Spectacular Wall Art with Itsy Bitsy Metallic Paints and Alcohol Inks.

Hi Folks! A very good morning to you!! Hope you are having a great week. Itsy Bitsy is conducting a series of workshops in the month of April. A couple of our workshops (18th April) had to be rescheduled due to Karnataka bandh. For people who might have missed the workshop, here is a step by step tutorial for a spectacular wall art.

Itsy Bitsy has recently introduced a range of fantastic metallic paints! These come in many lovely shades and in this tutorial we are going to show you a very simple technique to make spectacular wall art using Itsy Bitsy Metallic Paints.  This technique can be used on Stretched Canvas, Canvas Boards, Wooden Boards, MDF or Wooden Alterables. And the best part, no prior experience required!

So let’s get started!
Here is a list of supplies you will need:

1. Wooden Board  (or Canvas or Alterable of your choice)
2. Itsy Bisty Metallic paints in your choice of colours.
3. A flat brush
4. Heat Tool
5. Alcohol Inks in your choice of colours – should be darker than the metallic paint
6. Ink Applicator
7. Shadow Box (to mount your art)
8. Petal paper ( or any paper of your choice for background for your art)

Optional:

1.       Jewellery Findings, Jute scraps, Chipboard Shapes, Buttons, Shells, Beads etc.

Method:

On the blank wooden board, stick some skeleton leaves using white craft glue. Try not to spread out the leaves in a definite pattern unless you particularly want that effect.

After the glue is dry, paint the board with the metallic paint. You can paint over the leaves or leave them bare depending on what you want.

While the paint is still wet, apply heat with a heat tool. This will make the paint bubble and dry, leaving a beautiful textured surface.

With an applicator, gently apply brightly coloured alcohol ink on top of the dry paint. This emphasizes the contrast between bumps and shadows, and gives more dimension to your painting. Let everything dry and you are done!!

Mount your canvas or canvas board into a shadow box. Use a contrasting paper back ground to showcase your artwork (shown above)!

 Experiment with different sizes, colours and shapes to get the effect you want.  You can also use this as shimmery, textured painting as a background which can then be decorated and built upon in many different ways!  You glue findings, shells, buttons, twine, jute etc to add more depth to your work. You can also try stamping for adding more interest. Here are a couple of ideas:

Please let us know what you think of this technique and do send us pictures if you try it.

Happy crafting!

Link for Supplies:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/art-supplies/metallic-paint

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/general-craft/skeleton-leaves

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/embossing/embossing-tool/embossing-heat-gun-220v-50hz-300w-model-rcy3003-1pc-blister-wow

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/inks-pigments/alcohol-inks-ranger

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4300_4301

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3900_3916

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/art-supplies/canvases-mont-marte

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/stamping/blending-tool-foam-ranger

Accordion Album

Hi Friends! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

We had the album workshop planned for last Saturday, which got rescheduled due to Karnataka Bandh. For those who missed the workshop, here is a step by step tutorial on how to put together this lovely photo album to display your favourite photos. It will be great addition for your dresser, desk or bureau. It will also make a great gift!

The measurements of this album are suitable for 4”X6” photographs and it can hold 6 photographs but you can customize these attributes as per your requirement. This album is in portrait orientation but you can also make a landscape version of it.

The base of this album is chipboard. We recommend using the 2mm thick chipboard to make the album sturdier. So let’s get started:

Supplies used for this album:

A4 2mm Chipboard Sheets– 4 pcs  (or 2pcs of A3 Chipboard Sheets)

A4 Laminated Jute Sheets (Deep Turquoise)– 5 pcs

12”x12” Hand Made Paper (Turquoise) –  2pc (You can also use a full sheet, or 2 A4 sheets)

DCWV Safari Chic Cardstack- 6 sheets

Ribbon

Silicon Glue (Recommended for laminated jute)

Craft Glue

Double sided tissue tape             

Cutting Knife

Scissors

Cutting Mat

Note: If you are using the 12”x12” or A4 paper or Jute sheet you will need to glue two of them together to make a longer sheet for the album.

Method:

Measure and cut your chipboard. We need 2 pcs of 5”x7” Chipboard and 4 pcs of 4 ½ “ x 6 ½ ” Chipboard.

Cut your paper sheet to measure about 20”x8”. You can either cut it out of a full sheet or join two 12”x12” or A4 sheets together and trim them to get the right size. In our case we used two 12”x12” sheets and joined them together as shown in the image.

Glue the 4 ½ “ x 6 ½ ” chipboards onto the paper as shown in the image. Leave about 2mm space in between the chipboard pieces. This will allow room for the album to fold smoothly.

Snip the edges of the paper and trim the corners as shown. This will reduce any bulkiness on corners and folds in the finished piece.

Apply craft glue and fold the edges of the paper on the top and the bottom of the chipboards. Leave the edges on the ends as is. Once we attach the jute sheet on the other side of the chipboards, these open edges will be glued to the front and the back cover.

You piece will now look like this.

Cut the jute sheet to measure 20 “ X 6 ½ “. Apply silicon glue on the laminated side of the entire sheet.

Note: If you are using A4 jute sheets then join two sheets using silicone glue (just like we did for the paper) and trim the joined sheet to get the right size. Here, it’s important that the width of the jute sheet is same as the height of these chipboard pieces (in this case 6 ½ “ )

Stick the jute sheet on top of your chipboards as shown in the image above.

The base body of the album is complete. Fold and unfold gently a few times to get rid of any tightness around the folds. Now we will start with the front cover.

Cut a piece of jute measuring 6 ½ “ x 8 ½ “. Apply silicon glue on a 5” x 7” chipboard piece and stick it on to the laminated side of the jute piece as shown in the image.

Trim the corners of the jute as shown to avoid bulkiness on corners. Apply the silicon glue on the edges of jute, fold and stick them as shown in image.

Now we will join the front cover to the body of the album. Apply silicon glue to one of the long edges of the front piece and stick the loose edge on one end of the body as shown. Once the glue is dry, proceed with the next steps to cover the chipboard completely.

Cut a 5” x 7” piece of jute, apply silicon glue on it and stick it on top of the front piece. Press firmly and wait for it to dry. This is a crucial joint and it’s advisable to wait until the glue is completely dry before proceeding to join the back cover.

Note: The steps to join the back cover are same as the steps for the front cover. So repeat all the steps for the back cover as well.

Your album will look like this. Now we will start adding layers to it. We have used patterned cardstock from DCWV, but you can choose any other kind of paper (Thai Natural Fibre Paper, Mulberry Paper or even another layer of Jute!) Its really depends on the look that you want.

Cut pattern paper rectangles for the layers to frame your photograph. Centre the paper panels over the jute panels and stick them using silicon glue.

Note:  You need 2 pieces in size 4 ¾ “x 6 ¾ “ for front and back covers. For the rest of the panels (4 pcs), the pattern papers should measure 4 ¼ “ X 6 ¼ “.

Your album is ready! Stick your favourite photos to these panels using double-sided tissue tape and display them proudly on your desk or mantel shelf!

You can embellish your album with flowers, rhinestones, crystals, mulberry roses, chipboard shapes, twine, ribbon – options are many! Here we have embellished it with chipboard flourishes and mulberry roses. If you would like to gift the album to someone, you can add a sentiment; we have matted a chipboard sentiment tag with Handmade Paper.

Hope you liked the tutorial and are tempted to try it J

Please leave your feedback in the comments below. And do send us pictures on our Facebook Page if you make it.

Link for Supplies:

Chipboard:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1700_1701

Jute:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4000_4001

Hand Made Paper:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3700_3701

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3700_3703

DCWV Pattern Papers:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/dcwv-stacks/dcwv-stack-12x12-inch

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/dcwv-stacks/dcwv-stack-8x8-inch

Silicon Glue:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/adhesives/silicon-glue

Cutting Mats:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4800_4801

Cutting knife:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/stationery/cutter-knife-oddy

Beaded Key Chain

Hi Folks, welcome to another Itsy Bitsy Tutorial! A while ago Itsy Bitsy conducted craft workshop for making beaded keychain (on the occasion of Women’s Day).

This was a fantastic workshop and participants learnt how to make bead charms and work them into a design, which is a basic step of making Bead and Wire Jewellery. Today we are going to recapitulate the same technique here and make this lovely keychain.  You can use your choice of beads and charms to make a unique customised keychain. This will also make a pretty and personal gift. Once you learn the technique you can also make fancy necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bag tags and a whole lot more!

   Note: The beads selection will differ from store to store and in our web store.

So let’s begin!

Supplies used in this keychain:

1. Glass Beads (Mixed – qty as required)
2. Spacer Beads - one per bead
3. Key Ring – 1pc
4. Jump Rings – one per bead + 2pcs
5. Eye pins – one per bead
6. A length of cable or curb chain (double the length you want your key chain charm to be)

Tools required:

1. Round Nose Pliers
2. Chain Nose Pliers
3. CuttingPliers / Wire cutters 

Method:

First thing we are going to do is to attach the length of the chain to key chain using a jump ring. 

Open a jump ring using the chain nose pliers and round nose pliers. Hold one side of the jump ring as shown and twist the other end sideways as shown in the image.

Note: Jump rings should always be opened and closed sideways. Opening them apart compromises the strength as well as the shape of ring.

Insert the last link of the key chain and the first link of the chain in the open jump ring. Twist back the ends with the pliers and close the ring.

 Now we will make the bead charms. 

Thread a spacer bead onto the head pin and then thread a glass bead. 

The beads that we are using here are Table Blown beads. These glass beads sometimes have a larger  hole than the head of the head pin. The use of spacer bead here is ornamental as well as functional. It  ensures that the glass bead does not slide off over the head of the pin.

 

Using chain nose pliers turn the head pin 90 degrees as shown in the image. Cut off excess wire leaving about 1 cm of wire extending from the bead.

Tightly grip the end of the wire with the round nose pliers and rotate your wrist to turn the wire into a loop as shown in the images above.

Turn the wire completely to close the loop. This might take some practice in the beginning, but after a few tries you will be able to get neat looking loops. Your bead charm is ready!

Make as many bead charms you want to add in your design.

Now we will start attaching these beads charms to the chain using jump rings.

Open a jump ring (sideways) and thread the loop of one of the bead charms you have just made. Also add the jump ring you had used to join the chain to the key chain. Close the jump ring.

You will now have your first charm dangling on the chain.

Open another jump ring, thread another bead charm and one of the links of the chain, and close the jump ring.

Keep adding bead charms to the chain, leaving a couple of links in between.

Once you are done, your chain will look like the image above.

Once you are happy with your chain, open another jump ring, thread the last link of the chain and thread it through the first jump ring you had used to join the cable chain and the Keychain, and close the jump ring.  And you are done!

Depending on the size / colour of the beads and the length of the chain you can make many different variations. You can personalize this by adding some meaningful charms /alphabet beads or tags, depending on what you want. These will make a great handmade gift as well.  Here are a few examples:

   

Please leave your feedback in the comments below and send us pictures on our Facebook page if you try it out.

Happy Crafting :)

Here’s a handy Link for Supplies:

Keychain ring:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4100_4101

Cable chain:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/jewellery-making/blue-moon-beads-chains

Jump Rings:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/jewellery-making/jump-rings

Head pins:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3900_3916&sort=20a&page=2

Beads:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/jewellery-making/glass-beads

Spacer Beads:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3900_3922&sort=20a&page=2

Pliers:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3900_3918

Hot Melt Glue and Metallic Paints Wall Art

Hi Folks! Welcome to another Itsy Bitsy Tutorial! Hope you guys had a great weekend!

For lot of people, mainstream art is very daunting. To the extent that many people do not even give it a shot, assuming that they cannot paint. The mixed media technique however, has encouraged lot of people to at least try their hand at art. Many have been pleasantly surprised that they actually can create fantastic pieces of art using alternative techniques and gradually moved on to fine arts.

Today, we are going to explore a technique using hot melt glue and metallic paints to make beautiful textured wall arts. This technique is very easy. You draw the basic drawing on the canvas with the hot glue, let it cool and paint over this glue drawing. And that’s it. You end up with spectacular piece of art :)

Supplies Needed:

1. Hot Glue Gun.
2. Hot Melt Glue Sticks
3. Canvas or MDF Board
4. A light coloured Colour pencil (optional)
5. Metallic paints in your choice of colours.

Use at least two shades (dark and light) of each colour.  This will help bring out the texture more dramatically. You can use more shades and colours to add more detailing or depth. We have used: Blues - (Paradise Bay, Prussian Blue & Velvet Night), Greens - (Rich Olive & Broccoli), Gold and Rust.

Tools Required:

1. Paintbrush
2. Sponge or Felt Applicator

Method:

First things first, decide on a drawing. In this tutorial we are making a landscape. But you can also make an abstract or any other scene/drawing of your choice.

We began with making the basic drawing on the canvas with the hot glue, using glue gun. We used more glue where we needed more texture and dimension (the trunk of the tree). Once the drawing is complete, we let the glue cool and harden.

Note:  If you prefer to work with a guideline you can also make your drawing with a light coloured pencil before starting with the glue gun.  

Then we blocked large areas with light coloured paints to do the under painting. (Paradise Bay for water and sky, Gold for tree, land and mountains).

Note: Hot melt glue can be painted over easily with acrylic paints.

For areas where we wanted to add more texture, we used the heat gun on the wet acrylic paint. This makes the paint bubble and form a lovely textured surface (We did this for land, foliage).

Please note that heat will melt the glue again, so be careful and use the heat gun in short bursts and try to avoid heating the areas with glue for long.

Once the paint was dry, we started adding the darker shades of colours to the areas where we wanted to bring out the texture or add more definition (Prussian Blue for water waves and clouds, Velvet Night for part of sky and water,  Broccoli for foliage and Rust for the tree trunk).

At this point we also decided to add some extra texture to the clouds with the heat gun. Once the darker shades were dry, we went over those areas very lightly with lighter shades of the same colour to add highlights (Paradise Bay for water and clouds, Gold for trunk and Rich Olive for Foliage and part of land.

The idea here is that the crevices and grooves should stay dark and the ridges should be lighter in colour. That will help give more of a 3D look and bring out the contrast.  You can also use a sponge or felt applicator for the application of the highlight colours. Just make sure that you dab them very gently so that the colour does not get into the grooves.

You artwork is done!  Mount it on frame and display proudly J

To keep it simple we have used limited number of colours and a very basic drawing. You can use this technique with more colours and a more detailed drawing. It works equally well for making abstract and figurative artworks

.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

Hope you liked the tutorial. Please leave your feedback in the comments below.

Do send us pictures on our Facebook page if you try this technique. Happy Crafting J

Link for Supplies:

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/art-supplies/metallic-paint

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=0&keyword=glue+gun

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/craft/tools-equipments/punches/craft-punch-butterfly-25mm-km-8203-34-1pk-ib

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1100_1108

http://www.itsybitsy.in/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1100_1107