Always Be Grateful

No matter how you may feel, there is always something to be grateful for.  I recently saw a video where American olympic skater, Scott Hamilton, talks about how he is handling the return of a brain tumor. Watch the video Here.  His positivity is something to strive for!

I made this little accordion card to inspire myself to be grateful no matter how I may feel.  Find out how I printed with real leaves to make this card in my video.

Here are the quotes:

Find something to be grateful for today.  

“The first thing I teach skaters at my skating academy is how to get up — because we’re going to fall,” Hamilton says. “And that’s how I live my life: I’m going to fall down, I’m going to make mistakes, I’m going to do all kinds of things that I’m going to wish didn’t happen. But it’s what’s next — it’s how you get up … The more times you get up, the stronger you are to face the next thing, which will happen — because that’s life.” Scott Hamilton

Hope you are having a wonderful fall season! 

Kathy

Falling Leaves With Gel Press

Check out my tutorial about how I made these mixed media leaf streamers on the Gel Press® blog today.  

I had lots of leftover leaves and wanted to share what I made with them.

I knew these colorful leaves would make really pretty cards but I wanted to make art that I could hang on my wall. So I came up with this layered collage.  

I love this 12" x 12" shadow box frame I got at Michaels that allows me to pick the depth I need.  I get them on sale half off (about $10) and then grab a bunch in black and white to keep on hand for projects like this. I've done mixed media scrapbook layouts and given them as gifts ready to hang on the wall. 

So what kind of crafty fall projects are on your desk? Are you working on Christmas projects yet?Leave me some comment love below!

Till next time, 

Kathy

Creating Patina

I have a tutorial for you today using Ten Second Studio VerDay Paints.  I'm not a member of their design team and I gain nothing from promoting them, I just I LOVE the paints and wanted to share with you what they can do. I'm using the 2 oz.Verday Paint Kit that includes four metallic paints, (copper, iron, brass and bronze) and a patina spray solution (click on the name above to order).

The paints actually contain real bits of metal so adding the patina solution results in real rust, and aging. I first started using them last year for Scrap n' Art  Magazine and was giddy with the results!  And it is so easy to create real patina finishes.

Here is an overview of the different patina's that result from each metal:

Sorry for the bad lighting!

I first painted each tag with each of the four metal paints and let them dry.  Then I painted them again and while they are wet, I sprayed the patina solution on them.  The fun part is watching the patina form.  It happens fast, even though the directions say it takes a few hours.

Patina Planter

So today I will share with you how I created the worn, patina on this cool planter that I've been killing plants in for the last few years. I'm going to deviate from the Ten Second Studio directions a bit.

Before

First I started with a light coat of gesso because there are some places where the first layer of gray paint was chipping off and I felt that it needed a surface for future paint to stick to.  I left some of the gray showing in the cracks and crevices. Look, she's smiling because I'm making her beautiful!

I used Basics (cheap) Liquitex Copper paint as a basecoat because I have lots of surface to cover and VerDay paints are expensive and I will still get a great result. Yea, the real reason is I'm cheap!!! Note: The patina will only appear on the areas where I use the VerDay paints, not the Liquitex copper base coat.

Planter with Copper Basecoat

Now to add the Verday paints in copper and iron.  The copper will produce a blue/green patina and the iron will create a rust patina. The iron paint has a foul smell!!!  But it is worth the results, so I carried on! I let them dry completely.

Painting on Iron Paint

I add another coat and while the paint is still wet, I sprayed the Patina solution onto the wet paint and waited for the magic to happen. I did this step in sections so that the paint didn't dry.  I also did the iron separate from the copper.

Adding Patina Solution

 I left it for the night and when I came back the next morning, here is what I found:

I think she is much happier now!

Isn't this the coolest photo!!

And here is where she will live:

I  hope I don't kill that plant! It's partially not my fault since the planter has no drainage and it's a shallow and not much room for dirt and roots! So we will see what happens.  

Here are some other projects using the VerDay Paint Kit:

Patina Leaves Canvas Detail

Patina Leaves Canvas

Patina Leaves Canvas

In the Patina Leaves Canvas, I die-cut aluminum can material using the Tim Holtz Bigz Tattered Leaves Die and embossed them using different designs.  I painted them with green and orange acrylic paints so that I would have some bright colors peaking through the patina finish.  Then I painted them with VerDay paints and sprayed them with the solution and let the magic happen! I then sanded the raised embossed areas to let some of the aluminum show. The little upholstry tacks were treated with the VerDay paints also.

I recently posted a project on Art Anthology's blog featuring a canvas using their paints.  I wanted to add some Tim Holtz gear embellishments to the canvas so to create rust on them, I used iron VerDay paint and patina solution. The metal gears took the paint beautifully and created genuine rust!

So if you are interested in creating a great patina finish on almost any surface, consider the Ten Second Studio VerDay Patina Paints.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! Please leave me your thoughts, questions, comments below.  I'd love to hear from you!

Kathy