Altered Eco Embellishments
by Jackie McColl
Our Eco Embellishments are so popular, we decided to add some more to our fabulous collection! Now that you have them- what to do with them? Well here are some fun ways to alter these eco friendly shapes so you can have a colorful embellishment ready to use in an instant!
Helga and I brainstormed and came up with 10 different ways to art up our favorite Eco Embellishments. Here is a look at the things you will need to apply all 10 of these great techniques:
Start simple with Gesso. I love the contrast of black and white- it looks so clean and elegant. Gesso is my best friend and so easy to do. Just paint straight onto your desired shape- I love ravens so I had to art up this little guy. I applied two coats being careful to keep my brush strokes going the same direction. Remember to let it dry in between coats!
Even easier is my black Sharpie marker. So for the black part of my black and white theme, I colored some gears. Took me all of two minutes and I had three of them done!
Stamping! I am kinda challenged in the stamping department, but if I can do this- anyone can! I used Staz-on ink and Color Box ink to art up these adorable little flowers. You can stamp straight onto the eco embellishment- no prepping or priming and the ink will not bleed- I promise!
Stamp onto acrylic paint. For a bit more color, paint your eco shapes first. Little butterflies - perfect whimsical shapes and they look so pretty painted and stamped! Tip: Apply two coats of paint and let it dry before you stamp. Any kind of acrylic paint will work too- you don't have to spend an arm and a leg.
Just paint! I love color so just painting these birds with acrylic paint suits me fine! Two coats, more than one color- go wild and have fun. I found that a thin coat of glossy medium varnish applied over top will give them a nice shine and protect the paint from fading.
Want some shimmer? Shimmering Mist is a blast and so easy to do. Spray directly onto these gears and they will give your steam punk artwork a cool metal edge. Two coats is plenty and no prepping or priming makes this a two minute job.
Paper and glue. ARTchix background images are the perfect ticket if you feel like cutting and pasting. Trace your mermaid tail right onto your desired pattern, cut around the edges and glue it on with a Uhu glue stick. Presto! A lovely little mermaid tail.
Glitter, glitter glitter! Some days I just want some BLING! That's when I pull out my glitter glue, glitter glaze and mica chips- hoo hoo! I had some painted flowers lurking on my desk that were dancing up and down wanting some bling. Spread a thin layer of Tacky white glue over the flower- painted or plain- and then sprinkle with mica chips. Tap off the excess chips and set aside to dry.
Or, using a paintbrush, apply some glitter glaze or glitter glue over the top of a pretty painted daisy and watch it come to life! See how they sparkle when the glue has dried. What happy little daisies :)
Metallic foil or Gold Leaf. This sounds complicated, but it is really quite simple. I thought these trees would look lovely with some fall foliage. Brush a thin layer of the foil adhesive evenly over your shape. Let it dry until the glue is clear and slightly tacky. Using the same brush, grab a bit of the foil with the tip of the brush and pat it onto the adhesive- you can use your finger to gently pat it down until all the edges lie flat. That's it! Really- it's that easy. Who knew?
Last, but not least- watercolor crayons. Coloring time! Yay! I pulled out my favorite box of Karat Aquarell crayons and got busy. I colored right onto my pretty butterflies and then used a paint brush and a tad of water to blend the colors. Use plenty of crayon, but only a little bit of water- too much and you have a soggy mess. I decided to grab my Gloss medium varnish and put a clear coat over top. This was fun because you can pull the color around a bit and build it up for some added texture. Look how these butterflies soar!
Now your altered Eco Embellishments are dressed and ready to add to your artwork! They rock on our new Eco shrines and make any card or ATC look fabulous.
While doing this class, I thought of a couple more ways to alter our Eco Embellishments... If you sew better than I do, stitch around the edges or sew on some pretty beads. These Eco Embellishments are also sewing machine friendly! Or... if you have a teenage daughter like I do, there are always bottles of nail polish laying around the house- perfect! So many colors to chose from!!!! Lastly, crackle paint is a fun option too.
Let us know if you have any other ideas- we love hearing from you!
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