dry coat with white gesso... doesn't that look neat !

Now it's time to get out your sprays, micas, Inka golds, acrylics...  you know all your mixed media wonderfulness and color away. 

 I started with acrylics... some I watered down and allowed to just drip. I then got out my Lindys MoonShadow sprays... They have that beautiful vintage iridescence to them.

I then finished off the tops with Inka Gold in Platinum and Gold. I hope you enjoyed this piece, now check out your pantry for empty canvases... I mean boxes that you can use in your art and have fun ! Be sure to drop by our mixed media & altered blog and post your photo to inspire all of us with your wonderful creations! xoxo Toni

Carving Out Some Halloween Inspiration !

Happy October everyone and I am loving this cooler weather. New month so time to create something new with us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit.... altered or mixed media pieces and link up to our blog so we can be inspired by your creativity.

It's time to start decorating for the upcoming holidays... but first up is Halloween. A friend of mine is having a "Monster Bash" this year and has volunteered me... lol... to do some decorating for her. She knows how much I love to hostess parties and presentation is everything ! 

I decided to get my hands on a few of these great pumpkins at Michael's

You can get different sizes and colors, white, orange, black even chalkboard black. They are made from a foam material and so they are really easy to cut up and alter. First up I cut the top off, like you would a regular pumpkin and I painted the inside with black acrylic paint because it was white inside. 

For the skull, I picked up a paper mache one also at Michaels and painted it white and added Art Basics Texture Paste White Sand all over it to give it texture. Once everything was dry I then gave it a coat of black acrylic paint and then wiped off the excess with baby wipes just so the black would seep into the crevices of the skull. The hands I purchased at the Dollar Store and they were beige so I gave them the same painting treatment that I did with the skull. I then just added red gems for the eyes using my glue gun. To give the illusion that the skull is popping out of the side of the pumpkin, I cut a whole the same size as the skull and using my glue gun once again I adhered then filled in the edges with spanish moss. 

I then added a piece of styrofoam glued it to the inside bottom of the pumpkin and added spanish moss on top. Using fabric fall leaves, I sprayed Dylusions Black Marble and Postbox Red here and there on the leaves to cause a more dramatic look. 

The hands are fun because they look like they are holding the top of the pumpkin. This was super easy and fun, probably took me 4 hours... mostly waiting for stuff to dry and I have lots more ideas for the other pumpkins. Hope this has inspired you for some Boo-tiful Halloween decorations. Have fun and come play along with us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit. 

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

Well, I am so excited to share with you my very first design team project for Rhedd's Creative Spirit Design Team. Yes I am a new member of the team and so excited to create with these wonderful ladies. If you love mixed media and altered art then this is a great place to get inspiration and create with us. So for my first project I decided to give my art journal cover a face lift.

 This is what it looked like before, pretty sad huh ! I picked this baby up at the dollar store.

And here is the new transformation: 

I really kept it very simple using modeling paste, paints, sprays, gesso a little glue gun art and a product I have had forever and I busted it out to use it on this project "Goosebumps". Here is a photo of just the front cover. 

I had intended to put  a title in my frame but decided to make a shaker box instead. Something different and fun. That's what usually happens with my projects, they start off one way and end up another. I hope this has inspired you to get messy with us this month. Be sure to drop by Rhedds Creative Spirit and link up your project.... the theme is "Anything Goes" Below is my Snapguide tutorial for a step x step process on creating this cover. xoxo Toni

I'm entering this piece in the following wonderful challenges: 

That Craft Place Challenge - Mixed Media Anything Goes

Altered Eclectic - Anything Goes 

Eclectic Elapu - Pink Team Anything Goes 

Love To Create - Mixed Media 

Anything But Cute - Making Magic Happen Using Mood Board I used the textures, colors, and glitters 

Mixed Media World - Gorgeous Textures 

Check out How to Create Mixed Media Art Journal Cover by Toni Burks-Grijalva on Snapguide.