Monday 18 January 2016

Mixed Media Monday - Altered Steampunk Bottle

Good morning to you!

After my detour on Friday I am back with some more messy, texturedness (I know not a real word) today!
Whilst looking for challenges to take part in I found one over at Country view Crafts that had the theme of 'Be Inspired by Bottles'.  Now in the past I have decorated jars as fairy lanterns but thought that a bottle could be something new and different for me to try, so I have!  I used this as the starting point for my project but have combined it with some other themes/challenges as well.

This project is being entered into:

* Country View Crafts Challenge - Be Inspired by Bottles
* SanDee and amelie's Steampunk Challenge - Anything Goes Steampunk/Industrial
* Rhedd's Creative Spirit - An Altered Art Challenge
* Altered Eclectics - An Altered Art/Mixed Media Challenge
* More Mixed Media Challenge - Colour Blue
* Our Creative Corner - Make Time, Mood board Challenge
There were a lot of stages to making this project and I have to admit that at some points I got carried away and forgot to take photos, so if the pictures seem to jump a few stages that is why! 
To start here is a picture of what I intended to use, although as always this may have altered as I went along...
The first thing I did was to paint the bottle with white gesso to provide a base coat that other things could stick to.  Once this had dried I added clear crackle texture paste (Prima), thick at the bottom and thinner towards the top.  I left it to dry over night (very patient for me!!), however in the morning the thick layers hadn't dried out completely and I ended up using a heat tool! Using 2 different stencils from IndigoBlu and Bee Crafty I applied some glass bead gel (Golden Mediums) and also spread some in random places.  My aim was to create as many different textures as I could at this stage...
Once this had all dried I added a selection of metal and chipboard embellishments.  I wanted the heaviest area to be at the bottom (flowers, cogs and leaves) with the main focal points being the clock faces nearer the top.  These were stuck on using 3D matte gel medium (Prima), but I have to admit that due to my rushing on with other stages I also ended up reinforcing some of the pieces with Pinflair glue gel...
Next I needed to cover everything added so far with another layer of gesso to provide a key for the inks and paints.  I was originally going to do this white but in the end decided to use black as I thought it would suit the style better (I honestly don't know if it made any difference!)...
This is where my next photo will leap ahead a bit!!  I had gathered together inks and paints that went with the mood board colours of one of the challenges.  I painted the bottom 2 thirds using Goldfinger paint from IndigoBlu and used Peacock Feathers distress paint for the top third.  Prima Bloom spray inks were then used to create the colour scheme I wanted (Tea Stain, Antique Gold, Gold Foil, Worn Leather, Glistening Waves) and later I added a bit of Lindys Stamp Gang spray as well.  Between layers I used my heat tool and afterwards added gilding wax (Pebeo Gold and Creative Expressions Patina).  To add extra interest I stamped cogs etc. onto tissue paper using brown Staz On ink and applied it with IndigoBlu slap it on medium. At this stage I decided that I wanted to add some words and applied some Tim Holtz Big Chat stickers...

Using more 3D Matte Medium I mixed up some Prima micro beads (copper, bronze and splash) and added them to the matching areas on the bottle.  Glass beads (turquoise and butter) were also added to some areas for a different texture. 
The main part of the project was now finished, but I like to add an even more 3D element as well as a sentiment (I love words and quotes).  I die cut a butterfly from Sue Wilson's Magical Butterflies (both the complete and decorative layer) from Prima Timeless Memories paper which I had spritzed with matching inks to the bottle.  I also stamped and embossed a sentiment (from the Time Flies stamp set that I used earlier) onto the same paper.  The butterfly then had some texture heat embossed onto it using a Bo Bunny stamp, and I used the same stamp to add some distress ink around the sentiment.  The sentiment was finished off with an edging of gilding wax...

To make the butterfly a bit more steampunk I added a screw type embellishment (I think it was from a Tim Holtz set).  Quite a long project but lots of fun.  Oh I must add that I find the Prima Bloom inks leave your projects quite sticky so I always add a layer of matt spray varnish (from a well known DIY store!) and that way it doesn't add shine but seals everything in. 
So here is the finished piece with an extra couple of close ups...



Thank you for taking the time to come and have a look! 
I have been getting quite quick at creating these posts now so have decided to add another day to the mix!  From this week I will be posting new projects on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's.  Hopefully this won't become too much for me, but if I need to cut back again I will let you know.

This Wednesday is going to be a bit more romantic and 'pretty' to suit the upcoming celebrations in February...

Enjoy your week,

Jane x

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