Joyful Holly

Hi everyone and welcome. Today I'm sharing a little mixed media project which had its beginnings at the Stamp Magic show back in October. Before all that I am delighted to share that I was given an Honourable Mention by The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for my Halloween mini book! Thank you so much to Donna and the team for this honour! They've got a fabulous 'Texture' theme this month and IndigoBlu are sponsoring it (with a HUGE prize package!) so make sure you get entering.

So on to the Joyful Holly project (plenty of texture in this one!) In order to demonstrate the ease of stamping and painting on fabric with English Cottage Artist's Acrylic Paints I created a holly background on a square of plain calico. It takes a good 24+ hours for the paint to 'cure' on the fabric and make it washable (after ironing on the reverse) so it was only upon returning home that I was able to finish the project.

(click on each image for a closer look)

I find that blending paints is much easier on fabric as you can allow the mix of wet paints and water to bleed together as they sit and dry. Don't be afraid to mix your own colour palette either - I love combining Emerald City with Hot Cocoa to create shimmering deep shades of olive green.

A few hints and tips I've discovered along the way;

• Always add water to English Cottage Artist's Acrylic paints before using them on fabric to help them glide onto the surface more easily and allow for blending.
• Painting around the edges and along the veins of leaves provides a 'barrier' to help prevent colour bleeding out from the stamped images.
• If you are adding another colour leave the area you want to paint it onto blank as I find the first layer of colour will come through a second contrasting layer.
• Whilst adding water and extra paint will make your images more vibrant take care not to overdo it as this will eventually lead to some bleeding outside the images.
• Stamp the initial images with undiluted paint or gesso to get a clear and defined outline, allowing that to dry completely before you add further colour.

You'll probably spot that a couple of the fabric holly leaves layered over the base panel have been shaped - those lovely ladies who came along to my workshop last Saturday will now know how to do that!!!

And on that point I want to thank all those who attended my Poppy Canvas workshop in Retford last weekend - it was an absolute joy to spend a wonderful day with such an enthusiastic group. They all took to the creation of mixed media canvases like ducks to water, making the most gorgeous pieces during the day. A couple of them have now shared their completed work publicly and here they are;

This beautiful canvas was created by Rachel Fisher;

And this fabulous canvas was created by Sue Gregson;

Hopefully the other ladies will share their finished canvases too so I can give them a well deserved shout out.

I'll be back tomorrow to share a couple of projects made for Kay Halliwell-sutton's upcoming tv shows on Hochanda (Saturday 21st November at 11am, 2pm and 6pm). In the meantime take care of yourselves and have a great weekend.
Jenny xxx

Joyful Holly project;

A6 Big Holly (clear stamps) by Lauren White

Dinkie Happy Christmas stamp

Black Gee-Sso Good! gesso

White Gee-Sso Good! gesso

Emerald City English Cottage Artist's Acrylic paint

Hot Cocoa English Cottage Artist's Acrylic paint

Postbox Red English Cottage Artist's Acrylic paint

Pantry White English Cottage Artist's Acrylic paint

Laurel Leaves stencil

Fine modelling paste

Ribbon, buttons, muslin and thread from stash.