Product review and freebie

I’m always looking for new products that aren’t too gimmicky and have multiple uses – this Metallic Creative Medium seems to fit that description.

I ordered some of this CM Metallic from Imagine Crafts, thinking it would work well on my earthenware face shards. Here are some pics and comments:

Here's the Metallic Medium - kind of a creamy paste in a jar. It comes in bronze, copper, gold, and silver.

Here’s the Metallic Medium – kind of a creamy paste in a jar. It comes in bronze, copper, gold, and silver.

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First, I sprayed the fired earthenware faces with Walnut Ink, as usual, and wiped it off to emphasize depth and detail.

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I applied the medium with my finger to the clay surfaces, trying out all four colors. It is very transparent on the clay and I needed two coats. It also seals the surface – that may be a plus in some circumstances.

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Left to right – copper, gold and silver – very subtle on the clay. I added pigment and applied onto some stamped black paper – again, very transparent.

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Finally, I added acrylic paint and rubbed some Pearl-Ex into the surface while it was tacky – lotsa bling.

Verdict for using CM Metallic on earthenware – 6 out of 10. It’s a little too transparent for my purposes, although two or three coats work well.

Best quality – it dries super quickly, so you could stencil it on a surface and go over it with watercolor or (of course) walnut ink almost immediately.

I checked on Amazon and somebody was selling it for $18 a jar – EEK! But  JoAnn’s has it online for about $6, which makes me think they might have it in their store as well for that price.

This is kind of a cool project using the medium that would lend itself to lots of spring-off ideas – I like the notion of covering the blocks with vintage pages – and maybe vintage photos?

Creative Blocks

Click image for directions

Freebie time!! I have four extra jars of this medium, one in each color, that I’m happy to share with you SHARDS guys. Just leave a comment for me and the first four people can have a jar to play with.

The only catch is that you need to be in San Antonio to pick them up at the Studio, because I don’t want to box and mail them. Yeah, I know – chintzy. Sigh.


I may not be pretty, but I work!!

I may not be pretty, but I work!!

SPEAKING OF FREEBIES and such, and because we all help each other out, I have an artist friend who is in need of a cheap car. Really cheap, just reliable transportation of any kind or condition or color. If you’re getting rid of an old vehicle or can donate one, please email me and I’ll pass the info along to her. She can afford to pay $1000 toward getting some wheels, but that’s about it. Help!

Thanks, as always, and stay tuned for more Studio updates – in the meantime, go out and play!

 

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You can do it, Kid . . .

Have you ever wanted to get your work out there in public – and help people at the same time? Yeah? So why not apply to become an Artist in Residence at Imagine Crafts? There’s an open call right now and they are looking for DIYers, Card Makers, Memory Keepers, Mixed Media and more.

You can go here to see all of the requirements and benefits, but basically, they send you their crafting supplies for free and you come up with three small projects a month to show creative ways to use them

These guys are near and dear to my heart because they represent Tsukineko, the Walnut Ink makers.And it’s a friendly group, too – I’m not affiliated with them other than that I buy my weight in Walnut Ink from them every month or so, but when I need advice about orders or products, they are right there.

Here are some of the kinds of projects that the Artists in Residence come up with:

Classy Halloween Art Journal Page by Jowilna Nolte

Must Have My Creative Medium! by Renee Zarate

You guys can do this, and it would be fun!! Think of the mixed media things you’ve done in Studio workshops or tried on your own, and then come up with a catchy project and name. OK, here are some goofy ideas to get you started – I’ll make up the names and you can make the projects for your application –

  • Catchy Cactus Coasters
  • Mini-billboard Pet Portraits
  • Rocks that Rock
  • Starry Night Sleep Tee
  • Jazz-Score Journal

See? That took me about five seconds to think of a few ideas – you can do better, Kid – get out there and be famous, and you can thank me when you have your own international design line. Here’s where to apply. (And tell ’em Lyn sent you 🙂