Can I do it? Yes, I can!
The description in Wikipedia about Mixed Media is – “In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art include, but are not limited to, paint, cloth, paper, wood and found objects”
So … we are all mixed media artists! I am sure that every single scrapbooker has tried a little paint on the page, or glitter, or cloth, doilies – you name it! Cork? Wood … it is endless.
My last post was how I use mixed media techniques to make cards – this post is not a ‘this is how to do it’, but more of a ‘look at the mess I made and I love it!’ I regularly practise inking, spraying, stamping etc on old cardstock, paper or specific paper types and have a large assortment to use for my layouts.
Below is a few of the type of products and techniques I use regularly.
Hello, Crafty Stash!
Sprays are one of the easiest way to produce beautiful layouts. The ones you see here are from Lindy’s Stamp Gang, Kaisercraft, Heidi Swapp and Dyan Reavely. They last for years – it will be the spray heads that give up before the inks go off. Other brands include Tim Holtz, Gina K, Prima and Brutus Monroe – these were the brands that popped up on my quick search.
My collection of stencils is not extensive; I prefer to purchase new ones when a specific need arises or if I seek variety. I store the larger stencils in an old scrapbook album and place the smaller ones in a ring binder for better organization. I always keep spare paper on hand when I am using them, to soak up the extra inks and I make sure I wipe them off immediately.
I have mica powders from Lindy’s Stamp Gang, The Paper Mill, Luminarte, and Ranger (Perfect Pearls). Many manufacturers offer them, and Scrapbook.com has options from Hero Arts, Nuvo, Cosmic Shimmer, and Pink Ink designs. Instead of buying coloured shimmer pastes, I mix mine with texture gel and paste.
I purchase my texture mediums from various outlets. Being in Australia, purchasing from Scrapbook.com is not an option at present, due to the exchange rate. Mine are from art shops, online (Riot Art and Craft) and from a discount store – Red Dot.
I am very tempted to give Simon Hurley’s Lunar or Solar Pastes a whirl – I have seen these in a couple of Aussie scrapbook stores online.
Sprays and Mists:
Sprays and mists are great fun, with a huge variety of finishes. The majority of mine are from Lindy’s Stamp Gang, but I have Dyan Reavely, Kaisercraft, Heidi Swapp and Tim Holtz, amongst others -some are pearlescent, others are flat and others give a different finish once dried. Distress Oxide also comes in a spray that is water reactive, like the inkpad. Dina Wakely has sprays that give a gloss finish.
The four pages below demonstrate various spray techniques:
- Spraying ink pools on a craft mat and pressing the paper onto them (smooshing).
- Misting paper in a box using random colors from a tray.
- Blasting color on upright paper, allowing the ink to drip down.
- Creating a rainbow effect using an ‘anti-stencil’ technique, where leftover ink is transferred to new paper.
Texture Mediums
Texture mediums are pastes which have ‘body’ to them when they are dry. Some are light, some are heavy, others are transparent when dried and others are iridescent. That one is my personal favourite, as I can add mica powders to a small amount and the effect is stunning.
Different effects using texture mediums:
- Iridescent gel medium, spread thinly through stencil. As it dries, the effect is a darker, pearly finish.
- Background paper that has been well and truly sprayed and splattered – mandala stencil used with white matted texture medium when dry.
- That same stencil, using gel medium with mica powders mixed in. They were randomly placed and spread using a spatula (or credit card).
- A partial stencil print, with heavy white texture medium spread through it. Large flakes of glitter have been sprinkled over it while it is still wet.
Let someone else do the work ...
There is so much inspiration online, from many talented artists (too many to mention). During COVID, I started watching Vicki Boutin, who was doing Friday videos – the first two pages below were what she showed us how to do – she is an absolute queen of mixed media. I haven’t used these pages because I like them too much, lol.
The third page is Basic Grey. This is typical of their shabby style and already looks like it is ready to go. I gave it my personal touch by altering it with texture paste and a stencil. A lot of paper collections have papers where the mixed media work has been done already, so saving a lot of time (good for LOAD).
My examples ...
One stencil, used with gel texture medium, which I have coloured and randomly spread. As the background is busy, not too many elements are required for this page.
White texture paste spread through a 6 x 6 stencil ( I attempted to cover where it joined) on the left side. On the right, my mandala stencil with a white ink spritzed through it.
All the things ...
I spread metallic and glitter acrylic paint in pastel colours, using a credit card. When dry, I pulled clear gel medium through the heart stencil and sprinkled with glitter. Even though there is so much going on, all the colours tone with the photo. The vellum stamped butterflies have Kindyglitz on their wings for extra shine.
Hmm – I clearly had a plan. The greens in the background are texture paste. The red is spray and there is that heart stencil again. Using elements with the same colours, pulls this layout together, which is good, as it is quite chaotic! Also helpful to have a cute subject.
Same, same ...
This layout has the circle stencil on the background cardstock, sprayed with a pearly spray. The ripped white piece was one I had played with on a previous occasion (being the anti-stencil of a turquoise page). The colours were perfect for my sister’s top and I was happy to use the two pieces.
I always grab a piece of scrap paper when I spray through the stencils, so I don’t waste the ink and capture these interesting designs that can be used.
Just a couple more -
This layout is simply white cardstock with a large patch blue iridescent spray under the pics. As that was pretty basic, I used hearts that I had cut out from pieces of cardstock with strips of washi tape on them. This is a great way of using up the never-ending wall of washi!
One of my most favourite ever layouts.
This is on a piece of Vicki Boutin’s mixed media paper and it is thick. I am not sure if that is why the smooshed colours look so good. I think these are Distress Inks, actually. Anyway, the gold of the letters matches perfectly with the gold of the texture paste stencilled hearts, which I have used in three places.
What about ink?
I am sure many people use inks as a medium on their pages. I tend to use them on cards. If I do play, I will sometimes rip these pieces and use them as elements on my layouts. I love how the stencils look and double stencilling is something I will be doing more of in the future. The hearts are layered on the stripes – I haven’t really explored this technique but this is cute.
With the ability to reprint photos, we can now experiment more with backgrounds, without fear of ruining the page. I love my patterned paper and cardstock, but sometimes feel the need for a mixed media frenzy! I don’t think you can often get it wrong with – even the ugliest of messes can be covered. The one tip I would give is to ensure the color scheme you are using matches the photo’s vibe or colours. Have fun making a mess with your supplies!