Papercrafts, mixed media and foamiran flower projects to inspire

Thursday 5 December 2019



As we approach this festive time of year and the special day gets closer it will soon be time to put away our Christmas themed craft products and stash them safely to use next year. Today I share with you the final Xmas project made with the Christmas Mitform metal embellishments as I think that I have so many other things to fit into my hectic schedule that it is unlikely that I will be making another Christmas project this year. I hope you like this sample and use some of the crafty techniques in other projects throughout the year. 



I wanted to use techniques inspired by the wonderful Finnabair and combine them with the Mitform products and also a series of chipboard houses that I got from 14 Craft Bar. I started by taking a box frame canvas approximately 8" x 10" and added snowflakes using a Tim Holtz stencil and black stencil paste before coating with black gesso. I then adhered the houses in a line to make a street scene. I placed a number of the non-Christmas Mitform pieces plus two of the cute Christmas Stockings below the houses spelling out the word Noel. I also added Finnabair art melange pebbles (the white dots in the picture below)  for further interest before covering the whole lot with more black gesso.


I then built up layers of colour to give depth and dimension - I sprinkled blue cast and magic sparkle luscious powders by Indigoblu over the piece and then sprayed with water to dilute and distribute the colour - this allowed the paints to settle in the crevices of the pieces. 





I wanted to bring more definition to the houses so added a shadow using midnight sky acrylic paint by Finnabair and also some splats of white acrylic paint to give the affect of snow falling. 




My next step was to add some more midnight sky paint around the sky - daubing a thick layer along the top of the piece and letting it run by spraying with water. More colour was added using waxes from Finnabair in shades of blue, green and iron.






The piece looked to me as if the houses were floating in the middle of nowhere so I then added a grounding layer using snow paste which was sprinkled with glass glitter and several shades of Tim Holtz distress glitter










The combination of glitters and mica in the luscious powders means that this piece has a sparkle that is so difficult to pick up on a camera but in real life gives a beautiful effect. - I love the luscious powders so much and the two that I chose are duo tones - the blue cast looks white in the pot but is blue on dark surfaces and the magic sparkle is white in the pot and gives a clear sparkle on white backgrounds but as in this piece a silvery shine on dark backgrounds. If you haven't tried them then I urge you to try them out.






































































Friday 22 November 2019


Today I am sharing with you a how to for the wonderful company Mitform_Castings. I know the pieces may be more expensive than some metal embellishments but they are absolutely worth every penny - they add weight to the project giving a luxurious feel that lighter embellishments do not deliver. I love them in mixed media pieces when I can add lots of them but even a single one on a card will add magic to your pieces. In England they are available from I Love Mixed Media and from Craft all Day Long - both companies have facebook pages and websites and in Ireland they are available from Mixed Media Place.

I enjoy using beautiful papers and making 3D pieces of home decor and so at this time of year what could be more perfect than a decorated Christmas tree.


Here I have used an MDF base by woodouts and papers from Craft O'clock called singing in the snow to provide a base on which to show case the Christmas Mitform pieces.













I covered MDF base with papers from the pack adhering them with gel medium. I then added layers of muslin and lace to give the appearance of a tree festooned with garlands, again using gel medium to stick everything down.





When adding embellishments I tend to start with the biggest items first so I selected a number of mitform pieces and glued them as shown.











I them spent a little while cutting out elements from the cut apart sheets that come with the paper pack. The floral elements and baubles were given dimension using a selection of different sized ball tools.





The fussy cut elements were added to the front of my Christmas tree with little glittery foam balls added to the centers of the flowers and scattered around like little snow balls.










The back of the piece was covered with papers and layered with more paper elements.



A pile of fussy cut presents and more Mitform pieces were placed at the bottom of the tree.





Finally the tree was edged with a snow affect paste before the whole tree and embellishments were given a dusting of snow by dry brushing on more of the snow paste
I hope that some of you will have ago at making this project and wish you and your family a love filled holiday.

Sunday 3 March 2019

Love a mixed media frame




I began creating this piece whilst the Christmas season was in full swing but knew that it was likely to be used closer to Valentine’s day and therefor chose to focus on the words “with love” as these two simple words can mean so very much.

I started by painting the back of a wooden heart decoration bought from one of the very cheap home stores in the UK using Paper Artsy ® chalk paint in Irish Cream. The other side was stuck to a piece of paper from Hugs of Roses https://14craftbar.com/home/789-scrapbooking-papers-house-of-roses-12x12.html and once the glue was dry I used a scalpel to cut the excess paper away and then sandpaper around the edge of the heart to neaten the piece.   I then applied some Prima ® light paste through a Snipart mandala stencil damask rose https://14craftbar.com/home/2018-stencil-13-damask-rosette.html  to add a layer of interest on top of the paper and again left it to dry naturally.



I created my own three dimensional accents using the long rose ornament mould https://14craftbar.com/home/2466-silicone-mold-long-ornament-b.html (two pieces) and the beautifully ornate heart frame mould https://14craftbar.com/home/1627-silicone-mold-mirror-heart.html and airdry clay https://14craftbar.com/home/1051-clay.html https://14craftbar.com/home/1051-clay.html. I wanted the long rose mould to curve around the top of one side of my wooden heart, so I carefully moulded it in the curve I wanted before leaving the pieces dry completely. The texture on these pieces was then highlighted using Prima® icing paste in old gold. I cut one of the long ornament pieces apart to give me 2 swirls, 2 rose buds and the central big rose piece.




Whilst the clay was drying I chose my paper pieces – I used a frame from the Yesterday ephemera pack https://14craftbar.com/home/1800-ephemera-cards-yesterday.html cutting off the outer part to leave me with an oval piece that I split in two. I then chose 3 tags and I topper from the vintage time A4 sheet 009 https://14craftbar.com/home/2037-scrapbooking-paper-a4-sheet-vintage-time-009.html  and layered them on top of each other using off cuts of cardboard to give dimension and leave space for embellishments to be tucked in. The paper pieces were then edged with Ranger® distress oxide in old paper and to tie the papers to the heart I distressed the edge of the wooden heart using the same ink and a sponge dauber.   I fussy cut the roses from the remains of the piece of paper I had used to cover the heart with so that I could balance the flowers on the right side of the heart.




The chipboard word “with love” and frame were then embossed with Stampendous ® frantage aged rose embossing powder.


I adhered my cluster of papers to the heart and tucked the fussy cut flowers under the layers.  the intact long rose ornament was stuck in place as well as the heart frame and swirls before concentrating on making some briar roses and buds using white foamiran  for the petals and lemon l for the flower centres.



To make the flowers I used the smallest of  cherry blossom dies by Rosy Owl ® but any small 5 petal flower die would work just as well.  I coloured the petals using a soft pink oil pastel and then used the distress oxide old paper to add colour to the centres. To make the flower centres you will need to cut a 1cm strip of the lemon foamiran from the short side of the foamiran sheet and then make tiny cuts in the long edge to create a frill. I divided the single strip in to 5 to make five centers. The fringed foamiran was then rolled up and glued at the bottom, squashing slightly to help the fringe spread out. I applied heat to the fringe to give it some texture and used the oxide ink to dull the colour a little so that it co-ordinated with the rest of the project.


The buds were made using the same die – petal 1 was folded together and glued – petal 4 was then brought around petal 1 and glued in place. Petal 2 was then lifted and glued in place followed by petal 5 and then 1. The edges of the bud were coloured with a soft pink oil pastel.





To add another layer of texture I used some of the pink bush stamens and matt heart stamens . The pink bush stamen was divided into approximately 3 pieces and added a few of the matt heart with hot glue.










With all the pieces made I added them to the project to create a look that I found visually pleasing. As flowers do not exist in nature without greenery I broke apart some of the fern fronds and tucked these under the flowers before adding some word stickers so that the piece had real meaning for me.







To add some more interest to the background I stencilled some dots using the old paper distress ink and Snipart bubbles stencil 







I had intended hanging my heart up but as I had covered one of the holes with the paper clay mould added I adhered the heart to the wood paper from the paper pack Hugs and Roses by Lemoncraft® and then placed the piece in a wooden box frame. To tie the frame to the heart I used the damask rose stencil used earlier and the old gold paste to add details to the corners of the frame and then softened the affect of the paste by brushing gently over it with my fingers so that it looked weathered.




Saturday 23 February 2019

Memories



Today I am sharing a mixed media project made with products from a subscription box from the lovely company Craft Box - this UK company has recently started shipping to the States and is clearly going from strength of strength although that will come as no surprise to those of you who already buy from Anna Hersom - I just hope that with all the doom and gloom around Brexit that her supply of Snipart from Marta in Poland is not disrupted as I use this stuff by the bucket full. Anyway enough of politics and on with my project.




I started by taking a very thick piece of kraft like paper with on old map image on, scrunched it up to add some texture and the adhered it to a canvas base approximately 11.5" by 16.5" and left it to dry overnight. I knew that I wanted to have a muted background and I had originally decided that I would use some crackle medium on it and then antiquing creams - instead I added a thick layer of gel medium and spread it using a brayer. - When this was dry I had a surface full of texture and decided I would just add the antiquing cream in a white shade on top before letting it "dry" - antiquing cream never fully dries so once touch dry I then used wet wipes to wipe off the excess until I liked the affect.





I chose by Snipart pieces and coloured them using CraftBox stencil pastes as paint - allowing the details etched into the chipboard pieces to show through. Before collaging the quote cards from the collection along with some pieces of the packaging and the post card supplies list to create my "story".






One of the 6 x 6 papers contained a lot of flowers and butterflies in complimentary colours so I spend some time fussy cutting these out and adding them to my project along with the stickers about travel notes also in the box of goodies.




I added some metal charms to the piece - most came from the original box but I did raid my stash for a few extras.



Finally I thinned the stencil paste used for colouring my Snipart pieces with some water and added splatters to the background.

I have to say that I was really pleased with the overall effect that I managed to achieve and hope that you do too.















































Monday 18 February 2019

My first ATC's

I have had a hectic week and weekend - work as a surgeon is never simple but is so rewarding. I craft as a way of de-stressing and highly recommend that everyone finds their own way of escaping in to their happy place.


Today I thought I would share my first and second projects done for The Resin Embellishment Shop (FB page)/ www.craftallday.co.uk. Sarah the owner of the shop sent a box full of embellishments focusing on love - some of these were very obvious, some clearly suitable for wedding projects and some less obviously love focused.



My first project was a set of ATC's, as I normally work on much bigger formats I thought I would challenge myself and I have to say that I enjoyed working on this format a lot - the size means that projects can be quick but still have lots of layers a feature of my work which I think I would find difficult to compromise on.



 I used a stencil and paste to create a base layer and then added the resin pieces and feathers made using a silicon cake decorating mould and Stamperia cream paste. I added colours with acrylic paint and then added in the die cuts and lots of flowers before finishing with some words that I felt were appropriate.









My second project is a card, again using layers and this time some "lace" made with a lacey cake decorating mould and the cream paste. I knew that I wanted to use the bird pair and coloured this with paints to co-ordinate with the papers used for the background. The birds were layered on a paper doily and cut outs from the paper pad. 








To complete the project I added some swirly die cuts and foamiran flower made with white silk foam and  purple foamiran.  





I hope that you enjoy these quick projects and hope to post something more detailed next Monday as I have a long weekend off work so should be able to find the time to post a more complex make.

Monday 11 February 2019

Its Elementary



Well what a weekend we have had in the UK - the craft channels seem to be poaching suppliers - before anyone gets upset I am fully aware that the companies in question who are moving from one to the another will have made a decision based on what they believe is best for themselves but some where in the mixed of it a little humanity got lost at least one guest demonstrator was profoundly distressed by not being allowed to say goodbye to her friends. So if any of the people at a certain TC channel see this I am going to say what she had been instructed not to say when she was last in just before the story broke and that is that she loves you all as friends and is sad to be leaving such a happy place to work.

Craft politics over I will now move to my blog post for today having spent a lovely weekend with Jodie Johnson who we all know as the television face of Tonic on the television. We created some beautiful projects and had much fun and laughter raising money for the local hospice - A great example of people working together to achieve a common goal. Hence my post this morning - it is really "elementary my dear Watson" - there should be enough space for all to thrive if we choose not to be greedy and good manners really costs nothing.







I rarely make cards but not wishing to be wasteful decided to use up left overs from a much bigger project. I layered two pieces of paper having edged with distress oxide denim ink and faux stitching creating dimension using foam pads.. I then lifted the word "elementary from one of the sheets of 12 x 12 paper cutting it to form a banner across my card. It was edged in the same way to give a cohesive appearance to the card - I layered in on my foam pads and cut another word element from the paper pad tucking it underneath the banner piece.

The door was supplied by 14 Craft bar as where the flowers, papers, "flair" buttons and Snipart clocks background. The door is made from paper clay and this enables it too take colours far more easily than pieces made from resin - my piece was coloured with some primary elements powders and then blue paint was dry brushed over it to give it depth. The details of the door were cut from the same "Sherlock Holmes" paper pad made by a Russian Company Bee Shabby and added to the paper clay piece.

The Snipart pieces were left from their clocks background and embossed with midnight blue embossing powder which not only adds colour but also strength to this intricate piece. This was tucked under the banner and the door added to the right. 

I added pre-made roses which had been dry brushed with the same blue paint used on the door and tucked these in clusters around the card before adding leaves cut with a Lady E designs die.

The finishing touch were lots of splashes of dark blue acrylic that had been watered down.


I hope you enjoy reading this post today - for me its a simple project having been away for the weekend but I kinda like it and may well make some more cards in the near future.

Tuesday 5 February 2019

My first blog post and design team project.



Welcome to my first blog post. Firstly let me introduce myself - my name is Gill and by day I am a paediatric surgeon by night, weekends and holidays an avid crafter - hence the name of my blog -The Crafty Surgeon.  

I have been crafting for more years than I really care to think about. My mum was a great needlewoman and made all of mine and my sisters clothes so I guess the need to create was in my genes and whilst I can sew, knit, crochet and do embroidery these do not fill my heart with joy in the same way that messing around with paper, paint, inks and pastes does.

I create to preserve my sanity, its a way of expressing my self and fills many a wonderful hour.    Through crafting I can escape into a different world and find peace in a world full of turmoil.

I hope that you will enjoy my crafting journey. My style is quite eclectic with a background of scrapbooking, jewellery making, mixed media crafting thanks to the wonderful Finnabair and more recently flower making. I guess my favourite projects are home décor pieces as they take a while to put together and allow me to add loads of little details. Be warned they are often product heavy, but you will have loads of bits left for further projects. So, go on, I encourage you to get crafting – whether you choose to copy as near as possible or are simply inspired by my makes pick up your crafty items and enjoy the process of creating something as unique as you are.

I am sharing with you my first ever design team project - for 14 Craft Bar hence the links to the products I have used but you will be easily able to source similar materials where ever you are in the world or via the net.







For this project I have chosen to work with the big sewing machine MDF piece made by Snipart and available from 14 Craft Bar. Having constructed the main part of the sewing machine I knew that I wanted to add some texture so using structure paste and a geometric stencil   I added a layer to the front and back of the body of the sewing machine. I then used a roses stencil to add detail to the base.








I made some embellishments using air dry clay and a long ornament, keyhole and decorative swirl moulds  and when these were dry added them to my sewing machine base before giving everything a coat of Americana Decor chalky paint. Once this was dry, I used Decoart ® antiquing cream in patina green to add another layer of colour.  The beauty of this paint is that once it is touch dry you can wipe back to reveal variation in colour creating the vintage effect I was looking for.




I added strips of paper from smile of winter (https://14craftbar.com/home/2589-scrapbooking-paper-smile-of-winter-12x12.html) to the underside and top of the machine edging them with Ranger ® hickory smoke distress oxide ink applied with a sponge dauber . I highlighted the texture on the machine using Prima® art alchemy vintage was in vintage gold. 




I then collected my embellishments - bottles, pins, resin people, a little lace and arranged them on my machine until I was happy with the look.

The chipboard dress mannequin ( from Snipart and available via 14 Craft Bar amongst other sites. was backed with a piece of paperclay to make it look like there was a dress on the frame and to give it more body as I knew it would protrude beyond the edges and needed something extra to have enough support.





I cut out flowers and butterflies from papers an ephemera set and from the paper pad Hugs of Roses https://14craftbar.com/home/789-scrapbooking-papers-house-of-roses-12x12.html and used these to decorate the machine.


From my stash I used a cotton reel, lace, metal embellishments, buttons, resin figurines by Tim Holtz and baker’s twine. I filled some small glass bottles with micro beads and added gem flower centres as bottle lids. Adding the embellishments to my machine before placing it on a decorated paper mache box. Finally I made a card to fit in the bos using small pink roses, white cherry blossoms and a Snipart sentiment.