The Scrappers Sanctuary - Mixed Media Challenge!

Our May Challenges have gone live - and here is my challenge for the month.  I am in charge of Mixed Media (do you think it's because I'm obsessed with canvases???)

Come visit us at TSS and join in the fun - some awesome prizes - Crafty Chic by Hand is our sponsor for the month of May.

Here's a link to The Scrappers Sanctuary.

And... here's my challenge!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Mixed Media challenge for May.

I hope that you’ll give this a try - for those of you that aren’t familiar with mixed media - let me explain it a bit.

First of all - there’s no WRONG way to do it. And trust me, if I can learn it, anyone can.

I went straight to Wikipedia (did I spell that right??) For the definition of Mixed Media. You hear the term thrown around a LOT - but there’s a real definition for it.

Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.

For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work.

When creating a painted or photographed work using mixed media it is important to choose the layers carefully and allow enough drying time between the layers to ensure the final work will have integrity. If many different media are used it is equally important to choose a sturdy foundation upon which the different layers are imposed. A phrase sometimes used in relationship to mixed media is, "Fat over lean." In other words: "don't start with oil paints. Plan to make them the final layer."

Some of the supplies you’ll need for this challenge are:

A canvas - any size, any shape. Canvas panels work great - sometimes even better than the stretched canvases. I get mine at Michaels - a 3 pack usually runs about $5.00 and I use a coupon.

If a canvas isn’t available, use something sturdy as your base. Do you have a piece of chipboard? A journal cover?

Mod Podge. (Or Soul Glue as we graduates of Soul Restoration coined it) I prefer Matte when using it for collage - the glossy doesn’t ‘look’ as good to me, and I’m actually not sure how it would handle paint/stamping/rubons, etc. Ranger also makes a great Gel Medium - so if you have that, or can find it, go for it. I think it’s in Claudine Hellmuth’s line.

Patterned paper. I have no doubt you have that on hand. LOL

Ink - I like to use Staz-On for canvases... love using Ranger Distress Inks (my middle name is Vintage Photo) but you may get smearing when you Mod Podge over them - so if you really want to use them, get yourself a spray sealer. Some people use cheap hairspray, but I haven’t had good luck with that.

A printer, and regular printer paper, and white cardstock

So let’s start easy - your challenge is to take one of these photos (I own them - you are free to use it) and use it in a collage format.

If you don’t like either of the photos, just use some part of it for inspiration and use one of your own. I would suggest printing it out on some heavier cardstock, not photo paper or regular printer paper.

Here are the photos for you to choose from: (right click and save to your computer)





If for any reason you have trouble saving it to your computer, pm me here with your email addy and I’ll send it to you directly.

Here’s my canvas using one of the photos, VERY simple - just a few pieces of patterned paper, the photo, printed on white cardstock, some ink, stamps and rubons.






*Each submission must be a newly created project specifically for the challenge.

*Only one entry per category.

*Each submission must be uploaded to the proper folder in our gallery no later than 11:59PM ET on May 31st, 2011 to be eligible for the random draw.

*Each submission must follow ALL requirements of the challenge to be eligible for the random draw. For example, if the challenge states blue must be used then there must be some blue in the project to qualify



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