Prima Design Team Call

When I heard the news that Prima Marketing Inc. was hosting an open design team call I decided to give it a try!  I am obsessed with their newest line called Relics and Artifacts and I know my work would be well suited to this line (and many others) due to my love for assemblage.  Additionally my addiction to their metal embellishments, trinkets and flowers will be quite obvious in this post! So, without further ado, here is my application post to design for a wonderful company that I would be absolutely blessed to represent.  P.S. this post is long, please stay tuned!

Altered Metal Box

Supplies:

Altered Metal Frame - Pedestal

Prima Flowers

Gears

Screw Heads

Hexagons

Faucet Wheels

Engraver Buttons

Satin Strip with Rhinestone Center

Faucet Wheels

Resin Icon: Feather

Printery Paper 6x6

Microbeads Silver

Mica Flakes Frosted

This project was inspired by the metal frame as well as a bird's nest I found that had fallen to the ground.  I decided I liked the contrast of the delicate nest and nature theme alongside lots of industrial touches and a metal base.

You may notice that I "hacked" the small gray flowers a bit.  They used to have a pearl center, but I replaced them with lots of metal trinkets that fit better with my theme.

Inside I was sure to embellish in layers to ensure lots of texture and dimension.  The background of the box was treated with silver leaf.  I intended for the reflective quality of the technique to keep the inside as bright as possible.

Perhaps my favorite technique in this project was how I created my little bird.  I started out with Printery paper I treated with Ice Resin.  

Just after adding resin to both sides of the paper, I sprinkled in some art ingredients from Finnabair: micro beads and frosted mica flakes.  After the paper had cured, I used my steel rule die to cut out the bird shape and then I added the gear for an eye, which made for a really cool embellishment!

Printery Shadowbox

Supplies:

Printery 6x6 paper

Art Ingredients Glass Glitter: Pitch Black

Ship Parts

Plate and Label

Typewriter Words

Handles and Turns

Faucet Wheels

Steampunk Air

Hexagons

Screw Heads

Zipper Pulls

Typo Bulbs 1

Engraver Buttons

Gears 

For this portion of the application I wanted to showcase my love for assemblage, texture and found objects.  I have paired a fair number of Prima metal trinkets and junkyard findings along with a few special treasures to make a fun nostalgic collection.

To achieve texture in this piece I chose to blend my edges and corners with a treatment of black glitter.  I love how this adds some sparkle, but still looks grungy and industrial.

I found myself drawn to using symmetry more than once as I pieced this together.  I framed out the outside corners of the box as well as the large inset. 

One trick that I often use to alter things is to layer them.  By adding the tiny gear inside of the hexagon and framing it out with the watch fobs, it created a whole different embellishment.  You can also see my layering technique below with the faucet wheels. 

The special touch of a few trinkets that are vintage also give this piece a bit more of a story.  A vintage clip, a skeleton key, found safety pins from button cards, anything like this can give a piece personal meaning.  I also love these old jacks and how the color has been worn off of them through play!

Winged Heart Plaque

Cartographer Paper
Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts Rising Spirit III

In this project I really wanted my love for mixed media to shine through.  The focal of this project is from the new Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts line and I am just absolutely in love with these art elements.

The plaster pieces are easy to alter and they accept so many different mediums.  I have layered on so many things and they still look fantastic!

Peeking out from behind the heart is a snippet of Cartographer paper.  The map symbolism for me represents growth, new journeys  and a global point of view.  All things I hope to get with a potential new design team appointment! I love incorporating personal meaning and symbolism into my work, I think it makes it just a little bit extra special.

Last up is just a quick snapshot of a project that really shows off the new microbeads as well as some sweet gray flowers.  While this project is not totally Prima, I absolutely love the texture that those tiny beads gave this project and I wanted to show off this creative application of yet another amazing Prima product.

Thank you so much for tuning in for this extra long post!  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Altered Eggs

I was really inspired by these paper mache eggs from Alpha Stamps.  The first one I made is a bit quirky, but fun nonetheless.  This winged egg has lots of Tim Holtz hardware and a few filigree to make for a slightly steampunk look.  I originally cut a hole in the front to try to do something inside of the egg, but it did not work, so the window was added instead.



The second project that I finished is a hinged egg with a few surprises inside. 



The outside is simply colored with distress stain in silver.  I cannot rave enough about those stains.  Simple decorations were added by way of stickers and tinsel.



Inside the egg there are two little spring nests.  I absolutely love the tiny bunnies, which are actually brads.



Opposite is a more traditional spring nest with a brass bird and tiny eggs.

Perhaps posting of spring and Easter-ey things will help it to arrive a bit sooner in Michigan, boy am I ready!

Cheers,

Rhea

Tattered Floral Spring Box

This project is really an interesting revival for me.  The idea and the theme really echos my very first true mixed media assemblage, so it was fun to reinterpret for this challenge.  Tim Holtz recently posted a call to use his tattered floral steel rule die and I could not resist participating, and walking down memory lane.

The base of the project is a library drawer from 7 gypsies.  Lots of patina colored gilders paste was added to the wood as well as many other elements in the piece.  

Above you can really see some of the flower detail.  Lots of techniques were applied to get to the end result.  I used alcohol inks, gilders paste, embossing and distressing along the way.  The stems were free form sculpted before gluing down.

I just love the tiny cute little bunnies on either side of the sign.  The bird above was cut from some metallic plastic industrial waste that I altered with Vintaj patina and several layers of gilders paste.  

Here the embossed texture of the flower can really be seen.  The floral centers are Tim Holtz door knobs.  It was so hard to use them up, but I had to tell myself it was for a good cause.  I also love the butterflies I made with Graphic 45 butterflies, Dresden scrap and Tim Holtz pen nibs. 

I chose tissue tape to line the inside of the box.  This choice was made because I find it so easy to apply to the pesky edges.  It also helps to carry out the mixed media look. 

Just for fun, here is my first mixed media piece I was speaking of earlier.  For a bit more info here is the link to that post: Steampunk Springtime.

Thanks for stopping by as always.

Cheers, 

Rhea