Mixed Media

I have long been amazed at some of the very creative people around in blogland and have been promising myself to get into a wider range of crafting activities.
I have also signed up to Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Jump Start this month and it has been really good  seeing all the interesting creative things that the team demonstrated. 
   So recently, I sat down at my desk and was determined to get to work with a book that I made last year - started painting the pages but did not get any further.

First page (left hand side)

I made the book from A3 sized sheets that I tore, rather than cut down to size. For this 2 1/2 page spread, I painted the background blue, then added a paua coloured paper napkin to part of the first page. I used Mod Podge to apply this, then added the netting. I stamped around the edge of the pages with a free stamp from CS Magazine.

I added bits of torn paper from an encyclopaedia page with a shell theme, used various shell stamps and cut little fish shapes from orange and silver tissue, which I applied with Mod Podge.

I also used acrylic paints to provide a bit of additional colour around the page. I edged the fish with white paint, then went around the outside of that with a black marker to make the fish stand out a little more.

Second page (middle)

The seaweed is strips of paua coloured tissue and I stamped over that with silver paint, using a tree stamp from a Claudine Helmuth set. I attached the little sea shells on the netting.  The words were stamped then cut out and attached to the pages.

 This is the half page on the right hand side of the spread.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the outcome - I did get the ideas from one of the Creative Jump Start team, but you do have to start somewhere!!