Altered Bottle in Mixed Media

Hello Friends!!!!
This is Bela and I hope you all are killing this summer heat with Crafting!!!
I feel there's nothing better than feeding your creative passion  this summer. With Itsy Bitsy bringing so many amazing new products at equally attractive discounts why not take advantage and create something for your home or for gifting someone?
Today on blog I am here with a cool mixed media tutorial which will enhance a corner of you home and can be a precious little gift.


So lets get into the step by step tutorial and see how we turn this empty bottle into a stunning mixed media home decor piece.

I took this empty bottle and removed the label by soaking it in warm soapy water. After few minutes the label came off easily. I dried it completely and started adhering the mixed media strips with heavy gel medium (jute amd burlap)  and soft gel medium (card stock, corrugated sheet and handmade paper) in pieces.... long and short, horizontal and vertical.
If you are wondering what are mixed media strips?
This comes in a pack. It contains some strips of handmade paper, corrugated sheets, burlap, jute, card stock etc.... the best part about these strips is that they are created from extra pieces and are put to good use. These can be used to create something beautiful rather than generating more waste. I simply love the idea.

The second step is to add embellishments to the front portion of the bottle. I used a disposable spoon and fork as my main element and added few cogs, metal flower, and a metal leaf to enhance the front of the bottle. To stick all these elements I used heavy gel medium.

I added pearls here and there according to the strips ( vertical/horizontal ) to give it a mechanical look.

Once all the pearls and my embellishments were properly adhered I started priming the bottle with black Gesso. I let it dry completely before going on to the next step.
Now, this is where I played with the latest release from Little Birdie which was one of the most awaited products.... Metallic waxes!!

Metallic Waxes are formulation of acrylic pigments with beeswax. This formulation allows smooth application of the pigment onto the desired surface. Another plus point is that you don't need to be master at dry brushing. Plus to add these waxes we don't need water or brushes or palette. Just your fingers can do the magic!

I started taking a small quantity of the wax on my fingers and started rubbing it on to the bottle. The amazing thing was seeing all the textures come to life again....as they were flattened by black gesso. The beautiful textures of corrugated sheet, burlap, jute, handmade sheet pearls and embellishments started looking absolutely gorgeous. To achieve the look of the bottle, first I used Antique Gold wax all over the bottle. Then I used Rich Gold metallic wax on the pearls and the embellishments to give them more shine. I also rubbed on a little blue colored wax only on the flower and leaf.
I made sure that the waxes were totally dry between two color applications.



I am showing you the pictures from all the different angles to have a better understanding of how the overall look is achieved and how this bottle looks gorgeous and complete from any given angle.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and give it a shot . A gorgeous home decor art can be achieved using just few products from the store.
Thank you for stopping by.  Don't forget to drop  a comment and let me know how you like this tutorial.  You can also write what you wanna see next from me!!!!

Love & Hugs

Bela

Decoupaged Make Up Organizer step by step Tutorial.

Hello Hello !!!
I am very excited about today's post ... as I have used super cool new releases for my project....  Also coz its super simple with simple techniques and very much doable... so I hope to inspire everyone out there and create something cool with yummy goodies from the store.
I took a wooden base with four partitions. You can use it as a pen stand, cutlery stand, makeup organizer etc.....
I have made it to keep my make up ;)

so first step is to cover the inside with chalk paint. I have used Aqua Medley paper pack for my project instead of any decoupage paper or tissue....

Also apply the chalk paints to the corner edges as shown in the picture.

I chose two different papers(2 each) with little contrast... I wanted to use both the sides with different materials n technique.


I chose one with flowers and the other with dots... cut them little smaller from the sides and kept top n bottom same as the organizer size.

Adhered paper on all the 4 sides with deco magic glue.  sealed it with matte varnish to the whole organizer. insides too.

Then  I added texture with grainy texture paste on the paper with polka dots with the stencil.... and for the other side chose beautiful tiny little flowers from aqua medley and adhered them at the corner with a beautiful mdf flourish cutout.

Once this was done I added little diluted mocha color splash and metallic wax in copper to the edges to give it a distressed look ......... added varnish again to seal it.

I love the way this simple project with super simple technique can look so amazing.... I hope you all like it the way I do...... Please do try ...I world love it.

Love & Hugs

Bela

A Beautiful Sun mandala - Video Tutorial

Hello, Its Bela here today!



I am super excited about today's DT post as the subject is very close to my heart. if you know me then you also know that off late I have been very high on Mandalas. Mandala is a form of doodle or zentangle. I have tried a very different mandala this time.

Importance of Mandala
The word Mandala basically means circle and it represents a wholeness in a cosmic diagram that can remind individuals of their direct relation to infinity. A mandala can also symbolize the idea of life energy. The circular design in Mandalas can represent the life force as a whole and how it retains a never ending energy. it can be a tool for spirituality and also used for meditation.
Since I was getting loads and loads of questions about ...how I start, how I finish, what products I use to create them I thought of giving a detailed tutorial as my DT post.

So without further ado lets start the process. For the base I have used a beautiful Little Birdie watercolor panel. These panels available at the store are completely handmade with 100% cold pressed paper. I have used 8x8 ... however, there are various sizes available at Itsy Bitsy.

First I drew a circle in the center with a pencil and made quite a few equal partition just eyeballing it.... you can also draw one straight and vertical line running through the center and then bisect the angle and get equal parts. These lines are my guide to make symmetrical shapes and perfect size.
I have always been asked if I use stencils or trace my shapes.... so the answer to this is 'No'.... I use guidelines and then whatever I draw is freehand.  I  then water colored it in the shades of the sun. Once I was happy with that, I started building the mandala with an uni ball 0.8mm black pen. I drew  around it by making circles bigger than the previous one. I have kept the design very simple yet intricate (to the eye) as I wanted the focus on the water colored sun. I didn't do bold lines on purpose. There, my mandala is done!



Once I finished the creating mandala around the sun and reached the edge I thought of adding the black watercolor on the empty areas on the edges. This was a very impromptu decision as I had never done this before and it could backfire. However, I always believe in going with my creative flow otherwise that idea bothers me till I don't give it a try. I was blown away with that decision. My sun and the mandala both started looking vibrant and it gave an amazing pop to the whole art work.
I am sure you all with agree with me!

Few More Pics:








Love & Hugs
Bela

Video link