I’m Crew Member Betsy Skagen of Paper Calliope and I wanted to share my “Unlock Your Mind” mixed media piece with you today in hope that it inspires you to let your imagination run wild and ignite your creativity.
So many people categorize themselves as either “creative” or “not creative”. However, creativity is a mindset. Just like healthy eating, exercise, mindfulness and other good habits, creativity needs regular practice.
Even those of us who consider ourselves creative get stuck. Sometimes we cannot think of a good idea and sometimes none of our ideas come out right–everything is a flop. The best way through these creative blocks is to just keep at it. It doesn’t matter if the outcome is great–just keep making art and eventually the creativity will return stronger than ever.
One way you can do this is by using a variety of materials. What better way to let your creativity run wild than by playing with mixed media design?
Tutorial How to Make ‘UNLOCK YOUR MIND’
Begin by cutting a 6″ x 7″ piece of foam core. Cover the foam core with a coat of gesso and dry with heat gun.
Apply texture paste through stencils of your choice onto the foam core and dry with heat gun. Don’t worry about uniform surfaces or perfection of any kind–I intentionally changed the thickness and texture of the paste on my board.
Next dry brush blue, light blue, teal and gray and light gray acrylic paints onto the surface, drying between each color.
Run a piece of cardstock through an embossing folder. Coat the embossed cardstock with white acrylic paint and press it against your painted foam core surface as if you were pressing a stamp to the board. Dry with a heat gun.
Cut a Canvas Corp 12 x 12 E-Flute Craft cardstock into quarters and apply black acrylic paint onto one section. Press this corrugated surface against the foam core. Again dry with heat gun.
Rub lock, keys, eye and drawing rub-ons from the Architextures Parchments Rub-Ons – Build onto the foam core. Since you are applying the rub-ons to a textured surface, touch up the images with a black marker.
Cut a square of decorative black hand-crafted paper. Apply teal acrylic paint to another section of the E-Flute Craft and press this cardstock against the black paper as if you were pressing a stamp to the board. Dry with heat gun.
Use a silver paint pen to cover the Circle Trellis frame with silver paint. Dry with heat gun. Use a black marker to accent the edge of the silver frame.
Adhere the black square to the foam care and the silver trellis frame over it. Use a strong adhesive to add lake glass and a silver embellishment–or use that growing creativity and find entirely different objects to add.
Next rub the “Unblock your mind” phrase from the Parchments Rub-ons onto silver cardstock. Closely crop the silver cardstock around the message. Cut a slightly larger rectangle of teal Canvas Corp Colored Burlap. Adhere the silver cardstock to the burlap and adhere both to the foam core.
Use a silver paint pen on the 7gypsies Dome Studs, or you can just buy the silver studs in the first place–but hey, why make things easier? When dry, adhere the studs to the four corners of the silver cardstock.
Cut an 8″x 7″ piece of chipboard and 8″x 7″ piece of decorative black hand-crafted paper. Adhere the black paper to the chipboard, then glue the foam core to the black paper base.
Great Stuff
Canvas Corp 12 x 12 E-Flute Craft
Canvas Corp Colored Burlap
Architextures Parchments Rub-Ons – Build
7gypsies Dome Studs
Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Trellis Frame
White and Silver cardstock
Decorative black hand-crafted paper
Foam core, Lake glass
Embossing folder
Silver embellishment
Acrylic paints
Gesso, Adhesive
I hope this project has encouraged you to let your creativity run free.
Have a creative week!
– Betsy –
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