A kelp forest – under the sea

It was a beautiful, clear blue sky morning in the glorious heat of Summer 2018 we arrived at Porthgwarra Beach in far west Cornwall just as the tide was receding. It’s such a beautiful cove and we kept spotting something in the water around the rocks and went to investigate. It was a whole area of kelp – a Kelp Forest! Wandering through the pools left by the tide there were beautiful shells, stones and shiny pebbles. This was my inspiration for this Under the Sea piece.

Supplies

Powertex Fabric Hardener – Transparent
Easy Structure
Bister in Blue and Brown
Powertex Easy Varnish
Secret Art Loft Acrylic Ink Aqua,Deep Sea,Metallic Aqua
Powercolor Ultramarine Blue, Turquoise Pigments, Red Ochre
Secret Art Loft Interference Blue, Mojito Lime, Blue Curaco, Golden Olive, Limonchello Gold
30 x 1.5cm MDF Base
2mm Aluminium wire, masking tape, green tissue paper, selection of shells, moulds and clay

How to make a Powertex kelp forest

Step 1: Use either Stone Art or other air dry clay to push into moulds, leave to dry. Cut 9 or 10 lengths of wire and randomly drill holes into the mdf base.

Tip: I had a tennis ball size piece of Stone Art clay left over from a previous project that I kept. Spray water lightly over a piece of clingfilm which I wrapped tightly around the clay. I sealed it in a reusable plastic bag.

Step 2: Push wires into holes, secure with masking tape then rip lengths of masking tape sticking it the full length of both sides of the wire to create lengths of kelp.

The base

Decorate the base

Step 3: Build a thick random layer of Easy Structure on the base, push shells, moulded sea shapes etc into the easy structure. Spray with bisters, set aside to dry.

Tip: If you use a large central shell like I did, it is worth masking off with some cling film or paper before you spray with bister

Step 4: Washing back and adding a top layer

The kelp

Step 4: Wash back the bister from shells and shapes. Use red ochre to colour some of the coral like shapes. Add a generous layer of transparent Powertex fabric harder on the base and drop in mixed art stones.

Metallic colours

Step 5: Rip up lengths of pale green tissue paper and paste onto the kelp using transparent Powertex. Leave to dry. Transparent Powertex helps to keep the transparency.

Tips: Paint the transparent Powertex onto the masking tape and press the tissue onto it with a Powertex soaked brush.

Step 6: Using the blues and greens metallic pigments bring out the highlights of the bottom of the sea. Brush Mojito Lime and Golden Olive, Limoncello Gold randomly on the kelp. If you leave lighter patches the sun will shine through enhancing the kelp.

Leave it in a place where you get the sun. Watch it at various times of the day to see where the sun lands and where you might want to add further metallics and maybe a pearl or crystal.

I hope this easy but interesting focal piece inspires you to create your own under the sea project. You might also like this lovely fish sculpture project by Annette.

Don’t forget to share your makes in The Powertex Studio and if you can give me a shout out that would be awesome.

That’s me for now, check back in June when I’m upcycling one of my early Angels that has been keeping watch in my garden for the last couple of years.

Bye for now

Powertex Dragon Easter Eggs

Designer ~Jinny Holt

Why Powertex Dragon Easter Eggs?

Well, Easter is upon us and this year no chocolate eggs for myself. And these eggs have no calories in them. As some of you may know I do love working with Powertex. I especially love making these baby Dragon eggs. For my article I wanted to share with you some of my baby Powertex dragon Easter eggs I’ve created. I love dragons and I love how using Powertex makes these eggs one of a kind pieces of artwork. I hand sculpt my baby dragons from Polymer clay. Depending on how these look and what colour they are depends on how my Powertex egg will evolve.

As you can see each one has their own personalities. Working with Powertex has a way of bringing these creations to life. Pop on over to POWERTEX UK h to get a bottle of Powertex and start making unique pieces of artwork.

My favorite Technique

When I create these baby Dragon eggs, I almost always reach for EASY 3D FLEX as it creates beautiful textures. It adds depth and interest to every piece I create. It also makes the most wonderful cracks, if you desire the cracked effect.

Have I left you inspired?

I hope this Powertex Dragon Easter Eggs article has you inspired and wanting to go open that bottle of Powertex. If you need more inspiration or would like to showcase your finished pieces share them in THE POWERTEX STUDIO .

You can find more of my work at MUMS SHED

Did you catch any articles from last month? Click here to be really inspired by what Powertex can do.

Thank you for taking time to read my article, I really do hope you enjoyed it and if so, please feel free to leave a comment.

Live~love~Laugh~Create

Jinny

Certified Powertex Workshop

What’s in a Powertex Workshop?

Have you thought about going to a Powertex workshop but haven’t yet, because you’re not sure what to expect? Well come with me and let me give you an insight in what’s in a Powertex workshop.

3d Flex Texture Powertex Workshop Samples

I was invited to a Powertex workshop earlier this month by Jill Cullum, of Purple Meadow Arts & Crafts. She is the Certified Powertex Tutor for the area where I live. Jill has been on all her training, so this means that she is qualified to teach and use all the Powertex products in her Powertex workshop.

Jill explaining the samples and what she did.

Where to begin in a Powertex Workshop

Everyone getting stuck in covering their canvas’s. Janet, top left wanted to do the technique but on journal covers, so Jill brought along a journal for her to work on instead. So if you know what you would like to do, contact your tutor before hand. They are very flexible and happy to oblige where possible.

Jill demo’d the next couple of steps and then went round checking everyone was okay and understood what they were doing.

Close up of Janet’s journal covers.

Whilst the canvas’s were in the drying box Jill demonstrated how to mix up the 3d flex. She showed what the right consistency with the 3d flex was to aim for.

Then showed how to apply the paste onto the canvas.

Then it was their turn, with guidance from Jill.

Getting ready for the next stage

Whilst the makes were back in the drying box, we all sat down and had a natter with a cuppa and some chockie biscuits. I took this opportunity to ask them what they thought of the workshop so far.

One said that it was so different to what they normally do and it was good to come without any expectations.

Another said that they have learnt so many new techniques already and we haven’t finished yet.

Another said that is was nice to do something different.

After the coffee break, all the pieces came out of the drier. Look at those amazing cracks on Anita’s canvas.

Now the fun begins, adding the colour. The hardest part seemed to be choosing which colours to use from this huge selection. Everyone was encouraged to move out of their comfort zone.

Jill chose purple and green, these aren’t her normal ‘go to’ colours.

Jill demoing on her canvas, how to use the wax with the pigments and acrylics and how to built up the layers and blend the colours.

Everyone well under way with their colours.

Really coming along now.

Fabulous blending.

Anita was building up layers to replicate the colours she had in a photo on her phone.

Finishing touches

Once everyone was happy with their canvas’s, the last thing to do was to touch up the sides to make them black again. The black just seems to make the colours pop.

And here are the proud owners with their finished pieces.

This Powertex workshop took around two and a half hours from start to finish. Just look what you could do with the right guidance. All these ladies really enjoyed themselves today.

How many of you have a bottle of Powertex sat on your craft desk but haven’t opened it yet. A workshop is a great way to get started.

Find your local tutor

There are over 100 Certified Tutors dotted all around the UK. To find the one nearest to you, click on this link which will take you to the Powertex Tutors directory. Login and find your nearest tutor who will be happy to help you with a workshop. They cater for everyone, groups, one on one, two on one, a group of friends or join a scheduled workshop and meet like minded people, the possibilities are endless.

I hope this has given you an insight into how a workshop runs. I hope that it’s nowhere near as scary as what you thought it might be, just go along. You will be made to feel very welcome and you’ll love it so much, you’ll want to go back. Most of the tutors have their own FaceBook pages and list their planned workshops under events. So if you see something you fancy, get it touch. Nothing is out of reach with the right guidance.

Would you like to become a Powertex tutor? Be inspired by an article from Jan a Powertex UK certified tutor and find out how here.

Pastel Powertex Bottle Vases

Designer: Kore Sage

How to create Pastel Powertex

Pastel colours can be mixed with Powertex universal medium to create soft effects for your projects. Pastel Powertex is perfect for Spring projects, florals and even Mother’s Day gifts. I’m Kore and I want to show you how I mix pastel colours and highlight the textures. I’ll be transforming small glass drink bottles into floral Spring vases.

Powertex Universal Medium colours are all mixable and with the exception of Transparent, will be weatherproof when cured. Pastel colours can be mixed using Ivory or White although I used Ivory for my project.

I recommend you experiment with tiny amounts of your colours to find your favourite combinations. I’m using my favourite pale blue. I add small amounts of blue Powertex to Ivory (or White) until I have a shade I like.

It is possible to mix more than two colours together. For example Blue and Yellow Ochre to make green then mix with Ivory for a lighter shade.

Materials list

Ivory Powertex Universal Medium
Blue Powertex universal Medium
Easy Varnish
White Powercolor
Small glass bottles
Cotton fabric strips, I used muslin
String or twine
Flower and butterfly embellishments such as in a Treasure Box

Prepare the fabric

Cut strips of light fabric approximately 1-2 inches wide, pieces of string 2 – 4 inches long and choose embellishments.

Preparing strips of fabric for Powertex bottle — Step one

Mix pastel Powertex

Pour your Ivory Powertex onto a plate or dish and add a tiny amount of Blue Powertex. Add a little until you have a pastel shade.

Mixing Powertex pastel colours with Blue and Ivory — Step two

Wrap the bottle

Coat fabric strips with the Powertex mix and wrap around the bottle until it’s covered. Wrap loosely in spirals.

Bottle wrapped with fabric in blue Powertex — Step three

Add embellishments

Add string and floral embellishments. I created spiral shapes with string and coated embellishments with Powertex and adhered them to the bottle.

Blue Powertex bottle adding string and wooden embellishments — Step four

Mix dry paint

Mix a dry paint with white Powercolor and Easy Varnish

Mixing white paint with Easy Varnish and White Powercolor powder — Step five

Highlight textures

Use a dry brushing technique to highlight the textures of the fabric and the enbellishments. Keep your brush flat and in the same direction.

Pastel Powertex bottle

These Spring vases use simple techniques to create textured vases that can be made in your favourite colours. They look lovely in groups with your favourite single stem flowers.

Please do leave me a comment if you would like to try Powertex in pastels. Or hop over to this article where Abigail is mixing purple for her mixed media project. Like our Facebook page where you can join the private group and share your own makes.

I hope you make some time to let your art out. Find more of my work at Kore Sage Art, until next time, Kore x

Easy Structure

Powertex Easy Structure – March – Powertex product of the month

Available here on the Powertex UK website

This month the team at Powertex Uk have picked Easy Structure as their product of the month! So do read on to find out how to use it. You will also see some examples of Powertex artwork with it below.

What is it Easy Structure?

Easy Structure is a smooth ready mixed structure paste. It can be used in mixed media pieces and sculptures. And also be used with stencils. It’s waterproof when dry, so you can use your Powertex products straight over the top and the paste will sit tight.

How to use it

Easy Structure is a paste that can be spread on a surface to create texture. And can be used as a base layer for Powertex, Stone Art and pigments. You can be apply it with a palette knife, a scraper or brush.

Top Tip

Make sure you clean your stencils, templates and tools straight away after using it. Using hot soapy water will help clean and prolong the use of your tools.

Used through a stencil to add to the texture on this canvas by Tracey Evans

Add texture to your mixed media works of art.

Used through a stencil on this piece created by Annette Smyth

Has been used on this journal cover by Shell North

Used through a stencil to give this piece extra dimension by Shell North

Can be used to add extra texture and depth as seen in this Art Doll by Kore Sage

Easy structure as texture — Create great texture as seen here on a piece by Fiona Potter

Easy structure pocket watch — Used through a stencil for extra detail in the background of this pocket watch by Fiona Potter

Easy Structure through fossil stencil — Applied on the back of a journal cover through the Fossil Stencil from Powertex UK by Anna Emelia Howlett

Easy structure on art doll — Used on this Powertex Apothecary Art Doll created by Jill Cullum

Easy structure on fairy house — Pasted through a dream stencil on the door frame of this Fairy house by Abigail Lagden

Easy structure on mixed media canvas — Placed on this canvas to add extra depth and detail by Jinny Holt

Easy structure on journal cover — Used through a stencil with various other textures on this journal by Annette Smyth

Easy structure on art dol — Applied through a word stencil on this Art Doll by Anne Waller

We hope you have enjoyed seeing pieces created by the team. Enough so that it inspires you to have a go! Join us over on Facebook in The Powertex Studio and share your makes. Until next time.

Powertex Moon gazing hare

Designer: Anna Emelia Howlett

The Secret Art Box – Powertex moon gazing hare

Have you seen the new craft subscription box from Powertex UK? It’s called The Secret Art Box. And the contents remain a surprise right up until the moment you open your box. With a different theme and variety each month, if you love Powertex this is the subscription box for you! This months Secret Art box had the theme of March hares, some of it’s contents enabled me to create a framed Powertex moon gazing hare.

Packed full of Powertex goodies it will compliment your existing stash. You might even be challenged or find a product you haven’t used before. With inspiration from the Design Team and Guests you can’t go wrong.

The extra stars popped out of the mdf moon made a great addition to detail on the frame.

If you need extra inspiration you can pop into The Powertex Studio on Facebook and ask for advice. You will always find a friendly helping hand here. Don’t forget to share your works of art in The Powertex Studio so we can see what you have created!

Or perhaps look on the Tutor directory on the Powertex Uk website. This is the place to find details of your local certified Powertex tutor. So you can contact them and book in on a workshop.
.

Sign up on the Powertex Uk website, where you can find a variety of offers on the Secret Art box subscription box. If you are a Powertex addict you should not be without one!

I hope you found some inspiration from my Powertex moon gazing hare. Looking for some more inspiration from me with Marchs subscription box find it here.

Do click the star or leave a message in the comments box at the bottom of the article. We love to hear from you. Find me over at Rosehart Studio on Facebook to find details or message me about workshops. Toodles Anna xXx

Powertex Roses on Canvas

Designer: Donna Mcghie

How to paint beautiful roses with blended pastel colours using Powertex

Powertex painted roses on canvas — Painted Powertex Roses on Canvas

One of my favourite photos is of my daughter, face painted as a fairy and for this article I decided to incorporate this into a Powertex roses on canvas painting. (I do tend to use family quite a lot for inspiration, as you can see in my January blog for Powertex UK which was done in memory of my nan.

I achieved this by photocopying my chosen image onto a piece of plain rice paper and then adhered it onto a canvas using powertex easy varnish

Top tip

Other ways you can achieve a similar effect are by using Powertex Powerprint
or alternatively choose one of the gorgeous faces available in the paper selection

Materials Used:

Blue, Grey and White Powertex Fabric Hardener

Powertex Easy Varnish

Rasberry Sorbet Acrylic Paint

Mint Jelly Acrylic Paint

Black Powercolor Powertex Pigment

Powercolor Lime Green Pigment

Interference Red Powder Pigment

Colortricx Power Pearl Powder Pigment

Powertex Easy Structure Paste

Powertex One Stroke Roses

As an ex face painter, one thing that is guaranteed to bring the wow factor to any design is a rose painted in the one stroke style. This method uses different colours blended together on the same brush to create the effect of highlights and low lights. I love the pastel effect it can create on the petals.

Gorgeous Pastel Effects can be achieved by painting with Powertex

To achieve this look you will need a flat brush, Easy Varnish and a selection of colours in either Powertex Hardener or you can use the gorgeous Acrylic paints available from the Website.

How to Achieve the One Stroke Effect

Paint thick stripes in the colours of your choice onto a separate sheet of paper. Always have a thin edge of white to achieve the highlight effect

Carefully load up a flat brush with the colour combination, being sure to keep that crisp white edge. I like to dip my brush in Easy Varnish first as this helps achieve a smooth blend in the colours.

Step one. Do a circle of background petals. Be sure to let this dry before moving onto step two

Step two. Place the brush down, and then twist slightly as you move around to create the rose shape. It does take some practice, but once you get the knack you will love it

Once you feel ready to, move onto your canvas and have some fun. I also added some texture with lime green pigment mixed in with some easy structure, before dry brushing with Interference Red and Power Pearl Pigments.

I love the ethereal effect of the finished piece

That’s all for now folks

Thank you so much for reading. I would love to see your powertex paintings over on our facebook group The Powertex Studio

If you would like to see more of what I get up to, please do pop over to my facebook page or my website which gives details of all my workshops local to Southampton.

Powertex Medium Art Doll

Powertex Medium Art doll – Goddess of Mystery – by Abigail Lagden

Hello and welcome to my latest project! For this one I have used the Powertex medium Art Doll kit with the contents shown below.

I love working with the project kits from Powertex UK. They provide the perfect level of structure to work with and stimulate ideas. But also have the flexibility to put your own style into them. By how you construct them, which other products and embellishments you use and finally how you add colour to them.

As usual, I started by playing with the MDF kit pieces and arranging them in different ways. The picture below shows my initial guide design. As you can see it evolved and changed a fair bit as the project progressed. This always happens to some degree with my creations. So don’t worry that you have to stick rigidly to your first design. It helps to have an idea of where you are going at the start. I find the best results happen when you just go with the creative flow once you start building your piece.

As well as the Medium MDF Art Doll Kit, I used the following for this project:

Yellow Powertex Universal Medium
Easy Structure
Easy 3D Flex
Stone Art
3D sand and balls
Brown bister spray
Powercolor pigments – light blue, moss green, yellow ochre, lilac and white

First I used Easy Structure through the ‘arty quotes’ stencil to add the words ‘mystery’ and ‘wonder’ to the wings. The thing I love about this stencil is that not only do you have the lovely quotes in their entirety. But you can also just use specific words or phrases from within the quotes. To keep the stencilling clean for single words, I use masking tape to cover the words. Placing around the ones that I want to use before using Easy Structure paste through it.

I wanted there to be lots of texture in this project. I mixed three different pastes using yellow Powertex with Easy 3D Flex, 3D sand/small balls and Stone Art.

First, I covered the base of the shadow box with the Easy 3D Flex paste. Before using yellow Powertex to attach and paint the sides of the box. I applied the sand and balls paste to the ‘crown’ pieces and pushed them into the 3D flex paste. Then I painted the plaster face with yellow Powertex. Pushed it into the 3D flex paste and sprinkled a few small balls into the box.

Next, I worked on the back piece of MDF. Randomly adding areas of the three different pastes I mixed earlier. Creating lots of textures and submerging the MDF row of hooks at the bottom. Then I sprinkled some medium 3D balls onto a few areas followed by some small balls to fill the gaps. Whilst the background piece was still wet, I attached the box frame and the other MDF shape into the pastes.

I smeared a little left over 3D Flex paste onto the princess’ face and onto parts of the crown piece.

The top piece of the shadow box was painted just with yellow Powertex. The wings were covered with the sand and balls paste.

All of the pieces were then left to dry and/or crack before they were sprayed with brown bister.

This was dried and then the bister cleaned back using a damp sponge. Leaving the stronger colour in the depressions, giving more depth to the textures and lightening the uppermost parts.

Now for the fun part… adding a little bit of extra colour to bring the piece to life. I wanted this piece to have quite an earthy, rustic, natural quality. I used different blends of light blue, moss green, yellow ochre, lilac and white powercolor pigments. Mixed with easy varnish and applied using a dry brush technique.

The final step was to secure the wings to the front of the frame with powertex. Then the front of the frame to the main piece. I also hung a little metal key charm through the hole at the bottom of the frame.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing how I made this piece. Please do share your own creations on the Powertex Studio facebook page. Where you will find lots of inspiration as well as support from our fabulous Powertexing community.

You can also see more of my work on my Curiously Contrary facebook page and on my website. If you didn’t catch my blog last month take a look here.

Until next time, Abs xx

Create a Powertex mixed media tile – Jill Cullum

Back to basics with Powertex

First of all, a Happy New Year to everybody. Hopefully you will have lots of new Powertex goodies to play with.

For my first blog of the year I wanted to go back to basics, create a simple piece that anybody can create whether they are an experienced Powertexer (is that a word?) or someone who has bought their first bottle of Powertex and wants to get started straight away.

Whenever we talk about being creative, from cooking, interior design and gardening through to art and Powertex, we hear about layering.

I like to have at least 3 lays of texture on my Powertex creations and at least 3 shades of each colour I use. This gives your piece of art depth, and brings out the beautiful texture that you have built up and created.

Where to start with Powertex

The first layer is your base or background layer. This can be created using Easy Structure, kitchen roll, or some thin material. Why not use your Easy Structure though a stencil, or use a pallet knife to create patterns.

Some of this will be covered over, and is there purely to be in the background, not the main focal point of your piece. However, it is still playing a part and will add to the overall effect. Here I have covered a 6×6 tile with kitchen roll. I like that you can see the squares of the back of the tile creating more interest.

Chose a focal point for you Powertex creation

Next we come to the focal point, the main part, the bride – not the bridesmaid

For this we can use whatever we like. Luscious texture, embellishments, striking pieces. We still need to think about where we place these, creating further layers, over-lapping some of the pieces and weaving the materials in and out of the embellishments. I love these gothic doors, so versatile and add a nice focal point.

The final layer is again fine detail, adding to and not over-taking the main layer. A sprinkling of extra texture which will pop out when we add our colours. My favorite Powertex product to use for this layer is 3D balls, but use whatever tiny embellishments you have to hand.

So now we have our piece all ready to bring to life with colour and shading. I find this the hardest part, tending to stay within my comfort zone and use my favourite colours.

Finish your Powertex project with colour

For this sample piece I am using only one colour. It’s a good exercise to do, even for the more experienced Powertex Addicts! It’s good to go back to basics, hone in on those dry-brushing skills and also to use the colours that don’t get used as often as they deserve. Try it – you might find some new favourites!

The first layer will be the darkest, so only use a tiny bit of white (or none at all). Keep your brush dry and go over the whole piece. Bring out the fine detail of the first layer that you did by keeping your brush flat and lightly stroking the texture.

When you are happy with this, keeping the same colour, but this time adding a touch more white, go over again. You don’t want to cover all of the original colour, but you want to add depth, light and shade, enhancing what your already have.

Finally, adding even more white, add the final layer of colour, highlighting edges and points of interest. Of course, you can add more layers of shading, subtly lightening your colour with each layer.

Practice, play, have fun and create new colours by mixing a couple together. And don’t forget to share your results with us in the Powertex Studio. Here are the products I used, all available from Powerex UK. See you next time Jill.

Powertex Bronze
Powercolour Turquoise
A 6×6 tile
Scraps of material/lace
Katy Sue Driftwood Mould (from Powertex UK)
Powertex Daisy Mould
Ammonite mould
MDF Gothic Door

New Year’s Resolutions and the Key to a Craftier Life

Hello, I’m Claire, the Operations Manager for Powertex UK Ltd. I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts for sorting and organising as I know how this can easily get on top of anyone with a crafting stash!

I’m not naturally a tidy person. However, the internet (mainly Pinterest) has given me some great ideas of ways to store things that really help in my day to day life. If there is a place for something you know where to put it, and more importantly, you know where to find it the next time you need it. Being organised helps me take control of one part of my life and that helps me – big time. In a world where we are often running around with a to do list longer than your arm making life easier any way we can is a bonus!

The New Year is a great time for starting afresh; drawing a line on old, less productive behaviours and embracing a more positive and intentional way of being. I like to clean out my cupboards, defrost my freezer, clear my wardrobe of clothes that no longer fit and of course…..organise my craft area!!! I get rid of scissors that no longer cut properly, empty bottles, brushes that have passed their best and try and coordinate all my equipment into types and section off areas for items that I often use together.

When I saw the fantastic range of art and craft storage solutions from Candy Box Crafts I knew these were the business. They mix and match to your needs and stack up, so you can choose the products that work best for you. There are drawers, storage bins, caddies, pigments trays and boxes all available on the Powertex website. As they are MDF they can be decorated with Powertex products; your storage can also be a work of art. Tracey has already made use of these products and made some beautiful and, oh so useful, storage pieces for our studio here at Tex Towers. I know a few of our tutors have also got some and use them for their workshops; portable, functional pieces of art.

So this January why don’t you give your craft area the attention it deserves and create an orderly and easy to use space so that your creative juices can flow? We would love to see pics of your craft room and how you store your art supplies, please share them with us on our Facebook groups. Happy crafting. Powertex Storage