Welcome everyone! Today is very exciting because Hero Arts is showcasing their new Summer 2022 Catalog release featuring new products and designs specifically created for mixed media art. What exactly is mixed media? Well it’s pretty much a variety of all kinds of art supplies, from paste to paint, stencils, ink, embossing powder, and abstract imagery, almost anything goes for creating projects. It’s really a fun form of art with room for lots of exploration and imperfection. How great is that? I personally chose to go a bit abstract and collage-y of sorts for my projects today, as you will see. Before I get started though, I want to let you know that you will want to follow along on the blog hop listed at the end of this post as there as so many inspiring ways to create this style of art using different supplies as demonstrated by a wide range of amazing artists.
First up is a card using the following products:
NEW: Calligraphy Bold Prints, Tiling Textures, Art Journal Messages, Liquid Watercolor ArtPrint Brown, Liquid Watercolor Cocoa
Current: Intense Black Ink, Ephemera, Infinity Circles Dies, Caramel Hybrid Ink, Antique Ivory Top Folded Card, Watercolor Paper
Other: Ephemera of Your Choice, White and Aqua Acrylic Paint, Black Carpet Thread, a Feather, UHU Blue Glue Stick-for me, this is a staple!
***If you are interested in purchasing any of the items that are sold by Hero Arts, simply go here.
And here we go…
This card was actually very easy to create. I used different pieces of torn ephemera for the background, mounting it onto the front of a top folded Antique Ivory Card base. (I used UHU glue stick for putting the pieces down.) Some of the new stamp designs (Calligraphy Bold Prints and Tiling Textures) were inked up onto old vintage paper with Intense Black ink, while others had the designs stamped with white acrylic paint onto Pitch Black cardstock. (Make sure to wash your stamp off right away.)
The center strip of paper with the Calligraphy Bold Prints image was painted paper from an old project.
Tip: Never throw away your painted or inky papers, even if they aren’t your favorite. You can choose certain sections to create with, or layer more paint, add new designs and layer, layer, layer. It’s all about the process. As my friend and fellow Mixed Media artist Seth Apter says, “You’re only one layer away from magic!
Anyway, this painted strip was torn and attached to the card. I added a bit of machine stitching before I added the next few items but that is optional. I hand-cut a feather from Pitch Black cardstock and stamped it with white acrylic paint using the Calligraphy stamp and paired it with an actual feather. Two Nesting Circle Infinity Dies were cut from watercolor paper, embellished with the new Liquid Watercolor Art Print Brown and Cocoa and then connected to the two feathers and black carpet thread using adhesive. All were attached to the card base. Lastly, I added the new Art Journal sentiment “trust” using Caramel Hybrid Ink. What I enjoyed about this card was that it was mostly made from scraps and embellished with new stamps. Sounds like something old being made into something new!
Here’s a similar project but done on the front of a journal. Very much like the card in approach, just created on a cover with a bit of paint splattering. Totally think this would make a cool gift!
My next two projects are also made from painted pieces of ephemera and collaged together but this time I used the new Bubbles Bold Print stamp along with the Tiling Textures. (Warning: I am going to overuse this Tiling set, lol! It’s perfect for textures and patterns, focal points, backgrounds, just about everything. If you asked me to pick just one set, this would be it.) I also added in the New Day Butterflies set that was stamped with a variety of Hero Hues Watercolors onto watercolor paper and cut out. Which brings me to my next tip…
Tip: Not everything has to be stamped with ink. 🙂
And here is a tiny book version using the same idea. I got a bit more playful with this one by swiping the page with Orange and Cocoa Liquid Watercolors. The accordion book was held together with a vintage clip. The pages inside were a continuation of the front with a collage format.
So there you have a bit of my artistic ramblings. Love that mixed media lets you color outside the lines and maybe break some rules or two. I hope you will check out the new Hero Arts Mixed Media Catalog as I have only shown a few of the many products that can be used to make art. If you are wanting to see more, check out Emily Midgett. She always blows me away with her creativity and imagination! The rest of the blog hop is listed below.
Thanks for hanging out with me.
Blog Hop:
Debi Adams-You are here!
Wonderful mixed media that reminds me of wonderful Tim Holz (hope I do not get put in timeout for complimenting othets as well) work.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”
Typo: should be Tim Holtz
Beautiful projects! I’m loving the calligraphy stamp!
Creative and cool projects!
Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your talent.
These are gorgeous! WOW!
Wow, these look really cool with the embellishments. I would like to make a notebook for a gift…
Oooo I love the layers with the feather embellishments and the the grungy look!
Beautiful projects, I’ve never tried anything like this before.
I love all the projects. Love the textures and elements added..so much visual interest.
Love your projects and that calligraphy stamp. Must have. Thanks for the inspiration
Great projects! I love the card.
These cards are stunning! I love all the texture and interest.
Very creative projects. I like the addition of the feather on the first one.
I love your projects, they are inspiration over and over again. Thanks!
Such cool projects! I really love the journal cover!
Debi, I love these projects! Love the way you combined the different elements. Beautiful.
Lovely creations! Mixed Media just makes my heart happy! So glad to see it coming more into the card making arena!
Just love these projects. Looks like you had fun creating them.
Fantastic projects. Love the last with
the blue and orange (and the butterfly).
thanks for sharing
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Such awesome mixed media projects! Love the card and journals.fantastic designs.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow, fabulous projects!
Stunning projects! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, your creations are such a stand out! The artsy, nature themed projects caught my eye immediately and I love how you combined ephemera with the stamps and ink.
I LOVE your projects! They are truly mixed media and beautiful. These are very inspirational. I love the use of the different mediums and all those great layers.
All your projects look like you had so much fun making them! Must be so satisfying to use up bits and pieces to make something new and beautiful!
Your projects are so artsy and beautiful! So inspiring!
Dear Debi
Wow all three mixed media projects are beautiful. I dont dabble in mixed media a lot but I got a few ideas for my cards. Thanks for the inspiration.tc stay safe
Love your projects! I really need to dabble more in this mixed media world.